By Eyo Nsima
Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited, a leading International Oil Company, IOC has recorded two oil spill incidents in April 2021.
The incidents, recorded on April 7 and 8, 2021, were attributed to sabotage in the Niger Delta as oil theft and pipeline vandalism remain major causes of concern in the region.
According to a report obtained by The Daily, www.thedaily-ng.com, the incidents took place at, ‘18″ Assa – Rumuekpe Pipeline at Elele-Alimini’ and 14″ Okordia – Rumuekpe Pipeline at Ikarama’ respectively.
However, the report stated: “The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), as operator of the SPDC Joint Venture (SPDC-JV), is committed to operating its facilities in a responsible manner with due regard for the environment. When spills occur at, or impact, SPDC-JV facilities in the Niger Delta we respond quickly and in line with extant regulations and globally accepted good practice.
“From observation and experience we have found that Illegal refining activities cause the most environmental damage in the Niger Delta, whilst at SPDC-JV facilities, crude oil theft and sabotage cause the majority of oil spills. A key priority for SPDC-JV is to achieve the goal of zero spills from our operations as no operational spill is acceptable and we work hard to prevent them. If a spill originates from, or impacts, our facilities/Right of Way (RoW), SPDC-JV cleans it up. Where necessary, and as agreed with the relevant government agency, SPDC-JV remediates the affected area, regardless of its cause. Beginning 2021, final recovered spill volumes which often significantly exceed spill volumes recovered as at the time of the JIV, will begin to be populated on the basis of regulatory approved Waste Consignment Notes. Where ‘n/a’ is indicated in the ‘Recovered Spill Volume’ column, this means that the final spill volume has yet to be inputted.
“SPDC-JV has publicly reported oil spill statistics annually since 1995 in the Shell Sustainability Report, and this website further enhances transparency on spills from SPDC-JV facilities in Nigeria. It tracks the progress of our spill management from when we detect the spill to when clean-up and remediation are completed and certified by Government Regulators. SPDC-JV was the first oil and gas company in Nigeria to publish data on its spills on a publicly accessible website. Our SPDC-JV oil spills website went live in 2011 and is updated regularly.”
It added: “When a leak is identified production is suspended and we contain and recover spilled oil. SPDC-JV regularly tests its emergency spill response procedures and capability to ensure it can respond rapidly and effectively to a spill incident. In line with government regulations, a Joint Investigation (JIT) team visits the spill site in a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to establish the cause, volume, extent, and impact of the spilled oil. The team comprises representatives of SPDC-JV, regulators, government security agencies, state governments, communities, and sometimes local NGOs as observers. Once clean-up and remediation are completed, the work is inspected and, if satisfactory, approved and certified by the Federal Government of Nigeria regulator National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). In the case of operational spills, compensation is paid to people and communities impacted by the spill.”
