According to Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Nigeria lost N16.3 trillion to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020.
Approximately 620 million barrels of crude oil were lost during that time, he claimed, making it a national emergency to combat the twin threats of pipeline damage and crude oil theft.
During his keynote speech at the Nigeria International Pipeline & Security Conference in Abuja, the Executive Secretary disclosed the information.
Speaking on the subject of “Pipeline Security, Oil Theft, and the Implications for Economic Growth,” he stated that bolstering security surrounding the nation’s gas and oil pipeline network was essential to the continuous quest for answers to the unsolvable problems of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
He emphasised that in order to improve national economic growth and regain investors’ confidence in the nation’s oil and gas industry, solutions to the problem must be found.
Orji stated that pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft pose major risks to the nation’s oil and gas exploration and exploitation as well as to the economic growth, business opportunities, and profits made by oil companies. Orji was referring to the recently released NEITI 2021 Oil and Gas Industry Report.
According to NEITI’s 2021 Oil and Gas Industry Report, which was published last month, the industry generated 19,171 employment, 72.26% of Nigeria’s total exports, foreign exchange earnings for the government, and 40.55% of government income.
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The country has not yet benefited as much from its oil and gas resources as it could have, Orji said, “but it is undeniable that despite the strategic contributions, there is oil theft and losses through pipeline vandalism, pipeline integrity compromise, outright sabotage, and general insecurity in the oil-producing region.”
Dr. Orji stated that in addition to the discoveries documented in NEITI’s reports throughout the years, the organization’s participation in the Special Investigative Panel on Oil Theft and Losses has provided new insights into the methods used in crude oil theft.
In order to illegally syphon crude oil into waiting vessels stationed in strategic terminals, he claimed that pipeline clamping, illegal connections (ICs) on major pipeline systems, pipeline breakages, and vandalism of important national assets were the main methods used to commit this crime.
According to the NEITI Chief, these illicit activities typically occur in an environment where community members conspire to remain silent and cooperate with government agents tasked with stopping unlawful activity.
In addition to the empirical data of oil theft and losses above, Dr. Orji highlighted the extent of losses Nigeria was suffering as a result of the crime by stating that between 2009 and 2018, the country lost approximately 4.2 billion litres of refined petroleum products from refineries, valued at over $1.84 billion at an average rate of 140,000 barrels per day.
