Shell documents show years of Nigeria pipeline pumping despite pollution warnings
British multinational Shell continued operating a major oil pipeline in Nigeria for years even though internal documents show it knew the line was causing widespread pollution. The disclosure centres on the Nembe Creek Trunk Line, a 60-mile pipeline in the Niger Delta that carried crude from inland oilfields to a coastal processing site. The documents were released in the context of ongoing legal proceedings in the UK brought by communities in the Niger Delta.
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The files include emails and presentations, and show that a senior Shell executive warned as early as 2008 about the risks of continuing to pump millions of barrels of unrefined fuel through the pipeline. The documents also indicate the company was aware of the strain on the line from massive theft and infrastructure failures. Shell sold the pipeline last year, according to the material disclosed.
The legal case is being brought by communities living around the creeks and mangroves of the Niger Delta, who want Shell to be held liable for pollution linked to more than 100 leaks between 2011 and 2013. Those leaks are said to have stemmed from theft and illegal refining. In court papers, Shell argues that most of the pollution was caused by large-scale oil theft, sabotage and dozens of illegal refineries, and says its Nigerian subsidiary invested heavily over many years to reduce spill risk and improve response.
The case matters because it goes to the question of corporate responsibility for long-running environmental damage in one of Africa's most important oil-producing regions. The Niger Delta has been scarred by decades of spills, and the documents add to scrutiny of how oil companies manage ageing infrastructure in areas affected by theft and sabotage. They also raise questions about what companies knew, when they knew it, and how that shaped decisions to keep operating.
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The Nembe Creek Trunk Line was one of Shell's biggest, most expensive and most problematic pieces of infrastructure in Nigeria, according to the disclosed material. It was capable of carrying up to 150,000 barrels of oil a day, but was repeatedly hit by spills and targeted by oil thieves. The line runs near Bille, a riverine community made up of 45 islands, and residents there say fishing grounds that were once productive have become toxic and unusable.
A claimant in the case, 64-year-old fisherman Balafama Augustus Bruce, said the area was once a place where people could play and go into the river. He said he used to catch a range of fish, including sardines, catfish, tilapia and oysters, but that many are now difficult to find. His account reflects the wider claims from residents that pollution has damaged health, the environment and livelihoods.
The documents also place the dispute in a longer-running pattern of oil-related conflict in the Niger Delta, where spills have often involved a mix of theft, sabotage and infrastructure failure. Shell's position in the case is that the main cause of the pollution was criminal activity and that it took steps to reduce the risk of leaks. The communities, by contrast, are seeking to establish liability for the damage they say followed years of contamination.
What remains unclear from the disclosed material is how far Shell's internal warnings changed operational decisions, and how the company weighed pollution risks against continued production. It is also not clear from the documents how the UK proceedings will resolve the competing claims over causation and responsibility. The next key developments are likely to come from the court case and any further disclosure of internal records.
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