The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has announced a significant reduction in crude oil losses, dropping to 9,600 barrels per day as of September 11, 2025.
This marks the lowest level of crude oil losses since 2009, representing a 90% reduction from the 102,900 barrels lost in 2021.
The commission’s statement was in response to a report published by a national newspaper, which claimed that N8.41 trillion had been lost to oil theft between 2021 and July 2025. The NUPRC argued that the report was based on a misinterpretation of crude loss statistics and used an incorrect exchange rate to sensationalize the figures.
According to the NUPRC, the actual exchange rate was less than N430 on the official market and barely N600/$1 on average between 2021 and mid-2023.
The commission attributed the reduction in crude oil losses to collaborative efforts between the NUPRC, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the military, operators, and other stakeholders.
The NUPRC’s initiatives, including the “Project 1 Million Barrels,” implementation of metering audits, and restoration of shut-in strings, have contributed to the increase in oil production.
The NUPRC pointed out several flaws in the report, including substantial reduction in crude losses, incorrect exchange rate usage, and flawed methodology.
The commission emphasized that the report’s calculation of N8.41 trillion in losses was based on an assumed exchange rate of N1,500 to $1 applied uniformly from 2021 to 2025, which is grossly inaccurate.
The NUPRC insists that the decline in losses has positively impacted Nigeria’s broader economy, with the National Bureau of Statistics recently reporting a 4.23% growth in the economy, driven largely by increased oil production alongside growth in other sectors.
The NUPRC highlights several key initiatives under its leadership that have helped sustain progress, including comprehensive metering audits to improve accuracy and transparency, increased rig counts and improved facility uptime to enhance operational efficiency, and development of alternative crude evacuation routes to mitigate supply disruptions.
The commission stated that Nigeria now has the technical capacity to produce more than two million barrels daily and is actively mobilizing industry stakeholders to fully unlock this potential.
