Oil theft on the rise in Nigeria
3rd August 2012,
A sophisticated criminal network has stepped up its operations in Nigeria's Bayelsa State costing state and oil companies as much as a billion dollars per month. Royal Dutch, Shell Oil Company's Nigerian subsidiary, says that between 150,000 and 180,000 barrels of oil are stolen daily from its pipelines and wells. Government estimates are twice this amount. The trade in stolen oil involves international traders who provide oil at discounted prices to refineries in other parts of the world. And as Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow exclusively reports from Bayelsa State, the impact of oil theft on the environment is devastating.