• Oil theft slumps 82.9% to 17,600bpd in 5 years amid contemporary uptick in losses
• Navy uncovers 132,000 litres of stolen crude oil in Bonny
Emmanuel Addeh and Linus Aleke in Abuja
Crude oil costs surged above $117 a barrel on the weekend, reaching their highest degree since April, as fears of renewed US army strikes on Iran and escalating threats to power infrastructure throughout the Middle East heightened issues about world crude provides.
This comes as oil theft and pipeline losses in Nigeria fell by 82.9 per cent in 5 years, from 102,900 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 17,600 bpd within the first seven months of 2026, amid contemporary issues about additional will increase in misplaced volumes after years of decline.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Navy has uncovered 132,000 litres of stolen crude oil in Allison group, Bonny Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, disrupting a possible storage level within the illicit petroleum provide chain as troops of Operation Delta Sentinel intensified their clampdown on oil theft and financial saboteurs within the Niger Delta area.
Nigeria’s oil benchmark, Brent crude, climbed by about 3.5 per cent to cross $117 a barrel throughout buying and selling earlier than easing to only above $116, nonetheless up roughly 2.7 per cent.
The newest rally adopted reviews that Washington was contemplating contemporary army strikes towards Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, elevating issues that the battle, now in its eighth month, may escalate additional relatively than transfer in direction of a diplomatic decision.
Iran had threatened to assault oil amenities, undersea cables, information centres and synthetic intelligence infrastructure throughout the Gulf if the United States and Israel launched a brand new offensive towards the nation.
Brent crude traded at about $72 a barrel in February, earlier than the struggle started, however surged to about $126 a barrel by the tip of April because the battle intensified and issues mounted over provide safety.
Tensions rose once more throughout the week following claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) that it struck 4 industrial vessels within the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
The US ordered some diplomats and members of the family of American authorities workers to depart Saudi Arabia, which had confronted continued assaults by Houthi rebels working from Yemen.
