The Nigerian Navy says its Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Bonny has destroyed an illegal refining site at Adamakiri and Elem Krakrama area and a wooden boat conveying suspected stolen crude oil in Alakiri general area, both in Rivers State.

In a statement published on its Facebook page, the Navy said the operation that discovered and deactivated the refining site with two ovens, five storage tanks and three reservoirs laden with a sizable amount of crude oil and sludge took place on Sunday, June 9.

According to the statement, the naval team also discovered and deactivated a wooden boat with some amount of crude oil pumped into a refining site that also contained an oven and a reservoir with some quantity of crude oil in Alakiri general area of the state.

On January 10, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, activated Operation DELTA SANITY to reinvigorate the fight against crude oil theft, oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.

In 2023, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) reported that between May and the second week of October, no fewer than 4,145 crude oil theft incidents were recorded with the country losing 400,000 barrels of oil per day to the menace.