Oil theft has resulted in the declaration of force majeure at the Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal and the shutting-in of various wells from fields that connect to the Nembe Creek Trunk Line and the Trans Niger Pipeline.
Coming at a time when Nigeria’s crude oil reserves is retrogressing, standing at about 37 billion barrels for over 10 years, The Guardian could not find the details of the much talked about crude oil discovery at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as part of the country’s current crude oil reserves.
It also stated that international oil companies were massively shifting focus to alternative fuels, as the threat posed by the push for renewables was seriously gaining momentum.
In 2020, the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said Nigeria’s loss to crude oil theft stands at $4.19 billion yearly. Reportedly, Nigeria is losing over 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day to oil theft, vandalism and other related criminal vices in the country. The implications, according to reports released by NEITI include loss of revenue, environmental disaster, a threat to regional peace and security, the proliferation of arms and a poor investment climate.
As a country, we still cannot tell the exact volume of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, which we consume on a daily basis, the Federal Government has said.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said this on Wednesday at Bonny Island, Rivers, while addressing officers of the 146 Battalion and other security agencies represented in the fight against oil theft.
Sylva said Nigeria will remain at the vanguard of the crusade for a multifaceted energy transition timetable that will attract more investments for Africa while taking cognisance of the current global energy transition in the direction of renewable energy.
The projected oil price of the Federal Government of $62/barrel as contained in the 2022 Appropriation Bill has almost doubled going by the current global oil prices, which have been on the increase since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022.
At their 33rd teleconference meeting, the governors’ under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), agreed to set up a seven-man panel to work out the gray areas with the federal committee.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has said the Federal Government is in talks with Shell over the planned sale of the company’s stakes in Nigeria’s onshore oil assets.
