Two houses have been razed down in an explosion said to have been caused by the activities of artisanal refiners in Ozuoba
area of Obio/Akpor Local Government in Rivers State.
Nnamdi Omoni, the public relations officer of the Rivers State Police Command who confirmed the development said the fire erupted on Thursday evening inside a compound used in refining stolen crude bunkerers.
This comes barely 24 hours after data from NEITI’s oil and gas reports and research showed that Nigeria lost at least $41.9 billion to vandalism and theft of crude oil and refined products within ten years (2009 to 2018).
According to a policy brief by NEITI, stemming this haemorrhage should be an urgent priority for Nigeria at a time of dwindling revenues and increasing needs.
The policy brief explored the data, reviewed current strategies, and recommends a way out.
It said Nigeria currently loses a sizeable portion of its crude oil to theft, vandalism and deferred production.
“The losses are monumental both in scale and scope. Estimates of the volume of crude losses vary across different periods, with official figures showing an astronomical increase from the earliest reported figures that this paper can reference” it said.
Omoni said Police operatives who mobilized to the incident scene were able to put out the fire.
“I can confirm that there was an explosion. Our preliminary investigation reveals that a compound used in refining illegal product was affected by the explosion.
“Our men mobilized to the place and they were able to put out the fire and restored some level of normalcy.”
TPCN/Sweetcrude
