ABUJA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Nigeria lost $1.35 billion to oil
theft in the first six months of this year and needs a legal
task force with special courts to tackle it, a government
committee said on Thursday.
The committee, set up to investigate theft from the miles of
pipelines that snake through the country's swampy, oil-rich
Delta region, said the theft will only grow if the government
does not take special action to combat it.
In addition to a legal task force, with dedicated courts,
prosecution teams and specially trained judges, it also said oil
pipeline maintenance and ownership needed to be restructured.
"The governance structure of the pipeline(s) is such today
that no one is held accountable...when these losses occur," the
committee, chaired by Edo state governor Godwin Obaseki, said in
its report.
The four primary pipelines lost 22.5 million barrels of oil
in six months - roughly 6% of Nigeria's nearly 2 million barrels
per day (bpd). The committee also cited a lack of fuel stations in most of
the oil-producing communities around the Niger Delta, which it
said made them resort to oil theft and illegal refining.
The recommendations will go to President Muhammadu Buhari,
who control's the country's petroleum portfolio.