Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company, the company at the centre of the Nembe Oil spill in Nembe Community in Bayelsa State has denied reports that 2 million barrels spilled from the oil well.
This was disclosed in a statement by Global Group Director/Coordinator, Mr Andrew Oru, during a tour of the facility with reporters on Thursday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
He added that the spill was of a special type– a gas blowout – which involved 80 per cent gas and 20 per cent oil and is being pumped with chemicals to curtail further leakage.
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What the company is saying
Mr Oru said in the statement, “The talk of two million barrels of oil spilling from the well is spurious. Two million barrels is about two super tankers. The oil would have spread over the entire country,” he said.
“The reserve of the well itself is nowhere near two million barrels.”
“I can tell you authoritatively that the pressure of the well has been substantially diminished already because all the chemicals needed to put the pressure under control are being fed in continuously and the pressure has started going down.”
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He added that the spill is a special type, citing that it’s not just an oil spill, but a gas blowout, adding that there are two stages in curtailing it. The first one is to stop the gas leakage while the second is to fill the well.
“It is the gas leakage that engenders and creates room for some droplets of oil to escape with gas. The well is a gas well, 80 per cent gas and about 20 per cent oil; that is why it is relatively easy for us to curtail the amount of oil that spills out,” he said.
Oru stated that the pressure of the gas that is coming out has been almost completely reduced and in one or two days maximum, operators will proceed further to begin the well-kill process.
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In case you missed it
Nairametrics reported last month that the Federal Government directed AITEO Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd (AEEPCo), to stop operating in the Nembe oil spill area of Bayelsa State until a proper investigation is carried out.
The Federal Government added that the spill occurred on Nov. 5, 2021, in form of a fountain within the proximity of Opu Nembe Community at Well 1, Wellhead located at the Southern Field of Santa Barbara.