Spill response and prevention in Nigeria
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) produces oil and gas through its SPDC joint venture (SPDC-operated, with Shell interest 30%), which operates a network of wells and pipelines across the Niger Delta.
Over the last 11 years, the total number of operational spills in the Niger Delta has fallen significantly, from more than 60 in 2011 to 9 in 2021. The SPDC JV also continues to work at preventing spills caused by third-party interference and other illegal activities. The JV has increased security and surveillance, and implemented several local initiatives to address the underlying causes and raise awareness of the damage caused by sabotage and theft.
Regardless of the cause of a spill, the SPDC JV cleans up and remediates areas affected by spills originating from its facilities. With operational spills, SPDC pays compensation to affected people and communities. When a spill is caused by illegal activities, SPDC provides relief to the communities affected on a case-by-case basis. This relief can include food, health checks and clean water supply. In 2021, the time needed to complete the recovery of free-phase oil – oil that forms a separate layer and is not mixed with water or soil – was around six days.
Spills in 2021 |
Clean-up |
Prevention |
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Number of operational spills: 9 [A] |
Average days before joint investigations commence: 2 days in 2021, improved from six days in 2016 |
Illegal theft points removed: 195 in 2021, 922 in total since 2016 |
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Number of spills caused by third-party interference and other illegal activities: 106 [B], 91% of the total number |
Average days to complete the recovery of surface oil: around 6 days in 2021, improved from 13 days in 2016 |
Steel cages installed to protect wellheads: 283 in total |
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Volume of spills caused by third-party interference and other illegal activities: 3,333 tonnes, 99% of the total volume |
Number of sites remediated: 187 in 2021, 651 in total since 2016 |
Breaches of steel cages in 2021: 29 out of 1,700 attempts |
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By the end of 2021, a total of 283 cages had been installed to protect wellheads, including 62 that had been upgraded with CCTV. This compared with a total of 364 installed cages at the end of 2020. The year-on-year reduction of 81 cages was attributable to the 2021 divestment of the OML-17 licence.
SPDC continues to review its portfolio options for onshore oil in Nigeria. In the last decade, SPDC has reduced its licences in this area by half.
Read more on spill prevention and response in Nigeria at www.shell.com.ng/environment and www.shell.com.ng/oil-spills.
