Ribadu says Nigeria is losing up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day to pipeline criminals

NIGERIA'S national security adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has expressed concern that the  country is still losing 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to local and international thieves despite concerted efforts to combat the menace.

According to Mallam Ribadu, the activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals had impacted negatively on the nation’s economy and were partly responsible for the rising cost of living in the country. He revealed all this when he led a presidential delegation to inspect oil and gas facilities at Owaza in Abia State and Odogwa in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State earlier today.

Mallam Ribadu said: “It’s unfortunate that few individuals would steal our common resources and in the process cause unbelievable loss to both the nation, communities and the people. Nigeria has the capacity to produce 2m barrels of crude daily but we are currently producing less than 1.6m barrels due to theft and vandalism of pipelines.

“So, we are talking about 400,000 barrels of crude oil going to waste with few criminals and economic saboteurs not even getting much out of it. The value of 400,000 barrels of oil today is about $4m and every day, we lose this amount because of this irresponsible behaviour.

“If you multiply $4m by 365 days, you will see that it is a lot of money running into billions of dollars. Currently, the country is in desperate need of money as the naira is continuously losing its value because we earn less money."

Furthermore, Mallam Ribadu said the operators of artisanal refineries collect a small quantity of crude oil when they break the pipelines, while larger volumes of oil were spilled on the environment. He added that the President Bola Tinubu administration was concerned about the development and was already taking actionable steps to address the matter.

Mallam Ribadu said: “The value of 400,000 barrels of oil today is about $4m and every day, we lose this amount because of this irresponsible behaviour. Currently, the country is in desperate need of money as the naira is continuously losing its value because we earn less money."

He added that huge investments made by the government in building infrastructures for the common good of all were being destroyed by few individuals, who in the process, were destroying the environment. Mallam Ribadu called for a united front to tackle oil theft and end decades of attacks on the nation’s oil and gas infrastructures.