By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder has announced the destruction of an illegal crude oil refining site in the creeks of Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Speaking recently, the Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Desmond Igbo, estimated the capacity of the refinery at over a million litres.
The Commander explained the extent of the operation which he said steals crude from the wellhead to the illegal reservoir.
“This is NNPC OML-18 being managed by NNPC and Sahara. You can see how these criminals went over there and rigged a hose, that hose is almost 18 inches from the oil wellhead. They rigged it from there,” Commodore Igbo stated.
“You can see the crude flowing down to where they have their reservoir and constructed illegal refinery where they cook it. This is economic sabotage to the Nigerian economy,” the military officer added.
He stated that the Nigerian Navy is canvassing the support of local communities in fighting the menace, adding that no arrests have been made so far.
Lamenting the involvement of youths in the illegal oil bunkering, Igbo urged the paramount chiefs and leaders in the area to call their youths to order.
“When we came with our gunboats, they ran away. But we are still going to trace them and trace those who are sponsoring them.
“They cannot just come here without having big people behind them. We will put down our intelligence and make sure we trace their sponsors,” he added.
The tanks were destroyed with the help of a swamp buggy, while the illegal hose was clamped by the technicians.
The fight against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta is an ongoing battle between security agencies and economic saboteurs.
In recent years, Nigeria has recorded a surge in oil theft incidents in its oil-producing region, which has worsened the nation’s revenue challenge.
In a bid to curb crude oil theft, the Nigerian government launched an application in August last year to monitor cases of theft.
The NNPC also awarded a multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance contract to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, Mr Government Tompolo.
