By Emmanuel Nduka
A new report has blamed the significant shortfalls in Nigeria’s oil revenue to oil theft and vandalism, which has left the Trans-Niger Pipeline, a major pipeline capable of transporting about 180,000 barrels of crude per day, dry and non functioning since mid-June.
Despite the development, the pipeline has not been formally shut, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, quoting a source familiar with details of the pipeline operations.
According to the report, the pipeline has a capacity of about 15 percent of Nigeria’s most recent average daily output.
Crude oil theft has been a big burden for the Nigerian Government over the years.
Youths striving to make a living in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, have steadily sabotaged the Government’s output through their illegal refining activities and stealing of crude from Government pipelines.
Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, had in April disclosed that Nigeria lost $4 billion to oil theft at the rate of 200,000 barrels per day in 2021.
He added that the country already lost $1.5 billion so far in 2022 because pipeline vandalism has escalated, and another loss of 95 per cent of oil production to thieves at Bonny Terminal, Rivers State.
Chairman of the United Bank of Africa, Tony Elumelu, had also observed that Nigeria was losing much to oil vandals at its terminals.
In March this year, he said Nigeria was losing 95 percent of production at the Bonny terminal to vandals making Shell declare force majeure production activities on that field.
“Look at Bonny Terminal that should be receiving 200k barrels per day, instead it received less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operator @shell to declare fe majeure,” Mr Elumelu tweeted in March.
