An oil spill in Unity State in September 2019 | Credit | Courtesy

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Petroleum says a team has been sent to Northern Liech State to clean up the oil spill.

Mayen Wol says the new spillage is worth about 2,000 barrels of crude oil.

Last week, residents of Budang County reported that a pipeline had ruptured, causing the oil to contaminate the environment.

Photos circulating on social media show the leakage has had adverse effect on the environment.

This recent incident comes just weeks after the Minister of Petroleum, Daniel Awow, said he would soon set up a team to inspect the extent to which oil pollution has destroyed lives and the environment in the oil fields.

Advocates and legislators representing the oil-producing states had argued that there had been an increase in the number of women who have had stillbirths and deformed children.

Other effects that they voiced were skin rashes, eye disease, sudden death and unidentified diseases.

This is mostly caused by dangerous heavy metals used in oil production which leaks into drinking water sources used by people.

Residents living near the oil wells blame the government and the companies for turning a deaf ear to their plight by failing to properly dispose of waste.

“There are no bad intentions against anybody because these are our people, and we cannot drill oil while it kills our people,” Mayen Wol told reporters in Juba on Tuesday.

“So, we will make sure that the mess we have created is cleaned, and the pipe is going to be renovated so that nothing of this kind happens again.”

The oilfields in the area are being operated by the Greater Pioneer Operating Company or GPOC – an oil and gas company which has shareholders of four namely Malaysians, Indians, Chinese and Nilepet of South Sudan.

All of these companies have been accused of making profits off the South Sudan conflict and disregarding best oil production practices.