[Shell is]...studying this report with interest. We take our responsibilities in Nigeria...very seriously. We are committed to cleaning up all spills from our facilities...and to paying fair compensation to people affected...as required by...law. Legal action against Shell and its subsidiaries, far from helping the unfortunate people affected by oil spills in the Niger Delta, in many cases actually serves to delay both payment of compensation and cleanup...The vast majority of the oil spilt in Nigeria is caused by widespread criminality...which, alongside equally widespread illegal refining operations, blights the country and causes most of the terrible environmental damage. This is the real tragedy of the Niger Delta, and it is this which all organisations with an interest in Nigeria, from NGO and investors to the Nigerian authorities and energy companies, should be focusing on.