Key highlights
- Between 2009 and 2020, Nigeria lost N16.25 trillion to crude oil theft.
- NEITI is asking civil society to sustain advocacy on sector reforms
- In 2021, NEITI had provided recommendations to NNPCL and the Federal Government on strategies to stem crude oil theft in the country.
The Nigerian Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said that the country lost 619.7 million barrels of oil to crude oil theft in 12 years.
This was disclosed by by NEITI’s Executive Secretary Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji during the Policy dialogue on the Utilization of Beneficial Ownership Data in the Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria’s Crude Swap Deals. The event was held on Thursday, April 13 in Abuja.
Losses to crude oil theft
During the policy dialogue, Dr. Orji said that the country has lost a lot to crude oil theft and he called on civil society to sustain advocacy for sector reforms. He said:
- “The NEITI policy brief on crude oil theft and data pulled from NEITI industry reports of the oil and gas sector showed that between 2009 and 2020 (a 12-year period), Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at $46.16 billion or N16.25 trillion. The volume of crude oil losses represents a loss of more than 140 thousand barrels per day.
- “Between 2009 and 2018, Nigeria also lost 4.2 billion litres of petroleum products from refineries valued at $1.84 billion. These findings and recommendations on tackling crude oil theft have been submitted to the President through the Presidential Committee on Crude Oil Theft in which NEITI also served as a member.
- “The committee has concluded its work and submitted its report to the President. The Committee did an excellent job with far reaching recommendations. I will like to commend the office of the NSA that coordinated that Panel’s work.”
According to Dr. Orji, the civil society needs to urgently target issues in the oil and gas sector, so they can advocate and set an agenda for the incoming administration.
NEITI’s commitment to eradicate crude oil theft
In 2021, Nairametrics reported that NEITI had made some recommendations to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited on putting a stop to crude oil theft. Some of these recommendations include; proper surveillance (land-based, and aerial satellite photography and geophones trenched pipelines) updating its pipeline networks to minimize vandalism and crude oil theft.
NEITI had also advised the Federal Government to ensure the success of oil and gas industrial parks in the Niger Delta which will ensure the development of oil and gas infrastructure in the oil-producing states and create employment for the populace in the Niger Delta region.
Advocating for transparency in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector
According to Dr. Orji, the policy dialogue, which was held in collaboration with Policy Alert, has an overall goal to enable governments, companies, and civil society can evaluate the issue of oil swaps and proffer evidence-based policy recommendations for the incoming administration on efficient and effective management of the country’s resources.”
This is a testament to NEITI’s push for transparency in the sector. In an April 2023 Agora Policy Report, NEITI was used as a reference point for pushing for transparency in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry through sector audits, which have stoked citizens’ interest in sector governance. A part of the Agora report had stated:
- “The work of NEITI has opened a sector previously renowned for opacity. NEITI’s work has also resulted in the recovery of revenues of over $3 billion for the country and the introduction of several reforms in the still-strategic oil and gas sector.”
