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Internal documents from Shell shared in a UK court case reveal years of ignored infrastructure issues, weak environmental checks, and efforts to cut pollution costs in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta. This raises new concerns about the company's environmental history before it left the onshore oil business in the country.
The findings come from a recent report titled Nigeria: Lifting the Lid, published by Amnesty International along with seven human rights and environmental groups.
The report looks at confidential Shell emails, technical audits, presentations, and internal reviews shared during the ongoing legal case in the UK.
It claims that Shell was aware of serious issues with its pipelines and oil wells, exempted its Nigerian branch from some safety rules, and delayed shutting down old facilities even after recognizing the environmental hazards.
These revelations emerge just a year after Shell completed the sale of its former onshore subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), to Renaissance Africa Energy. This deal worried many environmental activists about who would take responsibility for decades of oil pollution in the Niger Delta.
The report also comes after years of litigation by affected Nigerian communities against Shell in European courts related to pollution from its operations.
Pipeline Condition Described as ‘a Basket’
One of the most shocking findings is an internal email that referred to the old Nembe Creek Trunk Line as “a basket” due to its poor state.
PREMIUM Times previously reported that the 96.5-kilometre Nembe Creek Trunk Line runs close to the riverine Bille community, which is made up of 45 islands, connecting inland oilfields to export terminals.
This newspaper noted that the pipeline is among the largest oil transport systems in Nigeria, capable of carrying about 150,000 barrels of crude oil each day. Still, it has faced frequent leaks, vandalism, and oil theft.
A recent visit by PREMIUM TIMES to the Bille community showed residents facing new environmental issues. They reported toxic gases leaking into homes and nearby waters.
The report states that even though Shell replaced the pipeline in 2010, around 80 kilometres of the old line remained filled with stagnant crude oil years later. This was allegedly because the company did not have enough money for proper decommissioning.
The documents show that the abandoned pipeline had at least six spills after it was replaced. Shell employees warned that more spills would happen unless urgent action was taken.
The report claims Shell continued oil production even after recognizing the environmental risks from the aging infrastructure.
It also mentions internal discussions where Shell managers questioned if the company should keep producing while “knowing that further environmental damage will occur.”
Missing Wells and Weak Monitoring
The report further claims Shell could not track hundreds of oil wells in Nigeria.
An internal report sent to the company’s then CEO in 2014 noted that many onshore wells were either missing from Shell’s tracking system or their status could not be confirmed.
PREMIUM TIMES recently reported calls from Niger Delta groups asking for an audit of abandoned oil wells in the region, calling them a time bomb that threatens lives and health.
The report says Shell later started a “well hunt campaign,” which found about 750 overdue maintenance tasks that led to a poor audit result.
The documents also show Shell did not have real-time systems to monitor pipelines for smaller leaks before they caused major environmental damage.
The report further stated that internal reviews found pipelines that should be replaced every 15 years remained in use much longer, with maintenance mainly reacting to failures rather than preventing them.
The report claims over 1,600 pipeline clamps were installed in Shell’s network, including many older clamps whose exact locations were unknown.
Concerns Over Oil Theft Claims
For years, Shell has claimed that most oil spills in the Niger Delta were due to sabotage, theft, and illegal refining.
But Amnesty International believes the new documents complicate this story.
According to the report, senior Shell officials admitted that illegal tapping points on pipelines were sometimes not removed because doing so would require stopping oil production.
One internal message mentioned that the Nigerian security agency in charge of pipeline protection accused Shell of being “complicit” in oil theft because illegal connections were not taken out quickly.
The report also claims Shell executives suspected some of its staff and contractors might be involved in organized oil theft.
Rights groups argue that Shell’s documents raise doubts about the reliability of their oil spill investigations, stating company staff often lacked proper tools to tell apart operational failures from outside interference.
This distinction is crucial because the Nigerian National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency Act (2006) usually requires compensation only when spills are deemed operational failures, not sabotage.
$10.9 Billion Cost for Decommissioning
One of the most significant financial findings is an internal estimate that puts the cost of decommissioning Shell’s onshore assets at $10.9 billion, not counting environmental cleanup.
The report mentions another internal presentation that identified about 375 square kilometres of mangrove forest impacted by pollution. It questioned if the company had the “appetite” to handle the ongoing environmental costs.
Rights groups argue that Shell’s exit should not clear it of accountability for pollution that built up over decades of oil production.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that an independent panel estimated cleaning up oil pollution from Shell and Eni operations in Bayelsa State alone could cost around $12 billion.
Nigeria’s decommissioning rules put the legal responsibility for old oil and gas infrastructure on licensees and lessees. They must plan and fund decommissioning well before production stops.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations (2026) require operators to contribute yearly to a special fund for decommissioning and abandonment activities.
These rules ensure that operators set aside enough money to cover future liabilities rather than leaving it to the government or local communities.
Given Amnesty International's claim that Shell's internal documents estimated the $10.9 billion decommissioning liability before the company sold its onshore assets, this raises questions about whether enough financial preparations were made.
These regulations were made to stop operators from leaving oilfields without securing funds to safely decommission infrastructure and fix environmental damage.
Amnesty and Partners Seek Accountability
Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said these documents challenge years of public claims by Shell.
“Shell has always blamed oil theft and sabotage for pollution in the Niger Delta. But these documents cut through years of denial and raise serious questions about what Shell knew, what it allowed, and whether it then tried to avoid the costs of its toxic legacy,” Mr Sanusi said.
He added that the findings suggest Shell accepted environmental harm that “would not have been tolerated elsewhere.”
Olanrewaju Suraju, chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, said communities deserve “truth, justice, cleanup, and full remedy” after years of environmental damage.
The report was created by Amnesty International, The Corner House, Hawkmoth, HEDA Resource Centre, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative, Recommon, and Social Action.
These organizations urged the Nigerian government to strengthen regulations in the oil sector, conduct thorough audits of old oil infrastructure, and set up a dedicated fund for cleaning up the Niger Delta.
Shell Denies Allegations
Amnesty International said it shared its findings with Shell before publishing the report.
In response, Shell rejected the claims in the report. “The characterization and portrayal of Shell in your letter is not one we recognize,” the company stated.
“Shell is committed to honesty, integrity, and respect for people, and to doing business in an ethical and transparent way.”
The company added that the allegations do not reflect “the challenging operating environment in the Niger Delta at the time.”
Continuing Pollution Claims
This latest report adds to increasing global scrutiny of Shell’s environmental practices in Nigeria.
PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that Shell agreed in late 2022 to pay $16 million to four Nigerian farmers and their communities over pollution linked to pipeline leaks that happened between 2004 and 2007 in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states after years of court battles in the Netherlands.
This newspaper also reported that Shell agreed to spend at least $115 million to reduce harmful air emissions at its refinery in Deer Park, Texas, after admitting to breaking the United States Clean Air Act.
Meanwhile, the long-running legal case brought by the Ogale and Bille communities against Shell over oil pollution is still ongoing in UK courts, with the Bille case set for trial in March 2027.
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