NNPC Reports 400 Incidents of Oil Theft in One Week

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd has reported a total of 400 incidents of crude oil theft in the past week.

According to the company’s weekly program, “Energy and You,” these incidents include illegal refineries, illegal connections, vandalism, oil spills, and illegal storage locations, among others.

The data reveals 165 cases of illegal refineries between June 15th and 21st, 2024. Additionally, there were 69 cases of illegal connections, 15 cases of vandalism, 8 incidents of oil spills, 19 cases of illegal storage locations, and 74 cases of vessel AIS infractions.

These incidents were reported by various companies and security agencies across the Niger Delta, including Tantitta Security Ltd, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), SPDC, NNPC Command and Control Centre, Maton Engineering, government security agencies, and others.

The Western region of Rivers and Bayelsa states experienced the bulk of the 400 incidents, with 265 occurrences. The deep blue waters off the coast of the Niger Delta recorded 74 incidents, while the Eastern region saw around 65 incidents, and the Western Niger Delta, primarily in Delta state, reported around 26 cases.

During this period, around 8 suspects were arrested by security agencies and stakeholders in the oil and gas industry. This near-record number of crude oil thefts in one week highlights the current challenges facing the Nigerian oil industry, where production levels have consistently been below expectations and investment levels have been declining.