"Shell Fights Lawsuits Over Environmental Record in Nigeria", 19 Nov 2016

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is fighting lawsuits this coming week in London and the Netherlands over its environmental record in Nigeria...The hearings in London's High Court...represent an early test for cases brought by the community of Ogale and a group from the Bille Kingdom. The communities are hoping to hold Shell accountable for environmental damage they claim has been caused by spills from infrastructure operated by Shell's Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria Ltd., or SPDC...Shell is expected to argue that only the subsidiary should be held liable and that the cases should be heard in Nigeria, SPDC's base and where the incidents took place. But the communities and their lawyers say seeking justice in Nigeria won't hold Shell responsible for the actions of its subsidiary and is extraordinarily difficult...Shell blames the spills in the legal cases on third-party interference, like sabotage and theft...Shell also maintains that it cleans up all oil spills, regardless of the cause....