My oil company is losing N1.8bn to oil thieves daily, Elumelu cries out

The Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, has lamented that pipeline vandals are costing his company Heirs Oil and Gas 50,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

According to him, the Niger Delta oil theft has become a national concern for people wishing to engage in the oil and gas business.

Elumelu disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday during his lecture to members of Course 30 of the National Defence College on the theme, Strategic Leadership: My Business Experience.

He said, “We produce sometimes about 87,000 barrels per day, thieves take 50,000 per day and to me, this requires a national seminar or dialogue.

The 50,000 barrels per day lost when calculated using the average price of $86 per barrel comes to about at N1.86 billion with an exchange rate of N416.

Elumelu continued: “In my view, it is one of the most serious threats to our nation because there is so much money in the hands of individuals who don’t pay taxes, people we don’t regulate, and the country is not safe.”

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“They do it to us, and they do it to other operators as well,” he added.

During his presentation, Elemelu also revealed that Nigeria lost over $4bn to oil thieves in the last three quarters of 2021 while calling for strategic leadership in dealing with this national challenge.

“We look forward to the men and women in this room who will assist in removing this national shame and the difficulties we confront.”

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