Nigeria loses $2bn of crude oil to thieves every month — Petroleum Minister

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva has stated that Nigeria loses at least 700,000 barrels of crude oil to thieves daily.

He disclosed this in Effurun, Delta, on Saturday at the 2022 graduation of students of Petroleum Training Institute (PTI).

The minister who was represented by Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources said the Federal Government was making concerted efforts to curtail the menace, however.

He said crude oil theft had impacted negatively on the nation’s foreign exchange inflow.

NewsWireNGR using the price of crude oil per barrel as displayed on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for October 17 was able to deduce the average loss per day for the government based on this assertion was $68,523,000.

With the $97.89 per barrel price and daily loss of $68,523,000, this means the country is losing at least $2,055,690,000 per month (using 30 days).

“Oil theft has denied the country of an estimated 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The adverse effect of this is the drop in the production of crude oil and decline in the national income,’’ he said.

He said the petroleum ministry would synergise with the National Assembly to ensure that adequate attention was given to the amendment of the PTI Act.

Sylva said that the institute could achieve more if the PTI Act was amended to enable the institute to have access to more funding.

He said the ministry had given PTI mandates in different areas of research into use of local materials in crude oil production, stoppage of gas flaring and the commercialisation of gas, among others.

The minister advised the institute to embrace contemporary ways and methods to deliver on its mandates following global rapid changes in technology.