We refer to our earlier press releases on the Opuama Flowstation oil spill of October 28, 2023 first issued shortly after the incident, and again one year later on December 4, 2024.
Since NEPL and ELCREST have still not cleaned up or remediated the affected environment three years after the spill, we are compelled to issue this final statement.
We hereby alert the Government of Nigeria and the international community particularly the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Government of the United States about the environmentally destructive actions of NEPL and ELCREST. These companies have consistently dumped hazardous waste and refused to clean up multiple oil spills in OML 40. Their conduct amounts to environmental genocide and represents a blatant violation of Section 4(1) of the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN), first issued in 1992 and revised in 2002, which clearly states:
“An operator shall be responsible for the containment and recovery of any spill discovered within its operational area, whether or not its source is known. The operator shall take prompt and adequate steps to contain, remove, and dispose of the spill.”
Despite this requirement and despite the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) confirming that the spills resulted from equipment failure both companies have refused to clean up or remediate the oil and gas pollution.
It is important to contrast their actions in OML 40, Opuama, Warri North LGA, Delta State, with how major international oil companies responded to disasters such as BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill in the US and Total’s Erika spill in France/EU. In both cases, the companies took prompt responsibility, initiated cleanup, and provided compensation. BP even acknowledged corporate responsibility early and accepted multi-billion-dollar liability for the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Yet, in Opuama, after three years, we have seen no action whatsoever.
These companies have abandoned their duty of care to our people, resulting in preventable deaths and worsening health conditions across our communities. We hold them accountable for these grave offenses. There have been several spills in Opuama Flowstation, OML 40 both before and after the October 28, 2023 incident yet none have been cleaned or remediated. NEPL has further damaged the Opuama and Tsekelewu environments through reckless disposal of hazardous drilling waste at unapproved sites. Although NOSDRA participated in the JIVs, it has never confronted NEPL about its persistent environmental violations.
We therefore call on the Minister of Petroleum, the Minister of Environment, the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the international community especially the US Government and UNEP to urgently intervene to save the people of Opuama and Tsekelewu (Polobubo) from continuous oil spills and toxic waste dumping at the Opuama Flowstation, OML 40.
As victims of ongoing pollution, our non-negotiable demands are as follows:
- Payment of ₦50 billion in compensation.
- Immediate cleanup and remediation of all affected communities within three months.
- Suspension of operations in OML 40 if these demands are not met.
If necessary, we will pursue legal action to enforce our rights to health, a clean environment, and sustainable livelihoods. Death rates in OML 40 have risen due to persistent spills and hazardous waste dumping in rivers and unauthorized sites, enabled by the complicity of certain NOSDRA officials overseeing OML 40.
This environmental devastation this ongoing genocide perpetrated by NEPL and Elcrest Nigeria Limited must end.
Signed,
Mr. Nehemiah Tobolayefa
Mrs. Tari Gideon
For Save the Earth and Secure the Future (SESF), an NGO based in Warri, Delta State.
