An International Oil Company, Shell said the number of spills caused by sabotage and theft in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region rose to 111 in 2018 from 67 in 2017, representing a sharp increase of 71 percent.
“The increase can be partly explained by increased availability of our production facilities following the repair of a major export line in 2017 and the price of crude oil and refined products, which is seen as an opportunity for more illegal refining,” Shell said in its 2018 sustainability report released recently.
The IOC said the volume of oil spilt as a result rose to 1,600 tonnes (about 12,000 barrels) from 1,400 tonnes in 2017.
Shell has been in the eye of the storm with regards to oil spill in the Niger Delta region where poverty and criminal activities are rife in spite of the region’s enormous oil resources.
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