The House of Representatives yesterday resolved to investigate crude oil theft to the tune of $4 billion, with a view to curbing economic loss to the country and ensuring that everyone involved was brought to book.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion on the “Need to Investigate Crude Oil Theft and Loss of Revenue Accrued from the Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria” brought by Philip Agbese.
Agbese stated that in recent times, the media had been replete with news of the loss of trillions of naira as a result of crude oil theft and loss of revenue from oil and gas exploration in the country.
He said: “According to reports, about 40 per cent of crude oil loss is due to inaccuracies in measurement, and theft as metering errors continue to occur as a result of poor maintenance of metering facilities, thus resulting in lack of transparency in hydrocarbon accounting.”
He said reports revealed that in 2021 alone, Nigeria lost $4 billion to oil theft at the rate of 200,000 barrels per day, adding that the figures had risen since then.
According to him, security agencies are allegedly complicit and largely responsible for facilitating most of the oil theft in the Niger Delta.
Agbese stressed further that the military had been accused severally of being behind 99 per cent of oil theft, wondering why the federal government had not taken action to address the malfeasance.
“A 2022 report by the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, NEITI, revealed that about 619.7 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $46.1 6billion have been stolen in the last 12 years, while stakeholders have often described crude oil theft in the country as an organized crime perpetrated by the elite.
“In spite of the huge funds appropriated to adequately equip Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies, their performance in terms of curbing oil theft has been abysmal.
“Despite the enormous resources at the disposal of the NNPC Ltd and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, they have, in active connivance with national and multinational oil and gas companies, allegedly continued to sabotage every effort to ensure an effective running of metering facilities at the well heads, flow stations, loading platforms.
“If crude oil theft is allowed to go on unhindered, it will result in, not only devastating consequences to the country’s economy, but will also gravely impact the environment, health and social life of the host communities,” he said.
The motion was referred to a yet-to-be-constituted ad hoc committee when constituted, to report back to the House within four weeks.