Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — An oil well blowout and gas leak emergencies have erupted across multiple communities in Rivers State, sparking renewed outrage as environmental advocates warn that obsolete post-divestment assets are now triggering an escalating pollution crisis.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, has raised the alarm over three concurrent oilspill and gas-leak incidents recorded in Kpean (Ogoni), Bille (Degema LGA), and Oshi (Ahoada West LGA), all within days, describing the situation as “the worst environmental danger the region has faced in years.”
Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said the revelations validate the organisation’s long-standing warnings that divestment to indigenous operators would worsen the Niger Delta’s pollution burden.
“We have said it repeatedly, host communities are going to experience the worst oil-pollution regime under indigenous operators,” Fyneface stated.
“These facilities are obsolete, decaying and extremely prone to leakages. What we are witnessing now is an era of pollution without redress.”
Massive Well Blowout in Ogoni
In Kpean community, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, a violent oil well blowout is ongoing from Well 14 in the Yorla Field, OML 11, formerly operated by Shell, the second major incident at the same location within months.
Fyneface described the spill as “massive and more destructive than previous outbreaks,” adding:
“This spillage has already contaminated water bodies, destroyed flora and fauna, and threatens lives. The NNPCL, as the new operator, must take full responsibility and act immediately.”
Bille Gas Leaks Worse After Six Weeks
The Bille Kingdom in Degema LGA has battled continuous gas bubbling from thousands of holes across land and waterways for over six weeks, with no intervention despite repeated notifications to the authorities.
“Bille is sitting on a keg of gunpowder,” YEAC warned. “Any spark this dry season could set the entire area on fire.”
Advocacy Centre noted that despite letters sent to NOSDRA and the Ministry of Environment, “no concrete steps have been taken.”
YEAC listed active oil operators around Bille as NNPC Eighteen Operating Ltd, Newcross E&P Ltd, and Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd.
New Gas Leak in Ahoada Heightens Fears
Meanwhile, another fresh gas escape has been confirmed in Oshi community, Ahoada West LGA, since on Wednesday December 3rd, 2025.
“These new incidents are bursting and deflating like balloons across Rivers State,” YEAC said. “We are dealing with multiple ecological disasters happening at the same time.”
Regulators, Operators Accused of Negligence
The organisation condemned what it described as a pattern of regulatory abandonment.
“This lack of urgency is unacceptable for incidents that threaten lives, water sources, and entire ecosystems,” Fyneface said.
“We demand immediate joint investigations and rapid containment.”
HYPREP Cleanup at Risk
The group expressed worry that new oil pollution is still being introduced into Ogoni while HYPREP is struggling to remediate previous decades-long contamination.
“You cannot be planning to restart oil production in Ogoni while new spillages are still poisoning the land,” YEAC stressed.
YEAC demanded urgent action and called for an “immediate stoppage of all spillages and gas leaks, replacement of obsolete pipelines and wellhead infrastructure, full compensation under the PIA 2021, and stronger oversight of indigenous operators post-divestment.”
“YEAC-Nigeria will continue to monitor these situations, demand justice, and defend the environmental rights of affected communities,” Fyneface concluded.
The incidents have deepened fears of a looming environmental emergency across Rivers State as multiple leak points remain active and uncontained.
