The Bayelsa Government Technical Committee on the Nov. 5 oil leak at Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 in Nembe on Sunday ruled out claims that the leak was caused by sabotage.
The OML 29 oil block is operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company, an indigenous oil company that acquired the asset for approximately $ 2.4 billion following the divestment in 2015 from Shell Petroleum Development Company.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reported that regulatory agencies investigating the incident on December 22 attributed the spill to sabotage, while Bayelsa’s committee claimed the spill was due to equipment failures.
Regulators are the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Biriyai Dambo, president of the Technical Committee, in a statement dismissed the claim and criticized the procedures adopted to reach the conclusions.
Mr. Dambo, who is also Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Bayelsa, said that the divergent views of the parties could not be resolved and therefore left the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) unfinished.
The JIV is a legal investigation that follows every reported leak incident to unravel the cause and volume of crude released into the environment.
The JIV is typically convened by the operator of the leaking facility and is comprised of representatives from the oil company, affected communities, regulators, and the state Environment Ministry.
Mr. Dambo noted that the wellhead components and accessories to be inspected had been removed and replaced, which amounted to tampering with and concealing equipment and evidence.
‘We are shocked’
According to the statement, there have been similar oil spill incidents, albeit of a lesser magnitude, from the same Wellhead 1 in Santa Bárbara at OML 29 in 2018 and 2019, which Aiteo had previously admitted.
The committee regretted that to date there has been no remediation or safeguards against future recurrence implemented or applied by Aiteo and NOSDRA on such spills.
According to the statement, requests for remediation of previous spills by affected communities were rejected, until this large outbreak occurred in November.
“We were surprised to note that on the day of this last JIV, when asked about these earlier incidents at the same wellhead, AITEO denied and NOSDRA was silent.
“During the course of the JIV, the behavior and statements of the representatives of NOSDRA and NUPRC called into question their independence and neutrality.
“We are convinced that NOSDRA and NUPRC are biased and are interpreting a script in collusion with AITEO.
“We have very compelling evidence that we will bring to light at the appropriate time and through the appropriate forums that NOSDRA and NUPRC are completely biased.
“They have taken a premeditated position in favor of Aiteo against the interests of the people of the state of Bayelsa and the Niger Delta.
“This is terribly sad and unfortunate given the fact that NOSDRA and NUPRC are supposed to be regulators and as such must be impartial and act with integrity at all times.
“Finally, the Government of the State of Bayelsa categorically rejects the JIV of Wednesday, December 22, 2021,” reads part of the statement.
Mr. Dambo argued that the Bayelsa government’s position is that the cause of the spill was equipment failure and that it would take all appropriate measures to seek environmental justice for himself and the affected communities.
He said such a repair would end perennial pollution of the environment through “reckless and irresponsible practices in the oil fields that are tolerated by a weak or compromised regulatory system.”
(YAYA)