Key Highlights:

• Nigeria plans to establish a real-time tracking system for all exported crude oil consignments to curb the losses
• Nigerian authorities move to implement mandatory registration of all crude oil shipments to enhance traceability
  

Nigerian authorities are aiming to boost revenues gleaned from the oil and gas industry, a sector which makes up approximately 40% of the country's GDP, 70% of its budgetary income, and 95% of foreign exchange earnings.
 
 Local media reported on Wednesday, June 18th, that Nigeria, Africa's foremost oil producer, intends to institute a real-time tracking system for all its exported crude oil consignments. This system is designed to strengthen traceability in a sector suffering significant economic losses.
 
 According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), around 200,000 barrels of crude oil are diverted each day in Nigeria. At this rate, annual losses amount to more than $7 billion, taking into account crude oil prices.
 
 The state oil company estimates that between 2016 and 2020, the cumulative losses were around $15 billion. Another official estimate, spanning January 2021 to February 2022, reports $3.2 billion of stolen crude oil.
 
To rectify this, the authorities have announced the implementation of a new regulatory framework - the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Advance Cargo Declaration Regulation. This regulation mandates the registration of all crude oil consignments for export before departure. Each shipment must be declared to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). The Commission will then assign the ship a unique identifier before loading.
 
 The real-time tracking of shipments is designed to utilize digital tools, though the specifics of the technical architecture have not yet been detailed. The objective is to provide better visibility over the movements of oil leaving the country by correlating logistics data with customs documents and loading authorizations.
 
 This system is expected to be in effect by 2026. At this stage, the specific implementation procedures, institutional responsibilities, and third-party control mechanisms are not clear. No public bidding has been published related to the technical infrastructure of this system.

This article was initially published in French by Abdel-Latif Boureima

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho