Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Oil spill · Nigeria · 2021–2022

Shell Nigeria pipeline spill ruling (Hague Court of Appeal, 2021)

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

On 29 January 2021 the Hague Court of Appeal held Shell Nigeria liable for damage from leaks in oil pipelines at Oruma and Goi. The matter was settled in December 2022 for €15 million, without an admission of liability.

€15 millionSettlement after the appeal ruling, no admission of liability
Settled December 2022, as reported in the sources reviewed.

Status As of December 2022: Hague Court of Appeal ruling of 29 January 2021 followed by a €15 million settlement; no later development found in the sources reviewed.

What?
The Hague Court of Appeal held Shell Nigeria liable for damage from leaking oil pipelines at Oruma and Goi; the matter was later settled for €15 million. Rechtspraak, Gerechtshof Den Haag
Where?
Oruma and Goi, Nigeria; ruling in The Hague, Netherlands. Rechtspraak, Gerechtshof Den Haag
When?
Ruling 29 January 2021; settlement December 2022. Rechtspraak, Gerechtshof Den Haag
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
not on record beyond the court's finding of liability.
How?
Shell Nigeria was found liable for the damage resulting from the leakage of the pipelines; the sources reviewed the court placed a heavy burden of proof on a party that invokes sabotage. Rechtspraak, Gerechtshof Den Haag
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

On 29 January 2021 the Hague Court of Appeal ruled on oil-pipeline leaks at Oruma and Goi in Nigeria. According to the court's news release as quoted in secondary sources, the court found: "Shell Nigeria is therefore liable for the damage resulting from the leakage of those pipelines."

The report of the ruling states that Shell Nigeria had attributed leaks to sabotage and that the court placed a heavy burden of proof on a company that makes that claim.

In December 2022 the matter was settled for €15 million. The settlement was made without an admission of liability.

  1. 202129 January: Hague Court of Appeal holds Shell Nigeria liable for damage from the leaking pipelines at Oruma and Goi
  2. 2022December: settlement of €15 million, no admission of liability

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“Shell Nigeria is therefore liable for the damage resulting from the leakage of those pipelines.”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Were pipeline leaks caused by sabotage, and who bears the burden of proving it?
Courts
Hague Court of Appeal

Held Shell Nigeria liable for the damage from leakage of the Oruma and Goi pipelines; a secondary summary says the court placed a heavy burden of proof on a company that invokes sabotage.

Rechtspraak, Gerechtshof Den Haag
Communities and civil society
Amnesty International (2013 report, general to the Niger Delta)

Reported that joint investigation visits run by the companies determine the cause of a spill, that a sabotage finding reduces compensation, and gave examples of wrong attribution.

Amnesty International

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Hague Court of Appeal, 29 January 2021: Shell Nigeria liable for oil-pipeline leaks at Oruma and Goi.
      Rechtspraak, Gerechtshof Den Haag
    • Settlement of €15 million in December 2022, without admission of liability.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2021-01-29Claimant won
      Oruma and Goi pipeline leaks (Hague Court of Appeal)
      Hague Court of Appeal · Civil · Not named in the sources reviewed → Shell Nigeria

      The court held Shell Nigeria liable for the damage resulting from the leakage of the pipelines at Oruma and Goi. A €15 million settlement without admission of liability followed in December 2022. Rechtspraak, Gerechtshof Den Haag

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Court finding
    Liable
    Hague Court of Appeal, 29 Jan 2021, leaks at Oruma and Goi
    Settlement
    €15 million
    December 2022; no admission of liability

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    Court ruling existsNo independent ecological evaluation

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.

    Accounts

    • Disputed Were pipeline leaks caused by sabotage, and who bears the burden of proving it?

    Record

    • None on record The settlement was concluded without an admission of liability by Shell.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the research could not open the court's news page (the site returned an access error); the ruling and quote were taken from a search result.

    Did the harm stop?

    the sources reviewed does not state whether the leaks at Oruma and Goi were stopped or the sites cleaned up.

    Who paid?

    Shell Nigeria, through a €15 million settlement made without admission of liability (December 2022).

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators✓ Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Courts

    Communities and civil society

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Law and courts

    Arbitration
    A private dispute process in which an appointed arbitrator, instead of a court, decides the case.

    Insurance

    Underwriter
    An insurer, or a person at an insurer, who assesses a risk and decides whether and on what terms to insure it.
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