In late 2025, residents of Bille, a riverine community in Rivers State, woke up to an unsettling sight and smell.
From abandoned mono pumps and long-forgotten shallow wells, gas suddenly started bubbling to the surface, pushing through ageing pipes buried underground for decades. The air filled with a sharp rotten-egg stench while water frothed and hissed around the openings.
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What initially appeared to be an isolated incident soon spread across the community. The constant sound of bubbling gas and the low rumble rising from beneath the ground became part of daily life, raising fears about what was happening below the surface and the dangers it posed.
“Since October 2025, we observed that this abandoned mono pump started boiling and bubbling. We invited people from the government parastatal to come and put an end to it, but to no avail,” Josiah Sunday, a resident, told PREMIUM TIMES during a June visit to the community.
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Nearly 10 months later, residents say the problem has worsened.
Beyond continuous exposure to the escaping gas, they report widespread damage to mangroves and aquatic ecosystems, alongside declining populations of bioindicators such as periwinkles and fish that support local livelihoods.
Riverine community turned gas bubbling zone
Bille, located in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, is accessible only by water and lies about 50 minutes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State’s capital city.
Fishing is the dominant occupation in the densely populated island settlement.
On the journey to the community, PREMIUM TIMES encountered several military checkpoints. Armed personnel monitored approaching boats while passengers were instructed to raise their hands for inspection.
Upon arrival, this reporter observed multiple spots on the river surface where gas appeared to be escaping continuously. Water bubbled intensely, resembling boiling liquid. Nearby signposts indicated the presence of high-pressure gas pipelines transporting crude oil and natural gas.
Bille houses Oil Mining Lease (OML) 18, a major onshore oil and gas block in the eastern Niger Delta covering approximately 1,035 square kilometres and containing several oil and gas fields, including Cawthorne Channel, Akaso and Alakiri.
Shell Petroleum Development Company originally developed the asset before it was acquired by Eroton Exploration and Production Company in 2014.
However, years of operational disputes, declining production and ageing infrastructure have left much of the oilfield system abandoned or poorly maintained.
Industry records show that OML 18 production between 2016 and 2023 declined from about 30,000 barrels per day to zero, while ownership and operational control changed hands amid disagreements among partners.
Amidst these operational challenges, in 2023, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and OML18 Energy Limited, both non-operating partners of Oil Mining Lease 18, announced the removal of Eroton as the operator of the joint venture in line with the provisions of the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA).
Much of the infrastructure installed in the 1960s and 1970s is now believed to have deteriorated significantly.
Recent evidence published by the BBC showed that Shell continued operating the Bille oilfield and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line despite internal concerns regarding environmental risks and infrastructure integrity.
The disclosures emerged from legal proceedings filed by Niger Delta communities seeking accountability for pollution linked to more than 100 oil spills recorded between 2011 and 2013.
“Bille community is sitting on gunpowder”
Residents and environmental advocates believe the current crisis is linked to failures within abandoned oil and gas facilities.
During the visit, PREMIUM TIMES observed gas escaping through rivers, shallow wells, boreholes and surrounding land surfaces. Water gushing out of some dug borehole spots suddenly changed to black in containers. Suggesting a mixture of crude oil in the flowing water. The surrounding premises of the water have turned rusty brown and greasy, while the water, upon exposure to air, suddenly changes to black.
The situation has contaminated water sources and created what experts describe as a highly volatile environment.
“It’s an emergency. And I think the concerned authorities will treat it as such,” reacted Adeniyi Sanyaolu,
Professor of Applied Mycology/Phytopathology and Environmental Biotechnology at the University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State.
He described the gas seepage in the Bille community as a serious environmental problem commonly associated with oil and gas production when operators fail to comply with regulations.
He explained that if the wells in the community had been properly decommissioned after abandonment, the current situation would likely not have occurred.
Where facilities remain active, he says urgent maintenance and overhaul of ageing pipelines, valves, and joints are necessary to stop the leaks.
According to him, the continuous release of gas poses significant threats to both living organisms and the physical environment. He warned that gases released into the atmosphere can react with water vapour to produce acid rain, leading to corrosion of roofs, damage to clothing, reduced agricultural productivity, and degradation of soil quality.
He notes that crops may suffer chlorosis and other adverse conditions, while polluted soil may become unsuitable for farming.
He warned of potential health impacts, including cancer, respiratory illnesses, skin disorders, and possibly infertility in humans and animals following prolonged exposure.
Mr Sanyaolu noted that infants may also be vulnerable through contaminated breast milk, and that the situation constitutes an environmental emergency requiring immediate intervention, maintenance of pipelines, or complete decommissioning of the affected assets.
Meanwhile, the primary school in the community reportedly closed as a result of the problem, while residents say daily activities have become increasingly difficult.
Community members recounted a fire outbreak in March after a mono pump used for fetching water suddenly caught fire, confirming the presence of flammable gas in the water source.
Government response under scrutiny
Residents accused regulatory agencies of responding slowly to the unfolding crisis.
Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector is regulated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), while the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) is responsible for monitoring and responding to oil pollution.
Since the gas bubbling issue began last year, the federal government announced in March that it had initiated an investigation into the matter. At the time, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said regulators have already conducted field visits to determine the source and nature of the phenomenon reported within the Oil Mining Lease 18 corridor.
Also, following public outcry, NUPRC announced in March that it would commence investigations.
Last month, the NUPRC chief executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the commission expressed deep concerns about the gas bubbling incident in the Bille community and assured the community and the public of its utmost commitment to coordinating industry efforts to address the situation.
The commission empathises with the community and acknowledges the concerns, describing the situation as “unsavoury development” in relation to public safety, the environment, and the health of the populace.
“Upon notification of the incident, the commission activated a coordinated technical investigation process in line with established regulatory protocols to assess the nature and extent of the gas seepage, identify source(s) and potential causes, and propose immediate and long-term mitigation measures,” she said.
The NUPRC said the investigative study is being conducted in collaboration with stakeholders to ensure comprehensive, fact-based outcomes for long-term sustainability.
However, the NUPRC said preliminary deductions and field observations indicate that the gas bubbling may be associated with a subsurface phenomenon that could be linked to a variety of triggers.
“Detailed geotechnical and geological analyses are ongoing to determine the contributing factors) and possible remedies for prompt implementation,” NUPRC said.
During a recent visit to the community, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that NOSDRA conducted preliminary investigations in December 2025. However, findings relating to water and soil contamination have yet to be publicly released. NOSDRA has yet to respond to our request for comment.
Officials of Social Action, a civil society organisation working in the Niger Delta, told PREMIUM TIMES that while regulators described air quality as being within acceptable limits, available data suggested otherwise.
According to the group, air quality assessments detected methane, volatile organic compounds and hydrogen sulfide.
The organisation said methane concentrations exceeded 36 per cent of the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL), indicating significant gas accumulation and heightened risks of fire and explosion.
“We could barely sleep at night”
Residents say daily life has become increasingly difficult since the gas seepage began.
“The experience has not been very good at all,” said Timothy Agunbiade, a youth leader, while displaying a water sample collected from one of the affected locations.
“We have identified over 74 gas leakage spots so far.”
Across the community, PREMIUM TIMES observed bubbling surfaces, noisy wells and pipes emitting continuous gas sounds.
Women and children said the persistent noise and fear of possible explosions have made sleep difficult.
“We could barely sleep at night. Everywhere is bubbling. Mama cannot sleep again,” Hanna Eleki, a fish and crayfish seller, said.
Cooking has also become dangerous.
Several women reported abandoning traditional cooking areas located near gas seepage points after fire incidents were recorded.
Residents recounted how two people sustained burns when one of the gas leak sites ignited near a cooking area.
Another resident, Patient Kojon, said water contamination had disrupted daily life.
“If you rob your body with soap, as you pour water, everything will suddenly vanish. We cannot drink the water because it has a very strong odour that you cannot drink it.”
“We living here are at risk, we don’t know if we can experience an explosion at any time,” she added.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunday explained that several residents are beginning to go down with diarrhoea, skin rashes and respiratory illness. Most of the residents depend on sachet water gotten from Port Harcourt.
Experts warn of looming catastrophe
Prince Edegbuo, Social Action’s social justice manager, believes the gas may be escaping from an abandoned and improperly decommissioned gas well within OML 18.
According to him, the leak may have existed long before residents noticed it.
He criticised authorities for failing to take urgent action and called for emergency intervention.
His assessment was blunt, explaining that the gas seepage means that the people are sitting on ‘’gunpowder.”
“People are going to die like poisoned chickens when the time comes,” he lamented.
“What I think happened in Bile is that an abandoned gas well that was not decommissioned, not to talk of properly, it was not decommissioned, it was abandoned for a long time.”
“The presidency should order NEMA to immediately evacuate the people of Bili.”
“So the poor can die as long as the oil is pumped every day. That is gross irresponsibility from any government.”
He recommended immediate evacuation of residents, emergency healthcare support, environmental remediation and accountability for responsible operators and government agencies.
Who should be held accountable?
Deinbo Owanemi, a lawyer from Bille, argued that legal responsibility ultimately rests with both the federal government and operators of the petroleum assets.
“By law, both the Petroleum Industry Act and other laws, the constitution, every other law that has to do with petroleum in Nigeria, the federal government is the owner of petroleum resources in Nigeria,” he said.
READ ALSO: CSOs, communities protest at NUPRC office, demand accountability over $270 million gas flare penalties
“So I take it that both the Federal Government of Nigeria and the operators, the IOCs, especially SPDC, and we hear SPDC has done some sort of divestment to Renaissance Energy and so on. So all of them are accountable for the disaster that is ongoing in the Bile town and the environment.
“Whereas they take the benefits, they place the burden on the local communities, which have to contend with environmental disasters that destroy the very ecosystem of the people.”
Toxic gases detected
Available data from NOSDRA’s December 2025 assessment suggest that both air and water quality in Bille have been significantly compromised.
Laboratory findings by the agency reportedly confirmed the presence of methane, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hydrogen sulfide in ambient air.
Methane concentrations exceeding 36 per cent of the Lower Explosive Limit indicate substantial gas accumulation and immediate risks of fire and explosion.
Experts warn that the presence of hydrogen sulfide is equally concerning due to its toxicity even at relatively low concentrations.
“Prolonged exposure to such gases can lead to respiratory irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and, in severe cases, neurological and systemic health effects,” Social Action said.
The organisation noted that residents are simultaneously exposed to contaminated air, water and surfaces, creating multiple pathways of toxic exposure.
Messages/calls requesting comments sent to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) through his spokesperson, Louis Ibah, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), NOSDRA and NUPRC had not been responded to as of the time of filing this report. Some of the officials requested some time to gather details on the matter before responding accordingly.
Meanwhile, in Bille, the bubbling continues amid fear of a major fire outbreak.
On 13 June, residents of the community said the NNPC had stationed fire extinguishing trucks in the community.
“Ambitious policies, weak enforcement”
In recent years, Nigeria has strengthened its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by endorsing ambitious policies aimed at cutting methane emissions and ending routine gas flaring in the oil and gas sector.
These commitments form a central pillar of the country’s Updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) repeatedly submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the global climate framework and support its broader objective of achieving net-zero emissions by 2060.
A key component of Nigeria’s climate strategy is the pledge to eliminate routine gas flaring by 2030. This target aligns with the World Bank-led “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030” initiative and applies across upstream, midstream, and downstream petroleum operations. By ending the practice of routinely burning associated gas, Nigeria seeks to reduce environmental pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the utilisation of natural gas resources that would otherwise be wasted.
Nigeria has also demonstrated its commitment to tackling methane emissions by signing the Global Methane Pledge, an international effort to curb one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Under its climate commitments, Nigeria aims to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 60 per cent, using a baseline consistent with its updated NDCs.
This reduction is conditionally targeted for the period between 2031 and 2035. Looking further ahead, Nigeria plans to achieve a 95 per cent reduction in fugitive methane emissions from leaks and other unintended releases by 2050.
To ensure these goals are achieved, the NUPRC introduced guidelines for the Management of Fugitive Methane and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. These regulations require oil and gas operators to adopt rigorous Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems, implement Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) programmes, and transition to zero-emission venting technologies.
However, experts have warned and argued that the weak enforcement of these ambitious policies is costing the country billions and worsening public health risks.
Oil spills and gas venting/flaring from the activities of oil and gas companies have devastated flora and fauna across major oil-rich communities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
While Nigeria’s oil production continues to witness significant growth, oil-rich communities from the country’s Niger Delta region are grappling with unprecedented levels of oil and gas pollution amidst renewed exploration targets.
A PREMIUM TIMES investigation published last year also found persistent hydrocarbon contamination in several oil-producing communities, including Ogoniland, where residents reported losing access to farmlands and fishing waters because of repeated spills linked to oil infrastructure.
Remediation efforts across the region have been conspicuously slow, raising concerns over the country’s refusal to prioritise the welfare of the residents of the region.
