The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of SPDC Joint Venture (SPDC-JV), has reiterated its commitment to safe, clean environment.
The company stated that it is committed to operate SPDC-JV facilities in a responsible manner with due regard for the environment. “When spills occur from SPDC-JV facilities in the Niger Delta we respond as quickly as possible, no matter what their cause. We work hard to reduce the number and volume of operational spills, i.e. spills due to corrosion, human error and equipment failure.
“Over the past five years, on average, 19 per cent of spills from SPDC-JV facilities have been in this category, whilst the majority have been caused by sabotage or theft.”
The oil giant said it has publicly reported oil spill statistics annually since 1995 in the Shell sustainability report and its website further enhances transparency on spills in Nigeria from SPDC-JV facilities.
“It tracks the progress of our spill response from when we learn about the leak to when clean-up is completed and certified by Regulators. SPDC continuously monitors SPDC-JV facilities for leaks and responds to anomalies. In addition, any reports, either by community surveillance teams under contract to SPDC or by the public, are responded to as soon as possible in line with Regulatory requirements,” it stated.
On how it responds to oil spills, SPDC said it first shuts down the flow of oil to the asset and leak point. By immediately shutting down the affected asset “we minimize the damage to the environment. Steps are then taken to verify other details about the incident in preparation for the response. The response starts with containment of the oil at the spill site.
“A Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) with a team comprised of the relevant government regulators, the impacted communities and SPDC, is undertaken to determine the spread, the volume and the cause of the spill.
“The government regulators involved in the JIV are the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). The relevant State Ministry of the Environment and the Police also attend the JIV. After the JIV, SPDC’s oil spill response team makes the necessary repairs and recovers as much of the spilled oil as possible. This is referred to as clean-up.
“Following clean-up, an assessment is undertaken, and where required, remediation is carried out as appropriate.
“After completion of the clean-up and where necessary the remediation, close-out inspection and certification is carried out by the relevant Government regulators. The entire spill response process is governed by performance standards, as prescribed by Nigerian Law, in particular as defined in the DPR’s Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN) of 2002 and NOSDRA Act 2006,” it stated.
Between January-October 2016, SPDC recorded 59 oil spill incidents, with over 5000barrels of crude oil lost, majority of which was caused by sabotage, according to the oil giant.