The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has dismissed a report published on the front page of The PUNCH on Wednesday, 24th September 2025, titled “N8.41tn oil theft drains economy, fuels investors’ doubts.”
The Commission clarified that the report misinterpreted crude loss statistics from 2021 to July 2025, which NUPRC released transparently in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
NUPRC reiterated that daily crude oil losses had dropped to 9,600 barrels per day, the lowest since 2009, marking a more than 90% reduction from the 102,900 barrels lost in 2021 when the Commission was established. This achievement is attributed to collaborative efforts with the Office of the National Security Adviser, the military, operators, and other stakeholders through both kinetic and non-kinetic measures.
The Commission also noted that the report’s calculation of N8.41 trillion is flawed due to the use of an inaccurate exchange rate of N1,500/$1 from 2021 to 2025. In reality, Nigeria’s official exchange rate was below N430/$1, averaging around N600/$1 between 2021 and mid-2023, rendering the figures exaggerated.
NUPRC highlighted that Nigeria continues to meet its OPEC quota and has strengthened its production capacity through initiatives such as the Project 1 Million Barrels, metering audits, restoration of shut-in strings, increased rig counts, facility uptime improvements, and the creation of alternative crude evacuation mechanisms. The nation now possesses the technical capacity to produce over two million barrels daily.
The Commission stressed that the report failed to seek clarification from NUPRC, urging media outlets to verify information in the interest of fairness and balanced reporting. Inquiries can be directed to corpcommunications@nuprc.gov.ng.
📩 Reported by: Stone Reporters News
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