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Shell oil spill in 2008 is 60 times bigger than expected according to independent assessment carried out by US oil spill consultancy firm Accufacts. The Niger Delta contributing to much of Nigeria's oil production could have transformed the country into a land of riches after the British left. But the corrupt politicians and businessmen who look to enrich only their pockets have left the region sore with oil spills, polluted rivers and dirty politics. As one of the richest producers of oil in the world, Nigeria has a lot of reconsideration to do as how a dream discovery of oil 50 years ago turned into a nightmare for the people who live there. A recent investigation by Amnesty International revealed that the Shell oil spill in 2008 caused by a fault in a pipeline, resulted in thousands of barrels of oil polluting the land and creek surrounding Bodo region in the Ogoni district of Niger Delta. Nearly 69,000 inhabitants in Bodo, mainly fishermen were dependent on the clean water. Since then, it has been sensed that the volume of the oil spill has been far worse than previously admitted by Shell Nigeria. The oil giant has considerably under estimated the oil leak which was 60 times more than the actually volume Shell has claimed. According to Shell, the leaky pipeline resulted in seepage of 1,640 barrels of oil into the Bodo area of Ogoniland. However, independent assessments carried out by US oil spill consultancy firm Accufacts have reported leakage of total of between 103,000 barrels and 311,000 barrels of oil over the period of leak. The report suggests that one to three barrels of oil were leaking every minute. Accufacts used the video footage shot by the locals to gauge the scale of oil spill. Similar methods were used during BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The difference between the estimated amount of oil spill by Shell and Accufacts is overwhelming even at the lower end of Accufacts estimates. However, Shell refutes the claims saying that all oil spills are jointly investigated by communities, regulators, operators and security agencies. The company stands by its findings of 1,640 barrels. Eleven thousand Bodo inhabitants have taken Shell to court saying that their lives were devastated by the oil spill. It not only destroyed their fishing grounds but has resulted in long lasting ill effects on their health and daily sustenance. The creeks, even after four years remain coated in oil. Oil compensation in Nigeria is dependant on the amount of oil spilt. The amount offered by Shell and what the community asks, largely differs. Meanwhile, it is expected that oil prices will drop amid economic slowdown and Europe uncertainty. Prices on oil continued to hover around $103 a barrel for the last weekend of April, 2012. Kyles Humphrey is an experienced freelancer in oil related fields, who frequently writes articles related to oil prices & indexes and crude oil including tips on investment in oil. Please visit oil.com for more details.
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