Sam Ikeotuonye, with agency reports
Lagos — Multinational oil company Shell says the volume of crude oil spills caused by sabotage in its operations in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta more than doubled in 2021.
It rose to 3,300 tonnes, a level last seen in 2016, the company added.
The company said in its sustainability report, as reported by Reuters, that whereas the volume of spills rose, the number of major spills fell to 106 in 2021 from 122 incidents the previous year.
Shell stated in the report that in 2020, oil spills in Nigeria stood at 1,500 tonnes.
The company has its Nigerian subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, operating major onshore oil and gas as assets under a joint venture with the national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
SPDC has struggled for years to contain spills in the Delta caused by operational incidents, theft and sabotage.
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