Oil Pipeline Explodes In Obagi, Rivers State

In Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, Rivers State, in the Obagi community, a Nigeria Agip Oil Company gas pipeline blew up.

The explosion that happened on Wednesday night killed no one, but it devastated the local wildlife and spread fear.

No casualties were reported, according to Vincent Job, the Chairman of the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, who confirmed the occurrence in a Sunday interview with our correspondent.

“Yes, it happened at Obagi, but fortunately no lives were lost,” Job said. Although oil and gas specialists would have more to say, the locals I spoke with while visiting the area believe it was caused by equipment failure.

At Omoku West, there was a very heinous explosion of crude oil. We also had another one yesterday, although it was in a different place called Obagi.

“As inexperienced oil field workers, you will discover that certain equipment has been in service for over 30 or 40 years, necessitating their removal.”

He went on, “You will discover that the natives are there and they endure a great deal of this degradation. The International Oil Companies and the Federal Government should make sure that their facilities and pipelines are modern.

Speaking also, the community’s traditional leader, Eze Elemele, claimed that although the gas leak had been known about since mid-2023, in a letter to them, Agip and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas had both denied ownership of the plant.

“The gas leak had been ongoing since June of last year,” the king declared. We sent letters to NLNG and Agip, but following examination, they both claimed ownership of the pipeline.

“Agip has now finally acknowledged that it is their own after it exploded.”

Many locals expressed their displeasure with the oil and gas company for what they perceived as “neglect,” claiming that the company failed to do a proper Environmental Impact Assessment prior to putting a pipeline in the village.

According to our correspondent, the Obagi gas explosion occurred just over a month after a supposedly fatal occurrence in Omoku West, which is located in the same LGA.

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