22 December 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, Friday, stated that Nigeria lost $4.4 billion to crude oil theft and sabotage in 2016.
NEITI, in its 2016 Oil and Gas Industry Audit released Friday, disclosed that this loss occurred as a result of 101 million barrels of crude oil lost to theft and sabotage in the year under review.
According to the report, Seplat Petroleum Development Company and Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, accounted for 81 million barrels of crude oil lost through sabotage, while 20 other oil companies recorded 19.8 million barrels lost to theft.
The report noted that losses due to crude oil theft and sabotage rose from 27 million barrels in 2015 to 101 million barrels in 2016, an increase of 274 percent.
“This was aside losses due to deferment, which in 2016 was put at 144 million barrels which also went up by 65 percent when compared to the 87.5 million barrels in 2015,” NEITI said.
It further stated that total financial flows from Nigeria’s oil and gas sector slumped to $17.05 billion in 2016, a 31 percent decline on the $24.79 billion generated in 2015, and a 75 percent plunge on the sector’s peak earnings of $68.44 billion generated in 2011.
In addition, NEITI explained that the 2016 figure was the lowest in ten years and the fifth lowest in the 18 years covered by NEITI’s audit reports so far, from 1999 to 2016.
The report blamed the plunge in revenue in 2016 on the double whammy of low oil prices in the global market and reduced oil production in Nigeria, which in turn was caused by disruption and vandalism of oil assets and a spike in crude theft, among others.
It added that the yearly average price of crude oil per barrel stood at $43.73 in 2016 as against $52.5 in 2015, while total oil production in 2016 was 659 million barrels as against 776 million barrels produced in 2015, a decline of 15 percent.
Furthermore, the NEITI report noted that the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas’ NLNG, dividend, loan and interest repayment for 2016 dipped by 63.5 percent to $390.2 million, as against $1.07 billion recorded in 2015.
NEITI added that $8.2 billion was budgeted for cash calls in 2016, out of which $5.5 billion was released and $4.9 billion was paid.
According to the agency, Non-Joint Venture, JV, cash call expenses came to $874 million, representing 17.59 percent of cash call expenditure.