The Nigerian Navy has shut down 71 illegal refineries and recovered more than 411,000 litres of stolen crude oil in the Niger Delta during July 2025.
According to a statement released by Commodore Ayiwuyor Adams-Aliu, Director of Naval Information, the operations were carried out under Operation Delta Sanity across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom States.
Key outcomes of the operations include the discovery and destruction of: 120 illegal storage facilities, including dugout pits and refining equipment;87,825 litres of illegally refined diesel (AGO),72,000 litres of kerosene (DPK), 21,900 litres of petrol (PMS).
July 4: Over 66,000 litres of crude and 40,000 litres of AGO seized in Rivers.July 14: Smuggling routes to Cameroon disrupted in Akwa Ibom and Delta; arrests made. July 22–23: Two large-scale operations dismantled in Bayelsa, recovering 450,000 litres of crude.
The Navy also intercepted multiple wooden boats used for smuggling and arrested six suspects.
Commodore Adams-Aliu emphasized the Navy’s continued commitment under Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, to eliminate crude oil theft and improve national output. Their efforts have reportedly contributed to Nigeria’s oil production surpassing 1.8 million barrels per day, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) reports that 619.7 million barrels of crude worth ₦16.25 trillion were lost to theft between 2009 and 2020. Losses dropped significantly from 36.69 million barrels in 2022 to 7.68 million barrels in 2023, attributed to improved surveillance and security.
