Abuja, Jan 3 (IANS): The volume of oil theft in oil rich Nigeria's Niger Delta region has reduced from 100,000 barrels to 40,00 barrels per day, the governor of oil rich Delta State said Thursday.

Although the quantity of the stolen crude was still on the high side, with proactive measures by government, the menace would be checked, reported Xinhua citing Emmanuel Uduaghan after he met President Goodluck Jonathan.

If the culprits of oil theft were prosecuted and sanctioned accordingly and the right technology deployed for monitoring, the crime would drastically reduce, he added.

"The volume of theft is reducing, as at today, I can tell you that the quantity that is being stolen has reduced to about 40,000 barrels per day," the governor told reporters.

According to him, the stolen 40,000 barrels per day was still on the high side.

"We go further in putting measures in place, especially, the issue of prosecution, the quantity will gradually reduce and if possible we can get it to a zero level," he added. "Apart from the prosecution we are also looking at technology in monitoring to be able to deal with oil theft."

Oil thefts is a long standing problem in the Niger Delta.