Nigeria Moves to Fine Royal Dutch Shell for Polluting Spill

摘要

Two Nigerian government agencies told a parliamentary hearing on 27th May this year, that Royal Dutch Shell should pay a total of $ 11.5 billion (7.6 billion pounds) in compensation for damage caused by an oil spill at its offshore Bonga field in December 2011. Shell has hit back saying that there was no legal basis for the proposed fines and the Nigerian government had never publicly charged foreign oil companies large sums for oil spills in the past. While the national assembly can recommend fines the government should impose on oil companies, it has no power to enforce them. The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) told the national assembly Shell should pay $5 billion as a fine for environmental damage caused from a 40,000 barrel spill on December 20, 2011 at the Bonga offshore rig.