ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Indigenes and residents of Nembe Basambiri in Bayelsa State on Thursday expressed concern over air toxicity in their area sequel to the prolonged exposure to gas and crude oil spillages from a nearby oil well operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration Company.
Aiteo had reported a spill from an oil well at its Santa Barbara South field within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 on November 5, 2021. Community sources, however, claimed that the leak was noticed on November 1.
First news learnt that residents at the fishing settlements along the Nembe creeks had been living with the gas and crude discharge which had allegedly paralysed economic activities in the predominantly fishing locations in the past two weeks.
A community leader in Opu-Nembe, Nimibofa Degi, said the people in the impacted areas were worried about the air quality in the area, claiming that the people were having some respiratory challenges.
He said a four-year-old toddler developed complications following complaints of stomach upset and difficulties in breathing and was transported to a health centre at Opu-Nembe from the fishing camp but she died on the way.
Degi said: “The death of this four-year-old girl is suspected to be methane gas poisoning and we have expressed worries to the traditional ruler that if nothing is done urgently, more deaths will be imminent.
“As a biochemist, I know how toxic methane gas can be and we call for an emergency air quality audit to ascertain the toxicity levels in the impacted communities.
“If not for the resilience and robust immunity of the rural settlements, more people would have developed severe complications, the results of the air quality tests would go a long way to determining if evacuating the people is necessary.
“The well in question is a gas well with about 80 per cent has and 20 per cent crude reserve, and the ongoing response by more than 50 oil workers is on oil recovery while the toxic gas escapes into the atmosphere.”
Reacting to the statement issued by spokesman for Aiteo, Mr Mathew Ndianabasi, saying that the oil firm suspected oil theft and sabotage, Degi dismissed the claim as a “reckless prejudice to yet to commence investigation.”
“It is just a ploy to evade liability for the obvious neglect. It is a known fact that the well is non-producing and the area has salt water while the wellhead casing is made of stellar which is prone to corrosion.
“Rather than look inwards at their safety procedures for such high pressure wells they are accusing innocent people. The surveillance worker who noticed and reported the leak is being hunted by the security agencies.
“We will resist every attempt to determine the cause of this disaster even when the investigation is yet to commence, every alliance between the operator and their surveillance contractors to divert attention from safety processes will fail.
“We have evidence that when the leak was reported on November 1, rather than use appropriate sealants, they used clothes to block the crack. We will give the evidence during the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) and truth will prevail.”
Meanwhile, the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has said it has authorised the deployment of oil spill response team from other oil firms in the country to assist in the recovery of spilled crude to mitigate impact on the environment.
The Director-General, NOSDRA, Idris Musa, who had earlier said that personnel deployed to investigate the incident could not commence work until the leak was plugged, noted that the leak had yet to be stopped.