NIGERIA:
An explosion at an illegal oil refinery plant on the border of Nigeria’s Rivers and Imo states killed more than 100 people overnight, according to a local government official and an environmental group.
“The fire broke out at an illegal bunkering site, affecting over 100 persons who were burned beyond recognition,” said Goodluck Opiah, the state commissioner for petroleum resources.
The bunkering site was in the Abaezi forest, which spans the border between the two states, in the Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo state.
Because of the unemployment and poverty in the oil-producing Niger Delta, illegal crude refining has become a lucrative enterprise, but it has terrible repercussions. Crude oil is extracted through a network of pipes controlled by large oil firms and processed into products in improvised tanks.
The risky method has resulted in a number of fatalities and has damaged a region already plagued by oil leaks in fields, streams, and lagoons.
Several automobiles in a line to acquire illegal fuel were burned in the explosion, according to the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre.
The border site is in response to the Rivers state governor’s recent crackdown on illegal refining in an attempt to minimise growing air pollution.
“The governor of Rivers state has recently undertaken an effort to eradicate illegal refining in the state, forcing it to relocate to the outskirts and neighbouring states. Several raids have taken place in the previous several months, with some security agents being arrested “Former president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee, stated
In October, an explosion and fire at another illicit refinery in Rivers state killed at least 25 people, including several children.
Local authorities announced in February that they had begun a crackdown to try to stop the refining of stolen petroleum, but with little apparent result.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer and exporter, is estimated to lose 200,000 barrels of oil a day – more than 10% of production – to those tapping or vandalising pipelines, according to government officials.
As a result, oil companies have been obliged to declare force majeure on oil and gas shipments on a regular basis.
