Oily substance 'not caused by PetroSA'

Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - PetroSA launched an investigation after an oily substance was detected on a number of beaches in the Mossel Bay area and it concluded that the oil pollution was not caused by any PetroSA installation or PetroSA activities.

The Mossel Bay Municipality issued a public notification on 29 November, regarding an oily substance detected on a number of beaches in the region.

A well-coordinated clean-up by the Garden Route Disaster Management team and other stakeholders was launched and most of the affected beaches have now been returned to a clean status.

At this stage the origin of the oil spillage has not been established. PetroSA spokesperson, Thandi Nameka says a subsidiary of the Central Energy Fund owns operational facilities in the area.

"PetroSA has therefore conducted an internal investigation into possible causes of the oil pollution. The investigation covered onshore and offshore operations and all possible sources of a potential spillage were investigated.

"It should be noted that PetroSA does not currently produce or import any black oil."

Beaches clean

Clean-up operations of beaches along the Garden Route will continue following the reports of stranded hydrocarbon, low-sulphur oil droplets.

According to Gerhard Otto, Garden Route District Municipality manager: Disaster Management, several beaches had been classified as green by the time Mossel Bay Advertiser went to print. Otto says the priority is to finalise cleaning busier beaches, including Blue Flag ones, as the holiday season approaches.

There have been no reports linking the oil spill to humans or bird or marine life.

Previous articles:

The beaches affected by an oil spill.