Yenagoa – Residents of Koluama Communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa have grumbled about the negative impact of a gas leak from an oilfield in the area.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that people of Koluama reported an explosion, which occurred at Agulo oilfield, operated by Conoil Producing in the area on Feb. 4.
Mr James Epigo, who resides in Koluama 1 community, told NAN in an interview on Friday that the gaseous discharge from the oilfield had forced residents to flee the area.
“As at Monday (Feb. 4), the whole community was deserted because the gas leak was choking the people as it polluted the air, so we all fled the community for our safety.
“The oil company officials battled between Sunday and Monday to stop the gas leak before they returned to their base and the place is now calm.
“The incident has caused a lot of inconveniences to the entire community,’’ Epigo said.
Meanwhile, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Central Zone, has threatened to disrupt operations at the oilfield over the company’s alleged failure to address the gas explosion in wells four and five at its Agulo oilfield in Koluama.
Its spokesman, Tari Porri, lamented that since the explosion occurred on Monday, nothing had been done to tackle its impact, as it had spread to other communities near the Koluama area.
“Today, we are very pained and Ijaw youths, especially those from Koluama clan, have mobilised massively to invade the Conoil facilities in their domain.
“We are, therefore, using this forum to call on the authorities of the oil company that we are giving them a 24-hour ultimatum to send their officials to address the problems at the site of the gas explosion.
“If nothing was done within the ultimatum period, Ijaw youths will have no other choice but to vent their anger at the firm’s operational sites’’, he said.
However, Mr Bello Bina, a security consultant with Conoil Producing, said that the incident was an operational procedure, which was aimed at ascertaining the viability of gas reserves.
Bina, in a statement issued in Yenagoa, said that the smoke noticed at the oil well heads was part of a routine testing and the clearing of a gas well before resumption of normal gas operations.
“The company was just test-running its gas wells and it is not a dangerous activity,” Bina said.
Speaking, Mr Alagoa Morris, Head of Field Operations, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), said that the group had received reports of the incident from residents.
“The incident was reported to ERA/FoEN and we are planning a site visit to the oilfield.
“But we urge the oil firm to convene a joint investigative visit with regulators and community representatives to examine what actually happened.
“It is not enough to say that the incident has no negative impact; only a scientific investigation can provide a reliable clue, that is the best practice and we will not accept anything less,” Morris said.