A probe into the incident had been concluded.
The Okordia-Rumekpe 14-inch crude truck line operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has discharged some 110 barrels of crude oil into Ikarama community in Bayelsa.
SPDC’s Media Relations Manager, Bamidele Odugbesan, confirmed the leakage and said that the probe into the incident had been concluded.
A Joint Investigative Visit’s (JIV) report obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the incident on Thursday confirmed that the incident occurred on April 7, while the investigation was 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 concluded that the spill was an operational mishap traced to equipment failure which impacted nearby palm trees and fish ponds.
It recommended remediation of the site.
The report indicated that an estimated 1.34 hectares of land was polluted by the leakage, which followed a rupture on the pipeline.
According to the report, the company managed to recover 213 barrels of SPDC’s Bonny light crude stream leak from impacting the environment. The amount that spilled into the area was 109.12 barrels, approximated to 110 barrels.
The JIV report, which anticipated that oil recovery would be concluded before the end of April, also recommended replacement of sections of the pipeline to restore its integrity.
(NAN)
Editor’s Note: This report has been updated with the accurate oil spill figures as indicated in the JIV report.