Shell facing £950m payout claim

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

OIL giant Shell has been ordered to pay $1.5bn (£950m) in compensation to a community in Nigeria, the West African country from which it derives nearly one fifth of its output.

A Nigerian judicial committee is demanding the payout for the alleged 'harmful impact of its oil production and exploration activities for over 60 years'.

The committee was set up in December 2000 by the House of Representatives after the Ijaw people of Bayelsa State, in the south of the country, filed a petition. Officials said Shell should pay $500m immediately with the balance in 10 instalments. The panel also recommended that Shell should clear oil spillages from oil communities and provide civic amenities in its areas of operation.

Shell said it has yet to be 'officially notified' of the ruling and so was unable to respond. The group produces at least 800,000 barrels of oil a day in Nigeria.

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