Nigerian authorities and Shell Oil’s local subsidiary have been investigating the cause of an oil spill on the Trans Niger pipeline that lasted a week before it was contained. The spill was detected on June 11th at Eleme in south Nigeria’s Rivers State and confirmed by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (S.P.D.C.) four days later, after the oil had contaminated farmland and the Okulu River. The Trans Niger pipeline boasts 180,000 barrels per day, and is one of two channels used to export Bonny Light crude oil. Determining the volume of oil spilled will be crucial in determining not only the extent of the damage, but also who may be to blame for this particular incident.
Shell has faced numerous legal battles over oil spills in the Niger Delta, a region plagued by the pollution, conflict, and corruption associated with the industry. The company has reported issues with pipeline vandalism and illicit tapping of their crude oil, and consistently attributes spills to these isolated local incidents. Thandile Chinyavanhu, a campaigner for Greenpeace Africa, said the latest spill only adds to Shell’s dubious environmental record in Nigeria. Fyneface Dumnamene, owner of the non-profit Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, estimated that the company has displaced over 300 fishermen in the region.
“Shell must be held accountable and financially responsible for this spill and for its neocolonial role in causing climate loss and damage,” Chinyavanhu said.
Even though the scale of the incident is still being investigated, it has already been deemed one of the worst in the last sixteen years in Ogoniland, a kingdom in the Niger Delta that predominantly houses farmers and fishermen. The Niger Delta region houses several minority ethnic groups, including Ijaw, Andoni, Dioubu, Nembe, and Ogoni. Shell terminated production in Ogoniland over two decades ago as a result of violent protests against severe environmental destruction, but the pipeline is still operational in transporting crude oil through the area. Additionally, although the leak itself has been contained, the process of cleaning up the affected farms and the river is still delayed, due to past grievances and deep mistrust among the community.
Nigeria produced the most crude oil of any African nation in 2022, but a large portion of its domestic oil revenue is lost to corruption. Because the 1999 Constitution gives the federal government ownership over natural resources, minimal profits are distributed to the Nigerian people. Rather, the state’s profits increase as oil prices increase, and little of this revenue is poured into the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s main oil-producing region. Poverty in the Delta is widespread, and provisions such as transport infrastructure, water, and electricity are unreliable. Furthermore, oil exploitation has left large swaths of the region contaminated by gas flares and leakages, thereby rendering it unusable for farming.
A 2011 report by the U.N. Environment Program criticized Shell and the Nigerian government for a half century of pollution, recommending a comprehensive billion-dollar cleanup. Local environmental activists, however, argue that the promised cleanup is a cover-up with no tangible impact, since it was promised to eventually begin in 2016. The lack of effective response from oil companies, as well as federal government officials, has created an environment of complicity in Nigeria.
As climate change and environmental concerns rise to the top of the international community’s list of priorities, oil companies as well as national governments must work together, not only amongst themselves but also with local communities, to better distribute profits from oil, prevent vandalism and illegal tapping, and construct sustainable energy infrastructure. Above all, state and local societies must be able to trust the corporations and larger government entities that are using and making money off of the land. This type of incident brings to light issues of exploitation, corruption, environmental destruction, and ethnic injustice. As climate change progresses, marginalized communities will only continue to be disproportionately affected by intersecting issues unless corporations and states can accommodate these burgeoning dilemmas.
