Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) said it has deployed high definition (HD) cameras for quick detection and response to crude oil spills from its facilities. The cameras will also help in tracking pipeline vandalism and crude theft from SPDC joint venture assets.
This was disclosed yesterday by the General Manager, External Relations, SPDC, Igo Weli, at a media workshop for reporters in Warri, Delta State. “The cameras are attached to specialised helicopters which carry out daily over-flight of our facilities. This measure has improved the surveillance of our joint venture assets.”
In addition, Weli said SPDC had implemented anti-theft protection mechanisms on key infrastructure, such as wellheads and manifolds to stem constant attacks from vandals and thereby prevent and minimise sabotage-related spills. According to him, the daily loss of over 11,000 barrels of oil per day in 2018 and the threat to the integrity of the joint venture assets necessitated the multi-pronged approach to protecting what he called ‘critical national assets.’
He said: “We collaborate with community leaders, traditional rulers, civil societies and state governments in the Niger Delta to implement several initiatives and partnerships to raise awareness on the negative impact of crude oil theft and illegal oil refining. Such public enlightenment programmes on the negative impacts to people and the environment help to build greater trust in spill response and clean-up processes,” a statement its Media Relations Manager, Bamidele Odugbesan, quoted Weli as saying.
Weli noted that SPDC would sustain its air and ground surveillance to complement the efforts of government security forces in checking crude theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining. “But for the efforts of Operation Delta Safe in protecting critical oil and gas assets, the situation would have gone beyond control. Weli called on the Operation Delta Safe – a special oil and gas asset protection force, and other government security forces to intensify their activities around oil and gas facilities.