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By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
The cause of the March 1 explosion from an oil well No.7 within Nembe Creek oilfields remains unknown as investigation into the incident continues.
National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) said on Thursday that it has commenced investigations into the explosion which occurred within OML 29 operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration.
It will be recalled that an explosion from an oil well within the oil block on March 1 ignited a fire which Aiteo officials said was put off on March 2.
NOSDRA director-general, Dr. Peter Idabor, had said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that a Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) had been scheduled for Thursday to ascertain the possible cause of the incident.
The volume of crude and gas discharged into the surrounding environment arising from the explosion is yet to be ascertained
Idabor explained that the JIV, a statutory probe of leak incidents in the oil and gas sector would determine the cause of the explosion, volume of oil leakage as well as assess damage to the environment.
He said that a JIV report signed by representatives of the community, NOSDRA, Bayelsa Government and the oil firm who participated in the investigation was expected at the end of the probe.
A member of the joint investigative team who spoke to our correspondent from the Nembe Creek field said that the team was yet to arrive at a conclusion on the cause of the blast.
“The JIV is still ongoing; it was not rounded up as we progressed with physical inspections on Thursday without arriving at the probable cause from physical examinations.
“There appears the need for a more detailed and technical assessment to understand the primary cause of incident prior to explosion that is more visible at moment on the ‘riser’ at the well head.
“The investigation therefore requires further details and is still open,” Donald Egba a community representative on the JIV said.
However, a statement signed by management of the oil firm made available by its public relations manager, Mr Ndiana-Abasi Mathew on Mach 2, confirmed that there was no human casualty.
Aiteo pledged that investigation into the incident was a priority.
Aiteo further stated that the explosion did not affect the 97 km Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) which was shut down on Feb. 28 prior to the incident.
However fears that oil export would be affected by the outage of the 150,000 barrels per day capacity export line were allayed as the JIV team member who said that the facility has been restarted.
“The NCTL from our findings at the field is up and running as the incident did not in any way have links with the pipeline, it was shut down when a leak was detected, the leak has been fixed and it restarted on Thursday while we were at the field.
Shell Petroleum Development Company in 2015, divested its equity in OML 29 and transferred its interest in the oil block including NCTL for $1.7 billion to Aiteo, an indigenous Oil and Gas Exploration and Production firm.
