Shell Plc has said that in 2024, its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), the operator of the SPDC joint venture, reported 20 operational spill incidents of more than 100 kilograms of crude oil.

According to it, this represents a 122 per cent increase when compared to the nine spill incidents that SPDSC reported in 2023.

These were contained in the 2024 Annual Report and Accounts of Shell Plc which was seen by New Telegraph yesterday. According to the report, the increase in the number of operational spill incidents was largely because of a rise in cases of failure due to factory defects in a locally manufactured clamp used in pipeline repairs following the removal of illegal connections.

The report further disclosed that in 2024, the volume of operational spills of oil and oil products was 0.37 thousand tonnes compared with 0.005 thousand tonnes reported in 2023. It added that the majority (89%) of the 2024 volume relates to two significant incidents, one onshore on the Trans Niger Pipeline and the other offshore at a terminal loading buoy.

According to Shell reported in 2024, about 81 per cent of crude oil spill incidents of more than 100 kilograms from SPDC JV facilities were caused by the illegal activities of third parties.