Internal company documents reveal Shell knew the scale of its ageing infrastructure and estimated decommissioning liabilities at £8.2 billion (US$10.9 billion) before selling its onshore business, raising questions over who will pay for the Niger Delta’s toxic legacy.
Shell must answer for decades of pollution in the Niger Delta after internal company documents disclosed in UK legal proceedings revealed broken rules, failing infrastructure and unresolved environmental liabilities that risk leaving affected communities to pay the price, a coalition of human rights and environmental organisations, including Amnesty International, said today in a new report.
The report, Nigeria: Lifting the Lid,analyses internal Shell emails, audits, presentations and confidential reviews disclosed in UK legal proceedings. The documents reveal a wider human rights scandal than previously reported. While Shell presented its operations as meeting global standards, they point to concerns raised by the Nigerian army over alleged complicity in oil theft, suspected staff and contractor collusion, exemptions from safety standards, chronic neglect of known pipeline integrity risks, missing well data, weak leak detection and flawed spill monitoring.
Shell knew the risks posed by ageing and leaking infrastructure, including an old pipeline internally described as “a basket”, yet kept oil flowing. The documents also reveal an internal estimate that decommissioning its onshore infrastructure could cost approximately £8.2 billion (US$10.9 billion). Shell later sold its onshore business despite concerns over the new owner’s capacity to manage the environmental legacy. A separate internal presentation stated that 375km² of mangrove forest had been harmed by pollution.
Amnesty International wrote to Shell on 3 July 2026 to share its findings related to the disclosed documents. In response, Shell wrote: “The characterisation and portrayal of Shell in your letter is not one we recognise. Shell is committed to honesty, integrity and respect for people, and to conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner.” Shell said the findings do not reflect the “challenging operating environment in the Niger Delta at the time”. Its full response is included in the report.
Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said:
“Shell has long blamed oil theft and sabotage for pollution in the Niger Delta. But these documents cut through years of denial and raise grave questions about what Shell knew, what it allowed to continue, and whether it then sought to walk away from the costs of its toxic legacy.
“The scandal was not simply illegal ‘bunkering’ or oil theft. The real scandal is Shell’s pursuit of profit at the expense of people’s rights. Shell was willing to accept further environmental damage in Nigeria that would not have been tolerated elsewhere, and years of public denial are now challenged by its own documents.”
The report is published by Amnesty International together with The Corner House, Hawkmoth, HEDA Resource Centre, Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre, Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI), Recommon and Social Action.
For affected communities, the findings confirm what many have said for decades: oil pollution has damaged water, farmland, fisheries, health and livelihoods, while companies continued to profit and deny responsibility.
“Shell cannot be allowed to take the oil, take the profits and leave the pollution behind. Communities in the Niger Delta deserve truth, justice, clean-up and full remedy,” said Olanrewaju Suraju, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre.