TheCable

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), says oil mining lease (OML) 95 in Ondo state has been burning for the past three years.

The fire reportedly started in 2020 after some work was done on the rig in Ororo-1 well operated by Chevron.

In 2022, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said it would work towards extinguishing the fire. However, little or nothing has been done about it.

In a statement on Monday, Nimmo Bassey, HOMEF executive director, said the area has become deadly and one of the most polluted “places on earth”.

“For over three years, the Ororo-1 well at OML 95 has been burning with no attention from the federal government of Nigeria, or the company responsible for it,” Bassey said.

“The burning well has now become a symbol of ecocide and outright neglect by the Nigerian state.

“Several environmentalists have raised their voices over decades of destructive extraction of petroleum resources that disrupted ecosystems with decades of exploration and have turned a once-thriving region into one of the most deadly and polluted places on earth.

“Awoye’s tale is a sad example of a healthy region turned into a sacrifice zone by the pursuit of fossil fuels.

“The Ororo-1 well inferno is a symbol of a burnt national conscience. It represents a huge discounting of the lives of the people, their culture and ecosystem.

“We are seeing a blatant burning of fossil gas and spilling of crude oil in disregard of the health of the planet at a time when urgent climate action is needed.

“There is no word to describe this horrid debacle.”

The director said the Ororo-1 well is a “crime scene that needs international attention and action since the Nigerian government is asleep to it”.

He added that stopping the fire is not rocket science, adding that the federal government should be ramping up investments in renewable energy.