– Demands sanctions
– Accuses NPSC/NNPCL of frustrating investigation
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — In a determined effort to seek accountability, communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom have petitioned the Director General of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, Engr. Emeka Woke, to urgently sanction the Nigerian Pipelines Storage Company Limited, NPSCL, and NNPC Limited, for mishandling an oil spill in the area.
The communities have also accused the NPSC/NNPCL of failing to report the spill, frustrating investigations into the spill as well as using unapproved dispersants to cover up the spill in flagrant violations of the NOSDRA Act.
The spill, which occurred on the Escravos to Warri trunkline operated by NPSC/NNPCL on August 10th, 2024, according to the communities, has devastated local ecosystems and significantly disrupted the livelihoods of the affected communities, particularly those reliant on fishing.
SweetCrude Reports in August reported that the spill had contaminated the communities’ water sources, leading to health concerns and economic hardship. NPSC is the subsidiary of NNPC Limited responsible for crude oil deliveries to the refineries.
Gbaramatu communities affected by the oil spills are Oporoza, Okpele-Ama/Tebujor, Ikpokpo, Opuedebubo, Opuede, Atanba, Ogbotu, Okerenkokogbene, Gan-Ama Zion, Kala-Ikpokpo, and Maike-Ama, all in Warri Southwest Local Government Area of Delta State.
Attorney to the affected communities, Eric K. Omare, who expressed grave concern about the ongoing situation in the petition, explained that under the NOSDRA Act, oil spills must be reported within 24 hours, a requirement that the petition claims was ignored by NPSC/NNPCL.
According to Omare, instead of conducting a proper Joint Investigation Visit, JIV, to assess the spill, NPSC/NNPCL surreptitiously undertook repairs at the site, raising further concerns about transparency and environmental integrity.
“Sequel to their public protest, officials of your agency led by the Warri Zonal Head, Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company Limited, and communities representatives, visited the site on the 2nd day of September 2024 but we were surprised that on getting to the site of the spillage, it was discovered that NPSCL through its pipeline maintenance contractor, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, had repaired the spill point without a JIV and buried it.
“Miffed by NPSCL’s repair and burying of the spill point, without conducting a JIV, which the communities protested about, the JIV team, led by NOSDRA’s Warri Zonal Head, decided that the spill point should be excavated to determine the actual situation within a week.
“Following this, the JIV into the spill incident was left inconclusive, with an agreement to wrap up within a week. However, that deadline expired on September 9, 2024, and despite multiple attempts by the affected communities to contact NPSC officials, the JIV remains unfinished.”
He criticized NPSC for obstructing the investigation instead of working with the communities, NOSDRA, and other relevant regulatory agencies to conclude the JIV and take steps to ameliorate the effect of the spillage and compensate persons affected by the spillage.
Highlighting the need for immediate remediation, Omare said, “The water has been polluted by crude spilled into the environment. Our clients can no longer fish to earn a living, suffering gas suffocation from the spill site and other associated health hazards.”
The attorney further raised the alarm over the use of unapproved dispersants by NPSC/NNPC which according to him, has exacerbated the environmental damage, and impacted their only source of livelihood.
“We state that the conduct of NPSC violates the provisions of sections 6(2) and (3) of the NOSDRA Act which requires an oil spiller to report cases of oil spillage within 24 hours in writing and take further steps to clean up the impacted site including remediation before repair of the spill point.
“In addition, NPSC/NNPC is also in violation of the law by using its surveillance workers to use unapproved dispersants to clean up the impacted site without a JIV and NOSDRA approval contrary to section 19(1)(h) of the NOSDRA Act.
The Act provides thus: “The Agency shall expeditiously process and approve any request made to it by an oil spiller for the use of approved dispersant or the application of any other technology considered vital in ameliorating the effect of an oil spill.”
Continuing, Omare averred that by the provision, an oil spiller such as NPSC/NNPC cannot use any dispersant or technology to clean up a spilled site without the approval of NOSDRA contrary to what was done in the spill under reference.
The communities, therefore, “demand that NPSC/NNPC be sanctioned by application of the penalty provided for under section 6 of the NOSDRA Act on payment of N500,000 and N1,000,000 respectively for every day of failure to report an oil spill and clean up the impacted area from the 10th day of August 2024 till any date they comply, to serve as a deterrent to other corporate violators in the oil and gas industry.
“We further demand that NNPC/NPSC should be compelled to clean up the impacted areas and made to pay fair and adequate compensation to the people and communities affected in line with the relevant laws,” the petition reads.
