Elumelu who dreads oil theft said the menace contributed to the divestment of international oil companies in Nigeria.

He said he discovered first-hand why international oil companies were partly divesting from onshore assets after criminal gangs began stealing crude from his pipelines.

In 2022, when things got to a point where his company had to shut down production, Elumelu took to social media, tweeting: “How can we be losing over 95 per cent of oil production to thieves? Look at the Bonny Terminal which should be receiving over 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily, instead, it receives less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operator Shell to declare force majeure. The reason Nigeria is unable to meet its OPEC production quota is not because of low investment but because of theft, pure and simple!

“Meanwhile, oil-producing countries are smiling as their foreign reserve is rising. What is Nigeria’s problem? We need to hold our leaders more accountable!”

Speaking with Financial Times, Elumelu, expressed optimism, saying, however, that oil thieves still take away 18 per cent of crude from his field.

• Read More