Nigeria’s oil producing giant, Aiteo, says it has engaged the services of Boots and Coots, arguably the leading well control company in the world, to stop the oil leakage from its facility in Nembe, a community in Bayelsa state, right in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.

Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company (AEEPCO), Operator of the NNPC /Aiteo Joint Venture of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 on Friday, 5 November 2021, reported a hydrocarbon well head leak in its Santa Barbara, Southwest field, in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.  This well, non-producing since Aiteo’s acquisition in 2015, was predominantly dormant, having been securely isolated since then.  As hitherto stated, an accurate cause of the leak has not been ascertained as both priority and attention has been focused on containing the consequences of this most undesirable and unforeseen incident.

“Aiteo remains committed to ascertaining, immediately the well head is secure,  the immediate and remote causes of the leak which will be driven by a JIV that will follow.  Nevertheless,  it is important that we affirm  our preliminary view, based on our assessment of the proximate circumstances, that it will be difficult to exclude deliberate tampering of the well by oil thieves attempting to siphon crude directly from the well head. In our view, sabotage remains the most imminent cause of this incident,” the company said in a recent statement seen by African Probe.

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