Industry experts on Monday warned that Nigeria is losing billions of dollars daily to crude oil theft, vandalism, and wastage, urging immediate digitalisation of production and monitoring systems to protect the economy.
Presenting a joint paper at a leadership forum in Houston, U.S., Charles Deigh, a petroleum engineer at the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, and Dr. Oluwatoyin Gbadeyan, a mechanical engineer and composites researcher, described Nigeria’s oil validation system as “outdated and opaque,” enabling theft and inefficiency.
They stressed that each barrel of oil should translate into national prosperity, yet sabotage and poor accountability continue to drain government revenue and stall development.
“This is not just unfortunate — it is unacceptable. Nigeria cannot afford to let another barrel go to waste. We need bold, transformative action,” they declared.
The experts acknowledged regulatory efforts, including the Nigeria Upstream Measurement System, Automated Hydrocarbon Accounting System, and metering provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. But they warned that without strict enforcement, such initiatives risk being “empty gestures rather than game-changers.”
Oil theft, spillage, and wastage remain persistent threats to Nigeria’s economy and public health. According to the United Nations, at least 13 million barrels—or 1.5 million tonnes—of crude oil have been spilled since 1958 across more than 7,000 incidents.
While corporations are often blamed, the federal government has identified crude oil theft as an organised crime, coordinated by international and continental gangs exploiting security loopholes. In August, NNPCL’s Group CEO, Bashir Ojulari, noted at the Africa Chief of Defence Staff Conference that the menace is a sophisticated cross-border operation requiring global collaboration.
To address the crisis, the experts recommended the deployment of digital technologies such as IoT sensors, drones, satellites, blockchain tracking, and artificial intelligence across oil infrastructure. They argued that such measures could help recover the estimated 200,000 barrels lost daily, rebuild investor confidence, enhance transparency, and free resources for schools, hospitals, and infrastructure.
However, they cautioned that technology alone cannot end the problem without decisive government action, strict enforcement of the PIA, and accountability for violators. Oil companies, they added, must invest in sustainable monitoring systems, while host communities should embrace transparency as a path to shared prosperity.
“Nigeria stands at the crossroads of opportunity and decline. Oil theft and inefficiency are not inevitable — they are the consequences of inaction and neglect,” they warned.
Failure to act, they concluded, would keep the nation locked in crippling revenue losses, while urgent digitalisation could drive growth, stability, and long-term diversification.
