Renaissance Africa Energy, a Nigerian independent oil firm, has suspended crude oil transportation through its Okordia-Rumuekpe pipeline in Rivers State following an oil spill, the company announced on Tuesday.
The pipeline, which conveys crude southwards to the Rumuekpe manifold for onward export through the Bonny terminal, suffered a spill early on Monday in the Ikata community, located in Ahoada East Local Government Area, according to the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria).
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The leak was first detected by YEAC-Nigeria’s network of community volunteers.
Renaissance, which acquired the former onshore operations of Shell and now operates the affected pipeline, confirmed it had ceased injecting crude into the pipeline and had initiated measures to limit potential environmental harm, according to a spokesperson’s statement.
Although the company has yet to reveal the cause or magnitude of the spill, YEAC-Nigeria suspects the incident resulted from external interference, with crude oil reportedly contaminating the surrounding environment.
Renaissance stated it had informed relevant government regulators and was collaborating with them and the local community to carry out a joint investigative visit to the site.
The oil-rich Niger Delta continues to suffer from frequent oil spills and sabotage of infrastructure, which not only cause severe environmental pollution but also disrupt oil production and endanger local livelihoods.
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Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, told Reuters that the volunteers who visited the spill site discovered signs of digging and deliberate tampering with the pipeline infrastructure.
