Shell To Protect Its Nigerian Pipelines With Drones

Nigeria for a long time has been experiencing some of the worst crude oil theft in its history, which is being perpetrated by some unscrupulous people. The country loses about 100,000 barrels per day at $100 per barrel, which is equivalent to $10 million per day.

This year, Nigeria lost a staggering $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2022, jeopardizing the nation’s economy. Due to the incessant vandalization of pipelines without any proactive response from the federal government, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) took it upon themselves to put in measures to protect its pipelines in Nigeria.

The company revealed that it has signed a contract for drone acquisition to protect its pipelines in the Niger Delta from oil theft as Nigeria continues to tackle rising oil theft which has seen the country lose $1 billion in the first quarter of the year. This was disclosed by Shell’s General Manager, External Relations, Mr. Igo Weli in Portharcourt. He added that Shell Petroleum Development Company also builds cages and installs technology to protect its wellheads.

Mr. Weli revealed that this decision by the company to protect its pipeline with drones is due to the frequent attacks on its pipelines by oil thieves, leading to huge losses.

In his words, “Oil thieves punctured SPDC pipelines and wellheads, and thereafter, redirected crude oil to their illegal refining sites. To this end, we have signed a contract and soon we will start using drones to monitor our pipelines, wellheads, and other facilities. 

“Shell does so much to protect its assets in Nigeria, even when we see illegal refineries, we cannot do much other than draw the attention of the authorities to it. The SPDC builds cages and installs technology to protect its wellheads just like we put burglary proof in our homes to ward off robbers. 

“This is worrisome and should be of concern to everyone, understanding that oil and gas are where the country generates huge forex and creates employment for millions”. 

Due to the frequent attacks on pipelines, Shell reveals that one of the extraordinary things the company does, is that they fly helicopters daily to check the pipelines which comes at a very huge cost to the company. The SPDC manager disclosed that the company is collaborating with security agencies through the sharing of data on the locations and activities of illegal bunkers and refining sites.

As the demands of these oil companies continue to fall on deaf ears of the federal government to put in place measures to curb oil theft, they have stopped being hesitant and waiting endlessly as they have set up strategies to ensure that the company’s pipelines are properly secured to curb vandalization.

As the incessant vandalization of pipelines has been a cause of concern, different experts continue to proffer solutions to brazen oil theft in the country. In a recent publication on Tekedia, erudite Professor Ndubisi Ekekwe posited a very interesting solution to the federal government whereby a technological product will be deployed to put a stop to leakage, zero diversion guaranteed on fuel subsidy and fuel distribution.

It might interest you to know that his solution is not just theoretical, as the technology has already been built which has been tested by filling stations and other players in the downstream oil and gas sector, as there has been an accomplishment of reconciling fuel volume/Naira from depots via trucks to pumps and shifts courtesy of the technology.

Hopefully, the federal government will be proactive in adopting this technological solution, to ensure that there is less or zero theft of oil in the country. This incessant oil theft has made the country produce lesser barrels of oil falling against the OPEC quota.

Given that Nigeria thrives on a monolithic economy with heavy reliance on the oil sector, it is ideal that the government addresses every problem ravaging the sector, as well as closing every loophole that poses a threat to the nation’s economy.