A fresh oil spill has occurred on a pipeline operated by the Renaissance Africa Energy Company at the Oshika community in Rivers state.
In a statement on Monday, Renaissance said the spill was caused by an illegal connection on its Okordia-Rumuekpe pipeline at the Oshika community.
According to the statement, the company has immediately isolated the pipeline and stopped production to minimise potential environmental impact.
Renaissance Energy also said it has informed government regulators of the fresh incident and is coordinating a mandatory joint investigation.
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The company said the probe involves government and local community representatives, and “will determine the cause and impact of the incident”.
In another statement on Monday, Fyneface Dumnamene, executive director, YEAC-Nigeria, said the centre received and confirmed reports of the oil spill in the community.
“The volunteers reported the latest crude oil spill to the Advocacy Centre’s Executive Director, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, alleging that the spillage is caused by third-party interference, pending confirmation by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) through a comprehensive joint investigation team’s visit to the spill site in Oshika community,” the statement reads.
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Furthermore, Dumnamene called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to carry out a timely joint investigation visit to the site and “invoke relevant sections of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021”.
He also called on the agency to hold those responsible accountable and “ensure the operator clamps the spill point to mitigate the impact of the crude oil spill on the flora and fauna in the affected area”.
The development marks the second incident on the Okordia-Rumuekpe pipeline operations this month.
On May 6, an oil spill occurred at the facility, caused by third-party interference.
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