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LequteMan
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Nigeria- Thousands of barrels of oil have spilled into Niger Delta waterways from Shell's pipelines in a scenario which indigenes described as the worst oil spill in recent years. Shell says the spills were as a result of vandalization of pipes by oil thieves but most of the pipes are believed to be in bad conditions. Reuters reports:
Niger Delta fishermen are no strangers to seeing oil spill into their waters from leaky pipelines, but even they were shocked by the scale of the slick stretching for miles from a Shell facility across the swamps and into the ocean.
Some 3,800 barrels spilled, according to an investigation by Shell and government officials. It ranks as one of the worst in Nigeria for years, local environmental activists said. Shell said the spill was caused by a failed crude theft.
In a boat trip to the affected area, Reuters saw crude washing up in pools in front of beach shacks, coating the roots of palm trees and leaving a trail of dead sea life. In some areas, people scooped it up to fill drums and jerry cans.
"We saw dead fish, dead crabs ... This spill occurred 7-8 nautical miles from the shore ... (so) the volume runs into thousands of barrels," Alagoa Morris, head of the Niger Delta Resource Centre for Environmental Rights Action, told Reuters.
Shell shut down its 28 inch pipeline carrying Bonny Light crude on Nov. 22 but the origin of the spill was from the smaller 24 inch pipe, which was shut last year.
#Nigeria #Shell
(Credit: Reuters)
Niger Delta fishermen are no strangers to seeing oil spill into their waters from leaky pipelines, but even they were shocked by the scale of the slick stretching for miles from a Shell facility across the swamps and into the ocean.
Some 3,800 barrels spilled, according to an investigation by Shell and government officials. It ranks as one of the worst in Nigeria for years, local environmental activists said. Shell said the spill was caused by a failed crude theft.
In a boat trip to the affected area, Reuters saw crude washing up in pools in front of beach shacks, coating the roots of palm trees and leaving a trail of dead sea life. In some areas, people scooped it up to fill drums and jerry cans.
"We saw dead fish, dead crabs ... This spill occurred 7-8 nautical miles from the shore ... (so) the volume runs into thousands of barrels," Alagoa Morris, head of the Niger Delta Resource Centre for Environmental Rights Action, told Reuters.
Shell shut down its 28 inch pipeline carrying Bonny Light crude on Nov. 22 but the origin of the spill was from the smaller 24 inch pipe, which was shut last year.
#Nigeria #Shell
(Credit: Reuters)
