ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The headquarters of the 6 Division, Nigeria Army, Port Harcourt, has revealed the presence of 14 crude oil reservoirs in Odagwa Etche, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, containing approximately three million liters of stolen crude, with an estimated value of N3 million.
Major General Jamal Abdussalam, the General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Nigeria Army, led journalists on a tour of the reservoirs concealed within the thick forest of Odagwa Etche.
He emphasized the significance of bringing this information to the public’s attention, underscoring the challenges posed by clandestine activities in the area.
The discovery, facilitated by credible intelligence officers, unveiled not only the 14 reservoirs but also 49 boilers utilized in refining the stolen crude within the region.
The General Officer Commanding emphasized the difficulty of accessing the hidden location, even with helicopters and military drones, highlighting the importance of reliable intelligence.
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Abdussalam expressed concern over the scale of illegal activities, pointing out that the uncovered reservoirs held an excess of three million liters of crude oil, surpassing Nigeria’s daily crude oil export.
He noted the intricate network of hoses and cables connected throughout the area, emphasizing the severity of the situation.
While acknowledging a few arrests, Abdussalam clarified that those apprehended were not the major players but carriers of the stolen oil.
He affirmed the Army’s commitment to intensifying efforts in combating oil theft, aligning with the government’s production benchmarks outlined in the national budget.
The General Officer Commanding highlighted the broader impact of crude oil production on the country’s economy, citing the budget’s dependency on specific parameters, including daily oil production.
He emphasized the need for public awareness to deter individuals from engaging in illicit activities that adversely affect the nation’s economic stability.
Addressing newsmen, he said, “You can see that this place is in a deep forest even if you are using helicopters and military drones you will not be able to see what we actually saw here on the ground. Credible intelligence led us to this location.
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“We have discovered so many illegal activities. As you can see, we have seen reservoirs that can contain upwards of 200, 0000 litres of crude oil.
‘We have discovered about 14 of them in this bush. We have also discovered boilers capable of processing crude oil, about 49 of them all located inside this bush and we have seen the network of hose and cables connected around the whole area.
“The crude oil we have discovered in this place is in excess of the daily crude oil export of Nigeria. This is very pathetic and very sad to note.
“Here we discovered 14 reservoirs and each reservoir stored a minimum of 200,000 litres of crude oil. So, simple math will give you in excess of three million litres of crude oil that is stored. We are not talking about the ones that have been processed and taken out; these are the ones that we have discovered.
“This place is called Odagwa in Rivers State and inside this place we have well heads, many of them we don’t know the exact number of well heads around here.
“Most of them are not in use, but you can see that it’s from these wellheads that these people put their pipes to siphon this oil.”