The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has confirmed the shutdown of its Idu oilfields at Egbebiri settlement within Biseni in Yenagoa Local Government Area in Bayelsa, due to an oil spillage.
According to the Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) report on the incident, the leakage at the facility could be traced to equipment failure due to a rupture at the wellhead.
In a response statement made available to NAN, Eni, parent company of NAOC, said the facility was shut down to prevent further damage to the environment.
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The statement made available by an Eni Spokesperson on behalf of the Italian Energy firm reads: “As soon as the incident was reported, we activated our oil spill response, shut in the well, and notified government regulatory agencies.
“The Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) was carried out on 09/05/2021, with participation of community representatives and the government regulatory agencies.
“The event occurred within the Company’s wellhead location which is paved and walled round. There is no significant third-party impact,” Eni stated.
However, an environmental rights group, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) said that the incident which discharged crude and associated gas had severely polluted the environment.
The Non-Governmental Organisation said that a visit to the spill site showed pictorial evidence of the crude spreading beyond NAOC’s right of way as nearby vegetation were affected as a result of the crude impact.
The Head of Field Operations at ERA/FoEN, Mr Alagoa Morris, in a field report on the spill said the Idu fields was notorious for frequent spills caused by equipment failure.
