ExxonMobil says there’s no oil leak from its Akwa Ibom facility

Ogechukwu Udeagha, the regional communication manager, ExxonMobil, says there is no oil spill from its facility in Akwa Ibom State.

Mr Udeagha said in a statement in Eket on Tuesday that no official report identified the company’s facility as a potential source of any oil leak.

He was reacting to a protest on Monday by youths of Ibeno Local Government Area, alleging massive oil leak from ExxonMobil facility.

He said: “There has been no release of oil from any of our facilities, we are not the only operator in the area.

“A preliminary government agency inspection report on the alleged incident did not identify any of our facilities as a potential source.

“The protection of the environment and our host communities remains a key priority in our operations,” Mr Udeagha said.

It would be recalled that youths from Ibeno Local Government Area, took to the streets on Monday to protest alleged oil spill in the area.

Paul Essiet, a community leader, told reporters that oil leak from an ExxonMobil facility had polluted the community’s sources of livelihood.

“We are angry because oil spill from a facility belonging to ExxonMobil has polluted our farmlands and rivers.

“Farming and fishing activities have been put to a halt since the spill began about a week ago,” he said.

He urged the company to take responsibility by commencing negotiation with community in order to ensure immediate containment and remediation.

(NAN)