By Lagos, Nigeria, July 2024 – The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, has disclosed that Nigeria lost $1.84 billion worth of petroleum products from its refineries over a span of nine years due to theft.
Dr. Orji made this announcement on Monday during the opening ceremony of the 2024 NEITI board retreat and meeting in Lagos. He detailed that between 2009 and 2018, approximately 4.2 billion liters of petroleum products were stolen from refineries, equating to an estimated daily loss of 140,000 barrels.
The increasing trend of oil theft has been a significant concern for Nigeria. According to NEITI’s figures, the 2009 to 2020 audits revealed that Nigeria’s losses to crude oil theft over a 12-year period amounted to 619.7 million barrels, valued at $46.16 billion (N16.25 trillion). Specifically, the theft from refineries between 2009 and 2018 resulted in a loss of 4.2 billion liters of petroleum products valued at $1.84 billion.
Dr. Orji emphasized the adverse effects these losses have had on the economy, noting that the previous administration had established a special panel to study oil theft and losses. He stressed that these ongoing issues necessitate urgent action to mitigate further economic damage.
NEITI has conducted a comprehensive report and made recommendations on addressing oil theft in Nigeria. Dr. Orji urged the current administration to review and implement these recommendations to tackle the problem effectively.
The five-day retreat is seen as a critical opportunity to discuss and develop new strategies for dealing with the challenges of oil theft, illegal mining, pipeline vandalism, and other governance issues contributing to revenue loss and investment discouragement.
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