The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has dismissed several parties’ claims about the volume and cause of an ongoing leak from Aiteo’s oilfield in Nembe, Bayelsa, as “guess work.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Bayelsa government blames the incident on equipment failure, while the oil company claims the leak was caused by sabotage.
Bayelsa Gov. Douye Diri, who visited the site on Wednesday, 25 days after the leak, claimed that approximately two million barrels of Bonny Light crude stream polluted the Santa Barbra River and Nembe Creeks.
NAN recalls that on Nov. 25, President Muhamadu Buhari directed the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, to empathize with the affected community and ensure an adequate response.
However, in an updated video posted on the spill regulatory agency’s website on Friday, Mr Idris Musa, Director-General of NOSDRA, stated that only a Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) would determine the cause and volume of the spill.
Musa stated that such positions taken by various interest groups were detrimental to the statutory investigation, which was hampered by the ongoing leak.
According to him, NOSDRA has been monitoring developments at the spill site, and officials stationed there are keeping an eye on the oil recovery process.
He emphasized that the agency relied on empirical evidence to reach its conclusions and that it was premature to speculate on the cause until the spill was stopped and the affected well was examined.
Musa also stated that estimating the volume of crude spilled thus far was premature due to the fact that the well was a non-producing well made up of 80% gas and 20% crude.
He did, however, say that records at the agency’s disposal show that 4,150 barrels of oil and water residue were recovered a few days ago, and that a JIV report would show the total spill volume.
Mr Andrew Oru, Global Director/Coordinator, Aiteo Group, who visited the incident site on Thursday, stated that the leak was contained because foreign experts hired to stop the leak were close to their target.
Oru stated that the pressure of the erupting gas and oil had been significantly reduced, and that intensive oil recovery was underway to reduce the environmental impact.
He went on to say that the oil company had sent a second batch of five truckloads of relief materials, including food, medical supplies, and sanitation supplies, to help lessen the impact of the incident on the people of Nembe.
Oru also claimed that claims that an estimated two million barrels had leaked since the leak began on November 5 were false and unfounded.
According to him, the verified reserve from the well was nowhere near the claimed volume.
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