NDC STATEMENT ON THE POOR OPERATIONAL PRACTICES OF EXXON MOBIL IN NIGERIA
Our Ref: NDC/PS/019/2020
Wednesday 30th December, 2020
It has come to the notice of the Niger Delta Congress that Exxon Mobil’s operation in the Niger Delta within the last few years, and most especially the last few months, have failed to meet industry standards, bringing about devastating consequences.
The NDC can attest that in November 2020, communities in Eket and Ibeno were affected by spills from Mobil’s Qua Iboe Terminal and till this very day the communities affected are yet to be adequately compensated for the environmental degradation suffered and other losses; neither has the land been cleaned up to standards maintained in Mobil’s home country.
The general carelessness and apparent racist mode of operations as practiced by Mobil in Nigeria, due to the non-existent industry oversight by the Nigerian government, also led to an explosion at the Qua Iboe Terminal on December 12th 2020, leading to the loss of life of a Supervisor and the hospitalisation of others who survived the burns. The effect of this explosion has been the partial loss of functionality of QIT, leading to losses in hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil.
This would not be the first in recent times as a similar explosion occurred on the OSO platform in September 2019. The Niger Delta Congress notes that these occurrences would have been avoided, were the safety and other operation standards internationally obtainable in the oil industry duly followed and adhered to by Mobil.
The recklessness of Mobil and its immoral and largely illegal cost-cutting activities, which include job cuts in recent months, poses danger to not just the safety of the Niger Delta environment but also its people; staff of the company and inhabitants of the region. It must also be pointed out that the repercussions of Mobil’s poor operation practices are suppressed by the firm and as such hardly, if ever, makes the news, ensuring that affected communities and individuals do not get justice.
The Niger Delta Congress therefore calls on the political leadership of Akwa Ibom State and the Niger Delta, the Nigerian government, environmental rights groups, and the international community to put pressure on Mobil to desist from taking actions that endanger the lives of its staff, the Niger Delta environment, and inhabitants of the region.
STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE NDC:
Adokiye Oyagiri(Acting Spokesperson)
