The Nigerian Navy has arrested 14 individuals allegedly involved in illegal oil bunkering within the Elem Krakama community, located in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Naval authorities also revealed the discovery of an illicit oil refining site capable of producing over 9.6 million liters of Automotive Gas Oil daily.
Under the leadership of Commodore Desmond Igbo, Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship, Pathfinder, a successful operation was conducted on Thursday, April 4.
During the operation, three wooden boats with a combined storage capacity of 70 metric tons were confiscated.
According to Igbo, the suspects were caught siphoning crude oil from a tapped wellhead belonging to the Oil Mining Lease (OML-18) operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The wellhead was found to be significantly compromised by the activities of the alleged oil thieves.
He emphasized the Navy’s unwavering commitment to eradicating illegal oil refining activities, ensuring that such criminal operations become obsolete.
He stated, “This is Elem Krakama in Degema LGA of Rivers State. We have come here to ensure that this oil stealing will not continue.
“We have about 16 cooking pots and some of them contain about 6,00 litres. It is very huge, as you can see where they are tapping it from right from the oil wellhead.
“It comes out the way water comes from the tap. We have made arrests, we arrested about 14 of them in the act of stealing the crude and also illegally refining this crude.
“Behind me is oil well head 15 belonging to OML 18, of NNPCL. You can see a very big 14-inch hose connected illegally to this oil well head 15.
“They are transferring it to this big wooden boat also known as the Cotonou boat.
“The boats contain 70 metric tons of crude oil, the crude is still there they will connect it to the reservoirs through the 4-inch hose from there they will start cooking it.”
He added, “We have four of these wooden boats in this camp. The cooking pots also contain about 1.5 million AGO. This is not good for our country not good for the economy.”
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