A new assessment claims that Nigeria needs $12 billion to clean up decades-old oil spills in southern Bayelsa state over a 12-year period, blaming Shell (SHEL.L) and Eni (ENI.MI) for the majority of the contamination.
Bayelsa is one of the Niger Delta’s major oil producing states, a region plagued by pollution, war, and corruption related to the oil and gas business. Oil companies in Nigeria have long faced legal difficulties over Niger Delta spills, which they blame on pipeline sabotage and vandalism, as well as illegal refining.
Among other things, the examination showed that harmful contaminants from spills and gas flaring were many times greater than the safe limits in soil, water, air, and blood tests.
The commission adopted a United Nations model used to calculate the clean-up cost of spills in Niger Delta’s Ogoniland more than a decade ago and found that “the clean-up will cost US$12 billion over 12 years” in Bayelsa.