While
the Dutch parliament yesterday held a public hearing on Shell
activities in Nigeria, the company denied allegations by human rights
and environmental groups.
On
Tuesday, Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International
said that it will file an official complaint against the company for
breaches of basic standards for responsible business set out by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The
groups alleged that Shell’s use of discredited and misleading
information to blame the majority of oil pollution on saboteurs in its
Niger Delta operations has breached the OECD Guidelines for
Multinational Enterprises. The complaint was filed with UK and
Netherlands government contact points for the OECD.
However,
Shell, in a statement signed by Precious Okolobo, a spokesperson in
Lagos, denied the groups’ claims. It said it has reported oil spill
data since 1996, a move which it claims exhibits “a degree of
transparency unmatched by any other operator in Nigeria.”
“We
have stepped up the level of transparency this year with weekly updates
of oil spill status that includes publishing Joint Investigation Visit
reports and photographic evidence,” Mr. Okolobo said.
Shell
added that every oil spill is independently investigated by a joint
inspection team comprising SPDC, the Department of Petroleum Resources
(DPR), the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA),
and community members whose scope includes the cause and volume.
More explanation
“The
discrepancy between the originally reported figure for 2008 and the
updated one was explained at length in our reporting exercise in early
2009 involving publication of the facts in briefing notes and on the
web. We also deliberately drew attention to the change in face-to-face
meetings with a number of interested organisations including Amnesty
International and Friends of the Earth at the time to ensure
transparency,” he further said.
“The
spill in question was 44,000 barrels. It was not included originally
because it had not been certified in time by the independent joint
inspection team. This is normal practice and every year there are a
number of spills where the investigation process has not been completed
by the reporting deadline and adjustments have to be made later. Where
they are significant, we ensure that we draw attention to them as we
did in this case,” he added.
The
company further claimed that more than 70 per cent by volume and number
of incidents over the past five years is due to sabotage; including
militant action and oil theft.
“This
figure was 98 per cent for 2009. We stand by these figures and publish
them annually because we can back them up if necessary,” Mr. Okolobo
said.
But
Geert Ritsema, Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands
campaigner, and one of the speakers in Dutch parliament yesterday,
said, “It was clear that a lot of members of parliament were
unsatisfied by Shell’s answers.”
Mr. Ritsema added that “Shell would never act this way in Holland.
We hope this will mean the beginning of a political process to create a
frame of laws that will force Shell and other companies to act
responsibly in other countries as well.”
