Shell Spills Oil in Brunei

Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) stated that an oil spill response team was mobilised for cleanup operations along the coastline between Kuala Belait and the Panaga beach, on Sunday morning, 1 January 2012.

The source of the leak was identified within 15 minutes and was immediately and safely isolated.

The spill originated from a leak at Single Buoy Mooring, during normal oil loading to export crude tankers, located eight kilometres from the shore. The resulting slick washed ashore late at night on Saturday.

BSP’s oil spill response team was immediately on-scene along the Kuala Belait beach to assess the situation and was mobilised to start cleanup activities along the affected areas, at sunrise on Sunday morning. While the size of the spill is relatively small, it was dispersed and emulsified by sea action and has hit the shoreline in several areas.

The clean up team consists of 100 personnel from BSP, business partners and the government, in a joint effort. The onsite coordination is taking place at W10, near the Seaview Hotel, Kuala Belait.

The Royal Brunei Police Force will also be controlling public access to area to ease the cleanup operations said BSP on its website.

Third Incident

This is the third environmental incident for Shell reported in the last month. Shell, according to Reuters, in December, spilled 13.000 gallons of drilling fluid mixed with oil in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico from Deepwater Nautilus rig in vicinity of Deepwater Horizon disaster location.

The company has also been fighting the oil slick from the Bonga field incident that occurred offshore Nigeria in a flexible export line linking the Floating Production Storage and Offtake Vessel (FPSO) to the tanker. The Bonga slick has been largely dispersed, according to the information on Shell’s website.

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, January 4, 2012