Business Day
2 May 2011
BEN EGUZOZIE
After recently sailing through some of the Niger Delta waterways and creeks, BEN EGUZOZIE writes that amnesty programme may have reduced attacks on oil installations , but it has thrown up a buoying bunkering business in the region.
The 2009 amnesty offer by the Federal Government to militants has produced some positive results, to the effect that, attacks to oil installations in the Niger Delta region have almost stopped completely in the last 18 months. But, other dimensions to the militancy have rather been upbeat. These are crude oil stealing – otherwise called illegal bunkering and illegal refining. The joint military task force, Operation Restore Hope, which was deployed to the Niger Delta following increased militants’ attacks and destruction of oil facilities from 2004, said, it now grapples with increasing illegal bunkering and illegal refineries. Since January this year, the JTF said it has impounded more barges, wooden boats, drums of oil, and other container vessels – all laden with stolen crude oil. Added to this act is erecting of illegal refineries – which is using drums to carry out rough heating up of the stolen crude oil to produce less-finished premium motor spirit (PMS) commonly called fuel, or poor quality automotive gas oil (AGO) known as diesel. These activities, said the JTF, are not localized to one state – they are massive – happening in most of the oil producing states of the region. But states like Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta top the log; while others are seeing minimal activities.
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