In August, various government security organizations working throughout the nation recovered stolen oil worth N86.2 billion. On Monday, it was reported that members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Cross River had recovered 16, 000 litres of diesel worth N800 per litre (N12.8 million).
The majority of the stolen goods, which were automotive gas oil, popularly known as diesel, according to Rivers State NSCDC Commandant Samuel Fadeyi, were found within the last two weeks.
Additionally, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Seme Area Command reported intercepting 3,998 jerry cans of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, each containing 30 litres, or 119,940 litres, last Wednesday.
The products, according to the Customs Area Controller, Bello Mohammed Jibo, were about four tanker loads of 33,000 litres each.
A price of N191 per litre of PMS was recently authorized by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, or (NMDPRA) ( highest range). Nigeria would have lost almost N161m if the 119, 940 liters had made it to the Republic of Benin. The duty-paid value of the petroleum product that was seized was N28.9 million.
In contrast to Nigeria, where the Federal Government provides subsidies for gasoline, one litre of gasoline costs N396 in the Republic of Benin at the moment. The 119, 940 liters of gasoline would have brought at least N47 million in sales if they had made it to the neighboring nation without incident. The Federal Government spent the sum of N9.84 turn on petrol subsidies between 2006 and 2018 alone. And as of this year, a fresh N4trn had been incurred.
In July, estimates in subsidies on petrol at N2trn in seven months. A source close to the matter had hinted that although Nigeria consumed 60 million litres of petrol per month, marketers had been loading up to 106 million litres monthly as of April, bringing total litres of smuggled petrol to 46 million monthly.
Same last week, the Nigerian Navy confirmed the arrest of a supertanker, MV HEROIC IDUN, by Equatorial Guinea forces over alleged crude oil theft in Nigeria. The arrest was made after it fled from Nigeria’s AKPO Oil Field when its activities were uncovered by operatives of the Navy.
The supertanker with International Maritime Organisation number, 9858058, had a capacity of 299,995 MT. One metric ton of crude oil contains a little over seven barrels of crude oil, bringing the total crude oil capacity of the tanker to 2.1 million.
Brent International as of last week was $96 per barrel. Nigeria’s crude oil grade, Bonny Light, usually sells for $1 and above Brent. Assuming Bonny Light was $97/b last week, 2.1m barrels would have been sold for $204m, equivalent to N86bn.
Addition of the N161m that would have been made from the petrol seized at the Benin Republic, N86bn from crude oil intercepted by the Navy, and N12.8m from the recovered 16, 000 litres diesel by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Cross River bring the total estimation to at least N86.2bn that would have been lost to reported oil theft this month alone.
A spokesperson for the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, (MOMAN) Clement Isong, President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, and the National Operations Controller, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, (DAPPMAN), Mike Asatuyi, had vindicated their members of being partakers of smuggling of petrol to neighbourhood countries.
“It is not a good thing to use all revenue to service debts, and those debts are coming from subsidies. It is a potential danger for the country.
