This comes as oil theft and pipeline losses in Nigeria fell by 82.9 per cent in five years, from 102,900 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 17,600 bpd in the first seven months of 2026, amid fresh concerns about further increases in lost volumes after years of decline.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy has uncovered 132,000 litres of stolen crude oil in Allison community, Bonny Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, disrupting a potential storage point in the illicit petroleum supply chain as troops of Operation Delta Sentinel intensified their clampdown on oil theft and economic saboteurs in the Niger Delta region.
Nigeria’s oil benchmark, Brent crude, climbed by about 3.5 per cent to cross $117 a barrel during trading before easing to just above $116, still up approximately 2.7 per cent.
The latest rally followed reports that Washington was considering fresh military strikes against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, raising concerns that the conflict, now in its eighth month, could escalate further rather than move towards a diplomatic resolution.
Iran had threatened to attack oil facilities, undersea cables, data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure across the Gulf if the United States and Israel launched a new offensive against the country.
Brent crude traded at about $72 a barrel in February, before the war began, but surged to about $126 a barrel by the end of April as the conflict intensified and concerns mounted over supply security.
Tensions rose again during the week following claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) that it struck four commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
The US ordered some diplomats and family members of American government employees to leave Saudi Arabia, which had faced continued attacks by Houthi rebels operating from Yemen.
Oil Theft Slumps 82.9% to 17,600bpd in Five Years Amid Fresh Uptick in Losses
Meanwhile, official operational statistics published by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) showed that daily crude oil losses, which fell to a five-year low of 9,100 bpd in 2025, rose by 93.4 per cent to 17,600 bpd between January and July 2026.
The figures in the commission’s fifth anniversary publication, ‘The Upstream Gaze’, highlighted both progress in curbing crude theft and the ongoing challenge of protecting oil production and transportation infrastructure.
According to the data, daily losses declined from 102,900 bpd in 2021 to 55,000 bpd in 2022, representing a 46.5 per cent reduction. The downward trend continued in 2023 when losses dropped to 22,900 bpd, before falling further to 11,200 bpd in 2024 and 9,100 bpd in 2025.
The federal government attributed the cut in crude losses to the combined efforts of the military, local pipeline surveillance groups in the Niger Delta, and the introduction of modern crude measuring devices in the region.
The figures showed that Nigeria’s total liquid hydrocarbon production, comprising crude oil and condensate, gradually recovered from the lows recorded in recent years.
Output averaged 1.63 million bpd in the first seven months of 2026, compared with 1.62 million bpd in 2025, 1.56 million bpd in 2024, 1.47 million bpd in 2023 and 1.38 million bpd in 2022. Production stood at 1.62 million bpd in 2021, the NUPRC data highlighted.
Crude oil production alone averaged 1.46 million bpd in the period under review, up from 1.43 million bpd in 2025, 1.35 million bpd in 2024, 1.24 million bpd in 2023 and 1.14 million bpd in 2022. The figure for 2021 was 1.31 million bpd.
In contrast, blended condensate production continued its downward trend, averaging 170,000 bpd in the first seven months of 2026, compared with 190,000 bpd in 2025, 210,000 bpd in 2024, 230,000 bpd in 2023, 240,000 bpd in 2022, and 310,000 bpd in 2021.
The gradual improvement in crude production also coincided with a significant shift in how the country allocates its oil, particularly the growing share supplied to domestic refineries as Nigeria expands its local refining capacity.
