Activists urge Nigeria to delay Shell’s $2.4 billion sale of assets in deeply polluted Niger Delta

ABUJA, Nigeria — Local activists and international environmental groups want Nigeria’s government to delay approving the sale of oil company Shell’s onshore assets, claiming Shell is trying to shirk its environmental and social responsibilities in the highly polluted Niger Delta. Shell says the $2.4 billion divestment deal is part of a “wider reconfiguration of the Nigerian oil and gas sector.” But the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, a Dutch non-profit, released a report Wednesday saying Shell shouldn’t be allowed to divest in the delta unless it takes “responsibility for its toxic legacy of pollution and ensures the safe decommissioning of abandoned oil infrastructure.” Protesters have appealed to the government of Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, to halt the sale until environmental concerns are addressed. Richard Steiner, an environmental consultant with a history of work in the Niger Delta, said the blowout on the Santa Barbara River highlights the risk of Shell and other oil majors transferring assets to new local firms without resolving legacy environmental and social concerns first. Audrey Gaughran, SOMO’s director, told the AP in a statement that “ensuring that the historical pollution, the lack of funding for safe decommissioning and poor financial transparency are fully addressed in Nigeria will be an important litmus test for a just energy transition across the world.” ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations.