The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has screened 28 oil and gas wells around the reported gas seepage locations in Bille Community, Degema local government area of Rivers State.
The Commission said three of the wells were identified as very high risk, while 10 were classified as high risk. The remaining 15 wells were placed in the medium-to-low risk category.
The update was given during a special technical paper on Thursday at the 44th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE).
The paper was titled, “Unravelling Gas Seepage and Bubbling in Nigeria: The Integrated Study Approach Towards Source Attribution,” and was hosted by the NUPRC.
The director, Subsurface Development at the NUPRC, Engr. Joseph Ogunsola, said the Commission had constituted a team to investigate the cause of the gas seepage and bubbling in the affected area.
Ogunsola, who was represented at the session by the senior manager, Onshore Frontier Development Drilling, Azibamikiomam John-Adumo, a geologist, said gas seepage was a new phenomenon in the Nigerian petroleum industry.
He said the investigation had moved from the first reported bubble to an independent fingerprinting campaign within 12 months.
According to him, the first seepage was observed in October 2025.
“The investigation has progressed from the first reported bubble to an independent fingerprinting campaign within 12 months,” he said.
Ogunsola explained that the results of the independent investigation, which involved Gas Chromatography-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (GC-IRMS) and compositional field analysis, were expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
He said the NUPRC was working to establish whether the gas seepage originated from a particular well or from other nearby wells.
“One of the wells was originally drilled in search of oil but was shut down following the discovery of gas instead,” he said.
The NUPRC director said the well was approximately 2.5 kilometres from the seepage location.
He added that the distance between the seepage location and other wells in the area ranged from 2.5 to three kilometres.
Ogunsola said the area was highly explored and hydrocarbon-charged, as demonstrated by the number of wells in the vicinity.
Providing an update on the wells workstream, which falls under the facility and infrastructure component of the investigation, he said 28 wells were screened based on their proximity to the seepage locations and the reservoirs traversed during drilling.
He said the investigation team physically visited 14 wells but could not access three others because they were submerged.
During the visits, the team observed gas hissing from some wells.
Ogunsola also said some facilities were found to be corroded, while others had been vandalised.
He said studies conducted in one of the affected areas had helped to unravel the structural threat.
Ogunsola said the Commission remained committed to a speedy, coordinated and integrated investigation to establish the source of the gas seepage.
He explained that if the seepage was found to be a natural geological phenomenon, the people in the affected communities may need to be evacuated.
“If the seepage is a natural geologic phenomenon, the people may need to be evacuated because tracing the migration pathways and designing subsurface interventions may be much more challenging,” he said.
While investigations continue, Ogunsola said the Commission and operators had mobilised relief materials and support for affected communities.
He said the support included food supplies, medical outreach, efforts to provide potable water, fire vans and safety kits, among others.