Senate has revealed that the country has lost N2.3 trillion to the menace of crude oil theft so far in 2023.
Senator Ned Nwoko stated this before the Senate at Tuesday’s Plenary Session, emphasizing that existing statistical data indicates that pipeline vandalism and oil bunkering have led to a significant socio-economic crisis in Nigeria.
The Senator also made mention the effort of various security agencies trying to curb the menace but who are largely unsuccessful due to the few bad eggs working with “unscrupulous figures within the oil industry to undermine the nation’s economy”.
He said:“In 2022, it was reported that Nigeria suffered daily losses of approximately 437,000 barrels of crude oil, amounting to a value of $23 million, due to criminal activities.
“In March 2023, Nigeria incurred a substantial loss of 65.7 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $83 per barrel, translating to a staggering revenue loss of N2.3 trillion because of oil theft.
“The current collaborative efforts involving the Joint Task Force of the Nigerian military, operations like Operation Delta Safe and Operation Dakartada Barawo, along with the contributions of various security entities, state and local governments, and International Oil Companies (IOCs) in the Niger Delta region have yielded positive results.
“These efforts have led to an increase in oil production, reaching 1.51 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2023.
This figure marks an improvement from the 1.49 million barrels per day recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and is notably higher than the production volume of 1.34 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Despite the efforts of certain military personnel and security agencies like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and Department of State Services (DSS) in combating oil theft in the Niger Delta region, there are individuals within these institutions who engage in illicit activities.
“These individuals collaborate with unscrupulous figures within the oil industry to undermine the nation’s economy. It has come to attention that oil theft in Nigeria thrives due to a troubling collaboration between security forces, militia groups, the local population, and certain employees within oil companies.
“These parties employ sophisticated methods to carry out theft from oil facilities located within the country. Given Nigeria’s vast oil and gas reserves, one would expect crude oil production to continuously increase, aligning with OPEC’s production quota of 1.74 million barrels per day.”
