Mohammed Shosanya
An oil pipeline supplying crude oil to the Port Harcourt refinery has ruptured in K-Dere Community, Gokana Local Government Area, causing a massive oil spillage and environmental devastation in the area.
The pipeline which ruptured on Wednesday, January 3, was temporarily mitigated with a cement barricade to enable continuous transportation of crude needed for the test run of the refinery.
This was as the affected community following the incident, resisted attempts by the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMC), the company managing the facility to permanently fix the damaged portion, insisting that a joint investigation be carried out first before permanent repairs would be allowed.
Meanwhile, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), following the unfortunate incident has called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to carry out a compressive Joint investigation into the spill to ascertain the cause of the pipeline rupture.
The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, in a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Monday urged NOSDRA to clean up the affected area and also pay compensation to the community should it be confirmed that the damage was caused by equipment failure.
Fyneface said, “The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), through its Crude Oil Spill Alert System (COSAS), has received a report of an oil spill in K-Dere Community in Gokana LGA (Ogoni), Rivers State.
“The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, who was notified of the incident on January 3, called on NOSDRA to immediately carry out JIV on the facility to determine the cause of the spill and invoke relevant sections of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) in the circumstances, which include payment of adequate compensation to the community if confirmed to be equipment failure and cleaning up the spill site.”
Fyneface added, “The incident, which was reported as having happened on January 3, 2024, is said to have occurred on the PPMC pipeline right of way pumping crude to the Port Harcourt Refinery.
“Efforts by the PPMC to fix the spill point are currently stalled by the community until JIV is carried out, but the company has temporarily stopped the spill with a cement barricade to enable it to continue the transportation of crude needed for the test run of the Port Harcourt refinery, pending when requirements are met and expected permanent repairs are expected on the spill point.”