FG Launches ‘Operation White’ to Track Fuel Distribution

The federal government has inaugurated ‘Operation White,’ a critical transparency initiative to be carried out by an 89-man monitoring team for the tracking of movement of petroleum products in and out of the country including importation and distribution.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva while formally launching the `Operation White’ project yesterday in Lagos, said the initiative was geared towards ensuring transparency and accountability of petroleum product supply and distribution in Nigeria, especially premium motor spirit (PMS).

Represented at the occasion by the Executive Secretary of Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Mr. Ahmed Boboi, the minister said that the essence was to entrench energy security and deepen the drive for transparency in the downstream operations.

He added that the strategic initiative was aimed at deploying adequate measures to ensure that all molecules of regulated petroleum products imported by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were well accounted for and utilised in-country.

Sylva noted that the NNPC had continued to record excellent performance in product supply and distribution to the nation, saying “it is doing what it is supposed to do as supplier of last resort, but the reality is the nation bears a great cost in terms of absorbing the shocks of differences in cost.

“It is critical that all hands be put on deck to ensure that every molecule of product imported into this country is utilised within the borders of this nation for the benefit of the Nigerian populace. This is a national imperative and a core thrust of Mr. President’s mandate for leadership of the oil and gas industry.

“Therefore, the task for us is to ensure that the petroleum products supply and distribution chain in Nigeria is completely devoid of illicit practices including oil theft, diversion and smuggling of petroleum products, which constitute economic sabotage and hemorrhage of the national revenue through high cost of under recovery.”