The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has reported that the Air Component of Operation Delta Safe destroyed six illegal oil refining sites in Opu Arugbana, located in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers.
This information was conveyed in a statement released by the Director of Public Relations and Information of NAF, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Gabkwet explained that the air strikes were part of the ongoing efforts to eliminate the activities of oil thieves and oil pipeline vandals in the Niger Delta region.
He noted that the illicit sites were identified clustered within a radius of approximately 80 meters at a location around 6 nautical miles south of Opu Arugbana.
- Confirming their active status, authorization was secured to destroy the six sites, thereby deterring the criminals from persisting in their illegal activities.
He said,
- “Despite the festive season, air operations against criminals in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country continue unabated.
- “The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, has commended the efforts of the Air Component Commanders in all the theatres of operation.”
- “Abubakar, who spent Christmas day with troops in the Northeast and is currently in Katsina to fete troops, called on them not to rest until criminal activities are reduced to the barest minimum,”
What you should know
- Nigeria has been battling crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region resulting in low oil production and inability to meet the OPEC production quota of 1.78 million barrels daily allocated to the country in 2023.
- The country records over a hundred incidents of crude oil theft weekly and between 7589 incidents of crude oil theft between January and the second week of October 2023.
- The National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in August stated that Nigeria loses around 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to theft.
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If we do not have legal refining sites, why can’t we encourage and support the ones we targed illegal. Why do we always tag local small producers illegal and we move to other countries to patronize same sate of producers.
Have you observed the fallout from these “…local small producers” (as you choose to tag them)?
* The SOOT pervading the atmosphere miles and kilometers around the areas where they burn …what they burn?
* The health risks to an otherwise impoverished population?
Come on, man. A few get rich (and richer), whilst the rest of the populace get ‘death by proxy’.
Now, how is that fair?
@Obi, I realize the lazy Nigerian press classify them as “refineries” but essentially cooking crude oil and polluting the atmosphere and environment (the crude residue in the soil, creek and streams will likely last for generations) has absolutely NOTHING to do with petroleum refining in any rational sense of the term.