Navy Shuts Down 70 Illegal Refineries, Recovers 400,000 Litres of Stolen Crude in One Month

The Nigerian Navy has announced the deactivation of at least 70 illegal refinery sites and the recovery of over 400,000 litres of stolen crude oil across the Niger Delta during July 2025 alone. This was revealed in a monthly operational update issued in Abuja by Commodore Ayiwuyor Adams-Aliu, Director of Naval Information.

According to Adams-Aliu, the intensified crackdown under “Operation Delta Sanity” targeted crude oil theft and economic sabotage within Nigeria’s maritime domain. The operation uncovered and destroyed 120 dugout pits, illegal storage facilities, and equipment used in illicit refining across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom States. In total, the Navy blocked access to approximately 411,400 litres of 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).

Highlighting key moments from the month-long operations, Adams-Aliu noted that on July 4, troops discovered and dismantled illegal sites containing 66,000 litres of suspected crude oil and 40,000 litres of AGO in Rivers State. Further operations on July 14 in Delta and Akwa Ibom led to several arrests and the seizure of smuggled products, including attempts to transport petroleum to Cameroon. Major breakthroughs were also recorded on July 22 and 23 in Bayelsa’s Biseni Community, where over 450,000 litres of stolen crude were recovered from large-scale illegal operations.

In addition, the Navy intercepted several wooden boats used for smuggling petroleum products and apprehended six suspects. Adams-Aliu reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment, under the leadership of Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, to eliminating oil theft and boosting national production. He credited the Navy’s efforts with contributing to Nigeria’s oil output exceeding 1.8 million barrels per day, as confirmed by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Meanwhile, a recent report by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) disclosed that Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of oil, worth N16.25 trillion, to theft between 2009 and 2020. However, NEITI also noted a sharp drop in losses, from 36.69 million barrels in 2022 to 7.68 million barrels in 2023—an improvement linked to stronger security measures and better resource management.