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The report even suggests the Anglo-Dutch firm may be forced to leave Nigeria by 2008. Shell has reacted by saying it's working to improve its operations but it won't be pulling out.
Nigeria's oil-rich western delta is one of the most volatile and violent regions in the country. Its numerous creeks and mangrove swamps have been the scene of many inter-communal clashes, kidnappings and armed robberies ever since oil was discovered in the late 1960s.
Over the years, the central government has launched several military offensives to stabilize the region, but these have failed to crush the criminal gangs that have grown rich from oil theft. Backed by powerful political and ethnic figures, these gangs have been able to build up a vast arsenal and are now a formidable force.
Making life worse
The general lawlessness has been a
major headache for Royal Dutch Shell, which accounts for more than
half of OPEC member Nigeria's output of over two million barrels
per day. To gain a greater understanding of conflict in the delta
and of its role in solving it, Shell recently commissioned a report
by an external consultancy group.
The main findings, leaked a few days ago, may be embarrassing news for the oil giant, but it confirms what environmental and human rights campaigners have claimed all along: Shell has had a corrupting and destabilising influence on the region.
Cash payments
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"There have been situations in the past where Shell have come under a lot of pressure from local communities for damage and so on, and has actually given out what it used to call ‘cash payments' to different communities. This has of course led to further tensions as other communities who haven't received such compensation have then complained. Apparently now Shell have ordered for these cash payments to be stopped. But certainly in the recent past, they would have accentuated tensions."
"There have been similar situations with regard to employment, with many local communities complaining that they don't see any of the benefits or the wealth from the oil production, communities becoming quite militant demanding jobs and Shell sometimes giving out jobs to people, sometimes jobs that don't even exist but that will keep them quiet. Again, you can imagine situations where communities that don't benefit from that then get increasingly angry."
Difficult to operate
While accepting
that its presence in Nigeria had inadvertently fed poverty,
violence and corruption, Shell stressed it was "difficult" to
operate ethically in the Niger Delta. It also acknowledged that its
attempts at community development had been "less than perfect". Ms
Tertsakian believes Shell should accept full
responsibility.
"Whether it's inadvertent or not, I think Shell still has the responsibility to think about the consequences of such actions. They do have to recognize and appreciate the fact that they are operating in a politically very tense and sensitive environment and certainly, they should have thought about the consequences of their actions before taking them."
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Shell won´t pull out
And Shell will have to work
fast. In its findings, the independent WAC Global Services
consultancy group warns that the increasing criminalisation of the
Niger Delta is so serious that it could force Shell out of onshore
production by 2008. But the Anglo-Dutch company says it has no
intention of pulling out. The Nigerian government wouldn't want to
see Shell go either, says Ms Tertsakian.
"The Nigerian government would want Shell to stay in the country, because it's a partnership, a joint operation that represents a huge chunk of the entire oil production in Nigeria. The Abuja authorities are ultimately the ones who have responsibility for the situation in the Delta anyway."
"So, while we can stress that Shell, as a company operating there, has its own responsibilities towards the local population, certainly the Nigerian government also has those responsibilities, and until now has not fulfilled them, either in terms of preventing further conflict or in terms of ensuring that the population enjoy some of the benefits of the oil wealth. There's a huge amount of wealth coming from that oil in Nigeria, and yet the communities living in the oil producing areas are amongst the poorest in the country and live in abject poverty."
Photographs © RNW/Eric Beauchemin
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Tags: Abuja, development, environment, gangs, Niger delta, Nigeria, Ogoni, oil, Shell, theft