Posted by More than 30 illegal oil refining plants near Cawthorne Channel and Bille in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers have been destroyed in the last two months thanks to the air component of Operation Delta Safe.
This was announced in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja by NAF Director of Public Relations and Information Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet.
According to Gabkwet, the air attacks ratcheted up efforts to prevent oil thieves and operators of illegal oil processing sites from destroying the environment by bursting pipelines and operating their illegal oil refineries.
According to him, four active illegal refining facilities were destroyed by air strikes on Friday near Cawthorne Channel. These sites had dug-out reservoirs and surface storage tanks that were thought to house illegally processed products.
Three illegal oil refinery sites, complete with storage tanks and reservoirs, were destroyed in air attacks on Saturday and early Sunday, he said.
A Cotonou boat that was thought to be siphoning crude oil from a flow station was destroyed after being engaged in numerous passes at one of the sites. The majority of oil theft and illegal oil refining in Rivers State has occurred in Cawthorne Channel and Bille during the past two months.
approximately the course of this time period, the land, sea, and air components of Operation Delta Safe have destroyed approximately 30 illegal oil refinery plants in these two areas.
Until “oil thieves and their accomplices desist from their illegal activities,” the statement said, “these efforts will be sustained in these locations and others.”