Uzere residents panic as gas fire sparks threaten lives
Sixty-eight years after oil was discovered in commercial quantities in Uzere, this Delta community is choking on its own wealth. The wells are sinking, crude oil is gushing, and the ground itself is flammable with gas bubbles in farms and even roads. Sadly, the community is the second place crude oil was discovered in commercial quantities after Oloibiri, Bayelsa State in Nigeria.
Our correspondent captures the ugly situation in the Isoko-speaking part of the Niger-Delta region.
By Ochuko Akuopha
More than six decades after oil was first discovered beneath its soil, Uzere, one of Nigeria’s most historic oil-producing communities is living a nightmare that refuses to end.
Located in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, this community holds a distinction: it is reputed to be the second place in Nigeria where crude oil was struck. Today, it is also one of the most dangerous places to call home.
Uzere hosts two Oil Mining Leases — OMLs 28 and 30 — operated by NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) and Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited (HEOSL). But the black gold beneath the earth has brought anything but fortune to the people above it.
Anxiety in the community reached fever pitch in the early hours of June 26, 2026, when Oil Well 14 in OML 30 suddenly erupted.
The well’s Christmas Tree — the critical assembly of valves used to control the flow of oil and gas — sank into the soil, unleashing a relentless discharge of crude oil, mud, sludge, condensate, and water into the surrounding area.
Terrified residents hoped the nightmare would end within days. Instead, it dragged on for nearly two months.
Throughout that period, the company deployed a fleet of tankers — sometimes as many as 35 per day — to evacuate the escaping crude and associated fluids. When the eruption finally subsided, it did so on its own. No repair. No explanation. No reassurance.
Barely two months after Well 14’s eruption, a fresh wave of fear has swept through Uzere. Residents and natives observe that gas was rising from beneath the ground everywhere.
Uncontrolled emissions were reported at numerous locations across the community. Residents watched in horror as gas bubbles surfaced in waterlogged farmlands and along roadsides. In the London Base area of Uweye Quarter, gas escaping through dry ground was found to be flammable.
Then, just last week, another suspected oil leak was discovered around Well 1 — the very first oil well drilled in 1957 — and Well 3, both in OML 28.
“The place is under water because it is flooded, but if you go there, you will see bubbles coming out,” a community source told NDV.
“We are under siege,” Mr. Columbus Oguname, Chairman of the Oil and Gas Committee in Uzere said. “The community has been living under a state of emergency since June.
“It has not been easy for the entire community. First, it was Well 14, where there was continuous eruption and the company was evacuating crude, water, and sludge with up to 20 to 35 tankers every day for almost two months continuously. It was terrible. But God helping us, the eruption stopped on its own.
“As we speak today, there is a leak all over Uzere. If you see where water is gathered in Uzere, the water will be like boiling water because gas is coming from the ground. And if you strike a match on the ordinary ground in Uzere, it will catch fire because of the gas that is coming out, “ he said.
Oguname blamed the widespread gas leaks on the oil well eruption, which he said has destabilized the earth beneath the community.
“That is what is causing trouble underneath the ground in the entire Uzere. We have written to government agencies and the international community,” he said.
Residents living in affected areas have reportedly been evacuated to safer ground.
Chief Idu Amadhe, former President-General of the Isoko Development Union (IDU), the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Isoko nation, did not mince words when he said: “We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder.”
Amadhe attributed the unfolding disaster to equipment failure caused by decades of using obsolete facilities.
“Uzere, being one of the first communities where oil was discovered in 1957, most of the equipment that the oil companies are using since Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), are very obsolete. So what is happening now is attributable to equipment failure.
“What the oil companies need to do is to have a plan of coming to replace most of the equipment. Otherwise, this kind of operation in Uzere will continue.
“When the incident in Well 14 happened, we thought that was going to be the only challenge. Since some weeks ago, we are now seeing gas coming from different parts of Uzere, so everybody is afraid.
“We need experts to come and do proper investigation to know whether it was what happened in Well 14 that has gone underground to affect those areas. Nobody can tell. That is why I am saying we need experts to come and investigate the cause. Otherwise, we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder, “ he added.
Chief Emmanuel Ekebe, former President-General of the community, called on the government and oil operators to conduct a holistic assessment of Uzere — a place where oil has been explored for 68 years.
“There is a need to pay particular attention to the area. As we speak, more oil wells have been discovered. About two or three are undergoing process. That means Uzere is sitting on oil and gas, “ he stressed.
Lawmakers spring into action
The crisis has finally reached the floor of the Delta State House of Assembly and the House of Representatives.
Chief Ferguson Onwo, member representing Isoko South 2 Constituency, moved a motion under matters of urgent public importance during Wednesday’s plenary, calling for intervention over the devastating oil spills and gas leakages threatening lives and livelihoods.
Speaking with NDV, Onwo expressed fury at the handling of the situation by oil companies.
“They have not done any meaningful cleanup. Everywhere is littered, and of course, nobody can go fishing again in that area. Even the farmlands cannot produce anything again because oil is floating over the cassava and everything else the people have planted. Even on the ground, there is ongoing gas leakage from underneath everywhere,” he lamented.
In a related development, Hon. Jonathan Ukodhiko, member representing Isoko North and South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, visited Uzere for an on-the-spot assessment of the devastation.
Ukodhiko called for urgent intervention to contain the gas leak and assured residents that he would work with relevant authorities to ensure the incident received the attention it deserved.
Describing the situation as a major environmental and public health concern, the lawmaker warned that its effects could extend far beyond the immediate vicinity of the leak. He assured residents that remedial work would be undertaken once floodwaters receded.
Oborevwori orders remediation
Meanwhile, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, has directed Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited (HEOSL) to ensure comprehensive remediation of environmental damage caused by the oil spill.
Oborevwori gave the directive during a visit to the oil spill sites in the community, assuring that his administration will ensure oil companies operating in the area meet their obligations to host communities affected by oil spills and other environmental challenges.
The governor, who said the company had commenced containment and cleanup operations after preliminary engagements with host communities, stressed that the exercise must be followed by appropriate remediation to restore the affected environment.
He urged HEOSL to sustain engagement with the communities and address their legitimate concerns, assuring residents that the government remained committed to ensuring a satisfactory resolution of the incident.
He cautioned residents against interpreting the time taken to address some of their complaints as lack of commitment by the government, insisting that due process and established procedures must be followed.
“Delay is not denial. There are procedures and processes, and that is the reason for any delay. I am here with the Commissioners for Oil and Gas, Environment and Youth Development, Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, to see things for ourselves, meet with the host community and engage with the company,” he said.
Manager, Government and Community Relations of Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited, Dr. Jeremiah Oharisi, said the company received information about gas build-up at the well on June 27.
He explained that the well had two production strings, known as Lima and Syria, which were shut down in 2019 and 2023, respectively, leaving it inactive before the incident.
He further explained that gas accumulated in the reservoir and eventually forced its way to the surface, causing bubbling and the escape of some crude oil.
Oharisi said the company immediately activated emergency response measures, including securing the affected area, sensitising the host community, evacuating residents from the vicinity and deploying fire trucks. He added that efforts were also initiated to contain and recover the escaping crude
Uzere’s ground burns, its waters bubble with gas, and its farmlands drown in crude. How much longer must this community pay for the rich oil resources beneath its feet?
68 years after oil discovery in Uzere which sustains the nation’s economy, the area still remains underdeveloped, the people live in penury.
For now, the community sits on a keg of gunpowder and it could ignite at any moment . Amadhe called for urgent actions to avert another major crisis in the oil-rich Uzere community.
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