The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has said the reported oil spill from its facility in the Imiringi community in Bayelsa was caused by oil thieves.

The company performed a Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) into the July 27 oil spill.

The JIV is a statutory probe that follows every spill incident reported by regulators, operators, and community representatives to ascertain the cause, volume of the spill, and impacted area.

Bamidele Odugbesan, spokesman for SPDC, said in a statement on Wednesday in Yenagoa that three barrels of SPDC’s Bonny light crude blend had spilt 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.

The JIV ended on July 30,  with all parties agreeing on the cause while repairs on the breached pipeline are ongoing. 

According to SPDC, the JIV team comprised NOSDRA and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Also on the team are the Bayelsa Ministry of Environment, representatives of the impacted community and SPDC. The oil firm stated that the outcome and report of the investigation, led by NOSDRA, was signed off by all members of the JIV team. 

Environmental advocacy group, Environmental Defenders Network called for the cleanup of the spill site to forestall possible spread to other communities in the area.

EDN deputy director Lagos Morris, who visited the spill site, urged the relevant authorities to see the remediation of the impacted area given the rains.

Mr Morris, who called on all stakeholders to work towards preventing third-party spills, condemned the act and urged that the perpetrators be fished out and prosecuted. 

(NAN)