NIGERIA: File footage shows extent of past crude spills in Nigeria as United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) prepares to hand Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan a report on oil pollution

Record ID: 234597

  • Title: NIGERIA: File footage shows extent of past crude spills in Nigeria as United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) prepares to hand Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan a report on oil pollution
  • Date: 5th August 2011
  • Summary: OGONI, NIGERIA (JUNE 10, 2010) (REUTERS) INNOCENT TOMWEE, A FISHERMAN, INSPECTING HIS FISHING BOAT AND NETS SOILED FISHING NET ON THE GROUND OIL INSIDE FISHING BOATS BOYS PLAYING IN OILY WATER VARIOUS OF OIL SPILL BEING CONTAINED BY A FLOATING BOOM RIVER VEGETATION COVERED IN GREASY OIL VARIOUS OF DANIEL MUUKOR, COLLECTING SPILLED OIL INTO A DUG OUT CANOE VEGETATION COVERED BY OIL CRUDE OIL REFINERY ON THE RIVER BANK REFLECTION IN OIL SPILL VARIOUS OF OIL SPILL FROM MOVING SPEED BOAT
  • Embargoed: 20th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Disasters
  • Reuters ID: LVA3VEZV4JJAE23J0GMNDASK01PR
  • Story Text: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will hand Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan a report on oil pollution on Thursday (August 04), unveiling the full extent of almost 50 years of crude spills in the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta.
    UNEP and rights groups say the report is the first independent and scientific study of its kind in the Niger Delta and it is expected to lay out what action is needed by oil companies and the government to deal with the problem.
    The Niger Delta spreads across three states in Africa's most populous nation, comprising thousands of kilometres of labyrinthine creeks, swamps and waterways which hold vast crude oil reserves.
    Royal Dutch Shell has been operating in the Niger Delta longer than any other foreign oil major and has been criticised by local communities and rights group for decades for not cleaning up oil spills.
    Shell, which began operating in Ogoniland in the 1950s but was forced out in 1993, argues that the majority of oil spills are caused by sabotage and oil theft by gangs and criminals. It says it cleans up spills whatever the cause.
    Given its long history in Ogoniland the Anglo-Dutch firm's spills are likely to feature widely in UNEP's report.
    Shell said on Wednesday (August 03) it accepted responsibility for two Ogoniland oil spills in 2008 and 2009, and promised to pay compensation to the Bodo community who say they destroyed communities dependent on fishing.
    Although Shell stopped producing oil in Ogoniland 18 years ago, its pipelines, pumps and flowstations remain there and can still suffer crude oil spills and sabotage attacks.
    No amount of compensation has been confirmed but Leigh & Day, the lawyers representing the Bodo community, said the spills were "huge" and payouts should match that size.
    Experts have said it is likely to be hundreds of millions of dollars.
    Leigh & Day have said this is the first time Nigerian communities will seek compensation from Shell under British, rather than Nigerian law.
    Protest groups have increasingly tried to seek compensation against western oil companies in the firms' home jurisdictions, where they get wider media coverage and usually larger payouts.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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