Shell Shuts Down Underwater Pipeline Operation After Oil Spill, Names Location Affected

• The 16-inch Nun River-Kolo stream crude trunkline in Bayelsa has ceased receiving crude feeds after an oil spill
• According to the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), this occurred after an oil spill in the region
• The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency announced the oil spill from Shell's underwater pipeline

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Following an oil spill, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) reports that it has stopped receiving crude feeds into its 16-inch Nun River-Kolo stream crude trunkline in Bayelsa.

SPDC spokesperson Michael Adande said in a statement on Friday that the business closed its joint venture asset in the Bayelsa hamlet of Obololi as it attempts to control and clean up the spill.

The oil spill from Shell's underwater pipeline was reported by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), The Cable reported.

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According to NOSDRA Director-General Chukwuemeka Woke, the organization started a joint investigative visit (JIV) to find out what caused the spill after receiving a report of the event on Monday.

However, Woke said the exact cause of the leak remains unknown as the pipeline is submerged in water.

According to Shell, the leak was stopped by closing the underwater pipeline, and the company also intends to carry out the regulator-led JIV.

“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of the SPDC Joint Venture (SPDC JV), confirms that its Oil Spill Response Team has identified a leak from one of the SPDC JV assets located in the Obololi community, Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa state,” Adande said.

“The Team immediately isolated the line and suspended production into the line.

“The regulatory authorities and other stakeholders have been notified. Plan to conduct a regulator-led Joint Investigation Visit (JIV), to determine the cause and impact of the spill is ongoing.”

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According to Shell, the 16-inch pipeline carries oil generated in the Bayelsa wetlands from different oil fields to the SPDC manifold in Kolo.

FG grants NNPC, Shell, 4 others licence for gas distribution

Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian government gave six businesses ten gas distribution licenses (GDL) on Tuesday, January, 28th 2025 to boost the nation's gas consumption campaign.

The beneficiary companies are: Axxela, NIPCO Plc, Central Horizon Gas Company, Falcon Corporation Limited, NNPC Gas Marketing Limited, and Shell Nigeria Gas Limited.

The government claims that the GDL, which is granted to qualified applicants to distribute gas at the "last mile," is a license that grants the sole right to establish, build, and run a gas distribution system in a designated local Gas Distribution Zone (GDZ) as stipulated in Sections 148–152 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Source: Legit.ng