A week after the biggest oil spill in the country since the 1980s occurred, the Okpotuwari community, Olodiama clan, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, has claimed that another leakage has occurred in the area.Members of the community alleged in Yenegoa on Wednesday that crude oil was spewing from a facility belonging to the Nigeria Agip Oil Company in the community.The fresh leakage happened shortly after the Bonga floating production, storage and offloading facility belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company spilled close to 40,000 barrels of crude oil into the Atlantic Ocean.Our correspondent gathered that the Olodiama spill was discovered by members of the community on Monday.Though the cause of the spill could not be ascertained, the management of Agip was said to have been informed of the development.But it was gathered that the representatives of the company used helicopter to conduct aerial surveillance of the troubled spot on Monday and promised to return in January to contain it.Several calls put through to a spokesperson of the company by our correspondent were not answered, but a source in the Agip said the firm had not recorded any incidence of oil spill in Bayelsa State.Members of the community were said to have raised the alarm about the danger of allowing the leakage to continue till January.They were said to be afraid that it could spark off fire in the area, damage the soil texture or flow into nearby streams.The representative of Environmental Rights Action in the state, Mr. Alagoa Morris, told our correspondent that ERA had commenced investigation into the development.He, however, called on Agip to urgently stop the leakage.Meanwhile, the Senate has ordered a comprehensive investigation to determine the cause of last weeks oil spill at the Bonga deep offshore field.The Chairman, Senate Committee on the Environment, Dr. Bukola Saraki, made the disclosure at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, on Wednesday, shortly after arriving from the oil spill site.Saraki, who arrived in company with other members of the committee, said the comprehensive investigation would be conducted by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Department of Petroleum Resources and other relevant agencies.Shell, DPR and other relevant government agencies have been told to carry out a comprehensive investigation to determine the cause of the spill, he said.Saraki, who noted that the cause of the spill had yet to be determined, however, said the committee was impressed with Shells quick response to clean up the affected area.He said, We flew over the spill in Bonga. A lot of work has been done by Shell to clean up the spill. By and large, it was clear that it was a prompt response to the spill.It was obvious that one of the three export supply lines gave up and this led to the spill. The investigation will be done to determine why the supply line gave up. Shell has stopped operations there.The former governor of Kwara State said that the committee members also flew over Forcados and other areas in the Niger Delta.He said the committee would take a comprehensive look at oil spills in the whole of the region.Saraki assured that the interest of the country and Nigerians would be protected while monitoring the activities of oil companies in the region.
Click here to read full news..
