The spills in Niger Delta are more than common, several happen on a daily basis, causing aggravated damages to the environment, the biodiversity and human health [1, 2]. A report by Amnesty International denounced that the two big multinationals Shell and ENI are in major part responsible for so many of these spills and for this worrying situation. The International NGO calls the two multinationals to take on more actions to avoid such human and environmental disasters. What happened in November 2013, at Brass River Terminal is one of those many and uncountable spills. While the Odioama community and their environment were still recovering from the impacts of the Bonga spill from 2011 (see the case on the EJAtlas Shell Bonga Oil Spill, Nigeria[3]); Odioama fisher folks reached ERA on Friday 29th November 2013with the information that another major spill from the Nigerian Agip Oil Company/Eni had just happened and impacted their surroundings. This major spill occurred at the Brass River Terminal, discharging crude into the Atlantic Ocean and affecting the Odioama community and environs. Odioama is a Nembe-speaking Ijaw community with several satellite settlements along the fringes of the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Nicholas River which empties into the Atlantic. The locals’ occupation makes a living out of fishing because of their strategic location. Fisher folks from outside the community have also settled in the environment and do also derive their means of livelihood from fishing. ERA mobilized to visit the Odioama community on Sunday, 1st December 2013 with a view to making independent observation and speaking directly with victims. The leadership of the community led by the Chairman of Odioama Kingdom Council of Chiefs conducted field monitors around some of the sites and fishing camps for the much-needed physical observation of the environment. Signs of crude oil were observed and captured on video and still photos. Vegetation and other materials along the sand banks were seen soiled with crude oil which was very thick in some areas. To compound the problems from the spill, fishermen have been advised to stop fishing, leaving them without hope for survival. The chairman of Beyelsa chapter of Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria considered that a total of 3.000 fishermen had to stop their activities after the oil spill [4]. Right after the disaster, it was reported that at least the fishermen from Ewoama, Mbikiri, Okpoama-abadianga, Laijakiri, Bubelebarakiri, Akabeleu, Odioma and Shellkiri had to halt their activities [5]. The chairman also denounced that “dead fishes of all sizes littered the coastline here in November and December 2013” and that the fish that survived escaped to deeper waters, out of reach for the fishermen [5]. Besides Odioama, also other coastal communities in Bayelsa state were affected by this spill, near the terminal: Mbikiri in Twon-Brass, Okpoama and Dieama communities. The communities regret the company did not show enough interest for their critical situation [6].

SOURCES

[1]

http://environmentaltopics.net/eni-oil-spill-pollutes-niger-delta/

[2]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3644738/

[3]

https://ejatlas.org/conflict/shell-bonga-oil-spill-nigeria

[4]

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/151214-brass-terminal-oil-spill-agip-commences-clean-amidst-complaints-neglect-victims.html

[5]

http://thenationonlineng.net/oil-spill-pitches-bayelsa-communities-against-agip/

[6]

http://newswirengr.com/2014/01/26/fishermen-along-bayelsa-coastline-lament-impact-of-oil-spill/#

Agip’s Brass River terminal is located on the Brass Island (in Bayelsa State), at the estuary of the Brass river, one of the branches of the Nun river, itself one branch of the Niger river. AGIP is a subsidiary of the Italian multinational group ENI, that formed a partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to establish the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC). By 2009, Agip‘s Brass River Terminal produced around 33,000 barrels of oil per day and 2 million cubic meters of gas [7]. The oil tanker terminal at Brass has a storage capacity of approximately 3,5 million barrels [8]. The NOSDRA deployed its vessel to combat the spill. Also did AGIP/NAOC deployed its Oil Spill Eater II over 21,000 hectares, converting oil into a safe end point of CO2 and water [9, 10]. After the disaster, reports confirmed that the spill “was caused by operational failure during the loading of crude oil at the terminal in the sea” [5]. AGIP/NAOC official report after the clean-up declared that there was around 150,000 gallons or 550,000 liters of oil that polluted the water, mangroves and the river shoreline [10].

SOURCES

[7]

https://allafrica.com/stories/200906240442.html

[8]

https://www.eni.com/enipedia/en_IT/international-presence/africa/enis-activities-in-nigeria.page

[9]

http://wikimapia.org/9606445/Agip-Brass-River-Export-Terminal

[10]

http://www.osei.us/wp-content/uploads/OSEI-NIgeria-AGIP-Brass-Terminal-Clean-up-complete-data-set-4-14-14-.pdf