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MarketWatch: Shell ’06 fatalities rise to 37; Niger Delta unrest takes toll

By Benoit Faucon
12:07am 03/14/2007

LONDON (MarketWatch) — A total of 37 workers for Royal Dutch Shell PLC, most of them contractors, lost their lives in 2006, one more than in 2005, as violence escalated in the Niger Delta, the company said in its annual report published Tuesday.

According to the annual report, two employees and 35 contractors lost their lives at work in 2006, with 17 of these deaths occurring in Nigeria. By contrast, three employees and 33 contractors lost their lives while working for Shell in 2005.

The number is much higher than BP PLC (BP), which has been criticized for safety issues, and highlights the increased risk of operating in restive countries such as Nigeria.

Nine workers for Shell died in Nigeria as a result of kidnappings or assaults amid a sharp rise in politically and criminally motivated violence.

Shell said “more fatalities are occurring away from our operations, where we have less oversight and safety depends even more on the behavior of individuals. The number of fatal assaults, drownings and road accidents all rose.” It said these “causes accounted for more than 75% of the staff and contractor lives lost in 2006.

BP has said in its annual report that seven people died at its operations during 2006. In 2005 there were 27 deaths, including 15 in the Texas refinery explosion.
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Last Update: 7:53 PM ET Mar 13, 2007

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