Members of Ibeno community, hosts to Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) said that a fresh oil spill had occurred at the Qua Iboe oil fields....

Members of Ibeno community, hosts to Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) said that a fresh oil spill had occurred at the Qua Iboe oil fields.

Chief Ukott Esenem, the Village Head of Atia in Ibeno Local Government Area, said that the community noticed fresh oil deposits on the coastline.

“We are tired of these frequent spills, the spill of November is still pending and the cleanup has not been completed before this one occurred again. Residents on Ibeno coastline brought the complaint to the chiefs that they encountered oil in the waters and we have drawn the attention of Mobil to it,” Esenem said.

When contacted, Mobil’s Communications Manager Nigel Cookey-Gam confirmed that the oil firm had received reports of fresh oil spills from members of its host communities in Akwa Ibom.

“Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN), operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/MPN Joint Venture, confirms that on Dec. 19, 2012, community representatives notified the company of slight oiling on short sections of the shoreline of Ibeno, Akwa Ibom. MPN immediately deployed a team to inspect the site and samples of oiling were taken for analysis to help determine the source. Sections of shoreline with any oiling will be cleaned immediately. MPN restates its commitment to maintaining high safety, health and environmental standards in our operations and is committed to the well-being of our neighbouring communities,” it said.

It will be recalled that an oil spill incident traced to a ruptured crude oil pipeline discharged volumes of crude into the Atlantic on Nov. 9.

MPN, operator of the oil fields had said that the oil firm deployed more than 600 personnel in the mop up exercise of the November spill.

Arodiegwu Eziukwu