Navy uncovers 9 illegal refineries in Rivers, seizes 104,000 litres of stolen crude

The Nigerian Navy has uncovered nine illegal refining sites comprising 23 dugout pits in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, with 18 of the pits containing an estimated 104,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil.

The Director of Naval Information, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed the discovery in an operational report on Tuesday in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

He said the sites were uncovered during an operation carried out by personnel of Forward Operating Base Bonny under Operation DELTA SENTINEL.

The operation also neutralised five newly excavated pits that had been prepared for imminent use before they could become operational, preventing the further expansion of the illegal refining network in the area.

What the Navy is saying

Folorunsho said the operation delivered a significant setback to crude oil theft syndicates operating in the Bonny area, targeting criminal infrastructure across two communities simultaneously.

• “Following actionable intelligence, personnel targeted criminal infrastructure concealed within the Wakama/Bolo and Aworkiri communities. The operation denied economic saboteurs the opportunity to activate new refining locations and sustain illicit petroleum production,” he said.
• “The operation dealt another major setback to crude oil theft syndicates and further reinforced the service’s resolve to safeguard Nigeria’s critical oil and gas infrastructure,” Folorunsho added.

He said eight locally fabricated refining pots and three large storage tanks were also recovered during the operation, further disrupting the criminal network’s refining capability.

• “All illegal facilities and recovered products were handled in accordance with extant anti-crude oil theft procedures,” he said, adding that by targeting both active and emerging illegal refining hubs, the Navy continues to weaken the operational resilience of crude oil theft syndicates.
• “The latest success highlights the Nigerian Navy’s determination not only to disrupt illegal refining activities, but also to prevent criminal networks from rebuilding their infrastructure. By targeting both active and emerging illegal refining hubs, the service continues to weaken the operational resilience of crude oil theft syndicates and protecting Nigeria’s economic interests,” he said.

Get up to speed

The Bonny discovery is the latest in a series of operations by the Nigerian Navy as part of its ongoing Operation Delta Sentinel.

Earlier this month, Nairametrics reported that the navy had uncovered and dismantled four illegal refining sites in Rivers State, recovering about 43,000 litres of suspected illegally refined petroleum products in its latest crackdown on crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.

Before that, on July 5, Nairametrics also reported that the Navy had uncovered a hidden illegal fuel storage facility in Rivers State, recovering approximately 11,800 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), commonly known as diesel, as part of its ongoing anti-crude oil theft operations under Operation Delta Sentinel.

What you should know

This development comes barely a day after the Nigerian Army revealed it has dismantled 14 illegal refining sites and recovered more than 350,000 litres of stolen petroleum products during a week-long anti-oil theft operation across the Niger Delta.

The joint operation, carried out with other security agencies between July 14 and July 20, also led to the arrest of 62 suspects allegedly involved in crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and other economic sabotage in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, and Akwa Ibom states.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 6 Division, Lt.-Col. Jonah Danjuma.