27 December 2011, Sweetcrude, LAGOS – The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigeria’s oil industry watchdog, says it is monitoring the massive oil spill from Shell’s Bonga field offshore Nigeria, to ensure safety of people and containment of the spill.
The agency in a statement described the incident, based on the volume of crude involved, as a third tier spill in Nigerian oil and gas industry parlance, saying that as a result of that, government has mobilised a full scale response/intervention plan at all levels.
“The DPR is following and monitoring the spill incident very closely and has issued appropriate guidance and directive to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) to ensure that the spill incident remains under effective control,” it said in the statement.
The statement further read: “The thrust of DPR in its statutory duties is to ensure safety of people as effective containment of the spill in order to prevent further spillage of crude oil and minimize environmental impact.
“The Federal Government assures the public that all relevant agencies are working to collectively bring the situation under control within the shortest possible time.”
The Bonga oil spill, which reportedly occurred Tuesday last week, involved 40,000 barrels of crude, the largest oil spill in Nigeria in a decade.
