I am interested in the backstory here. Never heard of an illegal refinery. Heard of tapping lines for gas. Tatortodd should know.

ABUJA, Nigeria -- More than 50 people were killed and many injured when an explosion rocked an illegal oil refinery in southeastern Nigeria, state officials and police said Saturday.

The death toll may be more than 100, according to a report in the Lagos-based Punch newspaper. The fire was reported to have spread to nearby properties.

The fire broke out Friday night and quickly spread to two fuel storage areas at the illegal crude oil refinery, causing the complex to be “engulfed by fire which spread rapidly” within the area, said Declan Emelumba, the Imo State commissioner for information.

The immediate cause of the explosion and the extent of the deaths, injuries and damage were being investigated, Emelumba said.

Multiple videos posted on social media showed a gruesome scene, with people's charred remains reduced to skeletons and cinders. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify them.

“A lot of people died. The people who died are all illegal operators,” said Michael Abattam, spokesman of the Imo State Police Command.

The Imo state government was looking for the owner of the refinery where the explosion occurred and declared him a wanted individual, an official said.

Illegal refineries are common in Nigeria, where shady business operators often avoid regulations and taxes by setting up refineries in remote areas, out of sight of authorities.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil but it has very few official refineries and as a result most gasoline and other fuels are imported, creating an opening for the illegal refinery operators.

The practice is so widespread that is affecting crude oil production in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

linK; https://abcnews.go.com/Interna...ia-kills-50-84266467

Tribalism, organized crime, warlords, oil company employees on the take, and/or corrupt dysfunctional government certainly create an environment for an illegal refinery.

They obtain the crude oil through:

piracy of tankers and barges

ship to ship transfer part of the load on tankers and barges. This takes massive corruption in logistics chain and management (i.e. look the other way for ships not arriving with as much crude as they left).

tapping crude oil pipelines

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

Thanks. They have no engineers to build or run the refinery?
And I thought they all make their living scamming Americans.

Definition of "Illegal refinery" is a refinery which, through bribery of local officials and law enforcement, doesn’t pay any taxes, fees, nor adhere to any local, national, or international safety standards.

This class of refinery is considered acceptable until it explodes, upon which time, the bribed officials and law enforcement declare it illegal.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
They have no engineers to build or run the refinery?

They don't need to stinkin' engineers

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
And I thought they all make their living scamming Americans.

It's just a different scam on the American people. The crude oil they're stealing is partially owned by western oil companies (including American companies). Every stockholder, mutual fund holder, ETF holder, pensioner, etc. is losing out on dividends and better valuation. Nigeria is/was a massive reservoir and I can't fathom the amount of dollars western oil companies would've made without theft, corruption, bribes, shakedowns, etc.

I never thought of that. Interesting.

I suspect the persons working there are of the group who aren't big on safety precautions--en'sh Allah, you know.

flashguy

Must be the same folks that are burning down our food processor plants

How the hell do you hide an "illegal refinery"?

Even a small one has a big foot print.

And where do you get the control systems, assuming they have a control system other than looking at the distillate (not a good idea)?

And what exactly is the product? I'm guessing it isn't gasoline; most gasoline is blended.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
How the hell do you hide an "illegal refinery"?

Plain sight. See LS1 GTO’s post above.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
And where do you get the control systems, assuming they have a control system other than looking at the distillate (not a good idea)? .

Steal it from the same people they stole the crude oil. A guy I’m friendly with who works for a competitor told me a Nigeria story of the locals revolting, his employer (western oil company) evacuating their people, and the locals stripping their facility bare. They even dig up pump foundations and stole the foundation.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
And what exactly is the product? I'm guessing it isn't gasoline; most gasoline is blended.

Distillates are easiest but gasoline is possible. Don’t have to give a shit about yields when you’re stealing the crude plus there are no emission laws.