Pipeline blast in Nigeria kills 12 people at repair site

An explosion at an Eni pipeline in Nigeria killed at least 12 people and injured three others, the Italian oil major said in a statement on Friday.

The men were part of a maintenance crew, including security and environment officials, carrying out repairs on Thursday afternoon on the Tebidaba-Clough Creek line near the town of Azuzuama in the Niger delta's Bayelsa state.

On Friday morning, environmental activist Morris Alagoa, whose colleague had traveled to the scene, said that authorities were still combing the area for bodies.

"Four bodies were seen floating on the river today as the search continues," Alagoa said.

Iniro Wills, state commissioner for the ministry of the environment, said that the cause was still being investigated and one of his staff was still missing.

"Three victims rescued are now at the hospital. Two were severely burnt," Wills said.

Eni has a joint venture with Nigeria's state oil company.

Saturday 11 July 2015

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/10/us-nigeria-oil-eni-idUSKCN0PK1AI20150710

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Death toll from China oil pipeline blast rises to 52, 11 missing

The death toll from Friday's oil pipeline blasts in east China's Shandong Province rose to 52 as of 1pm today after four more bodies were found at the scene, rescuers said.

Reports and investigations showed that 11 others were missing in the deadly accident, the rescue headquarters said.

Among the dead, four have not yet been identified, according to the rescue headquarters for the blast accident, which occurred at Huangdao district in Qingdao City.

Six of the dead were professional firefighters with the Huangdao oil warehouse of Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner.

Rescue efforts continued today despite rainy weather. The complicated situation and the remains of flammable gas at certain sections in the explosion area hindered the debris-clearing progress.

Crude oil began leaking from an underground pipeline operated by Sinopec at 3:00am Friday in Huangdao District of Qingdao, according to the municipal government. The valves of the Huangdao oil warehouse were shut about 15 minutes later.

The oil spill then flowed into the city's rainwater pipe network, which empties into Jiaozhou Bay. Two blasts occurred at around 10:30am Friday when workers were repairing the ruptured pipeline.

The damaged pipeline was put into use in July 1986. It is the second pipeline linking Dongying City in Shandong with Huangdao. The pipe measures 711 mm in diameter and runs 248.5 km, with an annual oil transfer capacity of 10 million tonnes.

Ten of the 136 hospitalized are in critical condition, according to provincial health authorities.

About 18,000 residents were evacuated following the explosions, which ripped through roads, overturned vehicles, and shattered the windows and bricks of nearby buildings.

Sinopec's board chairman, Fu Chengyu, apologized for the accident yesterday. He vowed all-out efforts to handle the rescue, relief and aftermath and to cooperate with the investigation team of the State Council to find the cause of the accident.

Sunday 24 November 2013

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/national/Death-toll-from-China-oil-pipeline-blast-rises-to-52-11-missing/shdaily.shtml

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Arepo And pipeline vandalism; source of many deaths and disasters

Arepo, an otherwise obscure and somnolent community in Ogun State, which is only a few kilometres away from Lagos, has been in the news for the wrong reasons.

The community is important as it has a pipeline which supplies about 9 to 11 million litres of fuel from Lagos to Ibadan, Ilorin and the North.

But since September last year, the community has witnessed pipeline explosions, pipeline vandalism, death of persons in the community and the murder of officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

On September 5, a pipeline was vandalised by some scoundrels. Their purpose was to scoop fuel illegally from it, but the fire that ensued was said to have killed at least 30 persons.

Later, the NNPC sent three engineers to fix the damaged pipeline but they were killed by people who were suspected to be enjoying the proceeds of the fuel obtained illegally from the wrecked pipeline.

Four weeks after they were killed, a police special task force recovered the bodies of the three missing NNPC engineers. Their bullet-riddled bodies were buried in a shallow grave.

The head of the Anti-Pipeline Vandalism Special Task Force, Friday Ibadin, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), explained how the bodies were found.

He said: “We found, in a decomposing state, bullet-ridden bodies of the three victims. We learnt that the body of the local security guard employed by NNPC, Taye, a.k.a Dead Man, was cut into pieces and disposed off.”

Ibadin continued, “Shortly after the incident, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, reconstituted the dissolved anti vandal team.

“It became important to get to the root of the incident that led to the death of these NNPC officials. And in the course of the investigation, about six suspects were arrested. We gathered from the confession of one of the suspects, Imerepamu Ijebu Joel, that he knew where the NNPC staffers were buried.

“Initially, he took our team to a spot and after several hours, the bodies were not found.

“At night, the Ijaw boy attempted to dig one spot, but the police who were on guard stopped him. And two days later, he opened up and agreed to take us to the real spot.

“It took six hours of sailing to get to the spot. We had 40 heavily armed men, and we took along a pathologist, a coroner, and the medical team from NNPC that eventually identified the bodies.

“They took us to a place where they buried non-natives. With the assistance of one John Bosco, Peter Opidi, and the suspect, Imerepamu Ijebu Joel, we were shown two shallow graves.

“It was there that we discovered the bodies and they have been deposited at a mortuary.

“I wish to commend the sector commander, DSP Onaghise Osayande, and his team who dared the dangers of the creek to recover the bodies. Meanwhile, we are carrying out further investigations to see if there was more to the killings than what we had gathered.”

However, the people of Arepo absolved themselves of the pipeline vandalism that reportedly claimed not less than 30 lives in the area.

In a statement signed by the secretary of the Arepo Oba-in-council, Victor Olajide, the community claimed that none of its indigenes was involved in the vandalisation of the pipeline.

The statement which described the act as barbaric, claimed that it was Ijaws who lived in the area that perpetrated the act.

The statement said, “Not a single Arepo indigene has been arrested and police records revealed that those arrested are non-indigenes. The name Arepo is synonymous with palm oil and not petroleum products and the people are land merchants, making enough resources from their trade. We will never demean ourselves in the breaking of pipeline or siphoning of fuel, it is criminal and we will not do it.

“Most casualties or arrested youths are usually of the Ijaw extraction. The records are with the police to show those that were arrested recently for the killings of the innocent NNPC engineers are all from the Niger-Delta.”

But there was no let-up in the activities of pipeline vandals in the area as another explosion occurred on January 11 this year.

The consequence of that was that five charred bodies were recovered at the scene by security operatives.

However, early in the morning of last Wednesday, an unspecified number of vandals were reportedly killed when some suspected hoodlums stormed Arepo, and again wreaked havoc on the NNPC Pipeline in the area.

This is barely two weeks that an incident of great magnitude occurred at the same place that claimed several lives.

It was gathered that the Wednesday deaths might not be unconnected with the face-off with the men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Vandals.

The image maker of the NSCDC, Kareem Olanrewaju told LEADERSHIP that the fire outbreak and the deaths were also as a result of “an exchange of fire between them and our men at Magboro area, we cannot say whether it is the same team we had encountered with that went to vandalise at Arepo”.

Olanrewaju said “Officers of NSCDC were stationed to patrol the area since the last incident. We have also carried out a series of operations there successfully with the arrest of some suspected vandals and seizure of exhibit”.

He explained that the NSCDC Commandant was already at the spot “as some of our men were attacked in another operation around Iperu/Ogere area. Some of them were injured and had been taken to the hospital”.

It appears that vandals still have their eyes on illegally siphoning fuel from the pipeline at Arepo, and it would take the vigilance and competence of security agents to stop them.

Saturday 26 January 2013

http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/46084/2013/01/26/arepo_and_pipeline_vandalism.html

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NEMA Recovers Three Bodies, Six Vandals' Boats

Following the pipeline explosion, which occurred at the weekend, leading to the death of over 25 persons at Arepo village in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday said it had recovered three charred bodies as well as six boats belonging to suspected vandals.

This is just as the state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of complicity in the incessant cases of pipeline vandalism across the state.

No fewer than 25 suspected pipeline vandals who had allegedly gone to siphon petrol from a ruptured NNPC pipeline were burnt to death when the pipeline exploded.

However, according to an eyewitness account, the casualties were not only vandals but also security guards attached to the area.

It was gathered that prior to Saturday's explosion, the vandals had engaged officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) guarding the area in a gun duel on Friday during which about five persons were killed.

Speaking to THISDAY, the NEMA spokesperson in the South-west zone, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said about three charred corpses had been recovered from the swampy area, adding that evacuation was ongoing.

He, however, lamented that the evacuation process was being slowed down given the swampy terrain of the location.

He said: "Evacuation of bodies will commence tomorrow (today) but three bodies have been recovered so far. We saw one body at our first visit and two more bodies were seen coming up from under the river.

"The agency will employ the services of those who know the terrain well to recover more bodies."

But he urged the state government to stop trading blame and seek sustainable ways to end the incessant pipeline vandalism in the area.

On how to prevent disasters of such magnitude from recurring, Farinloye said such could only be achieved when state governments become pro-active and work with NEMA.

He said: "Prevention can be achieved when state governments leave blame apportioning and work towards closing the gaps for effective disaster management. We are incapacitated until the state governments are ready to do their job.

"In our line of work, the state and local governments are very important and it is only when the two tiers come together and work with us that maximum success will be achieved.

"At a point we set up the grassroots disaster management organisations to reduce the risk of disasters but no sooner had we handed them over to the state and local governments, did they abandon it."

Meanwhile, Amosun who was on an on-the-spot assessment tour of the fire scene lamented that the swampy nature of the terrain made it difficult to organise effective rescue operations.

He said: "This is clearly failure of governance. Indeed, I have to say that the NNPC by their inaction are aiding and abetting this and I want to believe they are part of the pipeline vandalism.

"In fact, people here are endangering their lives because there is no access to this place. Look at the canoe that NNPC is using in this time and age to protect a billion-dollar investment.

"Even if the place is combustive, can't they use solar-powered boats? For me, it is straightforward, if NNPC supports us, we will get the whole place cleared."

He noted that if the corporation provides the state government with about five to 10 swamp boogies, the entire area would be cleared and platforms erected in its place as well as electronic chips.

He added that Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) would be mounted with a control room where the entire area will be monitored mechanically.

He said: "How can vandals hold us to ransom? Just look at dead bodies littering everywhere. It took us 45 minutes to access the place because it is hard to access the place.

"I even understand that it is the same spot where the three NNPC officials were killed last year. Since oil is the bedrock of the nation's economy, investing in security which will protect oil facilities cannot be over-emphasised."

Also, the House of Representatives yesterday condemned the incessant incidence of oil pipeline vandalism in parts of the country and its negative impacts on the economy. Aside the Arepo explosion, another oil pipeline vandalism was reported by the Joint Task Force (JTF) at Ovade, Oghara, Ethiope-West Local Government Area, Delta State.

Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon. Dakuku Peterside, who condemned the incidence, observed that in recent weeks, Nigeria had witnessed needless deaths and damage to property following the attacks on oil pipelines in different parts of the country. The lawmaker said that oil pipeline vandalism poses grave security, health and environmental risks and results in enormous economic consequences.

"My grievance is with those who vandalise our pipelines and I condemn in strong terms the sponsors and perpetrators of this evil. Pipelines are used all over the world to distribute petroleum products; therefore Nigeria should not be an exception.

"This continuous sabotage of our commonwealth has continued for too long because culprits have not been adequately sanctioned. I call on the relevant security agencies to be up and doing in the protection of our oil facilities," he said.

According to Peterside, pipeline vandalism was largely responsible for the use of trucks in transporting petroleum products across the country.

He drew a nexus between this system of transporting fuel and the recent inferno that occurred when a fuel tanker crashed and exploded into flames at Mbiama in Rivers State. At least, one person was killed and many others seriously injured at the Mbiama incident.

"This is due to the fact that our petroleum pipelines are not safe and functional, thus the resort to the use of tankers to convey products and its associated risks. The dead victim, it was gathered was selling drinks at a spot very close to the scene of the accident. This incident occurred just seven months after several people who were scooping fuel from a damaged tanker in the same area were killed in an explosion.

"The repeated tanker accidents in Mbiama axis of the East - West Road also brings to the fore the urgent need to fix the road which has been on for over five years. The East- West Road is a critical road infrastructure that should be given priority attention," he said.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201301140784.html

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Five Feared Dead, Others Injured As Vandals Set NNPC Pipeline On Fire

About five people were feared dead Friday night during a violent clash between suspected pipeline vandals and security operatives at Arepo, in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Sources say the suspected vandals and armed guards monitoring the area both suffered casualties.

It was learnt that the suspected vandals had threatened to set the pipeline ablaze, following a disagreement between the two sides.

The ones who had escaped unhurt, reportedly regrouped and attempted to evacuate the corpses of their slain colleagues, threatening not to allow anyone to enter or leave the area until they have recovered the bodies.

The vandals were also reported to have violently resisted attempts by officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other villagers to conduct a rescue operation in the area.

A source, who spoke to The Guardian, said he could not ascertain the number of persons killed, but that he counted five bodies in the river.

Public Relations Officer of the NSCDC, Ogun Command, Mr. Kareem Olanrewaju, confirmed the incident but denied there were casualties.

He said the inferno, which was first noticed Friday night might have been caused by the suspected vandals, adding that the surveillance team of the corps had earlier reported suspicious movement around the Arepo waterways.

He said that when the fire outbreak occurred, a team was instructed to move in for possible arrests but that no arrests were made, as the vandals fled.

Sunday 13 January 2013

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110322:five-feared-dead-as-pipeline-vandals-security-men-clash-in-arepo&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

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Pipeline fire in southeast Nigeria kills 20

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A government spokesman says 20 people in southeast Nigeria died when a broken gasoline pipeline caught fire, burning alive those gathering the fuel.

The fire happened in a remote village in Abia state, near Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta. Abia state government spokesman Ugochukwu Emezue said Monday that the fire happened Sept. 23, but it took days for the information to reach officials.

Pipeline ruptures remain common in Nigeria, an oil-rich nation where militants and criminals routinely tap into lines to steal crude oil and refined gasoline. Fires can easily and accidentlally be sparked by those attempting to gather the fuel.

In September, Nigeria's state-run oil company said suspected thieves shot dead three of its workers in southeast Ogun state after rupturing a gasoline pipeline to steal fuel.

Monday 1 October 2012

http://news.yahoo.com/pipeline-fire-southeast-nigeria-kills-20-111318939.html

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Scores dead in Arepo oil pipeline vandalisation fire

Scores of pipeline vandals and others scooping petroleum products from the vandalised pipeline were burnt to death in Arepo, a village off the Lagos Ibadan expressway, when the highly inflamable product caught fire.

An eyewitness said Officials of the Fire Service and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Thursday evening, battled to put out the fire from the vandalized pipeline.

Meanwhile, some armed oil pipeline vandals believed to be part of the gangs that have been attacking oil pipeline in the area are hampering recure work at the scene of the fire as they chased emergency workers and security officials away on Friday.

Men of the National Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Fire Service and National Security and Civil Defence Corps had to scamper to safety when they encounter the hoodlums.

The armed men were believed to have vandalized the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s pipeline that ignited the inferno at Arepo.

The security men and rescue workers were at the scene to remove the corpses of the suspected vandals, who had been killed in the inferno earlier on Thursday.

NEMA officials and civil defence personnel, who had gone to the village to monitor the rescue operations, as well as journalists trying to access the village in canoes, were waylaid by hoodlums, who hid themselves in the bush.

NEMA Information Officer, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, told journalists that the agency and others were at the scene to recover dead bodies littering scene of the fire incident.

He said, “Our intention was to evacuate bodies and to help the fire fighters to extinguish the fire that has been burning since yesterday (Thursday).

“But as you can see, the vandals have refused to allow us to perform our work. We are even lucky to still be alive but we have contacted the military and they are on their way.

“We don’t want the bodies to decompose and begin to pollute the environment. The remains will spill into the surrounding stream and people drinking the water or using it for domestic purposes will definitely be at risk.”

Farinloye, however, gave the assurance that the rescue work would soon commence as the Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sidi, had requested the deployment of military personnel to flush out the hoodlums.

Saturday 1 September 2012

http://oguntoday.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/scores-dead-in-arepo-in-oil-pipeline.html

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