Shell discharges 1,298 barrels of crude into Rivers’ creek

– Spill caused by operational failure – JIV
– Environmentalist demands total cleanup, restoration

Mkpoikana Udoma

Port Harcourt — The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC, discharged 1,298 barrels of crude oil into the swampy mangrove of Owokiri, in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State in May 2024, in furtherance of ecological genocide against the Niger Delta environment.

The spill is attributed to operational failure from a 4-metre-long horizontal tear at a 6 o’clock position underneath the Shell-operated 28″ Bomu-Bonny pipeline, according to the Report from the Joint Investigative Visit, JIV, with incident reference number 2725867.

The spill which occurred during the first week of May 2024, impacted 4.5hectares of Owokiri swamp, affecting mangroves, fishing ponds, and fishing gear belonging to peasant fishers in the area

Findings by SweetCrude Reports revealed that the National Oil Spills Response and Detection Agency, NOSDRA insisted that the spill was caused by operational failure until SPDC proves otherwise.

JIV is a statutory inquiry that follows every oil spill incident consisting of representatives of the oil firm operating the facility, regulators, the host community, and the State Ministry of Environment.

The JIV was attended by representatives of the host community, NOSDRA, Rivers State Ministry of Environment, and officials of SPDC, while the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC was conspicuously absent.

Although Shell claimed to have recovered a greater amount of the spilt crude oil, and that since the spill was accompanied by fire, most of the crude was consumed by fire, the JIV report stated that there was residual impact which requires further work.

Speaking on the development, world’s renowned environmentalist and Executive Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, lamented that just one litre of crude was more than capable of polluting over 1 million litres of potable water, talk more on the impact of 1,298 barrels.

Bassey is the first Nigerian to hold the Wallenberg Medal (2024), awarded to outstanding humanitarians whose actions on behalf of the defenseless and oppressed reflect the heroic commitment and sacrifice of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who rescued thousands of Jews during World War II.

The environmental rights campaigner regretted that oil companies were fond of under-reporting oil spill volumes and blaming spill incidents on third-party interference to evade liability, while calling for a thorough cleanup and restoration of the environment.

He said, “The polluters always underreport to claim that no harm was caused by the incident. If you read the Bayelsa State Oil and Environment Commission Report it is highlighted that sometimes NOSDRA’s report of particular incidents had lower volumes than what the polluter such as the NNPC reported.

“It is a huge scandal. In any case, even a drop of crude oil severely impacts potable water. Experts say that one litre of crude oil is enough to contaminate one million litres of potable water. Just imagine how much pollution 1,298 barrels caused.

“Interestingly, government regulators insisted that the Owokiri incident was attributable to operational failure while the operator claimed third-party interference as is their stock in trade.

“Whatever the cause, the people and the environment suffer. As already seen from the UNEP report and the struggling clean-up, hydrocarbon pollution does not disappear on its own. And the pollution goes beyond just the environment and general ecosystem, it affects people’s health directly. With mangroves burnt, that also decimates the livelihoods of the people and their food source. The damage is enormous.

“Beyond the JIV, there must be a thorough clean-up, remediation, restoration of the environment, and compensation of the people. These are essential steps that must be taken,” Bassey demanded.