The Nigerian Navy has uncovered three suspected illegal refining sites, six reservoirs and about 99,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil and illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil in Rivers and Delta states.
The discoveries were made during separate operations conducted by the Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH and NNS DELTA on August 31, 2026, following credible intelligence on suspected illegal petroleum activities.
The Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
According to him, the operations also led to the discovery of illegal refining infrastructure, including a large refining oven, storage facilities and dugout reservoirs containing suspected stolen crude oil.
Folorunsho said the discoveries had disrupted the infrastructure supporting crude oil theft and illegal refining in the affected areas.
He said, “The combined discoveries represent a substantial disruption to illicit petroleum activities, particularly the storage and processing infrastructure required to sustain the illegal trade.”
The Navy spokesman added that the recovered products and identified facilities were handled in line with established procedures.
He said, “The identified sites, facilities and recovered products were appropriately handled in accordance with established procedures.”
Folorunsho said the latest operations demonstrated the Navy’s ability to sustain pressure on criminal networks involved in crude oil theft and illegal refining across its operational areas.
He added, “The latest successes demonstrate the Nigerian Navy’s ability to maintain pressure across multiple operational areas while denying criminal networks the infrastructure required to sustain crude oil theft and illegal refining activities.”
The latest operation is part of the Navy’s continuing efforts to disrupt crude oil theft and illegal refining activities in Nigeria’s oil-producing region.
