Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, says a fire outbreak at Oil Mining Lease, OML, 20 belonging to its upstream subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, is being managed by fire fighters.
The NNPC announced on Friday in a statement by its acting spokesman, Samson Makoji, that the fire at OML 20 at Egbema-West, Imo State, began on Monday.
NPDC Managing Director, Mansur Sambo, was quoted in the statement as saying that preliminary investigation revealed that a spark, which ignited the fire during a bunkering activity by vandals, might have caused the incident.
The NPDC boss stated that the incident occurred in Well–18T, located within the flooded part of Abacheke community.
The Community Liaison Officer in charge of Abacheke community indicated that no fatality was recorded.
According to NPDC, appropriate action to minimise the impact of the fire and ensure safety of the community had been taken.
The company said following successful aerial surveillance carried out on Wednesday, October 9, the company was mobilising and employing the services of a reputable safety consultant to completely put out the fire.
It, therefore, urged members of Abacheke community and its environs to avoid the affected area and stay calm, promising to update the general public on the incident soon