NMDPRA uncovers 90,000-litre tank at Ogun illegal refinery

The illegal refinery uncovered in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, had an underground storage tank with a capacity of over 90,000 litres, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has said.

The authority also disclosed that the facility, which occupied more than three hectares of land, featured locally fabricated storage tanks, separation silos, underground heating systems and cooling hydrants.

The State Coordinator of NMDPRA, Dr Atilola Akinyemi, disclosed this on Wednesday during a joint inspection of the facility by officials of the authority and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Akinyemi said the refinery, located in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, was operating without any regulatory permit, adding that its activities were unknown to relevant government authorities.

He described the facility as crude and completely illegal, noting that its discovery was made possible through intelligence gathering and surveillance.

“This is not a refinery by any standard. I want you to understand that this facility does not have a permit from any regulatory authority, and its operations are unknown to the relevant authorities,” he said.

Akinyemi likened the operation to illegal refining activities prevalent in the Niger Delta during the 1990s and early 2000s, questioning the source of its petroleum feedstock.

He said the operators appeared to possess technical expertise, having designed the facility to mimic the operations of a standard refinery while deliberately circumventing established regulations.

The NMDPRA coordinator, however, cautioned against identifying the recovered petroleum products as diesel, also known as Automotive Gas Oil, saying laboratory analysis was required to establish their actual composition.

He warned that releasing the products into the market without proper verification could pose serious risks to vehicles and automobile engines.

Akinyemi said the products and materials recovered from the facility had been confiscated and placed under the control of the Federal Government pending laboratory analysis and verification.

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He added that the authority would not tolerate illegal refining activities in Ogun State and would continue to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to uncover similar operations.

Meanwhile, the EFCC Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, said the commission uncovered the facility following intelligence provided by a Nigerian whistleblower.

Kaltungo said the commission conducted surveillance to authenticate the information before launching a sting operation that led to the discovery.

According to him, the intelligence was received after the EFCC Executive Chairman encouraged Nigerians to report suspicious activities under the commission’s whistleblowing policy.

“A Nigerian who responded to that call subsequently provided us with information about an illegal mining site. We informed the Chairman, who directed us to conduct surveillance first. We carried out the surveillance and confirmed that the information was accurate,” he said.

Kaltungo added that the EFCC subsequently carried out a sting operation, during which the facility was uncovered, noting that the commission was close to discovering another location.

The EFCC official also raised concerns over the immigration status of some foreign nationals arrested in connection with the operation.

He said some of the suspects could not produce passports, while others allegedly had visas that expired about three months earlier.

Kaltungo disclosed that the commission was investigating the ownership structure of companies allegedly linked to the operation, adding that some of their ultimate owners were based in China.

Also speaking, the Director of the Department of Proceeds of Crime Management, EFCC, Gbolahan Latona, warned that illegal petroleum operations could undermine legitimate investments in Nigeria’s refining sector and deprive the country of revenue.

Latona said the commission would ensure that assets established to be proceeds of crime were recovered and put to productive use in accordance with the law.

He cited the conversion of Nok University, following its forfeiture to the government, into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, as an example of the commission’s asset recovery and social reuse initiative.

He said the discovered facility could also be subjected to appropriate recovery and reuse procedures, depending on the outcome of investigations and necessary legal processes.

Latona warned that illegal operators should not be allowed to undermine investments by legitimate players in the petroleum industry, particularly major domestic refining projects.

He assured that the suspects would face prosecution if sufficient evidence was established against them, adding that the commission would investigate individuals and interests allegedly financing the operation from outside Nigeria.