Local operators explore options amid record oil theft

A sophisticated criminal network has stepped up its operations in Africa’s biggest oil-producing country, with losses from pipeline vandalism and theft overwhelming Nigeria’s oil business in recent weeks.

To change the narrative, a new report from Wood Mackenzie has uncovered new tricks on how local oil companies can navigate Nigeria’s leaking pipelines carrying crude oil from wells to flow stations in the Niger Delta, where more than 90 percent of the country’s crude is explored.

According to the UK-based energy and intelligence provider, Nigeria’s indigenous firms, which pump at least 10 percent of national output, can explore alternative routes along with the country’s terminal that will reduce their exposure to a growing scale of crude oil theft.

Citing an example, Wood Mackenzie explains how Waltersmith’s 5,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) modular refinery at Ibigwe in Imo State is offering an alternative off-take agreement to local firms willing to avoid Bonny terminal, the largest pipeline network in the Niger Delta, with a capacity to process and export 1.25 million bpd.