The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said that a total of 144 oil theft incidences were recorded in Nigeria within a week.

According to a post on its verified Twitter handle on Tuesday, it stated that the incident occurred in Delta, Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa States from August 5-11, 2023.

It said, “From Ohaji Egbema in Imo State, Okoroma in Bayelsa State, Kogona in River State, Obodo Omadino in Delta, the war on crude oil theft is on and the industry-wide security collaboration continues to record remarkable progress.

“Between August 5-11, 2023, a total of 144 incidents were recorded 53 illegal refineries were discovered and destroyed in Degema and Igbudaya in River State, Imiringo in Bayelsa State, and Ohaji Egbema in Imo State. 35 illegal connections were uncovered and are being repaired in Ohaji Egbema Imo state and Okoroma in Bayelsa State.

“11 cases of vessels’ automatic identification system infractions were flagged using the NNPCL Maritime intelligence system and have been escalated to the Navy through the NNPCL incident management and reporting application. 8 cases of pipeline vandalism were reported especially in Ohaji Egbema in Imo State while 34 wooden boats conveying stolen boats and fetching crude oil from vandalised wellheads were seized in Obodo Omodoni in Delta, Kogana Emorhua in Rivers State and Ohaji Egbema in Imo State.

“3 cases of oil spill were recorded in Bayelsa State, 11 of these incidences were recorded in the deep blue water while 9 of these incidences were recorded in the Western region of Niger Delta, 87 in the central region while 37 cases took place in the Eastern part of the Niger Delta oil-producing region,” he added. (New Telegraph)

Update news