IBADAN, Nigeria--Nigeria's crude-oil production declined in the
first quarter due to petroleum theft and vandalism along major
pipelines in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.
said Wednesday.
Tumini Green, acting group general manager of NNPC's Public
Affairs Division, said in a statement that daily crude-oil
production during the period fluctuated between 2.1 million and 2.3
million barrels per day compared with the projected estimate of
2.48 million barrels a day.
"Expectedly, this fall between actual production and forecast in
first quarter 2013 has resulted in a drop in crude oil revenue of
about $1.23 billion that should have accrued to the federation
account," she said.
Major international oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSA.LN, RDSA) and Agip SpA have reported rising crude-oil theft
from their pipelines in the Niger Delta in the past few years.
Shell said an estimated 60,000 barrels of oil per day is stolen
from its facilities in the Niger Delta. Last month, Agip stopped
oil production in Nigeria's southeast Bayelsa state after it said
about 7,000 barrels of oil per day had been stolen from its
operations in the state.
Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer earns more than 90% of
its foreign exchange and about 80% of government revenue from oil
exports.
Obafemi Oredein; Dow Jones Newswires
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