The seeming wastage of Nigeria’s most priced natural resource, crude oil, continued in July, with the country losing a humongous 7.193 million barrels of the commodity to mainly deteriorating facilities at the country’s offshore and shallow waters assets. It was the highest loss in months mostly as a result of shut-ins due to incessant repairs as well as to a lesser extent, disruptions arising from community workers’ protests and fire incidents. At the official exchange rate of N410 to $1, the loss would amount to about N221 billion or $539.4 million. At a time Nigeria desperately needs every dollar, the continued monthly losses was seen as a direct leakage on the country’s economy. Delayed maintenance and low investment have combined to ensure that the country has been unable to pump enough oil to meet the quota allocated to it by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) […]