Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, the Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), has stated that using microorganisms to clean oil terminals is a more effective way of cleaning than using conventional chemicals. According to him, using chemicals to clean tank farms can lead to environmental pollution, as the crude oil may no longer be of any use. When crude is cleaned with chemicals, it becomes necessary to discharge it, which can affect water, soil, air, or plants. This is what they are trying to avoid.
Mustapha further explained that using microorganisms to clean tank farms is a perfect solution because the microorganisms will only revive the crude oil back to its natural form, meaning that there will be no wastage. With the use of microorganisms, the crude will be recovered 100% and will still be useful.
The process of tank farm cleaning is very important as Nigeria relies heavily on petroleum for income. If the sediments of crude left in the terminals are not cleaned, they may accumulate and fill up the tank capacity. If cleaning is not carried out, it will be impossible to get the normal volume or capacity of crude oil in the tank, either for storage or for transportation.
To this end, tank farm cleaning has become one of the agency’s top projects, and the project has reached an advanced stage. NABDA will carry out the cleaning in designated tank farms in collaboration with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and NNPC Energy Services (Enserve).
The Director-General also disclosed that the agency visited Kaduna depots to see what could be done there. They have collected samples from the tank, and an analysis is being carried out to get the ratio of what they are using for the cleaning. Currently, they are waiting for the laboratory results for the mixture of microorganisms to be used for the cleaning solution.
