The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) reported Monday that one of its dormant wells (BOMU-44) in K-Dere, at Ogoni land, in Nigeria’s restive Niger Delta region, was gutted by fire when unknown persons tried to syphon crude oil from the well.
In a statement, made available to PANA here Tuesday, SPDC said its staff overfly ing the area in a helicopter, confirmed the fire and a jet of crude oil spewing from the wellhead.
SPDC said it had since activated its Emergency Response Team which is co-ordinat ing efforts to tackle the fire.
It recalled: “There have been frequent fires and spill incidents from attempts to steal crude oil from dormant oil and gas facilities in the area.
“In 2008 alone, we responded to four different spill incidents associated with fires on our line (one in Botem, two in K-Dere and one in Bodo), with six fire incidents also reported within the period, (two in Bodo, one in Bera, one in B-Dere and two in K-Dere).”