Economy
Nembe Oil Spill: Expert Wants Preservation of Failed Wellhead for Analysis
By Adedapo Adesanya
An American university professor, Rick Steiner, has said between 532,000 and 1,064,000 barrels of crude oil has been spilt in the Nembe Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 blowout, making the blowout one of the largest in world history.
Mr Steiner in a letter to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited advised that the failed wellhead of the Nembe oil spill should be preserved for independent engineering forensic analysis to determine the cause of failure.
The professor, who is the Technical Advisor to the Ijaw Diaspora Council, said the failed wellhead should be assessed by either the US offshore oil regulatory agency, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and or Det Norsk Veritas (DNV) in Norway.
He maintained that the Nembe spill was much larger than government and industry statements suggest to date, and it would be prudent to correct those estimates.
“I understand that the Nembe OML 29 blowout may have been killed as of December 8, 2021, and as Technical Advisor to the Ijaw Diaspora Council, I wanted to provide you with my estimate of total discharge.
“If we assume 1-2 cubic feet of discharge per second (a very reasonable assumption), and that the blowout first occurred on November 1 (as reported by the Nembe communities), then the release lasted for a total of 38 days. This would have released a total of 532,000 barrels – 1,064,000 barrels of oil and gas, making the Nembe OML 29 blowout one of the largest in world history.
“Now that the blowout has apparently been killed, I urge you to preserve the failed wellhead for independent engineering forensic analysis to determine the cause of failure. The wellhead must be preserved as evidence, in standard criminal evidentiary procedures, to prevent any further alteration or adulteration, and then submitted to independent assessment.
“The people of Nigeria clearly deserve an independent assessment of what caused this catastrophic failure, and this is essential in preventing a repeat of this catastrophic failure in the future.
“I encourage the failed wellhead infrastructure to be assessed by either the U.S. offshore oil regulatory agency – the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and/or Det Norsk Veritas (DNV) in Norway.
“Absent of a rigorous chain-of-custody, evidentiary preservation process for the failed equipment, and independent forensic evaluation, the true cause of the failure will never be conclusively determined.”
The university don regretted that the oil industry and government have been in the negative habit of underestimating oil spill volume, as was clearly seen in the 2010 United States’ deepwater horizon.
“A good example of the industry/government habit to underestimate spill volume was the 2010 Deepwater Horizon here in the U.S. BP and the US government first stated the flow rate from the failed seabed wellhead was 1,000 – 5,000 bbls/ day, and they clung to that estimate for some time (even though their internal engineers, and we, told them the flow was much higher).
“When an exact measure was finally conducted, using Particle Image Velocimetry and other engineering methodologies (by the Flow Rate Technical Group), the Macondo blowout outflow was put at 62,000 bbls/day. Again, this seems to always happen with spill volume estimates.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to raise its oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May.
Eight members of OPEC+, comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, agreed to the increase in May quota at a virtual meeting on Sunday, OPEC+ said in a statement.
However, the rise will be in theory, as its key members are unable to raise production due to the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has affected production.
The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil route, since the end of February and cut exports from some OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq. These are the only countries in the group which were able to significantly raise production even before the conflict began.
Besides the disruptions affecting Gulf members, others, such as Russia, are unable to increase output due to Western sanctions and damage to infrastructure inflicted during the war with Ukraine. For Nigeria, even as Africa’s largest producer, it has not been able to keep production quotas steady.
The OPEC+ quota increase of 206,000 barrels per day represents less than 2 per cent of the supply disrupted by the Hormuz closure, but it signals readiness to raise output once the waterway reopens.
Also meeting on Sunday, a separate OPEC+ panel called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), expressed concern about attacks on energy assets, saying they were expensive and time-consuming to repair and so have an impact on supply.
May’s OPEC+ increase is the same as the eight members had agreed for April at their last meeting held on March 1, just as the war began to disrupt oil flows.
A month later, the largest oil supply disruption on record is estimated to have removed as many as 12 to 15 million barrels per day or up to 15 per cent of global supply.
The eight OPEC+ members have raised production quotas by about 2.9 million barrels per day from April 2025 through December 2025, before pausing increases for January to March 2026. The sub-group holds its next meeting on May 3.
Market analysts have warned that oil prices could hit $150 per barrel if the closure of the strait is prolonged and continues, due to damage to energy assets across the critical Middle East region.
As of the time of this report, Brent crude is trading at $108 per barrel, below the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude at $109 per barrel.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Workers at Seplat Energy will resume work after a strike action that impacted production was called off by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over the weekend, with the company issuing written commitments on pay rises.
Top employees began an indefinite strike last Friday as talks over a collective bargaining agreement and staff welfare issues broke down. The action came at a time when Nigeria is seeking to maximise production amid rising global oil prices.
According to Reuters, in an April 4 letter to the chief executive of Seplat Nigeria, Mr Roger Brown, PENGASSAN said it had directed members at the local energy firm to immediately suspend industrial action after negotiations resumed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. Other less-skilled workers are covered by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and did not partake in the strike with PENGASSAN.
The union said talks on a 2026 collective bargaining agreement would continue, with the aim of concluding outstanding issues by April 13. However, according to the publication, the union did not disclose more details about its financial demands.
“We can confirm that the union has suspended its notice of industrial action to allow negotiations to conclude on outstanding items within an agreed framework,” Seplat spokesperson, Mr Ogechukwu Udeagha, said, adding that “operations are recommencing at our various locations.”
Seplat Energy’s group production averaged 131,506 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, according to its latest audited results. That is the equivalent of around 7 per cent–9 per cent of Nigeria’s total liquids production.
The company expects output to rise to 155,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, making any sustained disruption particularly sensitive for Nigeria’s supply outlook. This comes as it seeks to scale production while remaining a major supplier of gas to Nigeria’s domestic power market.
With the company’s output expected to rise, any prolonged disruption would have significantly impacted Nigeria’s oil supply and fiscal outlook.
By Dipo Olowookere
The weekly turnover of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited shrank by 27.70 per cent or 1.094 billion equities, partly due to the inability of market participants to trade last Friday as a result of the Good Friday public holiday declared by the federal government.
In the week, investors bought and sold 2.856 billion equities worth N113.597 billion in 215,287 deals versus the 3.950 billion equities valued at N201.312 billion transacted in 359,642 deals in the preceding week.
The activity chart was led by the financial services industry with 1.811 billion shares valued at N61.901 billion in 86,818 deals, contributing 63.41 per cent and 54.49 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The services sector traded 299.895 million stocks worth N2.966 billion in 13,797 deals, and the ICT segment exchanged 183.233 million equities for N14.654 billion in 25,287 deals.
Wema Bank, Access Holdings, and Secure Electronic Technology accounted for 734.659 million shares worth N14.134 billion in 12,319 deals, contributing 25.72 per cent and 12.44 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
Data from the NGX said 29 stocks gained weight versus 47 stocks of the previous week, as 57 shares lost weight versus 45 shares in the preceding week, while 62 equities closed flat versus 56 equities a week earlier.
Multiverse led the gainers’ chart after it gained 20.66 per cent to trade at N20.15, UPDC REIT appreciated by 15.49 per cent to N8.20, International Energy Insurance chalked up 12.54 per cent to quote at N3.32, Austin Laz grew by 10.47 per cent to N4.43, and Unilever Nigeria rose by 10.00 per cent to N103.40.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology topped the losers’ table after it lost 21.54 per cent to close at N1.02, John Holt declined by 18.47 per cent to N15.45, May and Baker depreciated by 16.57 per cent to N35.00, Aluminium Extrusion moderated by 16.27 per cent to N10.55, and Legend Internet slipped by 16.00 per cent to N6.30.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 0.39 per cent to 201,698,89 points, and the market capitalisation rose by 0.65 per cent to N129.806 trillion.
In the same vein, all other indices finished higher apart from the main board, insurance, MERI Value, consumer goods, industrial goods and growth indices, which went down by 0.29 per cent, 4.25 per cent, 0.36 per cent, 1.74 per cent, 0.24 per cent, and 0.06 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.
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