Documents disclosed as part of a lawsuit against UK-based oil company Shell show leadership continued operating a compromised pipeline in Nigeria’s Niger Delta despite knowing it posed a pollution risk in the surrounding coastal wetland environment.According to locals in Bille, a town near the pipeline, oil spills between 2011 and 2013 killed thousands of hectares of mangroves and aquatic life that rely on the wetland ecosystem, impacting people who depend on fishing.Shell said organized criminal gangs were responsible for the spills and that shutting down the pipeline and removing illegal connections also came with security risks.The Niger Delta region is a globally important biodiversity hotspot, hosting four Ramsar Wetlands and the largest mangrove forest in Africa.
Global oil giant Shell continued operating a compromised pipeline in Nigeria’s Niger Delta despite knowing it posed a pollution risk in the surrounding coastal wetland environment, newly disclosed internal company communications reveal.
The emails and memos, reviewed by Mongabay, show senior leadership knew of the poor conditions of the 97-kilometer (60-mile) Nembe Creek Trunk Line as early as 2008. Despite concerns it was operating outside technical integrity standards and proposals to shut it down, a top executive decided to keep pumping oil through the line.
