Port Harcourt, Aug. 8, 2025 – The Special Forces of the Nigerian deactivated 71 illegal refinery sites and confiscated over 400,000 litres of stolen crude oil across the Niger Delta area in July under its Operation Delta Sanity.
The Nigerian Nay announced this on Friday in its monthly operational update.
It said the intensified operations under the operation was part of its effort to curb crude oil theft and other forms of economic sabotage within Nigeria’s maritime domain.
According to the update, the crackdown also led to the discovery and destruction of 120 dugout pits, illegal storage facilities, and various equipment used in the theft of crude oil and the illicit refining of oil across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom States.
The navy said it denied oil thieves access to approximately 411,400 litres of crude oil, 87,825 litres of illegally refined diesel, 72,000 litres of kerosene, and 21,900 litres of petrol.
Providing key highlights of the operation, the navy stated that on July 4, troops had discovered and deactivated illegal refining sites containing over 66,000 litres of suspected crude and 40,000 litres of refined diesel at Ogba, Egbema, and Ndoni in Rivers.
The Navy specifically said the operations conducted on July 14 led to multiple arrests and seizures in Akwa Ibom and Delta, involving attempts to smuggle crude oil to Cameroon and the uncovering of underground reservoirs containing thousands of litres of stolen crude oil.
According to the outfit, two large-scale illegal operations were dismantled on July 22 and 23 in the Biseni Community, Bayelsa, with over 450,000 liters of crude oil recovered.
It also said its personnel also intercepted several wooden boats used for smuggling PMS and other petroleum products, and arrested six suspected smugglers.
The Navy said its operations had contributed to the recent milestone announced by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
