HOMEF raises alarm over prolonged Uzere well blowout
The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has expressed concern over the environmental impact of an oil well blowout at Oil Mining Lease (OML) 30, alleging that Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd. has failed to contain or remediate the incident more than five weeks after it occurred.
The ecology-focused civil society organisation made the allegation in a field report dated August 3, following a fact-finding visit to Uzere Kingdom in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa
The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has expressed concern over the environmental impact of an oil well blowout at Oil Mining Lease (OML) 30, alleging that Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd. has failed to contain or remediate the incident more than five weeks after it occurred.
The ecology-focused civil society organisation made the allegation in a field report dated August 3, following a fact-finding visit to Uzere Kingdom in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.
According to HOMEF, the blowout occurred on June 26 at Well 14 in OML 30, which is operated by Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd.
The report stated that community leaders said company engineers attributed the incident to equipment failure caused by excessive pressure.
HOMEF said residents alleged that repeated attempts to contain the blowout had been unsuccessful, allowing crude oil, gas and other petroleum fluids to continue escaping into the environment.
According to the organisation, the damaged wellhead, commonly referred to as a “Christmas tree”, reportedly collapsed and continued discharging pollutants more than a month after the incident.
The affected site is located near farmlands, fish ponds and a gas flare facility, raising fears of extensive environmental damage as the flooding season intensifies.
Chairman of the Uzere Oil and Gas Committee, Mr Sylvanus Evroro, recalled that a smaller spill occurred in the same field about a decade ago and was successfully contained.
He, however, warned that the current blowout posed a far greater threat to farming, fishing and food security in the community.
“About 90 per cent of our people are farmers and fishers. If this blowout is not contained immediately, our farms, fish ponds, lakes and swamps will be seriously affected,” Evroro said.
He also warned that anticipated flooding could spread oil pollution across Uzere and neighbouring communities if urgent action was not taken.
HOMEF said community leaders informed its delegation that Heritage Energy allegedly notified the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) nearly two weeks after the incident.
The report added that residents claimed NOSDRA officials later visited the site and linked the blowout to poor equipment maintenance.
Residents also expressed concern that no effective containment or remediation work had commenced by the time HOMEF conducted its visit.
HOMEF stated that its team, accompanied by community leaders, was denied access to the spill site by security personnel.
As a result, the organisation said its assessment relied on photographs, video footage and eyewitness accounts provided by residents because no Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) report was made available.
The group maintained that the available evidence pointed to significant environmental, economic and public health risks arising from the incident.
HOMEF also questioned the pace of the response and the effectiveness of regulatory oversight.
It called on Heritage Energy to immediately contain the blowout, begin environmental clean-up and remediation, and grant unrestricted access to regulators, affected communities and independent observers.
The organisation further urged NOSDRA to conduct and publicly release a transparent Joint Investigation Visit report. It also called on the Federal Government and the Delta State Government to ensure environmental restoration, adequate compensation for affected residents and long-term monitoring of the impacted area.
Responding to the allegations, the General Manager of Heritage Energy Operational Services Ltd., Mrs Esosa Anenih, confirmed the incident and said investigations and containment efforts were ongoing.
She explained that the blowout occurred at a capped, non-producing well and noted that the company was working closely with regulators and representatives of the host community to address the situation.
“We are investigating the root cause of the blowout. We reported the incident, as statutorily required, to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) within 25 hours of its occurrence.
“The Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) was immediately convened, comprising representatives of NOSDRA, the State Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the host community,” she said.
Anenih added that the cause of the blowout had yet to be be determined, explaining that the Joint Investigation Team had scheduled a further visit to the site to examine the damaged wellhead for clues that could establish the cause of the incident.
