Shell Records Trunkline Sabotage In Bayelsa

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria has said   that its 33-kilometre Okordia-Rumuekpe trunkline in Bayelsa was sabotaged six times between  August 2 and August 15 this year.

Mr Tony Okonedo, Corporate Media Relations Manager of Shell, made the disclosure in a statement made available to the newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday.

He said that the same number of oil spills were recorded on the trunkline where unknown persons used hacksaw to cut the lines.

‘’ The 33-km line receives crude oil from two flow stations which were shut down as SPDC worked to repair the leaks. ‘’ Repair was completed on five previously reported incidents on August 13. The 6th point was sabotaged on August 15 and reportedly set on fire by unknown persons on Aug. 18.

‘’ The fire has burnt out, and an SPDC team was able to repair the last of the leak points on August  20, after about 100 community women initially blocked access to the spill site, ‘’ he said. Okonedo quoted Mr Tony Attah, Vice President, Health,Safety and Environment and Corporate Affairs, Shell Sub-Saharan Africa as saying that : “if you add the six in August to another one we recorded in June, it means there have been seven sabotage spills on the same trunkline just this year’’. Attah was also quoted as appealing to those responsible for the sabotage to stop their nefarious activities for the sake of the environment, their personal safety and the wellbeing of the communities. Okonedo said on  August  21, another three hacksaw cuts were reported on the nearby Adibawa delivery line and that Shell was mobilising to repair the line.