The Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has clarified that contrary to the 400,000 barrels of crude oil bandied as being stolen by oil thieves in Nigeria, the actual volume of crude stolen daily is 60,000 barrels.
Speaking to journalists in Ogun State at the weekend, Uduaghan noted that the 60,000 barrels per day stolen by thieves is still unacceptably high as some oil companies operating in the country do not produce up to such volume.
“When you hear 400,000 barrels per day, it does not mean that it is 400,000 barrels that is stolen. What it simply means is that in the process of stealing the crude, it affects some of the oil wells. So, the operators shut down the wells.
When they shut down like that, they are not producing like 300,000 barrels per day. There is no time the stealing has been more than 100,000 barrels per day. In fact, that was at its peak. In fact, right now, it is less than 60,000 barrels per day. But even at 60,000 barrels per day, it is still unacceptably high because not many companies produce up to 60, 000 barrels per day,” he said.
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