An investigation is underway by Nigeria’s spills agency into a reported crude oil spill in the Niger Delta from a pipeline owned by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, according to both the country’s spills agency and an environmental group.
The leak occurred in the Obolo-Ogale pipeline situated in southern Rivers State, which supplies the 180,000 barrel-per-day Trans Niger line. This line is one of two conduits responsible for exporting Bonny Light crude and had recently resumed operations earlier this month following maintenance work in December.
Local communities discovered the spill on Friday and promptly notified the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) and the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).
As of now, SPDC has not provided a response to requests for comments.
NOSDRA has received the spill report and is planning a joint investigation visit to the site on Sunday, as disclosed by Ime Ekanem, the agency’s head in Rivers State, in a statement to Reuters.
Shell has encountered numerous legal challenges over the years concerning oil spills in the Niger Delta, an area plagued by pollution, conflict, and corruption linked to the oil and gas sector. In a recent development, the company revealed its intention to conclude nearly a century of onshore oil and gas operations in Nigeria.
The decision follows the agreement to sell SPDC to a consortium of primarily local companies for a sum of up to $2.4 billion, as announced earlier this week.
