SPDC Regional Community Health Manager, Dr Babatude Fakunle (left) listening to Dr Akin Fajola during Obio Cottage Hospital five years celebration in Port Harcourt, recently

Environmental Rights
Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), has accused Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of withholding Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) reports of oil spill incidents.
This is contained in a statement issued by Head of Field Operation of ERA/FoEN Mr Alagoa Morris in Yenagoa yesterday.
ERA/FoEN, an environment focused non-governmental organisation, had accused SPDC of withholding JIV reports of oil spill incidents traced to equipment failure.
It stated that the withholding JIV reports was to evade payment of compensation.
The statement listed Ikarama and Biseni communities of Bayelsa and Joinkrama 4, and Edagberi/Betterland communities in Rivers as some of the communities the company had denied JIV reports.
“SPDC often clandestinely denies the communities of the JIV reports; many of which are equipment failure-related oil spills.
“Shell has continued to deny the people of JK4, Ikarama and Biseni JIV reports craftily and this is unacceptable.
“They withhold such reports from the communities and fail to post most of such incidents on the company’s spill incident website; the particular spill incident numbers are often quoted when giving out clean-up contracts.
“One such incident number is 900866 and relates to a 2012 spill which occurred at Shell’s Okordia Manifold at Ikarama which is conspicuously missing in SPDC’s website.
“After signing the JIV, Shell refused to give out the community copy on the pretext that they need to photocopy the report, on the way they forced down the community representatives from the vehicle and sped off.”
It stated that in the major spill from Shell’s 6 inches Adibawa North pipeline in Kilama, Biseni in May, 2013 which polluted the Taylor Creek and several communities, the JIV report was also withheld by Shell officials.
“After community representatives had signed the JIV with other stakeholders, Shell’s representatives said they will sign their own inside their car.
“On getting to the car, they zoomed off with the JIV report.
“That was another equipment failure spill and Shell has adopted the roguish act of denying the communities any such official records implicating the company,’’ ERA/FoEN stated.
ERA/FoEN insisted that wrong for Shell to withhold the report which was supposed to form part of community records.
It stated that Shell underestimates spilled crude volume during JIVs of equipment failure-related spills but inflates the quantity of spilled oil when it was attributed to oil theft.