Zik Gbemre

When it comes to the very lucrative extractive industry of oil and gas exploration and production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which Royal Dutch Shell has spear-headed in Nigeria for over 50 years now, nothing has been more devastating and disturbingly-pronounced than the adverse environmental degradation often left behind by this economic venture. The environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region by the over five decades of The Royal Dutch Shell operations in the region is so pronounced to the extent that it has been observed by foreign neutral individuals and organizations.

For instance, in a recent report, as highlighted by John Donovan, Germany’s Development Minister Gerd Müller, attacked the ‘production practices of Shell’ during a speech at the Berlin Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IHK) event.  Müller denounced “Shell’s poor regard for the environment” and said that during a recent trip to Nigeria, he witnessed the pathetic oil production methods of Shell. In his words: “If you went to the Niger Delta and saw the standard of oil extraction, none of you would use the petrol stations of that oil firm.”

The German Minister said the company prioritized profit over concern for the environment. “That is unacceptable,” Müller added. Though, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Agip and Total are also active in Nigeria, Shell is the major oil extractor in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The report also noted that Environmental activists have long protested Shell’s oil production in the Niger Delta. Amnesty International and other groups released a report in August 2014 that stated the oil company had done little to clean up pollution from its oil production. Such production has left at least 10 communities in the area with contaminated drinking water, according to the report. A United Nations (UN) assessment of the pollution in 2011 estimated that it could take up to 30 years to clean up.

In their defense as usual, the report noted that Shell has blamed the spills on local villagers of host communities who “drill holes into the pipelines to steal oil, leaving the pipelines open and causing spills.” Aside the fact that the company’s figures on the frequency of these incidents have been contested by Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International, the question is; whose responsibility is it to protect the pipelines and sustain good practices of environmental protection? Shell is the one that placed/laid these pipelines/flowlines in different areas of the Niger delta region for their oil exploration and production business. And if the pipelines and flowlines are broken by oil thieves, who will now be held liable to clean-up and remediate the environment and bring it back to its natural state?

There is a Nigerian saying that “if a dog should bite and injure people, it is the owner of the dog that will be held liable.” Also, aside the issue of oil theft, there are countless incidents of “equipment failures” of Shell pipelines and facilities that have impacted the environment of the Niger Delta region. The crux of the matter is that Shell has not done enough with its environmental policy when it comes to protecting and restoring the Niger Delta environment that were adversely impacted by its operations. For instance, Shell did not do enough in restoring the environment before the Divestment of its assets/interests in Delta State. And it is not too late for the company to come make amends and do what is expected of it in restoring the oil-impacted environment.

Some years back, when the unexpected British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico (South America), happened, it built up a global storm of agitations and awareness on the real ‘cost of oil exploitation and its adverse effects on the environment’, especially in Nigeria, particularly the Niger Delta area, that have been subjected to all manner of environmental degradation and related issues for more than five decades. The Nigerian government and the International Oil Companies (IOCs), particularly the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC),  were fingered as the main culprit that should be blamed/held responsible for not doing enough to address the situation with oil spills in the Nigeria.

It was reported then that oil spill accidents worst than the spillage in the said Gulf of Mexico have happened in the course of Nigeria’s 50-years history of crude oil exploitation. In fact, a panel of independent experts, which carried out a painstaking research and traversed the Niger Delta in 2006, revealed that up to 1.5 million tons of oil, 50 times the population unleashed in the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster, has been spilt in the technologically precious Niger Delta over  the past 50 years. 

With the mind-bugging revelation that oil spill in Niger Delta is estimated at $10 million per day, many believe it is high time IOCs like Shell should reposition itself to adequately address oil spill incidents during their operations (even if they have divested and left the place), and for the Nigerian government to become more ‘responsive’ like the US Government had done on the Gulf of Mexico example, in addressing oil spill incidents in the Niger Delta area. While some are of the opinion that Oil companies prefer “ad-hoc repair of pipelines (where, rather than overhaul oil pipelines for longevity, they prefer to respond to repairs when the pipelines fail); others have thrown their blame on both the government and IOC’s like Shell for continuing with their “tunnel vision-option” of protecting profits, at the expense of human livelihoods and health.

From the standpoint of the host communities in the Niger Delta region, the IOCs  and the Nigerian government are to blame for all the oil spills in the region. In the words of the Paramount ruler of Kpor Community in Ogoni area, Chief Taoh, he identified that: “Shell only cares about clamping the Oil and forget about the Community. They did not pay compensation or even clean up the affected environment (referring to a Spill in Ogoni Community and Edagberi of Egenni-Rivers State). There has been a lot of oil spill in Kpor and yet nobody bothers. My fishing pot was affected and economic trees were destroyed. In fact, no person can farm in the areas that were impacted by the Spill”, he said. Chief Toah regretted that the Nigerian government and Shell have remained insensitive to the plight of his own community, which has according to him, continued to suffer monumental and costly damage due to oil”.

Many of us will never forget “The Ogoni crises” of the Niger Delta region, famously known as the “Ogoni 9”, which culminated in the murder of human rights activist Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others. The Ogoni crises, which is yet to be resolved by Shell and the Nigerian Government till today, will always remind us of how oil giants like Shell creeps into oil-bearing countries and practically hold host governments’ by the jugular to have their way in sustaining ‘oil profits’ over and above human lives and environmental degradation.

However, it is never too late to make amends. Firstly, Shell is expected to render an unreserved apology to the Niger Delta people, especially those in Ogoni, OML 42, 34, 30 etc, for the company’s poor environmental policy and practices in the last five decades. If Shell really has “Respect For People” as they usually preach, then they have to show it by doing this. After which, Shell should promptly take practical steps in permanently addressing all the pending and evident environmental degradation issues caused by oil spills left behind by Shell operations in some of these areas in the Niger Delta region, especially the company’s Divested areas in the region. These moves, we believe, is the only ‘little’ remedy that Shell should muster to somewhat ameliorate the grievous environment-degradation-legacy left behind by The Royal Dutch Shell Plc in Nigeria.

Zik Gbemre, National Coordinator