Navy shuts downillegal refinery sites in Rivers State

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

This was disclosed in a statement delivered on Tuesday in Abuja by the Director of Naval Information, Navy Capt. Abiodun Folorunsho.

Folorunsho said the operations were carried out under Operation Delta Sentinel, part of the ongoing effort to curb crude‑oil theft and economic sabotage in the Niger Delta.

He noted that personnel from Forward Operating Base Bonny, acting on credible intelligence about suspicious activity, thwarted 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 conducted a coordinated reconnaissance across adjoining creeks and waterways, with support from 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 accordance with operational procedures, and the area has been placed under continued monitoring.

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

He explained that the discovery followed intelligence reports of suspicious movement of petroleum products around the 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 because suspects fled the scene, the recovered products were secured in line with operational procedures.

He also said the operations highlighted the growing 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 are focused on identifying emerging hot‑spots, disrupting illegal refining infrastructure, and restricting the mobility of criminal elements.

The naval spokesman reaffirmed the Nigerian Navy’s commitment to intelligence‑driven operations aimed at protecting critical national assets and safeguarding the maritime environment from economic sabotage.

NAN