72 illegal refineries uncovered in one week – NNPC

No fewer than 72 illegal crude oil refining sites were uncovered in the past week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited disclosed in a video report.

The 72 illegal refineries were reportedly discovered and destroyed in Rivers, Delta and Abia states.

On August 18, a vessel was said to have been arrested by men of Operation Delta Safe with 12 suspects on board in the Southern Ijaw area of Bayelsa State.

“The tugboat was caught loaded with stolen Shell Petroleum Development Company flow lines, which shows that not only did the thieves break the pipelines in order to connect their pipes, but they also harvested oil pipelines as well,” the NNPC said.

It revealed that the 12 arrested suspects were in custody for further investigation.

It was added that 46 vessel automatic identification system infractions were recorded at sea, while 24 wooden boats conveying stolen crude were apprehended in Rivers and Bayelsa States.

The state-owned energy firm stated that on land, several vehicles loaded with stolen crude were apprehended in Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa States.

In the past week, 33 illegal connections were uncovered in the three states.

Eight cases of oil spill were recorded as a result of vandalism in the period under review, while 12 sites used for storing stolen crude and illegally refined products were uncovered.

“From August 17 to 23, 204 incidents of oil theft were recorded by different incident sources.

“47 of the incidents took place in the deep blue water, 10 in the western region, 100 in the central region and 47 in the eastern region,” it was disclosed.

A total of 42 suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident.