Lukong Pius Nyuylime
3 November 2009
The Cameroon National Oil Spill Contingency Plan will contain techniques applicable in the event of an oil spill.
The news of a minor oil spill at offshore terminal of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline at the seaside town of Kribi remains fresh in many minds. Whereas the population was still pondering on how much gain the pipeline will bring both at individual and national levels, the surprise came in an outburst. The news was broken by the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO) on January 18, 2007 announcing an accident that occurred three days earlier. The announcement minimised the quantity of the oil leakage stating inter alia that the waves had virtually carried the crude oil out to the sea, sparing the Kribi coastline.
The negligible nature of the impact it had on the environment not withstanding, environmentalists received the news with disturbing feelings. Authorities of the Centre for Environment and Development immediately responded calling on COTCO to inform the population on the causes, nature and scope of the incident. They equally called on the World Bank to rapidly and independently carry out an evaluation of the management of the incident. In the same vein, they proposed to government to rapidly adopt an Emergence Plan in case of an oil spill.
Within the framework of the Global Initiative for West and Central Africa (GI WACAF) project, the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA), organised a workshop to lay the groundwork for regional cooperation to better manage the oil spill phenomenon in order to limit the impact on aquatic life and the local populations.
Participants who are experts in the oil management sector will during the workshop equally screen and validate Cameroon's oil spill plan. The plan, code name, the Cameroon National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, is a reference document which "develops techniques to be used and the State's organisation for intervention in marine and terrestrial environment", in the event of oil spill.
The plan streamlines strategies to ensure the security of the population and protection of sensitive areas, stop the hydrocarbons flow if possible, apply technical treatment recommended as the case may be and eliminate waste among others.
The plan placed under the control of the Pipeline Steering and Monitoring Committee, is a veritable instrument to count on in the event of any oil spill in Cameroon where potential sources are mainly located both onshore and offshore.
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