The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has attributed the loss of revenue from crude production to theft, pipeline vandalism and decayed infrastructure.

In a statement on Monday by his media aide, Horatius Egua, the minister said the federal government was determined to end the trend despite the challenges.

“It is a known fact that the major losses of crude oil in the country have been through theft and destruction of oil pipelines,” Mr Sylva said.

Mr Sylva said the federal government was determined to end the trend through improved investments and security along the major oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region.

“Again, we also know that some of the oil infrastructure is old and decayed and cannot perform at maximum capacity.

“And there is also the issue of lack of investments in fossil fuel in the country, and the drive towards renewable energy has really hampered new investments in this sector,” he said.

The minister said the government had put measures in place to restore sanity in the sector.

He added that contrary to report, the problem associated with crude oil losses are systemic issues the government was already handling to find permanent solutions.

Mr Sylva, therefore, urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to harmoniously work together.

He said this would ensure that the constraints and impeding challenges in the optimal crude oil production volume were speedily addressed to boost national revenue.

The minister said the federal government could not continue to lose revenue through perceived lapses in crude oil production.

The minister said this was not the time to dwell on past mistakes or engage in needless blame games but to work to close all existing leakages to enable the government to get maximum benefits from its crude oil and gas assets.

While expressing satisfaction at the improved security along the major oil pipelines in the region, Mr Sylva called for sustained efforts by all concerned to maintain maximum crude oil production.

“We are very confident that Nigeria will achieve the two million barrel per day crude oil production target very soon.

“The government is doing everything possible to get to where we should be, and everyone is working hard to achieve this,” the minister said.

(NAN)