A coalition of human rights and environmental organisations has accused Shell of knowingly allowing dangerous oil infrastructure to continue operating in Nigeria’s Niger Delta despite repeated internal warnings about ageing pipelines, environmental risks and massive clean up costs.
The allegations are contained in a new report, Nigeria: Lifting the Lid, published on Wednesday by Amnesty International and several partner organisations following an analysis of internal Shell emails, audits, confidential presentations and corporate reviews disclosed during legal proceedings in the United Kingdom.
According to the report, Shell’s internal documents reveal concerns over deteriorating infrastructure, weak spill monitoring systems, missing oil well records, alleged staff collusion in oil theft and an estimated US$10.9 billion cost of decommissioning ageing assets.
One of the documents reportedly described an ageing pipeline as “a basket,” warning that it would continue leaking unless urgent action was taken. The report alleges that Shell nevertheless continued oil production while delaying decommissioning because of financial considerations.
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The organisations further claimed that Shell later chose to divest its onshore Nigerian operations rather than bear the enormous cost of environmental remediation and infrastructure retirement.
Amnesty International Nigeria’s Director, Isa Sanusi, said the leaked documents challenge Shell’s long-standing position that oil theft and sabotage were primarily responsible for pollution across the Niger Delta.
“Shell has long blamed oil theft and sabotage for pollution in the Niger Delta. But these documents cut through years of denial and raise grave questions about what Shell knew, what it allowed to continue, and whether it then sought to walk away from the costs of its toxic legacy,” Sanusi said.
“The real scandal is Shell’s pursuit of profit at the expense of people’s rights. Shell was willing to accept further environmental damage in Nigeria that would not have been tolerated elsewhere.”
The report alleges that senior Shell officials allowed illegal tapping points to remain on pipelines because removing them would require shutting down oil production, with one internal presentation questioning whether the company was comfortable continuing production while knowing that “further environmental damage WILL occur.”
According to the coalition, internal correspondence also showed that the Nigerian military at one point accused Shell of being “complicit” in oil theft because illegal connections were allegedly left untouched.
The report further claimed that Shell exempted its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), from certain global health and safety standards, allowing production to continue through compromised pipelines that would not have met the company’s safety requirements elsewhere.
The organisations also alleged that Shell’s internal audits exposed significant maintenance backlogs, poor oversight of pipeline repairs and inadequate monitoring systems.
According to the report, a 2014 internal review revealed that hundreds of onshore oil wells were either missing from Shell’s electronic tracking system or their conditions could not be verified. A subsequent internal exercise reportedly uncovered about 750 overdue maintenance tasks.
The coalition further argued that Shell lacked effective real time leak detection systems, making it difficult to identify smaller spills before they caused widespread environmental damage.
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Another internal presentation reportedly estimated that about 375 square kilometres of mangrove forests had been damaged by oil pollution.
The report also questioned the accuracy of Shell’s spill investigation procedures, alleging that company staff often lacked the equipment needed to determine whether spills resulted from operational failures or sabotage. Under Nigerian law, that distinction determines whether affected communities qualify for compensation.
The organisations argued that flawed spill investigations may have deprived many communities of compensation while allowing environmental degradation to continue.
They also raised concerns over Shell’s 2025 divestment of its onshore business to Renaissance Africa Energy, arguing that questions remain about the new company’s financial capacity to address decades of environmental liabilities.
Amnesty International and its partners called on the Nigerian Government to strengthen oversight of the oil industry, establish a well-funded Niger Delta clean up programme and require comprehensive audits of oil infrastructure.
The organisations also urged authorities in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to investigate whether Shell misled regulators, investors and affected communities regarding the condition of its Nigerian assets and environmental liabilities.
Responding to Amnesty before the report’s publication, Shell rejected the characterisation of its conduct.
“The characterisation and portrayal of Shell in your letter is not one we recognise. Shell is committed to honesty, integrity and respect for people, and to conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner,” the company said.
Shell added that the findings did not reflect “the challenging operating environment in the Niger Delta at the time.”
The report forms part of ongoing scrutiny surrounding litigation brought by the Ogale and Bille communities in the UK over decades of alleged oil pollution in the Niger Delta. The Bille case is scheduled to be heard in March 2027.
