The Nigerian Navy Ship PATHFINDER in a major crackdown on economic saboteurs has destroyed a large-scale illegal crude oil refining site along the Ogoloma-Isaka River in Rivers State capable of producing 2 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) daily.
He said the achievement aligns with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla’s directive to eradicate all illegal refining sites.
Commodore Cajethan Nnabuchi Aniaku, Commander of NNS Pathfinder, led the operation, which discovered and destroyed over 500 drums containing over 1 million litres of AGO
The site, which was discovered after a sustained intelligence and surveillance effort, was found to be using drums to refine stolen crude oil into AGO and other byproducts, a tactic that offers the oil thieves a tactical advantage due to the ease of construction and dismantling of the drums.
Commodore Aniaku said the oil thieves had switched to using drums, which are cheaper and easier to dismantle, making detection more challenging.
He said, “In line with the Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla’s directive to clear NNS PATHFINDER Area of operations oil illegal refining sites this afternoon we are around Ogoloma area where we discovered a massive Illegal refining site, our personnel moved in here yesterday with swampboogy what we found out was quite revealing and striking in the sense that the oil thieves have moved away from the normal way of using metal frail pans to cook and refine illegal stolen crude oil, to AGOs and other byproducts they are now using drums to do the refining and that offered them some tactical advantage in the sense that the drums are cheaper to construct and very easy to dismantle.
Aniaku warned that the naval operatives will not rest until all illegal refining sites are destroyed, and urged the oil thieves to desist from their activities, stating that they will not be spared.
He vowed to continue the operation, stating, “We will not rest until all illegal refining sites are destroyed.”
He added: “As the Operation is still ongoing, they have destroyed over 500 drums containing over 200 litres of AGO amounting to over a million litres of AGO. The Operation is still ongoing and this site is capable of producing 2 million litres of AGO illegal refined products daily that is why we will not rest on our Oars to see that we destroy these illegal refining sites appropriately.
“After this, we will continue because this is not the only place. We will keep on searching, for us to discover this, it took us over five days of intelligence and surveillance effort because Ordinarily if it is a metal drum with drones and surveillance patrol we will be able to discover that.
“But now they do not do it, they will use drums, do the cooking, dismantle the drums and hide them. So we have to double our efforts to see that we are able to fish them out and clear all illegal refining sites. They should desist from doing that because we will not spare them.”