Senate: $300 billion in stolen crude oil from 2015–2025 in Nigeria

According to the Senate’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Incessant and Nefarious Acts of Crude Oil Theft in the Niger Delta and the Actors, which was established on Wednesday, Nigeria has lost almost $300 billion in revenue from its natural resources since 2015.

An investigation by a 23-member commission into crude oil theft and serial sabotage in the Niger Delta has shown systemic errors, inadequate measuring standards, and lax enforcement in the oil and gas industry, leading to unrecorded sales of crude oil.

Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), who presided over the committee, presented its interim report and explained that it was based on public records, oral statements from stakeholders, and written and verbal submissions.

According to him, the interim study, which is 40 pages long, suggests numerous ways to deal with crude oil theft, increase responsibility, and recoup lost funds. Following a thorough evaluation, the committee’s recommendation was that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) ensure that all production sites and export terminals adhere to globally recognised standards for measuring crude oil.

Furthermore, the research strongly suggested that the federal government should provide security services with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. Along with this, it proposed the use of “unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, to combat oil theft and to establish a Maritime Trust Fund to enhance maritime infrastructure and safety.”

The complete implementation of the Host Communities Development Trust Fund under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the formation of special tribunals to prosecute crude oil theft are further recommendations. The report also suggested that the NUPRC should be given control of abandoned wells so that they can be used and managed properly.

It demanded either the return of the Weights and Measures Department to the upstream sector of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment or the stringent implementation and enforcement of globally recognised standards for measuring crude oil at all production sites and export terminals.

Finally, the committee recommends giving the Weights and Measures Department the authority to equip all manufacturing facilities and export terminals with cutting-edge measuring equipment. It was mentioned that this will enhance the oil and gas industry’s capacity for precise measurement, openness, and responsibility.

A suggestion that generated an immediate controversy among MPs was the committee’s desire to be given the authority to “track, trace, and recover” any crude oil that had been stolen, regardless of where it had been taken.

Some senators praised the committee’s work, but they warned against going far with legislative authority.

While praising the report’s “detailed and commendable” nature, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) contended that the committee’s purview should not encompass the direct restoration of embezzled monies.

What the Senate cannot do about recovery is track and trace, he stated. Before referring the matter to organisations like the EFCC or ICPC, the committee should detail the losses, where they occurred, and provide a report.

Based on the consultant studies provided in the document, Senator Ningi found that crude oil income was $81 billion short in 2016 and 2017 and $200 billion in unexplained earnings from 2015 until now.

Ningi has further support from Senator Solomon Adeola, who chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations and argues that the executive branch should be in charge of the recovery effort.

“Before moving forward, the committee should provide additional information, including names of companies, figures, and locations. The Senate does not have the authority to recover funds; that responsibility should be with the appropriate agencies,” he said.

A more thorough final report should be requested to identify all “actors” associated with the theft, the particular wells and rigs impacted, and the amounts of crude oil lost due to unlawful bunkering and pipeline leakages. Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (PDP, Gombe South) is among the senators who have made this request.

We need to know who these people are because their names appear in the report’s title. A tangled web of illicit refineries, persons, and businesses. Dankwambo stated that rig-by-rig and well-by-well data is necessary.

Senator Godswill Akpabio, who is president of the Senate, praised the committee’s members for their “thorough and courageous work” in his remarks, but he agreed with his colleagues that the Senate could not immediately claw back stolen cash.

Tracking and tracing is our responsibility. The government is responsible for recovery as a distinct mandate. Still, he urged the committee to keep working on the report until it was complete.

The estimated $300 billion in crude oil losses were characterised by the Senate President as “staggering.” He emphasised the need for immediate changes and stronger supervision of Nigeria’s petroleum sector in light of these losses.

Subsequently, the Red Chamber decided to accept the interim report and gave the ad hoc committee more time to investigate before submitting a comprehensive report with thorough conclusions and concrete suggestions.