Bayelsa community laments impact of Spill from Shell’s pipeline

Indigenes and residents of Ikarama Community in Yenagoa Council of Bayelsa have lamented the adverse effects of oil leaks from an oilfield in the area.

The people on Monday advocated remediation of oil pollution from the April 7, 2021 leak from Shell’s 14-inch Okordia-Rumekpe pipeline, which discharged crude into the environment.

The Okordia-Rumemkpe crude trunk line, which is part of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), conveys crude oil to export terminals in Bonny, Rivers State.

A Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) report that the leak was traced to equipment failure that emanated from a rupture on the 14-inch crude delivery line.

JIV is a statutory probe into the cause of any reported spill incident involving the oil firm, regulators, host communities and state ministries of the environment.

The JIV report indicated that some 213 barrels, which had no impact on the environment outside SPDC’s right of way leaked from its asset, while approximately 110 barrels polluted 1.34 hectares of land.

Residents of the spill-impacted site lamented that they have suffered untold hardship from the pollution of land, air and lakes near the area due to evaporation of the leaked crude due to the excessive heat.

A worker at the Ikarama oilfields, Mr. Education Ikiowori, who witnessed the JIV, said the spill was caused by pipeline corrosion, insisting that Shell and the regulators had visited the scene and excavated the site in search of what caused the spill.

“It was discovered that pipeline corrosion caused the rupture, but Shell disagreed. Normally even if the spill was caused by corrosion, SPDC would try to influence it in their favour by saying it was caused by third party to avoid responsibility.