[ 2011-11-13 ]

Shell reports fresh spill in southern Nigeria
YENAGOA, Nigeria (AFP) - Anglo-Dutch oil giant
Shell on Sunday reported a fresh spill from a key
delivery pipeline in southern Nigeria, but said it
has contained the leak.

"SPDC (Shell Petroleum Development Company)
contained a spill in Adibawa delivery line which
was reported yesterday (Saturday)," Shell's
Nigerian joint venture said in a statememt.

"We had dispatched our spill containment team to
the site as soon as we received the reports and
the personnel succeeded in containing the leak,"
it said.

Shell, which announced a production cut from the
same facility last week, said it was investigating
the incident to determine the cause and impact.

"The delivery line is part of the Okordia-Rumuekpe
line, which SPDC shut down following a leak on
November 8 and subsequent fire incident," it said,
blaming last week's incident on sabotage.

"A joint investigation visit found that the spill
was caused by hacksaw cuts," it said, adding that
there had been several hacksaw cuts on the Adibawa
delivery line this year.

But Environmental Rights Action (ERA)/Friends of
the Earth Nigeria (FoEN), which visited the site,
ruled out sabotage in a statement Sunday.

"Anybody who visits this spill site can attest to
the fact that this is a case of equipment
failure," the environmental group said.

"From experience gained in the field, this is one
of the most obvious cases that points to that
fact: no signs of any clearing around the spill
site, no signs of any digging," it said.

"This is the 12th oil spill that has occurred
between August and November 2011 in Ikarama
community environment," ERA said, adding that
Shell should visit the area, clean up the spill
and compensate the affected residents.

"Adequate compensation should be paid for damages
to crops, impacted farmlands and general damages
incurred by the victims of this latest spill," it
said.

Oil spills occur regularly in Nigeria, Africa's
largest oil producer, and are often caused by oil
thieves seeking to steal crude for sale on the
lucrative black market.

Source - AFP

... go Back