On the 13th of April, 2021 the Chairman OPTS, Mike Sangster, accompanied by members of the OPTS Security Subcommittee, met with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Leo Irabor, at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
The Chairman highlighted the myriad of challenges facing the industry, including militancy, crude oil theft/illegal bunkering of crude oil resulting in significant damage to pipelines and infrastructure. Other challenges discussed include attacks on personnel, community agitations offshore related attacks such as sea piracy and kidnap for ransom. He noted that these losses translated to loss of revenue for the Federal Government as well as the industry.
Mike advocated for continued intelligence led support from the military and their continued presence in member companies fields of operations to combat these crimes. He also called for the resuscitation of the joint meeting between the OPTS Security Subcommittee and the Defence team
General Irabor assured OPTS that the military would continue to provide the needed support and implored OPTS to look at ways to reduce the impact of oil spill on the environment. The CDS also enjoined the OPTS to strengthen its CSR programmes to ensure less friction with the communities.