Nigeria records 148 cases of crude oil theft in eight days – NNPCL

Statistics by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has revealed that Nigeria recorded 148 incidents of crude oil theft in eight days.

The NNPCL said the incidents for the period in view occured between September 2 and 8, 2023.

According to the information shared through the company’s official X (formerly known as Twitter) account on Tuesday, September 12, a series of incidents were also identified, including the discovery of 78 illegal refineries, 14 AIS infractions involving vessels, 8 instances of illegal connections, 34 arrests related to wooden boats, 8 vehicle-related arrests, the detection of 4 oil spills, 1 vessel arrest, and 1 incident of pipeline vandalism.

Providing further details about the vessel arrest, the NNPCL report specified that the MV Ofuoma was apprehended by security agents at Abuloma Jetty in Rivers State.

The vessel was found to be transporting 57,000 litres of illegally refined diesel.

Of the total incidents documented, 14 occurred in the Deep Blue Sea, 48 in the Western region, 31 in the Central region, and 55 in the Eastern region within the oil-producing areas of the Niger Delta.

These incidents took place in various locations across different states including Delta State,Udu East, Ughelli North, Warri, Ajatito, Bayelsa State, Oporomor IV, Imiringi, Rivers State, Egorobiri, Creek,Gokana, Iba community, Emuoha, Rumuji, Degema, Gbolobiri, Omumma, Oduala, Bille, Imo State and Oguta.

Recall that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas last week Thursday said Nigeria lost N16.25 trillion to crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020.

The Speaker said the menace of crude oil theft had hampered the growth of the country’s oil production, with between five and 30 per cent of crude oil production lost daily.