The Nigerian Navy, through personnel of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny, intensified its crackdown on crude oil theft and illegal bunkering in Rivers State as part of Operation Delta Sentinel.
According to the report, the operation targeted an illegal crude-oil storage facility in the Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, where naval personnel discovered concealed storage points containing products suspected to have been stolen from oil installations.
The operation resulted in the recovery of approximately 24,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil. The illegal storage facility was subsequently destroyed in line with the Navy’s operational procedures.
The discovery followed intelligence-led surveillance and patrols aimed at identifying locations being used by oil thieves to store crude before moving it through the creeks and waterways for illegal refining or onward distribution.
The Navy said the operation was part of its broader strategy of going after the infrastructure and logistics networks supporting crude oil theft, rather than concentrating only on the transportation of stolen petroleum products.
The Bonny operation is significant because the area hosts major oil and gas infrastructure and forms part of the wider maritime environment that the Navy is tasked with protecting.
The Navy has repeatedly warned that criminal groups using the Niger Delta’s extensive creek network for crude theft and illegal bunkering would face sustained military pressure. Under Operation Delta Sentinel, naval units have continued to conduct intelligence-driven patrols, destroy illegal refining and storage facilities, intercept vessels and boats used for illicit activities, and recover stolen petroleum products.
More recent Vanguard reports show that the Navy has maintained this pressure in Bonny. In July, personnel of FOB Bonny uncovered another illegal storage network at Bethel Community, discovering six dugout pits, three of which contained about 20,500 litres of suspected stolen crude oil.
A separate July operation around Okpokiri Community also led to the discovery of four concealed dugout pits, three containing approximately 39,500 litres of suspected stolen crude oil. �
The Navy’s broader second-quarter figures indicate the scale of the crackdown: between April and June 2026, it said it conducted more than 580 intelligence-driven operations, recovered over 4.698 million litres of stolen crude and illegally refined petroleum products, dismantled 48 illegal refining sites and arrested more than 91 suspects. �
The Navy has said it will sustain the intelligence-led campaign to dismantle crude oil theft networks, protect critical oil and gas infrastructure and deny criminal syndicates the logistics required to continue their activities.