The Nigerian Navy has destroyed a reactivated illegal refinery site in Okolomade Community, Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State, as part of ongoing operations to curb crude oil theft and illegal refining in the Niger Delta.
The operation was carried out on Saturday by Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) SOROH, a task unit under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, following credible intelligence that a previously deactivated illegal refining site in the area had been reactivated.
In a statement issued by the Director of Naval Information, Captain AA Folorunsho, the Navy said an Anti-Crude Oil Theft (Anti-COT) team was deployed to the location, where operatives discovered that the dismantled refining oven had been reconstructed.
Further exploitation of the site 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).
According to the statement, the illegal refining infrastructure, including ovens, storage tanks, hoses, connected pipes and newly acquired metal components used for the illicit operations, was subsequently destroyed in line with established operational procedures.
The Navy noted that the successful operation aligned with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, to intensify the fight against crude oil theft and illegal bunkering across Nigeria’s maritime domain.
It reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining the momentum of Operation DELTA SENTINEL through intelligence-driven operations aimed at dismantling illegal refining networks and safeguarding the nation’s critical oil infrastructure.
