The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno, has warned the Federal Government of an impending loss of about $23 billion in 2023 if the menace of crude oil theft persists in the country.
Monguno gave this warning on Tuesday, at the inauguration of a special investigation panel set up to check crude oil theft in the country, according to Nairametrics.
According to NSA, its fear is bothered on the fact that Nigeria currently only produces one million barrels of crude oil per day, as against the two million barrels daily target allocated to it by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Monguno also expressed fear as regards the poor revenues accruing to the government from the oil sector. He, therefore, charged members of the newly inaugurated committee to work towards reducing the menace. The committee is also expected to submit its report by February 21, 2023.
In October, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation announced that it had uncovered an illegal 4-kilometre pipeline connected from Forcados Terminal and operated for 9 years with about 600,000 barrels per day of oil lost in the same period.
