The Nigerian Navy has destroyed a reactivated illegal refinery site in Rivers State and intercepted stolen petroleum products in Calabar, Cross River State, as part of ongoing operations to curb crude oil theft and economic sabotage.
The Director of Naval Information, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this on Sunday, stating that the operations were carried out by naval personnel under Operation Delta Sentinel on Saturday, 14 March 2026.
Folorunsho said the illegal refinery was uncovered in Okolomade Community in Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State following credible intelligence that a previously dismantled refining site had been reactivated.
According to him, personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Soroh, a task unit under Operation Delta Sentinel, deployed an Anti-Crude Oil Theft (Anti-COT) team to the location.
‘The team discovered that the previously dismantled refining oven had been reconstructed. Further exploitation of the area also led to the discovery of additional refining equipment and storage facilities containing about 3,000 litres of product suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO)’, he said.
He added that the illegal refining infrastructure, including ovens, storage tanks, hoses, connected pipes and newly installed metal components used for refining activities, were destroyed in line with operational procedures.
In a related development, Folorunsho said personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Victory intercepted stolen petroleum products at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) area in Calabar after acting on intelligence about suspected siphoning of fuel from vessels berthed at the port.
‘Naval operatives swiftly deployed to the area and traced the products to a trailer park within the port facility. On sighting the naval patrol team, the suspected perpetrators fled the scene’, he said.
The navy cordoned off the area and recovered about 3,950 litres of Automotive Gas Oil stored in drums and jerry cans.
Folorunsho noted that the recovered products had been evacuated to the naval base for further necessary action in accordance with relevant regulations.
He reiterated that the Nigerian Navy remains committed to sustaining the momentum of Operation Delta Sentinel through intensified surveillance, patrols and intelligence-driven operations aimed at combating crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage within Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The naval spokesman added that the successes align with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, to intensify operations against crude oil theft and illegal bunkering across the country.
