Niger to Probe Cause of 25-Day Oil Well Blowout

A huge blowout of oil and gas at a well in Niger’s remote eastern desert is over after almost a month of activity, the government has announced.

The blowout on September 25 caused an environmental incident of “exceptional severity”, Niger’s petroleum ministry said a month ago, but since then it has not provided an update on efforts to end the spillage.

“On Tuesday, October 20… the blowout at the Goumeri W8 wells ended after 25 days of intense activity,” according to a statement from the Oil and Environmental ministries read on state television late Tuesday.

“The blowout ended naturally without decisive human intervention,” the statement said, adding that the end of the eruption had been “confirmed (on site) by a permanent state mission” as well as “satellite observations”.

The blowout at Goumeri W8, around 1,700 kilometres (1,000 miles) from the capital Niamey, saw large quantities of crude oil and gas spewed out to a height of over 10 metres (33 feet).

The statement added that security operations were continuing at the site, part of the Agadem oil field operated by CNPC Niger Petroleum, a local subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Authorities said that the eruption “has affected neither production at the Agadem block nor the country’s supply of petroleum products” and that an inquiry commission would be set up to determine the cause.

The statement added that environmental samples had been taken in the affected area from water, soil, vegetation and animals, and that “the results of the analyses will be made public as soon as possible”.

Landlocked Niger, ruled by a military junta since a coup in 2023, has been producing oil since 2011, with 20,000 barrels of refined oil and 90,000 barrels of crude currently being extracted in the Agadem region.

An armed group opposed to the junta has been carrying out sporadic attacks on the 2,000-kilometre pipeline transporting Nigerien crude to its coastal neighbour Benin.