An oil spill was discovered on Friday morning at the GEBE power plant. It is thought that the oil spill occurred during the night but could not be detected by GEBE personnel in the darkness. The effects on the environment are at this point yet to be determined. GEBE has dispatched a team with oil pads and a vacuum truck to clean up the oil.
The cause of the oil spill has been linked with the overloading of the Waste Oil Treatment System (WTS) that is used to skim off any waste oil from the production process.
GEBE had begun putting containment measures in place in the form of an oil boom and WTS re-training to mitigate any effects of oil spills, but these are still pending to be completed. Further a valve has been installed to be able to shut off the runoff of the WTS in case a leak is detected.
Mitigating measures currently in place have prevented more oil from flowing into the sea. A lot of oil accumulated on the Western side of the boom allowing the clean-up crew to remove it quickly.
On Wednesday, the oil boom was placed in the ocean and the necessary attachments were being made by the contractor. Unfortunately, the oil spill occurred before the boom could be fully completed. This resulted in oil escaping from the not yet attached section of the enclosure and drifting out to sea.
GEBE will continue its cleanup efforts to minimize the effects on the environment.