Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Fresh oil spills and fire from a manifold operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria has rocked Ebubu community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The oil spills which became noticeable three days ago, according to locals caught fire before the dawn of Saturday, although staff of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited later arrive the site in the afternoon to put out the fire and contain the spillage.
The cause of the oil spills is not yet known, although locals suspect equipment failure.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria’s Crude Oil Spill Alert System who raised the alarm over the new oil spills, said the spill point was yet to be clamped as at the time of filing this report, as Shell workers were taking steps to put out the fire before moving into the spill point.
Speaking, Environmental Justice Campaigner and Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Mr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, who demanded for ecological and environmental justice, said Advocacy Centre would release more details about this new oil spills in Ebubu Community soon.
Fyneface recalled that Ebubu Community was in court with Shell for about 32years till 2021 when the Dutch company paid about $111million (N45.9billion) in compensation for an oil spill which occurred on the same Shell’s facility in the late 1960s during the Nigeria’s civil war between 1967-1970.
Meanwhile, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited has confirmed the fresh oil spills from the Ebubu and Oghale Manifold 12” pipeline in Rivers State.
Spokesperson for the SPDC, Mr Michael Adande, said the company was working with industry regulators to contain the spills, while awaiting a JOB to ascertain the cause and impact of the spills.
“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) confirms an incident on the Ebubu and Oghale Manifold 12” pipeline in Rivers State. We are working with industry regulators to safely contain the discharge which is on our right of way while we await the government-led joint investigation team into the cause and impact by.”
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