Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta Complaint to the UK and Dutch National Contact Points under the Specific Instance Procedure of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

A complaint submitted by Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International to the UK and Dutch National Contact Points alleging that Royal Dutch Shell breached OECD Guidelines by providing misleading and unsubstantiated data regarding the causes of oil spills in the Niger Delta.

• The Complainants allege that Royal Dutch Shell routinely publishes misleading and unqualified figures claiming that a vast majority of oil spills in the Niger Delta are caused by sabotage, with figures ranging from 70% to 98%. These claims are used to avoid liability for compensation and to deflect criticism of the company's environmental and human rights impacts.
• The document asserts that there is no credible or independent source for oil spill causation data in the Niger Delta. It claims that the investigation process is flawed because oil companies exert substantial control over determining the cause of spills, creating a conflict of interest since companies are only liable for compensation if the spill is due to equipment failure or corrosion.
• The Complainants provide evidence that Shell has published incorrect data and failed to correct it. For example, Shell claimed throughout 2009 that 85% of 2008 spills were due to sabotage, but later clarified in May 2010 that approximately 50% were actually due to operational errors following a major spill at Iriama in Delta State.
• The report cites specific instances where Shell allegedly wrongly attributed spills to sabotage despite evidence of equipment failure. Examples include a 2002 spill in Batan where a diver found loose bolts and nuts, a 1997 case where a court found a falling tree caused the leak, and a 2007 spill in Ogoniland where a joint investigation report cited corrosion.
• The Complainants argue that Shell's actions constitute breaches of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, specifically regarding Disclosure (Section III), Environment (Section V), and Consumer Interests (Section VII), by failing to provide reliable non-financial information and using deceptive representations.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2011). Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta Complaint to the UK and Dutch National Contact Points under the Specific Instance Procedure of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/OECD-Submission-FoE-and-AI-FINAL-TEXT.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta Complaint to the UK and Dutch National Contact Points under the Specific Instance Procedure of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. 2011. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/OECD-Submission-FoE-and-AI-FINAL-TEXT.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta Complaint to the UK and Dutch National Contact Points under the Specific Instance Procedure of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises |date=25 January 2011 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/OECD-Submission-FoE-and-AI-FINAL-TEXT.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2011royal, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta Complaint to the UK and Dutch National Contact Points under the Specific Instance Procedure of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2011}, month = jan, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/OECD-Submission-FoE-and-AI-FINAL-TEXT.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }