The Federal Government said on Tuesday that it has commenced efforts to recover huge oil
revenues laundered abroad by companies involved in the growing incidents of illegal oil bunkering and crude theft in the Niger Delta region.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke said on Tuesday at the opening of the Nigeria Oil and Gas, NOG, conference in Abuja that this was part of the issues President Goodluck Jonathan discussed with his hosts during his recent visit to the United Kingdom and France.
Nigeria is estimated to lose an average of 50,000 barrels of crude oil daily, or about $6 billion (N900 billion) annually as a result of crude oil theft alone.
The figure excludes losses recorded on a daily basis as a result of sabotage of oil and gas industry facilities, including crude oil and petroleum products pipelines vandalism across Nigeria.