Nigeria lost 7.68 million barrels of crude oil in 2023 - NEITI

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has reported that about 7.68 million barrels of crude oil have been stolen or lost in 2023.

Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), made the disclosure during a roundtable of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) held in Abuja on Thursday.

Dr. Orji also noted that there was a substantial 79% decline in crude oil theft in 2023 compared to the previous year.

He urged the assembled civil society representatives to focus on critical findings from the recently published study NEITI 2022/2023 reports on the oil and gas industry.

He emphasized the role of civil society organizations in monitoring government strategies to combat oil theft and in advocating for better environmental protection.

“CSOs must monitor government strategies to combat oil theft and advocate for more robust environmental protections.

“Civil society plays a crucial role in creating forums that include government, the private sector and community groups,” he stated.

He emphasized the need for these entities to take into account the concerns of affected communities in national resource management policies.

Revenue management

Dr. Orji stressed the need for civil society organizations to advocate for better revenue collection mechanisms to ensure that Nigeria maximizes the benefits of its oil resources.

He stated: “CSOs must push for better revenue collection mechanisms to ensure that the full value of Nigeria’s oil resources accrue to the country.”

Highlighting the objective of the roundtable, the Executive Secretary stated that it aimed to ensure that transparency and accountability lead to meaningful policy changes and improvements in public welfare.
He announced that NEITI would soon be finalizing a data center to improve access to extractive sector information, which will house all sector reports from 1999 onwards.

“This center will facilitate public access to data and analysis, improving NEITI’s compliance with the EITI Open Data Protocol,” he said.

Dr. Orji called for active cooperation between civil society organizations and both urban and rural communities.

He stressed that the future of Nigeria’s extractive industries depends on the active involvement of civil society.

“We are at a critical moment. Let us seize this opportunity to empower civil society organizations, both urban and rural, to bring about the change we seek.” He stated.

Dr. Erisa Sarki, a CSO representative on the NEITI board, noted that the forum aimed to promote open dialogue and actionable steps.

“The forum is designed to encourage open dialogue, innovative thinking and actionable steps,” he stated, in line with NEITI’s vision to ensure that Nigeria’s extractive resources benefit all citizens.