Beside IOCs, Nigeria’s Crude Oil Export Has Not Been Tracked- Agbakoba

Former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) president, Olisa Agbakoba, has said Nigeria’s crude oil exports have not been tracked by the nation but by International Oil Companies (IOCs).

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Agbakoba said the policy of the federal government to install 186 meters at Nigeria’s flow stations is commendable.

Olisa Agbakoba likened the non-metering of Nigeria’s flow stations over the years to a fuel station selling petrol without a meter.

In a statement on Tuesday, on his X handle, Agbakoba commended the Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri, for the decision of the government to meter Nigeria’s crude oil stations.

He said the metering would give Nigeria exact data on her daily crude oil export. He urged the federal government to take strong actions to protect the country’s national interest.

Agbakoba said: “The recent government announcement about installing 186 meters at our flow stations has sparked my interest and raised some questions.

“A flow station is a storage tank for crude oil collected from pipelines before it’s exported. The International oil companies (IOCs) manage the flow of crude oil and the pipelines at these stations.

“The government’s plan to install meters at these flow stations to monitor our crude oil production for export raises the question: besides the IOCs, who else has been able to accurately track our daily crude oil exports? It’s like buying petrol without a meter at a gas station.

“How can we be sure we’re getting what we paid for? This implies that, until now, only the international oil companies have had the means to precisely measure our daily crude oil exports.

“This revelation confirms my long-held suspicion that the oil companies have gained too much control over our crude oil resources and the revenue they generate. I commend the Minister of Petroleum for bringing this situation to light and urge him to take strong action to protect our national interests from these companies and ensure they don’t keep exploiting our resources.”