HomeClimate/EcologyTest-run: Oil spill occurs on pipeline supplying crude to PH refinery

Test-run: Oil spill occurs on pipeline supplying crude to PH refinery

From Alice Onukwugha, Port Harcourt

An oil spill has occurred on a pipeline currently supplying crude for the test-run of the Port Harcourt refinery.

The spill occurred in an old Kegbara-Dere Community in Gokana local government area of Rivers State.

Reports said an earlier spill had occurred in 2009 at the pipeline, which is operated by the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMCL), in 2009 and was yet to be clamped before the latest spill.

It was gathered that the latest spill occurred on January 3, this year.

Community sources blamed the spill on equipment failure, though the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the PPMCL are yet to pay a joint investigation visit on the site as at the time of filing this report.

Daily Asset gathered that efforts by the PPMCL to fix the spill point are currently stalled by members of the community, who insisted that a Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) must be carried out first.

It was further gathered that the company has temporarily stopped the spill with a cement barricade to enable it continue the transportation of crude needed for the test run of the Port Harcourt Refinery, pending when requirements are met.

Speaking of the ugly development, Executive Director, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, called on NOSDRA to immediately carry out JIV on the facility to determine the cause of the spill. He also called on the agency to invoke relevant sections of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) to address the devastating effect of the spill.

Fyneface stated that the PIA sections include payment of adequate compensation to the community if confirmed to be equipment failure and cleaning up of the spill site.

Daily Asset

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