According to the Nigerian government, oil thieves increased their wealth by $1 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

The federal government reported that in the first quarter of 2022, burglars stole $1 billion in crude oil income.

This disclosure was made on Wednesday by Gbenga Komolafe, chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

According to him, 141 million barrels of oil were produced in the first quarter of 2022, and only about 132 million barrels were received at export terminals.

“This indicates that over nine million barrels of oil was lost to crude oil theft … this amounts to a loss in government revenue of about $1 billion … in just one quarter,” Komolafe said in a statement.

“This trend poses an existential threat to the oil and gas sector and by extension, the Nigerian economy if not curbed.”

Crude oil theft has increased to a daily average of 108,000 barrels in the first quarter of 2022 from 103,000 barrels in 2021, Komolafe added.

The theft has led to the Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal, a pipeline transferring crude from the oil-rich Niger Delta to export vessels, among others, declaring a state of force majeure, creating a hostile atmosphere and deterring investors.

In the meantime, figures for June released from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation showed that the loss of crude oil in April totaled 5.7 million (5,707,937) barrels.

The production from nine terminals was reduced over the period, which contributed significantly to the losses.