Bonga Oil Leak: Up to 50% Dissipated

Shell (Netherlands, UK) has assessed that up to 50% of the leaked oil of the Bonga floating production storage and off-loading (FPSO) vessel, at 120km from the Nigerian coast has dissipated due to natural dispersion and evaporation. As satellite pictures have shown, the overall area covered by the sheen is large. However, the sheen itself is very thin (less than a hundredth of a millimetre) in most areas.  

Shell's country chair in Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu, said how sorry he is that this incident has happened. He went on to outline the actions that response company SNEPCo is taking. Helicopter flights have been carried out over the affected area. To accelerate the clean-up at sea, vessels with dispersants have been deployed to break up the oil sheen at sea. Airplanes  supporting the vessels in this operation are mobilised as well as infra-red equipment to be able to trace the few areas where the sheen may be thicker. That allows for a targeted use of the dispersant.

 

With regard to the cause, SNEPCo continue to believe that the leak that occurred on Tuesday 20 December 2011 happened during a routine operation to transfer crude oil from Bonga's floating production, storage and off-loading (FPSO) vessel to a waiting oil tanker.

 

An export line linking the FPSO to the tanker has been identified as the likely source, and has been closed and de-pressurised, halting the flow of oil. SNEPCo shut in the Bonga facility since 8 a.m. CET 21th December 2011.