In the wake of the fire outbreak at Cawthorne Channel 1 in Kalaibiama Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has condemned the recent incessant malfunctioning of well-heads operated by multinationals due to negligence.

The recent incident involved flow stations in Cawthorne Channel 1 linked to OML 18 in Alakiri in Okrika LGA jointly operated by NNPC Eighteen Operating Limited, NNPC Limited and OML 18 Energy Limited.

According to a statement the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, a fire broke out on the dry crude storage barge BESTAF5 at Cawthorne Channel 1, Rivers State, spreading to other barges at approximately 14:10 hours on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.

He stated that “thanks to the swift response of our emergency teams and industry partners, the fire was successfully contained. The incident did not impact on flow station operations”.

But the Ijaw Youth Council, through the Chairman of its Kalabari Se-Ikpangi, Dappaye Dappa expressed cocern over the incident, saying it was not comfortable “with reports emanating from the boundary between Degema LGA and Bonny LGA in Rivers State, where fire has engulfed two NNPC flow stations near Cawthorne Channel 1”.

It expressed serious reservations over “the continuous experiences of the same area in less than six months, asserting that the Council “frowns and condemns the incessant malfunctioning of oil well-heads operated by multinationals due to their negligence”.

He recounted the incidences of fire outbreaks in Elem Krakrama Community, a high-pressure gas pipeline leakage point and devastating fire outbreak at Wellhead 008 in Bukuma Community, both in Degema LGA; the Kala Ekwe crude oil well-head leakage and spillage in Asari-Toru LGA, and now another one in Kalaibiama in Bonny LGA.

He noted that these were all malfunctioned or failed facilities, calling for the relevant authorities to look into why equipment failures at the oil and gas facilities in the OML 18 area, especially, Alakiri and Cawthorne Channel 1 would cause raging fires that are ravaging communities.

He stated that if these continuous environmental degradation, destruction of sources of livelihood in the aquatic region, pollution and hazards to health, destruction of properties worth millions of Naira, and loss of lives persists, it would not bode well with the people of the area.

Dappa, therefore called on the operators of the various facilities to take swift action to curb these ugly incidents and ensure adherence to global best practices in management of oil and gas facilities.