As part of Operation Delta Sanity, Nigerian Navy troops have destroyed three illicit oil refining facilities located in the states of Rivers and Bayelsa.
The Punch stated that, the Navy reported that on February 11, its ship, Soroh, found and shut down one of the refining facilities at Eduwuini 11 in Bayelsa State.
The location had two reservoirs, three drums, empty bags, and two ovens containing roughly 4,000 litres of crude oil.
It also mentioned on social media that a small boat containing what seemed to be illegally processed paraffin was found.
The statement read, “On February 11, 2024, the Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH discovered and deactivated one active illegal refining site at Eduwuini 11, Bayelsa State, with two reservoirs, three drums, empty sacks, two ovens with crude oil of approximately 4,000 litres, as well as a small boat with illegally refined product suspected to be illegally refined kerosene.”
Similarly, on Saturday, the Nigerian Navy ship Pathfinder found and destroyed two illicit refining installations in Lelema, Rivers State, complete with cooking pots and ovens.
The navy said, “On Saturday, February 10, 2024, Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder discovered and deactivated two illegal refining sites with cooking pots and ovens at Bokokiri-Lelema of KE Community, Rivers State.”
In Ondo State, the navy’s Forward Operating Base, Igbokoda in the Mahin Riverine Area of Ilaje discovered jerry cans containing illicitly refined petroleum products.
According to reports, on Saturday, the operating base “neutralized more than 330 liters of product in jerry cans.”
The motor tanker SAISNIL II was detained by the Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft for suspected crude oil theft in Lagos State.
The flag officer commanding Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral MB Hassan, was cited in a statement as stating that the St. Vincent & Grenadines flag vessel had eleven crew members on board at the time.
Hassan added that the manipulation of the vessel’s Automatic Identification System around ABO Field for over 48 hours raised concerns about illegalities. It also stated that the infraction necessitated the deployment of NNS Sokoto, which sailed 199 nautical miles to intercept and return the vessel to the Lagos anchorage.
The report stated that the vessel sailed from Lagos anchorage to the Taraba Jetty in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on November 23, 2023 to evacuate approximately 720,000 litres of crude sludge.
