They said that by following the law, this would discourage other corporations from breaking similar rules in the oil and gas sector.

Following the purported refusal and careless attitude of the Nigerian Pipelines Storage Company Limited (NPSC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) towards the cleanup of the oil spill in the areas, a few riverine communities in the Gbaramatu kingdom of Delta State have petitioned the Director-General of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).

The communities sought daily damages payment and prompt punishment against the two firms for their refusal to notify an oil leak and clean up the affected area from August 10, 2024.

They said that by following the law, this would discourage other corporations from breaking similar rules in the oil and gas sector.

Certain communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, including Oporoza, Okpele-Ama/Tebujor, Ikpokpo, Opuedebubo, Opuede, Atanba, Ogbotu, Okerenkokogbene, Gan-Ama Zion, Kala-Ikpokpo, and Maike-Ama, were impacted by the oil spill that happened on August 10, 2024, from NPSC/NNPCL Escravos to the Warri crude oil truckline at Atanba in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.

Godwin Fibade, Lucky Bebenimibo, Elisah Odudu, Theophilus Emotimide, Mackson Ode, Jonathan Micah, Christopher Mala, Shadrach Tangbe, Sufficient Kpefe, Profit Omula, and Precious Racce were among the community representatives who signed a petition obtained by SaharaReporters. The petition was copied by MD, NPSC, the zonal head of the NOSDRA Warri zonal office, the Area Manager, NPSC, Ekpan, the zonal Director, Delta State Ministry of Environment, Warri, and the zonal director.

They said that NPSC/NNPC fixed the leak spot without carrying out a joint investigation visit (JIV) or cleaning, in defiance of the legal need to notify the incident within 24 hours.

The villages claimed that NPSC/NNPC’s use of prohibited dispersant had worsened environmental harm, having an effect not just on their primary source of income but also on agricultural crops and aquatic life.

Following our public demonstration, on September 2, 2024, representatives from the communities and officials from your agency, led by the Warri Zonal Head of Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company Limited, visited the spill site. To our surprise, however, upon arriving at the site of the spill, we learnt that NPSCL, via Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, its pipeline maintenance contractor, had repaired the spill point without a JIV and buried it.

Within a week, the JIV team, under the direction of Warri Zonal Head of NOSDRA, determined that the spill spot needed to be dug in order to ascertain the true condition. After that, it was decided that the JIV investigating the spill event would conclude inconclusively and that it would do so within a week.

Nevertheless, the deadline passed on September 9, 2024, and the JIV is still unfinished even after the impacted villages made several attempts to get in touch with representatives of the Nigerian Pipelines Storage Company Limited (NPSC). The inability of the JIV to fully assess the damage and carry out the required corrective procedures has impeded efforts.

We are extremely concerned that the NPSC is impeding all efforts to conclude the JIV, rather than cooperating with the communities, NOSDRA, and other pertinent regulatory agencies to do so and take action to lessen the impact of the spill and compensate those impacted by it.

Our clients suffer from gas suffocation from the spill site and other related health dangers, making it impossible for them to fish for a living.

Crude that has leaked into the environment has contaminated the water. The leak has contaminated our one and only supply of water, which we use for everyday needs. We declare that the actions of NPSC violate sections 6(2) and 6(3) of the NOSDRA Act, which mandate that an oil spiller report incidents of oil spillage in writing within 24 hours and take additional steps to clean up the affected area, including remediation, prior to repairing the spill point. Furthermore

By utilising its surveillance personnel to clean up the affected site without a JIV and NOSDRA clearance in defiance of section 19 (1) (h) of the NOSDRA Act, NPSC/NNPC is also breaking the law.

“Any request made to the Agency by an oil spiller for the use of approved dispersant or the application of any other technology deemed essential in mitigating the effects of an oil spill shall be expeditiously processed and approved by the Agency.”

Contrary to what was done in the spill under reference, the law states that an oil spiller, such as NPSC/NNPC, cannot employ any dispersant or technology to clean up a spilt site without the consent of NOSDRA. To serve as a deterrent to other corporate violators in the oil and gas industry, we demand that NPSC/NNPCL be sanctioned by application of the penalty provided for under section 6 of the NOSDRA Act on payment of N500,000 and N1,000,000, respectively, for every day of failure to report an oil spill and clean up the impacted area from the 10th day of August, 2024 till any date they comply.”