Raid on Illegal Bunkering Sites Causes Fire Outbreak at NNPCL Facility in Rivers
A fire has broken out at the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 15 facility operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), also known as the Bukuma/Buguma flow station, located in the Buguma waterways of Asari-Toru Local Government Area in Rivers State.
The fire, which has been raging for four days as of the time of this report, is believed to have been caused by security agents’ efforts to ward off oil thieves from the area. The shelling of the faulty wellhead, part of an operation to tackle illegal bunkering, led to the oil spill that resulted in the fire.
Due to heavy security presence, journalists and local residents were unable to access the fire site, as gunboats with armed personnel were stationed near the scene of the incident.
Livingstone Membere, the President of the Kalabari Youths Federation (KYF) and a leader of the team that attempted to guide journalists to the scene, explained that the repeated raids by security forces were responsible for the oil spill, which ultimately caused the ongoing fire outbreak.
Local residents, particularly from Buguma, expressed their concern and called on the government and relevant agencies to take immediate action to extinguish the fire. Youth leader Taribo Horsefall lamented the severe impact of the fire on the community’s livelihoods.
As of the time of reporting, neither NNPCL, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), nor security agencies had issued a statement regarding the incident. Furthermore, there had been no visible efforts to contain the fire.
