UK Supreme Court rules in favour of Shell on 2011 oil spill off

The UK Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that it was too late for the Nigerian claimants to bring legal action against two Shell (SHEL.L) companies over an offshore oil spill in 2011 that they claim had a catastrophic long-term effect on the coastal region where they live.

The lawsuit was one of several legal disputes Shell has been engaged in with people of Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta in London courts; the area is plagued by pollution, conflict, and corruption related to the oil and gas business.

The case resulted from the estimated 40,000 barrels of crude oil that leaked on December 20, 2011, when an oil tanker was being loaded at Shell’s massive Bonga oil field, 120 kilometers off the delta coast.

A lawsuit against Shell has been undertaken by a group of 27,800 people from 457 towns who claim the ensuing oil slick damaged local lands and waterways, causing harm to farming, fishing, drinking water, mangrove trees, and religious sites.

However, a panel of five justices on the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed judgments rendered by two lower courts that concluded the plaintiffs had filed their complaint after the six-year statute of limitations had run.

The claimants’ lawyers had argued that the ongoing consequences of the pollution represented a “continuing nuisance”, a type of civil tort, which would have meant the deadline did not apply.

“The Supreme Court rejects the claimants’ submission. There was no continuing nuisance in this case,” said justice Andrew Burrows, delivering the ruling.

The arguments of the claimants had been refuted by Shell, who claimed that the Bonga spill had no effect on the beach. The court did not make a decision about the disputed facts because its focus was on the legal issue of nuisance.

The Supreme Court’s decision will be binding on the thousands of more claims, even though there were only two Nigerian citizens who filed an appeal.

Shell claimed that the Supreme Court decision has ended all legal claims over the spill in English courts.

In a different instance involving Niger Delta contamination, the Supreme Court already decided against Shell. The High Court is now hearing a lawsuit against Shell brought by 42,500 farmers and fishermen from the Ogale and Bille villages, which was granted permission to do so in February 2021.

In a different case, Shell finally conceded to pay the Bodo community of the delta $55 million ($70 million) in 2015 after a protracted court struggle in London. This was in response to two spills.

(REUTERS)