An oil spill off the coast of Nigeria has spread across an area of around 70 by 20 kilometres. The oil leaked while it was being offloaded onto a tanker at a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform, 120 kilometres off the Nigerian coast.

Around 40,000 barrels of 159 litres have seeped into the sea, which is comparable to an oil Spill by Mobil 13 years ago off the same coastline.

Peter Idabor, who leads the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency said in the Washinton Post, “Since the Mobil spill, this is just about the most major one.”

Shell has flown in British experts to help clean up the spill in the Bonga Field. In a press release, the Dutch-Anglo company says the oil spill is very thin and 50 percent has already evaporated. Experts fear the spill will reach the coast within hours and will harm wildlife on the shore.

In a blog on the Royal Dutch Shell website, John Donovan plays down the incident saying: "So, bad marks for spilling oil on Bonga, but it is not the end of the world. Nigerian bacteria are very strong and will eat it all up!"

(nc/hs)

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide