We Respond to Oil Spills Promptly, Says Shell

• We Respond to Oil Spills Promptly, Says Shell

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited has said it remains committed to swift response to oil spill incidents as much as access and security conditions permit teams to mobilise and deploy to spill sites to investigate, clean up and remediate such areas.

“This is in addition to deploying technology and best practices to make it more difficult for unauthorised persons to break pipelines and steal crude oil from its facilities,” the firm said in a statement on Sunday.

The oil major denied allegations of environmental mismanagement in the Niger Delta levelled against it by Amnesty International.

The General Manager, External Relations, SPDC, Igo Weli, said, “SPDC, in collaboration with government regulators, responds swiftly to spill incidents as quickly as it can, and cleans up spills from its facilities regardless of the cause.

“We regularly test our emergency spill response procedures and capability to ensure that staff and contractors can respond rapidly to an incident. However, response to spills, clean-up and remediation depend on access to the spill site and ultimately on the security of personnel and equipment, while work is ongoing.”

According to him, Amnesty International’s allegations are false, without merit and fail to recognise the complex environment in which the company operates where security, a sole prerogative of the government, remains a major concern with persisting incidents of criminality, kidnapping, vandalism, and threats from self-described militant groups, etc.

Weli added that transparency in the online reporting of spill incidents by SPDC since 2011, which Amnesty itself acknowledged, demonstrated its commitment to creating awareness and enhancing collaboration with key stakeholders on oil spill response and clean-up processes, and deepening understanding of the complex and challenging operating environment.