Following the recent explosion at Ukpokiti Oil Field in Ondo State which involved the Floating Production Storage and Offtake of Shebah Exploration and Production Company Limited, SEPCOL a few days ago, the Federal Government has released a statement.
The Minister of State for the Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor on Sunday, assured that the National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA), which is under her ministry, would go for overflight on Sunday and Monday (today) as a move to monitor the situation of crude spill in the affected area.
According to the minister, the overflight operation would be sustained in less than a month and would last until all remnants of oil in the FPSO is evacuated to avert further incidents.
The minister had said that the fire incident was eventually contained on the evening of Thursday, February 3, 2022, when the incident occurred.
Ikeazor spoke on Saturday after receiving an update from the Director-General of NOSDRA, who said a ‘joint investigation’ operation was conducted at the incident scene at the weekend.
She equally said NOSDRA had an overflight on the incident area last Friday to ascertain from the air what the surrounding conditions were, after extinguishing the fire.
According to the environment minister, a joint investigation visit to the incident area, as well as the FPSO, was undertaken on Saturday by NOSDRA, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Ondo State Ministry of Environment, Representatives of Communities proximate to the area and staff of Shebah Exploration and Production Company Limited.
“While the cause of the fire incident is yet to be fully determined, the environment around the FPSO is only slightly covered by the sheen and emulsified oil,” Ikeazor said.
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