In the past week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) uncovered a total of 122 illegal oil refineries spread across the Niger Delta region. According to a documentary released by the company, the NNPCl reported on Tuesday that 65 illegal pipelines were found and dismantled in Rivers and other areas within the Niger Delta.
The company also disclosed 310 recorded incidents across the region between May 18 and 24. The illegal refineries were located at Tomble II, III, IV, Umuajuloke in Rivers State, Oporomor III, Eduwini, and Ajatiton in Bayelsa State. Vandalised wellheads were discovered in Tomble IV, Rivers, and Egbema, Imo State, alongside a pit filled with crude oil.
Additionally, five illegal storage sites were identified, containing oil stored in sacks, pits, cans, and at a filling station. A total of 20 vehicles, including a tanker, were seized in Delta and Imo States, while 29 boats used in transporting illegally refined products were confiscated in Bayelsa and Delta states. Furthermore, 33 suspects associated with these incidents have been apprehended.
In Grey Creek, Akwa Ibom State, a filling station was shut down for selling illegally refined fuel.
Mele Kyari, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, underscored the importance of combating insecurity in the oil and gas sector to enhance production levels. He noted that crude oil production is steadily declining due to oil theft and vandalism.
Kyari said, “How do you increase oil production? Remove the security challenge we have in our onshore assets. As we all know, the security challenge is real. It is not just about theft, it is about the availability of the infrastructure to deliver the volume to the market.
“No one is going to put money into oil production when he knows the production will not get to the market. Within the last two years, we removed over 5,800 illegal connections from our pipelines. We took down over 6,000 illegal refineries. You simply cannot get people to put money until you solve that problem.”