Chevron Confirms Oil Well Fire Incident, Says It’s Caused By Third-party Interference

The management of Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, has confirmed the reported fire outbreak at one of its oil well in Ondo state.

CNL which operates a joint venture (JV) between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and CNL (NNPC/CNL JV) says the fire occurred at the Ojumole Well No. 1, an idle and plugged well with no flow-line connected to it.

The incident happened at about 10:00 p.m. Thursday, April 18, but caused by third-party interference, a statement from the company says.

The statement said there was however no impact to any of the neighboring communities.

Chevron said it has conducted an overflight to evaluate the fire and also mobilized emergency responders to assess the site, contain the fire and boom the area.

CNL also says it has notified community stakeholders about the incident and also reported it to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and other regulatory and security authorities.

“A Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the site of the incident on Saturday April 20, by a team made up of regulatory agencies, community stakeholders and CNL, determined that the fire incident was caused by third-party interference. There was however no impact to any of the neighboring communities.

“CNL is currently working with contractors to safely put out the fire as quickly as possible.

“CNL remains committed to the safety of the communities and the environment in its areas of operation, promising to conduct their operations safely, reliably and efficiently, with utmost consideration for protection of people and the environment”, the statement said.