But Shell’s broken promises have a long history. Since the 90s it has been promising it would stop gas flaring in Nigeria, a practice it has embraced since 1958, and which was banned by law in 1984.

The company has caused environmental and human disasters for years in the Niger Delta affecting several villages in the region.

A new report on sustainability launched by Shell also shows that in 2010 the company flared 30% more gas than in 2009. According to them this was mainly due to increased production in Nigeria and new activities in Iraq.

Nnimmo Bassey, director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria and chair of Friends of the Earth International, said in a press release issued April 21: “Shell has been flaring gas in Nigeria since 1958. Though gas flaring has been illegal, to them it is a standard industry practice. They continue to reap obscene profits from the oil fields of Nigeria at the expense of the lives and the livelihoods of the poor people. While they speak from both sides of their mouths we see that they are increasing the volume of gas flared and are thus intensifying their poisoning of the environment and the peoples of the region”.

The environmental federation condemned the increasing gas flaring and asked the Nigerian government and the international community to force Shell to stop this practice, which has “serious impacts on the health of the local residents and the environment”.

Friends of the Earth says the flared gas could simply be captured and used as natural gas, to the benefit of local people who often do not even have electricity in their houses.

Bassey described gas flaring as an “unacceptable and illegal activity” carried out by Shell to “increase its profits”. “It is ecocide and everyone should join us to demand Shell to stop this madness”. Both Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Friends of the Earth International have worked with communities in the Niger Delta and filed lawsuits against the company.
Shell’s serious acts in Nigeria are a concern of the Dutch parliament. In January of this year, it held a hearing on the conduct of Shell in Nigeria, were parliamentarians criticized the needless practice of flaring.

But Shell’s bad record is even worse in Nigeria. The British-Dutch company was accused of being an accomplice of the country’s dictatorship in 1995, in the murder of several Ogoni activists who were protesting against oil pollution in their territories. The company agreed to pay a 15.5 million-dollar compensation to the families of the victims in an out of court settlement in 2009. The families had filed the law suit in a United States court.

Photo: http://justiceinnigerianow.org