Nigeria reduces crude oil theft while increasing local refinery supply

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reported that Nigeria reduced daily crude oil losses from 102,900 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to a low of 9,100 bpd in 2025.

This decline followed a steady downward trend over several years as the government implemented security measures to protect oil infrastructure. The federal government attributed these improvements to the combined efforts of the military and local pipeline surveillance groups in the Niger Delta.

The government also introduced modern crude measuring devices in the region to better track and secure production. Despite these gains in curbing theft, the commission noted that losses rose by 93.4 per cent to 17,600 bpd between January and July 2026. As crude oil production recovered to an average of 1.46 million bpd in early 2026, the government shifted how it distributes the resource.

Nigeria increased the amount of crude supplied to domestic refineries to 460,000 bpd, a 64.3 per cent increase over the previous year. This shift means local refineries now account for approximately 29 per cent of the total crude lifted. Because of the growing demand for local processing, the government reduced the volume of crude oil available for export.

Average daily crude exports fell to 1.15 million bpd in the first seven months of 2026, a drop of 23.8 per cent from the volumes recorded in 2021.