The Nigerian Navy has intensified its operations against illegal oil refining in Rivers State, recovering about 33,000 litres of products suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).
The products were recovered from two illegal refining sites in Egbema-Ndoni Local Council during an operation conducted by the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER on September 6.
The Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folarunsho, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to him, the naval team also discovered eight dugout pits, sacks and reservoirs believed to have been used for illegal refining activities at the sites.
Folarunsho said the recovered products and the sites were handled in accordance with established procedures.
He explained that the operation formed part of the Navy’s sustained efforts to prevent illegal refiners from returning to locations where their activities had previously been disrupted.
The naval spokesman recalled that the Navy had disrupted two illegal refining sites in the same area on August 28.
He said the latest operation showed that suspected operators had attempted to revive their activities despite the earlier intervention.
The suspects, however, reportedly fled before the arrival of the naval personnel, leaving behind the products and equipment at the sites.
Folarunsho said the continued operations were constraining the ability of illegal refiners to re-establish and sustain their activities in the area.
The latest recovery forms part of the Nigerian Navy’s wider efforts to tackle illegal refining and crude oil-related activities in the Niger Delta, where illicit refining remains a persistent challenge.
No arrest was made during the operation.
