Oil Prices Dip Amid Supply Concerns
https://m.facebook.com/ray.jnr.52/ – Abuja Correspondent
Communities bear brunt as Nigeria loses $46bn to crude theft
Oil-producing communities in Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states continue to suffer poverty and neglect despite Nigeria losing an estimated 619.7 million barrels of crude oil worth $46.16 billion to theft between 2009 and 2020, a new report has revealed.
The study, launched in Abuja by the Fair Finance Nigeria coalition, said communities living closest to oil facilities remain excluded from development while their environment suffers devastating pollution. It pointed to poor governance, weak regulation and alleged collusion by some oil companies, security agencies and community leaders as drivers of large-scale crude theft.
Although the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) mandates oil companies to contribute between $500 million and $800 million annually to Host Communities Development Trusts, the report found that only $21.7 million was remitted between 2022 and 2023, crippling projects intended to benefit the Niger Delta.
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Community representatives described oil theft as a business that enriches a few but leaves widespread poverty and environmental damage. Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the situation was unacceptable, warning that until the Federal Government treats oil theft with seriousness, the losses would persist.
Director of Programmes at Connected Development, Agu Kingsley, also criticised financial institutions funding oil projects without enforcing environmental and social safeguards. He argued that while NNPCL obtained over $10 billion in loans and posted profits in recent years, local communities saw no real change in living conditions.
The coalition called on government, oil companies, financiers and civil society to prioritise transparency and accountability, insisting that the future of the Niger Delta depends on fairer management of resources and stronger action against oil theft.
