Texas tea

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has confirmed the 3 October oil spill from its facilities at Peremabiri community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa, saying the cause and volume of oil discharged to adjourning areas of the community and the Nun River were under investigation. Peremabiri residents have appealed to the government to compel the SPDC to conduct an immediate clean-up exercise at the oil spill site. Alagoa Morris, programme manager of Environmental Right Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), said the oil leak had polluted the ecosystem and adversely affected the farming and fishing settlements.

Data from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) shows 612 oil spill incidents in 2022 — up from 400 incidents in 2021. A breakdown showed that SPDC recorded the second-highest incidents, accounting for 26% of the total incidents in 2022. The sheer scale of sabotage against oil pipelines in the oil-producing areas is only matched by the scale of spills and the size of environmental damage they cause. In the past three years, Bayelsa has been a leading state in the number of spills, which usually lead to blame games between the companies and the communities affected. The environmental pollution and eventual loss of livelihood resulting from oil spills have been a cause of litigation and protests for years. Unfortunately, the companies hardly accept responsibility or move quickly, even when they clearly cause such spills. In the November 2021 oil spill in Nembe, Bayelsa, the level of disaster showed that oil and gas fumes from a wellhead operated by the Nigerian firm Aiteo caused large-scale destruction of aquatic lives and damaged water bodies and farms. Residents have also reported health problems after the incident occurred. In an investigation a month later, Premium Times showed that the spill started at least three days earlier than the owner of the well and the federal government publicly acknowledged. In Shell’s case, it has spent decades in local and international courts contesting responsibility for spills in its pipeline, and we expect that this latest spill in Peremabiri will get its customary clean-up delay.