NSCDC Discovers Illegal Refinery Site In Rivers State [Photos]

A massive illegal refinery site in Odagwa forest, located in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, has been discovered and successfully dismantled by officers from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Naija News reports that the NSCDC spokesperson in Rivers State, Olufemi Ayodele, confirmed this in a statement issued on Monday.

He stated that the latest operation was a crucial step in combating the rampant issue of crude oil theft within the nation.

“We are carrying out this operation without compromise. And as I said, the NSCDC will not stop in its fight against crude oil theft in the country. This is a major achievement.

“You can see how big this tank is. About five cooking pots have been seen, and there are still more cooking pots. Each of the cooking pots can contain about 60, 000 litres. But that other large one, we estimate it to contain 20, 000 litres,” Channels Television quoted Ayodele saying.

See more photos of the illegal refinery site below:

PH Refinery: ‘Price Of Petrol Will Reduce’ – Marketers Confirm

Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) have forecasted a slight decrease in the retail price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, following the anticipated commencement of operations at the Port Harcourt Refining Company next month.

Both IPMAN and MEMAN have expressed their eagerness to commence product loading from the refinery, emphasizing the need for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to deliver on its commitment to start distributing refined products from the Port Harcourt plant within the next two weeks.

The Group Managing Director of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, confirmed the revival of the refinery’s operations during a Senate Ad-hoc Committee session focused on investigating the Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) projects of Nigeria’s refineries.

Kyari asserted that mechanical repairs at the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries have reached completion. Port Harcourt is set to go operational shortly, and Kaduna is expected to follow suit in December.

This development is poised to inject a significant volume of domestically refined petrol into the Nigerian market, potentially easing the nation’s dependency on imported fuel and contributing to a marginal reduction in pump prices.

Kyari said last Friday, “We did a mechanical completion of the (Port Harcourt) refinery, that was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in the next two weeks.

“Completing the mechanical work means that you are done with the rehabilitation work, now you have to test to see how it works. Of course, we have also completed the mechanical work on the Warri refinery.

“It is also undergoing regulatory compliance; processes that we are doing with our regulator, and this will soon be completed and it will be ready. The Kaduna refinery will be ready by December. We have not reached that stage in Kaduna, but we promise Kaduna will be delivered by December.”

The National President of IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, in his reaction, told Punch that marketers had been informed of the development and were ready to start lifting products.

He also stated that once products start coming out from the plant, the cost of petrol would reduce, but stressed that this would be a marginal reduction.