The Nigerian Navy reported that its personnel have apprehended 14 individuals for their supposed participation in unauthorized oil extraction in the Elem Krakama community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
In addition, the Navy mentioned that they discovered an unauthorized oil processing location capable of generating more than 9.6 million liters of Automotive Gas Oil, commonly referred to as diesel, on a daily basis.
The Navy further stated that in an operation led by the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship, Pathfinder, Commodore Desmond Igbo, on Thursday, three wooden boats with a storage capacity of 70 metric tons were confiscated.
Igbo informed reporters that the suspects were draining crude oil from a tapped oil wellhead from the Oil Mining Lease (OML-18) operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in the area.
He explained that the wellhead had been severely compromised by the suspected oil thieves.
Igbo, expressing astonishment at the extensive economic sabotage occurring in the area, observed that the site has 16 cooking vessels with the ability to hold 6,000 liters of diesel each, while emphasizing that the Navy will persist in ensuring that unauthorized oil processing activities become obsolete.
He said, “This is Elem Krakama in Degema LGA of Rivers State. We have come here to ensure that this oil stealing will not continue.
“We have about 16 cooking pots and some of them contain about 6,00 litres. It is very huge, as you can see where they are tapping it from right from the oil wellhead.
“It comes out the way water comes from the tap. We have made arrests, we arrested about 14 of them in the act of stealing the crude and also illegally refining this crude.
“Behind me is oil well head 15 belonging to OML 18, of NNPCL. You can see a very big 14-inch hose connected illegally to this oil well head 15.
“They are transferring it to this big wooden boat also known as the Cotonou boat.
“The boats contain 70 metric tons of crude oil, the crude is still there they will connect it to the reservoirs through the 4-inch hose from there they will start cooking it.”
Continuing, the NHS Pathfinder boss said, “We have four of these wooden boats in this camp. The cooking pots also contain about 1.5 million AGO. This is not good for our country not good for the economy.”
