Suspected vandals trigger leakage in Shell’s oil field

The activities of suspected vandals at Shell’s Okordia Manifold at Ikarama community, Bayelsa, has triggered leakage of crude into the surroundings near the facility reports News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Community sources at Ikarama in Yenagoa Local Government Area told NAN on Monday that the leakage which was noticed on June 11, had not been clamped.

The Okordia manifold operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Ikarama, collects crude from over 40 oil wells into the Trans-Niger Pipeline which transports crude to storage and export facilities in Bonny, Rivers.

Chief Dickson Ikioweri, the Chairman of Ikarama Community Development Committee, said that the members of the community reported the incident to the oil firm on June 12.

“The spill happened Wednesday evening. We were in the community and some people discovered that something was making some noise over there.

“And some tried to trace the sound to the Shell manifold and they returned with the news that it was a spill.

“Somebody must have tampered with one of the valves inside the manifold and; crude oil was spewing from the valve point. It was man-made spill. Shell has been informed that there is spill.

“We are a community that operates along family lines. And that area where the spill happened belongs to three families.

“And so anything about the spill and how it happened and things that follow is the concern of those three families and Shell.

“The community has very little to do or say on such issues except to confirm that such a thing actually happened. We are all aware that Shell does not pay compensation for spills caused by sabotage and, I am in support of that stance,” Ikioweri said.

The community leader who stated that the oil spill was still ongoing, urged the firm to fix the leak to save the environment from further pollution.

A NAN Correspondent who visited the Okordia manifold spill site in Ikrama on Monday reports that crude oil was spraying into the air from a height of more than five meters above the ground before settling on the ground.

Crude oil was seen flowing out from under the gate of the manifold and from behind the fenced manifold into the surrounding areas.

NAN gathered that some officials of SPDC had visited the spill site but were unable to stop the leakage.

When contacted for comments, Mr Joesph Obare, the SPDC spokesman declined comments on the spill incident. (NAN)