Oil thieves frustrate efforts to curb $7bn revenue loss

Crude oil theft, which is denying Nigeria about $7bn in revenue annually, has shown no sign of easing despite stakeholders’ efforts to stop it.

In view of its effects on revenue generation and budget implementation, our correspondent learnt that the Federal Government had become frustrated and was considering a new approach to tackle the problem.

President Goodluck Jonathan has thus directed governors in oil producing states, service chiefs and multinational companies to work out an aggressive approach.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, confirmed this, lamenting the high rate of oil theft was adversely affecting the country’s revenue.

Diezani had in 2012 said the country was losing approximately 180,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily to oil theft.

The International Energy Agency also said Nigeria was losing about $7bn annually to oil theft.

Already, the Federal Government had lost N191bn ($1.23bn) to oil theft and vandalism in the first quarter of the year as crude theft continued to flourish.

The Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Tumini Green, said there had been a significant drop in crude oil production for the first quarter of 2013 due to incessant crude oil theft and vandalism along the major pipelines within the Niger Delta.

She said daily crude oil production during the period fluctuated between 2.1 million and 2.3 million barrels per day compared with the projected estimate of 2.48mbpd.