Niger Delta: Shell Reports Second Oil Spillage in Less than Two Months

Shell has reported another oil spill in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, the second in less than two months. According to a Reuters report, the latest spill occurred Tuesday at Ogale, near Port Harcourt. The company stated that it happened after a saver (reserve) pit overflowed during flushing operations. However, the Youth and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) noted that the spill began when crude oil from an underground pit leaked into a pipeline near the Ogoni cleanup project site.

A Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary spokesperson said the company had contained the spill and notified authorities. A joint investigation led by regulators is reportedly being arranged to determine the cause and assess the impact on the environment and local communities.

However, this is one of many cases and marks the second reported spill from a Shell facility in two months. On December 14, 2024,  a spill occurred at Shell’s Bonny Terminal after a pipeline ruptured. Oil spills have long plagued the Niger Delta.

Decades of leaks from pipelines and wellheads have devastated farmlands, contaminated water sources, and made fishing nearly impossible for many communities. Between 2020 and 2021, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) recorded 822 spills, releasing over 28,000 barrels of oil into the environment. The situation has also contributed to serious health risks, with residents reporting respiratory illnesses and skin diseases linked to crude oil exposure and gas flaring. Life expectancy in the region remains at just 41 years – 10 years below the national average.

For years, the Ogale community has sought justice for the environmental devastation caused by Shell’s operations. In a significant legal victory, Ogale and Bille, another community in Rivers State, secured a favourable ruling against Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), in the UK Court of Appeal. The legal action, initiated in 2015, aimed to hold Shell accountable for decades of pollution. In October 2024, the appellate court overturned a controversial UK High Court decision from March that could have blocked the case, allowing over 13,000 residents to proceed to a full trial. The ruling marked a significant step in their long battle for accountability and compensation.

Despite these challenges, Shell continued to push forward with plans to sell its onshore assets in Nigeria. In 2022, a court blocked the company from divesting until it resolved a $2 billion compensation claim for past spills. However, the Supreme Court later overturned that ruling, clearing the way to sell Shell’s onshore Nigerian assets to Renaissance Africa.

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