Yenagoa—Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company says it is seeking foreign technical expertise to halt the ongoing oil leak at Santa Barbara well 01, near Bassambiri Nembe, Bayelsa State, Punch newspaper reports.
In a statement by its Spokesman, Mathew Ndianabasi on Sunday, the multinational oil firm said it is intensifying efforts by seeking the assistance of other oil and gas exploration firms in response to the spill.
However, the statement is believed to be in response to a reaction by Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, who recently criticized the pace of response and inability of the oil firm to stop the leakage after more than two weeks and continued pollution of surrounding creeks and farmlands.
The governor had warned the oil firm to be ready for the consequences of neglecting the negative impact of the incident believed to have been caused by equipment failure.
Aiteo, an indigenous oil firm that acquired the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 following the 2015 divestment by Shell, maintained that the leak was caused by sabotage by oil thieves who have become an obstacle to oil production and export from the asset.
Aiteo said, “Though spills of this nature are not uncommon to the oil and gas industry, their resolution requires expert skill and equipment that are not routinely or readily available.
“The typical process is to first kill the well and stop the leak and then focus on the clean-up.
“Aside from urgent possible technical responses to contain the leak, Aiteo has sought, become involved with and is now in active collaboration with Clean Nigeria Associates, CNA.
“They have since mobilized to site, in addition to Aiteo internal resources to reinforce containment and recovery efforts.
“CNA is the industry non-profit umbrella body with expertise and resource to contain spills of this nature.
“In the meantime, however, the area has been cordoned off and CNA is mobilizing additional resources to strengthen the containment effort.
“The required apparatus including heavy-duty and specialist equipment are presently being mobilized, locally and internationally, on a fast-track basis, to bring the well under control.
“For this purpose, Aiteo has on-boarded the involvement of the renowned Boots & Coots, arguably the leading well control company in the world, working with a local resource.
“Upon this intervention and conclusion, it is expected that the persistence of the leak alongside its functional consequences will be abated and significantly diminished.”
