Video - Motorists agonise as fuel queues emerge In Lagos, Persists In Abuja and more

 

Explosion at Nigerian oil vessel sparks fears of major spill

A vessel with a storage capacity of two million barrels of oil has exploded off the coast of southern Nigeria’s Delta state, raising fears of an environmental disaster and concerns about the fate of its crew.

Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) said on Thursday that flames had engulfed the Trinity Spirit following the blast a day earlier. The floating production, storage and offloading vessel can process up to 22,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the operator’s website.

The vessel was located at the Ukpokiti Terminal, along the coast of the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Joe Sunday, an assistant boat driver, said he was in one of the two speedboats out at sea on Wednesday morning to pick some crew who were due to take time off from work but could not reach the vessel because it was consumed by fire.

“We drove round to see if we could see people but we did not see anybody and the fire was still blazing,” Sunday told Reuters news agency at a port in Warri.

Tiby Tea, chairman of Maritime Union for Nigerian Ports Authority in Warri, confirmed that two boats sent out to the vessel could not find anyone.

“At this time there are no reported fatalities but we can confirm that there were 10 crewmen on board the vessel prior to the incident,” SEPCOL Chief Executive Ikemefuna Okafor said in a statement.

An investigation was under way to determine the cause of the accident, he said, adding that the company was working to “contain the situation”.
 

Oil spill fears

Nigeria’s regulatory agency for upstream operations, NUPRC, said the explosion had led to a “major fire” and that it had “commenced investigations into the incident”.

“The commission will take necessary measures to ensure that all safety and environmental measures … to safeguard lives and the environment are put in place,” spokesman Paul Osu said.

Idris Musa, director of Nigeria’s National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), told the AFP news agency they were also on site responding to the incident.

Environmental activists were, however, worried about the potential impact.

“There will definitely be a spill,” said Mike Karikpo of the local NGO, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria.

“This is a facility that handles over 20,000 barrels per day … the oil will reach the surrounding communities.”


Since the 1970s, the oil-rich Niger Delta region has accounted for an overwhelming majority of Nigeria’s earnings.

But the region continues to suffer the multiplier effect of decades of environmental degradation, which has eroded livelihoods and deprived residents of basic essentials such as access to clean drinking water. The area’s mangroves and swamps have become uninhabitable for many species and the average human life expectancy is also 10 years lower in the Delta than elsewhere in Nigeria.

Although Nigeria is Africa’s largest crude producer, operating costs are high due to frequent accidents and widespread insecurity, although most accidents take place on land.

There have also been attacks on oil installations in the past, piercing pipelines to take crude oil and increasing kidnappings to obtain a ransom.

Nigerian pirates are also active across the wider and resource-rich Gulf of Guinea region, disrupting shipping in a vast area stretching from Senegal to Angola.

Al Jazeera

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On 27 January 2002, Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, witnessed one of the biggest disasters that have ever hit the state and country. 20 years after, the memory is still fresh. A continued blast at the military cantonment in Ikeja left many dead. The bulk of the victims did not die under the exploding shells. Most were hauled from canals into which they jumped or were driven - some still in their cars - by the huge crowds fleeing the shrapnel descending from the sky.

Nigeria seeks to extend fuel subsidy program

The Nigerian government had previously planned to phase out the gasoline subsidy program, calling it "unsustainable." Despite being Africa's main oil exporter, the country relies on importing petroleum products.

The Nigerian government on Tuesday said it intended to extend a costly fuel subsidy program, in a reversal of policy for the oil-rich African country.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva told reporters that the government "was not removing subsidies" after meeting Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.
What do we know so far?

The program, known as the Premium Motor Spirit subsidy, artificially keeps everyday gas prices low for Nigerian consumers.

The government has previously sought to phase out the program by this summer, with Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed calling it "unsustainable." She said the program cost $7 billion (€6.2 billion) a year in revenue. According to research by Eurasia Group, Nigeria's government spent more on subsidizing fuel at the pumps between January and August 2021 than it did on its entire health or education budgets in 2020.

In 2021, Ahmed proposed replacing the program with an initiative to give 5,000 naira (€10.70, $12) directly to the poorest Nigerian families instead of providing cheaper fuel for all.

Yet any attempt to end the program has been met with fierce opposition from labor unions and working-class Nigerians. Protests against the potential phaseout of the program were expected on Thursday.

Unions have also urged the government to expedite work on upgrading Nigeria's four major oil refineries, with the oil-rich country currently dependent on foreign imports of refined petroleum products.

Ahmed has acknowledged that cutting the program at this time could put an additional financial burden on Nigerians.

"It's become clear that the timing is problematic, that practically there is still heightened inflation and also the removal of subsidies would further worsen the situation and thereby imposing more difficulties on the citizens," Ahmed told Nigerian senators earlier this week.
Subsidy program phaseout could influence upcoming election

Cutting the subsidy program could exacerbate tensions ahead of Nigeria's presidential election in February 2023, with Nigerians voting to replace incumbent President Buhari.

Previous President Goodluck Jonathan also toyed with ending the costly policy, only to back down when facing public and military protests.

Nigeria is the largest oil and gas producer on the African continent. Oil is a major engine of the Nigerian economy, with the industry also at the center of corruption scandals in recent years. 

DW