The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, a private security contractor, and government security agencies have destroyed a barge loaded with crude oil in Delta State.
The team also demolished a filling station in Warri for storing stolen crude oil on Saturday.
According to a statement from NNPC, it said the barge was destroyed on Saturday but was arrested on 22nd December 2022 along with some suspects.
“The barge, named MT Brighton 1, which was loaded with stolen crude, was apprehended in one of the creeks running into the Ramos River in the Agge Community, a border village between Delta and Bayelsa states,” it noted.
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Also, the security intervention team on Saturday demolished a filling station named Blessed Corporate Oil & Gas Services Ltd in Opete, Warri, Delta State.
NNPC said the station was demolished “For being in the custody of a truck laden with stolen crude and discharging the illegal contents into its underground storage tanks.”
The onslaught against oil thieves intensified in the last quarter of 2022 with the destruction of various vessels and the discovery of illegal crude oil pipeline connection points.
Prior to the exercise, crude oil production dropped to about 1.1 million barrels per day due to oil thieves and the shutting of some vulnerable pipelines. However, it began to improve in December and reached 1.5m bpd, according to NNPC Ltd.
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