Nigeria Lost N4.57tn Revenue to Crude Oil Theft In 4 Years

February 12: Nigeria lost a approximately N4.57 trillion to oil theft activities in the four years between 2015 and 2018, according to estimates by the Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC). This equates to the Federal Government having lost approximately 43 per cent of its revenue to oil theft in four years.

Last October, Nigeria officially became the “oil theft capital of the world” when the NNRC released data suggesting that the highest ever reported crude oil theft in the world took place in Nigeria.

The sobering statistics emphasised that Nigeria, as the most notorious country in the world for oil theft, lost roughly 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), dwarfing the figure (between 5,000 and 10,000 bpd) posted by Mexico, who came distant second by at least 3,900%.

More than one fourth of Nigeria’s average daily production (1.57 million bpd as of December 2019) is estimated to currently be lost to oil theft.

According to the NNRC October 2019 study, revenue lost by the Federal Government between 2011 and 2014 ranged from $7 billion to $12 billion (between N2.545 trillion and N4.362 trillion) every year.

Source: Ripples Nigeria