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Article

2 Feb 2016

Author:
Vice News (USA)

Nigeria: Massive oil spills follow bombings of Agip pipelines in Niger Delta - oil firms must remediate, but Amnesty says cleanup often ineffective

"Pipeline Attacks in the Niger Delta Trigger What Could Be the Biggest Oil Spill in Years", 1 Feb. 2016

Multiple bombings on Agip oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, an oil-rich region of southern Nigeria, have caused thousands of barrels of crude to seep into rivers and farmlands. Eke-Spiff Erempagamo, a community leader in the southern Bayelsa state characterized the spill as "massive — the biggest in years," according to the Associated Press.

A spokesperson for AGIP's parent company,...ENI, said that 16,000 barrels of oil have been lost per day since the attacks occurred on Thursday and Friday... Amnesty International found last year that Royal Dutch Shell and ENI had admitted to over 550 oil spills in the Niger Delta in 2014, compared to just ten spills across the whole of Europe between 1971 and 2011... 

Joe Westby, who focuses on oil and gas issues in Nigeria for Amnesty International, said the amount of oil spilled in the region over the weekend was "shocking." Westby said the people most likely to be affected are low-income farmers and fisherman, who are almost entirely dependent on the environment for their livelihoods... Oil companies are expected to initiate their own clean ups, regardless of what causes a spill. Westby said that oil company clean up efforts are often a matter of too little, too late...

The recent attacks have sparked concerns that an old conflict may be returning...[involving former] oil kingpin and MEND leader Government Ekpemupolo...