The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) said it had discovered an illegal refinery, operated in a rented apartment in Sokoto state.
The NSCDC Commandant in the state, Babangida Dutsin-ma, made this known in an interview with journalists on Friday last week.
Mr. Dutsin-ma said the commandant’s surveillance team discovered the “mini refinery” located in a rented apartment owned by a popular Sokoto businessman, along Bodinga road in the outskirt of Sokoto metropolis.
“The NSCDC anti-vandal team on surveillance detected the centre in which those involved in the adulteration dug a big hole using a large tank in perpetrating the act.
“The ditch is connected to a transformer from which they tap electricity for heating the adulterated products,” he said.
The commandant said the perpetrators of the act fled the scene on sighting NSCDC officials in the area.
He said the officials confiscated some of the equipment, including jerry cans, empty metal drums, electric cables and containers, used in adulterating the petroleum products.
According to him, preliminary investigation showed that the perpetrators adulterate Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, and black oil to produce various petroleum products and supply same to unsuspecting consumers.
The commandant, therefore, urged the public, especially people in the area, to assist the command with useful information on any suspicious movements in their communities.
Meanwhile, in another development, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has driven down the cost of crude oil production from $78 dollars per barrel as at August 2015 to $23 per barrel representing 70.5 per cent reduction.
Engr. Dafe Sejebor, the Group General Manager of National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a unit of NNPC, who disclosed this during the inauguration of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the unit, said the country had saved a minimum of $3billion per annum.
Engr. Sejebor said NAPIMS arrived at the figure after looking at the difference between the $78 and $23 which represent the old and new cost of production in relation to the present daily average production in the country.
“If you knock down your cost of production from $78 per barrel to $23, take the difference and multiply by the average daily production, you will discover that we are saving a minimum of $3billion in the upstream for both Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and Joint Ventures (JVs)”, he said.
The GGM informed that the target was to bring the cost of production to between $17 aiwaknd $19 for onshore and offshore production respectively.
He commended the Federal Government for its support to the NNPC management in tackling the challenges in the petroleum industry, especially the cash call exit agreement signed in 2016 and the reduction of contracting circle from three years to six months.
On the new Petroleum Policy, Engr. Sejebor said it was necessitated by the increasing difficulty in operating the petroleum industry within the framework of the old Petroleum Act in the face of the delayed passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
He said the policy would restore investors’ confidence in the industry pending the full passage of the entire PIB by the National Assembly.
On the NAPIMS Anti-Corruption Committee, Engr. Sajebor urged the management and staff to let the principles of accountability, integrity, honesty and transparency be their watchword.
He charged them to generate positive ideas to help tackle the challenges facing the industry and help reverse its fortunes.
He admonished staff to key into the NNPC management’s zero tolerance for corruption.
It would be recalled that the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, while inaugurating the Anti-Corruption Unit at Corporate Headquarters recently, had directed all the Strategic Business Units (SBUs) and Corporate Service Units (CSUs) to establish their own anti-corruption committees and NAPIMS was the first to comply with the directive.
