Officers of the Nigerian Military have destroyed several materials belonging to an illegal oil refinery operating in Owahwa, Delta state.  

The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) reported on Sunday night that the refinery had been destroyed.

According to the report, the discovery was made on Saturday, July 29, through collaborative efforts by the Military, Civil Defense and the Tompolo-led Tantita Security.  

The NTA report stated: 

• “Troops of the 181 Amphibious Battalion of the Nigerian Army operating in 6 Division in conjunction with operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and operatives of Tantita Security, have uncovered a major illegal oil refining site at Owahwa community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. 
• “A statement by the Director Army Public Relations Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu says a combined anti-oil theft team made the discovery on Saturday, 29 July 2023 following a surveillance report on the illicit activities of illegal oil refiners in the area. 
• “Storming the illegal refining site, Troops discovered 35 modular ovens used for illegal refining of crude oil, 3 fabricated reservoirs, 30 dug-out Reservoirs, and 75 galvanized pipes.
• “The Nigerian Army enjoins citizens to continue to support the ongoing anti-oil theft operations by reporting suspected illicit oil refining and bunkering activities in their areas to the security agencies.” 

Backstory 

Way back in 2022, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited called the attention of the country to the rise in crude oil theft through diverted crude supplies via illegal connections as well as illegal refining activities in the creeks of the Niger Delta.

Meanwhile, data from the Nigerian Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) reveals that the country lost 619.7 million barrels of oil to crude oil theft in 12 years (2009 to 2020).  

Crude oil theft has adversely affected the oil and gas industry in terms of generated revenues and a fall in hydrocarbon investments.

Nigeria’s economic survival is dependent on securing oil and gas assets across the country as current crude production is at 1.4 million barrels per day, falling short of the country’s projected production rate of 1.6 million barrels per day as contained in the country’s 2023 budgetary plans. 

However, the government through the NNPCL is clamping down on crude theft through constituted security agencies as well as third-party agencies like Tantita Security.

Recently, the NNPCL has reported up to 240 crude theft incidents between July 15 and July 21, specifically in the Niger Delta region in Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta states.