Aiteo Finally Shuts Nembe Oil Well After One Month Of Leakage

The Ibemere residents of Nembe in Bayelsa State, can finally rejoice as the oil spill that threatened to ruin the economic life of the community has been stopped .

This was announced In a late statement by Aiteo Eastern Exploration on Wednesday, December 8th.

The oil company announced the feat after efforts by local and international experts who worked together to help stop the spills.

The oil firm said it has succeeded in shutting down the leak on its wellhead in Nembe, Bayelsa state.

This is coming over a month after the company had reported a hydrocarbon wellhead leak on its facility to the Nigerian authorities on November 5.

Spokesman for Aiteo Group, Mathew Ndianabasi, confirmed the development in a statement.

THE WHISTLER, learnt Aiteo acquired the oil well in 2015, but the facility has been mostly dormant since then before the leak.

Several efforts were taken by the oil company to stop the leak which include the mobilisation of the Clean Nigeria Associates (CNA) and other companies. The services of United States well-control firm, Boots and Coots, a Halliburton Company was also called in.

The statement reads, “To the glory of God, we have put out the leak at SBAS-1. We are grateful for all the support. We have successfully installed control packages on both arms.

“On the long string, there’s a rigged up pump that opens the ball valve. We’ve also turned down the well flow and closed the control packages. Currently, the crew is prepared to inject ‘death fluid’ into the lengthy string. It’s worth noting that the short string has already been murdered and killed with no pressure.”

Meanwhile, Senator Seriake Dickson has called on the operators of the oil firm, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Ministry of Environment, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency and others to take immediate steps to rescue the seriously threatened environment from destruction.

The Senator representing Bayelsa West in the National Assembly, in a statement said, “With the scope of the pollution caused by the oil spillage, there is the need for the Federal Government to make a comprehensive provision to ensure the commencement of immediate measures of remediation in the affected areas.”

He urged that relief materials be provided to the communities affected as he sympathized with the people whose source of livelihood and health have been endangered by the massive spill.

ENDS