Get Guardian on GoogleThe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has discovered an illegal oil refinery allegedly operated by Chinese nationals in Ogere, Ogun State.
The discovery followed an operation conducted yesterday by the operatives of the Commission’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, who acted on credible intelligence to locate the illegal oil refinery.
When the operatives stormed the location, the facility was deserted following an earlier raid on four illegal lithium processing plants in the area, where traces of waste materials from the refining activities were discovered.
The operatives also uncovered underground tanks reportedly used for heating and processing sludge oil. Two of the tank were found to contain substances suspected to be Automotive Gas Oil(AGO) popularly known as diesel.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the operators sourced sludge oil, also known as black sludge, from Warri in Delta State and Port Harcourt in Rivers State, and transported it to the illegal facility in Ogere for processing.
Further investigations showed that the operators subjected the sludge oil to intense heat, allowing lighter petroleum components to pass through a series of chambers and filters in a process that produces AGO for sale in the Nigerian market.
Security personnel at the facility told EFCC operatives that the Chinese operators never disclosed their identities or the name of the company behind the facility.
