The Nigerian Navy has announced significant progress in its fight against oil theft, revealing that it dismantled 71 illegal refining sites and confiscated over 400,000 litres of stolen crude oil in July 2025 alone.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Director of Naval Information (DINFO), Commodore Aiweyor Adams-Aliu, who highlighted that these results were achieved through Operation Delta Sanity, a coordinated campaign across oil-producing regions in the Niger Delta.
According to the statement, the Navy’s anti-crude oil theft efforts spanned Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom states. The operations led to the destruction of 120 dugout pits and multiple illegal refinery camps.
“About 411,400 litres of stolen crude, 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) were recovered,” Adams-Aliu reported.
On July 4, six illegal refinery sites were uncovered in the Ogba, Egbema, and Ndoni areas of Rivers State. These sites alone contained 66,000 litres of crude oil and 40,000 litres of AGO.
In Delta State, a site with over 2,000 litres of stolen crude oil was dismantled on July 12 in Otegele. Just two days later, naval personnel intercepted a boat off Akwa Ibom’s coast carrying 2,500 litres of PMS believed to be smuggled to Cameroon.
On that same day, in Warri South West, a sophisticated illegal setup including an underground crude oil reservoir was destroyed. The reservoir reportedly held over 7,000 litres of stolen oil.
The most substantial operations occurred on July 22 and 23 in Biseni, Yenagoa LGA, Bayelsa State. There, the Navy dismantled multiple illegal facilities with a combined storage capacity exceeding 450,000 litres of crude oil and refined products. Equipment found included metal ovens, storage pits, and a large oil-laden pond.
Further discoveries were recorded in Christian Village, Obodo Omadino, and Oteghele in Delta State, where both active and abandoned sites were located and shut down.
“In one raid, an operational refinery with 20,000 litres of crude oil stored in tanks and an underground unit was taken down,” the statement added.
The Navy noted that these actions had a direct positive impact on the country’s oil output. According to figures released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria’s daily crude oil production has now surpassed 1.8 million barrels.
“These outcomes highlight the Navy’s commitment, under the leadership of Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, to ending crude oil theft and enhancing national economic growth,” Commodore Adams-Aliu concluded.
With Operation Delta Sanity continuing at full force, the Nigerian Navy’s efforts are seen as critical to stabilizing the energy sector and boosting investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. The latest wave of raids underscores the military’s growing efficiency in combating complex, organized oil theft networks in the Niger Delta.
