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Oil Leak forces Shell to shutdown Nigerian oilfield
Environmental Damage caused by past oil spill in Nigeria. PHOTO/File
An oil leak has caused a production halt at a Shell facility off Nigeria capable of producing 200,000 barrels per day, the company said Wednesday, adding that “less than 40,000 barrels” have spilled.
“Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company can confirm it is responding to an oil leak at the 200,000 barrel-per-day capacity Bonga deepwater facility, approximately 120 kilometres off the Nigeria coast,” a statement said.
“Early indications show that less than 40,000 barrels of oil have leaked in total.” A spokesman confirmed production had been shut there.
Shell said the leak occurred Tuesday during a transfer of crude to a waiting tanker off Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer and an OPEC member which has been producing between 2.0 and 2.4 million barrels per day in recent months.
“An export line linking the production and storage vessel to the tanker has been identified as the likely source, and has been closed and de-pressurized, halting the flow of oil,” it said, adding no one was injured.
Shell Nigeria head Mutiu Sunmonu apologized for the leak in the statement and said the company was working to quickly clean it up.
“We are sorry this leak has happened,” he said.
