Fresh oil spill hits Rivers community
The Shell Petroleum Development Company on Saturday confirmed an oil spill in Ebubu, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
A spokesperson for Shell, Michael Adande, in a statement in Port Harcourt on Saturday night said the incident occurred at the company’s Ebubu and Oghale Manifold 12” pipeline in Rivers State.
The statement party read, “The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited 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.”
Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, Fineface Dumnamene, called on industry stakeholders to investigate the incident in order to ascertain the real cause of the spill
The statement read, “YEAC-Nigeria also calls on the Federal Government and the joint venture partners to launch an independent investigation into the incessant oil spills in the Bodo community.”
The group reiterated its call on Shell and its joint venture partners to replace the obsolete Trans-Niger Delta pipeline in the Ogoni area, which it said were over-aged and now bursting and deflating like balloons and destroying the environment.
It added, “YEAC-Nigeria calls on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency to immediately facilitate a joint investigation visit to the new spill site, determine the cause of the spill, ensure that adequate compensation is paid to the affected community and its people if found to have been caused by equipment failure as suspected. Then clamp the spill point and clean-up the polluted water and area immediately
