Nigeria loses $10bn to oil theft in 7 years – Abbas

By Christiana Ekpa

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Tajudeen Abbas on Thursday revealed that Nigeria lost an estimated 437,000 barrels of crude oil daily, valued at over $10 billion, due to theft, vandalism, and other criminal activities, between January and July 2024
Abbas, who said this at a public hearing on crude oil theft in Abuja, emphasized the need to address corruption in the oil sector, citing cumulative revenue losses and environmental degradation.
Represented by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, the Speaker noted that the federal government aims to increase oil production to 2.6 million barrels per day by 2027 and 4 million barrels per day by 2030.
The speaker noted that another nagging issue in the oil and gas sector, which the nation must tackle is corruption. “Sadly, corruption has inflicted serious damage to the national economy through cumulative loss of revenue over the years.
“Apart from reduced government revenue to address the multi-faceted challenges of national development, other problems associated with crude oil theft include environmental degradation, heightened insecurity in the form of piracy, kidnapping, militancy and vandalism, and the shut-down of production by many companies among others”.
According to Abbas, “If we must make progress as a nation, renew the hope of Nigerians and meet their yearnings, this appalling situation cannot be allowed to continue unabated.
“This is even more compelling in view of the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to increase oil production to 2.6 million barrels per day by 2027 and 4 million barrels per day by 2030.
“To achieve these targets, the president had promised to ensure collaboration between security agencies and oil industry operators to stem the tide of oil theft.
“It is against the backdrop of this declaration that the president recently directed the Chief of Defence Staff to deal decisively with oil theft and pipeline vandalism within the shortest possible time in order to restore national production to the level befitting the status of Nigeria as one of the largest oil producers in the world.
The Secretary to Government of the Federation, George Akume on his part said the federal government has invested considerable resources in combating this menace disclosing that “Since 2020, expenditure aimed at addressing crude oil theft and securing our oil infrastructure has exceeded $1.5 billion USD.
“These funds have been allocated towards enhancing surveillance capabilities, securing pipelines, and increasing the presence of law enforcement agencies in critical oil-producing areas”.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary (General Services), Maurice Nnamdi, the SGF lamented that the magnitude of oil theft in Nigeria is staggering, adding that Nigeria has faced an alarming rise in crude oil theft, resulting in substantial losses that have devastating implications for our economy and national security.
“The statistics are staggering. For example, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) 2020 Oil and Gas Report indicates that 619 million barrels of crude valued at $46 billion were stolen in the period 2009-2020.
“Therefore, Nigeria has continually failed to meet its daily production quota as set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“This not only undermines our revenues but also hampers the provision of essential services that millions of Nigerians rely upon”.