By Helen Udo.
The Nigerian Navy has recorded another major breakthrough in its anti-crude oil theft campaign under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, dismantling an illegal oil storage facility and recovering about 20,500 litres of suspected stolen crude oil in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The successful operation followed credible intelligence received by personnel of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny, who launched a targeted operation around the Bethel Community axis to disrupt criminal activities linked to crude oil theft.
During the operation, naval personnel uncovered a network of concealed dugout pits used for the illegal storage of suspected stolen crude oil. The discovery further exposed the organised methods employed by oil theft syndicates operating in the Niger Delta.
According to the Navy, six dugout pits were discovered at the site. Three of the pits contained an estimated 20,500 litres of suspected stolen crude oil, while the remaining three had already been prepared for future storage operations.
The Navy said the arrangement of the pits indicated that the location served as a strategic storage hub designed to support illegal refining activities and other forms of economic sabotage targeting Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The illegal storage facility and the recovered products were handled in line with established anti-crude oil theft procedures, effectively preventing criminal elements from expanding their illicit operations in the area.
The Navy noted that the operation reflects its determination to go beyond intercepting stolen petroleum products by targeting and dismantling the infrastructure that enables crude oil theft, including storage facilities and supply networks.
It added that sustained intelligence-driven operations under Operation DELTA SENTINEL are aimed at weakening the operational capacity of criminal syndicates, safeguarding the nation’s oil and gas resources, and protecting the maritime environment from economic sabotage.
The statement, signed by Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, Director of Naval Information, reaffirmed the Nigerian Navy’s commitment to combating crude oil theft and warned individuals involved in such criminal activities to desist, stressing that offenders would be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law.
