There is palpable panic in the Okpoama kingdom of Brass local government area of Bayelsa state following a deadly gas leakage from the oil well belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The gas leakage, which occurred along the Bendick+Kiri axis of the kingdom, has been spewing oil and gas into the environment from a well’s Christmas tree.
The oil well located in OML 66 and known in the records as “Kurogbagba 1,” was said to have been leaking for the past five days ,spreading oil and gas into the creeks.
A threatening hissing sound from the intense pressure forcing the oil and gas out of the well head could be heard from over a kilometer and has forced fishermen out of their settlements for fear of fire outbreak.
The head of the fishermen in Bendick Kiri, Mr Monday Okon, who hails from Akwa Ibom state, confirmed that people left because of the smell of the gas and oil and also for fear of fire outbreak.
“We are afraid that the place will be in flame because we are very close to the oil well. If we catch fish, we can’t dry them. I am here because the community asked me to stay nearby and inform them when people come,” he said.
