Nigeria loses N780bn to oil theft annually – Shell

Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu

The Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, has said that the country is losing $5bn (N780bn) annually to oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Ms. Zainab Ahmed, Sunmonu said, “Our greatest challenge is about criminal activities where people steal crude oil every day. Nigeria is losing at least $5bn every year as a result of criminals stealing our crude and exporting our crude illegally.

“People stealing crude and refining it illegally; that is what I believe we need to worry about.”

The SPDC boss said vandalism constituted a serious problem to the company’s operations in the country and called on all stakeholders to forge a strong synergy to deal with the challenge.

Sunmonu, who commended NEITI for its efforts at ensuring transparency in the oil sector, also called on it to join the fight against oil theft in order to boost government’s revenue.

He said, “I really want to seize this opportunity to encourage NEITI to also lend a voice to stopping this menace of crude oil theft; it is something, which I really worry about.

“It is one thing that gives me sleepless nights because if you don’t stop this, I can guarantee you that the revenue from oil business to the government, in particular, will continue to dwindle. So, that should be our area of focus.”

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