The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, SPDC has said that the reported oil spill from its facility in the Imiringi community in Bayelsa was caused by oil thieves.
The company said that it carried out a Joint Investigative Visit, JIV into the July 27 oil spill.
The JIV, is a statutory probe that follows every reported spill incident by regulators, operators, and community representatives to ascertain the cause, volume of spill and impacted area.
Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager of SPDC in a statement on Wednesday in Yenagoa, said that three barrels of SPDC’s Bonny light crude blend were spilled into the environment.
Although members of the Imiringi community had claimed that the spill had polluted farmlands and water bodies in the area, SPDC said the entire three barrels had been recovered, leaving a residue.
“SPDC, operator of the SPDC JV, acknowledges the occurrence of an oil spill from its ” Kolo Creek Well 22T flowline facility at Imiringi on July 27,
“The report of the joint investigation of the incident led by the Government Regulator, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), found that the incident was caused by illegal third-party activity.
“Meanwhile, cleanup, remediation and repair of the breached pipeline are ongoing.” the SPDC said.
NAN reports that the JIV ended on July 30, with all parties unanimously agreeing on the cause while repairs on the breached pipeline are ongoing.
According to SPDC, the JIV team comprised the Government Regulator, the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
