According to 16 October media reports, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited — owned by the former Nigeria Delta militant Government Ekpemupolo (a.k.a. Tompolo) who is now a contractor for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) — has discovered another massive illegal pipeline used to steal crude oil in the Niger Delta. It is connected to the Forcados Export Trunk Line and was positioned close to the export terminal and less than a kilometre from a military post. Its discovery appears to substantiate Tompolo’s assertion that the security forces that are stationed in the Niger Delta to defend the pipelines are actually heavily implicated in the industrial scale theft of crude oil. 

Since Tompolo was awarded the ₦48 billion (US$109 million) a year contract to halt crude theft — which has slashed the Nigeria’s oil production to an all-time low of under 1.0 million b/d — he has been busy unearthing multiple illicit connection points that are purportedly used to siphon off crude oil. On 9 October he announced the discovery of a 4 kms pipeline allegedly connected to the Trans Escravos pipeline which, according to the NNPC, had been stealing crude oil for at least nine years. Since he was awarded the contract, Tompolo claims to have identified as many as 58 illicit connection points in Delta State and Bayelsa State.

These discoveries have raised more questions than they have answered. While the NNPC asserts that the pipelines have existed for up to nine years, it is unclear why their use has significantly increased since the beginning of the year. Production is now less than half of what it was at the beginning of 2020 which illustrates the vast scale of the theft over the past two years.

Last month Nigeria produced slightly more than 1.0 million b/d so Tompolo’s discoveries have not yet increased output. Last week, Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed said that she expects production to recover over the next three months as the new anti-theft campaign measures take effect. Even when it does, however, Nigerians may demand an explanation about how this vast theft went unchecked for so long and crippled production which has decimated government revenues.