National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, has confirmed an oil leak incident from the Nembe Oilfields operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Limited in Nembe, Bayelsa State. Mr. Solomon Ukponevi, Head of NOSDRA’s field office in Yenagoa, who confirmed the development on Wednesday said the oil firm reported the incident on Tuesday. Ukponevi said that the agency has deployed its officials to the spill site to ascertain the cause and volume of crude oil discharged into the environment. He, however, noted that the Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) schedule for today (Wednesday) will determine the volume of spill and impacted area amongst other details. “I will not be able to provide details until staff deployed for the JIV return from the fields but I can tell you that Aiteo has reported the spill and investigation is underway” he said.
A loading mishap at the Nembe oilfields reportedly discharged large volumes of crude blend into the creeks. According to sources, a violent tidal wave on Monday, dislodged a vessel being loaded from the crude storage facility operated by indigenous firm Aiteo. It was learnt that the leak occurred during a loading operation from a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO). The 97 kilometre Nembe Creek Trunkline NCTL) that hitherto fed the Bonny Oil Export Terminal in Rivers has since been discarded by.the indigenous firm which acquired the facility from Shell in 2015. The repeated vandalisation of the oil export line with capacity to evacuated 180,000 barrels of crude daily, prompted Aiteo to resort to the use of barge to convey crude from the Nembe fields. Sources in the area said the operational mishap discharged large volumes of the Nembe crude blend into the Atlantic Ocean and adjourning creeks
Meanwhile, Aiteo in a statement, on Wednesday, confirmed the spill saying its Nembe field has been temporarily shut in to contain the oil leak. The statement read “Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company (AEEPCO), operator of the NNPC / Aiteo Joint Venture on OML 29, confirms it has detected an oil leak at its Nembe swamp facility in OML 29, Nembe Kingdom, Bayelsa State. The leak was reported on Monday, June 17, 2024, during routine operations. AEEPCO’s Oil Spill and Emergency Response Team was immediately activated and all production from OML 29 shut down. This is a precautionary measure while mobilising additional resources to contain the spill. The cause of the spill is currently undetermined. However, we are proactively engaging with stakeholders to mitigate the immediate effects.”
Commenting on the incident, the statement quoted AEEPCO’s Group Managing Director, Victor Okoronkwo, as saying, “During our operations on Monday, June 17, 2024, the subject leak was detected. A Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) with stakeholders has been initiated to determine the cause of this incident. While we regret the production losses to the Joint Venture and the nation and the potential environmental impact, our current priority is to expedite an efficient spill management process in line with regulatory standards and collaborate with all stakeholders to restore production and mitigate associated risks. Our joint venture partners and the relevant regulators; The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) have been notified of the incident.”
