PeakNews Online
Lagos, August 10, 2024 — Prominent Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu has called on the Nigerian government and security agencies to identify and address the perpetrators of crude oil theft in the country. Elumelu’s remarks were featured in an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday.
Elumelu, a vocal critic of the oil theft crisis, highlighted the negative impact of this issue on Nigeria’s oil industry. He noted that international oil companies have been divesting from Nigeria partly due to the rampant theft of crude oil from pipelines.
In 2022, Elumelu publicly condemned the situation, revealing that his own company had to halt production due to the criminal activities. He tweeted: “How can we be losing over 95 percent of oil production to thieves? Look at the Bonny Terminal, which should be receiving over 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily, but instead receives less than 3,000 barrels, forcing Shell to declare force majeure. Nigeria’s inability to meet its OPEC production quota is not due to low investment but theft, pure and simple!”
Elumelu, who remains deeply concerned about the situation, told the Financial Times that oil thieves are still responsible for taking about 18 percent of the crude oil from his fields. “We pump out 42,000 barrels of crude daily, yet theft accounts for around 18 percent of that production,” he said.
When asked about the identities of those behind the theft, Elumelu expressed frustration, stating, “This is oil theft, not something trivial like stealing a bottle of Coke. The government should know who is behind this, and they should inform us. Look at how quickly authorities in the U.S. identified the shooter when Donald Trump was attacked. Our security agencies need to provide answers about who is stealing our oil. How can vessels come into our territorial waters, and we don’t know who is behind this?”
Elumelu’s comments underscore growing concerns about the security of Nigeria’s oil resources and the need for effective measures to combat this ongoing issue.
