Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — A massive fire and explosion has destroyed two oil flow stations around the Cawthorne Channel in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, with reports indicating loss of lives and extensive damage to oil facilities.+
Though the cause of the fire and explosion remains unclear, a viral video circulating on social media suggests that the incident occurred about 30 nautical miles off the Bonny coastline, in an area densely populated with oil and gas installations.
In the video, filmed by community members aboard an outboard-powered speedboat, flames engulf the flow stations, sending thick black smoke into the sky.
“It was a welding operation that caused this fire,” one of the boat occupants alleged, stating that heat from welding sparked the inferno, which rapidly spread across the facilities.
Operatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, was also seen in the footage, arriving with military gunboat escorts, suggesting that the affected flow stations may be linked to the national oil company.
As of the time of filing this report, NOSDRA, NNPC Limited and other oil companies operating around the Cawthorne channel have not released an official statement on the explosion, casualties, or the extent of the damage.
The incident raises concerns about safety measures in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, as well as the environmental and economic implications of such disasters in the Niger Delta.
Meanwhile, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, has called on regulatory authorities especially the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, to detect the barrels of crude oil that has been spilled into the ecosystem as a result of the explosion and hold the company responsible to account.
The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, regretted the endless destruction of the Niger Delta environment by oil companies, demanding an end to the menace.
