The Environmental Conservation Agriculture and Rural Development (ECARD) has bemoaned the standard of oil spill cleanup in Bayelsa State.
In an interview, Field Investigator of ECARD in Bayelsa State, Alagoa Morris said many impacted sites were merely subjected to crude oil removal instead of thorough clean up and remediation.
Alagoa spoke to our correspondent while reacting to a fresh oil spill along Oando’s Ogboinbiri/Tebidaba pipeline in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.
He said affected vegetation was sometimes heaped and burnt, while recovered crude could be removed in tanks or buried within the impacted environment.
Morris called for proper remediation of oil-impacted swamps, waterways and farmlands, in line with recommendations of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission.
On the fresh spill at Oando’s facility ECARD said the spill occurred around the boundary between Ogboinbiri and Keme-ebiama communities, with Keme-ebiama recording the major environmental impact.
Alagoa said the organisation investigated the incident on Saturday, Sept. 26, following information received from a source in Keme-ebiama.
According to him, the incident, which occurred on Sept. 23, was attributed to equipment failure after a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV).
Morris said cleanup operations were already underway when ECARD visited the site on Sept. 26.
“A member of the cleanup team confirmed that the JIV had been conducted and that equipment failure was established as the cause.
“A source at the Bayelsa Ministry of Environment also confirmed to ECARD that the JIV had been conducted and equipment failure established”, Alagoa said
According to him,the response was relatively swift, compared with some previous incidents along the pipeline corridor.
He said the state had recorded several spills along the Ogboinbiri-Tebidaba pipeline corridor since Oando acquired the former Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) interest in 2024.
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According to him, about 10 spill incidents have occurred along the Ogboinbiri, Keme-ebiama, Ondewari and Okpotuwari axis in roughly two years.
He said more than half of the incidents had been attributed to equipment failure.
Morris urged oil companies and regulators to strengthen preventive measures, particularly as the rainy and flooding season approaches.
He also called for adequate contingency plans covering cleanup and compensation whenever industrial accidents occur.
