eNVIrONMeNTAL rIGHTS ACTION, OCTOBer 2007 The Ikot Ada Udo case: The hissing and leaking ‘Christmas tree’ This oil installation was called the ‘Christmas tree’ because of its shape By means of three lawsuits, an annual profit of 20 billion Milieudefensie, its Nigerian dollars should not be able to sister organisation erA and escape the impacts of its acti- four Nigerian farmers and vities. This factsheet details fishers are holding both the Ikot Ada udo case. Nigeria (Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria – SPDC, a subsidiary of Shell) liable for the damage that oil spills have caused in their villages. They believe that a Dutch company with Christmas tree Shell placed an oil installation in the village of Ikot Ada udo nearly 50 years ago at the head of an oil well. Shortly after it installed the wellhead, Shell decided not to produce oil in Ikot Ada udo but left the installation in place. Since then the wellhead has been left abandoned among the vegetable gardens of the village of Ikot Ada udo. It has been nicknamed the Christmas tree because it resembles one. Shell oil well Shell pipeline Nigeria Friday Alfred Akpan Goi Ikot Ada Udo Oruma 5 KADIr VAN LOHuIzeN/NOOr Shell Headquarters and Shell The plaintiff: Friday Alfred Akpan was born on 25 October 1956. He works as a supervisor in the Nigerian state Akwa Ibom, and is assistant secretary in Ikot Ada udo. The oil leaks in the village have mainly caused damage to his fishponds. A series of leaks Friday Akpan: ‘Shell comes only to stop the leak. Then they leave the village without cleaning up the contamination, restoring the area or paying compensation for the damage suffered. The residents of Ikot Ada Udo are angry, very angry.’ Change in the situation In August 2006 the villagers discovered that the leaks were becoming worse and reported this to Shell. Shell related via the managing director of Shell Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu, that the pollution was not that bad. Due to rainfall, only a small quantity of oil reached the agricultural lands of the villagers. Nevertheless, the leaks continued. In August 2007 the situation truly became alarming. The oil installation started to spray raw oil over the fields, accompanied by a deafening hissing noise and penetrating gas smell. Heavy rainfall carried the oil in rivulets and into the village fishponds. The fish died and the drinking water became polluted. Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR, January 2008 Over the last ten years, noxious fumes and a brown oily substance have regularly escaped from the oil installation. This apparently was caused by malfunctioning of old parts and lack of maintenance by Shell. Villagers reported multiple leaks in the period between 1996 and 1999, and in 2004. The oil installation and the devastated surrounding area the oil leak within seven days. This resolution was adopted on the same day that Shell stopped the leak, 7 November 2007. tion, even though this is required by Nigerian law. It was not until September/October 2008 that Shell attempted to clean up the oil. A large amount of the oil-saturated land was piled up in the forest a bit further away. The farmlands and fishponds which were polluted by the oil that swept over them have never been cleaned up. Clean-up The oil pollution was still not cleaned up by the time the rainy season started. By early 2008 Shell had not even started an investigation into the scope of the pollu- The current situation Aquaculture is still not possible and residents have still received no compensation. Shell has provided the village with funding for a drinking water tank and water pipes. In the meantime, a small wall has also been constructed about the Christmas tree, and Shell has ordered a concrete plug to be installed. Dead ­cassava plants around the oil ­install­ation The oil installation sprayed oil over a three-month period, starting from August 2007. The village distrusted Shell, fearing that this time too, the company would just come to stop the leak and leave. The villages didn’t want to allow Shell access and then to be left with the damage. Therefore, the government took the initiative to set up talks between a village representative and Shell. It was not until 23 October that an understanding was reached between Shell and the villagers. A decision was taken that Shell would first have to stop the leak. In early November 2007 the Nigerian parliament passed a resolution to ensure this, strongly urging Shell to stop 6 Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR, January 2008 Three months of oil Friday Akpan: ‘We have not been able to use the soil and water in our village for the past four years due to Shell’s negligence. They should pay us compensation for that.’ This factsheet has been financed in part by the EU. Its content is the responsibility of Milieudefensie [Friends of the Earth Netherlands] and can in no way be considered a reflection of the positions of the EU.