The Nigerian Navy has intensified its crackdown on crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, deactivating 71 illegal refinery sites and confiscating over 590,000 litres of stolen petroleum products during Operation Delta Sanity in July 2025.
According to a statement issued on Thursday, August 7, 2025, by Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, Director of Information, the operations conducted across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom States targeted criminal networks involved in oil theft and smuggling.
The Navy’s July operations began on July 4 with the discovery and destruction of six illegal refinery sites in Ogba, Egbema, and Ndoni communities, Rivers State. These sites contained 40 dugout pits with about 66,000 litres of suspected crude oil, 40 ovens, and 30 reservoirs holding roughly 40,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).
Further raids across the month uncovered large-scale illegal refining facilities, crude oil reservoirs, and smuggling attempts, including the arrest of suspected traffickers in Akwa Ibom State trying to move 2,500 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to Cameroon.
Significant breakthroughs were recorded between July 22 and 23 in Biseni, Bayelsa State, where Navy operatives destroyed sites containing more than 450,000 litres of stolen crude oil and seized pumping equipment, galvanized pipes, and storage pits used for illicit refining.
In total, the Navy denied oil thieves about 411,400 litres of crude oil, 87,825 litres of illegally refined AGO, 72,000 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), and 21,900 litres of PMS.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, commended personnel for their resilience, noting that the sustained operations were contributing to the recent rise in Nigeria’s oil production, which has now surpassed 1.8 million barrels per day according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Meanwhile the Navy has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the nation’s maritime domain, curbing illicit activities, and safeguarding national economic interests.
