Oil, gas leak from idle well sacks Bayelsa community

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

A high-pressure discharge from an idle well in Bendick Kiri in Okpoama Kingdom, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa, has sacked residents of the neighbourhood.

The non-producing well is operated by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of NNPCL.

Mr Monday Okon, a resident and leader of fishermen in Bendick Kiri, said on Thursday that the leak, which was noticed three days earlier, was yet to stop.

Okon said everybody in the predominantly fishing settlement had left due to safety concerns as they used fire to dry fish.

He said the toxic smell of the gaseous discharge had also exposed the people to danger and hence their decision to flee.

“We are afraid the place will be engulfed in flames because we are very close to the oil well.

“If we catch fish, we can’t dry them due to the risk of fire. I am here because the community asked me to stay nearby  and keep an eye on the area to avoid strange people coming to tamper with our valuables.

“Our fishing gear, accessories as well as processed fish and other property are precious to us; that is why I am keeping a tab from a safe distance,” Okon said.

Okon also noted that this was the third time the incident occurred but the ongoing one was greater in magnitude and pressure.

The fisherman recalled that in May, the 53 years old abandoned well had leakage and was contained before it blew out again on October 20.

Alabo Tarinyo Akono, a former Chairman of Bayelsa Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, who visited the leak site, described the well blow out as intense and extremely dangerous for the people and the environment.

“I was there in May this year when there was a blow out. I was there and now this sad occurrence. The livelihood of the people has been abruptly hampered.

I have called on the NPDC to do something about these wells and they are over 50 of them, to no avail.” Akono said.

Our correspondent learnt that the oil well, Kurogbagba 1, is located within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 66.

The sound from the intense pressure, forcing the oil and gas out of the wellhead and polluting the environs, could be heard from over a distance.

It was also gathered that officials of the National Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) have visited the site with representatives of the operating firm.

*Short clip from the leak site