The pipeline fire, which began in the early hours of Friday, at a vandalised condensate pipeline in the outskirts of Otor-Udu, Ughelli South Local Council, Delta State, was finally put out yesterday by a contingent of fire fighters from Shell.
The company stated that investigations into the cause and impact of the inferno would be concluded tomorrow.
Several of the vandals, who ruptured the pipeline, an unconfirmed source said, were killed in the fire, while several others received severe burns and had been rushed to nearby hospitals.
The fire started during the theft of condensate (a highly inflammable substance used to power special machines) on the Shell Petroleum Development Company 10-inch Utorogu-Ughelli pumping station condensate trunk line.
It was feared the fire was caused by a faulty pumping tool.
The remote location of the burning site, The Guardian learnt, hampered access by fire fighters to the site. The scene is a swampy soft-soil environment in the middle of a forest
Shell had cut off the pipeline and had also shut down its Utorogu Gas Plant. The firm also dispatched its emergency team to the site.
In a statement yesterday, the firm said the fire was reported on Friday and it quickly informed the relevant government agencies and mobilized a fire fighting team to the area.
A Joint Investigation Team, comprising regulators, government agencies, community representatives and Shell officials, visited the area yesterday to ascertain the cause of the fire and its impact. In the meantime, SPDC declared a Force Majeure on gas supplies to the national grid. Some 300 million standard cubic feet of gas has been deferred.
The fire, according to Shell, reinforces a recent trend of large-scale theft of condensate from SPDC facilities.
The Deputy Governor of Delta State, Prof. Amos Utuama, who visited the scene of the fire, expressed sadness that such an incident was still happening despite government's war against pipeline vandalism.
He said the fire had destroyed the environment and had displaced a lot of the people living in the nearby communities.
FROM CHIDO OKAFOR, WARRI
The Guardian
Sunday, October 14, 2007
