PBA ReporterAiteo, operator of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29, on Wednesday disclosed that it has succeeded in putting out the leak on its Santa Barbara wellhead in Nembe, Bayelsa state.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, who confirmed the stoppage of the one-month-old oil spill said the well has been capped.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelMr. Sylva, in a statement, according to Reuters, said: “We have put out the leak at SBAS-1. We are grateful for all the support.”
The OML 29 Well 1 platform, which is operated by Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil firm, Aiteo Exploration and Production Company Limited, had been spilling crude unabated into the Santa Barbara River for about one month, impacting marine lives and polluting the environment.
The company on November 5, reported to the Nigerian government a hydrocarbon wellhead leak on the facility.
The company later disclosed that it had hired Halliburton’s Boots and Coots to “kill the well” by injecting cement into it.
The governor of Bayelsa, Douye Diri, who visited the site on Wednesday, claimed that about two million barrels of Bonny Light crude stream had polluted the Santa Barbra River and Nembe Creeks while describing it as the worst he had seen in his lifetime.
The statement read: “To the glory of God, we have put out the leak at SBAS-1. We are grateful for all the support. We have successfully installed control packages on both arms.
“There’s a rig up pump on the long string, and the pump opens the ball valve. Also, we have closed both control packages and shut-in well flow.
“The team is currently preparing to pump ‘kill fluid’ into the long string. Note that the short string is already killed and dead with zero pressure.
“Complete pumping of kill fluid into the long string (LS). Achieve zero psi on the surface and rig down pump as well as rig up wireline.
“We will then nipple down the Christmas Tree and carry out comprehensive service on the wellhead and Christmas Tree as well as install it and secure the well. Thereafter, we will clean up the wellhead platform and surroundings.”
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