Nigeria is losing billions of dollars to crude oil theft, sabotage, and wastage, petroleum experts have warned.
Speaking at a leadership forum in Houston, Texas, Charles Deigh, a petroleum engineer with Nigerian Agip, and Dr. Oluwatoyin Gbadeyan, a mechanical engineering researcher, said the country’s oil validation system remains outdated and opaque, creating loopholes for massive revenue losses.
They noted that government reforms such as the Nigeria Upstream Measurement System, the Automated Hydrocarbon Accounting System, and metering provisions under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 are commendable but risk being ineffective without strict enforcement.
According to United Nations data, more than 13 million barrels of crude oil about 1.5 million tonnes have been lost to over 7,000 spill incidents since 1958.
The experts recommended deployment of modern technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices, drones, satellites, blockchain tracking, and artificial intelligence, to improve monitoring of production and curb theft.
They further stressed the need for stronger government oversight, accountability, and community participation, warning that continued negligence could deepen economic losses and undermine national development.
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