Despite losses to crude oil theft, Nigeria has made $831.14bn from Oil & Gas within 24 years, according to NEITINEITI also revealed that within 9 years, Nigeria has also lost over 701 million barrels of oil to crude oil thievesNEITI is calling for infrastructural development in the gas sector, as well as Nigeria’s solid minerals exploration
Henzodaily.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
Nigeria has generated over $831 billion in revenue from the oil and gas sector between 1999 and 2023.
This is according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
While presenting its 16-cycle reports across 78 firms in Nigeria’s extractive industry to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Monday, the NEITI Executive Secretary, Ogbonnaya Orji noted that this figure does not include the sums lost to crude theft over the years.
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This period runs from 1999 to 2023, and excludes the amounts lost to crude oil theft.
Photo credit: Gallo/Nurphoto
Source: Getty Images
He disclosed that since 2009 when NEITI started keeping track of the losses, Nigeria has lost more than 701.48 million barrels to crude oil thieves.
These findings were presented to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada, Channels TV reports.
The NEITI boss called for the development of Nigeria’s gas infrastructure, noting that it would take a consistent investment of about $20 billion annually for the next decade, to bring it up to global standards.
Nigeria made N1.56 trillion from solid minerals
From 2021 to 2023, Nigeria also raked in up to N1.56 trillion from the solid minerals sector, even though this still accounts for less than 1% of Nigeria’s GDP.
This does not include an outstanding revenue of $6.1 billion in royalties still yet to be recovered by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
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Orji noted that the government’s effort to improve the contribution of solid minerals to the GDP had not made much difference in this regard.
The NEITI report reveals that top states with commercial activities around solid minerals include; Ogun, Kogi, Cross Rivers states, and the FCT Abuja.
If Nigeria’s solid minerals sector will overcome its challenges, there is a need to review the Solid Minerals Act to improve operations.
Concerns over the PIA
Mr. Orji pointed out the need for the government to develop a clear strategy to implement the Petroleum Industry Act in a manner that requires minimal oversight.
He noted that even though a committee was set up to develop an implementation framework, the committee did not complete its work or handover properly when a new government came in May 2023.
In response to the reports, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts has said it will summon the NNPCL, FIRS, and NUPRC to a public hearing on their revenue generation drive.
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NNPC uncovers crude theft
In related news, Henzodaily.ng recently reported that NNPCL uncovered more than 50 illegal refineries being operated by crude oil thieves in one week.
By the end of the two-week anti-crude theft operations, over 100 illegal refineries had been discovered and almost 200 theft incidents truncated.
Some of these discoveries were made in locations across Bayelsa, Abia and Rivers states within the first two weeks of January 2025.
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Source: Henzodaily.ng