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The Federal Government has directed the exploration company, AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited (AEEPCo) to halt operations at Santa Barbara in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State over oil spillage.
The action was necessary to pave way for proper investigation is carried and ensure that adequate measures are put in place to guarantee safety of lives and property in the area,according to a statement by Saghir el Mohammed, Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Environment.
The spill occurred on November 5, 2021 in a form of fountain within the proximity of Opu Nembe Community at Well 1, Well Head located at the Southern Field of Santa Barbara.
The statement said upon receipt of the report of the incident, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regualtory Commission (NUPRC), Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment, Community representatives and Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company was set up on November 6, 2021 to immediately address the situation.
It noted that the exercise was inclusive because of inaccessibility to the well head location due to the hydrocarbon fumes that saturated the atmosphere in the area.
It added that:”Consequently, the JIT directed AEEPCo to shut in the impacted asset (well head) for appropriate oil II response. Accordingly, AEEPCo deployed booms and skimmers to contain the spill crude oil from spreading.
“As at November 10, 2021, efforts to shut in the well has proven difficult due to inaccessibility. But in an effort to safeguard the environment and livelihood, staff from the NOSDRA’s Yenagoa Field Office were deployed to the site to monitor and give progress report on the measures being taken to address the issue. There is further directives to AEEPCo to engage all relevant stakeholders in the spilled oil recovery process.
“In this vein, 3000 barrels of emulsified crude oil have been recovered and held in a recovery barge. Also, additional booms were deployed by the Clean Nigeria Associates, a Tier II response (CNA) System to work with the on-site recovery contractor”
It also said further effort yielded result as containment and recovery within the leak area have been reinforced by 15th November. Clean Nigeria Associates (CNA) has mobilized to site for enhanced containment and recovery.
It added that Boot & Coots, mobilized for well control and securing. AEEPCo has secured temporary Work Permit for expatriates expected in the country for the activity,while logistics support and arrangement build-up for the Well kill activity is currently ongoing.
According to the statement,a well control company (Kenyon International) was at the incident location for an on-site assessment based on JIT reports.
It said containment and recovery is still on-going,adding that the well head experts have arrived Nigeria and will commence work on the killing of the well today.
It said:”However, in order to ensure safety and guaranty future operations in the area by AEEPCo, NOSDRA has mandated the company to carry out concrete actions to address the situation that include clean-up of impacted areas, remediation of spill site as well as damage assessment and post spill impact assessment.
“The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency through the Federal Ministry of Environment will keep the public informed of future developments on the spill incident with an effort to contained further spread and limit the effect on the environment” .
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has earlier mapped out action plans to deal with the recent oil spill in Santa Barbara, Nembe, Bayelsa at an AITEO facility, as investigations into the cause(s) of the spill continues by the Commission.
The commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, said the action plans include,Aiteo’s activation of emergency Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and execution of Post Impact Assessment (PIA) study of the spill as well as Joint Investigation Team determination of the cause of spill and convey the extent of impact and quantity of crude spilled.
Komolafe said that these measures will be put in place as the Commission continues to investigate and monitor the situation.
He stated that the Commission received a report of the spill, which occurred at the Santa Barbara Well via the statutory regulatory requirement of submission of form A by Aiteo, and immediately swung into action to investigate the incident in conjunction with other stakeholders.
He assured that the Commission will ensure that all necessary steps in line with global best practices will be deployed in the management of the situation.
He added that NUPRC will ensure that the spill has the least impact on the environment and the livelihood of the people of the community as remediation will be done as soon as possible.
He reiterated that the result of the investigation into the incident will be communicated to the public when concluded.
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