The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, says it has uncovered a total of 77 illegal refineries and pipelines in one week across the Niger Delta region.
We gathered that Nigeria recorded over 589 oil spills in 2024, most of which were caused by oil theft.
A breakdown of the figures revealed that 58 illegal refineries and 19 illegal pipeline connections were uncovered.
The NNPCL, in a video documentary on its official YouTube channel on Tuesday, said it recorded a total of 159 incidents of oil theft in the region.
The discoveries, according to the NNPCL, were made in a series of operations that took place between January 18 to 24, 2025.
It added that the operations led to the arrest of 25 suspects and the discovery of various illegal oil installations.
“An industry-wide security collaboration to safeguard hydrocarbon infrastructure continues to yield remarkable results,” it said.
The national oil company listed the various companies and stakeholders involved in the operations including NMPC Ltd’s Command and Control Centre, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd, Maton Engineering Nigeria Ltd, Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd, Oando PLC, and the Government Security Agencies.
The development comes a week after the national oil company announced the discovery of 55 illegal refineries and 29 illegal pipeline connections.
Listing some of the major incidents of oil theft, NNPCL noted that a major breach was reported on the Oando to NLNG Boni gas pipeline system in River State.
It also recorded vandalism of a gas pipeline forcing a shutdown, disrupting the gas supply to Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG.
The national oil company said it uncovered several instances of vandalism of crude oil pipelines and illegal connections to condensate pipelines in the Ikenzi and Oruma areas of Bayelsa state.
“Similar breaches were discovered in Ugu, Edo State, Ipu South, Abia State, and at a wellhead in Buguma, River State,” it added.
The company further explained that all illegal connections had been removed and repairs had been successfully carried out.
Illegal refineries were reportedly discovered in Bile, Boni, Oigu, Okoloma, Ayama, and Ward 7, Dema Abe, all in River State.
In a breakdown of the 159 incidents in the Niger Delta region, it was noted that seven incidents were recorded in the Western corridor, 72 in the Central Corridor, 41 in the Eastern corridor, and 39 in the Deep Blue water.
The company emphasised that the fight against crude oil theft will continue, adding that its resolve against the menace remains unshaken.
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