The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has disclosed that approximately 3,000 barrels of crude oil were lost in the offshore oil spill that occurred on November 15 from the Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel owned by TotalEnergies. The FPSO, situated 130 kilometers off the Atlantic coastline from Port Harcourt, has the capacity to produce 200,000 barrels of crude daily and can store 2.3 million barrels on board.
Mr. Idris Musa, the Director-General of NOSDRA, provided this information on Sunday, highlighting that the cleanup efforts are still ongoing. He assured that NOSDRA and TotalEnergies are actively addressing the pollution to minimize its impact on the environment, preventing the spilled crude from reaching the coastline.
Musa emphasized the effectiveness of the spills contingency plan deployed, preventing the spill from hitting the coastline. He revealed that NOSDRA deployed high-level personnel and activated the National Oil Spills Contingency Plan to contain the spill, characterizing it as a significant response strategy that resulted in limited impact.
“The spill was not a minor one; it was the response strategy put in place that resulted in a limited impact, and we have been tracing and tracking the oil slick and supervising response efforts,” Musa stated. NOSDRA’s personnel, led by a director, have been on-site, granting requisite approvals to expedite the response.
Musa praised TotalEnergies for swift and effective measures in response to the spill, with support from other oil companies. He emphasized the collaborative response of oil industry stakeholders, involving aircraft and at least five vessels applying 15,000 liters of liquids to clean the waters in the ongoing spills cleanup efforts.
