Nigeria Loses $5BN To Discrepancies In Data Between NNPC, Others

The House of Representatives said that the country has lost about $5 billion to discrepancies in crude oil production data between the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other agencies of government, especially the Department of Petroleum Resources.

But the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari who admitted the discrepancies said these discrepancies in data have always existed between NNPC and other agencies of government as well as between them and their partners.

Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee investigating Crude Oil theft in the country, Hon. Peter Akpatason said at the resumed hearing by the committee that the discrepancies in the various documents submitted by NNPC and other agencies of government was worrisome.

Akpatason said the Ad-hoc committee was set up by the House to identify and proffer lasting solutions to the various challenges of crude oil losses in the country, adding that the issue of crude oil theft in the country “has lasted too long”.

The Lawmaker who is also a former General Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) said “as responsible citizens it is our collective responsibilities to see to the end of the economic crisis in the oil sector.”

He expressed disappointment over the failure of stakeholders in the sector to provide relevant documents that will aid the committee’s investigation.

He said “It is very worrisome that the Ad-hoc Committee requested for some specific information particularly the certified true copies of oil royalty, entitlement of proceeds of production sharing contract for 2005 and 2019 and after a long delay, the submission received was from 2003 to 2009, leaving out the chunk of the years that we are supposed to be looking at.

“I will like to bring to your notice that in the cause of this investigation, the Ad-hoc Committee through forensic analysis of whatsoever submission from various stakeholders in the sector observed huge discrepancies in the submissions made by various agencies of government, particularly DPR and NNPC.

“These variances range from figures on offshore processing of crude oil, DSDP swap, processed crude oil by the three refineries, conversion of crude oil to export, FIRS borrowing crude oil to non-remittance of funds amounting to about $5 billion into the Federation account.”

He said that apart from the crude oil that is unaccounted for, the Committee also observed that there are other sources of crude oil losses that directly affect revenue generation, especially in the area of joint venture, crude under-lifting of the nation’s share of crude oil.

“Records have it that under-lifted between 2005 and 2019 is averaged loss of about 604,000 barrels per day. The aforementioned are some of the areas the Ad-hoc Committee will like to request for some clarification as the proceedings proceeds,” he said.

Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari told the Committee that there has been significant decline in the volume of loses in the sector.

He said “from where it was in 2015 till today, there’s significant decline in the losses that we suffer in terms of other things or vandals in the country. And this didn’t come from the blues, but as a result of concerted efforts by the industry, by NNPC and also I must commend the security agencies to curtail the excesses but they still do occur.”

Kyari said the Corporation was ready to share relevant data with the Committee regarding its transactions, including those that are yet to be submitted, saying “I take responsibility for whatever gaps, we will provide them so that the House will be properly provides with the information that are required for further action and analysis that you will like to take.

There are always discrepancies in the data between NNPC and other agencies of government, even between us and our partners. And this is also not surprising because typical practice in the industry is the point of recording, audit, the timing of recording always determines what numbers that you return with because it’s a very mobile environment because the data you have today is not the same thing tomorrow.”

The NNPC boss stressed that there are platforms today on the Japan petroleum resources database that provides actual data on time and on real time so that we are all looking at set of data.

-NATION