The proposed sale of Shell's onshore oil business in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria risks worsening human rights abuses and should be blocked by the government unless a series of safeguards are put in place, a group of 40 civil society organizations including Amnesty International said today.
Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International's Nigeria Director, said:"There is now a substantial risk Shell will walk away with billions of dollars from the sale of this business, leaving those already harmed without remedy and facing continued abuse and harms to their health. Guarantees and financial safeguards must be in place to immediately remedy existing contamination and to protect people from future harms before this sale should be allowed to proceed.
The letter follows Shell's announcement in January that it had agreed to sell SPDC to the Renaissance consortium, which comprises four exploration and production companies based in Nigeria and an international energy group, in a deal worth up to US$2.4 billion financed partly with a loan to the buyers from Shell.
The letter notes similar previous sales in Nigeria have sometimes exposed people in polluted communities to enduring harms, as purchasers have sometimes lacked sufficient financial resources to manage the infrastructure effectively, and even just ceased operating entirely.