Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production says it is seeking foreign technical expertise to halt the ongoing Nov 5 oil leak at an oilfield it operates in Nembe, Bayelsa.
The oil firm
in a statement issued by its Spokesman, Mathew Ndianabasi on Sunday noted that
the oil firm has intensified its response by seeking the assistance of other
oil and gas exploration firms in the response to the spill.
The
statement is coming on the heels of a reaction by Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa who
criticized the pace of response and inability of the oil firm to halt the leak
after more than two weeks and continued pollution of Nembe creks 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 impacted
residents.
However, it
was gathered that officials of the indigenous company had 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 battles to stop the leak.
Aiteo, an
indigenous oil firm which acquired the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 following the
2015 divestment by Shell maintains 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 kilometer Nembe Creek Trunk
Line which evacuates crude from onshore oil wells within the oil bloc and other
operators to Bonny Export Terminal.
“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 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 mobilized 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 however, the area has been cordoned off and CNA is mobilizing
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 resource.
“Upon
this intervention and conclusion, it is expected that the persistence of
the leak alongside its functional consequences will be abated and significantly
diminished,” the oil firm stated.
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