Shell to pay 55 million pounds in Nigeria oil spills

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) has agreed to pay compensation for two of its oil spills that occurred in Nigeria in 2008. In total, Shell will pay 55 million British pounds, an amount agreed to in the largest out-of-court settlement for Nigerian oil spills to date, which followed a three-year legal battle between Shell and 15,600 Nigerians living in Bodo. A total of 35 million pounds will be distributed amongst the residents of Bodo in the Ogoniland region affected by the spill. Each individual will receive a compensatory payment of 2,200 pounds if they accept the settlement for the losses occurred in the spills, reads the company statement published this week. The total remaining compensation of 20 million pounds will go to the benefit of the community. As an agreement has been reached, Shell says that it will soon begin to clean up the spills.