Military, police not aiding oil thieves —Shell

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has debunked the report that the military and Nigeria Police were aiding the activities of oil thieves in the country and that the country lost $1 billion monthly as a result.

The Royal Dutch company, in a statement of reaction to a media report entitled: “How military, police aid oil thieves”, said the views and conclusions expressed by the reporter did not emanate from the company. “For the avoidance of doubt, crude theft remains a key challenge in the Niger Delta and as a major operator, SPDC continues to work with all stakeholders to address it”, Shell stated.

It further alleged that the reporter lifted a report on crude theft originally published by United Press International (UPI), an international newswire and mired it with comments and accusations wrongly attributed to SPDC, adding that the Trans Niger Pipeline which was reportedly closed had been operating normally since October 16, 2013.

Shell further described as untrue the assertion that it planned to sell off four of its oil blocks because of governmental failure to checkmate bunkering in the Niger Delta, saying it had made it clear that it had been following a strategy of selective divestments of its onshore portfolio, concentrating the operating footprint into smaller, more contiguous area while supporting the government’s policy of encouraging investment by indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry.

“We have also not confirmed any specifics about the potential divestment from some of our assets in the Eastern Niger Delta”, the company added.