The Nigerian Navy has foiled an attempt to reactivate an illegal refining site in Rivers State and recovered about 350 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil during an operation in Abua/Odual Local Government Area.
The operation, conducted by the Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH on September 6, 2026, was carried out in the Okolomade general area following credible intelligence on attempts to revive illegal refining activities.
The Navy said suspected operators fled the area after sighting the naval team, abandoning the illegally refined product and two wheelbarrows allegedly used in transporting it.
In a related operation, the naval team revisited a previously disrupted illegal refining site in the Ogbogolo area, where it rendered remaining metallic ovens, storage tanks and other associated infrastructure unusable.
The Navy said the action was aimed at preventing criminal operators from exploiting the facilities to resume illegal refining activities.
“The interventions demonstrate a shift from merely disrupting illegal refining activities to denying operators the infrastructure required to repeatedly revive their operations,” the Director, Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said.
He added that the approach would help constrain the resilience of illicit petroleum networks operating in the area.
The latest operations form part of the Nigerian Navy’s efforts to disrupt illegal refining activities, deny criminal operators access to refining infrastructure and curb illicit petroleum-related activities in the Niger Delta.
