The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Illegal refineries

  • JTF nabs 3 sea robbers

    • Arrests 40 suspected oil thieves
    • Destroys 25 illegal refineries

    The Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, has apprehended three-man gang of sea robbers along Twene in Torah community, Ikwerre Local Government Area, Rivers State.

    The Media Coordinator, JTF, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the sea bandits were armed with three AK47 rifles when operatives of the outfit arrested them.

    Apart from the rifles, he said the operatives recovered 177 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition from the robbers.

    He said the robbers were floating on a double-75 horsepower speedboat, waiting for their targets when luck ran out on them.

    He said: “The sea robbers were arrested while prowling the waterways for opportunity targets.”

    According to him,  the patrol troops also apprehended six suspected thieves siphoning oil from Well Head 26 located at Ekuluma 11.

    He said operatives of the outfit arrested 40 suspected oil thieves and destroyed 25 illegal refineries in various patrol operations — 24 of the suspects were nabbed in Delta State by troops of 3 and 19 battalions covering the Sector 1 area of responsibility of the JTF.

    Nwachukwu said they were arrested at Mosagor Sapele Road, Egwu 1, Opumami, Asiagbere Creek in Gbekebor, Okufoma and Okwuagbede Communities in Ethiope West, Warri South ,Warri North and Okpe Local  Government Areas of the state.

    “The patrol troops also scuttled seven illegal crude oil distillation sites and 17 Cotonou boats, 16 steel reservoirs, 29 large plastic reservoirs and 3 welding machines used by the oil thieves for their illicit operation”, he said.

    In a similar operation in Bayelsa State, he said troops of 343 Regiment and 5 Battalion of Sector 2 of the JTF patrolling the waterways arrested 10 suspected vandals.

    He said they were apprehended at Bolbo, Opigni and Mansonkiri in Brass Local Government Area of the state while they were attempting to hack into AGIP pipeline in Nembe.

    “The suspects were operating with a pumping machine, 15 angle iron, 5 metal pipes and other assorted pipeline vandalism equipment. The troops further scuttled 18 illegal oil distillation sites and 9 Cotonou boats conveying illegally stolen crude oil.”

    He said the suspects would be handed over to prosecuting agencies after undergoing preliminary investigations.

  • JTF destroys 127 illegal refineries

    The Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, has raided creeks and communities in the Niger Delta, destroying 127 illegal refineries.

    The anti-oil theft outfit, in one of the operations, intercepted a truck laden with 33,000 litres of Automated Gas Oil (AGO) and arrested 29 suspects for offences bordering on oil crime.

    The truck carrying 33,000 litres of AGO was said to have been intercepted by the operatives when they raided Ajide Lagos, Makara and Egwu Aghara watersides in Warri North, Warri North West, Warri South West and Ethiope West local governments in Delta State.

    The Media Coordinator, JTF, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, described the local government areas as notorious for oil theft.

    He said the truck was lifting the product when it was impounded by the operatives, who described the substance as illegally-refined AGO.

    Lt.Col. Nwachukwu said 61 speedboats, 502 drums, 22 tanks, four plastic surface tanks and 77 metal drums containing stolen crude oil were impounded at the crime site.

    He added that four pumping machines used by the oil thieves to transfer the illicit product to the truck were destroyed.

    The JTF media coordinator said the operation was conducted by troops of the 19 and 3 battalions covering Edo and Delta states in the Sector 1 area of responsibility of the JTF.

    He said 24 of the illegal refineries were destroyed in the Delta State operation.

    He said the troops clamped down on 71 Cotonou boats, adding that 31 of the boats were intercepted at an illegal crude oil loading point close to an abandoned oil well head at Okpoghare in Warri North.

    Nwachukwu said 27 of the arrested boats were intercepted in the Egara creek along the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline in Warri South Local Government.

    In a similar operation in Bayelsa State, he said troops of the 343 Regiment of the JTF destroyed 98 illegal refineries, which he said operated with 119 tanks.

    Lt.-Col. Nwachukwu said the troops also destroyed 37 large wooden boats and obtained stolen crude oil as well as illegally-refined AGO.

    He said the troops achieved the feat when they patrolled the waterways of Oyeregbere, Lagosbene and Mansokiri communities in the Southern Ijaw Local Government.

    Said he: “In a separate anti-oil-theft operation, troops of the 29 Battalion and the gunboat patrol company, covering the Sector 2 area of responsibility of the Joint Task Force, have arrested a barge with three crew members and a vessel named MT Tora Eagle with 11 crew members in Bodo waterway and Akassa creek in Rivers and Bayelsa states.

    “The barge was intercepted when conveying uncertain quantity of illegally-sourced crude oil and the vessel was laden with 3,600 drums of stolen petroleum product (AGO).

    “The troops also destroyed five illegal crude oil distillation sites and impounded 10 Cotonou boats filled with stolen crude oil along Lewe, Bodo, Elem Sagangama, Oluwasiri and Bodo West in Rivers State.”

  • Security agencies discover 23 illegal refineries in Anambra

    Security agencies have discovered 23 illegal petroleum refineries in Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    The Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the state, Mr. Michael Ochogwu, announced the discovery in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Thursday.

    Ochogwu said naval officers from the Onitsha outpost discovered the illegal activities and invited the NSCDC to inspect and evacuate the tanks and products.

    He said a combined team of the NSCDC, the Nigeria Army and the Nigerian Navy visited the area and discovered 23 illegal refineries near Iyiowa Odekpe, Atani in Ogbaru.

    “The areas where the illegal refineries were discovered span more than two kilometres. Fire wood used for the refining, refined and unrefined products were discovered.

    “We travelled for almost one and a half hours before reaching the site of the refineries,’’ he said.

    Ochogwu noted that the vandals operating the facilities were not arrested “because they took to their heels on citing the army and naval officers who discovered their nefarious activities.’’

    He expressed surprise that for long, some Nigerians had created illegal refineries on the river bank to refine crude oil illegally transported from the sea.

    While commending the efforts of the naval and army officers, Ochogwu emphasised the need for adequate training and provision of speed boats for the NSCDC to tackle vandalism.

     

  • Group tasks FG on oil theft, illegal refineries

    Group tasks FG on oil theft, illegal refineries

    Shareholders Alliance for Corporate Accountability (SACA) has urged the Federal Government to urgently halt the rising wave of crude oil theft and operations of illegal refineries in the Niger Delta area.

    The Executive Director of the non-governmental organisation, Rev. Fr. Kevin O’Hara, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa.

    NAN recalls that Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, the largest crude producer in Nigeria, on March 4 raised an alarm on the increasing incidence of crude oil theft.

    The company’s Managing Director, Mr. Mutiu Sumonu, warned that unless efforts were urgently made to curb the illicit oil trade, the company might be forced to shut its Nembe Oil Trunk line.

    He said that Nigeria was losing more than 60,000 barrels of crude daily to theft and illegal refineries.

    O’Hara stressed that oil theft was a complex problem, which posed a serious challenge to the nation’s economy.

    He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to collaborate with the international community in efforts to tackle the problem.