A major oil spill has occurred in the B-Dere community of Ogoniland, Nigeria, following a rupture of the Trans-Niger pipeline. This was reported by Reuters, quoting Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation.
"This spill has yet to be contained and demonstrates why the government should focus on cleaning up Ogoniland instead of opening new oil wells. Old wells should be shut down and decommissioned. We are facing a disaster zone, and even a single accidental spark could cause further catastrophes," said Bassey.
The Trans-Niger pipeline, with a capacity of about 450,000 barrels per day, is one of two key pipelines exporting Bonny Light crude oil from Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa.
This incident marks the second rupture of the pipeline in just two months. In March, the pipeline was shut down after an explosion resulted in a fire.
Renaissance Group, the Nigerian oil consortium that now owns the former onshore subsidiary of Shell responsible for the pipeline, confirmed the rupture and said an investigation team has been dispatched to determine the cause of the leak.
