Indigenes of Otuasega community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, have raised alarm over an oil spill from a Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, facility.
The community warned that unless urgent remedial steps were taken to contain the spill, it could spread and impact on the community’s farmlands and creek.
Though the cause of the spill could not be immediately ascertained, some community folks said it was noticed last week.
According to them, a vacuum truck was also noticed being used to remove some of the spilled crude from the impacted site.
Vice-Chairman of the Otuasega Community Development Committee, Mr Williams Isiki, blamed the spill on operational failure, stressing that the company should not hesitate to take concrete steps to checkmating environmental degradation and other related problems in the area.
He said: “We don’t really know when this oil spill happened; it seems to have occurred over a week now. Although Shell is claiming it was as a result of sabotage but we know that this is not true. What we know is that Shell was working on its pipeline within our environment and it was as a result of that work that this spill occurred.
“They were flushing the pipeline from Well 3 and that was the cause. If you go to Well 3 even now, you will notice that there are signs of what I am telling you; some local security men engaged by Shell are still there.”
Corroborating the community’s claim, the Environmental Rights Action, ERA, in a report said: “Information about a recent oil spill on the environment reached the Environmental Rights Action/Friend of the Earth (ERA/FoEN) yesterday, our field monitors visited the community and impacted site early this morning (yesterday) for confirmation of the incident.”
ERA, through its Field Coordinator in Bayelsa, Mr. Alagoa Morris, urged Shell to take all necessary steps to effect proper clean up, taking into consideration that rain could flood the area and cause the crude oil slick to spread and impact farmlands, ponds and other bodies of water.
Contacted, Shell’s spokesman, Mr. Precious Okolobo, said: “A few days ago, we were informed of a suspected oil spill on a flow line in the Koko Creek area. Since then, a Joint Investigation Team, comprising regulators such as the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR and Ministry of Environment, community and Shell had made two unsuccessful attempts to assess the site. This is because the location is flooded.”
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