Fire Breaks Out On Shell Pipeline

Fire broke out on the Okordia/Rumuekpe oil pipeline of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Tuesday forcing production to be temporarily shut down, but the blaze has since been put out, a spokesman for the company has said.

The fire on the pipeline in Ikarama, Bayelsa State, started a day after the company received reports of an oil spill there and was still burning as at 1.45pm, SPDC spokesman, Mr. Precious Okolobo, told newsmen by telephone.

He said, “Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited confirmed reports of a fire incident this morning on the Okordia/Rumuekpe line and mobilised a fire-fighting team to the site.

“Some production has been shut down… We can’t give detailed figures on that. A joint investigation planned for yesterday would determine the cause and impact.”

He later added that “the fire has reportedly burned out, but production will stay shut off until investigation and repairs are carried out.”

Environmentally devastating oil spills are common in the vast network of creeks and rivers that make up the Niger Delta.

In many cases, oil output is disrupted by sabotage attacks on facilities and by the tapping of pipelines to steal oil.

Local community leader, Mr. Washington Odoyibo, told newsmen he had contacted Shell about the Ikarama oil spill on Monday, and that the fire had indeed broken out late on Tuesday night.

He said he had received reliable reports that local youths sabotaged the pipeline.