Nigeria lost a total of 13.5 million barrels of crude oil worth $3.3 billion to theft and pipeline sabotage between 2023 and 2024, according to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
Speaking during the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) 2025 conference in Lagos on Thursday, NEITI’s Executive Secretary, Mr Ogbonanya Orji, noted that the lost revenue could have financed a full year of the federal health budget or provided energy access to millions of households.
“These losses are not just economic, they represent broken trust, institutional weaknesses, and missed opportunities for national progress. This is precisely why transparency and accountability are not optional. They are existential.”
According to him, Nigeria’s energy future will not be defined by the size of its reserves or production capacity, but by how transparently and prudently it is able to manage its natural resource wealth, the revenues, data, contracts, and decisions that shape its national destiny.
He said the era of secrecy in resource governance was over.
“The global energy transition towards cleaner fuels, gas optimisation, and renewable energy requires openness, responsibility, and innovation at every stage of the value chain.
“At NEITI, our philosophy is clear and uncompromising:
“Data builds trust, and trust drives investment.”
“Transparency is not a bureaucratic exercise—it is an economic imperative. It attracts capital, technology, and partnerships. Our latest NEITI industry reports make this truth evident.”
The NEITI boss also revealed that its 2021–2022 Oil and Gas Industry Reports revealed that Nigeria earned $23.04 billion in 2021 and $23.05 billion in 2022 from the sector.
However, the body identified outstanding remittances of N1.5 trillion owed to the Federation by some companies and government agencies—funds that could significantly support energy infrastructure, education, and healthcare if recovered.
“Over the past decade, NEITI has evolved from an auditing agency to a governance reform institution.
“We have institutionalised regular audits of oil, gas, and solid mineral sectors, tracking production, payments, and remediation; developed Nigeria’s Beneficial Ownership Register, unmasking the true owners of over 4,800 extractive assets, and helping the government combat corruption and illicit financial flows; and launched the NEITI Data Centre—a national open-data infrastructure that provides real-time public access to industry information.
“We have also strengthened partnerships with Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to promote transparency in licensing, metering, and host community trust management and introduced the Just Energy Transition and Climate Accountability Framework to ensure that Nigeria’s shift to cleaner energy is transparent, inclusive, and fair.
“These are not ceremonial milestones. They are practical governance instruments designed to make transparency the DNA of Nigeria’s extractive sector,” he added.
Mr Orji advised the government to keep pace with innovation, especially as it positions gas as its transition fuel and renewable energy as its future.
“Our energy future must rest on verifiable data, open contracts, measurable emissions, and accountable institutions.
“NEITI envisions a sector where every dollar is traceable, every contract is public, every decision is transparent, and every Nigerian citizen can see how natural resources translate into national prosperity.
“At NEITI, we are committed to ensuring that every barrel produced, every cubic foot of gas commercialised, and every kobo earned contributes to national development in full public view,” he said.