*717.8 barrels spilled
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — A total of eleven oil spill incidents was recorded by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC, in the month of December 2020, as a result of oil theft and sabotage.
Data obtained from Shell website shows that between December 2nd and December 29th, the Dutch multinational experienced eleven leaks in Abia and Rivers States amounting to 717.8 barrels of crude oil.
The affected facilities in these states include; 14″ Okordia-Rumuekpe Pipeline, 8″ Nkali-Imo River2 Pipeline, 20″ Kolocreek-Rumuekpe Pipeline, 18″ Assa-Rumuekpe Pipeline, 36″ Nkpoku-Ogale Pipeline and 6” Imo River Bulkline.
All the affected facilities had one leak each, except the 14″ Okordia-Rumuekpe Pipeline, which experienced four leaks at different theft points in Edeoha, Akinima and Imogu communities in Rivers State.
All the eleven leaks were recorded on land terrain; the volume of each spill ranges from 0.1 barrel to 402 barrels in each of the spill site.
JIV reports endorsed by the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, host communities and State Ministry of Environment in the impacted states and SPDC, showed that all the 11 leaks were caused by sabotage and third party interference.
No recoverable oil was found in some of the spill sites; recovery, assessment and site certification is expected to be completed in some sites in June 2021.