Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has made significant progress in addressing illegal oil activities in the Niger Delta, uncovering a total of 58 illegal refineries and 19 unauthorised pipeline connections.
Gatekeepers News reports that this comes in the wake of alarming statistics for 2024, where Nigeria experienced over 589 oil spills, predominantly attributed to oil theft.
In a recent documentary shared on the NNPCL’s official YouTube channel, the company revealed that it recorded 159 incidents of oil theft during operations conducted from January 18 to 24, 2025. These efforts not only led to the identification of various illegal oil installations but also resulted in the arrest of 25 suspects involved in these activities.
“An industry-wide security collaboration to safeguard hydrocarbon infrastructure continues to yield remarkable results,” the broadcast says.
It listed the the various companies and stakeholders involved in the operations including NMPC Ltd’s Command and Control Centre, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd, Maton Engineering Nigeria Ltd, Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd, Oando PLC, and the Government Security Agencies.
The development comes a week after the national oil company announced the discovery of 55 illegal refineries and 29 illegal pipeline connections.
Listing some of the major incidents of oil theft, NNPCL noted that a major breach was reported on the Oando to NLNG Boni gas pipeline system in River State.
It also recorded vandalism of a gas pipeline forced a shutdown, disrupting the gas supply to Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG.
The national oil company said it uncovered several instances of vandalism of crude oil pipelines and illegal connections to condensate pipelines in the Ikenzi and Oruma areas of Bayelsa State, were exposed.
“Similar breaches were discovered in Ugu, Edo State, Ipu South, Abia State, and at a wellhead in Buguma, River State,” the broadcast notes.
The company noted that all illegal connections had been removed and repairs had been successfully carried out.
Illegal refineries were reportedly discovered in Bile, Boni, Oigu, Okoloma, Ayama, and Ward 7, Dema Abe, all in River State.
In a breakdown of the 159 incidents in the Niger Delta region, it was noted that seven incidents were recorded in the Western corridor, 72 in the Central Corridor, 41 in the Eastern corridor, and 39 in the Deep Blue water.
The company emphasised that the fight against crude oil theft will continue, adding that its resolve against the menace remains unshaken.
