Nigeria is working with the international community to trace its stolen crude, Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has said.
In her keynote address at the just-concluded Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, the minister said it is imperative to halt the appetite for stolen crude oil from Nigeria if the country must make appreciable progress in this regard.
She was represented by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Engineer Andrew Yakubu.
Nigeria is working with the international community to trace its stolen crude, Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has said.
In her keynote address at the just-concluded Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, the minister said it is imperative to halt the appetite for stolen crude oil from Nigeria if the country must make appreciable progress in this regard.
She was represented by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Engineer Andrew Yakubu.
She called on the global community and international oil traders to drop their appetite for stolen crude oil from Nigeria and join in the fight against the nefarious activities of oil thieves and pipeline vandals.
The NNPC said that Nigeria lost about N191 billion ($1.23 billion) in the first quarter of the year, due to drop in crude oil production, arising from incessant crude oil theft and vandalism along the major pipelines within the Niger Delta. It is estimated that Nigeria loses $6 billion annually.
The minister's appeal signaled a major focus in tackling the demand side of the global oil theft matrix which is a growing menace to the smooth operation of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
"The president is taking this matter seriously and the minister is working at it aggressively. It takes two to tango, if those stealing our crude do not find a market for it there would be no incentive to steal, that is why we are appealing to the international community to take action.
"The tracing of our crude by DNA to the destination is being looked into to ensure that the finger prints of our crude are traceable to the various destinations. I can tell you that as an industry we are happy to work with government in this regard," Engineer Yakubu said.
"The natural advantages of the region's open and unrestricted sea lanes and light sweet crude makes it one of the most important petroleum provinces in the world," the minister said.
The minister noted that as the dominant player in the sub-region, Nigeria has pioneered some set initiatives geared towards ensuring positive impact on the economy.
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