Nigerian Navy deactivates 71 illegal refineries, recovers 411,000 litres of stolen crude in July

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The Nigerian Navy announced that its Special Forces dismantled at least 70 illegal refinery sites and seized over 400,000 litres of stolen crude oil across the Niger Delta in July 2025.

This information was disclosed in a monthly operational report released on Friday by Commodore Ayiwuyor Adams-Aliu, Director of Naval Information, in Abuja.

Adams-Aliu explained that the intensified efforts, under Operation Delta Sanity, aimed to combat crude oil theft and other forms of economic sabotage in Nigeria’s maritime zones.

He stated that the operation uncovered and destroyed 120 dugout pits, unauthorized storage facilities, and equipment used in crude oil theft and illegal refining across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom States.

The Navy reportedly denied oil thieves access to around 411,400 litres of crude oil, 87,825 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), 72,000 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), and 21,900 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

Highlighting key activities, the Naval spokesman said troops discovered and shut down illegal refining sites holding more than 66,000 litres of suspected crude and 40,000 litres of refined AGO at Ogba, Egbema, and Ndoni in Rivers State on July 4.

Further operations on July 14 resulted in multiple arrests and seizures in Akwa Ibom and Delta States, including attempts to smuggle petroleum products to Cameroon and the uncovering of underground storage reservoirs containing thousands of litres of stolen crude.

Two large-scale illegal operations were dismantled in Biseni Community, Bayelsa, on July 22 and 23, with over 450,000 litres of crude oil recovered.

Adams-Aliu noted that Navy personnel also intercepted several wooden boats used for smuggling PMS and other petroleum products, arresting six suspects.

He reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment, under the leadership of Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, to eliminate oil theft and support increased national oil production.

He pointed out that these efforts have contributed to a recent milestone by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which confirmed that Nigeria’s oil production has now surpassed 1.8 million barrels per day.

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“The Nigerian Navy remains resolute in its mission to ensure maritime safety, deter illicit activities, and uphold national security within the nation’s maritime domain,” he said.

Reports from the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that Nigeria lost about 619.7 million barrels of oil valued at N16.25 trillion to theft between 2009 and 2020.

NEITI also highlighted a decline from 36.69 million barrels lost in 2022 to 7.68 million barrels in 2023, attributing this improvement to better resource management and enhanced security measures.

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