Massive Oil Spill Causes Environmental Disaster in Niger
The Ministry of Energy announced an environmental disaster caused by an oil and gas leak in the Niger desert.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
A massive spill of oil and gas in a remote desert area in eastern Niger has caused an “extremely serious” environmental incident, according to the country’s Ministry of Energy, which announced the incident yesterday.
In a statement broadcast on state television, the ministry said the massive spill occurred at the “Goumoury W8” well, located approximately 1,700 kilometers from the capital, Niamey, on September 25.
It added that the incident resulted in an “extremely serious environmental disaster... with large quantities of crude oil and gas spraying into the air to a height exceeding ten meters.”
Footage aired during the evening news showed crude oil spraying several meters into the air, while an oil slick stretched for hundreds of meters across the ground.
Niger began oil production in 2011, extracting and refining tens of thousands of barrels daily, particularly in the Agadem region.
