Nigeria Oil Spill 'Worst in a Decade' (Satellite Image Link)

by NowPublic Staff | December 22, 2011 at 10:47 am

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Shell Admits to 40,000-Barrel Nigeria Spill

Shell has admitted to an oil spill off the coast of Nigeria, which is likely the worst spill the country has seen in a decade. The spill has spread across over 350 square miles. Shell said that up to 40,000 barrels have been leaked into the sea, but that figure has already been challenged as too low.

The Nigeria oil spill occurred in the Bonga deepwater oil field, and is moving toward the coast.

Satellite Image: Shell Nigeria Spill

Shell tends to blame its Nigeria oil leaks on vandalism, but has been found responsible of two major spills in the Bodo region in 2008, which affected 69,000 people.

The company has yet to pay for damages or compensation.

But a leading Nigerian human rights group said Shell's figures about the quantity of oil spilled or the clean-up could not be relied on. "Shell says 40,000 barrels were spilled and production was shut but we do not trust them because past incidents show that the company consistently under-reports the amounts and impacts of its carelessness," said Nnimmo Bassey, head of Environmental Rights Action, based in Lagos.