Gabonese activists outraged at yet another oil spill by Perenco

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Issued on: 03/05/2022 – 18:59Modified: 04/05/2022 – 14:52

A leak was detected on April 28 in a petrol terminal run by the French-British petrol company Perenco near Port-Gentil, the economic capital of Gabon. The company, which has already been accused of serious environmental violations, has insisted the leak is under control. But our Observer says that the leak is a serious pollution risk.

The Cape Lopez petrol terminal, located a few kilometres north of Port-Gentil on Mandji Island, is the largest in Gabon. The site is run by Perenco, the largest producer of petrol in this central African nation.

Late in the morning of April 28, Perenco located a leak in a tank in Cape Lopez containing 50,000 cubic metres of crude oil, or 300,000 barrels.

Aerial images taken the morning after the spill by activist Bernard Christian Rekoula show the extent of the damage – two storage tanks are surrounded by a huge pool of crude oil contained in a basin. A vacuum truck is covered with oil and the Atlantic Ocean is only a few metres away.