The Nigerian Navy has thwarted efforts to establish new illegal refining sites and seized thousands of litres of suspected stolen petroleum products during separate operations in Rivers State.
A statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Director of Naval Information, Navy Capt. Abiodun Folorunsho, said the raids were carried out under Operation Delta Sentinel, the navy’s ongoing crackdown on crude oil theft and economic sabotage in the Niger Delta.
According to Folorunsho, personnel from Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny acted on credible intelligence to disrupt saboteurs attempting to set up refining infrastructure in the Promise Land area of Bonny Local Government Area.
An anti-theft patrol team, supported by aerial surveillance, conducted a reconnaissance mission across adjacent creeks and waterways. The operation exposed concealed refining equipment hidden beneath dense vegetation, while ground assessment confirmed two newly constructed illegal refining sites close to the river channel.
“The sites contained improvised cooking installations, interconnected pipe networks, and other support infrastructure intended for processing and transporting illegally refined petroleum products,” Folorunsho said.
He noted that the operators were still in the early stages of building the camps, suggesting a deliberate plan to create a new refining hub before full-scale operations could begin. The sites have since been dismantled in line with standard procedures, and the area remains under close monitoring.
In a related development, personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Soroh uncovered a concealed fuel stockpile along the Rivers–Bayelsa border corridor. The discovery followed intelligence reports of suspicious movements of petroleum products near the Okarki community waterside in Abua-Odual Local Government Area.
“Aerial surveillance revealed multiple sacks hidden within dense vegetation along the creek environment,” Folorunsho said. “Further exploitation led to the recovery of approximately 3,800 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil, stored in 38 sacks.”
No arrests were made, as the suspects fled the scene. The recovered products were secured according to operational protocols.
Folorunsho added that the operations underscore illegal fuel networks’ growing reliance on remote creek corridors and concealed storage points. He reiterated that Operation Delta Sentinel remains focused on identifying emerging hotspots, dismantling illegal refining infrastructure, and restricting the mobility of criminal elements.
The Nigerian Navy, he affirmed, remains committed to intelligence-driven operations to protect critical national assets and safeguard the maritime environment from economic sabotage.