NOSDRA Confirms ‘Total Energies’ Egina Spill Exceeded 3,000 Barrels of Oil
The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has verified that the Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, operated by TotalEnergies, experienced a spill of more than 3,000 barrels of crude oil on November 15, 2023.
Situated 130 kilometers off the Atlantic coastline and managed by Total Energies EP Nigeria Limited, the Egina FPSO has a production capacity of 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day and a storage capacity of 2.3 million barrels on board.
Mr. Idris Musa, the Director-General of NOSDRA, stated on Sunday that a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) report indicated the leaked volume to be more than 3,000 barrels. Musa clarified that ongoing efforts by the agency have largely contained the leak.
He mentioned that both the agency and the operator have been actively addressing the situation to minimize environmental impact. Consequently, the spilled crude has been prevented from reaching the coastline. Musa highlighted that the spills agency deployed highly skilled personnel and activated the National Oil Spills Contingency Plan (NOSCP), utilizing both local and international resources and expertise in the response effort.
“The spill was not a minor one, it was the response strategy that we put in place that resulted in limited impact and we have been tracing and tracking the oil slick and supervising response efforts.
“NOSDRA deployed personnel led by a director to the site and we have remained on the spill site as well as granting the requisite approvals to hasten the response.
“We have been briefing our supervising ministry on developments and so far, the spill has not hit the coastline due to the effectiveness of the spill contingency plan we used,” Musa said.
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He clarified that the operator of the facility implemented measures that facilitated a prompt and efficient response. Additionally, he noted that other oil companies, operating under the Clean Nigeria Associate (CNA), played a role in supporting the response efforts.
He further emphasized that addressing the incident necessitated a collective response from various stakeholders in the oil industry. This collaborative effort involved the deployment of a spill response aircraft and the utilization of five vessels to apply 15,000 liters of cleaning liquids to treat the affected waters.
