A
leak in an underwater gas pipeline belonging to Nigerian Agip Oil Company,
NAOC, has been reported at Kalaba community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of
Bayelsa State.
In
a field report by the Environmental
Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria,
ERA/FoEN, the leakage has polluted the water in the community.The report, which was prepared by Head of Field Operations Mr Morris Alagoa at ERA/FoEN, states that the gas leakage was coming from an underwater gas pipeline beneath Taylor Creek. The report also quoted the as also confirming the incident.
Reacting
to the report, Paramount Ruler of Kalaba community said, “What we are seeing is
the bubbling of gas leaking from NOAC’s pipeline. This was discovered in the
early hours of Saturday. I got to hear about it first when some children were
shouting that oil was bubbling and that there was a leakage.
“As
a trained field monitor, I also came around to see what was happening in the
environment, whether what I heard was true. When I paddled down here by canoe,
I discovered that it was true, gas was actually bubbling. “Incidentally, this
Creek is our only source of drinking water and where we carry out almost all
domestic activities. Right now, the water is polluted, “ he said.
However,
the report called on the oil company to immediately deploy to the site and shut
the source of the gas leak to forestall further pollution of the environment
and exposure of residents to toxic associated gas.
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