Shell accused of denying communities JIV reports on oil spill

In a statement, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth (ERA/FoEN), also accused Shell of deploying security operatives “to intimidate and deny communities of the JIV reports.”
The statement signed by Alagoa Morris, Project Officer and Head, Niger Delta Resource Centre, ERA/ FoEN, listed Ikarama and Biseni communities of Bayelsa State and Joinkrama 4(Edagberi/Betterland communities) of River State as some of the communities the company had denied JIV reports.
He added that “specific reference should be made here to the spill incidents from SPDC facilities in Ikarama, JK4 [Edagberi/Betterland communities] and Biseni.
“SPDC often trickishly denies the communities of the JIV reports; many of which are equipment failure-related oil spills. Shell has continued to deny the people of JK4, Ikarama and Biseni JIV reports craftily and, this is unacceptable.
“While they (Shell) deny the communities and fail to post some of such incidents on the company’s website, the particular spill incident numbers are often quoted when giving out clean-up or related contracts. One such incident number is 900866 and relates to a 2012 spill which occurred at Shell’s Okordia Manifold at Ikarama.
According to the NGO, it was the right of communities to have JIV reports signed by them and other stakeholders, stressing that it was wrong for Shell “to cleverly deny them of that vital document” which was supposed to form part of the communities’ records.
The statement said it was no secret that Shell and other multinational oil companies also influence the reduction of spilled volume of crude oil during JIVs but Shell would be quick to inflate the quantity of spilled oil when it was attributed to oil theft by locals.