The oil spills from Seibou oil well operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Bayelsa State has been traced to a ruptured and dilapidated pipeline.
A joint investigation visit (JIV) report on the incident obtained by SaharaReporters estimated that some 549 barrels of SPDC’s crude was discharged into Ogboinbiri River in Southern Ijaw local government area. The spill has affected several communities in the area.
The spill impacted 300,000 square meters of water surface, an area roughly the size of 42 football pitches, in Bayelsa State.
In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Joseph Obari, Shell said the leakage was reported on January 23, 2015, and that the company subsequently shut the facility 15 hours afterwards when it became safe to do so.
However, SaharaReporters discovered that Shell failed to report the incident on its own oil spills incident website even though the facts were available to the company.