The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) on Friday announced that it has shut crude feeds into the 16-inch Nun River-Kolo Creek crude trunkline.

The development follows an oil leak on the pipeline at the Obololi community, a coastal community along the River Nun in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa.

Chukuwemka Woke, director-general of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), said the spill occurred on February 16 and was reported on February 17.

The shutdown was announced in a statement by Michael Adande, a spokesman for SPDC.

According to the statement, the shutdown had stopped the leak while remediation efforts were ongoing to contain the spread of the crude and its impact on the environment.

Mr Adande said, “The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of the SPDC Joint Venture (SPDC JV), confirms that its oil spill response team has identified a leak from one of the SPDC JV assets located in the Obololi community, Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa State.

“The team immediately isolated the line and suspended production into the line.

“The regulatory authorities and other stakeholders have been notified. Plan to conduct a regulator-led joint investigation visit (JIV) to determine the cause and impact of the spill is ongoing.”

Although the SPDC did not specify the oil production volume affected by the shutdown, the 16-inch pipeline evacuates oil produced from various oil fields within Bayelsa swamps and feeds the SPDC’s manifold in Kolo.

NOSDRA DG, on Thursday, said the cause of the leak and estimated volume discharged was yet to be determined because the pipeline was beneath the river.

The regulator said it had recommended a diversion of the river to a temporary dam to give the joint investigating team access to the leak point for examination.

Following the contamination of the Nun River, Target Segibo, chairman of Southern Ijaw LGA, who earlier visited the impacted Obololi community, pledged to provide an alternative water source for the people.

(NAN)