Lagos — – The Nigerian oil consortium Renaissance Group confirmed on Tuesday a blast on its Trans Niger oil pipeline in the coastal River State, saying it had dispatched a team to investigate the incident.
Tony Okonedo, spokesperson for the group, which has bought over Shell Nigeria shallow water assets, said a joint investigation team has been sent to the site, according to Reuters. He didn’t provide further details..
The Trans Niger Pipeline, TNP, which has a capacity of around 450,000 barrels per day, is a major oil artery that transports crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal.
The consortium, which includes Nigerian exploration and production companies Aradel Energy, First E & P, Waltersmith, and ND Western, along with the international energy group Petroline, now operates Shell’s former onshore subsidiary in Nigeria.
Local environmental group Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, said the blast occurred on Monday night in the Bodo community of Gokana local government area in Rivers state.
The explosion on the Trans Niger oil pipeline comes amid threats from militant groups to attack oil installations if the Federal Government withholds Rivers State’s allocation due to the ongoing political crisis in the state.
At the time of filing this report, emergency response teams were yet to access the site due to the intensity of the fire, as relevant authorities have not confirmed if the explosion was caused by technical failure or human interference.
The extent of damage to the facility and its impact on oil production are yet to be determined.
