FIRE OUTBREAK: Search Ongoing for Crew Members as Community Awaits NNPCL’s Compensation for Environmental Devastation, Relief Materials

A community leader in the Cawthorne Channel area of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, Daniel Pollyn says his people were still conducting search and rescue for the crew members working on the flow stations that were engulfed in a fire outbreak on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.

Pollyn, who confirmed to Kristina Reports over the telephone on Thursday, February 20, 2025 that the facilities belonged to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), said the number of casualties were yet to be ascertained.

Two flow stations allegedly belonging to NNPCL around the Cawthorne Channel area, which is on the Western flank of Bonny LGA adjacent to Degema LGA also in Rivers State went up in flames Wednesday.

“We have not been able to ascertain the number of casualties for now. But know that all the crew workers in the affected vessels are being searched for up till this moment as I speak.”

He blamed the NNPCL for the incident, asserting that the community awaits a joint investigation visit (JIV) to ascertain what actually went wrong, relief materials, compensation for the devastation of the environment as well as clean-up and remediation.

“The fault is NNPCL. We are only waiting for JIV and relief material and thereafter compensations based on the pollution that was caused; clean-up and remediation.”

Pollyn also told Kristina Reports that his community representatives and those of the NNPCL were engaging already on the matter via Zoom Conferencing, assuring that before Monday a lot of outlying issues would be sorted out.

“Yeah, they are having zoom meeting with us until after the JIV; on or before Monday, then every other process will follow suit.”  

The incident has raised concerns over adherence to safety protocols and global best practices in managing oil and gas facilities lately in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.

So far, the NNPCL has remained mute on the issue 24 hours after the incident, a posture, which appears to entrench the perception that the company would rather not be accountable as it has also remained mute almost five months after its pipeline at Iloma Community ruptured and spilled crude oil into the environment.