The Nigerian Navy has intensified its operations against crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, destroying a reactivated illegal refinery site in Rivers State and intercepting suspected stolen petroleum products in Calabar, Cross River State.
The Director of Naval Information, Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja.
Folorunsho explained that personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH, operating under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, destroyed a reactivated illegal refinery site at Okolomade Community in Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He said the operation followed credible intelligence indicating that a previously dismantled illegal refining site had resumed operations.
According to him, an Anti–Crude Oil Theft (Anti-COT) team deployed to the location discovered that the dismantled refining oven had been reconstructed.
“Further exploitation of the area led to the discovery of additional refining equipment and storage facilities containing about 3,000 litres of product suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, AGO,” he said.
Folorunsho added that the illegal refining infrastructure including ovens, storage tanks, hoses, connected pipes, and newly acquired metal components used for illegal refining was destroyed in line with operational procedures.
In a separate operation, personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory intercepted about 3,950 litres of suspected stolen petroleum products around the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) area in Calabar.
He explained that the interception followed intelligence reports about suspected siphoning of petroleum products from vessels berthed at the port.
The naval patrol team quickly moved to the area and traced the illegally siphoned products to a trailer park within the port facility.
“On sighting the naval patrol team, the suspected perpetrators fled the scene, after which the area was cordoned off and the illegally siphoned products secured,” he said.
Folorunsho said further inspection led to the recovery of about 3,950 litres of Automotive Gas Oil stored in drums and jerrycans, which were later evacuated to the naval base for further action in line with existing regulations.
He noted that the operations align with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, to intensify the fight against crude oil theft and other maritime crimes within Nigeria’s maritime domain.
Folorunsho reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to sustaining the momentum of Operation DELTA SENTINEL through enhanced surveillance, patrols, and intelligence-led operations aimed at tackling crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, and other forms of economic sabotage.