No fewer than five illicit refineries have been discovered in various communities within the Araromi seaside area of Ilaje Local Government Area in Ondo State.

In a statement released on Wednesday (today), the military reported that these illegal refineries were found to contain a total of 365,000 litres of crude oil. It has been confirmed that the necessary measures are being taken to destroy these illegal refineries.

The Commanding Officer of the base, Navy Captain Wasuku Alushi, disclosed in the communique that the recent discovery was made following a military expedition to the sites where the illegal refining activities were taking place.

The exercise, he noted, was part of the Nigerian Navy’s ongoing efforts to combat crude oil theft and other related criminal activities in the Niger Delta region, specifically targeting Ilaje Local Government Area in Ondo State.

He said, “You will recall that a fortnight ago, the Chief of Naval Staff launched the ‘Operation Delta Sanity’ with the overall goal of intensifying the Nigerian Navy’s efforts in curbing crude oil theft in the Niger Delta area with a view to sanitising the environment.

“Operation Delta Sanity is to sanitise the entire Niger Delta basically from the menace of crude oil thieves, illegal refiners, cultism and other related activities. Part of that mandate is to dismantle these illegal refining sites to render them inactive.”

“We are here today based on credible intelligence, you can see that this is an illegal refining site. We are basically to dismantle this site to stop them from carrying out their nefarious activities and also to enlighten the public on the activities of these economic saboteurs to the nation,” Channels Television quoted the Naval officer saying.

The commander provided an explanation regarding the presence of five distinct illegal refining ovens within the refining field. He mentioned that each of these ovens had a refining capacity of 33,000 litres, serving as the primary refining process. Additionally, there were two other ovens with a refining capacity of 10,000 litres each.

Furthermore, he emphasized that this information indicated that each of the ovens had the capability to refine 83,000 litres of crude oil per day.

Expanding on the matter, the commander added that the illegal refiners would transport the unlawfully refined crude oil into these tanks, where they would utilize local technology for the refining process.

He said that the refiners use the “principles of fractional distillation in their own crude way and then at the end of it they come up with illegally refined HGO which they further transport, perhaps back through the sea to where the market is.”

Alushi noted, “There are networks of pipes there, most of the pipes are buried under the ground and are connected to the high sea where at night, this locally constructed boat called Cotonou boat come to lift these products for onward delivery to where the markets are.