Shell Reports Oil Spill in Nigeria Following Saver Pit Overflow

 Energy giant Shell (SHEL.L) has reported an oil spill in Ogale, a community near Port Harcourt in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, after a saver pit overflowed during flushing operations. The spill, which occurred on Tuesday, has raised fresh concerns over the environmental impact of oil extraction in the region.

According to Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, the company’s spill response team swiftly contained the overflow and notified regulatory authorities. Plans are now underway for a government-led joint investigation to assess the cause and extent of the spill, a Shell spokesperson confirmed in a statement.

The Niger Delta, which serves as the heart of Nigeria’s oil industry, has suffered severe environmental degradation due to decades of oil spills, pipeline vandalism, and poor waste management. The region’s residents, many of whom rely on fishing and farming, have long complained of the devastating impact of these spills on their livelihoods and health.

Local environmental advocacy group, the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), has expressed concerns over the latest incident. The organization stated that the spill originated from an underground pit filled with crude oil, which started flowing into a pipeline separating sections of the ongoing Ogoni environmental cleanup project.

The Ogoni cleanup project, initiated by the Nigerian government and backed by international bodies, was designed to rehabilitate land and water bodies contaminated by decades of oil exploration in the Ogoniland area. However, recurring spills and slow remediation efforts have undermined progress.

Shell has pledged full cooperation with authorities to determine the impact of the spill and take necessary corrective actions. Environmentalists, however, continue to call for stricter regulations and corporate accountability to prevent further ecological disasters in the region.