Local Nigerian firm, Eroton Exploration and Production Limited, has reported that an oil well at a site operated by the company has been spilling its content into the Niger Delta for weeks together.
Eroton produces and exports crude from its Oil Mining Lease 18 block through the Nembe Creek Trunk line.
Reuters report that Last year, a nearby well run by Aiteo Eastern E&P spilled oil for more than a month, polluting the Delta creeks before it was successfully closed.
Head of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, Idris Musa, said on Sunday Eroton had reported the spill to authorities, blaming it on a leak from a wellhead.
According to the report, Eroton has, however, admitted that the incident started on June 15 and preliminary findings showed vandalism was the cause.
The wellhead platform had been removed, making it difficult to gain access to the well, the company noted.
“Our team of well engineers are working with contractors and evaluating the safest procedure that will be required to bring the well under control,” Eroton said.
The volume of oil produced from the well, which is part of assets acquired by Eroton in 2015 from oil major Shell, cannot be immediately ascertained.
Oil spills, following vandalism or corrosion, are common occurrence in the Niger Delta, a vast maze of creeks and mangrove swamps crisscrossed by pipelines.
Comment here