Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has dismissed claims that Nigeria lost N8.4 trillion to oil theft between 2021 and July 2025.
Gatekeepers News reports that an online report had alleged that crude valued at N8.41 trillion was siphoned through theft and metering deficiencies during the period.
However the in a statement issued on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Eniola Akinkuotu, the commission said the report stemmed from a misreading of crude loss figures released to the public.
According to the NUPRC, the statistics cited in the article were deliberately taken out of context. The agency noted that the data had originally been published to promote transparency in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
It said, “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 commission added that the sector’s improvement was evident when the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a 4.23% growth in Nigeria’s economy, largely credited to higher oil production alongside two other sectors.
NUPRC explained that oil losses had steadily declined through joint efforts with the Office of the National Security Adviser, the military, and industry operators. It said theft figures had dropped from 102,900 barrels per day in 2021 — the year the commission was created — to 9,600 barrels per day in 2025, representing a reduction of more than 90%.
The regulator also faulted the methodology of the report, noting that the exchange rate of N1,500/$1 applied across the period inflated the figures. It stressed that the official rate during the peak years of crude theft was under N430/$1 and averaged below N600/$1 by mid-2023.
According to the statement, the N8.41 trillion figure is not only inaccurate but also misleading, especially in linking it to the 2025 federal budget. The commission said the newspaper’s approach lacks in-depth understanding of operations, crude oil price trends and exchange rate mechanism.
NUPRC further highlighted that Nigeria continues to meet its OPEC quota due to reforms such as Project 1 Million Barrels, the metering audit, restoration of shut-in wells, increased rig activity, facility uptime, and alternative evacuation systems. It also emphasized that the country now has the technical capacity to produce over two million barrels of crude daily.
The commission concluded by faulting the publication for failing to seek clarification before publishing, saying the report “lacked integrity” and undermined balanced journalism.
