There is a significant miscalculation in determining how much Nigeria is losing in terms of oil theft because oil losses due to other factors are often lumped together as theft.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, told Channels television’s Ladi Akeredolu-Ale on our current affairs programme, Newsnight, that these losses are then blamed on security agencies’ lack of effectiveness.
“We need to understand the differences between oil theft and oil losses. While oil theft is siphoning crude oil from vandalised pipes into barges, oil losses occur when there is known production, especially during shut-ins and force majeures as the Federal Government does not earn the desired revenue it should,” he noted.
“Losses also occur as a result of metering errors on the operating platforms as read. But the volume of crude oil shot-ins from non-production is often added to figures for oil theft instead of declaring them as oil losses. This should not be.”
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Alluding to reports that between 20,000 and 200,000 barrels of crude oil are being stolen daily in Nigeria, Admiral Gambo said 100,000 barrels of crude is the equivalent of 15.8 million litres of crude oil requiring a five-ton barge to make 3,160 trips to convey to a mother vessel within a day.
“Most of these claims are definitely outrageous and unrealistic,” he maintained.
The naval chief insisted that even if there were enough barges to do this, it is highly unlikely given the heightened presence of security forces in the creeks and estuaries as well as the subsisting operations specifically targeted at this type of criminal activity.
For the full interview with the Chief of Naval Staff, do watch Newsnight, Monday, 29th August 2022 at 9 pm on Channels Television.
