The Managing Director of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Chief Kestin Pondi, has attributed Nigeria’s gradual recovery in crude oil production to enhanced security coordination and stronger collaboration with host communities.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Joint Petroleum Parliamentary Roundtable held at the National Assembly, Pondi said the country’s oil output has risen to about 1.4 million barrels per day, up from approximately 1.1 million barrels per day recorded in 2022 when the company was awarded the contract to secure critical oil infrastructure.
He described the roundtable as a vital platform for addressing key challenges in the oil and gas sector and commended the Senate Joint Committees for convening the session.
Pondi noted that Nigeria’s oil production had witnessed a steady decline from about 1.8 million barrels per day in 2020 to 1.6 million in 2021, before dropping further in 2022. He said the recent rebound underscores the effectiveness of a coordinated and inclusive security framework.
“We were given this responsibility at a very critical time, and we remain grateful to Mr. President for the opportunity. Without this platform, our capacity and what we can achieve would not have been fully appreciated,” he said.
Highlighting the company’s operational model, Pondi stressed that sustainable protection of oil and gas assets depends largely on the involvement of host communities.
“At Tantita, we do not protect assets from the people; we protect the assets with the people. Bringing in those from the creeks, who understand the terrain, has given us better results,” he stated.
He added that the company has worked closely with security agencies, including the Nigerian Army, Navy, Police, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to secure oil facilities across the Niger Delta.
However, Pondi acknowledged that the effort has come at a cost, revealing that personnel from Tantita and various security agencies have lost their lives in the line of duty.
“It has not been an easy journey. We have lost soldiers, we have lost our personnel, and we have lost civil defence officers,” he said.
Despite the progress, the Tantita boss maintained that Nigeria still has the capacity to increase production further if more investments are made and existing operational challenges are addressed.
“We can still do better. There are still barriers, and we need to invest more to fully achieve the President’s agenda of increased production,” he added.
Pondi also disclosed that the company has invested significantly in technology and human capital development, while decentralising its operations to enhance community participation and ownership.
He warned against fragmenting the current security architecture, noting that disjointed approaches could reverse the gains achieved so far.
“There is no way we could have succeeded without involving every community that is a stakeholder in this operation. Fragmentation of the process will only push us backwards, and that is something we must avoid,” he cautioned.
The roundtable brought together lawmakers, industry operators, and security stakeholders to deliberate on strategies for boosting oil production and safeguarding critical national assets.
