By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Nigerian Navy has thwarted an attempted act of crude oil theft targeting critical oil infrastructure in Bonny, Rivers State, reinforcing its commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s strategic oil and gas assets under Operation DELTA SENTINEL.
According to a statement issued by the Navy spokesman, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho said the personnel of Forward Operating Base (FOB) BONNY, during security patrols near the Renaissance African Energy Company Limited (RAECL) Oloma Flow Station, intercepted a fibre boat close to a wellhead under suspicious circumstances.
The occupants abandoned the boat and fled on sighting the patrol team. He said a search of the boat led to the recovery of equipment typically used for wellhead tampering and pipeline vandalism, including a portable generator, a cutting/grinding machine, chisels, spanners, cutlasses, and other accessories.
The items are believed to have been assembled to compromise the wellhead and siphon crude oil. According to Folorunsho, follow-up operations, carried out with other security agencies, resulted in the arrest of one suspect connected to the attempted sabotage, while efforts continue to apprehend others involved in the criminal network.
The recovered fibre boat has been secured for further investigation. He said the operation has successfully prevented an attack on critical oil infrastructure, denying criminal elements the opportunity to inflict economic losses and environmental damage through acts of sabotage.
“The Nigerian Navy remains committed to intelligence-led operations under Operation DELTA SENTINEL to protect critical national assets, combat crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, and deny economic saboteurs freedom of action within Nigeria’s maritime domain”, the statement averred.
