'Engage more host communities to curb oil theft & vandalism'

Port Harcourt -- An oilwell control specialist, Mr. Victor Ekpenyong, has urged the Federal Government to engage more host communities in order to curb the menace of crude oil theft and vandalism, as well as boost oil production in the country.

Ekpeyong, who is the chief executive officer of Kenyon International West Africa Company Limited, an oil services firm with expertise in oil well control, decried the level of crude oil theft and vandalism in the country.

He explained that to sustain the country's leadership in oil production, the government must do mor in terms of engaging host communities so they could work together to boost production as Nigeria has the capacity to produce more than its current oil output.

He recalled that prior to the recent improvement in Nigeria's oil production, many oil workers lost their jobs in 2022, while some companies shut down due to increased level oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

"I would like to commend the Minister of Petroleum and President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, and Minister of State for Petroleum for the efforts put in to ensure that we optimise production in the last quarter of 2022. I equally crave their indulgence to continue relating with the local communities who dwell around pipeline installations and other oil and gas assets.

"We can really do more because we do have the capacity to produce over 2.53 million bpd.

Broken pipeline

Let’s see how we can optimise this a little further to get the resources we need for running this country," Ekpenyong said.

He added: "It (oil theft and pipeline vandalism) is terrible. Why I say it is terrible is because my company, Kenyon International West Africa Company Limited, happened to be a company facing this issue in the Niger Delta. A year ago, we had a serious oil spill in Nembe, and Kenyon helped restore the environment to normal.

"So many oil companies are battling to stop this menace going on in the Niger Delta with many adverse effects such as the water being polluted, and the environment polluted as well.

"Consequently, our economy is adversely affected. We have what it takes to get what we want, but we cannot get it how we want it”.