Nigeria lost $1 billion in revenue during the first quarter of this year due to crude oil theft, the petroleum regulator said on Friday, warning the practise was a threat to the economy of Africa’s top producer.
Nigeria loses millions of barrels of crude oil a year because of theft and vandalism including tapping of crude from a maze of pipelines owned by oil majors, underscoring how poor security causes vast financial losses for the country.
“This indicates that over nine million barrels of oil was lost to crude oil theft this amounts to a loss in government revenue of about $1 billion … in just one quarter,” Komolafe said in a statement.
Crude oil theft has increased to a daily average of 108,000 barrels in the first quarter of 2022 from 103,000 barrels in 2021, Komolafe said.
The theft has resulted in the declaration of force majeure at Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal, a pipeline transporting crude from the oil-rich Niger Delta to export vessels, among others, creating a hostile environment and disincentive to investors.
Nigeria’s oil minister Timipre Sylva said last week he expected to see some improvement in security in the sector, enabling Nigeria to meet its OPEC production quota by the end of August.
