Nigeria looks into recent spill of Shell oil

A river in the oil-producing Niger Delta was apparently contaminated by a pipeline leak that reportedly lasted many days.

Authorities in Nigeria have reported a fresh oil spill at a Shell plant in the Niger Delta, which they claim has ruined farms and a river and destroyed the livelihoods of communities that depend on fishing and farming.

According to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the spill originated from the British multinational oil and gas company’s Trans-Niger Pipeline, which passes through communities in the Eleme area of Ogoni land in Rivers State.

According to the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), an NGO that keeps track of spills in the Niger Delta, it was discovered on June 11 and continued for more than a week until bursting into the Okulu River, which joins other rivers and finally empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

The amount of oil that leaked is presently unknown, therefore authorities in the West African nation are looking into what caused the disaster.

The YEAC reported that a team from the NOSDRA and members of the local community visited the site on Monday to gather information, evaluate data, go through physical evidence, and identify the sources of the leak.

Local opposition to Shell’s oil development in the Niger Delta has persisted for decades, and there have been numerous judicial battles over oil spills.

The corporation was sued earlier this year by more than 11,000 individuals and 17 institutions in the Ogale community of Nigeria’s oil-producing state for allegedly interfering with their way of life through pollution brought on by spills.

The London-based energy firm blames illegal crude oil extraction and pipeline sabotage for the majority of disasters.

Thandile Chinyavanhu, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Africa, said the current spill significantly hurt Shell’s credibility in the continent’s largest economy.

She said, “Shell must be held financially and legally accountable for this spill as well as for its neocolonial role in causing climate loss and damage.”

The oil giant has “money to pay, after reporting $40 billion in profits last year,” Chinyavanhu continued.

The UK Supreme Court dismissed a case last month brought by two Nigerians against two Shell companies about an offshore oil spill that occurred in 2011. The claimants contended that the pollution’s effects constituted a “continuing nuisance.” The claimants’ submission was denied by the judges, who noted that the leak “was a one-off event or an isolated escape.”