Egina Oil Spill Incident Was Minor, Says TotalEnergies
By Fredrick Wright
TotalEnergies has described as “minor” the leakage of oil from its 2.3 million barrels capacity Egina Floating Production and Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel, offshore Nigeria.
Country Communications Manager, Total Energies, Charles Ebereonwu, said that the leak was a minor one and had been contained with appropriate remedial measures.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) had said that it is closely monitoring the crude oil spill incident which took place during loading operations in Egina.
Ebereonwu said:“This is not a massive leak and the sheen has been treated with the appropriate response that resulted in a reduction of most of it.
“No shoreline or communities have been impacted. Production has not been affected,” he said.
Egina FPSO 200,000 barrels per day crude oil production capacity, with a storage capacity of 2.3 million barrels of crude.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh, said: “NIMASA is working closely with the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency NOSDRA, and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC from the Crisis Management Room CMR, where the spill is being monitored real time using oil spill monitoring software from the Emergency Response Center.
Though, he said the volume of spill is not yet confirmed, he disclosed that TotalEnergies is providing aerial surveillance, dispersant application, while further mobilization is being considered.
According to him, “The Oil Spill Response Limited from the United Kingdom is also assisting with pollution control measures. Reconnaissance survey of the impacted area confirms that the shoreline communities of Andoni, Qua-Iboe terminals, Bonny Island, Opobo/Nkoro and Eastern Obolo, which are closest to Egina, are not yet affected”.
Jamoh noted that, “the agency is in collaboration with all stakeholders to control the pollution and also put in place measures to prevent such occurrences in the future, in line with provisions of the MARPOL Convention.
“Since the incident happened, our men have been liaising with other organs of government to ensure the pollution is effectively controlled and managed, to protect the marine environment and the communities close to the incident point.
“Accidents do happen, it’s what we do thereafter that matters and I believe that TotalEnergies working with NIMASA, NUPRC, NOSDRA and collaborating with international service providers, will surely ensure proper management of the spill”, he said.
Located some 130 kilometers off the coast of Nigeria at water depths of more than 1,500 meters, the Egina oil field is one of our most ambitious ultra-deep offshore projects.
PERFORMANCE MONITORING: NIMASA DG SIGNS BOND FOR 2023-2027 WITH THE MINISTRY.
You have no choice but to perform – Oyetola
We will not fail – Jamoh
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Bashir Jamoh OFR, today signed a performance bond for Ministerial Deliverables from 2023-2027 with the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
The Honorable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola, who personally supervised the NIMASA Bond signing ceremony at the Ministerial retreat in Lagos, urged the Management of the Agency to key into the vision of the Ministry in achieving its mandate as set by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
In his words “This document will drive our carefully thought out strategies and robust policies in line with the renewed hope Agenda of Mr President H. E. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR. Our mandate is to institutionalise Blue Economy as an important pillar for economic sustenance and growth diversification.
On his part the NIMASA DG assured of steady and measurable progress within the period covered by the Bond. He made a presentation on how to deploy an effective security architecture for the Exclusive Economic Zone to sustain harnessing the Blue Economy potentials of the country.
According to him “Now all hands must be on deck to deliver. We have a clearer understanding of the direction of the Ministry and we will ensure Nigerians benefit from Mr President’s vision in creating the Ministry”.
Other areas the DG presented to the Minister for effective monitoring include; NIMASA’s efforts in implementing the Cabotage Act, expansion of the domestic fleet, sustaining the Deep Blue Project and developing a national policy on marine and blue economy. Others include promoting Maritime Safety through effective capacity development, and enhanced Safety, Security and compliance to global acceptable standards amongst others.
