Shell will pay $15.9 million (15 million euros) to communities in Nigeria that were affected by multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta, the oil company on Friday said in a joint statement with the Dutch division of Friends of the Earth.
The compensation is the result of a Dutch court case brought by Friends of the Earth, in which Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary SPDC last year was found to be responsible for the oil spills and was ordered to pay for damages to farmers.
The money will benefit the communities of Oruma, Goi, and Ikot Ada Udo in Nigeria, which were impacted by four oil spills that occurred between 2004 and 2007.
Following the judgments of the court of appeal of The Hague, Shell said it has negotiated a settlement with Milieudefensie, a Dutch division of Friends of the Earth, for the benefit of the communities.
“The settlement is on a no-admission-of-liability basis, and settles all claims and ends all pending litigation related to the spills,” the statement reads.
“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.”
According to Shell, the parties agreed that remediation has been completed and certified by relevant regulatory in accordance with Nigerian law.
“The parties agree this also follows from the judgments of the court of appeal,” Shell said.
