Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria, says thieves and vandals cost the country up to 200,000 barrels of oil per day – that’s billions of dollars in lost revenue. To combat the problem, Nigerian oil authorities have launched a mobile app for reporting the incidents and rewarding those who do. The launch of the crude oil theft monitoring app took place last Friday in Abuja, during the signing of renewed production contracts between the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission and its oil drilling partners. Authorities said the mobile platform was created for members of host communities in oil-rich regions to enable early reporting of incidents and spur immediate action from relevant security and government authorities. Whistleblowers will also be rewarded. During the launch, the NNPC group head Mele Kyari admitted that pipeline vandalism has become difficult to control. Nigeria has been seeking to cash in on rising energy prices as Europe tries to wean itself off Russia’s energy supply following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Authorities have revived decades-old “Trans Saharan” pipeline projects from Nigeria to Algeria and also from Nigeria to Morocco. Both projects are targeting European energy markets.
SOURCE: VOA