Fire at an oil refinery in Africa’s largest oil producer, 100 dead

On April 23, a local government official and an environmental group said more than 100 people were killed in an accident Explosion at the illegal oil refinery on the border of the Niger River and Imo State.

The Guardian newspaper quoted Goodluck Opiah – commissioner in charge of oil resources of Imo state – as saying: “The fire broke out at an illegal oil extraction site, causing more than 100 people to burn to the point of death. identifiable.

The oil production site is located in the Ohaji-Egbema local government area of ​​Imo state in the Abaezi forest, between the two states’ border.

Unemployment and poverty in the Niger Delta make work oil Filter Illegal raw materials become an attractive business but with deadly consequences. Crude oil is extracted from a network of pipelines owned by major oil companies in the region and refined into product in temporary storage tanks.

The dangerous process has led to many fatal accidents and contaminated farmland, creeks and lagoons in an area already ravaged by the oil spill.

The Center for Environmental and Youth Advocacy said several vehicles lined up to buy illegal fuel were burned in the explosion.

The Governor of Rivers recently took action to clamp down on illegal refining in an effort to reduce worsening air pollution.

“The Governor of Rivers recently pushed to get rid of illegal oil refining in Rivers, so it has to be moved to the periphery and surrounding states. In the last month or two, there have been several raids and some of the security personnel involved have been dealt with,” said Ledum Mitee, former president of the Movement for the Survival of the People of Ogoni (Mosop). good.

At least 25 people, including several children, were killed in the explosion and fire at another illegal oil refinery in Rivers state in October.

In February, the local government said it had begun a crackdown to prevent the refining of stolen crude, but with little success.

Government officials estimate that Nigeria, the producer and oil export largest in Africa, losing an average of 200,000 barrels of oil a day – or more than 10% of production – to pipelines to exploit or sabotage.