By Pascal Ibe

Claim 

@AfricanHub on the X platform published a video showing crude oil flowing in a desert and claimed it occurred Niger Republic recently 

Verdict

This claim is MISLEADING.

 Keyword search and Image Reverse Search indicated that this happened in Libya around 2022.

Full Text

The importance of crude oil cannot be overstated. It is a major source of energy, generating heat and powering various types of vehicles and machinery. It is also used as a component in many of the products that we use every day, including plastics, paints, and cosmetics.

Concerns about the damage it does to the environment mean crude oil isn’t favorable to everyone. 

Crude Oil is the major source of countries’ revenue generation, especially the African nations.

 In a video published by @AfricanHub a few days ago, Crude Oil can be seen flowing in a desert.

Captioning the video, @AfricanHub claimed that this happened in a desert in Niger Republic.

“Oil discovered in Niger

“Your thoughts on this?” the X user wrote.

The post garnered over 1m views and more than 10k likes according to X analytics.

Verification

First, this Fact Checker did a keyword search, “ oil flowing in the desert and found videos that are similar to this clip shared by @AfricanHub.

A Facebook page, Libya News Today, posted a similar video on 4th June 2022 and wrote,  “South Libya Leak in an oil pipeline… the Libyan desert is full of oil.

The same video was also shared on a YouTube channel.

In a report in 2022, footage of a ruptured pipeline dumping large amounts of crude oil into the Libyan desert circulated on social media. A Libyan army patrol discovered the leak in a land pipeline that connects the Sarir oil field to the Tobruk port in the country’s east, according to authorities.

The Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOC), which manages the oil field, issued a statement blaming the damage on “budget delay” and, therefore, “the company’s inability” to conduct necessary maintenance. The company estimated in that statement that the leak is costing the country 22,000 barrels per day.

However, to get the exact video, FACTWATCH Nigeria did a Google Image Reverse Search and results showed that the exact video was shared in August 2023 on Facebook.

Citing a comment under the Facebook post that was written in the Arabic language, when translated to the English Language, it reads, “God is the Helper, God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs. O God, is it possible that oil is lakes and the youth are unable to move or build? God, God, O country of oil, God willing, in heaven, Libyans. 

“Poor Libya

This video was posted on another YouTube page in August 2023 here.

There’s no social media accounts/page that published this video before 2022 and attributed to Niger Republic after searches. Hence it not a recent video.

Conclusion

Findings have shown that the video linked to the oil discovery in the Niger Republic is MISLEADING.