Chevron Nigeria Ltd said on Tuesday that it would not pay any compensation for the January 2012 rig explosion off the Bayelsa coastline that resulted to fire.
Mr Deji Haastrup, General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa that Chevron was not responsible for the incident.
“The issue of compensation does not arise because the January 2012 rig incident occurred 10 kilometers offshore and did not adversely impact any community.
“Following the incident, the Nigeria Oil Spill Detection and Remediation Agency (NOSDRA), conducted post-incident environmental assessment and reported the results to the House of Representatives Committee on Environment.
“That report states that onshore air testing revealed no detectable levels of pollutants and water samples tested were within naturally acceptable standards,’’ it said.
Similarly, the result of the independent environmental studies carried out in the coastal communities by an independent third party after the incident, showed no adverse effects on air, water and the environment.
The study by the body was done in conjunction with the regulators — Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and NOSDRA.
“Also, an independent Health Impact Assessment found the incident did not adversely impact the health of inhabitants of the coastal communities, the closest of which was 10 kilometers to the incident location,’’ it said.
The statement, however, explained that an independent body, the Multi Stakeholder Committee (MSC) was set up to address the concerns of stakeholders who had made claims in connection with the incident.
“The MSC made several recommendations to CNL and the communities which included a goodwill gesture by Chevron to make an ex-Gratia contribution to support the development of the communities.
The statement said that most of the projects selected by the communities, in furtherance of the implementation of the recommendation by the MSC, has been completed and commissioned.
Youths from the Koluama II community in Bayelsa, had on Sept. 15, 2014 occupied the North Apoi oil platform operated by Chevron over non-payment of compensation for the rig blowout.
They, however, vacated the facility after officials of the oil firm opted for dialogue brokered by the Commander of the Joint Taskforce in the Niger Delta, Maj-Gen. Emmanuel Atewe.