By Jimitota Onoyume, Port Harcourt
This certainly is not the best of times for operators of illegal refineries in Rivers State as men of the Nigerian Navy Ship, Pathfinder, are already making good their threat of putting them permanently out of business. In fact, in the last two months, 78 illegal refineries have been smashed in various creeks in the State.

According to Commander Shuwa Abdulrahim Mohammed of the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder in the state: “The heat is already on oil thieves and those running illegal refineries in the state. The anti-oil theft war is on, no compromise”.

He said his men will not relent until all illegal refiners are flushed out. “We will smoke these oil thieves out of their hideouts. They will have no peace unless they change from this illicit act,” he told newsmen at the base.

His men have continued to comb all parts of the creeks for oil thieves. Last Saturday while the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas was at the Naval Ship Pathfinder, Commander Mohammed’s men were at Oloma community smashing illegal crude oil refineries.

Base Operations Officer, Nigerian Naval Ship Pathfinder, Commander Innocent Chidi Ejiofor, said they go on daily patrol with gunboats on waterways fighting these oil thieves. “The Base regularly deploys gunboats for daily patrols and show of force along Port Harcourt and Bonny Channels as well as within creeks in our area of operations. On August 5, 2015, NNS PATHFINDER deployed two gunboats to Onne axis and Bolo area.

“The Gunboat Team located a large illegal bunkering site along NAFCON Creek, Onne axis. Three active illegal crude oil refineries, three storage tanks, one containing about 10,000 litres and the other two each containing about 5,000 litres of substance suspected to be stolen crude oil and, another three ground storage tanks each containing about 2,000 litres of product suspected to be illegally refined AGO were discovered at the site and were set ablaze in situ,” he said.

Commander Ejiofor said they also smashed a storage tank farm and drums containing a total of about 700, 000 liters of illegal crude around Cartharwn channel and Bile axis recently.

He said the oil thieves had also started storing stolen crude at underground tank farms, adding that the ones found were also destroyed during the Cartharwn channel operation. Four of those destroyed had about 50,000 AGO.

In Ogbobolo creek, Bolo area of Eleme local government of Rivers State another batch, five illegal refineries, 15 storage tanks bearing about 50,000 illegal crude oil were also destroyed. Also smashed were another 15 tanks containing 750,000 illegally refined AGO.

Rear Admiral Ibas said the Navy was already building capacity to enhance its operations. He said though the Navy cannot reach all the locations where wellheads, pipelines and oil facilities are but this will not limit its effort at tackling the problem.

The Naval Chief said the navy was going to raise the number of choke points on the waterways to see that stolen crude will not be taken out of the country.

He further warned his men to be committed in this renewed effort against crude oil theft, vowing not to spare anyone caught aiding and abetting oil thieves. “I think you may have the records of the efforts put in by the navy last year by reducing crude oil theft drastically from about 1.2 million barrels a day to something close to 250, 000 barrels – that was achieved last year.

“But again the navy is not even in the position to reach some of the locations where the wellheads, pipelines and facilities are being vandalised. But we take responsibility for whatever is missing perhaps through the open seas.

“You have asked what effort the navy is going to put in place. I think we are really finding our strategies, our patrol strategies to ensure that we create more choke points, so that when you steal whatever you have to steal, you cannot have access into the open sea. We will not tolerate that, and the Navy has never tolerated its personnel conniving to wreck the nation. If we get any personnel such a person will be sanction appropriately,” he said.

He said the Navy will continue to destroy vessels and boats caught conveying illegal crude, stressing that this will discourage many from going into the nefarious business. “The navy has a responsibility of stopping the menace. If we do not destroy these things in situ it means you are releasing the boats to be taken back again. So the Navy cannot be held accountable.

“So for now, while noting the impact on the environment, we will continue to do that which will deter them from continuing with their nefarious acts, “ he added.

www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/oil-thieves-retreat-as-navy-smashes-78-illegal-refineries/

This is good...
National cleanup in progress.

Noted

Up and runnin govt baby!
Salute to all Man utd fans!We are destined for greatness.
Now Playing Rae Sremmurd-This could be us

78 illegal refineries?

Oil thieves are not smiling

Well done guys, continue to boot them out. We can't purge the whole system, but we can usher in some level of sanity

The Nigerian Navy have suddenly found their groove back.
With all the billions spent monthly to monitor our waterways oil theft reached all time high and with cancellation of the monitoring contracts the high rate of oil theft has gone down.
When a thief joins you in finding a missing item be rest assured of not finding it.

Many will comment without reading.

Did I read a reduction from 1.2million barrels a day to 250,000 barrels last year? I expect them to sit up, talk less and do more under this regime.

This one na long story ooo.

BTW.. Where is Barcanista

Omotayor123:
This one na long story ooo.

BTW.. Where is Barcanista

Lol... Why do you seek his presence?

Freemanan:
Lol... Why do you seek his presence?

It's been a while no ni... Make he come defend his people

Omotayor123:
It's been a while no ni... Make he come defend his people

His Mate, whynotthetruth is around sha...

heard?!!!

Wonders shall nva end in naija

This is part of problems of Nigeria.. Flush them out

One story....... Buhari divide dis country or

Retreat from a fight you can't win.....only to come back another day.....

Fresh spamming tools available, hit me up.

Good.

Illegal oil refineries are a danger to the environment and to human health.

But even as we are closing down these things...remember that the Niger Delta still has problems that must be sorted out....youth unemployment, resource control,environmental degradation, exploitative oil companies, etc....and Buhari should urgently sort out these issues in collaboration with the ND governors.

They should evacuate and stop destroying tanks filled with oil, ba environment consciousness?

Must this refineries be smashed ? Why not empower them for local production for domestic use while the big refineries should be for exports!!! This is how to encourage indigenous technology

Its only in Nigeria that someone steals from your motherland and you will still support their actions. It is well

Parade don change gear, no more illegalities.

Good

Retreat? There return will be bloody.

My only concern is how they dispose all that crude oil..due diligence needs to be followed to ensure they don't further pollute the environment

Countries that are sensible will look towards regulating and taxing these private refineries, so as to provide employment and fuels instead of destroying them.

K