The Defence headquarters has stated that it recovered almost 500,000 gallons of stolen crude oil in one week.
According to The Times, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, provided some significant updates during a press briefing regarding the military’s operations on Thursday, November 23, in Abuja,
He reported that throughout the last week, the troops of Operation Delta Safe had made notable progress.
They found 10,000 liters of dual-purpose kerosene, 454,330 liters of unlawfully refined diesel (also known as automotive petrol oil), and a sizable volume of stolen crude oil—roughly 578,900 liters.
Furthermore, the military intervened against illicit activities in the Niger Delta area. 51 persons engaged in these activities were detained and 50 locations where illicit oil was being refined were demolished.
He claimed that the soldiers had taken firearms and ammo and successfully killed four criminals.
In addition, 245 pits utilized for illicit activities were destroyed, along with 31 boats, 69 storage tanks, a bike, 23 automobiles, 162 cooking ovens, a pumping machine, and three outboard motors.
He added, “On November 17, the marine part of Operation Delta Safe carried out a search and rescue operation in response to a distress call regarding a missing motor fishing vessel, MFV AFKI, flying the Cameroonian flag and bearing the registration numbers UK12 and AFKI 8432780.
“Marine components tracked and made contact with the vessel 17 nautical miles off Pennington terminal after frantic surveillance. Two foreign crew members were on board when the ship was discovered.”
In the meantime, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has reaffirmed its unwavering dedication to putting an end to crude oil theft in the country.
A statement dated November 22, signed by Chief Corporate Communications Officer Olufemi Soneye, stated that NNPC Ltd.’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, had stressed this commitment in a presentation regarding the business’s operations in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
This talk was given at the Federation Account Allocation Committee Retreat in Delta State’s Asaba.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, represented the GCEO, who emphasized NNPC Ltd.’s resolute opposition to criminal activities that jeopardize the country’s energy security.
He also emphasized how crucial industry-wide cooperation is to solving the issue.
This cooperative effort has prevented countless illicit activities involving crude oil and product pipelines and resulted in the apprehension of numerous perpetrators.
He said that the goal of these security operations is to prevent pipeline damage as well as crude oil theft.
The objective is to boost the nation’s output of crude oil, generate income, guarantee energy security, and support economic expansion. The objective of this endeavor is to safeguard the nation’s assets and augment its general well-being.
