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A gas pipeline belonging to the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has exploded and incinerated the surrounding fauna in the Obagi community of the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Though the explosion which occurred on Wednesday evening claimed no casualties, it is coming less than a month after another explosion claimed 19 lives in Omoku West of the same LGA.
The Local Government Chairman, Vincent Job, confirmed the incident in a chat to Channels Television on Saturday.
“Yes, it happened at Obagi but thankfully no life was lost. I’ve gone there myself and during my interaction with the indigenes they feel it’s as a result of equipment failure, though oil and gas experts may have something else to add,” he said.
“We had a very dastardly crude oil explosion at Omoku West. Yesterday too, we also had another one in a different location, that is Obagi. For us who are novices in the oil field, you will find out that some of this equipment has lasted for more than 30, or 40 years which calls for removal.
“You will find out that the locals are there and they suffer a lot of this degradation. The Federal Government and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) should ensure that their pipelines, and facilities are up to date.”
On his part, the traditional ruler of the community, Eze Clinton Elemele said, “The gas leak had been on since June of last year, we wrote to Agip and NLNG but after inspection, they both said the pipeline wasn’t theirs. Now it exploded and Agip have finally admitted that it’s their own.”
Other residents of the community are also miffed at what they describe as neglect by NAOC who they accuse of not carrying out a proper Environmental Impact Assessment before setting a pipeline in the community.
As of press time, they’re yet to carry out a Joint Investigation Visit and neither Agip nor National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) have released any statement in connection with the explosion.
