Shell says it will pay 15 million euros to Nigerian farmers as compensate for damage from pipeline leaks.
According to local media reports, the Dutch appeals court ruled last year, following 13 years of legal battles, 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.
The reports stated that Shell had on Friday said 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,” Shell said in a statement.
It added that the deal also confirmed 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.
It will be recalled that four Nigerian farmers and fishermen sued Shell in the Netherlands to pay for cleaning up spills from its pipelines in the Niger Delta.
They were aided by Milieudefensie, the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth.
However, Shell has always attributed pollution to sabotage and said it had cleaned up affected areas.
GIK/APA