Port Harcourt, Nigeria – At dawn, the dense creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta are shrouded in an eerie silence, broken only by the intermittent calls of herons, a rare waterbird found in this part of Nigeria.

Suddenly, there was a flash of water and a turbulent wave, announcing the speed of the speedboat.

Tonye Francis, who lives in the oil-producing community of Ogu-Bolo in Rivers State and has been under the shadow of the oil conflict for years, said the boats often carry heavily armed militiamen, often wearing work clothes. Show that they are technical.

The young man told Al Jazeera that there were also dozens of empty mini-barrels on board with hoses at the bottom that were professionally broken and connected to a nearby oil pipeline.

Soon, the mini-barrels were filled with crude oil and loaded onto barges. The barges were then escorted by speedboats out of the inlet, through other lush creeks and swamps in the area, in the direction of waiting foreign ships out to sea.

“When these events are going on, it feels like a movie scene,” Francis said.

“They (oil thieves) operate unimpeded. Sometimes those involved are provided with security protection by sponsors.”

Such incidents have been common over the years in Rivers State, which calls itself the oil capital of Nigeria. But the scene is also repeated in the Niger Delta, where thieves try to steal crude oil from the pipelines that crisscross the region.

“We cannot stop them without the support of military personnel deployed to the area,” Francis said.

Nigeria is one of Africa’s major oil exporters. But industrial-scale oil theft poses a significant threat to communities and the wider economy. Oil theft costs Nigeria millions of dollars every month; in 2022, approximately $23 billion was lost in oil revenue—one of the highest losses in recent years.

This forced Nigeria to lose its status as the continent’s top exporter, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

But the situation appears to be rebounding, with authorities hoping improved security measures will help criminals win the war against oil theft for good.

‘Oil theft is a big problem’

Rivers is one of six states in the country with oil facilities.

Authorities in the state last week launched a fleet of military-grade gunboats to help fight crime and oil theft as part of a plan to boost oil production in the region.

“Oil theft is a big problem that requires everyone to work together to solve it,” the state’s governor, Siminarai Fubala, explained in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“These six gunboats donated by our government are intended to support the Nigerian Navy to ensure that we significantly reduce the activities of oil thieves,” he said.

Officials said the gunboats will increase patrols of waterways and improve response times, especially near underwater oil export pipelines that are vulnerable to attack.

“We have formed local vigilantes to support the protection of oil facilities, purchased gunboats and are protecting the area’s ecosystem,” Tomihara added.

The river is home to pipelines that transport crude oil from other states to the Bonny export terminal and account for 6.5% of Nigeria’s total revenue.

But for decades, the theft has had a negative impact on overall revenue in the country, which gets about 90% of government revenue from oil.

Since the discovery of commercial quantities of oil in Nigeria in 1958, thousands of oil spills have occurred due to the activities of oil thieves. Lower production often adversely affects government revenue.

This continues to impact people in communities in these oil-rich areas. Those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and fishing have felt a direct impact on their livelihoods, with residents reporting numerous health problems.

To provide alternative opportunities to young people, the Rivers State Government plans to invest more in health, education and infrastructure in areas at risk of pipeline damage.

“We are doing our best to prevent any kind of economic disruption, which is why the country’s production has increased in recent months with our support and protection of the pipeline,” Tomihara told Al Jazeera.

“Recent gains can be sustained”

Oil exports, the backbone of Nigeria’s crude production, currently average 1.8 million barrels per day, compared with 1.3 million barrels per day in March, although the country has the capacity to export nearly 2 million barrels per day.

Mele Kyari, group chief executive of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, attributed the increase in production to improved safety measures and support from joint venture partners.

“Our production has reached new peaks not seen in the past three years. This is related to the continued efforts of the armed forces and other security agencies to protect our critical assets,” Kyari said in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

“I call for increased and sustained security engagement.”

Industry experts are optimistic that the country’s oil production will peak within months if the measures taken continue.

“There is a great need to increase crude oil production above the current successful figures to help Nigeria defend the rapidly falling naira and address the lack of foreign exchange supply that has hit the foreign exchange market hard as it has contributed to higher oil costs. Steve Nwachukwu, an economist at Steward Asset Management, told Al Jazeera.

Nigeria has been battling soaring inflation and a sharp currency depreciation since President Bola Tinubu launched reforms aimed at reviving the economy more than a year ago.

Recently, labor leaders and civil society have led anti-government demonstrations to express dissatisfaction with government reforms that they say have caused high inflation.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China’s inflation rate rose to 34.60% in November, mainly due to soaring food prices and rising retail prices of petroleum products.

The federal government insists this phase of the economic crisis is temporary and expects increased oil production to boost revenue.

“Recent gains can be sustained if deliberate action is taken to curb oil theft and encourage increased investment and commitment from IOCs (international oil companies) and other companies,” Nwachukwu said.

“A complete repositioning”

For the Rivers State governor, more needs to be done to stop oil thieves.

“We are committed to the government’s remediation of polluted environments. That is why we are increasing support for other economic sectors such as agriculture to address poverty, which is one of the main reasons why people sabotage pipelines to steal oil,” Tomihara said.

“What we need is a complete reorientation of people to stop them stealing oil. This is a terrible situation because the kids involved are only 14 and 15 years old,” he added.

Pollution from oil theft continues to threaten the lives of the delta’s 30 million residents. According to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), between 2011 and 2021, 9,870 spills occurred.

These spills are largely caused by oil thieves and most communities can no longer engage in farming as their livelihoods are destroyed.

In the early 2000s, Niger Delta youths, outraged by the region’s economic marginalization and environmental degradation, banded together to form armed groups that sabotaged oil pipelines and kidnapped oil company employees. The attacks have significantly reduced oil production, costing Nigeria a fifth of its production.

The president granted unconditional pardons and made cash payments to rebels who agreed to hand over their weapons.

The armed struggle in the Delta has eased in recent years, in part because some former rebel leaders were granted surveillance deals following amnesty deals.

Nigeria’s oil minister, Heineken Lokpobiri, acknowledged the war on oil theft is an uphill battle but insisted the country was winning.

“Everyone knows that oil theft is one of the biggest economic problems we face. We are fighting them,” Lokpobili told reporters in Abuja.

“We’re not quite where we want to be yet. But certainly it’s a huge improvement as far as the oil theft problem goes. We’re going to keep fighting until we get to 2 million to 2.5 million barrels.”

In 2022, Nigeria lost its position as the number one oil producer in Africa, falling behind Angola, Algeria and Libya. But the country has rebounded this year to maintain its status as the continent’s leading exporter, according to OPEC data released in April.

“(This) will significantly ease the pressure on the naira and stabilize the foreign exchange market, thereby significantly reducing the cost of goods and services, as high exchange rates are a major factor in high input costs for businesses and manufacturers,” economist Nwachukwu said.