• Nigeria cuts crude theft losses to 9,600 bpd, lowest since 2009
• PINL recruits 35,000 Niger Delta youths for pipeline patrols
• Authorities warn local collusion still threatens progress

Nigeria’s efforts to combat crude oil theft are gaining traction, with losses due to sabotage and illegal tapping falling to their lowest level since 2009, even as risks of local collusion persist.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced that crude oil losses dropped to just 9,600 barrels per day (bpd) in July 2025. Authorities hail the reduction as historic, reflecting the combined impact of national strategies and local initiatives.

Driving the local efforts, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), a pipeline surveillance company, has recruited 35,000 young people from the Niger Delta to patrol pipelines and protect strategic oil installations, according to local media reports on September 26.

PINL is already claiming success, noting that no incidents were reported in August on the Trans Niger Pipeline, historically one of the country's most vulnerable conduits. The firm emphasized the importance of strengthened cooperation with host communities, which were previously underrepresented in the management and security of oil infrastructure.

Simultaneously, the government and the state-owned oil company, NNPC Ltd, credit the improvement to better coordination with the military, stricter metrological audits, and the increased involvement of private security operators. Authorities say these measures have significantly contributed to reducing the amount of siphoned crude.

Despite the positive figures, recent events underscore the fragility of this progress, particularly the risk of local collusion. Oil companies themselves have sometimes accused members of local communities during public hearings of actively participating in pipeline sabotage or shielding the perpetrators of oil theft.

Abdel-Latif Boureima