Global Oil giant Shell will pay $15.9 million to Nigerian communities in compensation for multiple pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta.
The oil company said this in a joint statement with the Dutch division of Friends of the Earth on Friday.
The judgment was reached at a Dutch court following a suit by Friends of the Earth, in which Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary SPDC last year was found to be culpable for the oil spills and was ordered to pay for damages to farmers.
Oil communities of Ikot Ada Udo, Oruma, and Goi in Nigeria, that were affected by four major oil spills that occurred between 2004 and 2007 will benefit from this settlement.
“The settlement is on a no admission of liability basis, and settles all claims and ends all pending litigation related to the spills,” Shell said.
An independent expert had confirmed that SPDC has installed a leak detection system on the KCTL Pipeline in compliance with the appeal court’s orders, the company added.
In 2008, four farmers and environmental group Friends of the Earth, sought reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the region – the heart of Nigeria’s oil industry.
After the appeals court’s final ruling last year, Shell said it continued to believe the spills were caused by sabotage.
The court however said Shell had not proven “beyond reasonable doubt” that sabotage had caused the spill, rather than poor maintenance.