Shell has reiterated its commitment to Nigeria and its people with which it has done business for more than 60 years, and therefore declared that “Nigeria is core to Shell’s business strategies”
Like other multinationals, Shell continually seeks to enhance its portfolio of assets through selective investments and divestments in order to return value to shareholders.
The company in its 2021 report on its operations in Nigeria (Nigeria Brief Notes2021) with a sub title “Preventing and Cleaning Up Spills” stated that over the last decade, Shell Petroleum Development Company,(SPDC,) has reduced its licences in the Niger Delta by half and in 2021 completed the sale of its 30% interest in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17 in the Eastern Niger Delta.
“Options for the remaining onshore portfolio are under consideration. Security issues, sabotage and crude oil theft in the Niger Delta remained significant challenges to our onshore operations in 2021. We continue to monitor the situation closely and evaluate implications”
“for the integrity of our infrastructure and the sustainability of the SPDC JV’s operations. We have announced our intention to review material portfolio options for onshore Nigeria, in line with our intent to focus future investment in Nigeria on our deep-water and gas positions. We are in discussions with the Nigerian government and other stakeholders on how this can best be achieved. Despite the required portfolio rebalancing, which is in line with Shell’s Powering Progress Strategy, Nigeria remains core for Shell and we will continue our investments in deep-water and gas.”
In 2021, SPDC reported nine operational spill incidents of more than 100 kilograms of crude oil, fewer than the 12 reported in 2020. The volume of around 29 tonnes was slightly less than the 30 tonnes reported in 2020. The volume of operational oil spills is far less than the quantities spilled by the illegal actions of third parties.
SPDC regrets these spills and recognises there is still work to do to end operational spills completely. SPDC believes this is possible if it can continue to improve its performance in the areas where it has control.
To reduce the number of operational spills in Nigeria, SPDC has an ongoing work programme to appraise, maintain and replace key sections of pipelines and flow lines.
Over the last 11 years, about 1,410 kilometres of pipelines and flow lines have been replaced. This work is organised through a pipeline and flow line integrity management system that seeks to proactively address pipeline integrity. It installs barriers where necessary and recommends when and where pipeline sections should be replaced to prevent failures.
Crude oil theft and illegal refining continue to bring challenges to all operators in the Niger Delta.
The companies reports that most oil spills in the Niger Delta continue to be caused by crude oil theft, the sabotage of oil and gas production facilities, and illegal oil refining, including the distribution of illegally refined products.
Olusola Bello
