The Nigerian Navy has dismantled 71 illegal refinery sites and seized hundreds of thousands of litres of stolen petroleum products during its July 2025 operations across the Niger Delta.
The operations, carried out under the renewed Operation Delta Sanity launched in December 2024, targeted crude oil theft, smuggling, and illegal refining in Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom states.
Director of Naval Information, Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, said the raids led to the destruction of 120 dugout pits containing about 411,400 litres of stolen crude oil, 87,825 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), 72,000 litres of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), and 21,900 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Several suspects were arrested, including smugglers intercepted with petroleum products allegedly bound for Cameroon.
Adams-Aliu noted that the operations, led by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, have significantly disrupted oil theft networks and contributed to a rise in Nigeria’s oil output, which the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) recently confirmed has surpassed 1.8 million barrels per day.
He reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to sustaining the momentum of Operation Delta Sanity to ensure maritime safety, protect national resources, and curb criminal activities in the region.
