Oil Flow Station Explosion in Imo Kills Two

By Adedapo Adesanya

An explosion at an oil flow station in the oil-producing community of Izombe in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State has claimed the lives of two persons, according to Channels Television.

It was gathered that the explosion occurred in the early hours of Wednesday at the facility operated by Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited.

Mr Micheal Abattam, the Police Public Relations Officer in Imo, confirming the incident, explained that the Commissioner of Police in Imo immediately drafted the command’s anti-bomb unit, as well as some operatives of the command to the area to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

An eyewitness in the community also disclosed to Channels TV that the two persons affected in the explosion were carriers of the bomb, adding that the victims were allegedly trying to find their way into the flow station through the entrance when the bomb exploded and killed them.

Addax Petroleum is one of the two oil companies located in the Izombe community. In recent times, the community has been a hotbed of insecurity and violence.

The most recent is the clash between some youths in the area and officials of the Nigeria Army which left many dead and several houses destroyed.

This is coming weeks after more than 100 people died from an explosion at an illegal oil refinery depot located on the border of Rivers and Imo States.

Illegal crude refining is common in Nigeria’s southern-oil region where oil thieves vandalise pipelines to steal crude which they refine to sell on the black market as most people in the oil-producing Niger delta live in poverty.

This latest event will likely lead to a force majeure, an inability to deliver contractual obligations, and further reduce Nigeria’s capacity to produce more crude in line with its international expectations.

Business Post had reported that Nigeria alongside Libya contributed heavily to the inability of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to meet its production target in April.