Fresh Oil Spill from NNPC Pipeline in Niger Delta
A fresh oil spill from a pipeline operated by the NNPC Ltd has rocked K-Dere community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, devastating the environment and inflicting damage on the livelihood of the people in the area.
The oil spill, which occurred five days ago, is coming about three months after a similar spill occurred in the community from the Trans Niger Pipeline operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, SPDC.
The spill, which became noticeable on January 3, 2024, is said to have occurred on the NNPC’s pipeline right of way, through which crude oil is being pumped to the Port Harcourt Refinery currently undergoing test-running. Confirming the development, the spokesperson of the K-Dere Steering Committee, Chief Norteh Miebari, alleged a cover-up by the management of NNPC, lamenting that the health of people was at stake.
Miebari revealed that the community woke up on January 3 to witness the oil spill and accused the company of using cement to cover up the leak point.
He said: “Up till this moment, nothing has been done at the spill site. A pipeline owned by a subsidiary of NNPC Ltd. We call on the federal government which owns the pipeline to come to the aid of the community, as we will resist all the dirty approaches being employed by the company; because pouring cement on the pipe without clamping the pipe is a timebomb that can lead to explosion anytime.”Also, the President of Ogoni Oil Bearing Communities, Chief Donald Gberesu, decried the neglect of the people by international oil companies, IOCs, alleging that the spill was caused by equipment failure.
Gberesu warned that the lukewarm approach by the operator was a time bomb.
“When I got to K-Dere, I saw the attempt by NNPC Ltd to pour concrete on liquid. Sadly, the people of K-Dere and other oil-bearing communities keep suffering this degree of negligence by multinationals, particularly this one that is even owned by NNPC.
“The public should impress on this company to come to the aid of the people of K-Dere and aid us from this situation. I see it as a deliberate attempt to push us to extinction,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, has called on the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, to immediately carry out a joint investigative visit, JIV, to the facility to determine the cause of the spill.
Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Mr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, charged NOSDRA to invoke relevant sections of the Petroleum Industry Act in the circumstances, which include payment of adequate compensation to the community if confirmed the spills were caused by equipment failure and cleaning up the spill site.
Source: Sweetcrude
