During the opening ceremony of the 2024 NEITI board retreat in Lagos, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Ogbonnaya Orji, unveiled alarming statistics revealing significant losses in Nigeria’s oil sector.
According to NEITI, Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of oil valued at $46.16 billion over a 12-year period from 2009 to 2020.
Additionally, between 2009 and 2018, the country lost $1.84 billion worth of petroleum products from its refineries, equivalent to 4.2 billion litres, due to oil theft.
Orji highlighted the impact of these losses on Nigeria’s economy, prompting previous administrations to establish a special panel to address oil theft and losses.
He emphasized the need for the current administration to review and implement NEITI’s recommendations, aimed at curbing these pervasive challenges in the upstream oil sector.
The theft, pipeline vandalism, and other issues affecting crude production have significantly hindered local refineries’ access to sufficient crude oil.
This situation has posed challenges for major oil companies supplying crude to projects like the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other modular refineries in Nigeria.
NEITI’s report includes actionable recommendations aimed at halting oil theft and enhancing transparency in Nigeria’s oil industry, urging immediate governmental action to mitigate further economic losses.
