A gas pipeline owned by the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has detonated, resulting in the destruction of the surrounding wildlife in the Obagi community of the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area in Rivers State.
Although the explosion occurred on Wednesday evening, there were no reported casualties. However, this incident comes less than a month after another explosion in Omoku West, within the same local government area, claimed the lives of 19 individuals.
Vincent Job, the Local Government Chairman, confirmed the occurrence during an interview with Channels Television on Saturday.
“Yes, it took place in Obagi, but fortunately, no lives were lost. I personally visited the site and while interacting with the locals, they believe it was due to equipment failure, although oil and gas experts may have a different perspective,” he stated.
“We experienced a devastating crude oil explosion in Omoku West. Yesterday, we also had another explosion in a different location, namely Obagi. As individuals who are inexperienced in the oil industry, we have noticed that some of this equipment has been in use for over 30 or 40 years, which necessitates their replacement.
“The locals are the ones who bear the brunt of this degradation. It is imperative that the Federal Government and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) ensure that their pipelines and facilities are kept up to date.”
Eze Clinton Elemele, the traditional ruler of the community, added, “The gas leak has been ongoing since June of last year. We wrote to Agip and NLNG, but after inspection, they both denied ownership of the pipeline. Now that it has exploded, Agip has finally admitted that it is theirs.”
Other residents of the community are also frustrated with NAOC, accusing them of neglect and failing to conduct a proper Environmental Impact Assessment before installing the pipeline in the community.
As of now, a Joint Investigation Visit has not been conducted, and neither Agip nor the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) have issued any statements regarding the explosion.
