A fresh oil spill has been reported in Freetown community, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, after a section of the Trans Niger Pipeline allegedly ruptured late Friday night, discharging crude oil into surrounding mangrove swamps.
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Community sources told Premium Times that residents woke up in the early hours of Saturday to discover the spill spreading through tidal channels into adjoining creeks and water bodies.
Residents identified the affected facility as the Trans Niger Pipeline, formerly operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company and now managed by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited following its acquisition of Shell’s onshore assets.
A community member, Ekras Kobah, who said he witnessed the rupture, described the situation as severe. He told Premium Times: “Over 100 litres of oil are spilling into the mangrove swamp per hour. The tidal flow is already carrying it into other creeks. The pipe has seriously ruptured, but it is still being used for production at high capacity. From what we can see, it appears to be corrosion.”
Kobah added that the area had suffered repeated spills in the past without adequate remediation. “This is an environment already significantly impacted by previous spills. There has been no proper cleanup,” he said.
According to the report, community members said the incident had been reported to the operating company, which allegedly assured them that a Joint Investigation Visit would be conducted on Sunday to determine the cause and volume of the spill.
However, Augustine Bello, Port Harcourt Zonal Director of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, told Premium Times he was unaware of the incident as of Saturday afternoon, noting that it had not been formally reported to the agency.
Under Nigerian law, oil firms are required to promptly report spills to regulators and commence containment and cleanup operations.
The latest spill adds to a history of incidents along the Trans Niger Pipeline corridor. Residents fear the current discharge could devastate fishing grounds and further contaminate fragile mangrove ecosystems if urgent action is not taken.
Efforts to obtain comments from Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited were unsuccessful as of the time of filing the report.
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