The American oil company, Chevron, has taken responsibility for an oil spill that threatened valuable fishing grounds off the Cabindan coast. 

Below is an article published by the Angola Press: 

Multinational oil firm "Chevron" took full responsibility for the oil spill that occurred last October 15 [2008], at the Cabinda sea, Tuesday here affirmed the provincial director of Agriculture and Rural Development, Fisheries and Environment, Aléctor Araújo. 

The official made this affirmation during a press conference at the end of the visit of a multi-sectoral delegation, which was in the northern Cabinda province since last Monday to discuss and assess on the spot the issue concerning the spill, after the government was informed by Chevron about the occurrence, on October 16 [2008]. 

The delegation, sent by the Environment minister was led by the national director of natural resources of the same Ministry, Soki Kundikuenha, and a representative of the Fisheries Ministry. 

During their stay in Cabinda, the multi-sectoral delegation worked with the provincial department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Fisheries and Environment and with Chevron's staff. 

On Tuesday [21 October 2008] they flew over the area with a helicopter to assess the state of beaches located in the region between Zenga village to Massabi lagoon, and ended with a meeting with a delegation of Chevron that confirmed the oil spill that happened on October at the "Delta" platform due to "slight rupture in the pipeline that spilt an estimated at about seven barrels of crude to the sea. 

According to the provincial director of Agriculture, after the incident the operator Chevron immediately ceased all operations of the referred platform and began cleaning the oil spilt in the affected areas.