On Tuesday, the Federal Government directed AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (AEEPCo) to halt operations at an oilfield in Bayelsa State.
According to a statement issued in Abuja by Mr Saghir el Mohammed, Press Director, Ministry of Environment, the government has ordered that the company not operate in the area until a proper investigation is conducted and adequate measures are put in place to ensure the safety of lives and property.
According to him, this is a proactive measure to address the recent unfortunate oil spillage at Santa Barbara in Bayelsa state’s Nembe Local Government Area.
“The Federal Government has directed the exploration company, AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited (AEEPCo), to halt operations in the area until an appropriate investigation is conducted.”
In addition, adequate measures will be put in place to ensure the safety of people and property in the area. It should be noted that the spill occurred on November 5, 2021, in the form of a fountain near the Opu Nembe Community at Well 1, Well Head located at the Southern Field of Sant Barbara.
Following receipt of the incident report, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was formed, consisting of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regualtory Commission (NUPRC) was set up.
“Also, on Nov. 6, 2021, the state Ministry of Environment, community representatives, and Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company were formed to address the situation immediately.” “The exercise was inclusive due to inaccessibility to the well head location due to the hydrocarbon fumes that saturated the atmosphere in the area.” As a result, the JIT directed AEEPCo to shut down in the impacted asset (well head) to allow for proper oil spill response.
As a result, AEEPCo deployed booms and skimmers to keep the crude oil spill from spreading.
Due to inaccessibility, efforts to close the well have proven difficult as of Nov. 10, 2021.
“Meanwhile, to protect the environment and livelihoods, staff from the NOSDRA’s Yenagoa Field Office were deployed to the site to monitor and report on the measures being taken to address the issue.” AEEPCo has also been directed to involve all relevant stakeholders in the spilled oil recovery process. In a similar vein, 3,000 barrels of emulsified crude oil have been recovered and are being held in a recovery barge.
In addition, the Clean Nigeria Association (CNA) System deployed additional booms to assist the on-site recovery contractor.
“Additional efforts resulted in containment and recovery within the leak area being reinforced by Nov. 15,” he said.
According to Mohammed, the CNA has been mobilized to the site for enhanced containment and recovery.
He also stated that boot and coots have been mobilized for well control and securing, and AEEPCo has secured temporary work permits for expatriates who will be in the country for the activity.
According to him, a well control company (Kenyon International) was at the incident site for an on-site assessment based on JIT reports.
“Containment and recovery are still ongoing.” It is worth noting that the well-head experts have arrived in Nigeria and will begin work on killing the well.
“However, in order to ensure safety and guarantee future operations in the area by AEEPCo, NOSDRA has mandated the company to take concrete actions. “The action is to address the situation, which includes clean-up of impacted areas, remediation of the spill site, damage assessment, and post-spill impact assessment.”
NOSDRA, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment, will keep the public updated on future developments regarding the spill incident in an effort to contain further spread and limit the environmental impact.