Reuters
Oil gushing from Nigerian wellhead blasts hopes of those living nearby
Three weeks after the Santa Barbara wellhead failed, it is still blasting water, gas and oil across Nembe in Nigeria’s Delta, littering the shoreline and water with yellow-brown clumps of waste as cleanup crews and booms struggle to contain it. Santa Barbara wellhead owner Aiteo Eastern E&P, the petroleum minister and Nigeria’s president have all promised that specialist workers would quickly stop the spill. But experts say the difficulties containing it are a reminder of how the once-fertile, fish-filled creeks, mangrove swamps and waterways that crisscross Nigeria’s Delta became some of the most polluted areas on the planet amid decades of energy exploration.
