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The Nigerian Navy has reported that its Special Forces shut down over 70 illegal refinery operations and seized more than 400,000 liters of stolen crude oil in the Niger Delta during July 2025.
This information is detailed in a monthly operations report released on Friday by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore Ayiwuyor Adams-Aliu, in Abuja.
He emphasized that the heightened efforts under the ongoing Operation Delta Sanity aim to combat crude oil theft and other economic sabotage activities in Nigeria's maritime territory.
The operation resulted in the identification and destruction of 120 dugout pits, illegal storage sites, and various tools used for crude oil theft and illegal refining across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom States.
Additionally, the Navy prevented oil thieves from accessing approximately 411,400 liters of crude, 87,825 liters of illegally-refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), 72,000 liters of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), and 21,900 liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
Highlighting key aspects of the operations, the Naval spokesperson mentioned that on July 4, they discovered and shut down illegal refining sites with over 66,000 liters of suspected crude and 40,000 liters of refined AGO near Ogba, Egbema, and Ndoni in Rivers.
On July 14, operations resulted in numerous arrests and confiscations in Akwa Ibom and Delta States, revealing smuggling attempts to Cameroon and exposing underground reservoirs of thousands of liters of stolen crude oil.
On July 22 and 23, two large illegal operations were dismantled in the Biseni Community, Bayelsa, where over 450,000 liters of crude oil were recovered. Adams-Aliu mentioned that naval personnel also intercepted several wooden boats used for smuggling PMS and other petroleum products, arresting six suspected smugglers in the process.
He reiterated the Navy's commitment under the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, to eradicate oil theft and enhance national oil production.
According to him, the Navy's actions have contributed to a recent announcement from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission reporting that Nigeria's oil production has surpassed 1.8 million barrels per day.
"The Nigerian Navy is steadfast in its mission to maintain maritime safety, deter illicit activities, and ensure national security in the maritime domain," he stated.
The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), in their recent publication revealing that Nigeria lost an astonishing 619.7 million barrels of oil valued at N16.25 trillion to theft from 2009 to 2020.
However, NEITI noted a decline from 36.69 million barrels lost in 2022 to 7.68 million barrels in 2023, attributing this drop to improved resource management and strengthened security measures.
