There were 148 occurrences of crude oil theft registered between September 2 and August 8, 2023, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
This information was delivered via the company’s official Twitter account on Tuesday, September 12.
According to NNPCL, a number of incidents were discovered during the specified time period, including the discovery of 78 illegal refineries, 14 AIS violations involving vessels, 8 instances of unauthorized connections, 34 arrests involving wooden boats, 8 arrests involving vehicles, the detection of 4 oil spills, 1 vessel arrest, and 1 incident of pipeline vandalism.
The NNPCL report provided additional information about the vessel seizure, stating that security personnel detained the MV Ofuoma at the Abuloma Jetty in Rivers State.
It was discovered that the ship was carrying 57,000 liters of illegally refined fuel.
In the Niger Delta’s oil-producing regions, 14 of the total accidents were reported to have taken place in the Deep Blue Sea, 48 in the Western region, 31 in the Central region, and 55 in the Eastern region.
Here is a breakdown of the incidents by state that occurred in various locations throughout several states:
Delta State
Udu East
Ughelli North
Warri
Ajatito
Bayelsa State
Oporomor IV
Imiringi
Rivers State
Egorobiri Creek
Gokana
Iba community
Emuoha
Rumuji
Degema
Gbolobiri
Omumma
Oduala
Bille
Imo State
For many years, Nigeria has struggled with the problem of crude oil theft.
However, as the government and organizations like the Nigerian Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative work to quantify the financial losses that are limiting economic progress within the oil and gas sector, this issue has recently attracted the attention of the general public more and more.
Nigeria’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbass, recently lamented that the country had lost an astounding $46 billion (or N16.25 trillion) in the preceding 11 years owing to crude oil theft.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries had set a production quota for Nigeria, and NEITI had previously emphasized how this threat was impeding Nigeria from reaching that goal.
The Nigerian Air Force has revealed plans to purchase two planes expressly for combating this issue within the country in response to the government’s commitment to stop crude oil theft.
This information was provided to the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee, which is tasked with looking into oil theft and revenue loss on behalf of the federal government, by the Nigerian Air Force’s Director of Operations, AVM Abdul Ganiyu.
He stated that pilot training for flying the available aircraft was already underway and would be completed by the end of September 2023, when it is anticipated to be deployed.
With this strategy, Nigeria’s ongoing issue of crude oil theft will be significantly reduced.
