Minister tasks oil industry operators on spill eradication

The Federal Government has called for collaboration of oil and gas companies to eradicate oil spillage and its harmful effect on the environment.

The Minister of Environment, Mrs. Lawrencia Mallam, made the call while speaking in Abuja at the commissioning/hand-over ceremony of Geographic Information System, GIS, laboratory and oil spill detection equipment installed at the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, office in Abuja, said operators of the sector must join hands with government to ensure safe and cleaner environment.

She said the projects, which were funded by the Ecological Fund Office, EFO, would go a long way to make the job of NOSDRA easier and the environment better.

She said: “It is hoped that NOSDRA would deploy the procured equipment into effective usage by ensuring the early detection of any act of spillage in any part of the country.

“We have monitored closely the execution of this contract by the contractor, and are glad to note that the contractor executed the project according to specification and that the test run of the equipment had yielded encouraging results.

“We also note that the GIS equipment was installed in six locations nationwide, thereby providing a better coverage of the country. It is our hope that this project would enhance the capacity of NOSDRA to fulfil its core mandate.”

The GIS and laboratory were installed at NOSDRA offices in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, Uyo and Kaduna  respectively.