Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASAN), during a protest over crude oil theft in Abuja, Nigeria on 6 September 2022. Credit: Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Elements of Nigeria’s army have intercepted and disrupted a large illegal oil bunkering operation in the southern region of the country, as the African nation grapples with ongoing threats to energy infrastructure and thefts.  

Several local news sources reported that the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army had found over 198,000 litres of stolen crude oil in a barge from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) flow station in Rivers State. 

The announcement was made by a media representative of the division.  

The representative explained that the find was made after personnel acted upon credible intelligence. Soldiers raided the barge then seized three speedboats near Cawthorne Channel I, a fully operational oil and gas field near the Niger Delta.  

The alleged suspects were caught (numbering five in total) in the act of siphoning crude oil from a barge at an NNPC flow station, the local media reports indicated.

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The army’s media representative added that there is an ongoing anti-oil theft operation aimed at dismantling criminal networks in the Niger Delta.  

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Over 280,000 litres of stolen crude oil had been recovered in the past week, he added, with 63 illegal oil bunkering sites and 11 illegal pipeline connections also uncovered.  

Soldiers have also recently dismantled four illegal refining sites.

Operation Lines Sweep was also aimed at clearing the Trans Niger Pipelines (TNP) critical areas, with several illegal connections identified and clamped the representative added.

According to Nigeria’s Channels TV, authorities recently discovered 1,400 litres of stolen oil-based products at a suspect’s residence in Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria, and the suspect currently awaiting processing.  

Nigeria has experienced numerous cases of oil theft and pipeline damage in the past few years. In September 2022, the nation’s daily crude oil loss due to these events amounted to 470,000 barrels, leading to a monthly revenue reduction of $700 million.  

As a result, Nigeria saw its lowest daily average output since 1997, causing the country to fall behind Angola as Africa’s largest exporter in July 2022. 

Since then, the Nigerian government and NNPC have discovered several oil theft operations and have made multiple arrests.