Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, has expressed some concerns about declining production from key oil terminals in the country.
The Commission said about 13 out of Nigeria’s 29 crude oil terminals output have fallen significantly between July and September 2022, citing data from the .
Among the worst-hit crude terminals are Bonny, Brass, and Forcados, which saw production output drop by 79 per cent, 40.5 per share, and 96.5 per cent respectively, during the three-month period.
Forcados terminal recorded the highest loss of the three terminals, down from over three million barrels in July to just over 100,000 in September.
Information obtained from the Commission showed that crude oil production in September 2022 stood at 937,766 barrels per day, compared to 1.2 million barrels per day a year earlier.
Crude oil theft has long been a concern for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, with the theft rate increasing immensely in the last few months.
In October, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, CFO Umar Ajiya said the country has been losing $150 million daily from pipeline vandalism and sideline production.