Nigeria Loses N1.3 Trillion Due To Oil Theft, Report Says

Nigeria lost $2 billion, or N1.3 trillion, to oil theft between January and August this year, according to a report by Ad-Hoc Committee set up to investigate oil theft and consequent damage to the nation's economy

According to the report, two-thirds of the country's oil production is effectively guaranteed, while the remaining third was affected by theft and loss of production.

"The country has lost over $2 Billion to oil theft between January and August 2022, which lost revenue ordinarily would have supported the country, fiscal deficits, and budget implementation," the report said.

Senator Albert Bassey Akpan (PDP, Akwa Ibom), who chairs the senate committee on oil production, stated that theft has caused major damage to the country's oil production capacity and has resulted in the loss of about $2bn this year alone.

He further added that major export facilities, the Bonny and Forcados Terminals, were shut down for several months due to oil theft.

He, however, noted that the recent pipeline surveillance contract to address oil theft was yielding positive results as the country's oil production capacity increased.

The report also noted that the concerted efforts made by all to mitigate the damage have started yielding results with Forcados Terminal producing 500,000 barrels per day, as opposed to zero production in the first six months of the year.

Also, Bonny Terminals is now producing 87,000 barrels of oil per day, according to the report.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) had assigned the surveillance contract to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), a company linked to Tompolo, a former Niger Delta militant leader, in September.

The Senate, on Apr. 14, 2022, constituted a 13-member ad-hoc committee on oil lifting, theft, and its impact on petroleum production and oil revenues under the chairmanship of Senator Akpan Bassey, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream).

The committee's report, which was adopted by the Senate in plenary on Tuesday, included recommendations for preventing oil theft.

However, the report failed to name a single person or corporate entity carrying out the oil theft.