Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company, AEEPCO, operator of the NNPC / Aiteo Joint Venture on OML 29 ,has appointed Ewariezi Useh as its new Chief Operating Officer. Ewariezi will provide overall technical guidance to oil and gas exploration, production development, health, safety, security, and environmental activities of the group’s upstream business.
Ewariezi Useh assumes this position with a wealth of expertise spanning over 26 years from various areas of the Oil & Gas Industry.
According to the company,Useh’s experience ranges from oil and commodities trading (crude oil, derivatives & refined products), supply and distribution, petroleum retailing, shipping, jetty and terminal operations, depot and project management, amongst others.
Ewariezi joined Aiteo Group in 2013 and until this appointment, served as the Group Managing Director, Aiteo Downstream overseeing the entire downstream business of the Group and responsible for the effective running of the downstream companies (Aiteo Energy Resources Limited and Avidor Oil & Gas Company). Prior to joining the Aiteo Group, he was General Manager, Operations, African Petroleum Plc (now Ardova Plc.) up until 2010, where he oversaw the operations and growth of the company nationwide by strategically enhancing its growth and performance in the petroleum retail sector.
Ewariezi is a graduate of Chemical Engineering from the University of Benin. He holds an MBA from the IESE Business School, University of Nevarra, Barcelona; Spain. He has trained at the College of Petroleum Studies, Oxford; IESE Business School Barcelona, Wharton Business School, Pennsylvania USA amongst others. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Lagos Business School; a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, the Energy Institute, London and also a registered member of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN. Useh replaces the erstwhile Chief Operations Officer, Emmanuel Ukegbu, who retired from the company
Meanwhike,Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company (AEEPCO), operator of the NNPC /Aiteo Joint Venture on OML 29 has reported an oil spill from a non-producing well head in its Santa Barbara South field, in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The incident occurred last week Friday,the company said in a statement,adding that the magnitude of the spill is of an extremely high order.
According to the company,neither the cause of the spill, nor the quantity of leaked hydrocarbon could be determined at the time of the discovery, though containment booms were deployed and recovery commenced immediately around the well head.
“As an incident of this nature imports, the necessary Oil Spill Notification Report have been promptly communicated to National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and National Petroleum Investment Services (NAPIMS) as is required by regulation. Ultimately, a Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) to the spill site was held by all relevant stakeholders, community inclusive. The JIV at the time, was inconclusive, owing to difficulties with access due to high pressure of hydrocarbons from the well head”
The company explained that immediate efforts to control the leak were aborted due to the high pressure emanating from the well head. Consequently, Aiteo has mobilized a full intervention team with well control specialists and equipment both locally and internationally to arrest the leak.
“The JIV team commended Aiteo for its prompt emergency response and handling of the incident. Further investigations on the cause of the mishap are being undertaken and will be progressed after the well has been shut in. Preliminary indications suggest that crude oil theft leaks and sabotage cannot be ruled out”.
