ABUJA, March 11 (NNN-Xinhua) — Nigerian troops have deactivated 30 illegal oil refining sites across the oil-rich delta region in the past two weeks, a military official said here.
The troops destroyed 57 galvanized pipes and arrested 25 economic saboteurs during the period, Bernard Onyeuko, spokesman for the military, told reporters.
Onyeuko said many items were recovered in the course of the operations, including a total of 2.8 million liters of crude oil and 3.8 million liters of automotive gas oil.
The recovered items had been handed over to the appropriate authority for further action, he added.
In the delta region of Nigeria, one of the largest oil exporters in Africa, illegal refining is a dangerous common practice among local people who sometimes boil crude oil in drums to extract fuel after vandalizing pipelines. — NNN-XINHUA