IN a swift response to deep-water horizon oil spill and subsequent explosion of the drilling rig in the Macondo prospect oil field of the Gulf of Mexico, the Federal Government said it would soon establish ‘search and rescue’ and aerial surveillance of the nation’s offshore drilling operations to avert major oil spill incidents.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, gave the hint in Abuja, while declaring open the inaugural edition of the international conference on engineering, safety and environmental practices in offshore drilling in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”
The minister, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Sheikh Goni, expressed the Federal Government’s determination to protect Nigeria’s fragile environment.
According to her, “the workshop is in response to deepwater horizon oil spill and subsequent explosion of the drilling rig in the Macondo prospect oil field of the Gulf of Mexico. This incident, which occurred on April 20, 2010 about 60 kilometres South-East of Lousiana coast, resulted in the death of 11 workers, injury to 17 others and unprecedented release of millions of barrels of oil into and around the beaches of Gulf of Mexico.”
While explaining that there had been a significant increase in offshore activities since the first offshore well was drilled by Texaco in 1963, she noted that operations had gradually but steadily moved into deeper frontiers beginning from the early 1990s.
The minister noted that offshore operations have not been without incidents.
“Today, Nigeria’s offshore operations account for between 30 and 35 per cent of daily production. Funiwa-5 oil well blow-out of 1980, during which over 300,000 barrels were spilled, stirred a lot of political and socioeconomic issues as a result of its impact on the environment,” she added
She said the government, in reaction to the incident and several others, established various tiers of oil spill contingency plans.
Feb82011