TheCable

The Okordia-Rumekpe 14-inch crude truckline operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has discharged 110 barrels of crude oil into Ikarama community in Bayelsa state.

Bamidele Odugbesan, SPDC’s media relations manager, confirmed the leakage on Thursday, noting that a probe into the incident had been concluded.

Shell, in a joint investigative visit (JIV) report seen by TheCable, noted that the oil spillage occurred on April 7 and investigation concluded on April 12.

JIV is a statutory probe into the cause of any recorded spill incident involving the oil firm, regulators, host communities and state ministries of environment.

The JIV report also disclosed that the spill was an operational mishap traced to equipment failure which impacted nearby palm trees and fish ponds.

It indicated that an estimated 1.34 hectares of land was polluted by the leakage which followed a rupture on the pipeline.

Shell, however, anticipated that the oil recovery would be concluded before the end of April, noting that no spill is acceptable to the company and always working hard to prevent them

Following the investigation, the report recommended remediation of the site and replacement of sections of the pipeline to restore its integrity.