NIGERIA’S state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd said an 800,000-litre (211,338-U.S. gallon) vessel carrying stolen crude had been intercepted offshore while heading to Cameroon and would be destroyed as a deterrent to oil theft.
Crude theft from pipelines and wells in the Niger Delta has hobbled the country’s output in recent years and is one of the biggest challenges confronting new President Bola Tinubu.
NNPC said the oil was stolen from a well in southwestern Ondo state. The company said the MT Tura II vessel was owned by locally registered Holab Maritime Services Limited and had no valid documentation for the oil.
Holab could not be reached for comment on numbers listed on its website.
“Destroying vessels involved in transporting stolen crude oil is of paramount importance as a strong deterrent,” NNPC said.
NNPC circulated a video showing the vessel surrounded by armed Nigerian security agents.
