Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has accused the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) of improper clean-up and remediation of oil spill sites at Ikarama community in Bayelsa State.
Though SPDC and an environmental group have held divergent views on remediation of spill sites, the people of the area are still suffering from the harsh effect of the incessant oil spill caused by exploration by multinational oil majors.
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ERA/FoEN in a field report titled, ‘Shell’s Improper Clean-up and Remediation of Spill Sites Exposed’ indicated that “crude oil was found at depths of one metre and above in the ground” at impacted sites the SPDC and NAOC claimed to have remediated.
The report signed by Alagoa Morris, Head of Field Operations at ERA/FoEN office in Yenagoa and his Assistant, Akpotu Ziworitin, said the organisation visited Ikarama on August 20.
The environmental rights group explained that the visit followed information, including photos, it received from the community people claiming that crude oil was found in the ground in an area previously impacted by oil spills.
He said: “On getting to the environment of interest, ERA/FoEN field monitors demanded that an entirely fresh spot be cleared and dug.
“It was eventually confirmed that crude oil was found in the dug area in the depth of more than one meter.
“Most of the oil spills have occurred within the immediate community environment close to residential buildings, farms and farmlands”.
“This latest revelation has confirmed ERA/FoEN’s position over the years in monitoring and reporting the Ikarama environment that Shell has not been doing proper clean-up and remediation of oil spill impacted sites.’’
However, SPDC has denied the allegations and stated that its oil spills clean-up and remediation processes comply with industry best practices and are supervised by the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency.
Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, SPDC’s Media Relations Manager, while reacting to the allegation, maintained that the oil firm cleans up spill sites in accordance with standards set by the industry regulators.
He said: “The SPDC uses primarily remediation by Enhanced Natural Attenuation (bioremediation) to clean up, a process believed to be the best for the soil and climate conditions of the hot and humid Niger Delta.
“Our clean-up and remediation is done under the regulatory oversight of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Department of Petroleum Resources and in line with a DPR-approved Remedial Action Plan (RAP).
“All our remediation practices are aimed to be compliant with the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN).”
