BBC News –
The head of Friends of the Earth, Nigeria, has warned that a recent oil spill off the country’s coast could have a severe environmental impact.
“We are concerned this will have a major impact on the ocean, on the coastline, as well as on fisheries,” Nnimmo Bassey told the BBC.
An estimated 40,000 barrels of crude oil have spilled into the Atlantic Ocean from the Shell oil field. Shell maintains that the leak remains offshore, is thinning and breaking up.
Shell’s chairman in Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu, told the BBC the leak was “regrettable” but the oil firm was attempting to “mitigate the consequences”.
Mr Sunmonu said he was confident that the five ships using dispersing agents and the evaporation of the oil meant the spill would not reach the shore.
“It gives me a lot of confidence that it will not impact on the coastline,” he told the BBC.
The leak occurred at the Bonga field, which is approximately 120km (75 miles) offshore and produces 10% of Nigeria’s oil exports.
It happened during a transfer of oil to a tanker.
Maritime & Travel news 