The Nigerian Navy has ramped up its initiatives to combat oil theft, revealing three underground reservoirs in the Oteghele area of Delta State, which collectively hold 75,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil. These findings were made during operations conducted on October 12 and 14, 2026, by troops of Operation Delta Sentinel.
In the first operation on October 12, personnel from Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta discovered approximately 30,000 litres of crude oil in one reservoir. This was followed by the uncovering of an additional 45,000 litres stored in two large reservoirs during the subsequent operation on October 14.
Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, the Director of Naval Information, provided details on the operations, stating that the reservoirs and the crude oil seized were managed per standard operating procedures. He explained that these discoveries indicate the existence of hidden storage sites facilitating the illicit accumulation and distribution of stolen crude oil.
Captain Folorunsho emphasized that these findings disrupt essential links in the illegal oil trade and diminish opportunities for the exploitative practices affecting the nation’s oil resources. He reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment to executing intelligence-driven operations to dismantle such facilities, while also vowing to constrain the activities of oil thieves and illegal refiners as part of safeguarding Nigeria’s petroleum revenues.
