In a groundbreaking legal ruling, the London High Court today decided that Shell Nigeria could be legally liable for illegal bunkering of its pipelines, if it failed to take reasonable steps to protect its infrastructure. The judgment follows a ‘preliminary issues hearing’…which considered a range of complex legal arguments prior to a full trial in 2015. The central issue being argued was whether Shell should take reasonable steps to protect its infrastructure given the foreseeable risk of bunkering, illegal hacking into pipelines to steal the oil. This is the first time Shell has had to face formal Court proceedings in the UK for its environmental record in the Niger Delta.