The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, says Nigeria is short on its production quota due to oil theft in the sector.
Current situation
Nigeria has not met OPEC’s production quota of 1.8 million barrels per day for the past 11 months. According to the CBN Governor, one major reason for this shortage is the oil theft along pipelines.
- Data shows in 2021, Nigeria lost 193 million barrels or $3.5 billion to oil theft. This value is 10% of the country’s foreign reserves.
The Challenge
Nigeria exports crude oil to buy back diesel and petrol at global market rates. Failing to meet its production quota due to oil theft creates a scarcity of fuel and diesel available to be bought back by the Nigerian government. The snub of Russian oil, initiated as a sanction for the continued invasion of Ukraine, has further affected the level of oil available to supply. This crisis is invariably responsible for the inflation in Nigeria, as food companies, power and banking sectors need fuel and gas for their daily activities.
What they are saying
The CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, says President Muhammadu Buhari has put a plan which includes security measures into motion to curb oil theft in the country.