Nigerian government moves to combat oil theft

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, has inaugurated Metering Audit and Advance Cargo Declaration project teams, to promote transparency and accountability in the upstream oil and gas.

The Commission Chief Executive, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, who spoke at the inauguration of the project teams, on Wednesday in Abuja, said the projects were designed to combat crude oil theft and boost revenue.

It will be recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a 21 million dollars contract to audit metering and measurement equipment in the 187 oil flow stations in the country and put in place an advance cargo declaration solution.

These initiatives as earlier announced by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, aims at enhancing monitoring and accountability in crude oil production and distribution, addressing rampant oil theft.

Komolafe, while inaugurating the project monitoring teams, announced a four-month deadline for the completion of the projects.

According to him, the initiatives were in line with NUPRC’s mandate to ensure optimal government revenues from upstream petroleum operations, as specified in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

He said the projects would be executed by PE Energy Limited and P-Lyne Energy.

“Audit of Upstream Measurement Equipment and Facilities project aims to establish reliable baseline data for all measurement points, identify gaps in production and allocation measurement, and implement targeted interventions to enhance metering infrastructure.

“This project is crucial in addressing issues such as the presence of obsolete equipment, lack of a comprehensive database and absence of real-time production measurement across many locations,” he said.