Nigeria oil leak adds to polluted delta waters

An oil spill has spread throughout the swamp areas and the sea of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, reports Reuters. The large spill happened near the Brass facility, which is run by Italian energy company ENI. The company reported that the leak has coated the area, but that it is not yet able to determine what caused the spill.

According to an email statement from ENI to Reuters, the spill was seen on November 27th during operations to load a tanker. The spill was visible as a sheen on the sea and as a result the operations were immediately suspended. The company told the news provider that work was not resumed on the tanker until it was seen that the vessel was not leaking the oil and that none of its structures were damaged. 

Large areas of the swamps in the Niger Delta are heavily damaged, with many of the unique mangrove swamps completely dead due to the hundreds of oil leaks that occur every year. The leaks originate through the pipelines that pass through the creeks. 

According to an Amnesty International report, 'Bad Information: Oil Spill Investigations in Niger Delta', a total of 471 oil spills in the Niger Delta were reported by ENI between January and September. In comparison Shell only reported 138, however, the report suggests that this is a misrepresentation of the number and severity of leaks reported by Shell. 

The oil leaks are most often blamed on sabotage and oil theft, but the report suggests that faulty equipment, corroded pipelines and a badly maintained infrastructure are the real reasons behind the high number of damaging leaks in the delta region. Oil companies are usually the investigators when it comes to oil leaks and they are not required to pay compensation if the spills are deemed to be caused by sabotage or theft.

The most recent leak is adding to the problems faced by local residents whose main source of income is fishing, a livelihood that is made difficult by the fact that the sea and rivers are so full of oil.