AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Nigeria: Shell must clean up devastating oil spills in the Niger Delta

February 2, 2023

Reacting to the news that two Nigerian communities, which have been devastated by oil spills, have filed claims against Shell at the High Court in London, Amnesty International’s Head of Business and Human Rights Mark Dummett, said:

“More than 13,500 residents from the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta have now filed claims against Shell asking that the company clean up oil spills which they say have wrecked their livelihoods, poisoned their wells, and polluted their land and water, which means they can no longer farm or fish.”

“Amnesty stands by these two communities in the Niger Delta, which have been engaged in litigation against Shell for seven years, asking that the company clean up the damage caused and compensate them for their lost livelihoods.

“Shell announced in 2021 that it plans to sell its onshore oilfields and assets in the Niger Delta after 60 years of highly profitable operations in the area. It is concerning that Shell has not explained how it plans to address the widespread and systemic pollution of Nigerian communities linked to its operations over many years before it sells up and leaves. read more

Amnesty International has been challenging Shell for decades about the devastating impact that pollution and environmental damage, associated with the company’s operation, have had on the human rights of people in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Shell has, however, tried to delegate its responsibility for the damage to its Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, making it more difficult even for victims to seek justice. Today, there is a case pending in the UK which seeks to hold the company accountable.

Multinationals Seem Too Big For Accountability. Switzerland May Change That read more

Oil Spill Clean-Ups in Nigeria Lack Progress, Groups Say

William Clowes: Bloomberg: June 17, 2020

(Bloomberg) –Nigeria and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have failed to implement most recommendations made by the United Nations to clean up oil pollution in the Niger River delta, according to a new report.

The UN Environment Programme in 2011 proposed the creation of a $1 billion fund to repair the damage done by decades of crude spills in the Ogoniland area in southeastern Nigeria. However, progress has been poor and the little work that has been done is sub-standard, advocacy groups including Amnesty International said Thursday. read more

According to Shell’s records, the community has been impacted by at least 40 oil spills from Shell’s pipelines and equipment since 1989, including 23 spills in the past 4 years. Shell’s pipelines and infrastructure in Ogale are several decades old and in a poor state of repair making the area vulnerable to oil spills which have caused, and continue to cause, long-term contamination of the land, swamps, groundwater and waterways in the Community.

The Supreme Court hearing will appeal a judgment from February 2018, from the Court of Appeal in London, which upheld an earlier High Court judgment, that the English Court does not have jurisdiction over the claims.

Lawyers representing 40,000 Nigerian farmers and fisherman from two communities in the Niger Delta have been permitted to take their legal claim against the oil giant Shell to the UK Supreme Court.

The decision will allow the two communities from Bille and Ogale in the Niger Delta to appeal to the UK’s highest court, having suffered from decades of pollution from Shell’s pipelines.

They have taken their case to the English Courts on the basis that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), which is headquartered in London, is legally responsible for the environmental failures of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), a subsidiary of RDS. read more

Earlier this month, a Dutch court ruled that it had the jurisdiction and would hear a damages lawsuit against Shell brought by the widows of activists executed by Nigeria’s government after the protests in Ogoniland in the 1990s.

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 27, 2019, 4:00 PM CDT

The Nigerian unit of Royal Dutch Shell doesn’t have any plans to return to exploring or producing oil in Ogoniland in Nigeria’s Rivers state after it ceased operations there in the 1990s, Igo Weli, General Manager, External Relations, at the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said this weekend at the release of Shell Nigeria’s 2019 Briefing Notes.

SPDC, as operator of the SPDC Joint Venture, carried out exploration and production operations in Ogoniland from the 1950s until the early 1990s. Production ceased in 1993 following a rise in violence, threats to staff, and attacks on facilities, Shell said. read more

The court ordered that the case should not be time-barred, while also granting the prayers of the plaintiffs that Shell should hand over the confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK: MAY 02, 2019

The District Court of the Hague has issued an interim ruling in favour of wives of Ogoni leaders killed in 1995 during the military era of Sani Abacha.

The case, which was instituted by four wives of the slain leaders — Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula — accused Shell of being involved in the decision by the Nigerian government that led to the killing of their husbands.

The plaintiffs are also calling on the court to order Shell to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents crucial to the case. Shell’s lawyers have refused to do so, even though these documents were submitted as evidence in the US case.

Shell had said that the Dutch court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, but the court ordered that the case must continue.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the court ordered that the case should not be time barred, while also granting the prayers of the plaintiffs that Shell should hand over the confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and that they would have the opportunity to examine witnesses.

Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, supported Kiobel’s legal team to bring the case to the Netherlands in 2017, and detailed Shell’s role in the arrests and executions in a briefing. read more

FILE PHOTO: The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) headquarters are seen in Abuja, Nigeria December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo

For decades, communities in the Niger Delta oil heartland have complained that spills and pollution have destroyed their land and killed off wildlife. Rights group Amnesty International accused international oil majors Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Eni SpA in March of negligence when addressing spills in Nigeria.

Paul Carsten, Alexis Akwagyiram: MAY 10, 2018

The draft laws, posted on the Nigerian legislature’s website on April 30, are the versions intended for the Senate, the upper house of parliament.

The PIB aims to improve transparency, attract investors, stimulate growth and increase government revenues.

After being debated for well over a decade, the unwieldly and contentious legislation was broken into sections to help it pass into law. read more

Shell to exit New Zealand after more than 100 years: Financial Times 16 March 2018

Royal Dutch Shell is quitting New Zealand after more than 100 years: Verdict 16 March 2018

Shell pares New Zealand portfolio with $578M asset sale: Seeking Alpha 15 March 2018

Shell to sell remaining NZ assets to OMV for US$578 million: Scoop 16 March 2018

Shell close to easing out Petronas to clinch Hong Kong’s LNG import deal:THEStarONLINE Friday 16March 2018

Royal Dutch Shell boss handed €900,000 pay rise – to an annual package of around €9m: Independent.ie 15 March 2018

Shell CEO’s pay in 2017 rises to 8.9 million euros: Reuters 15 March 2018

Royal Dutch Shell boss handed near-£800,000 pay rise read more

Responding to a Court of Appeals judgement that two Niger Delta communities cannot have their case against oil giant Shell heard in the UK because the parent company cannot be held liable for the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary, Joe Westby, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on Business and Human Rights, said:

“With this ruling the court has struck a blow not only to the Ogale and Bille communities, who live everyday with the devastating consequences of Shell oil spills, but with victims of corporate human rights abuses all over the world. This ruling sets a dangerous precedent and will make it more difficult to hold UK companies to account. read more

Footage has emerged of a Shell director saying that he was “fundamentally proud” of the company’s actions in Nigeria, only a week before Amnesty International accused the company of being closely involved with human rights abuses in the country.

The remarks were made by Andrew Brown, a member of the Royal Dutch Shell executive committee, at the Shell annual lecture, an event affiliated with the University, at Emmanuel College on the 20th November.

When asked by host Stephen Sackur, a former BBC foreign correspondent, whether he was proud of what Shell had “done over the years in Nigeria”, Brown replied that “I am, I’m fundamentally proud of what happened in Nigeria”.

The comments are likely to raise eyebrows given the controversial nature of Shell’s involvement in Nigeria. On November 28th, Amnesty International called on the British, Dutch, and Nigerian governments to investigate, with a view to prosecution, the role of Shell in human rights abuses in the 1990s. read more

Esther Kiobel, the widow of one of the nine Ogoni activists

Reporting by Libby George; Editing by Edmund Blair: NOVEMBER 28, 2017

Shell, the largest oil producer in Nigeria, has faced several court cases relating to the turbulent period that culminated with the execution of rights campaigner Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others in 1995.

Saro-Wiwa led a campaign to against environmental damage caused by the oil production in the lands of the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta, a major crude producing region. read more

Esther Kiobel poses with a picture of her late husband, one of nine men executed by Nigeria’s military government after a peaceful uprising in 1995 against Shell’s widespread pollution in Ogoniland. Photograph: Amnesty International

Multiple news stories: Amnesty International demand criminal investigation of Shell complicity in Nigerian murder, torture and rape

The Guardian: Amnesty seeks criminal inquiry into Shell over alleged complicity in murder and torture in Nigeria

Extract: Amnesty International is calling for a criminal investigation into the oil giant Shell regarding allegations it was complicit in human rights abuses carried out by the Nigerian military. Amnesty is urging the UK, Nigeria and the Netherlands to consider a criminal case against Shell in light of evidence it claims amounts to “complicity in murder, rape and torture” – allegations Shell strongly denies. read more

The oil giant, Shell, is refusing to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents on the arrest, detention, and execution of nine Ogoni men in the 1990s, Amnesty International has said.

BY PUNCH NEWSPAPERSEP 08, 2017

The oil giant, Shell, is refusing to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents on the arrest, detention, and execution of nine Ogoni men in the 1990s, Amnesty International has said.

The execution of the “Ogoni Nine”,  including the renowned writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, by the government in 1995 sparked global outrage.

Others executed along with Saro-Wiwa were Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. read more

Cletus Ukpong: September 8, 2017

The civil suit filed against Shell in the Netherlands for its alleged complicity in the killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists by the Nigerian government has taken an interesting turn, as lawyers to the oil giant are being accused of refusing to hand over evidence said to be critical to the case.

The nine men, popularly referred to as ‘Ogoni Nine’ were executed in 1995 by Nigeria’s military regime under controversial circumstances. read more

Shell’s US law firm is refusing to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents crucial to a legal case in the Netherlands which is alleging the oil giant’s complicity in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men in Nigeria in the 1990s, Amnesty International said ahead of a US Court of Appeals hearing next week.

The execution of the “Ogoni Nine”, including the renowned writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, by the Nigerian state in 1995 sparked global outrage. It was the culmination of a brutal campaign by Nigeria’s military government to silence protests in the oil-producing Niger Delta region. read more

Activists in Port Harcourt, Nigeria protest to demand that Shell pay reparations and clean up its oil spills. Photo: © Amnesty International.

By Edu Abade: 04 September 2017

The Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo (right), in this interview with Edu Abade says the cleanup process of Ogoniland announced at the commencement of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration with funfair has been politicised due to diverse interests. He argues that Shell’s membership of the governing council can only be likened to a judge sitting on his own case. He also expressed concerns over the desecration of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has culminated in the partial passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) recently by the Senate. An environmental activist for more than three decades, Ojo insists that oil as an exhaustible resource, will become obsolete on 20-30 years and advises Nigeria to explore alternative sources of energy. read more

Oil giant Shell stands accused of complicity in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men who were hanged by Nigeria’s military government in the 1990s, Amnesty International can reveal today, following the launch of an explosive new case against the company in the Netherlands over four of the executions.

The civil case has been brought by Esther Kiobel, the widow of Dr Barinem Kiobel, and three other women. Esther has pursued Shell for 20 years over the death of her husband. He was hanged in 1995 along with the writer and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and seven other men, collectively known as the Ogoni Nine. At the time the executions sparked a global outcry. read more

June 29, 2017: Oladeinde Olawoyin

The widows of four of nine men executed by Nigeria’s military regime in 1995 have filed a civil lawsuit seeking compensation and an apology from Royal Dutch Shell.

The widows are Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula.

According to a writ filed in a court in The Hague, the widows are seeking compensation from the company for alleged complicity in a military crackdown, leading to the deaths of their husbands.

The Nigerian military cracked down heavily on local opposition to oil production by a Shell joint venture in the Niger Delta region in the early 1990s. read more

Shell was alleged to have helped in the arrest of Nigerian men who had sought to peacefully disrupt oil development in the region because of health and environmental impacts

Four Nigerian women are taking legal action in the Dutch courts against Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell accusing it of complicity in the 1990s executions of their husbands by the Nigerian military, Amnesty International said Thursday.

The civil case has been brought by Esther Kiobel, the widow of Barinem Kiobel, who was hanged in 1995 along with writer and campaigner Ken Saro-Wiwa and seven others. Three other widows are also joining the action in The Hague.

A writ was set to be placed before a civil court in The Hague on Thursday alleging that Shell was complicit “in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of nine men who were hanged by Nigeria’s military government in the 1990s,” Amnesty said in a statement. read more

26 Jan 2017

A UK High Court ruling that two Niger Delta communities devastated by oil spills cannot have their claims against Shell heard in the UK could rob them of justice and allow UK multinationals to commit abuses overseas with impunity, Amnesty International said today.

The High Court ruled today that Royal Dutch Shell cannot be held responsible for the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd. This is despite the company having profited from decades of abuses and environmental destruction in the Niger Delta. The communities are expected to appeal. read more

Spokespeople available for interview

On Thursday 26 January the UK High Court will rule on whether two Niger Delta communities whose environment and livelihoods were destroyed by oil spills can have their claims against Shell heard in the UK. The case could set a precedent for holding other UK-based multinationals to account for abuses committed overseas.

“This ruling will have wide-ranging implications for corporations based in the UK that abuse human rights abroad. If the court rules that the communities cannot have their case heard in the UK it would effectively be a green light for UK multinationals to profit from human rights abuses and environmental destruction around the world,” said Audrey Gaughran, Director of Global Issues at Amnesty International. read more

Emily Gosden, energy editor

8 JANUARY 2017 • 10:23PM

In January 2015, Royal Dutch Shell agreed to pay £55m in compensation to thousands of residents of Bodo, a fishing community in the Niger Delta. Their livelihoods had been devastated by two oil spills in 2008-09 that had been caused by corroded Shell pipelines.

After years of high-profile wrangling, the landmark settlement was supposed to draw a line under one of the most toxic reputational issues for the Anglo-Dutch energy giant, and pave the way for the oil blighting the village to finally be cleaned up. read more

Heading into 2017, the presence of Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) is coming under intensified observation. Out of the many foreign energy giants operating in the Niger Delta, Shell is one that is the fulcrum of civil lawsuits, both existing and delayed.

Charges on the Anglo-Dutch oil & gas major are inclusive of corruption, violence of human rights, and environmental damage. The company is reported to have performed inhuman acts, demeaning treatment. Shell’s senior management cannot state that this came as a surprise, as it has been repeatedly warned.  read more

Activists in Port Harcourt, Nigeria protest to demand that Shell pay reparations and clean up its oil spills. Photo: © Amnesty International.

By Anamesere Igboeroteonwu and Libby George: Wednesday, 9 November 2016 15:57 GMT

ONITSHA/LONDON, Nigeria, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has shut down an Escravos crude oil flow station in Nigeria’s Niger Delta after villagers demanding aid staged a protest, the firm and residents said on Wednesday.

The oil major said the flow station on the pipeline operated by its joint-venture partner SPDC was no longer processing crude oil, but the impact on Escravos exports, which can run via other avenues, was not immediately clear. read more

MAY 31, 2016

The multinational oil giant Shell must not be allowed to palm off its responsibility to clean up decades of oil pollution which continues to blight the Niger Delta, said Amnesty International ahead of the Nigerian government’s long overdue clean-up of Ogoniland, due to begin on June 2.  

Scores of oil spills from Shell operations in the Niger Delta have yet to be properly cleaned up, and even sites the multi-national company claims to have cleaned remain polluted. To make matters worse, there were at least 130 oil spills from Shell operations in 2015. read more

By Daniel J. Graeber: May 31, 2016

ABUJA, Nigeria, May 31 (UPI) — A militant group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers issued a warning to oil companies working in the region that its campaign is about to get bloody.

The Niger Delta Avengers have launched a steady string of attacks on energy infrastructure in the region, issuing a manifesto earlier this month that warned oil companies the attacks marked only a beginning. The group said it was frustrated by what it saw as a lack of attention to the region paid by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. read more

Friday, May 20, 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday urged militants in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with his government to review the Amnesty Programme initiated by the Yar’Adua Administration.

Mr. Buhari assured oil companies operating in the Niger Delta that the Federal Government is taking all necessary actions to protect strategic assets in the region from vandals and criminals.

Speaking at a meeting with the Global Director (Upstream) of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Andrew Brown, President Buhari said that he had directed the Chief of Naval Staff to reorganise and strengthen the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta to deal effectively with the resurgence of militancy and the sabotage of oil installations. read more

By FP: PUBLISHED: 3:55, 2 March 2016

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell came under renewed scrutiny on Wednesday over its environmental record in Nigeria after lawyers brought fresh claims of damage caused by spills to a London court.

British legal firm Leigh Day has filed two cases at the High Court in a bid to force the Anglo-Dutch energy major to clean up damage caused in the communities of Ogale and Bille in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s main oil-producing region, and provide compensation.

In Bille, the lawyers hope to prove that Shell is liable for failing to protect its pipelines from damage caused by third parties, which, they said, could mark a “significant expansion” in the firm’s liability. read more

Shell’s failure to maintain and protect pipelines may leave it liable to a raft of compensation claims from dozens of Niger Delta communities, said Amnesty International today as London law firm Leigh Day announced two more lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell.

The latest cases were filed today on behalf of two communities in the Niger Delta who have been affected by oil pollution, Bille and Ogale.

In its investor briefing, Shell’s growing liabilities in the Niger Delta: Lessons from the Bodo court case , Amnesty International warns Shell’s investors that failures in the way the oil giant inspects and reports on oil spills could mask the scale of potential financial liability arising for Shell. read more

Two communities are claiming compensation and want Shell to clean up their land.

Shell said it is at an “early stage” in reviewing the claims and that the case should be heard in Nigeria.

The Ogale community of about 40,000 people in Rivers State, on the coast of Nigeria, who are mainly farmers or fishermen, are some of the claimants.

Their case is being handled by law firm Leigh Day.

Spills since 1989 have meant they don’t have clean drinking water, farmland or rivers, their claim says. read more

…many of those involved have been ridiculed, slandered, spied on, harassed, beaten and jailed – all for upholding their democratic right to peaceful dissent. Incidents included the 2005 jailing of the Rossport Five, who spent 94 days in prison at the behest of Shell.

Ruairí McKiernan

As gas is flared into the skies above north Mayo, it is worth reflecting on a project that has been one of modern Ireland’s greatest scandals, a stunning fiasco in planning, economics, environmental protection and the abuse of civil liberties.

Far from it being just about energy supply, jobs and development, the Corrib gas project cuts to the core of this republic and asks big questions about how the country is run.

For more than 10 years now, campaigners have attempted to highlight the project’s many flaws. read more

By Igoniko Oduma: 3 JANUARY 2016

Yenagoa — An oil spill site at Oruma/Yiba-Ama community, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, has been set ablaze by unknown persons.

Sources said Shell abandoned the Ogbia segment of the spill incident without carrying out clean-up and remediation of the devastated Oruma/Yiba-Ama environment.

The report of the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) carried out on the oil spill which was concluded on 25 June, 2015, indicated that the incident was allegedly caused by third party interference with 306 barrels of crude oil spilled. read more

Nigerian farmers affected by oil pollution get green light to pursue case against Anglo–Dutch multinational as judges order release of key documents

Friends of the Earth activists hold a banner supporting civil action taken by Nigerian farmers whose livelihoods were affected by leaking pipelines in the oil-rich Niger delta. Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP

Reuters: Friday 18 December 2015 13.33 GMT

A Dutch appeals court ruled on Friday that Royal Dutch Shell can be held liable for oil spills at its subsidiary in Nigeria, potentially opening the way for other compensation claims against the multinational.

Judges in The Hague ordered Shell to make available to the court documents that might shed light on the cause of the oil spills and whether leading managers were aware of them. read more

16 Dec 2015

Amnesty International has said Shell could be exposed to a raft of compensation claims and be forced to disclose previously withheld internal documents over its failure to stop and clean up decades of oil pollution in a test case before the Dutch Court of Appeal on Friday.

According to a statement by the international human rights watchdog, the case is the latest attempt by Niger Delta communities to hold Shell to account, with the support of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including Amnesty International. read more

15 December 2015

The oil giant Shell could be exposed to a raft of compensation claims and be forced to disclose previously withheld internal documents over its failure to stop and clean up decades of oil pollution in a test case before the Dutch Court of Appeal on Friday.

The case is the latest attempt by Niger Delta communities to hold Shell to account, with the support of international NGOs including Amnesty International.

On Friday, the Dutch Court of Appeal is expected to rule on whether Shell Nigeria can be held liable in the Netherlands for its negligence in Nigeria and also decide on whether to allow the plaintiffs access to documents withheld by Shell. The case has been brought by Friends of the Earth on behalf of four farmers in the Niger Delta. read more

10 November 2015

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders, hanged by the Nigerian state after they spoke out against the government and campaigned against Shell’s operations in Nigeria’s Ogoniland. Their executions sparked a global outcry.

It’s a fitting moment to take stock of the oil industry’s legacy of contamination of the Niger Delta.

Why are women, men and children in the Delta still having to drink, cook with and wash in polluted water, eat toxic fish and farm on contaminated land? read more

Activists in Port Harcourt, Nigeria protest to demand that Shell pay reparations and clean up its oil spills. © Amnesty International

John Vidal read more

3 November 2015, 00:08 UTC

Claims by oil giant Shell that it has cleaned up heavily polluted areas of the Niger Delta are blatantly false, Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) said in a new report published today.

Clean it up: Shell’s false claims about oil spills in the Niger Delta documents ongoing contamination at four oil spill sites that Shell said it had cleaned up years ago. The report is being published to mark the 20th anniversary of the execution, on 10 November 1995, of the environmental activist and writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who campaigned tirelessly against the damage caused by the oil industry in the Niger Delta. read more

Abandoned fishing boats in Ogoniland Photographer: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images

Chris Kay: November 3, 2015: Bloomberg.com

• Nigerian regulator incorrectly said spill sites clean
• Shell says oil theft, illegal refining a persistent challenge

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has failed to clean up four oil-spill sites in the crude-producing Niger River delta, three of which an under-resourced Nigerian regulator dealing with leakages said had been decontaminated, Amnesty International said in a report on Tuesday.

At Shell’s Bomu Well 11, Amnesty researchers found blackened soil and oil layers on the water 45 years after a spill took place, despite the company saying it cleaned the area in 1975 and 2012. At the three other sites, certified as clean by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, or NOSDRA, researchers also found soil and water contaminated close to where people lived, the rights group said. read more

John Vidal: Tuesday 3 November 2015 00.01 GMT read more

By Senator Iroegbu: 29 October 2015

The Amnesty International (AI) and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) will launch a new report exposing what it described as Shell’s blatantly false statements about its efforts to clean up oil spills in the Niger Delta next week.

The Press Officer, AI Nigeria, Mr. Eulette Ewart, said in a statement on Thursday, that despite promising to act on a 2011 United Nations Environmental Programme report exposing shocking levels of pollution caused by oil spills, ‘Clean it up: Shell’s failure to tackle oil spills in Nigeria’ documents that Shell has either not cleaned up or has done it so badly that oil still pollutes the land. read more

Article by Daniel J. Graeber published 26 March 2015 by UPI

Shell takes further steps away from Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria, March 26 (UPI) — The Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell said it made further progress in its divestment strategy by selling Niger Delta assets from $1.7 billion.

Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria said it completed the sale of oil mining lease 29 and the 62-mile long Nembe Creek pipeline to Aiteo Eastern E&P Co., a Nigerian company.

“This divestment is part of the strategic review of SPDC’s onshore portfolio and is in line with the federal government of Nigeria’s aim of developing Nigerian companies in the country’s upstream oil and gas business,” the Dutch supermajor said in a Wednesday statement. read more