Nigeria Reports Lowest Oil Exports in 25 Years Amid Disastrous Theft Crisis
20220910
Evgeny Mikhaylov
In July, Angola became Africa's largest oil exporter, bumping the oil-rich country into second place, OPEC data suggests.
Nigeria's crude oil production fell below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, and the total oil and condensates output dropped to an annual low of 1.18 million, according to figures provided by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
This is the lowest daily output since 1997; Nigerian authorities blame industrial-scale oil theft for the decline: according to the state oil company NNPC LTD, at least 700,0000 bpd went missing from its exports, while some fields have been shut down across the country.
At the same time, the Nigerian oil workers' union threatened to organize a strike if the government fails to address the issue, saying that the thieves and pipeline vandals are putting the lives of the union's members at risk.
The African nation loses millions barrels of crude every year, as security forces are not able to stop the thieves. According to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission's head Gbenga Komolafe, over nine million barrels of oil was stolen in the first quarter of 2022 alone, resulting in about $1 billion in lost revenues.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has previously urged law enforcement agencies to tackle theft, noting that its consequences are "enormous."
© Sputnik
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