Court rules Shell must pay farmers over oil spills
Shell Nigeria is liable for damages from pipeline leaks in the villages of Oruma and Goi, the Hague Court of Appeals said in a ruling
Image: Friends of the Earth Europe
A Dutch court has ordered the Nigerian subsidiary of Shell must pay compensation to farmers over oil spills in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
The Hague Court of Appeals has ruled in favour of four Nigerian farmers on most points in an oil pollution case that was first brought against Shell in 2008.
Shell Nigeria is liable for damages from pipeline leaks in the villages of Oruma and Goi, the court said in a ruling.
Obinna Chima
Global law firm, White & Case LLP, has disclosed that it advised Trans Niger Oil and Gas Limited (TNOG), a related company of Heirs Holdings Oil & Gas Limited and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), on the highly innovative acquisition financing of a 45 per cent participating interest in OML 17 and related assets from the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited and ENI.
TNOG Oil and Gas Limited, now has sole operatorship of the asset.
This is just as White & Case has announced the promotion of Deji Adegoke, one of its officials, who played a key role in the transaction to the position of a Partner in its Global Project Development and Finance Practice.
Lagos, Nigeria – It has taken 13 years for Fidelis Oguru to get the victory that he and a group of other farmers in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region so badly wanted.
On Friday, the Court of Appeal in The Hague ruled that Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), was at fault for environmental degradation caused by pipeline leaks in the villages of Oruma and Goi in the Niger Delta region.
The Dutch court ordered the Nigerian arm of the British-Dutch company to pay yet-to-be-decided compensation to the affected villages.
“I am very happy and I thank God,” said Oguru, an 80-year-old farmer and one of the plaintiffs from Oruma village.
31 January 2021 21:57 GMT Updated 1 February 2021 14:46 GMT in London
A Dutch appeal court has decided that supermajor Shell is responsible for environmental damage caused by oil leaks in the Niger Delta and must pay compensation to affected Nigerian farmers.
The court also ordered the Anglo-Dutch giant to install appropriate equipment to prevent future damage to oilfield infrastructure.
Lengthy case
The case was launched by four Nigerian farmers in 2008, who alleged that widespread pollution on their land was caused by leaks from oil infrastructure due to a lack of repair and maintenance activities.
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