Page 6 - AfrOil Week 16 2022

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil

Tunisia welcomes help to limit damage

after tanker sinks off Gulf of Gabes

TUNISIA A fuel-laden ship sailing from the Egyptian port Ministry announced in a statement that it was
of Damietta to Malta sank off Tunisia’s south- ready to co-operate with other countries to limit
eastern Gulf of Gabes on Saturday, April 16, due environmental damage from the incident. Italy
to bad weather, but the Tunisian transport min- has reportedly send a naval vessel specialising
istry says no leakage of fuel was found immedi- in dealing with marine disasters to Tunisia for
ately, according to state news agency TAP. this purpose.
The tanker, named the Xelo, was Equatorial Mjidi said on April 19 that the situation was
Guinea-flagged and was loaded with 750 tonnes under control and that no leakage of oil had
of diesel. Tunisia’s Transport Ministry said it been recorded so far. Meanwhile, Environment
had immediately initiated an investigation of Minister Laila Chikaoui said the country would
the incident. determine the losses later and seek compensa-
As of April 18, a navy team was using tugs to tion. ™
refloat the Xelo, and anti-pollution barriers were
being installed in the area. Transport Minister
Rabii Mjidi said the technicians will carefully
pump the fuel from tanks to avoid any leakage
or pollution risks. The Environment Ministry
also said it was co-ordinating with the various
parties involved within the National Emergency
Response Plan.
The Transport Ministry further reported
that the Tunisian navy had rescued all seven
crew members before the shipwreck. It stated
that the Xelo had been docked at the port of Sfax
between April 4 and April 8 to change the crew
and make minor repairs.
The following day, April 19, Tunisia’s Defence The ship capsized in the Gulf of Gabes on Saturday, April 16 (Image: TAP)

NNPC head sees AKK gas

pipeline launched in Q1-2023

NIGERIA MELE Kyari, the group managing director of contractor for work on Segment “A,” concurred.
Nigerian National Petroleum Co. Ltd (NNPC He told members of the board that he also antic-
Ltd), has said he expects the Ajaokuta-Kadu- ipated that AKK would be launched on sched-
na-Kano (AKK) natural gas pipeline to begin ule in the first quarter of 2023. Oilserve’s project
regular commercial operations in the first quar- managers and labourers are capable of finishing
ter of 2023. the job on time, he declared.
According to a statement issued by Kyari’s Senator Margery Okadigbo, who serves as
leading spokesman, Garba Muhammad, Kyari NNPC’s board chairperson, also expressed con-
said while leading NNPC board members on a fidence in the timely launch of the AKK pipe-
tour of Segment “A” of the pipeline in the Fed- line. She said that the work she had observed so
eral Capital Territory (FCT) that he expected far indicated that the projected launch date was
upstream producers to make sufficient volumes realistic and added that Nigeria was in a good
of gas available for AKK on time. position to make its gas production available to
This will allow the project to be launched on both local and foreign buyers.
schedule, he said. For his part, Kyari described the AKK link
Emeka Okwuosa, the chairman of Oilserve, as a “signature project” of the administration of
the Nigeria company serving as NNPC’s main Nigeria’s President Muhammad Buhari.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 20•April•2022