Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — In a bid to eliminate losses incurred by operators in the oil and gas and shipping industries, White Dove Shipping Company Limited has introduced an alternative in Crude Evacuation which will mitigate against crude theft and pipeline vandalism.
Speaking during a virtual media chart with select maritime and energy reporters , Chief Executive Officer of White Dove Shipping, Mr. Chiemezie Ejinima, said that it intend to effectively used Nigerian manned vessels to meet the crude evacuation needs of oil & gas players in the country.
Ejinima also said that using Nigerian manned vessels for crude evacuation has not only reduced the issue of crude oil theft but has also created employment for Nigerians in the shipping sector.
He explained that the employment of Nigerians in the value chain of crude lifting as about 90 percent of its local fork force will continue to grow and build capacity in the seafaring profession.
He said, “Our vessels are manned by Nigerians and we partner with the Nigeria Maritime Academy, Seafarers and other players to boost local expertise and capacity as we want to grow our local content to 100 percent in the nearest future.
“White Dove came on board as a one-stop-shop due to the gap noticed in the traditional evacuation of crude oil through pipelines. The age and accessibility of pipelines for crude transportation led to breaches and vandalism, thus creating the need for an alternative evacuation system through barges tankers and other vessels.
‘’We came in to ensure proper crude evacuation from the point of production to the point of export and our various vessels and transportation mode help to ensure that oil producers can be certain about the quantity of their products end-to-end’’
He described the shipping sector as a sector, capable of employing thousands of Nigerians and boosting the revenue accruable to the government through the payment of royalties and taxes.
According to him, the huge capital-intensive nature of the sector, characterized by high acquisition and operating costs, remains one of the major reasons why foreign shipping companies still dominate.
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