By Gift ChapiOdekina, Abuja

The House of Representatives joint Committee on Environment and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Petroleum (downstream ) has again summoned the Managing Directors of both Aiteo E & P Company, Victor Okoronkwo and Nigerian Agip Oil Company, Bolondi Fabrizio (now Oando Oil Ltd) to appear within 7 days over oil spillage at Olugboboro Community in Southern Ijaw.

This was as the Commitee expressed displeasure over the refusal by the oil company executives to appear before the Commitee after being invited on three occasions.

Speaking at the commencement of the hearing in Abuja, the chairman of the Commitee, Pondi Gbabador said that the Commitee was mandated to investigate activities and the operations of Aiteo E & P Company and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (now Oando Oil Ltd).

According to him, these companies allegedly portend grave environmental consequences in their host communities and, by extension, the nation as a whole.

Speaking at the meeting Gbabojor said that the oil industry plays a critical role in the economic development of the country, adding that it contributes significantly to the national income, provides employment, and supports infrastructure development in various regions.

He however emphasized that the contribution by the oil companies shouldn’t come at the cost of the health, well-being, and livelihood of the people in the host communities, nor the expense of the environment.

“You may recall that the House of Representatives, at its sitting of Tuesday, 12th March 2024, considered a motion titled Environmental Impact of Transporting Crude Oil by Mega Seagoing Vessels from Nembe Creek Trunk to Offshore Crude Oil Storage in the Atlantic Ocean by Aiteo E & P, and resolved to: Urge the Federal Ministry of Environment to compel the Management of Aiteo E & P to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the project, as dictated by the Environment Impact Assessment Act, 2004, and include the host communities, the State Government and stakeholders, in line with international global practice, subject to scrutiny of the public and environmental experts.

“Recall that the House in a motion mandated its committees on Environment and Petroleum Resources (Midstream) to: Investigate the Environmental Impact of Transporting Crude Oil by Mega Seagoing Vessels from Nembe Creek Trunk to Offshore Crude Oil Storage in the Atlantic Ocean by Aiteo E & P, and Monitor compliance with the Ministry of Environment and the Management of Aiteo E & P with this requirement, and report within four (4) weeks.

“In the same vein, the House also on Tuesday, 23rd July 2024, considered a motion titled Oil Spillage at Olugboboro Community in Southern Ijaw from Nigerian Agip Oil Company Facility, and subsequently resolved to: Urge the Management of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company to urgently stop/contain the oil leakages from its Facilities at Ogboinbiri/Teibidaba affecting Olugboboro community in southern Ijaw Federal Constituency;

“Also urged the National Emergency Management Agency to urgently supply relief materials to ameliorate the suffering of the impacted communities who have lost sources of livelihood; Further urge the Nigeria Agip Oil Company to immediately pay compensation to the affected community for the economic trees and aquatic life damaged since April 2024, by the spillage; and Mandate the Committees on Environment and Petroleum Resources (Upstream) to carry out an extensive investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the spillage, to ascertain and assess the extent of impact to Olugboboro community of Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency and report within four (4) weeks.

“In light of the above, we have invited the Managing Directors of both Aiteo E & P Company and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (now Oando Oil Ltd) to this Hearing, to provide us with detailed explanations regarding their activities, particularly in their areas of operations. We expect full cooperation and transparency from all stakeholders in this process.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the operations of oil companies in our country are carried out in a manner that is sustainable, environmentally responsible, and respectful of the rights and welfare of the communities they operate in and the Country at large.

“It is also noteworthy, to emphasize that the Committees are not here to vilify any corporate entity but to ensure accountability, transparency, and adherence to environmental laws and regulations that govern the oil sector in our country. We aim to find solutions, hold the responsible parties accountable where necessary, and recommend the appropriate remedial actions.

He further said that the outcome of the Hearing will not only affect the immediate communities involved but will also set a precedent for how Nigerians approach environmental issues related to industrial activities in the future.

“The environment is our common heritage, and we must protect it for ourselves and future generations.I trust that the deliberations today will be conducted with the highest level of professionalism, respect, and commitment to justice. Thank you all for your attention, and I look forward to a productive session.

Speaking at the meeting, Rofikat Odetoro who represented the Ministry of Environment said the EIA approval issued by the ministry stipulated that the crude oil from Altio oil fields should be evacuated through pipelines and not through barges as being currently practised by the company.

“In terms of children, they are not used to having cyanosis. They are not used to wear glasses. You see 8-month-old children are using glasses. Children are not used to having fatty liver. Now we see children having fatty liver. Even if it is a rare condition, it’s not supposed to be as young as that. You start touching the fingers. They put that in the system. That entire human being is responsible. So your action is timely. And it’s very well concentrated.

“However, we also have this to say, that the Ministry was neither notified nor advised or even sought for permitting sake – they are guardians of the Ministry in respect of the deviation or change in scope. In line with best global practices, if you are given medication and you want to change to a similar effect, the best thing to do is to go back to the doctor. So if you are going to change the scope of the EIA approval, the best practice is to come back to seek the guidance of the Ministry.

“This they acknowledged is a mistake on their part, but it was a result of a sister agency putting pressure on them to produce more in order to have more revenue. So the issue of synergy also comes to the fore.

“At our meeting, we reached the following resolutions. Alteo should urgently register for the EIA of the project or in the alternative conduct a post-embargo assessment since they have been operating for two years. Let’s see what has been done, and what has been the effect of that particular activity that has been going on for the last two years.

“Altio should submit to the Ministry within two weeks the technical details, the video clips and other relevant documents in the project process that will enable us to make an informed decision that will be in the overall interest of Nigerians.

“We also noted Altio’s concerns about its existing pipeline’s integrity and the need not to disturb it so that we don’t have more leakage in or spill into the environment. We also saw the need and advised Altio appropriately for an inclusive stakeholder engagement to be able to define the project as better persons, those communities, and so on.

“To reduce the distance of crude oil transportation through the pipelines. Because the integrity of the pipelines was no longer what it was supposed to be. There were leakages along the line. It’s a swampy environment. Some are on the seabed. They couldn’t ascertain where the leaks were coming from.

“If they now decide to disturb it, it will create more havoc. More leakage and so on. As a result of that, and also with the activities of pipeline vandalization, they decided to construct an oil sand farm at the Nambe Creek flow station. Where crude oil is transported via the St. John-Rio Beto River through Nambe Grass, Okoma and Benema to the offshore crude oil storage facility in the Antarctic Ocean. That’s seven kilometres off the shoreline of Grass Island.

“Accordingly, after receiving your letter, the ministry forwarded a letter to the company requesting the company to update the ministry on the status of the project and inform us of any associated developments that were not covered by the previous EIA approval.

“We also had a meeting with the representative of the company and it was noted, not to waste your time, let me go straight to the point, that the EIA approval issued by the ministry stipulated that the crude oil from Altio oil fields should be evacuated through pipelines and not through barges as being currently practised by the company.

“I am not an expert on barge transportation. We have relevant agencies that could give more advice on the merits and demerits of that. But be it me, they have been doing that for the past three years. So if they wanted to comply with the provisions of the law, that could have been done much earlier.Let me digress a little bit, sir.

“The proceeds of the joint venture are for Nigerians, including myself. And being an indigenous company, they are also Nigerians. So we are all answerable to governments and the entire Nigerian populace. We also noted that Altio has completed the installation of the FSO, that is Floating Storage Offshore Storage Facilities, the 54-kilometre pipeline that was also permitted by Nigerian upstream, has been finalized, but construction is yet to commence. I will reiterate my earlier suggestion.

“If there were more synergy and perhaps joint monitoring exercises, maybe we would have had better compliance. When you make a law and you compartmentalize the law, it gives into duplication and less efficiency, and you spend more.

“So that needs to be looked into. Also, Altio adopted and commenced temporary budgeting of crude oil about two years ago. We requested that they furnish us with the details, visuals, audio-visuals of the budgeting exercise, and if there has been any incident of spillage or accident or incident, and we equally informed them of this investigative panel, and we advised that it would be good we have such before this panel today. I regret to inform this honourable committee that the Ministry, the Department, is yet to receive any submission from Altio.

“On behalf of my Director, Dr. Abbas Suleiman, I regret to inform this Honorable Committee that the House is yet to receive the EIA registration documents from Altio and other documents that would have enabled us to give appropriate advice or suggestions to this Honorable Committee.

While responding to inquiries from the lawmakers, Mr Yahaya who earlier disclosed that NUPRC granted the first permit of six months to Aiteo to badge to avoid loss of about 90 per cent of the 50,000 barrels per day oil production, however affirmed that two years permit was given to Aiteo to badge considering the criticality of oil production.

According to him, any attempt to ask Aiteo to shut down will have huge cost implications on the oil production target.