The Nigerian Agip Oil Company is losing about 16,000 barrels of crude oil per day due to explosion that recently rocked its pipelines in Bayelsa State, Eni, Italian energy firm and parent company of Agip, has said.
The explosion, triggered by dynamite attacks, was allegedly launched by suspected militants and it affected the Agip pipelines located in Orukari, Golubokiri and Kpongbokiri communities of Brass area of the state.
The attacks, which were launched on Thursday night, had led to massive spillage of crude from the Agip pipelines into the sea and fishing camps.
The explosion, which came barely two weeks after an earlier strike at Escarvos leading to shutdown in Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, caused disruption in gas supply to some power plants.
An Eni spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the explosion on Monday, saying that the oil firm was working assiduously to restore normalcy and resume optimal production.
The spokesman said in an email response that the cause of the blast was being investigated by the Nigerian security agencies.
He said, “The Eni production impacted by the incident was 16,000 barrel of oil equivalent daily, (boed) and as of Monday morning all the activities aimed at restoring production have been activated.”
Production data obtained from Eni’s website indicated that the NAOC was exporting about 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent from the oil firm’s crude export terminal before the explosion cut production by 16,000boed.
Sources at the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency said on Monday that the blast was an act of sabotage and therefore fell within the scope of security agencies.
They said the security operatives would first have to clear the site before NOSDRA officials could go in to assess the impact of the explosion on the environment.
The spokesman for the Joint Force, codenamed Operation Pulo Shileld, with the mandate to protect oil facilities in the Niger Delta, Col. Isa Ado, could not be reached on Monday for his response. Several calls made to his mobile telephone did not get any response.
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