National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu has confirmed that Nigeria is still losing 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to local and international thieves, activities that continue to impact the country’s oil economy and revenue:
Ribadu on Saturday led a presidential delegation to inspect oil and gas facilities at Ozawa in Abia and Odogwa in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He said that despite the efforts of government to end the menace, the activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals had impacted negatively on the nation’s economy and were partly responsible for the rising cost of living in the country.
“It’s unfortunate that few individuals would steal our common resources, and in the process cause unbelievable loss to both the nation, communities and the people,” the NSA noted.
He continued that “Nigeria has the capacity to produce 2 million barrels of crude daily, but we are currently producing less than 1.6 million barrels due to theft and vandalism of pipelines.
“So, we are talking about 400,000 barrels of crude oil going to waste with few criminals and economic saboteurs not even getting much out of it,” he said.
The NSA explained the operators of artisanal refineries collect a small quantity of crude oil whenever they broke the pipelines while larger volumes of oil spill on the environment.
“The value of 400,000 barrels of oil today is about 4 million dollars, and every day, we lose this amount because of this irresponsible behaviour.
“If you multiply 4 million dollars by 365 days (one year), you will see that it is a lot of money running into billions of dollars.
“Currently, the country is in desperate need of money as the naira is continuously losing its value because we earn less money.
“If we earn more money, it will not only help strengthen our currency but reflect in everything, including cost of living in the country,” he added.
The NSA said the President Bola Tinubu administration was concerned about the development and was already taking actionable steps to address the matter.
