Shell trying to dodge blame for natural disaster by withdrawing from Nigeria: SOMO

Shell should not be allowed to withdraw from Nigeria until a solution is found for the environmental damage that the oil and gas company has inflicted there, according to the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO).

It was announced last month that Shell wants to sell its subsidiary company, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), to a consortium of mainly local businesses for 1.3 billion dollars. The company has wanted to dump SPDC for a while due to a string of court cases regarding environmental damage and human rights abuses. SOMO claims that Shell is doing this to avoid responsibility for the pollution the group has caused in the Niger Delta in recent years.

According to the researchers, Shell has left behind a vast area of ​​polluted land and water. In doing so, the group has "destroyed the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the Niger Delta." Shell has always maintained that the pollution results from oil theft and pipeline damage. The researchers dispute that.

Shell is selling their activities to a "complex labyrinth of companies and investors," the researchers state. A few of these companies are said to be struggling with financial issues. "There is a realistic risk a few of these companies will disappear, and as a result, communities will not be able to hold anyone accountable for the enormous pollution of their environment."

According to SOMO, the discarded pipelines, wellheads, and oil installations are "a disaster in the making." The researchers say that Shell will even remain involved financially with many of the new buyers. "Shell has loaned money to a few of the companies and will buy the oil they produce."

Shell has produced the "ultimate Houdini act," says SOMO director Audrey Gaughran. "Shell sells their poisonous possessions and will not be upset when the curtain falls."

A spokesperson for Shell shared that local companies play an essential role in helping Nigeria reach its energy goals. "Naturally, transactions are subject to approval by the regulators, which rely on legally required information to be provided by the parties involved."