The Nigerian Navy has recovered over 4.698 million litres of stolen crude oil and illegally refined petroleum products during the second quarter of Operation Delta Sentinel, as Nigeria’s crude oil production surpassed its Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota.
The Navy said the operations, carried out between April and June 2026, also led to the arrest of more than 91 suspects linked to crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, militancy and other related crimes, while over 48 illegal refining sites were dismantled across the Niger Delta.
According to a statement issued by the Director of Naval Information, Capt. Abiodun Folorunsho, the sustained offensive followed the successful completion of the first quarter of Operation Delta Sentinel and was intensified to consolidate gains against criminal networks involved in economic sabotage.
The Service noted that the operations coincided with the recent announcement by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) that Nigeria’s crude oil production reached 1.735 million barrels per day in June 2026, representing 104 per cent of the country’s OPEC production quota and the highest production level since April 2020.
It said more than 580 intelligence-driven operations were conducted across Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River and Lagos states during the period.
The Navy disclosed that the operations resulted in the interception of several vessels engaged in crude oil theft, the destruction of criminal logistics networks, and the seizure of large volumes of stolen petroleum products.
“Among the major operational successes recorded were the arrest of the motor tankers MKPODU, WESTAF, and STELIOS K, which were linked to the theft of more than 900 metric tonnes of suspected stolen crude oil, the recovery of over 708,000 litres of illegally refined products and 310,000 litres of stolen crude oil from a single illegal refining site in Ndoni, Rivers State, as well as numerous intelligence-led operations that dismantled reactivated refining sites, intercepted illicit fuel consignments and prevented criminal syndicates from restoring illegal production capacity across the Niger Delta.
“Coordinated riverine operations led to the deactivation of scores of illegal refining sites, reservoirs, dugout pits, storage facilities, warehouses, concealed fuel caches, pipeline connections and militant hideouts.
“These operations also exposed a growing trend of criminal syndicates attempting to reactivate previously dismantled refining camps, prompting sustained follow-up operations that prevented the regeneration of illegal refining ecosystems and progressively disrupted the economic viability of crude oil theft networks, ” the statement said.
The Service reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Nigeria’s maritime domain and critical national assets, while supporting the Federal Government’s target of increasing crude oil production to 2.5 million barrels per day by 2027.
It added that intelligence-driven operations and stronger inter-agency collaboration would be sustained to further dismantle oil theft networks in line with the vision of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas.
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