Akwa Ibom: CSO Demands Remediation, Compensation From Seplat Over Unusual Gas Flare At QIT

WEDNESDAY April 2, 2025 |
By thenewsdesk.ng

Worried by what it described as an “unusual gas flare” at the Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT) in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State, the Ibom Peoples’ Empowerment and Ecosystem Restoration Foundation (Ibom PEER Foundation) has called on oil giant Seplat Energy PLC to remediate and compensate the local communities in the area.

Seplat operates at the Qua Iboe Export Terminal (QIT) in Ibeno, which experienced a tremendous gas flare on March 25, 2025.

Alarmed by the incident, Ibom PEER Foundation, in a statement on Tuesday by its Executive Director, Mr. Mfon Gabriel, said the oil company should put measures in place to ensure that such a hazardous incident does not repeat itself.

Gabriel, who stated that his team and other community actors witnessed the flare, explained that the heat was felt several kilometers from QIT, burning as though it was an explosion caused by leakage from an oil well, beyond what the flare stack could handle.

He regretted that such an incident occurred when oil and gas companies should be implementing their natural gas elimination and monetization plans submitted to the NUPRC in accordance with Section 108 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, aiming to end routine gas flaring in existing sites by 2030 with the Zero Routine Flaring target for 2030.

The CSO, therefore, called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to provide data on the volume of gas flared and methane emitted.

It further called on the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to impose stiffer sanctions on Seplat Energy PLC to serve as a deterrent to other companies operating outside acceptable safety practices.

The statement partly read, “We call on Seplat Energy PLC to come clean and explain the cause of this unusual flare, and state the measures they have put in place immediately to remediate the environment and compensate the local communities in the Ibeno area, as well as prevent the recurrence of this environmentally destructive incident.”

“The unusual gas flare at QIT is outside acceptable safety practice under established regulations. As stewards of the ecosystem, we condemn this irresponsible act that is further depleting the ozone layer and driving all varieties of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms in the QIT area and Ibeno into extinction or making the environment uninhabitable for local people.”