Between January 2021 and February 2022, Nigeria lost a whopping sum of $3.2bn to crude oil theft, the Federal Government has said.
The amount, when converted by the official N416.25 to a dollar exchange rate, translates to about N1.36trn.
The figure was revealed during a meeting on crude oil theft between the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and Oil Producers Trade Section, as well as the Independent Petroleum Producers Group in Abuja.
In the presentation by the Commission, it was revealed that oil theft rose significantly between 2021 and 2022, with over 90 percent of total crude produced at the Bonny Terminal stolen in January 2022.
According to a report on the trend in oil theft, the NUPRC said that, based on its findings, the average monthly value loss for the period is about $233.99m, while the average daily value loss for the period is about $7.72m.
It was gathered that losses are recorded mainly from Bonny Terminal Network, Forcados Terminal Network (and) Brass Terminal Network.
It stated, “Total value loss for the period January 2021 to February 2022 is about $3.27bn.
“Average monthly value loss for the period is about $233.99m. The average daily value loss for the period is about $7.72m.
“Losses are mainly from Bonny Terminal Network, Forcados Terminal Network (and) Brass Terminal Network.”
On the impact of this menace, the NUPRC in its report stated that government revenue was adversely affected, as revenue accruing to the operators had been impacted negatively.
The NUPRC said there had been a loss of value arising from surging costs due to frequent repairs of damaged facilities.
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