Senate probes $300bn missing crude proceeds

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The Senate on Wednesday received the interim report of its ad hoc committee investigating crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, amid fresh concerns that Nigeria may have lost more than $300bn in unaccounted crude proceeds over the years.

The loss is attributed to alleged collusion, poor industry oversight, and entrenched sabotage networks.

The committee, chaired by Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North), was set up earlier this year to probe persistent crude oil theft, bunkering operations, illegal export networks, and alleged compromises within regulatory and security systems, a crisis long blamed for dwindling production and Nigeria’s failure to meet Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries output quotas.

Presenting the interim findings, Nwoko said the committee uncovered “systemic irregularities, poor measurement standards, and weak enforcement” across the petroleum value chain. Punch