Nigeria Loses $33m Daily to Oil Thieves

Wale Tinubu, chairman of Oando Energy Resources, has said that Nigeria may be losing about $33 million daily to theft as the activities of oil thieves have risen from 400,000 barrels per day, bpd to 600,000 bpd in the Niger Delta.

Tinubu who spoke at the just concluded Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference in Abuja said that oil theft had badly affected the nation in many ways.

He said about 30 per cent of the nation’s 2.2 million barrels daily output is stolen and export illegally to operate illegal refineries and export to foreign markets.

“Oil theft in Nigeria is believed to be about 6 -30 percent of the country’s daily production. Nigeria currently imports petroleum products even though it’s the 13th largest oil producer,” he said.

Tinubu advised the government to create bi-lateral relations with growing energy dependent economies such as India & China in order to attract more patronage for its crude oil and gas as well as ensure improved regulation and attractive fiscal terms to encourage foreign investments & confidence in the oil industry,’ he said.

He said government should also ensure efficient security measures are in place to prevent bunkering and oil theft in the nation, adding that Nigeria should adopt and implement adequate measures targeted at eliminating gas flaring in the nation.

“Gas flares the second largest amount of gas in the world. Flaring about 18 per cent of the associated gas Nigeria lacks proper gas distribution and transportation systems,” he said. He said over 70 per cent of Africa’s population has no access to electricity, which acts as a fundamental brake on development in the region.

“Nigeria has the largest gas reserves which are sufficient to power up the country and still export energy to other African countries,” he remarked. He said turbines should be established at gas flaring sites to convert gas to power at various oil producing areas.

Tinubu said efforts should be made to open new markets for the nation’s oil as crude oil and petroleum products exports to USA have dropped by 67 per cent to 33 mbls in 2014.

“Nigeria’s oil production has remained stagnant since 2010 as foreign investments inflow have reduced over the last 5 years 32 per cent,” he said. He said given the importance of crude oil derivative products, crude oil must be refined into consumable products to maximize revenue generation for stakeholders, including the government.

Tinubu also called for urgent development of the power sector, especially through increased supply of gas to thermal plants.

“Over 70per cent of Africa’s population have no access to electricity, which acts as a fundamental brake on development in the region,” he said.

He said the government and others should make massive investments in gas infrastructure including pipelines, compressors, gas tanks and gas refineries for processing and delivery of gas to the end user.

“Nigeria has the largest gas reserves which are sufficient to power up the country and still export energy to other African Countries,” he added.