Shell is containing an oil spill in the Niger Delta, the company said on Friday, after the military reported liquid “jetting” out of a pipeline.
Massive oil theft, sabotage of infrastructure and leaks from ageing pipelines are all cutting into the profits of oil majors operating in Nigeria, as well as damaging the public finances of Africa’s second-largest economy.
The hundreds of spills a year in the Niger Delta have also done serious environmental damage, destroying fishing communities and poisoning water used for drinking and bathing.
The military joint task force (JTF) operating in Nigeria said it discovered a leak on a pipeline near Adamakiri in Rivers State while looking for illegal oil refiners.
“An assessment of the spot revealed that a brownish liquid substance was observed jetting out from an opening on the pipeline,” a statement from the JTF said.
“The Commanding Officer … attributed the leakage to corrosion on the pipeline.”
A spokesman for Shell’s Nigeria unit said on Friday that “oil spill containment” had been put in place after the leak was found but it was too early to determine the cause.