Bayelsa community laments as Shell’s oil spill damages ecosystem

Some residents of Ikarama community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa have lamented the adverse impact of an oil leak from a nearby oilfield operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

The people have already advocated remediation of oil pollution from the April 7 leak from Shell’s 14-inch Okordia-Rumekpe pipeline, which discharged crude into the ecosystem.

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An indigene of the area, Mr Education Ikiowori, who works at the Ikarama oilfields and witnessed the incident, said the spill was a result of corrosion, explaining that Shell and the regulators had visited the affected area and they excavated it in search of the cause of the spill.

He said: “They all saw that the rupture was caused by corrosion, yet Shell disagreed.

“Normally SPDC, when they come even if the spill was caused by corrosion; they would try to influence it in their favour by saying it was caused by a third party so as to avoid responsibility to the landowners.

“For this one, thank God that it was very obvious that it was equipment failure as the government representatives and regulators and all who were there confirmed it,” he said.

Another indigene, Chief Washington Odoyibo, said residents have been experiencing the antics of Shell attributing every spill incident to sabotage.

He said: “This pipeline is over 40 years, I was a child when they laid this pipe here, but  they refused to replace it and it is failing every now and then.”

The community leader also dismissed the claim by SPDC that some 213 barrels have no impact on the environment and wondered if the environment where the 213 barrels of crude leaked into was isolated from the area.

He explained that due to the high intensity of the sun, the leaked crude evaporated into the air and caused a choking sensation that triggered cough and respiratory difficulties amongst the people.

“When our people inhale this crude oil, in a short while one can come down with a cough. This crude oil can give different kinds of sickness; cough, running nose and so on.

“So, this thing is affecting us. Besides that, if we go inside this our swamp here; you would see different kinds of fishes dead because of this spill. Fish ponds have been destroyed’’ he added.

The Okordia-Rumemkpe crude trunkline is part of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to convey crude to the oil firm’s  export terminal at Bonny in Rivers state.

SPDC’s Media Relations Manager, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, confirmed the leakage and promised to issue a statement on the incident and steps taken to mitigate the pollution soon.