Nigerian Navy, NNS, Pathfinder, has disclosed that it discovered an illegal crude oil refining site with the capacity to produce 2 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), also known as diesel daily.
NNS Pathfinder Commander, Commodore Cajethan Nnabuchi Aniaku, who led the operation, said the site was discovered around Ogoloma, Bakana River, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
According to him, the success of the operation was in line with the directive of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, to clear all illegal crude oil refining sites in the state.
He explained that the site was discovered after a sustained intelligence and surveillance effort, was found to be using drums to refine stolen crude oil into AGO and other by-products, adding that the ongoing operation has already destroyed over 500 cooking drums containing over 200 liters of illegal refined AGO litres amounting to over 2 million litres.
The Commodore stated that the site is capable of producing 2 million litres of illegally petroleum products daily. Aniaku warned that the naval operatives will not rest until all illegal refining sites are destroyed, and urged the oil thieves to desist from their activities, stating that they will not be spared.
He said: “In line with the Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla’s directive to clear NNS PATHFINDER Area of operations oil illegal refining sites this afternoon we are around Ogoloma area where we discovered a massive Illegal refining site, our personnel moved in here yesterday with swampboogy what we found out was quite revealing and striking in the sense that the oil thieves have moved away from the normal way of using metal frail pans to cook and refine illegal stolen crude oil, to AGOs and other bye products they are now using drums to do the refining and that offered them some tactical advantage in the sense that the drum cheaper to construct and very easy to dismantle.”
“As the Operation is still ongoing, they have destroyed over 500 drums containing over 200 litres of AGO amounting to over million litres of AGO. The Operation is still ongoing and this site is capable of producing 2 millions barrels of AGO illegal refined products on daily basis that is why we will not rest on our Oars to see that we destroy these illegal refining sites appropriately. After this we will continue because this is not the only place. We will keep on searching, for us to discover this, it took us over five days intelligence and surveillance effort because Ordinarily if it is a metal drum with drones and surveillance patrol we will be able to discover that. But now they do not do it, they will use drums, do the cooking, dismantle the drums and hide them. So we have to double our efforts to see that we are able to fish them out and clear all illegal refining sites. They should desist from doing that because we will not spare them”, he warmed.