ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
An indigenous oil company, Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production (AEEP), says it is seeking international technical expertise to stop the ongoing oil leaks at its oilfield in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The oil firm said in a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Mathew Ndianabasi, said that the oil firm had intensified its response by seeking the assistance of other oil and gas exploration firms to tackle the spillage.
The company’s statement came on the heels of an acerbic reaction by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, who lampooned the alleged slow pace by Aiteo.
The governor had criticised the inability of the oil firm to halt the leak after more than two weeks as the leaks had continued to pollute communities’ creeks and farmlands.
Diri had warned the oil firm to be ready for the consequences of neglecting the negative impact of the incident believed to have been caused by equipment failure as his administration remained committed to defending the welfare of affected residents.
Officials of the indigenous company were said to have visited the leadership of the impacted communities to show empathy with the victims and handed over four truckloads of food items, medical supplies and N5 million cash while it still battles to stop the leak.
Aiteo, acquired the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 following the 2015 divestment by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), maintained that the leak was caused by sabotage by oil thieves who have become an obstacle to oil production and export from the asset.
OML 29 acquired for about $2.4 billion consists of the 97 kilometre Nembe Creek Trunk Line which evacuates crude from onshore oil wells within the oil bloc and other operators to Bonny Export Terminal.
The spokesman said: “Though spills of this nature are not uncommon to the oil and gas industry, their resolution requires expert skill and equipment that are not routinely or readily available.
“The typical process is to first kill the well and stop the leak and then focus on the clean-up aside from urgent possible technical responses to contain the leak.
“Aiteo has sought, become involved with and is now in active collaboration with Clean Nigeria Associates (CNA) that have since mobilised to site, in addition to Aiteo internal resources to reinforce containment and recovery efforts.
“CNA is the industry non-profit umbrella body with expertise and resource to contain spills of this nature. In the meantime, the area has been cordoned off and CNA is mobilising additional resources to strengthen the containment effort.
“The required apparatus including heavy duty and specialist equipment are presently being mobilized, locally and internationally, on a fast-track basis, to bring the well under control.
“For this purpose, Aiteo has on-boarded the involvement of the renowned Boots & Coots, arguably the leading well control company in the world, working with a local resources.
“Upon this intervention and conclusion, it is expected that the persistence of the leak alongside its functional consequences will be abated and significantly diminished.”