Shell loses Dutch case over Nigeria oil spills

Shell loses Dutch case over Nigeria oil spills

Royal Dutch Shell has been ordered to pay damages to farmers after an appeals court in The Hague found the energy major's Nigerian subsidiary liable for oil spills in the Niger Delta more than a decade ago.

The decision, the latest in a long-running civil case, marks an advance in the Netherlands' ability to hold multinationals to account for the actions of their overseas subsidiaries. Procedural aspects of the decision can still be appealed in the Dutch Supreme Court. 

The judge held Shell Nigeria liable for two pipeline spills that took place in the villages of Oruma and Goi between 2004 and 2005. The court has yet to make a decision on a third in 2007 from a wellhead, and has requested more evidence on the extent of the leak and clean-up. 

Shell, which argued that the spills were caused by sabotage and that it should not be held accountable for the dealings of a foreign subsidiary, said on Friday it was "disappointed that this court has made a different finding“. 

The court said Shell had been unable to fully prove the cause of the spills. The amount the company must pay in damages will be decided at a later date. 

The judge also ordered