Nigeria lost roughly 3.33 million barrels of crude oil to theft throughout 2025, with nearly two-thirds of these losses occurring during the final three months of the year, alongside a N2.14 trillion drop in revenue collected by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
According to the commission’s 2025 annual report released on Thursday, total crude oil and gas revenue collections decreased from N12.56 trillion in 2024 to N10.42 trillion in 2025. This marks a 17.03 per cent decline, even with higher receipts gathered from signature bonuses, concession rentals, and gas flare penalties.
Data highlighted in the report indicated that crude oil theft spiked sharply in the fourth quarter, reaching 2.19 million barrels. This accounted for 65.8 per cent of the entire year’s stolen volume and was nearly five times the 440,434 barrels recorded during the third quarter.
Earlier in the year, the commission documented 896,471 barrels stolen in the first quarter, followed by a negative figure of 200,400 barrels in the second quarter. The agency attributed the second-quarter figure to excess volumes identified during reconciliation processes. Taken together, the quarterly numbers pushed the total reported crude oil theft to about 3.33 million barrels for 2025.
The report stated: “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.”
These severe losses persisted despite hefty expenditures aimed at safeguarding the country’s energy assets. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited incurred N8.67 trillion in energy security costs in 2025, a significant rise from approximately N3.1 trillion spent in 2024.
These funds represent interventions designed to protect oil and gas infrastructure and bolster overall national energy security, though the full amount is not dedicated exclusively to fighting crude oil theft. The ongoing stolen volumes alongside climbing security expenses raise concerns over the performance of current efforts to secure production setups and crude evacuation pipelines. Furthermore, the missing crude represents resources that could have boosted federal revenue, export profits, and feedstock supplies for local refineries.
Even with the reported losses, Nigeria produced 541.08 million barrels of crude oil and blended condensate over the course of 2025. Breakdown by quarter shows output was 132.70 million barrels in the first quarter, 137.69 million barrels in the second, 137.45 million barrels in the third, and 133.23 million barrels in the fourth quarter. An additional 48.52 million barrels of unblended condensate were also produced during the year.
On the financial side, oil and gas royalties—including Project Gazelle and NNPC receivables—remained the primary revenue stream, bringing in N8.97 trillion in 2025 compared to N11.08 trillion in 2024, representing a 19.03 per cent drop of N2.11 trillion.
