Wooden boats, 134 illegal refineries destroyed in seven days – NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said that it destroyed wooden boats, carrying stolen crude, and 134 illegal refineries in the past week.

NNPC stated that at about 2:00 am on Sunday, a joint team of security agents discovered a large wooden boat illicitly loading stolen crude oil from Barge AGS01 within the OML 18 operating area.

It noted that based on credible intelligence, the large wooden boat was caught receiving crude oil from the barge.

While the barge was towed away with a tugboat in custody, five speed boats used in towing the large wooden boat to the illegal loading site were also detained and the particulars of the tugboats and barge used for the operation were reportedly seized for further investigation.

“Between August 31 and September 6, 2024, a total of 302 incidents were identified across various locations in the Niger Delta from several incident sources like Tantita Security Services, Shell Petroleum Development Company, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, Maton Engineering Company, Heirs Energies Limited, Oando PLC, NNPC Limited’s Command and Control Centre and government security agencies,” NNPC said in a video on X.

READ ALSO: NNPC busts 63 illegal refineries in Niger Delta crackdown

It added that in Rivers State, two barges involved in illegal bunkering activities were also seized and the crew members were arrested.

Also, wooden boats transporting stolen crude oil were said to have been confiscated in Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa State and Abia States.

It was stated that the 63 illegal connections were uncovered in critical locations throughout the Niger Delta.

In Bayelsa and Abia States, repairs were swiftly executed on pipelines while illegal connections were detected and removed.

The NNPC disclosed that it was not just the pipelines that were under the siege of vandals and oil thieves, saying that across the swamps and waterways, illegal refineries sprawling toxic sites of crude oil refining were destroyed in states like Rivers, Abia and Bayelsa.

It described illegal refineries as shadowy operations that pollute the environment, and bleed the economy dry. Also in Rivers State, authorities uncovered secret storage locations, while in Bayelsa State, crude meant for the black market was seized.

Law enforcement agencies also intercepted a vehicle filled with stolen crude oil packed in jerry cans; the driver was apprehended.

It said that 48 of those incidents took place in the deep blue water, 81 in the central region, 134 in the eastern region and 39 in the western region.

“There is no backing down on the war on crude oil theft until the menace is eradicated,” NNPC said.