The House of Representatives decided yesterday to look into a $4 billion theft of crude oil in order to prevent further economic harm to the nation and make sure that those responsible are held accountable.
The House adopted a motion by Philip Agbese titled “Need to Investigate Crude Oil Theft and Loss of Revenue Accrued from the Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria” after it was presented.
The loss of trillions of naira due to crude oil theft and the decline in revenue from the nation’s oil and gas exploration, according to Agbese, has been widely reported in the media recently.
“According to reports, about 40% of crude oil loss is due to inaccuracies in measurement, theft, and as metering errors continue to occur as a result of poor maintenance of metering facilities, resulting in lack of transparency in hydrocarbon accounting,” he said.
According to reports, Nigeria lost $4 billion in 2021 alone due to oil theft at a rate of 200,000 barrels per day, he claimed, adding that the numbers had since increased.
According to him, security agencies are allegedly complicit and largely in charge of facilitating the majority of oil theft in the Niger Delta.
Agbese emphasized further that the military had previously been blamed for 99% of oil theft, and he questioned why the federal government had not taken enforcement action against the wrongdoing.
According to a NEITI report from 2022, 619.7 million barrels of crude oil worth $46.1 billion have been stolen in the previous 12 years. Stakeholders have frequently referred to crude oil theft in the nation as an organized crime committed by the elite.
The performance of Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies in reducing oil theft has been appalling, despite the enormous funds that have been appropriated to adequately equip them.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and NNPC Ltd. are accused of continuing to sabotage efforts to ensure the efficient operation of metering facilities at well heads, flow stations, and loading platforms despite having access to enormous resources. They are alleged to have done this with the active cooperation of national and multinational oil and gas companies.
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He warned that if crude oil theft is allowed to continue unchecked, it would have disastrous effects on not only the nation’s economy but also the environment, people’s health, and community life.
The motion was referred to an unnamed ad hoc committee, which will be named after it, and will have four weeks to report its findings to the House.
