Alabo Charlesye David Charles, President of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), has indicated that there is an urgent need to extinguish the flare and save the ecosystem and environment from its negative impact.
It should be remembered that borehole drilling activities caused a gas leak that caused a fire in the Emene area of Enugu state.
Charlesye hinted at this in a statement he made available to journalists in Abuja about the report’s findings.
The statement reads: “A team of professionals from the NMGS investigated the gas emission and flare encountered during the drilling of a water borehole at Caritas University Amorji Nike, Emene Enugu, Enugu State. The team interacted with the drillers, the members of the community and other stakeholders and also had immediate impression on the geology and geomorphology of the area.
“The team has since submitted their report and recommended as follows: There is urgent need to extinguish the flare and save the ecosystem and environment from its negative impact. This can be done by injecting a high-density cement slurry or drilling mud be forcefully reinjected into the borehole at high pressure to snuff off oxygen supply and kill the fire; Drilling a relief well to kill the pressure and kill the flare may not be feasible because the subsurface geology and structure of the area are not understood.”
“Relevant authorities should liaise with experts in the management of blowout and flares in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria on the best method to be deployed in extinguishing the flare; Future deep borehole drilling in areas generally underlain by shales, irrespective of drilling history, should employ rotary drilling method using appropriate drilling mud to limit the effect of blowouts since drilling mud helps maintain pressure balance in wells.”
“In addition, Professional bodies like the NMGS with highly experienced and well-trained geoscientists should be involved in efforts by agencies of government and other organizations to find solutions to this hazard and further investigate the gas resources of the area.”
“Detailed geological and geophysical studies should be carried out in the area and environs to help unravel the subsurface structure, stratigraphy and hydrocarbon prospects of the area and by extension of the southern Benue Trough and Anambra Basin.”
“If the gas resource in the area is found to be substantial, the federal government and Enugu State Government should develop a framework to harness the gas resources to enhance industrialization and job creation for the benefit of the state and the nation”, he stressed.
The Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) is the professional and scientific umbrella organization for all Geoscientists and Mining Engineers in the Solid Minerals, Oil and Gas, Water, and Metallurgical sectors, with over 10,000 members from both the private and public sectors.
The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG), and the Petroleum Training Institute, among others, have statutory representation in the NMGS.
The NMGS has played critical roles in the development of the nation’s natural resources as the foremost professional body in Nigeria, with a pool of highly experienced and well-trained professionals.
