Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector and related agencies on Tuesday called for urgent audit of the sector’s infrastructure in the country to ensure they met integrity test to guarantee safety.
The stakeholders made the call in Asaba at a meeting on gas seepage in Uzere community, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the stakeholders meeting was organised by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to establish the remote cause of the Uzere spill of June 27. and produce a working document to address the challenge.
They also called on the Federal and Delta governments to expedite action to relocate the people of Uzere to a safer area and to provide health services and relief materials to the community.
Speaking, Mr Victor-Fitzgudo Ogbugo, Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Environment, said that following the oil spill, the community has witnessed the mixture of sand and crude, making life difficult for the people.
He called on the government to mandate the concerned company, Heritage Oil, to embark on an environmental audit to protect the environment and the community from protracted harm.
According to him, the oil spill has impacted the river, soil, crops and, by implication, the food the people eat, which can trigger cancer and other related diseases.
“We must go beyond immediate solutions to seek long-term and lasting solutions by embarking on general environmental audit of Uzere community.”
On his part, Dr Efe Ikoro, Ag. Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Oil and Gas, described the Uzere experience as an anomaly.
According to Ikoro, the oil well failed, the reservoir in the area was overpressured, and it collapsed, leading to high vertical and lateral spill.
He called on the state government to urgently deploy medical intervention and the need to relocate the people from gas-bubbling areas to safer environment.
“Some of the oil and gas wells, particularly wells 1, 3 and 14 in Uzere, have issues and should be fixed. Now that the flooding is going down, the gas bubbles are likely to subside; we ask for an integrity audit of the pipelines,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Fidelis Ojobo, community Representative and ex-coordinator, Uzere Branches Forum, called on government to expedite action to relocate the people to safety, provide relief materials and health care intervention.
He noted that Uzere ranked second, after oil was discovered in Oloibiri, Bayelsa, adding that the community has suffered neglect over the years.
He blamed the recent oil spill on abandoned and neglected wells and decaying oil infrastructure, adding that the gas bubbles could burst into flames, causing more damage if urgent steps were not taken.
“Government should relocate the people, collate sample of the gas, test it to determine its nature and impact on health, and deploy health intervention immediately.
“As we speak, wells 1, 3 and 14 have serious issues; we appeal to the government and the oil company to help Uzere community to ensure the source of the gas bubbling is stabilised.”
In their separate remarks, representatives of the Nigerian Army, Delta Fire Service and Department of Security Service (DSS) pledged their support to ensure the safety of life and property in the community.
They advised relevant authorities to swiftly intervene to save the people and secure the oil facility and the daily crude production of about 450,000 b/d in the area to avert loss of revenue to the federal government.
Mr Elleman Abubakar, Deputy Manager, Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said they received alarm from Uzere on Sept 18.
He said that investigation revealed that the community was in a deplorable situation.
According to Abubakar, the NUPRC effected evacuation and noticed several points of gas bubbles from Heritage Oil Company pipelines from some meters away.
“We took gas, water and soil samples from three different locations at Uzere for testing and we are awaiting the results.”
The commission suggested environmental and health studies, and improved welfare for the people of Uzere.
Also, Mr Gunsuri Mohammed, Assistant Director, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) said Uzere situation needed collective action of all stakeholders.
According to Mohammed, the agency visited the area on Oct. 3, following a report received on Sept. 29 on the spill.
“We observed continuous gas bubbles from the soil which has impacted the ground water but we could not establish the source of the gas.
“Government must intensify effort to establish the source of the gas and conduct integrity test on the pipelines- that is facility audit because some of the infrastructure are over 50 years and could pose a risk,” he said.
Speaking, NEMA Director-General, Zubaida Umar, represented by Dr Godwin Tepikor, Director, Planning, Research and Forecasting, said it required the collective effort of all stakeholders to handle the current situation, hence the meeting of critical stakeholders.
According to Umar, the team will visit the community, hold talk with relevant stakeholders and assign roles to all.
“The state government, concerned oil company and NEMA will have roles to play after a visit to the community and impact assessment.”
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