The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced that it uncovered 55 illegal refineries and 29 illegal pipeline connections across the Niger Delta region in just one week.
In a video documentary on its official YouTube channel, the company reported a total of 179 incidents of oil theft in the region between January 11-17, 2025.
The joint security operations, which involved various stakeholders such as NNPCL command and control centers, oil companies, security services, and engineering firms, led to the arrest of 30 suspects and the discovery of numerous illegal oil installations. The collaborated efforts are part of an industry-wide initiative to safeguard Nigeria’s hydrocarbon infrastructure.
The 179 oil theft incidents were broken down by region:
– 5 in the Western corridor
– 90 in the Central corridor
– 70 in the Eastern corridor
– 14 in Deep Blue water
NNPCL identified several hotspots of crude oil theft activity, including:
– Buguma Southeast, Bile, Okoloma, and Kaotan channel in Rivers State
– Obuzor and Ukwa in Abia State
– Various parts of Bayelsa State
The joint security teams dismantled illegal refineries, seized vehicles laden with crude oil, intercepted boats packed with stolen petroleum, and uncovered hidden oil storage sites in Rivers, Abia and Bayelsa states. Pipeline connections and a damaged wellhead were also discovered.