The Benisede-Brass Creek Delivery Line owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company, (SPDC) has been reported to be discharging crude oil due to a leak in the Peretuorugbene area in Bayelsa State.
The National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) while confirming the incident, said that the investigation showed that the leak was caused by oil thieves.
In reaction, the Director-General of NOSDRA, Mr Idris Musa, said the team of investigators discovered that suspected vandals installed several tapping points’ on the Benisede-Brass Creek pipeline from where they stole crude.
According to him, despite several appeals to citizens “to put the nation’s environment and the economy at a higher level of consideration and consciousness, some unpatriotic elements continue to inflict untold hardship on our environment and the economy.”
Musa said that the adverse impact of oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the country was responsible for the drop in power generation and the collapse of the national grid.
“The current collapse of the national grid is also fueled by the incessant vandalism of the gas pipelines both causing embarrassment to the nation as well as sabotaging government efforts in providing quality services to the nation,” he added.
He urged the people to collaborate with the government in flushing out criminal elements “that are bent on enriching themselves through pipelines repairs and oil theft.”
