The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) reported discovering 58 illegal refineries and 19 unauthorized pipeline connections within a week across the Niger Delta region.
This comes one week after the national oil company revealed that it had found 29 illicit pipeline connections and 55 unlawful refineries.
In a video documentary on the official YouTube channel of the NNPCL on Tuesday, NNPCL said it recorded a total of 159 incidents of oil theft in the region.
- The discoveries were made in a series of operations that took place between January 18 to 24, 2025.
- 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,” the broadcast says.
It listed the 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
- Government Security Agencies
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 forced 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, were exposed.
“Similar breaches were discovered in Ugu, Edo State, Ipu South, Abia State, and at a wellhead in Buguma, River State,” the broadcast notes.
The company noted 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 emphasized that the fight against crude oil theft will continue, adding that its resolve against the menace remains unshaken.
What you should know
- Nigeria loses billions of dollars to crude oil theft daily, frustrating the country’s daily oil production output.
- The menace has also led to massive environmental destruction through oil spills that pollute rivers and farms.
- In 2024, Nigeria saw more than 589 oil leaks, the most of which were brought on by oil theft.
