Port Harcourt, August 7, 2024 – In a renewed effort to curb illegal oil bunkering activities, the Nigerian Army has destroyed several illicit refining sites across the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
According to Lt Col. Jonah Danjuma, the Acting Deputy Director of 6 Division Army Public Relations, the operation was carried out by the Land Component of the Joint Task Force, South-South, under Operation Delta Safe.
In Rivers State, troops from Sector 3 identified and destroyed three illegal refineries at Odagwa in Etche Local Government Area. The operation led to the confiscation and subsequent destruction of over 30,000 liters of stolen and illegally refined products.
Additionally, in the Akaso field down to Cawthorne channel, around well 9, the troops discovered an illegal refining site, three receivers, and massive connecting pipes used to transport stolen crude to the illicit facilities.
Similarly, in Bayelsa State, troops from Sector 2 conducted operations along the Dasaba Creek in Nembe Local Government Area, where they confiscated over 12,000 liters of stolen and illegally refined products. The seized items also included a fiber boat, five ovens, several metal drums, and massive storage reservoirs.
“The feat is the outcome of a renewed vigor aimed at reducing the activities of notorious illegal oil bunkering merchants in the Niger Delta Region,” Lt Col. Danjuma said in a statement. “The army has effectively scaled up operations against these criminal elements to increase oil production in the crude oil and gas-rich region.”
The crackdown on illegal refineries is part of the Nigerian military’s ongoing efforts to combat oil theft and pipeline vandalism, which have long plagued the country’s oil and gas industry.
