Nigeria lost about 3.33 million barrels of crude oil to theft in 2025, with the bulk of the losses recorded in the final three months of the year, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The commission’s annual report for 2025 also revealed that its revenue collection fell by N2.14tn, despite improved earnings from some other revenue sources.
The report, released on Thursday, showed that oil and gas revenue dropped from N12.56tn in 2024 to N10.42tn in 2025, representing a 17.03 per cent decline.
Crude Theft Spikes Towards Year-End
The NUPRC’s figures indicated a sharp increase in crude oil theft during the last quarter of 2025.
About 2.19 million barrels were reportedly stolen between October and December, accounting for 65.8 per cent of the annual losses.
The figure was nearly five times the 440,434 barrels recorded in the third quarter.
In the first quarter, the commission reported 896,471 barrels of crude theft. However, the second quarter recorded a negative 200,400 barrels, which the agency attributed to excess volumes discovered during reconciliation.
The quarterly figures brought the total reported crude oil losses for the year to approximately 3.33 million barrels.
The report read, “Nigeria recorded 896,471 barrels of crude oil theft in the first quarter.
The second quarter recorded a negative 200,400 barrels, which the commission described as an excess volume in its reconciliation. Reported theft stood at 440,434 barrels in the third quarter. The fourth quarter recorded 2.19 million barrels, the highest quarterly volume of the year.”
Rising Security Costs
The losses occurred amid increased spending on the protection of Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited reported that its energy security expenses rose to N8.67tn in 2025 from approximately N3.1tn in the previous year.
The expenditure covered efforts to secure petroleum facilities and support energy security, although it was not entirely dedicated to fighting crude oil theft.
The continued theft of crude despite the increased spending has renewed concerns about the effectiveness of security measures around oil production and transportation facilities.
The stolen volumes also represent potential revenue, export earnings and crude supplies that could have supported domestic refineries.
Despite the losses, Nigeria produced 541.08 million barrels of crude oil and blended condensate in 2025.
Production reached 132.70 million barrels in the first quarter, 137.69 million in the second, 137.45 million in the third and 133.23 million in the final quarter.
The country also recorded 48.52 million barrels of unblended condensate during the year.
Oil Revenue Records Decline
Oil and gas royalties, including Project Gazelle and NNPC receivables, remained the commission’s largest revenue source.
The category generated N8.97tn in 2025, down from N11.08tn in 2024, representing a reduction of N2.11tn or 19.03 per cent.
The report stated, “The total approved budget for 2025 was N645,462,335,500.80, with total income of N342,814,462,174.97 and total expenditure was N304,533,385,103. Total revenue generated was N10,424,478,448,682.40, which is 63 per cent of projected revenue of N16,538,206,608,738.00.
“357 oil spill incidents were reported. 49.5 per cent of the spills were a result of sabotage. There was an increase of 64.74 per cent in revenue in 2024 over 2023 and a decrease of 20.53 per cent in 2025 over 2024 revenues,” the report added.
Gas Flare Penalties and Bonuses Record Growth
While overall revenue declined, some revenue streams recorded significant increases.
Collections from gas flare penalties rose from N391.26bn in 2024 to N611.42bn in 2025, representing a 56.27 per cent increase.
Signature bonuses increased by 44.2 per cent to N532.94bn from N369.58bn, while concession rentals climbed from N23.71bn to N38.19bn, representing a 61.1 per cent rise.
Miscellaneous revenue also grew from N35.20bn to N46.44bn.
However, royalty by price fell from N313.72bn to N213.41bn, while lease renewal receipts declined sharply from N230.73bn to N8.23bn.
The commission’s income from revenue collection costs and internally generated revenue rose by 21.85 per cent to N342.81bn in 2025, compared with N281.34bn in 2024.
Revenue collection costs accounted for N335.45bn, while internally generated revenue contributed N7.36bn.
The NUPRC generated N10.42tn against its projected revenue target of N16.54tn, achieving 63 per cent of its target.
The report also recorded 357 oil spill incidents during the year, with sabotage responsible for 49.5 per cent of the cases.