Gbaramatu oil spill: Multinationals oil companies are not committed to environmental sustainability – Mulade

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

A reknown Niger Delta En­vironmentalist and Human Rights Crusader, Chief Sheriff Mulade said multinational oil companies are not committed to environmental sustainability.
Mulade made the disclosure in an interview with journalists recently.
He said Chevron (Nig) Ltd’s last week failed to accept responsibility for the Gbaramatu oil spill that had continued to ravage the area for almost two month now.
He described as a deliber­ate plan to undermine the wellbeing and environment of the people living in the affected communities.
He pointed out that,Chevrons claimed that its facilities in the af­fected area were not respon­sible for the oil spill because the pressure in its control room did not indicate that there was a leakage,a drop somewhere was not tenable.
The expert said Chevron should be honest enough to re-examine its claim as there could be system failure that had made it difficult for it to detect the leakage from its facilities in the affected area.
Though, admitting that Chevron shares facilities with the Nigeria Petroleum Devel­opment Company (NPDC), field Jones Creek flowstation former SPDC in the affected area, the Chevron’s 16 inches Crude Line runs from Makaraba, through Otunana to Abiteye and the leakage is between Otunana and Abiteye.
He said, from the detailed investigations carried out by his NGO- Center for Peace and Environmental Justice CEPEJ, on the oil spill, the leakage was at the centre of Nana River, located between Kokodiag­bane and Benikrukru.
The two communities are adjacent and opposite each other, while in-between them is the Nana River that is a ship line route, where all vessels pass through to Sapele, Koko and Lagos ports, Chief Mulade said.