BBC: Bulgarian Criminal Networks Steal Nigeria Oil

An oil production facility in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. File photo, EPA/BGNES

The main buyers of the estimated 180,000 barrels of oil stolen each day in Nigeria are based in the Balkans, including Bulgaria, and Singapore, a Nigerian politician claims, as cited by BBC.

Patrick Dele Cole, a politician from the oil-rich Niger Delta region, said 90% of the stolen oil is shipped out of the country by criminal networks in Ukraine, Serbia and Bulgaria, or to Singapore, which is the world's top refiner.

Dele Cole has initiated a "Stop The Theft" campaign to end the practice by having ships tracked by satellite.

"Once you start asking questions and throwing light on this problem, you have solved more than 50% of the problem," said Dele Cole, a veteran diplomat and former presidential adviser, as cited by BBC.

"I think you should send out a warning to those who are being extremely rich, that their day of reckoning is coming."

"It's been a problem for a long time, but when it was 50,000 barrels, people thought [it] was tolerable. Now we're at a totally different level."

The entire oil sector in Nigeria is riddled with corruption, says BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross.

Many politicians are involved, he says, with part of the proceeds being used to fund election campaigns and buy votes.

The theft of 180,000 barrels of oil a day is costing Nigeria, at current oil prices, USD 6 B a year, according to BBC correspondent.

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