Oil conglomerate Shell and Dutch interest group Milieudefensie have reached a settlement to deal with various oil spills in Nigeria. As part of this settlement, Shell must pay fifteen million euros to the affected parties in the African country, including the local communities.
Shell settle fifteen million euros in the case of the oil spill in Nigeria. The two parties wrote in a joint statement on Friday that this is the result of negotiations with the Dutch interest group Milieudefensie. In January 2021, the Hague Court of Appeal ruled that Shell was liable for the consequences of the Niger Delta oil spill, and ordered the oil company to install a leak detection system and pay compensation. The two parties negotiated the amount for about two years.
The case was actually brought in 2009 by four Nigerian farmers, none of whom are alive now. Oil spills occurred between 2004 and 2007 in the Nigerian villages of Joy, Oroma and Ikot Ada Odo. Due to the spillage of a total of hundreds of thousands of liters of oil, the soil was no longer usable and the fishing grounds were lost. Shell has since cleaned up the oil and, by court order, installed a new system that can detect leaks at an early stage. Shell asserts that the settlement does not contain an “acceptance of liability”.
Friends of the Earth in the Netherlands are satisfied with the outcome, says director Donald Bowles NRC Handelsblad. We have negotiated on behalf of 7,000 people in Nigeria. They are very happy with this amount.” The amount will be distributed to the children of the original claimants and their communities. “We were able to get everything out of it.”
legal precedent
Although fifteen million euros for a billion-dollar group like Shell may seem low, according to Paul, the settlement amount must be viewed separately from the size of the company. We want to set a legal precedent and send a signal to all major polluters in developing countries. You can no longer pollute without consequences. Show that can cost you millions.
Goi, Oruma, and Ikot Ada Udo are not the only villages in Nigeria affected by oil pollution. The oil-rich African country has been battling problems with pipeline leaks for years. According to Shell, this is due to sabotage and oil theft.
Paul told the NRC that his organization had no immediate plans to help more Nigerians with lawsuits against the oil company. We hope they don’t need us. But if they approach us, we will help them.
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