N48bn lost to crude theft in nine months

nnpc

 

Between January and September this year, Nigeria lost about N48bn to crude oil theft, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said.

According to the corporation, the N48bn is aside what the losses recorded by the NNPC during the period under review.

As a result of the crude/product losses, the firm noted that it had adopted some key determinants for driving change.

In its latest monthly financial and operations report for September 2015, the NNPC stated that it had adopted pipeline security reforms that would ensure reduction in crude oil theft as well as address the loss of other petroleum products.

“A comprehensive reform of the pipeline security situation will unlock several industry upsides, including improved upstream oil production due to reduced pipeline disruptions, improved refinery utilisation due to increased crude oil feed from restored pipelines, and reduction of crude/product losses, which account for about N48bn out of the losses recorded by the corporation in 2015 alone,” it stated.

Outlining other key determinants for driving change at the national oil firm, the NNPC said there was a need to carry out a holistic reform of the refineries in order to put the assets back on track for profitability.

“A 90-day programme is currently ongoing to reassess/resuscitate the refineries,” it added.

On product price management, it stated that subsidy management accounted for 57 per cent of the value recorded as losses by the corporation due to unrealised revenues of subsidy claims.

“Consequently, the NNPC has embarked on a change agenda termed the ’20 Fixes’, which identifies 20 critical issues that need to be addressed in order to re-position the corporation on the path of profitability,” the firm said.



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