Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), has today announced a £55 million settlement agreement with the Bodo community in respect of the two highly regrettable operational spills in 2008. The £55 million settlement provides for an individual payment to each claimant who accepts the settlement agreement in compensation for losses arising from the spills, amounting to up to £35 million in total. The remaining £20 million payment will be made for the benefit of the Bodo community generally. “From the outset, we’ve accepted responsibility for the two deeply regrettable operational spills in Bodo. We’ve always wanted to compensate the community fairly and we are pleased to have reached agreement,” said Mutiu Sunmonu, Managing Director of SPDC. We are fully committed to the clean-up process being overseen by the former Netherlands’ Ambassador to Nigeria…However, unless real action is taken to end the scourge of oil theft and illegal refining, which remains the main cause of environmental pollution and is the real tragedy of the Niger Delta, areas that are cleaned up will simply become re-impacted through these illegal activities…”…