Sylva confirms Nigeria bleeds money despite efforts to stop oil theft
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Petroleum Minister of State Timipre Sylva says thieves are still stealing 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Nigeria’s oil production which poses further threat to a national economy on the precipice.
Oil price currently hovers between $100 and $110 per barrel (pb). Taken at an average $100 pb, Nigeria is losing $40 million per day to oil thieves – and $1.2 billion per month.
Sylva told Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma when he held a meeting with him at Government House, Owerri that financial losses from oil theft are crippling the economy.
Oil theft is a “national emergency,” he said, as Nigeria “has fallen short of OPEC daily quota, from 1.8 million barrels to 1.4 million barrels, due to crude theft” and the menace has persisted despite efforts by the government to stop it.
“It is a national emergency because the theft has grown wings and reached a very bad crescendo. This is because the thefts are taking place in the communities that host the oil pipelines.
“As a result, it has become necessary to involve the stakeholders, especially the host communities.”
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Oil theft scares investors
“And because of the height and orchestrated nature of the menace, Nigeria could not take the advantage and opportunities that abound in the gas production.
“This is because no investor would want to invest where there is incessant insecurity and vandalism of the infrastructure,” Sylva said, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reported by Nairametrics.
He urged stakeholders to collaborate to solve the problem and commended Uzodimma for his efforts to ensure Imo remains safe and standing on its economic legs.
Backstory
Nigeria lost $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2022 (Q1 2022), as disclosed by Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe.
Only about 132 million barrels of the 141 million barrels produced in the quarter were received at export terminals, he added.
Finance Ministry data for Q1 2022 shows
- Federal government oil revenue share – N285.38 billion (39 per cent of target)
- Non-oil tax revenue – N632.56 billion – (84 per cent)
- Company Income Tax (CIT) – N298.83 billion (99 per cent)
- Value Added Tax – N102.97 billion (98 per cent)