The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, reported in a video update that 72 illegal crude oil refining sites were discovered and dismantled over the past week in Rivers, Delta, and Abia states.
On August 18, Operation Delta Safe personnel apprehended a vessel with 12 suspects onboard in the Southern Ijaw area of Bayelsa State. The vessel was found to be carrying stolen Shell Petroleum Development Company flow lines, indicating that thieves had not only tapped into pipelines but had also harvested them.
The NNPC noted that the 12 suspects are currently in custody for further investigation. Additionally, there were 46 infractions related to vessel automatic identification systems recorded at sea, and 24 wooden boats transporting stolen crude were seized in Rivers and Bayelsa states.
In the past week, 33 illegal pipeline connections were identified across the three states. The period also saw eight instances of oil spills due to vandalism and the discovery of 12 sites used for storing stolen crude and illegally refined products.
“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.
(allnews.ng)
Leave a Reply