Abuja—President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, directed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to immediately proceed to Nembe local government area in Bayelsa State to investigate the level of damage at well 01, OML 29, Santa Barbara, near Bassambiri, occasioned by the recent oil spillage in the area.
Thisday newspaper reports that the federal government has also directed that the operations at the Santa Barbara oilfield be shut down.
Similarly, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Tuesday, outlined action plans to deal with the situation.
The federal government stated yesterday that there might be no immediate halt to the upswing in prices of cooking gas across the country as the government declared that it has no control over the rising cost of the product, saying gas prices are determined in the international market.
Briefing journalists at the State House, Abuja after a visit to Buhari to introduce the CEO, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA), Faruk Ahmed and the CEO, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, Sylva disclosed that the president had directed that he should visit Nembe to assess the situation.
“And the question which is on the spillage at OML 29, we are quite aware of it. Unfortunately, it has happened. It is also one of the issues I discussed with the president as minister and he has actually asked us to go and visit the site to assess the situation and report back.
“Definitely, we are quite concerned with what is happening in Nembe and will be going there very tomorrow, to look at what is happening and report back.
“Mr. President is very personally interested and we have discussed it and he said we should go there and come back and report to him because environmental degradation issues are things that we are not going to condone.
“Of course we’ll work with the operators of OML 29 to ensure that this spillage is brought under control as quickly as possible.”
However, in a statement on Tuesday, by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Environment, Saghir el Mohammed, the federal government announced the shutdown of the Santa Barbara oilfield.
According to the statement, suspension of activities at the oilfield would be effected until proper investigation was concluded and adequate measures put in place to ensure the safety of lives and property in the area.
The statement reads in part: “In a proactive measure to address the recent unfortunate oil spillage at Santa Barbara in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the federal government has directed the exploration company, Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited (AEEPCo) to halt operations in the area until a proper investigation is carried out and adequate measures put in place to ensure the safety of lives and property in the area.”
It revealed that upon receipt of the report of the incident, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment, Community representatives and Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company was set up on November 6, 2021, to immediately address the situation.
The exercise was inconclusive because of inaccessibility to the wellhead location due to the hydrocarbon fumes that saturated the atmosphere in the area.
The statement added that the JIT directed AEEPCo to shut in the impacted asset (wellhead) for appropriate oil II response, and accordingly, AEEPCo deployed booms and skimmers to contain the spill crude oil from spreading.
But as of November 10, 2021, efforts to shut in the well had proven difficult due to inaccessibility.
Efforts to safeguard the environment and livelihood, staff from the NOSDRA’s Yenagoa Field Office were deployed to the site to monitor and give a progress report on the measures being taken to address the issue. There were further directives to AEEPCo to engage all relevant stakeholders in the spilled oil recovery process.
The statement revealed that 3000 barrels of emulsified crude oil had been recovered and held in a recovery barge. It also stated that additional booms were deployed by the Clean Nigeria Associates, a Tier II response (CNA) System to work with the on-site recovery contractor.
It added that further effort yielded results as containment and recovery within the leak area had been reinforced as of November 15, with Clean Nigeria Associates (CNA) mobilising to site for enhanced containment and recovery. Also, Boot & Coots, mobilised for well control and securing.
The statement further revealed that AEEPCo has secured a temporary Work Permit for expatriates expected in the country for the activity.
Logistics support and arrangement build-up for the Well kill activity is currently ongoing, and based on JIT reports, a well control company (Kenyon International) was at the incident location for an on-site assessment.
It however said containment and recovery were still ongoing, with the wellhead experts now in Nigeria and work expected to be commenced on the clearing of the well
However, to ensure safety and guarantee future operations in the area by AEEPCo, NOSDRA has mandated the company to carry out concrete actions to address the situation that include clean-up of impacted areas, remediation of spill site as well as damage assessment and post-spill impact assessment.
