IncidentNews Home  >>  Incident

Funiwa No. 5

Niger Delta, Forcados, Nigeria        1980-Jan-17

On January 17, 1980, the Funiwa No. 5 well located 5 miles off the Niger Delta, Nigeria, blew out. Approximately 200,000 barrels of oil spilled from the well. On January 29 the oil ignited. The flow of oil stopped on February 1 as the Funiwa No. 5 bridged. Keyword: Gold Crew, International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), blowout, relief well, fire..

View map

Note: Documents are posted chronologically and early reports likely contain factual errors. These errors may be corrected in a later report.

Incident Response Documents

USCG Case History 1980-Jan-17
Behavior of Oil 1980-Jan-17
Resources at Risk 1980-Jan-17
References 1980-Jan-17
Countermeasures/ Mitigation 1980-Jan-17
Other Special Interest 1980-Jan-17
Other Special Interest Issues 1980-Jan-17
Shoreline Types Impacted 1980-Jan-17

Incident Details

Products of concern: Nigerian Crude
Amount spilled (approximate): 8,400,000 gallons

Latitude (approximate): 5° 0.00' North
Longitude (approximate): 5° 0.00' East

Counter measures:
Dispersants: Evaluated and applied
In-Situ Burn: Not applicable
Bioremediation: Not applicable

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) provides science-based solutions to protect and restore the nation’s natural resources from coastal environmental hazards. OR&R serves the nation by providing expertise and a suite of products and services critical for making science-based response decisions that prevent further harm, restore natural resources, and promote effective planning for future incidents.