FPSO:  Lawmakers Task FG To Investigate Trinity Spirit Explosion

The House of Representatives has advised the Federal Government to investigate the current surge of a Crude Oil Vessel at the Escravos Estuary in Niger Delta, Nigeria.

 

The house, during its plenary on Wednesday, specifically asked the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources to examine the reason for the surge on the Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessel (FPSO), the Trinity Spirit, to prevent a reoccurrence of the incident.

 

It likewise got in touch with the Federal Government to urgently reduce the results of the explosion on impacted communities by starting a clean-up of the contaminated waters and the coastlands, along with offer of relief materials and pay adequate settlement to those affected by the oil spill.

 

 

The house resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Julius Pondi from Burutu Federal Constituency in Delta State at plenary.

 

He kept in mind the report of a huge surge, which happened recently on a floating production storage and offloading crude oil vessel called the Trinity Spirit and its subsequent sinking off the coast of the nation at the Escravos Estuary in Delta State.

 

The lawmaker stated the event raised worries that the crew members on the vessel may have died in the fire blaze that engulfed the ship after the explosion.

 

Pondi explained that: “The Trinity Spirit Vessel was the primary production facility for the OML 108 in Nigeria’s offshore Ukpokiti oil field in the Niger Delta, with the capacity to process approximately twenty-two thousand barrels of petroleum each day with a storage capacity of 2 Million barrels.”

 

He expressed worry that the explosion of the vessel, which had 50,000 barrels of oil in storage when it exploded, has actually negatively impacted the nation’s economy, and may take a long period of time to recover.

 

He was also anxious about the ecological impact the surge has had on the surrounding and immediate coastal communities such as contamination of the waters, death of marine animals, and the dispersal of making it through fish, with its attendant financial difficulty on the people who are mainly seafood farmers.

 

He commended the help rendered by the Chevron team operating in the Escravos Estuary, the tidy Nigeria Associates, community stakeholders, and regional anglers who responded swiftly to save the burning vessel; cognizant of the need to urgently offer relief materials to the affected communities.

 

While embracing the motion, the House mandated its Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream) and Host Communities to perform an on-the-spot assessment of surge of petroleum vessels with a view to providing recommendations towards averting a reoccurrence.