Concerns over the Port Harcourt refinery’s operational delay led to the discovery of 63 illegal refineries.

Nigerian National Petroleum business Limited, the country’s oil business, reported that during the previous week, it had found and seized goods from 63 unlicensed refineries.

According to a company documentary released on Wednesday, within the last week, 63 illicit refineries and 19 unauthorized pipeline connections were found.

The Port Harcourt Refinery’s delayed start of operations, which was previously disclosed, caused the firm to announce this new development.

After roughly six delays, the Port Harcourt Refining business, a refinery in Rivers State run by the business, had once more been unable to start up.

Although NNPCL and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources had vowed to open the refinery this month, as the month draws to a close, there is still no indication that the plant will begin processing crude oil.

Mele Kyari, the NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, declared unequivocally in July that the refinery would start up in early August.

This comes after he declared in 2019 that the NNPCL will deliver all four of the nation’s refineries before to the conclusion of the previous administration led by Muhammadu Buhari.

“I can confirm to you, Mr. Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products,” Kyari said during a recent July appearance before the Senate.

“With regard to NNPC refineries, we have discussed with several of your committees, and it is not feasible for the Kaduna refinery to start up before December; both Warri and Kaduna refineries will reach that date; however, the Port Harcourt refinery will start up in early August of this year.”

But as August approaches its halfway point today, the refinery still hasn’t started up, raising questions about if this is just another broken pledge from the national oil firm.

NNPCL has not yet provided an explanation for the postponement.

However, the firm claimed that 63 illicit refineries had been found in an attempt to demonstrate its efforts to stop the theft of crude oil and increase national revenue.

The NNPC reports that between August 3 and August 9, approximately 177 incidents were reported by various incident sources, including four from Tantita Security Services, eleven from Shell Petroleum Development Company, 26 from Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, 20 from Maton Engineering Company, one from NNPC 18 Operating Ltd, 51 from NNPC Command and Control Center, and 64 from government security agencies.

Nineteen unlawful pipeline connections were found during the review week, and some were repaired at various places in Bayelsa and River States.

According to the NNPCL, 63 illicit refineries across the states of Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, Imo, and Delta were found and taken into custody.

It further stated that stolen crude was found in oil reservoirs in Rivers State and that a vandalized barred oil wellhead was found in Bayelsa State.

The state-owned company reported that 17 car arrests took place in the states of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom.

Fifteen wooden boats carrying stolen crude were seized in the states of Rivers and Bayelsa.

51 of those occurrences happened in the deep blue sea, according to the energy business, 21 in the western region, 29 in the central region, and 76 in the eastern region.

In relation to the incidents during the previous week, no fewer than 16 people were taken into custody.

Nigeria has been struggling with poor crude oil production, which has prevented the nation from receiving significant funding for major infrastructure projects throughout the nation.

Tony Elumelu, a wealthy businessman, has stated that Nigerian security personnel and the government ought to be able to identify and apprehend individuals who steal the nation’s crude oil, particularly through the use of vessels that pass through its territorial seas.

He claimed that the threat was a factor in foreign oil corporations pulling out of Nigeria.

Elumelu stated in an interview with the Financial Times that 18% of the crude extracted from his field is still stolen by oil thieves.

“We pump out 42,000 barrels of crude every day,” he clarified. Theft continues to deplete productivity by roughly 18%.

We are not talking about stealing a pocket-sized bottle of Coke here; this is oil theft. The government ought to be aware of this and inform us.

“Look at America – after Donald Trump was shot, everyone knew right away who had done it. Who is stealing our oil should be revealed to us by our security services. We don’t know why you bring boats into our territorial waters.

Elumelu’s worries stem from an altercation that broke out between Aliko Dangote, government representatives, and IOCs on the delivery of crude oil to his 650, 000-oil refinery complex in Ibeju-Lekki.