Local Media Report
Nigeria is heavily dependent on crude oil.
Nigerian lawmakers have directed Shell Nigeria Exploration Company to pay the sum of $3.6 billion (about N604bn) as damages for the Bonga oil spill allegedly caused by its equipment failure.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment, Hon Uche Ekwunife, Wednesday, gave the directive during an investigative public hearing on the SNEPCo Bonga crude oil spill, which occurred on the December 20, 2011.
The breakdown of the independent value analysis adopted by the Committee indicated that N63.6bn is to be paid for direct losses, which are irreversible damages, another N103.192bn for loss of income, N85bn for provision of water, while N27.4bn is for forestry and NTFP, a report by Abuja based Leadership Newspaper says.
For the indirect losses, the oil company is to pay N14.35bn for health hazards; N8million for injurious affection and N302.4bn for punitive damage.
According to the report, the oil spillage and harmful chemical pollutants affected 350 coastal communities and satellite villages in the state. SNEPCo had in its report agreed “to an oil spill estimate at 40,000 barrels into the marine environment in Bonga on December 2011”.
“The cause of the spill was equipment failure resulting from a snapped loading hose under water,” said the report. Earlier in his submissions, director-general of National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA), Peter Idabor, who expressed disgust over the high-handedness of SNEPCo management, accused the oil company of frustrating moves to hold the multi-stakeholders meeting as directed by the Committee earlier.
He pointed out that at the meeting initiated by SNEPCo, the NOSDRA had disagreed on what he called insincerity on the part of SNEPCo, on the unilateral adoption of different titles like ‘mystery oil spill’ and ‘meeting of SNEPCo palliative’ at different fora.
He added that various stakeholders resolved to withdraw from the meeting and the minister of environment, when briefed on the outcome of the multi-stakeholders meeting, further directed other parties not to attend any of such meetings again.
