The Nigerian Navy has destroyed an illegal refining site and three large storage tanks discovered at Promise Land Community, along Nanabie Creek in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The operation, conducted by the Forward Operating Base, Bonny, was carried out on October 2, 2026, following the discovery of the illegal refining site two days earlier.
The Navy said the site was uncovered on September 30 following credible intelligence and comprised one large cooking pot and three large storage tanks allegedly used for illegal refining activities.
The Commanding Officer, FOB Bonny, Captain S.M.C. Umeh, subsequently led a team to the location, where the illegal refining facility and associated equipment were destroyed in accordance with established regulations.
The operation was carried out under Operation DELTA SENTINEL and is part of the Navy’s ongoing efforts to disrupt crude oil theft and illegal refining activities within its area of operations.
The Navy said the destruction of the facility would deny criminal operators the infrastructure required to process and store stolen crude oil.
“The intervention represents a further disruption of illegal refining capacity within the Bonny area, particularly by removing infrastructure that could be used to process and store stolen crude oil,” the Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said in a statement issued on October 3.
The Navy added that the latest operation followed other recent activities by FOB Bonny, which led to the discovery of substantial volumes of suspected stolen crude oil and associated illegal refining infrastructure within its area of operations.
It said surveillance and monitoring operations had been intensified across the area to prevent the establishment or reactivation of illegal refining sites.
The Navy also vowed to sustain efforts to deny criminal operators the infrastructure needed to facilitate crude oil theft, illegal refining and other related activities.
