Lagos, Dec. 23, 2022 – Shell on Friday said it would pay 15 million euros to Niger Delta farmers to compensate them for damage from pipeline leaks.
After 13 years of legal battles, a Dutch appeals court ruled last year that Shell’s Nigerian branch must pay out for a series of leaks and that the parent company must install new pipeline equipment to prevent further devastating spills.
Shell said Friday that it had reached a deal with the Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie that has helped the affected communities.
“Under the settlement, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) as operator of the SPDC Joint Venture, will pay an amount of EUR 15 million for the benefit of the communities and the individual claimants,” it said in a statement.
The deal also confirms the installation of a leak detection system on 20 pipeline segments in accordance with the Dutch court ruling and that remediation work has been completed.
Despite acknowledging that the settlement follows upon the Dutch court ruling, the oil firm said the agreement “is on a no admission of liability basis, and settles all claims and ends all pending litigation related to the spills”.
Four Niger Delta farmers and fishermen sued Shell in the Netherlands to pay for cleaning up spills from its pipelines in the Niger River delta, a major oil-producing region. (GBN)
