By Eyo Nsima
Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, has agreed to pay €15 million in compensation to communities in the Niger Delta affected by multiple oil pipeline leaks in the country’s Niger Delta region.
SPDC, a Nigerian subsidiary of the global oil giant, made this known in a statement on Friday, December 23, 2022.
Four farmers from different communities impacted by four oil spills that occurred between 2004 and 2007, had sued Shell in 2008 for oil spills in their villages: Goi, Oruma and Ikot Ada Udo.
On January 29, 2021, a Dutch appeal court ruled that SPDC pays for damages caused by the oil spills.
However, Shell maintained that it has negotiated a settlement with Milieudefensie, a Dutch division of Friends of the Earth, for the benefit of the communities.
It stated: “The settlement is on a no-admission-of-liability basis, and settles all claims and ends all pending litigation related to the spills.
“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.
“An independent expert has confirmed that SPDC, as operator of the SPDC joint venture, has installed a leak detection system on the 20 lines that form the KCTL pipeline in compliance with the judgment of the court of appeal of The Hague, the Netherlands.”
