Shell to pay €15m to farmers in Nigeria’s oil-producing Ogoni communities
Shell proclaimed on Friday that it has consented to disburse 15 million Euros to agriculturists in Ogoni communities situated in Nigeria’s petroleum-rich Niger Delta as restitution for losses in a case that was initiated over 13 years ago.
The disbursement was executed in alignment with the Dutch Appeal Court’s ruling on Friday, 29 January, which mandated Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian affiliate to compensate the villages in Ogoniland due to oil pipeline breaches.
Between 2004 and 2007, four Nigerian farmers litigated against Shell for damages inflicted by pipeline leaks in Ogoniland, Rivers State (Oruma and Goi), as well as a well leak in the community of Ikot Ada Udo, aided by the environmental organization Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie).
Moreover, the claimants insisted that Shell initiate the cleanup procedure and adopt measures to prevent future oil spills.
However, in the legal conflict that was initially lodged in 2018, Shell repudiated liability, attributing the spills to sabotage and claiming that the cleanup had been executed competently.
Nevertheless, the judiciary determined that Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was responsible for numerous occurrences of oil contamination and was liable for the damage caused by the oil leaks.
The corporation announced on Friday that it had arrived at a consensus with Milieudefensie to pay 15 million euros to the affected communities as per the court’s ruling.
“Under the agreement, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), acting as operator of the SPDC joint venture, will disburse an amount of EUR 15 million for the advantage of the communities and the individual claimants,” it stated in an announcement.
It also reaffirmed the installation of a leak detection system on 20 pipeline sections in accordance with the Dutch court’s ruling, stating that remediation efforts have been finalized.
Nonetheless, the oil firm declared that the arrangement for the payment “is on a no admission of liability basis, and resolves all claims and concludes all ongoing litigation pertaining to the spills”.
