Shell lies about oil spills in Niger Delta, Amnesty International says

Amensty International and CEHRD released a joint report.

Amnesty International has said that oil giant, Shell, manipulates oil spill investigations in Nigeria. It also said Shell's claims on oil pollution in the Niger Delta are often untrue and deeply suspect.

In a new report published Thursday by Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), the firms said they have uncovered cases where Shell deliberately provided wrong information on the "causes of oil spills, the volume of oil spill, or the extent and adequacy of clean up measures."

"Shell is being disingenuous about the devastation caused by its Niger Delta operations. This new evidence shows that Shell's claims about the oil spills cannot be trusted," said Audrey Gaughran, Director of Global Issues at Amnesty International.

Amnesty International said analysis by an independent expert revealed that official Shell investigation reports into causes of oil spills in the region can be "very subjective, misleading and downright false."

The report shows difficult-to-ignore "systemic weaknesses in the way the causes of a spill and the volume are determined- with some significant errors in the volumes that are recorded as split," the report noted.

In most cases, Shell does not provide evidence to back up its claims.

"Shell looks to blame others based on investigation reports that, in some cases, amount to nothing more than dodgy dossiers," said Styvn Obodoekwe, Director of Programmes at CEHRD.

The independent analysis exposed Shell's 'cover-up' was on the behest of Amnesty International and CEHRD and conducted by Independent US oil pipeline specialist, Accufacts.

For instance, Shell has been unable to present evidence to backup its incessant claims that most of the oil spills in the Niger Delta have been caused by sabotage of its facilities, the report stated.

"Shell looks to blame others based on investigation reports that, in some cases, amount to nothing more than dodgy dossiers," said Styvn Obodoekwe, Director of Programmes at CEHRD.

Accufacts describes many of official investigations done by shell as ""technically incomplete", and "appear to be serving another agenda, more driven by politics…than pipeline forensic science."

"In one incident, secretly filmed video of an investigation shows how officials from Shell and the regulator tried to subvert the evidence by persuading community members on the investigation team not to attribute the cause to equipment failure," the statement revealed.

Video footage of a leak from an oil spill in Bodo from 2008 reviewed by Accufacts shows that Shell seriously under-recorded the volume spilt.

Regulators appear to be hampered by inadequate expertise and fund to investigate the true causes and volume of splits.

In one case, regulators sent a student undergoing training as their only representative in an oil spill investigation.

"This is a system that is wide open to abuse – and abuse happens. There is no one to challenge the oil companies and almost no way to independently verify what they say. In effect it's 'trust us – we're big oil," said Ms Gaughran.

"Shell and other oil companies refer to sabotage and theft in the Niger Delta as if it absolved them of responsibility. The Niger Delta is the only place in the world where companies brazenly admit to massive oil pollution from their operations and claim it is not their fault."

"Almost anywhere else they would be challenged on why they have done so little to prevent it."

Oil communities in the Niger Delta have always been at loggerheads with Shell for the devastation caused by oil spills to arable lands and rivers. Shell has always insisted that it has nothing to do with the spill and has always blamed oil vandals and thieves for destruction of facilities leading to spills.

Last January, a Dutch District Court at The Hague dismissed all but one of the charges brought against Shell by local fishermen.

The court exonerated the parent company Royal Dutch Shell of all blames for oil spills in the Niger Delta. It, however, ordered Shell's Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, to compensation for a spill near the village of Ikot-Ada-Udo.

Last year the Federal Government asked Shell to pay $5 billion fine for the over 40,000 barrel Bonga Oil Spill. However, Last march the National Assembly recommended that the fine should be increased to $11.5 billion.

Shell said the fine has no merit as it is not to be blamed for the spill.