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