The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), through its Crude Oil Spill Alert System (COSAS), has received a report of an oil spill in K-Dere Community in Gokana LGA (Ogoni), Rivers State.

The incident, which was reported as having happened on January 3, 2024, is said to have occurred on the PPMC pipeline right of way pumping crude to the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Blamed by community members on equipment failure pending the execution of a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the spill is said to have occurred on a ruptured part of the pipeline that also spilled crude into the environment in the community about 17 years ago and was repaired and not clamped.

Efforts by the PPMC to fix the spill point are currently stalled by the community until JIV is carried out, but the company has temporarily stopped the spill with a cement barricade to enable it to continue the transportation of crude needed for the test run of the Port Harcourt refinery, pending when requirements are met and expected permanent repairs are expected on the spill point.

The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, who was notified of the incident on January 3, called on NOSDRA to immediately carry out JIV on the facility to determine the cause of the spill and invoke relevant sections of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) in the circumstances, which include payment of adequate compensation to the community if confirmed to be equipment failure and cleaning up the spill site.

Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface,
Executive Director, YEAC-Nigeria
08-01-2024.

Cover Photo: YEAC-Nigeria File, not of the current spillage.