OPEC quota: Block leakage points of stolen crude to increase production – Expert

An oil and gas expert, Mr Olabode Sowunmi has underscored the need to block the leakage points of stolen crude oil in the country to increase production output.

Sowunmi made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

Sowunmi was reacting to the increase on Nigeria’s oil production quota by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and how to spur crude production to meet the quota.

NAN reports that OPEC had increased Nigeria’s oil production quota from the 1.772 million barrels per day (mbpd) target approved in June to a new target of 1.799mbpd for July.

Nigeria’s production output averaged 1.42mbpd in May.

He said that the United States had been putting a lot of pressure on OPEC to increase output (production output) so that the current high prices of crude oil would fall.

According to the expert, that is at the root of the increments.

However, he said that the recurrent theft via the pipelines in the oil sector was enormous and unprecedented.

He recalled that a popular cleric Pastor Enoch Adeboye once called on the Federal Government to address why such a huge and unprecedented volume of theft was being stolen.

“This is the first time such commentary will be coming from such quarters.

“To put the amount stolen into perspective, Heirs Oil, the new upstream company by Tony Elumelu complained that 85 per cent of the crude they produce is stolen.

“So if 100 litres of crude is pumped only 18 litres is realised at the end of the transportation network.

“So what needs to be done to increase output is to block the leakage points of stolen crude in the country,” he said.