Determined to end oil theft and vandalism, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) uncovered 165 illegal refineries in various locations across the Niger Delta.

In a recent weekly programme titled, ‘Energy and You’ the company disclosed in a documentary recorded between June 15 and 21, that about 400 incidents of oil theft and vandalism were reported by both the government and private security agencies.

The visual documentary reported eight cases of oil spills across the region due to vandalism or illegal connections.

Also, there were reports of the discovery of an illegal loading point in Warri, Delta State.

The NNPC Ltd stated that 69 illegal refineries were reportedly uncovered and dismantled across several swamps in Okrika, Rivers State.

The ongoing construction of an ‘oven’ for illegal crude oil refining was reportedly halted.

Similar refining sites were uncovered in different locations in Abia and Bayelsa States.

NNPC said that 19 illegal storage sites filled with stolen crude and illegally refined products were uncovered in Delta, Imo, Rivers, Abia, and Bayelsa states.

It added that 11 vehicles were seized in Delta, Akwa-Ibom, and Bayelsa States, and 39 boats conveying stolen crude were confiscated in Rivers, Delta, and Bayelsa States.

It also noted that the incidents led to the arrest of eight people.

The latest development comes on the heels of dwindling crude oil production and the inability of Nigeria to meet its 1.5 million-barrel OPEC quota.

Recently, NNPC Ltd.’s Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr. Mele Kyari, spoke on the need to fight insecurity in the oil and gas sector.

According to Kyari, the nation’s crude oil production keeps dropping due to oil theft and vandalism.

He said: “How do you increase oil production? Remove the security challenge we have with our onshore assets. As we all know, the security challenge is real.

“It is not just about theft; it is about the availability of the infrastructure to deliver the volume to the market.

“No one is going to put money into oil production when he knows the production will not get to the market. Within the last two years, we removed over 5,800 illegal connections from our pipelines.

“We took down over 6,000 illegal refineries. You simply cannot get people to put money until you solve that problem.”