Shell asks host communities to desist from oil theft in Niger Delta

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has lamented increasing incidents of crude theft and vandalisation of its facilities. 

Igo Weli, country head/director of corporate relations, SPDC, said this during a press briefing at the weekend in Imo.

The meeting was organised to create awareness on crude theft, pipeline vandalisation and illegal refineries in the south-south and south-east. 

Weli, who said the high rate of crude theft and vandalisation have resulted in human deaths in Imo, Rivers, Abia, and Bayelsa states, appealed to the locals to desist from breaking pipes and oil spills.

The right of way law, which prescribes that structures should be erected 15 metres away from the pipeline areas, Weli said, must be obeyed for the betterment of all parties and stakeholders.

He added that the company would spend $1 billion on the Ogoniland clean-up. 

In 2011, Shell accepted responsibility for cleaning up the oil spills in the Niger Delta region.

In the first quarter of 2022, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said the country lost at least $1 billion to oil theft.