Stakeholders and groups have called for tougher measures to contain the massive oil theft in Nigeria, not only to eradicate the scourge but to bring perpetrators to justice.
Nigeria has consistently blamed massive oil theft, declining investment, and outright sabotage for its inability to meet 1.5 million barrels a day bpd OPEC quota.
This is as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country have explained why oil bunkering and oil theft persist in Nigeria, attributing it to corruption and the activities of State actors.
According to the CSOs, no country in the world is unserious about protecting its assets, but that Nigeria’s situation is different because powerful people in the government are involved.and urged the Government to do something urgent about it.
Oil theft continues to thrive in the Niger-Delta region, with allegations of community involvement, ranging from State actors, traditional rulers, youths and community leaders.
A survey of oil production for March carried out by S&P Global Commodity Insights found that Nigeria’s crude oil production declined marginally to 1.45 million barrels per day (bpd), from the 1.47 million bpd the previous month.
Although output has generally increased this year, Nigeria’s Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production figures have been largely inconsistent.
The Federal Government blames massive oil theft, declining investment in the oil and gas sector, and outright sabotage, among others, as reasons for its inability to meet its current revised 1.5 million bpd output, from 1.8 million bpd in 2023.
But in all, OPEC+ crude output in March was up slightly month-on-month, as several producers continued to exceed their quotas, the Platts OPEC+ survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights hinted.
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At the moment, some civil society groups will be launching a global campaign towards addressing sabotage in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Speaking to newsmen, Taiwo Adeleye, Lateef Abdulazeez and Fredrick Ojauka, in different conversations highlighted the need to deploy new technology to monitor oil fields and pipelines.
“We commend the Nigerian Navy for remarkable efforts to deal with oil theft and the determination to root out illegal refineries which have serious implications on domestic and corporation utility of petroleum products. Military troops deactivated 68 illegal refining sites in Niger Delta”, the coalition said.
The groups said they were impressed by the Navy that recovered 234,000 litres of stolen crude oil. Nigeria remains largely dependent on oil but exploration must take into consideration humanity in the context of environmental and livelihood security.
