The recent distribution of the National Production Monitoring System (NPMS) by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), could present an end to crude oil theft as well as promote transparency in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
DPR have been tracking production – The agency has been able to track petroleum production and its movement, report back to the country on the the actual quantity of crude oil produced and from which field, its volume, and leakages.
There is also the COLT – The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, said they also have the COLT which was created for the purpose of tracking crude oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vessels, from the point of export up to the final destination real time.
About the NPMS
The National Production Monitoring System is an electronic system put in place by the Department of Petroleum Resources to ensure that the production of oil and gas are monitored, in an efficient and effective way on daily, weekly or monthly basis and also to report same to the appropriate authorities and other government agencies that use production and gas data input .
The creation of this system was an initiative of PEF – The creation of the system was an initiative of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).
It was put in place to improve revenue generation for government through proper production accounting.
It will help determine royalty payment – NPMS as anticipated, will empower the DPR to better determine the royalty payable and issue demand notice on companies.
Crude oil theft in Nigeria
Crude oil theft in Nigeria has continued unabated despite the steps taken by the government and oil companies to tackle the problem.
Crude oil theft is an economic threat to the country – Besides the lost to the revenue typically lost by the government due to the problem, crude oil theft also poses as an economic threat to the Nigerian State, in that it undermines development strategies and springs social disorder.
Reports by Oil Price shows that at the peak of the crude oil theft in 2011 and 2014, Nigeria lost over $25 billion to crude oil theft.
In 2016 and 2017, the Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC), recorded that Nigeria lost about N1.6 trillion and N995 billion respectively to crude oil theft. This indicates a loss of about $8.9 million daily and a combined loss of N2.6 trillion over the two-year period.