Ministerial nominee from Cross
River State, and former Group General Manager of Crude Oil Marketing of the
Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Goddy Jedy-Agba, on Monday said oil
bunkering was a legitimate activity in the business of oil and gas industry.
Responding to questions during
his screening by the Senate on Monday, he said, bunkering is not a crime,
adding that people held a wrong notion of what bunkering was all about.
He described ‘bunkering’ as the
refueling of ships which transports crude oil on the high seas, noting that
ships spent months to reach destination, hence, bunkerers were needed at that
point.
“There is a wrong understanding
of oil bunkering and I want to correct it here that oil bunkering is not a
crime. ”
“Ships transporting crude oil
abroad spends months on high seas, it is bunkerers that supply fuel so it is a
legitimate business and not the way it is understood to us.”
In his response to Senator
Matthew Uroghide on what he would do to stop ‘topping’. The nominee said: “Like
bunkering, toppings is not possible at the point of loading.”
Describing toppings as loading
beyond the normal measurement, he said it was practically impossible, because
about 19 agencies monitor crude oil loading at all times.
The former General Manager said,
he would add revenue agency among the agencies of government if he eventually
become the Minister of Petroleum.
He lamented the obsolete laws
currently operated in the oil and gas industry, saying those laws were meant to
protect the interest of foreign oil majors.
“Nigeria operates obsolete oil
laws and that is creating serious problems because we still operate OIC laws
which were meant to service oil business interest of foreigners.”
“Our pipelines are as old as our
refineries. Crude oil is corrosive and when pipeline becomes old it cannot
withstand the pressure of oil pumping and that is why we have cases of
explosion.”
“Crude oil production is capital
intensive which cost about $20 million for three or four cargoes and no Bank in
Nigeria could give out that kind of loan.”
“Bunkering is not a crime, but
the term has been wrongly used. Bunkering is a legitimate oil activities.”
“Topping is also wrongly used and
it is not wrong to do toppings. Topping of oil is done in the presence of 19
agencies and you cannot compromise all of them.”
He urged Senators to review oil
and gas laws that would assist the industry.
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