‘Misinterpretation of facts’ — NUPRC denies report of N8.4trn crude losses

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says the country did not lose N8.4 trillion to oil theft from 2021 to July 2025.

An online report had claimed that Nigeria lost crude oil valued at N8.41 trillion to theft and metering deficiencies within the aforementioned period.

In a statement on Wednesday by Eniola Akinkuotu, NUPRC’s spokesperson, the commission faulted the report, saying it was based on a misinterpretation of crude loss statistics between 2021 and July 2025.

The agency said the data cited in the report had been publicly released in the spirit of transparency and in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

“Recall that the commission had revealed on September 11, 2025 that daily crude oil losses had dropped to 9,600 barrels per day, the lowest since 2009 which was reported widely and accurately,” the statement reads.

“The NUPRC was vindicated again when the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Nigeria’s economy grew by 4.23% largely on the back of an increased oil output and two other sectors an-acknowledgement of the steady progress made by the industry to combat the menace of crude oil theft.”

The NUPRC described the report as “specious” and lacking in proper context.

“Firstly, crude oil losses have been on the downward trend due to collaborative efforts between the NUPRC, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the military, Operators and other relevant stakeholders,” the commission said.

“This collaboration through both kinetic and non-kinetic means, dropped oil theft from a staggering 102,900 in 2021 – when the Commission was established – to the current 9,600bopd representing over 90% reduction in losses.

“Also, in the misleading report, an exchange rate of N1,500/$1 is used from 2021 to 2025 to increase the figures and sensationalize actual losses when in actual fact, Nigeria’s exchange rate was less than N430 on the official market and barely N600/$1 on average between 2021 (when most of the crude theft occurred) and in mid-2023.”

The commission said the figure of N8.41 trillion is inaccurate, adding that linking it to the 2025 federal budget is misleading.

The NUPRC insisted that the methodology adopted by “the newspaper is significantly flawed because it lacks in-depth understanding of operations, crude oil price trends and exchange rate mechanism”

The commission said Nigeria has continued to “meet its OPEC quota” due to its initiatives and collaborative work with industry stakeholders to sustain and grow production.

“Such initiatives include: the project 1 million barrels, implementation of the metering audit, restoration of shut-in strings and increased rig counts, facility uptime, creation of alternative crude evacuation mechanism etc,” the agency said.

“Furthermore, Nigeria now has the technical capacity to produce above two million barrels daily.

“The Commission is galvanizing Industry stakeholders – Operators, service providers (local and international), rig owners, off-takers, and financiers – in order to fully unlock the potential, riding on the improved operating environment and social inclusion in operating areas.”

The statement added that the story lacked integrity since the reporter made no effort to seek clarification from the commission in the interest of fairness and balanced reporting.(The cable)