Our activities in Nigeria

Incidents in 2015, including the continued theft of crude oil, reinforced the need to maintain the highest standards of safety and security in Nigeria.

In 2015, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), which is the operator of the SPDC joint venture (SPDC, Shell interest 30%), divested its interest in three onshore leases and a major pipeline. Our performance metrics for Nigeria this year reflect, in part, these divestments.

Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN) recorded a total of seven fatalities in 2015, in four separate incidents. In one incident, four people lost their lives while working to remove an illegal tap point from a pipeline in the Niger Delta. The incident is being investigated, in line with our procedures, and we are taking steps to learn from what happened. “This loss of life is a deeply troubling turn for SCiN after no fatalities in 2014,” says Osagie Okunbor, the Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair of SCiN. “Crude oil theft is a major issue, with attacks not only on pipelines but increasingly on flowlines and well heads.”

In the same year, the gas flared from SPDC JV operations declined by 28% and flaring intensity decreased by 15% from 2014, partly due to divestments and also to their focus on gas flare reduction. However, a lack of adequate joint-venture funding from our government partner has delayed planned start-up dates for two other major gas gathering projects. (See Flaring for more on flaring).