Nigeria: Shell Documents Reveal 'Basket' Pipeline, Missing Wells, $10.9 Billion Clean-Up Liability in Niger Delta

Since the 1990s, the Niger Delta, Nigeria's oil heartland, has suffered recurring spills attributed to Shell and its local subsidiary SPDC. In 2024, the Anglo-Dutch group sold its onshore oil assets to the Renaissance consortium, hoping to close the chapter. But a court case in the UK is reviving the issue. According to an investigation by Premium Times relayed by AllAfrica, internal Shell documents disclosed in this case reveal a pipeline nicknamed 'basket' due to its multiple leaks, oil wells missing from official registers, and an estimated $10.9 billion decommissioning liability. These revelations raise a crucial question: who should bear the cost of clean-up - Shell, Renaissance, or the Nigerian state? For local communities already pursuing legal action, including the Bille and Ogale cases before UK courts, these documents add further evidence of decades of alleged negligence. This case highlights the difficulty of holding an oil major accountable for environmental damage after divestment, raises questions about Renaissance's financial capacity to handle a potentially massive liability, and tests Nigeria's ability to enforce its own environmental rules in a sector that remains its main source of foreign currency.