‘100,000 barrels, not 400,000, lost to theft daily’

The Nigerian Navy has declared that the country loses about 100, 000 barrels of crude oil per day to oil thieves, estimated at N1.18bn daily – rather than the 400,000 barrel loses per day being speculated.

This was revealed on Tuesday by Usman Jibrin, a rear admiral and chief of naval staff, in his presentation while defending the 2015 budget of the Navy before the senate committee on defence for the navy.

Represented by Peter Agba, a rear admiral and chief of logistics, Jibrin criticised the ministry of finance, saying the navy submitted a N205.4bn capital budget for 2015 but that the figure was cut down to N8bn by the ministry,  which is a 90 per cent reduction of the budget proposal.

“The proposed capital projects for 2015 (captured in the initial N205.4bn) include the ongoing acquisition of two OPVs, acquisition of patrol crafts and helicopters, procurement of arms and development of vital support infrastructure. The equipment are needed to improve naval operations and the welfare of personnel,” he said.

Jibrin further revealed that the navy was able to arrest 84 vessels, and 155 suspected oil thieves, destroyed 120 illegal oil refineries,  29 barges,  93 boats and 1, 259 auxiliary equipment and tools used by the oil thieves in 2014 despite the substantial reduction by the finance ministry.

Although, the country loses N433.62bn annually to oil theft, the naval chief affirms that the navy has, over the years, “deterred criminal activities in the water ways and helped in no small measure in providing the enabling environment for the continued exploration and exploitation of the nation’s oil and gas resources”.