Akwa Ibom communities demand action on abandoned oil wells

Residents of oil-bearing communities in Ikono and Ibiono Ibom local government areas of Akwa Ibom State have called for urgent assessment, remediation and protection of abandoned oil wells and other ageing petroleum infrastructure, saying decades of neglect have exposed their livelihoods and environment to pollution.

The residents made the demand on Wednesday during a community dialogue organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) at Ikot Enua, Ikono LGA, where participants shared accounts of oil pollution, declining agricultural yields, damaged ecosystems and alleged illegal activities around abandoned oil facilities.

HOMEF said the dialogue was convened to enable communities to identify environmental and socio-economic concerns, build consensus around priority issues and develop recommendations for engagement with government agencies and other relevant stakeholders.

The gathering comes months after environmental groups and community leaders at the fifth Niger Delta Alternatives Convergence in Uyo demanded an audit of abandoned oil wells across the region, describing leaking and undecommissioned facilities as threats to lives, ecosystems and public health.

It also follows PREMIUM TIMES reports documenting continuing pollution from ageing oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta, including abandoned wells in Ogoniland and long-burning wellhead fires in parts of the region.

‘Abandoned wells are ticking time bombs’

Speaking at the dialogue, HOMEF Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey, said communities in the Niger Delta were increasingly bearing the consequences of oil infrastructure that had been abandoned without adequate decommissioning or environmental restoration.

He cited situations in Bille, Rivers State, and Awoye, Ondo State, where abandoned oil infrastructure has reportedly continued to pose environmental risks, including a fire that residents say has been burning since 2020.

Mr Bassey described abandoned oil wells in the Niger Delta as “ticking time bombs”.

He said the discovery of oil in a community was often celebrated without adequate consideration of the environmental liabilities that could remain long after production or exploration had stopped.

“While many celebrate when oil is found, communities most times are not aware that the problem sometimes is more than celebration,” he said.

He charged host communities to develop strong voices in decisions concerning oil facilities in their areas, describing participation in decisions affecting their environment as a matter of procedural justice.

Mr Bassey also said environmental justice involves the protection of non-human life, saying the rights of ecosystems, animals and other living organisms must be considered in decisions concerning oil extraction.

“Humans are not the only living beings. There are other beings. They also have the right to a healthy living,” he said.

He argued that the cost of cleaning up oil pollution could exceed the economic benefits derived from extraction.

He said the meeting would help communities develop an action plan that would be presented to relevant government agencies.

Mr Bassey said the existence of capped oil wells and wellheads for several decades did not automatically mean that they posed no environmental risk.

According to him, such facilities could still require technical assessment, decommissioning, remediation and environmental restoration.

His position aligns with his earlier calls for comprehensive environmental and health audits of polluted Niger Delta communities and more checks on oil companies and regulators.

‘We have been complaining for decades’

At Ikot Enua, residents showed PREMIUM TIMES a standing wellhead popularly known as a “Christmas Tree”.

The HOMEF field report presented at the meeting by Umo Isua-ikoh, coordinator of Peace Point Development Foundation, stated that the well was discovered and capped in 1958, with residents reporting that they had been told the oil was not commercially viable at the time.

During the visit, PREMIUM TIMES observed what appeared to be traces of oil around the wellhead and heard a faint sound coming out from it.

The report called for clear documentation of the status, integrity, ownership and environmental risks the asset poses before any intervention.

Residents said the well had been described to them as commercially unviable when it was drilled, but that they had also been told it could become economically viable in the future.

Trust Udoh of Uyo Afaha Nkan Community in Ikono said his farmland at Idim Etok, a swampy area where another oil well was reportedly abandoned in 1958, had been affected by oil spills.

He said the community had complained repeatedly to the authorities and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), including through a report made in 2002.

“Why I came to this meeting was to still make my complaint known because my community has been suffering from oil spills for over 50 years,” he said.

“We have made several reports about it, yet there is no response. We have written to Shell and the then DPR and NUPRC recently, yet no response.”

PREMIUM TIMES sighted a document dated 2002 and addressed to Shell’s Lands and Legal Department in Port Harcourt.

The document, titled “Environmental and Health Effects of Abandoned SPDC Exploration/Drilling Locations at Ikot Udo Enang and Catchment Sedimentary Basin (OML 12, 1958–2002)”, was submitted by the Executive Council of Ikot Udo Enang Village, Ediene Clan, alongside Uyo Afaha Nkan Village and the Engineering and Technical Services Committee of Ndiya Youth Progressive Union.

The document contained complaints about the environmental and health consequences allegedly associated with abandoned exploration and drilling locations and called for remediation

Residents also raised concerns about alleged illegal bunkering around abandoned oil assets.

They said people involved in the activities sometimes moved into the communities with armed men who shot into the air, creating fear among residents.

The concerns have added a security dimension to the environmental risks associated with poorly monitored abandoned petroleum facilities.

In August, the chairman of Ikono Local Government Area led security operatives to dismantle an alleged oil bunkering facility at Ediene Atai, a community close to Ikot Enua.

The HOMEF field report identified Ediene Atai as one of the locations where alleged illegal bunkering activity had occurred around an abandoned oil asset.

According to the report, the situation highlights how poorly monitored petroleum infrastructure could provide opportunities for crude oil theft and other illegal activities.

Communities seek protection, empowerment

The Village Head of Ikot Idaha, Ikono, Kingsley Ekpo, said residents often observed oil sheen on streams, particularly during the rainy season.

He called on the government to clean up the affected environment.

Isong Udoette, a youth from Ikot Enua, said young people in host communities were often the first to know when vandals planned to interfere with abandoned oil facilities.

But he said some could be tempted to cooperate with illegal operators because the abandoned assets offered no visible benefit to their communities.

He called for the training and empowerment of young people to monitor and protect the facilities.

Abandoned assets documented

The report identified three abandoned capped oil wells in Ntan Mbat/Adarabom in Ibiono Ibom LGA, an aged pipeline located in a swamp of Ikot Uba/Edem Urua which is largely covered by vegetation. It also identified an oil installation at Ikot Idaha.

HOMEF said the community dialogue was intended beyond documenting complaints but to translate residents’ experiences into an action plan for engagement with government agencies and other decision-makers.

The organisation said such a process would combine capacity sharing, knowledge exchange, community consensus building and the development of community-informed policy recommendations.