Navy stops illegal refineries in Rivers

The Nigerian Navy has disrupted attempts to establish illegal refining infrastructure and recovered a large cache of suspected illegally refined petroleum products in separate operations across Rivers.

This is contained in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, by the Director of Naval Information, Navy Capt. Abiodun Folorunsho.

Folorunsho said the operations were conducted under Operation Delta Sentinel, as part of ongoing efforts to curb crude oil theft and economic sabotage in the Niger Delta.

He said that personnel of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny, following credible intelligence on suspicious activities, foiled attempts by economic saboteurs to set up illegal refining sites in the Promise Land area of Bonny Local Government Area.

According to him, an anti-crude oil theft patrol team carried out a coordinated reconnaissance mission across adjoining creeks and waterways, supported by aerial surveillance.

”The surveillance exposed concealed refining equipment hidden under thick vegetation, while ground assessment confirmed two newly constructed illegal refining sites close to the river channel.

”The sites also contained improvised cooking installations, interconnected pipe networks and other support infrastructure intended for processing and transporting illegally refined petroleum products.”

The naval spokesman added that the operators were still in the early stages of establishing the camps, indicating plans to create a new refining hub before full-scale operations.

He said the sites were subsequently dismantled in line with operational procedures, while the area had been placed under continued monitoring.

Folorunsho said that in a related development, personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Soroh, discovered a concealed fuel stockpile along the Rivers–Bayelsa border corridor.

He said the discovery followed intelligence reports of suspicious movement of petroleum products around Okarki community waterside in Abua-Odual Local Government Area.

”On deployment, aerial surveillance revealed multiple sacks concealed within dense vegetation along the creek environment.

”Further exploitation led to the recovery of about 3,800 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil stored in 38 sacks,” he said.

Folorunsho said that although no arrests were made as suspects fled the scene; the recovered products were secured in accordance with operational procedures.

He also said the operations highlighted the increasing reliance of illegal fuel networks on remote creek corridors and hidden storage points to sustain their activities.

He added that ongoing operations under Operation DELTA SENTINEL were focused on identifying emerging hot-spots, disrupting illegal refining infrastructure, and restricting the mobility of criminal elements.

The naval spokesman reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigerian Navy to sustaining intelligence-driven operations aimed at protecting critical national assets and safeguarding the maritime environment from economic sabotage. ( NAN)