Shell has no compensation liability when spills are declared 'sabotage' © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR
Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International today filed an official complaint against oil giant Shell for breaches of basic standards for responsible business set out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Amnesty and Friends of the Earth believe that Shell breached OECD guidelines by using discredited and misleading information, in order to blame the majority of oil pollution in the Niger Delta region on sabotage and criminal activity.
In the mid 1990s Shell accepted that much of the oil pollution in the Niger Delta was due to the company’s own failures. However, Shell now blames sabotage by communities and criminals for most of the problem, citing misleading figures that purport to show as much as 98% of oil spills being caused by sabotage.
While sabotage is a problem in the Niger Delta, Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth have repeatedly challenged Shell’s use of such figures, which have been strongly criticized by environmental groups and communities. Under Nigerian law, when spills are classified as being the result of sabotage, Shell has no liability with respect to compensation for damage done to people or their livelihoods.
Shell’s figures are totally lacking in credibility. Widespread oil pollution is a key problem caused by oil industry in the Niger Delta, but the oil spill investigation system is totally lacking in independence.