Oil spill hits Bayelsa community as NOSDRA begins recovery Obololi, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State as it commenced the recovery of the spilled crude on Friday.
In a statement on Friday, the Director-General of NOSDRA, Chukwuemeka Woke, confirmed that the agency received a report of the oil spill on Monday and immediately initiated a joint investigative visit to determine its cause.
Woke stated that the leak was traced to Shell’s 16-inch Nun River-Kolo Creek pipeline, resulting in crude oil spilling into the River Nun and impacting communities around Obololi.
The statement read, “The agency received a report on Monday, February 17, 2025, of a crude oil spill from Shell Petroleum Development Company 16” Nun River-Kolo creek pipeline at Obololi community in Southern Ijaw LGA, Bayelsa State.
“Following the receipt of the report as the lead agency on all matters related to oil spill incidents in Nigeria, the agency convened and held a joint investigation visit to the incident area.”
However, Woke stated that the exact cause of the leak remains unknown since the pipeline is submerged underwater.
“The JIV was led by NOSDRA and included stakeholders such as Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, the Bayelsa Ministry of Environment, and representatives of the affected community to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he said.
“The JIV aims to recommend necessary regulatory compliance actions to mitigate the spill’s impact. The cause of the spill is unknown because the suspected leak point is submerged in water, making the investigation inconclusive. SPDC is preparing a coffer dam to access the spill point.”
Woke added that containment measures had been implemented, and temporary storage tanks were being deployed.
He emphasized that NOSDRA is actively monitoring the situation to ensure proper response actions are carried out.
“SPDC is preparing a coffer dam to enable the team to get access to the spill point. Containment of the spill area has been completed. Temporary storage tanks are in transit to the spill location; and recovery of free-phase oil will commence on Friday, February 21, 2025.
“The agency is actively monitoring the ongoing response and continuously evaluating the situation to ensure that appropriate response actions are deployed accordingly. The agency will provide further details as events unfold,” he said.
According to NOSDRA’s 2024 report, a total of 19,000 barrels of crude oil—approximately three million liters or the equivalent of 95 oil tanker trucks—was spilled last year.
