The Nigerian Navy has uncovered 15 large-scale illegal refining sites in Rivers State that are capable of processing 2.7 million litres of crude oil per day. Commodore Desmond Igbo, the Commander of Nigeria Navy Ship Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, revealed this to the press on Friday. He led them to the illicit refining sites in the community of Degema.
The troops discovered these illegal sites as part of the ongoing Operation Delta Sanity recently launched by Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogala, the Chief of Naval Staff, to combat oil theft.
“The unveiling of the illegal refining camps was made in line with the renewed mandate to combat and eliminate crude oil theft from the country,” Igbo said.
He further stated that each of the 15 illegal refining camps was equipped with six cooking pots and metal storage tanks.
Igbo noted that this discovery of the illegal bunkering sites was a significant breakthrough for the Federal Government’s efforts to rid the country of oil thieves and economic saboteurs.
He expressed concern that frequent vandalism of pipelines and wellheads had further polluted and damaged the environment. However, he also revealed that no arrests were made during the raid as the labourers in the illegal refineries fled the area on sighting the advancement of naval troops on several gunboats.
Igbo said that Ogalla had given naval troops the marching order to end attacks on the nation’s oil and gas facilities and safeguard the maritime environment.