The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has refuted claims of a pipeline explosion in the Nembe community in Bayelsa state.
The corporation said they have no record of the explosion as reported in many quarters of the country, which aligned the explosion to them.
Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, Group General Manager, Group Affairs Division of the corporation, disclosed this in an interview.
According to him
”It is not our pipeline, it is Aiteo that was mentioned, which ordinarily they are supposed to be on joint venture with NNPC. “I have cross-checked with our downstream unit that manages our pipeline and they said that they didn’t have such records,”
According to the spokesperson of the community’s council of chiefs, Mr Nengi James-Eriworii, he said the blast which happened in the early hours of Friday caused massive oil spillage in the community.
It has also been reported that no fewer than 50 people were missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa.
In a press release by the Aiteo Group, they denounced the claims that many people died in the explosion, saying that the community properties were all safe, asking the public to disregard the reports.
”Preliminary investigations confirm that there were no fatalities; human incidents or damage to community property. All the wells and facilities in the immediate vicinity have been inspected and secured. This incident did not occur at or involve any part of the 97 kilometre pipeline, Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) or other pipelines. It is important to note that prior to this incident, all facilities have been shut down since 28 of February 2019 due to NCTL outage. Accordingly, any account suggesting that this incident arose from or affected any pipelines is wholly inaccurate and misleading.”
