Oil and Gas
Tantita’s Pipeline Deal: $144m Contract, Rising Output, and the Questions that Deserve Answers
Tantita’s Pipeline Deal: $144m Contract, Rising Output, and the Questions that Deserve Answers
From militant amnesty to federal contractor: how Government Ekpemupolo’s security firm became the centrepiece of Nigeria’s oil theft fight — and why its record raises more questions than it answers
By Oghenewoke Onoriode | Research Reporter, Waterways News, Lagos
Thursday, March 12, 2026
When the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) awarded a pipeline surveillance contract to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited in 2022, it handed one of the most lucrative federal security briefs in the Niger Delta to a firm owned by a man once wanted for attacks on the very pipelines he was now being paid to protect. That paradox sits at the heart of a contract now worth an estimated $144 million annually — and at the centre of a widening national debate about accountability, attribution, and the true cost of peace in the creeks.
The Contract and the Man Behind It
Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) is owned by Oweizidei Thomas Ekpemupolo — widely known as “Tompolo” — a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). In the 2000s, MEND waged a campaign of attacks on oil and gas installations across the region, kidnapping workers and cutting Nigeria’s production output significantly. That era ended with a government amnesty programme in 2009, after which Ekpemupolo pivoted from disrupting oil infrastructure to protecting it, winning federal contracts to secure NNPCL’s pipeline network.
Court documents filed under case reference FHC/ABJ/CS/1021/2024 confirm both the company’s identity and the existence of the surveillance contract. The fee is set at $120,000 per month, payable quarterly, bringing the six-month total to $720,000. Extrapolated across Nigerian reporting at prevailing exchange rates, the annual value reaches approximately $144 million — making it one of the most significant single security contracts in the country’s oil sector. The contract covers Delta, Ondo, Imo, Rivers, and parts of Bayelsa States.
A Record Built on Self-Reporting
Tantita’s own figures are striking. The company says its IMRA tracking system has recorded 3,963 incidents since operations commenced in August 2022, including 702 illegal connection points, 971 theft cases, and 1,784 illegal refinery cases involving the destruction of 3,063 refinery units. Over 5,000 illegal connections were reportedly discovered on NNPCL pipelines — with as many as 300 insertion points found within a single 100-kilometre stretch.
In October 2022 alone, Tantita reported uncovering 58 illegal tapping points across Delta and Bayelsa States, and dismantling a clandestine four-kilometre pipeline running from the Trans Escravos line directly into the sea — near an active military checkpoint.
There is, however, a critical caveat: every figure cited above originates from Tantita’s own records. No independent government audit of those specific numbers has been publicly conducted or published as of this date. Without that verification, the reported scale of the operation remains exactly what it is — a claim.
Production Numbers: Gains Are Real, Attribution Is Not
Before Tantita commenced operations, Nigeria’s crude oil production had collapsed to between 800,000 and 900,000 barrels per day. Data from the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) recorded total oil losses of 36.69 million barrels in 2022. By 2023, that figure had fallen to 7.68 million barrels — a 79 percent reduction, according to the same official sources.
NNPCL stated that production reached 1.8 million barrels per day in November 2024, a figure cited by supporters of the contract as evidence of Tantita’s direct impact. That peak, however, included condensate volumes in NNPCL’s self-reported totals and has not been confirmed as a sustained monthly average by either NUPRC or OPEC data. By January 2026, NUPRC and OPEC figures showed Nigeria’s crude-only output averaging approximately 1.459 million barrels per day — still below the OPEC quota of 1.5 million bpd, and well short of the Federal Government’s 2026 budget benchmark of 1.84 million bpd.
Crucially, neither NNPCL, NUPRC, nor any independent body has published a verified breakdown of how much of Nigeria’s production recovery is specifically attributable to Tantita, as opposed to concurrent military operations, OPEC-level management decisions, or new upstream investments. The production gains are documented. The cause remains contested.
A Court Ruling That Settled Nothing
The contract’s legality has been tested in court — though not definitively resolved. The Incorporated Trustees of the AGIP Indigenous Contractors Association and six co-plaintiffs filed suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1021/2024 against NNPCL, former CEO Mele Kyari, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Ministry of Defence, and Tantita. The plaintiffs alleged the contract was awarded in breach of Section 15 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010, and that indigenous Niger Delta contractors had been shut out of a fair bidding process.
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the suit, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi and had failed to demonstrate any legal interest in the matter. He described the applicants as “busybodies” and “meddlesome interlopers.” The court did not, however, rule on whether the contract was lawfully awarded. It ruled only on who had standing to challenge it. The substantive procurement questions remain unanswered.
Washington Connection: A $720,000 Lobbying Engagement
Simultaneously, Tantita’s interests have stretched to Washington. Matthew Tonlagha, vice-chairman of Tantita Security Services, hired Washington-based public affairs firm Valcour Global Public Strategy through his company, Maton Engineering Nigeria Limited. According to documents filed with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the contract was signed on December 16, 2025, by Tonlagha and Valcour president Matt Mowers — a former senior White House adviser at the U.S. Department of State during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The six-month contract, running from December 15, 2025 through June 14, 2026, is valued at $120,000 per month, totalling $720,000. Its stated purpose is strengthening bilateral relations between the United States and Nigeria. The engagement came against the backdrop of unsubstantiated allegations by President Trump in late 2025 that violence in Nigeria constituted the persecution and genocide of Christians — a framing rejected by the Nigerian government and independent analysts alike. The FARA filing makes no mention of the pipeline surveillance contract, and no documented link between the lobbying engagement and any surveillance contract renewal has been established.
Nigeria’s federal government separately hired the DCI Group for $9 million in a related communications contract with the U.S. government during the same period.
Voices in Opposition — and in Support
Criticism of the arrangement has grown louder in 2026. The Niger Delta Safety Watch (NDSW), in a letter dated February 19, 2026, addressed to President Bola Tinubu and signed by spokesman Chief Ebiowei Koro, cited NUPRC and OPEC production shortfall data and called for a formal review of the surveillance contract arrangement.
Civil society group the Niger Delta Centre for Justice and Accountability (NDCJA), led by Executive Director Comrade Efe Justice, filed a petition to the Presidency in March 2026 demanding the contract’s termination, describing it as patronage-driven. The NDCJA called for decentralised, competitively tendered surveillance contracts with independent performance audits. The petition was reported by Legit.ng, Hallmark News, and Daily Post, among others.
Defenders of the contract counter with a simpler argument: the numbers moved. Dr. Johnson Agagbo, a stakeholder from Uvwie Local Government Area in Delta State, cited NUPRC data showing daily production had increased by more than 300,000 barrels since Tantita assumed surveillance duties, and called on President Tinubu and NNPCL to renew and expand the arrangement.
Three Questions Questions that Deserve Answers
As of March 10, 2026, three central factual questions about the Tantita contract remain without publicly verified answers.
First, no publicly available independent audit of Tantita’s claimed operational figures — the number of sites dismantled, the volume of theft prevented, or the attribution of production gains — has been conducted by any Nigerian government body or third party.
Second, while NNPCL renewed the contract in October 2024 for a further three years, no public announcement of any subsequent renewal decision or termination has been made by NNPCL or the Presidency as of this writing.
Third, and most consequentially, no verified breakdown exists of how much of Nigeria’s oil output recovery is specifically attributable to Tantita, as distinct from military interventions, investment cycles, or OPEC management.
A contract worth $144 million a year demands clearer answers than Nigeria has so far been prepared to provide.
Blue Economy
Marine Logistics Eclipse Road Haulage at Dangote Refinery as Bulk Coastal Deliveries Drive New Downstream Model
Marine Logistics Eclipse Road Haulage at Dangote Refinery as Bulk Coastal Deliveries Drive New Downstream Model
Price convergence between refinery and depot operators reshapes Nigeria’s petroleum distribution landscape, with vessel traffic emerging as the dominant evacuation channel
LAGOS, April 25, 2026 (Waterways News)
A fundamental restructuring is underway in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum supply chain, as coastal vessel operations have overtaken truck dispatch as the primary evacuation route from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos — a shift with far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s maritime logistics sector.
Industry sources indicate that the transition has been driven by price alignment between the refinery and private depot operators, with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) prices at major Lagos depots now broadly at par with refinery marketers’ price levels. The convergence has substantially eroded the arbitrage incentive that previously made direct truck-lifting from the refinery commercially attractive.
From Trucks to Tankers
At the height of truck-based evacuation in December 2025, the refinery was processing an average of approximately 1,000 trucks per day. That volume has since declined sharply, as a structured bulk supply framework has taken hold — one that routes product through coastal vessels to depot operators, who in turn handle onward distribution to retailers.
Under the current arrangement, around 20 approved marketers are designated to lift product from the refinery. These include NIPCO Plc/11 Plc, MRS, TotalEnergies, Conoil, AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Northwest, Rainoil/Eterna, Ardova Plc, and NNPC Retail, alongside Masters Energy, Nepal Energies, Sobaz, Optima, Bovas, Soroman Nigeria Ltd, Heyden, Integrated Oil & Gas, Techno Oil, and Fatgbems.
The effect has been to concentrate product uplift within a defined group of major marketers, while the refinery itself has receded from the end-to-end distribution role — positioning it instead as a bulk supplier to a depot-centred distribution network.
Vessel Traffic Rises Across Port Cities
Recent cargo movements reflect the growing primacy of marine logistics in the new supply model. In Lagos, one vessel discharged approximately 17,000 metric tonnes of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) to Ardova, while a separate parcel of around 37,000 metric tonnes of PMS berthed for NIPCO following loading at the Lekki facility. Additional PMS deliveries of roughly 20,000 metric tonnes each were recorded at Warri and Calabar, contributing to inventory replenishment across regional depot networks.
The Warri and Calabar deliveries are particularly significant from a maritime logistics standpoint, demonstrating that the refinery’s coastal supply reach now extends well beyond Lagos — a development that positions Nigerian coastal shipping as an indispensable infrastructure layer in the downstream sector.
Pricing Parity Locks In the New Model
Depot-level pricing data as of April 22 underlines why the coastal model has become entrenched. PMS at Bono and Ascon depots in Lagos was recorded at ₦1,204 per litre, while NIPCO, Aiteo, and Gulf Treasure traded in the ₦1,204 to ₦1,205 range — essentially at parity with refinery levels. With minimal margin to exploit through direct truck-lifting, marketers have rationally migrated toward vessel-based sourcing.
Regional differentials reinforce this logic further. PMS in Calabar is priced around ₦1,227 per litre and Port Harcourt at approximately ₦1,218 per litre, making locally-sourced coastal supply more competitive than trucking from the Lekki refinery to these markets.
The refinery’s geographic location — on the outskirts of Lagos — further amplifies trucking costs, making depot-based procurement via coastal vessels the more rational choice for most marketers operating in secondary markets.
Nigeria Watch
What the Dangote Coastal Shift Means for Nigeria’s Maritime Sector
The transition unfolding at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is more than a logistics footnote — it represents a structural validation of Nigeria’s coastal shipping infrastructure as a critical pillar of national energy distribution.
For years, Nigerian maritime stakeholders — from shipowners and terminal operators to cabotage advocates and NIMASA policymakers — have argued that coastal and inland waterway shipping must be elevated from its peripheral role to become a primary freight channel. The Dangote refinery model is now delivering precisely that, organically and at scale.
The implications are significant. First, the sustained increase in coastal product movements creates fresh commercial opportunities for Nigerian-flagged vessel operators and coastal tanker owners — assuming the Cabotage Act is being enforced and that domestic capacity is prioritised in these supply contracts. Second, the growing throughput at Lagos, Warri, and Calabar jetties will intensify pressure on port-side infrastructure, terminal berths, and marine traffic management systems — raising questions about readiness at NPA-managed facilities along these coastal corridors.
Third, and most strategically, this shift is precisely the kind of demand-side pull the CVFF (Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund) was designed to serve. With a functional indigenous refinery generating sustained domestic coastal cargo, the long-delayed disbursement of the CVFF takes on renewed urgency. Nigerian shipowners competing for Dangote-linked coastal contracts need vessels — and the CVFF, properly deployed, is the financing instrument that can put those vessels in the water.
The refinery has, in effect, given Nigeria’s coastal shipping sector a commercial anchor. Whether the sector — and the regulators who govern it — can rise to the moment is the question that will define the next chapter of Nigeria’s blue economy story.
By Okeoghene Onoriobe, Waterways News Correspondent, Lagos
Maritime Security and Safety
Navy Nabs Two Oil Tankers in Niger Delta, Seizes ₦4BN in Stolen Crude — 26 Arrested
Navy Nabs Two Oil Tankers in Niger Delta, Seizes ₦4BN in Stolen Crude — 26 Arrested
By Okeoghene Onoriobe, Waterways News
The Nigerian Navy has struck a major blow against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, intercepting two product tankers — MT Mkpodu and MT Westaf AF — laden with over 939 metric tonnes of suspected stolen crude oil with a combined street value exceeding ₦4 billion.
Twenty-six crew members were arrested in the operation, which the Commander of Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Olugbenga Oladipo, confirmed during a press briefing in Calabar on Sunday.
Oladipo told journalists that the breakthrough followed credible intelligence received shortly after midnight on 8 April 2026, prompting naval assets to track and intercept both vessels at a wellhead within the Calabar/Akwa Ibom operational zone. One of the tankers, MT Mkpodu, was caught red-handed in the act of siphoning crude oil directly from the wellhead.
Naval and air power were rapidly mobilised. Nigerian Navy Ship NNS SHERE led the waterborne response while a naval helicopter provided real-time aerial surveillance, helping to secure the vessels offshore before they were escorted to base with reinforcement from additional naval units.
Oladipo described the seizure as a clear signal of the Navy’s zero-tolerance posture towards oil theft and economic sabotage, noting that the operation was executed in close collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Defence Headquarters.
The momentum did not stop there. Just two days later, on 10 April, another vessel — MT Steliosk — was apprehended in a follow-on operation, underlining what Navy commanders say is an accelerating joint-force campaign against crude oil theft across Nigeria’s territorial waters.
Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Chidozie Okehie, praised the operation and reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment — under the watch of Vice Admiral Idi Abbas — to sustaining pressure on criminal networks exploiting Nigeria’s offshore oil infrastructure.
Nigeria loses an estimated hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude to theft annually, a haemorrhage that has long undermined government revenues and oil company operations across the Niger Delta region. Sunday’s arrests signal that Operation Delta Safe is widening its operational net.
Maritime Security and Safety
NASS Endorses Tantita Security Contract, Dismisses Petitions Over Pipeline Surveillance
NASS Endorses Tantita Security Contract, Dismisses Petitions Over Pipeline Surveillance
By Okeoghene Onoriobe
Nigeria’s National Assembly has thrown its weight behind the continued engagement of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited for pipeline surveillance operations, with lawmakers at a joint Senate and House of Representatives roundtable passing a unanimous vote of confidence in the company.
The joint session, convened by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Petroleum Resources, equally dismissed all petitions filed against Tantita’s pipeline surveillance contract following a motion moved by the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), Hon. Henry Okojie.
Okojie argued that Tantita, in collaboration with relevant security agencies, had recorded considerable achievements in safeguarding the nation’s petroleum assets, translating into improved oil revenues for the country.
The endorsement followed extensive deliberations at the one-day parliamentary roundtable on the state of pipeline security and Nigeria’s battle against crude oil theft, where legislators reviewed submissions from wide-ranging stakeholders across the oil and gas sector. Data presented at the session pointed to increased crude oil output and a marked reduction in pipeline vandalism since Tantita’s engagement commenced.
Declaring the event open, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, noted that despite simmering tensions in the Middle East and the lingering Russia-Ukraine conflict, crude oil remains the world’s largest source of primary energy — particularly in the transport sector, where it still powers 95 per cent of all vehicles, planes and ships.
The Speaker disclosed that the security gains from enhanced pipeline surveillance have helped push Nigeria’s crude oil production to approximately 1.8 million barrels per day, a significant recovery from previous lows triggered by rampant oil theft. He recalled that at the height of the crisis, production collapsed sharply, costing the country billions of dollars in lost revenue and damaging Nigeria’s reputation as a dependable oil producer.
“Nigeria previously lost between 10 and 30 per cent of its crude oil output to theft annually,” Tajudeen said, adding that illegal tapping points had since been largely dismantled while crude deliveries to export terminals had improved markedly.
Beyond production gains, the Speaker highlighted the contract’s social dividend, noting that the surveillance arrangement had generated employment for thousands of Niger Delta youths, many of whom were formerly involved in agitation, offering them alternative livelihoods while strengthening community participation in the protection of oil infrastructure.
He cited legislative backing for the arrangement, including the Petroleum Production and Distribution (Anti-Sabotage) Act and reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), as having reinforced enforcement against vandalism and deepened sector governance. He also pointed to the role of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Host Community Development Trust under the PIA, which mandates corporate responsibility and gives host communities a financial stake in protecting oil assets.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the panel subjected every petition and complaint to thorough scrutiny but found no credible basis to sustain any of the claims.
“There is no credible evidence to sustain any of the allegations. Accordingly, all complaints against Tantita are hereby dismissed,” Ugochinyere declared.
His Senate counterpart, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Agom Jarigbe, urged policy consistency, warning that disrupting a framework already delivering results would be counterproductive.
“Disrupting a system that is already delivering results would be counterproductive. Our responsibility is to ensure stability,” Jarigbe said.
Odianosen Okojie also cautioned against moves to fragment the surveillance contract, warning that such a step could weaken operational coordination and erode accountability. “We must strengthen what works, not dilute it. Nigeria’s economic security depends on disciplined execution,” he said.
Senior government officials at the session, including Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, also acknowledged the improvements recorded under the current arrangement.
Ojulari told the meeting that national crude oil production had grown from a historic low of 960,000 barrels per day in 2022 to an average of 1.71 million barrels per day, reaching a peak of 1.84 million barrels per day in 2025 — a turnaround he attributed to an integrated energy security model deployed across the Niger Delta pipeline network.
He described the success as far from accidental, crediting an approach that combined “legislative and executive policy alignment, actionable intelligence, kinetic deployment capabilities, regulatory oversight, industry cooperation, and community-embedded surveillance mechanisms.”
Waterways News | www.waterwaysnews.ng
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