The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Internatio al (NEITI), has warned that persistent layoff of skilled workers in the oil and gas industry is the cause of crude oil theft in the country.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who made this known during an interview with newsmen, disclosed that investigations had shown that many of the retrenched workers, who possess rare technical skills in pipeline management and welding, often turn to illicit networks that steal crude from pipelines and offshore facilities. According to Orji, “You can’t steal oil without skill.
The pipelines are sometimes deep underwater. Nigerians trained in welding and pipeline management get laid off, and when they are jobless, they become available to those who want to steal crude. He explained that oil theft requires extraordinary expertise and is not the work of “ordinary people in the creeks,” stressing that most of those involved were once trained by the same industry they now undermine.
Orji revealed that many retrenched workers had formed consortia and offer their services to oil thieves, further complicating efforts to secure production facilities. “This is why we told the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board to take this seriously. The laying off of skilled labour in oil and gas must stop,” he said.
Noting, however, that oil theft had reduced in recent times due to tighter security coordination, Orji warned that the failure to address its root causes including unemployment among technically trained oil workers will continue to expose the country to losses.
Between 2021 and 2023, Nigeria lost 687.65 million barrels of crude to theft, according to NEITI’s latest report cited by him. Orji said though theft dropped by 73 per cent in 2023, with 7.6 million barrels stolen compared to 36.6 million barrels in 2022, the figure still translates to billions of dollars in lost revenues.
Orji emphasised that beyond revenue, crude oil theft also undermines national security, as proceeds are used to finance terrorism and money laundering.
