The Nigerian Navy has uncovered tapped wellheads in two different locations where major acts of economic sabotage take place unhindered in the creeks of Rivers State.

The Navy, In its bid to frustrate efforts of oil assets saboteurs at the Oil Mining Lease(OML)18 at Kala Ekweama in Asari-Toru Council of the state being operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited(NNPC), intercepted and foisted moves by the oil thieves to continue their nefarious act.

Also, the Navy intercepted another tapped wellhead at krakama creek in the Degema Local Government Area of the State where crude was being siphoned into large locally fabricated boats that contain over three thousand litres.

Speaking to journalists at both sites of the covert operation, Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship(NNS) Pathfinder, Commodore Sulaiman Ibrahim said the feat was one out of the numerous achievements in the war against oil theft in the country.

Ibrahim, who assured full Naval presence in stamping out oil sabotage, affirmed his commitment in curbing all activities of oil theft in the Niger Delta.

He, disclosed that the recent discovery of the two locations where the sabotage act was going on unabetted shows the sophistication of oil bunkering activities in the region.

He revealed that intelligence gathered from routine arial patrol by Naval helicopter deployed to scan the area on Tueday prompted the Navy storm the creek and dislodge the sabotuers.

He said: “This terrain was actually discovered by our air assets you all know what it took for us to get here, ordinarily this is difficult terrain, the Navy has put everything on the ground to ensure that it curbs illegal crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

” Just yesterday we had one of our assets a naval helicopter on an Arial patrol it was in the course of the patrol that we discovered this site, immediately gunboats were scrambled and we had our personnel slept here so as to discontinue the oil theft process and their boats and other machines taken away.”

The Naval Commander further disclosed that although nobody had been arrested, the wellheads were badly compromised and will require a good technical expert to clamp down the spewing crude and contain the spillage.

” At the same time we have contacted OML 18 who are the operators of this field to send their technical team and skilled manpower which you all saw on the ground to join in the collaboration but the challenging report we got from the technical team sent is that the oil well head has been greatly compromised so all efforts to get products out is quite difficult at the moment as oil exploration can not be carried except higher skilled and technical team are being brought in to do that,” he said.

Responding to the allegations that the Nigerian Navy and other military officers are in connivance with those involved in oil theft, Ibrahim, pleaded with the public to do well to step forward with information and names of officers involved in oil theft so they can be prosecuted, adding that it takes the collective efforts of the military and public to win the war against illegal oil exploration.

“We are here today at location OML 18 which belongs to the NNPC OML 18 resources at krakama, this is one of the location that was identified, yesterday when we did an overflight using our air assets and you could see that the arrangement here is a bit more complex you could see that there is a lot of technical skills have been involved when we found that pipes have been laid directly to the wellhead and then taken all the way to about three different loading points and this is something that, no doubt, that is done by very skilled technical people and not something that a layman can just do.

“As it stands we would work with the company to investigate to find out who exactly are responsible for this connections, on the other hand, we equally will talk with the company and would get across to them almost immediately so that they can come and do the needful and also engaged their local surveillance contractors who are ordinarily suppose to monitor the facility.”

Ibrahim stated that the Navy is readily available to collaborate with the community stakeholders to ensure that their facilities are well protected inline with the chief of Naval staff strategic directives. (The Guardian)

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