The Nigerian Navy has disrupted two illegal refining sites and recovered about 58,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil and illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil in Rivers State.
The operation was carried out by the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, a unit of Operation Delta Sentinel, at Okarki Community in Ahoada West Local Government Area of the state on October 3, 2026.
The Navy, in a statement issued by its Director of Naval Information, Capt. AA Folorunsho, said the operation followed credible intelligence on suspected crude oil theft and illegal refining activities in the area.
According to the statement, the naval team discovered two illegal refining sites containing nine dugout pits, storage containers and sacks filled with products suspected to be stolen crude oil and illegally refined AGO.
The operation, the Navy said, also disrupted the supply chain used by criminal operators to store and process stolen petroleum resources.
“The intervention further denied criminal operators access to facilities used to store and process stolen petroleum resources, disrupting the supply chain supporting illegal refining in the area,” the statement said.
The Navy said the two illegal refining sites and recovered products had been handled in line with established procedures for combating crude oil theft.
It added that no arrest was made during the operation as the suspected operators fled before the arrival of the naval team.
The operation was conducted under Operation Delta Sentinel, the Navy’s ongoing effort to curb crude oil theft, illegal refining and other forms of maritime and petroleum-related criminality in the Niger Delta.
