Fresh Bayelsa oil spill raises concerns over cleanup standards

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

A fresh oil spill from Oando’s Ogboinbiri/Tebidaba pipeline has affected the boundary between Ogboinbiri and Keme-ebiama communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Environmental Conservation Agriculture and Rural Development, ECARD, reported the incident after its field investigator, Alagoa Morris, inspected the affected area on Saturday, September 26.

According to ECARD, the spill occurred on September 23 and was traced to equipment failure following a Joint Investigation Visit, JIV, involving relevant stakeholders.

Morris said cleanup work had already begun when he visited the site, while a member of the cleanup team confirmed that the JIV had established equipment failure as the cause.

A source at the Bayelsa State Ministry of Environment also confirmed to ECARD that the investigation had been conducted and equipment failure identified as the cause.

Keme-ebiama, ECARD said, recorded the most significant environmental impact from the spill.

Morris noted that the response to the incident appeared relatively swift compared with some previous spills along the pipeline corridor. He, however, raised concerns about the quality of oil-spill cleanup operations across the state.

He alleged that some impacted sites were subjected largely to crude-oil recovery without adequate remediation of contaminated soil and vegetation.

According to him, affected vegetation is sometimes heaped and burnt, while recovered crude may be transported away in tanks or buried within the contaminated environment.

Morris called for comprehensive remediation of oil-impacted swamps, waterways and farmlands, in line with recommendations by the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission.

He also said the Ogboinbiri-Tebidaba pipeline corridor had recorded several spills since Oando acquired the former Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, interest in 2024.

Morris put the number of reported incidents along the Ogboinbiri, Keme-ebiama, Ondewari and Okpotuwari axis at about 10 in roughly two years, adding that more than half were attributed to equipment failure.

The ECARD investigator urged oil companies and regulators to strengthen preventive measures, particularly with the rainy and flooding season approaching.

He also called for stronger contingency plans to ensure timely cleanup, environmental restoration and appropriate compensation whenever industrial accidents occur.