Shell/community disagreement stalls Kolo creek spill site cleanup

The leak within the Kolo creek oil field operated by SPDC in Bayelsa  discharged yet to be ascertained volume of Shell’s crude blend into the environment on April 15, 2015.
A site visit to the oil spill site on Monday indicated that oil spill response workers deployed to halt the spill had left the site while cleanup activities were yet to start.
A Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) conducted by officials of SPDC, Bayelsa Ministry of Environment, community representatives and oil industry regulators on April 16, concluded that the spill was caused by sabotage.
It was however gathered that representatives of the community and officials of SPDC held divergent views over the cause of the spill during the Joint Investigative Visit.
A community representative who participated in the JIV but who wished to remain anonymous told Daily Trust that the community feels that the sabotage was a fallout of negligence by surveillance staff of the oil firm.
“We are not accepting the theory of sabotage at all, that facility is a restricted area and well fortified, we believe that it is the responsibility of Shell to protect their facility and if they are negligent on this they should be held liable.
“Sabotage has to be defined, it cannot be used loosely to cover up the negligence of the oil firm; we do believe it is negligence and not sabotage.
“The spill had wreaked havoc and destroyed surrounding farmlands and plantain plantations in the community, we must resolve who bears responsibility for all these before cleanup can start,” the source said.
Bayelsa Commissioner for Environment, Mr Iniruo Wills, visited the spill site before the JIV on April 15 with officials of the ministry and civil society organisations for an on-the-spot assessment.