This was contained in a statement signed by a spokesperson for The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Mr Michael Adande, on Thursday.
He said the joint investigation team is led by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency.
Adande said the team also includes the operator and representatives of the host community.
Recall that the community people had claimed that the oil leak occurred on October 3, 2023 from a facility operated by the SPDC.
According to them, the incident happened around the oil firm’s Diebu Creek flow station and spilled crude oil, aided by floodwaters, had spread wide into the river and surrounding swamps of the marine ecosystem.
Several farmlands, including economic trees and crops as well as the marine environment had been gravely impacted by the incident, which the community folks believe was caused by equipment failure.
The Peremabiri Community Development Committee chairman, Basil Young, the assistant women leader, Favour Morgan, and the youth president, Benjamin Ebinibo, on Wednesday, lamented the damage caused by the incident and called for clean-up of the environment and payment of compensation.
They told field monitors of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria led by Alagoa Morris, and journalists, that the joint investigation team was expected on Tuesday and Wednesday (October 11), but nobody was seen.
Adande, however, explained that joint investigation visit to a spill site is a requirement of law.
He said, “A multi-stakeholder team, led by the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) is required by Law to conduct a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the site of any spill in Nigeria as soon as possible after a spill has been identified and containment measures taken. The NOSDRA Act provides that the Agency shall act as the lead Agency in all matters relating to oil spills response management and liaise with the other agencies.
“The Joint Investigative Team, which includes other appropriate government agencies, community representatives and oil company representatives, visits the oil spill site to investigate and determine the cause, impact, scale of spill etc. The resulting JIV report is signed by all parties present and forms the basis of any post-incident decisions and actions.”
