Report Blames Oil Spill at Shell’s Field on Equipment Failure

The crude oil spill at Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) facilities in Peremabiri, Bayelsa’s Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, has been blamed on equipment failure.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the incident site on September 5 and 6 concluded that the spill was caused by equipment failure.

According to a field report of the JIV obtained by NAN from the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the leak was caused by an operational error that discharged oil within SPDC’s operational region with no impact on third party areas.

JIV is a statutory procedure taken by representatives of oil companies, host communities, and regulators following every oil spill incident to determine the cause, volume, and region impacted by the oil spill.

Mr Return Koma, who represented the Peremabiri community in the JIV, told NAN on Tuesday that SDPC personnel and regulators were all in agreement that the event under investigation was caused by equipment failure.

He stated that on August 24, an operational error at SPDC’s Diebu Creek Flow Station spilled an unknown volume of petroleum into the environment.

Koma, the Chairman of Peremabiri’s Community Development Committee (CDC), however, stated that the JIV was unable to calculate the amount of spilt crude and hence did not sign the JIV report.

“We have conducted the JIV, they accepted responsibility for the leak incident at the flow station and another one at nearby Well 6, both were due to equipment failure.

“We were unable to agree on the volume of spilled crude and so did not sign the report,” he said.

The locals of Peremabiri have decried the spill’s negative impact and accused SPDC of insensitivity, neglect, and slow response.

They claimed that SPDC’s delayed response to the spill had resulted in damage to the land and marine environments, as well as a broader impact.

SPDC confirmed the leak in a statement made on September 5 by its spokesman, Mr Mike Adande.

“We are working with regulators and local community to investigate the reported incident.

“The Diebu Creek stopped injection into the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) on Feb. 25, owing to constant breaches of the TNP by crude oil thieves,“ SPDC said in the statement.

According to inhabitants, the massive volume of crude discharged into the environment has polluted the Nun river, wetlands, and farmlands, creating problems to the largely fishing and farming town.

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