Extraction activities by multinational companies including Shell, Mobil, Chevron, Elf and Agip have caused serious environmental and social damage in the Niger Delta, an oil rich South-Eastern region of Nigeria. Crude oil extraction has caused the pollution of the river basin and surrounding land, the destruction of subsistence crops, and the expropriation of local residents territory. The opposition of local communities has been brutally repressed by police forces, resulting in bloodshed and hundreds of deaths. Local communities, supported by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), have continued their opposition to those exploitative policies. In particular, they demand a full clean-up of local waterways and territories, a more equitable distribution of oil revenues and broader compensation for ecological damage. Outdated equipment and unadapted supervision are at the origin of recurrent oil spills over the Delta. In 2008, four Nigerian citizens together with Friends of the Earth Netherlands sued Shell to the Hague Court. On December 18th 2015, the Dutch appeal Court stated the company can be hold liable in the Netherlands for spills occurred in Nigeria. |
Coutless number of oil spills in the Niger Delta and immunity of the responsible oil companies. Still, late 2015, Shell was held accountable by Dutch justice.
| Name of conflict: | Multinational Oil Companies on the Niger Delta, Nigeria |
| Country: | Nigeria |
| Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
| Project details | Shell exports 380,000 barrels of oil a day in the 1990s. |
| Type of population | Rural |
| Start of the conflict: | 1992 |
| Company names or state enterprises: | Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) from Netherlands Chevron Polska Energy Resources Sp. z o.o. from United States of America ELF from France Agip Group from Italy Chevron Corporation (TEPNL) from Nigeria Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from Nigeria Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (EPNL) from Nigeria Chevron Nigeria Limited from Nigeria Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from Nigeria Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) from Nigeria |
| Relevant government actors: | Government of Nigeria, Commission for Energy & Natural Resources, Department of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria |
| Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | ERA (Environmental Rights Action - Friends of the Earth Nigeria), Kebetkache Women’s Resource and Development Centre, HOMEF (Nigeria), Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Friends of the Earth Netherlands, MOSOP, Osservatorio Eni - Italia, Uzere People, Comunit Biseni, Ogoni People, Ijaw People, JRC, Social Action Nigeria, Amnesty International, Justice in Nigeria Now (USA) |
| Intensity | HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...) |
| Reaction stage | In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation) |
| Groups mobilizing: | Indigenous groups or traditional communities Industrial workers Informal workers International ejos Local ejos Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Ethnically/racially discriminated groups |
| Forms of mobilization: | Blockades Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism Public campaigns Street protest/marches Property damage/arson Appeals/recourse to economic valuation of the environment Court cases against Shell both in Nigeria and in The Netherland (starting in 2009) |
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Air pollution, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil contamination, Waste overflow, Oil spills, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Global warming, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Fires, Soil erosion Potential: Genetic contamination, Noise pollution |
| Health Impacts | Visible: Accidents, Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…), Malnutrition, Violence related health impacts (homicides, rape, etc..), Occupational disease and accidents, Deaths, Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide, Health problems related to alcoholism, prostitution, Infectious diseases |
| Other Health impacts | decrease in fertility rates |
| Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors, Displacement, Increase in violence and crime, Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Loss of livelihood, Militarization and increased police presence, Social problems (alcoholism, prostitution, etc..), Violations of human rights, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Specific impacts on women |
| Project Status | In operation |
| Conflict outcome / response: | Corruption Criminalization of activists Deaths, Assassinations, Murders Court decision (victory for environmental justice) Migration/displacement Repression Violent targeting of activists |
| Proposal and development of alternatives: | They demand a full clean-up of local waterways and territories, a more equitable distribution of oil revenues and broader compensation for ecological damage. |
| Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | No |
| Briefly explain: | The multinational companies continue extracting crude of the Nigel Delta, increasing the soil and water pollution, and other impacts. |
| Juridical relevant texts related to the conflict (laws, legislations, EIAs, etc) |
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| References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries |
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| Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
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| Contributor: | Lucie Greyl |
| Last update | 15/03/2018 |
| Conflict ID: | 471 |