Prominent businessman Tony Elumelu has called on security agencies to reveal the identities of those orchestrating the theft of Nigeria’s crude oil, particularly through vessels operating in the country’s territorial waters.
In an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday, Elumelu pointed out that oil theft is a critical factor driving foreign oil companies to scale back or exit their operations in Nigeria. He shared his personal experience, describing how criminal gangs siphoned crude from his pipelines, which gave him firsthand insight into why major oil firms are gradually withdrawing from their onshore holdings.
In 2022, after his company was forced to halt production, Elumelu tweeted: “How can we be losing over 95 percent of oil production to thieves? Look at the Bonny Terminal, which should be receiving over 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Instead, it receives less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operator, Shell, to declare force majeure. The reason Nigeria is unable to meet its OPEC production quota is not due to low investment but because of theft, pure and simple! Meanwhile, oil-producing countries are benefiting from rising foreign reserves. What is Nigeria’s problem? We need to hold our leaders more accountable!”
In his conversation with the Financial Times, Elumelu disclosed that oil thieves continue to siphon off 18 percent of crude from his fields, noting, “42,000 barrels of crude are pumped out daily, and theft still accounts for about 18 percent of production.” When asked who is behind the theft, he responded, “This is oil theft; we’re not talking about stealing a bottle of Coke you can put in your pocket. The government should know, and they should tell us.”
He further emphasized, “Consider the United States — when Donald Trump was shot at, authorities quickly identified who was responsible. Our security agencies should tell us who is stealing our oil. You bring vessels into our territorial waters, and we don’t know?”
