Shell Companies in Nigeria says it lost $1 billion to oil theft in Nigeria between January and April 2022.
The company also alleged that the illegal refineries destroyed by security forces in the Niger Delta are being rebuilt.
Speaking during a media engagement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday, the Head, Corporate Relations, Nigeria, Shell, Mr. Igo Weli, said if care was not taken, Nigeria will be spending 50 per cent of its annual budget to clean oil spills.
Weli said: “Now, we are spending $1billion on HYPREP clean up. It will get to a point where most of our national budget will go into cleaning spills caused by our people. That is what is going to happen.
“It will get to a point where 50 percent of national budget, we will say, let’s go and clean spills. I am not sure other parts of the country will agree to that. These are all some of the things we need to be aware of. The pictures we are seeing are not jokes and everybody should be concerned.”
The Shell spokesman stated that the company has signed a contract to acquire drones to monitor its pipelines and wellheads in the Niger Delta.
