Buhari / Saudi Government Should Discuss Strategic Partnership On Stopping Oil Theft And Pollution -By Bayo Adeolu

President Buhari on his recent visit to Saudi Arabia Riyadh for the economic forum of future investments and economic reforms should use the opportunity to discuss Nigeria’s problems in the oil sector which Saudi Arabia Aramco oil seems to have conquered over the years.

This are in the areas of oil theft and oil pollution through spillage and gas flaring and well run refineries.

Saudi Arabia has been very successful in planning and maintaining it’s oil sector where every drop of oil is accounted for this has been possible through a sophisticated control room where all the pipelines are monitored and every drop of oil is accounted for. The system so sophisticated that once a pipe leaks in the system the energy giant knows the exact point where it happens as pressure gauges alert of a drop the system which is so well monitored that there is nothing like illegal bunkering of oil or petroleum products or saboteurs within the emirate. This had been so in the early 1970s in Nigeria when patriotic citizens steered clear of the oil Infrastructure and facilities until corruption engulfed the system and Nigeria’s oil sector Where people began oil theft bunkering and sabotage of the pipelines.

The Niger Delta communities had initially protected the oil equipment and facilities but when the interest of the community was ignored the patriots turned a blind eye while the saboteurs through sabotage had a field day in stealing barrels of oil it first started with 3 out of 100 barrels being stolen illegally but today its an astronomical number of close to a 300,000 barrels daily.

The illegal activities have caused pollution in the riverine areas of the Niger Delta where fishing activity has almost become extinct President Goodluck Jonathan did not achieve much concerning the theft and bunkering of oil it even escalated to the detriment of the environment as the Niger Delta communities had a free for all composure saying it was their resources well maybe true but when acceptable standards were not followed by the people through the local modula Refineries they had set up and engaged in refined petroleum products the environment suffered a lot through spills and pollution. However I feel President Buhari should engage with the Saudi government and Aramco oil in seeking ways of helping Nigeria to clean up her environment and curb oil theft bunkering and pollution so that the nation as a whole gets full benefit of revenue accruable to the Nigeria where the society as a whole would benefit including the people of the Niger Delta communities.