Shell agrees $84m Nigeria compensation package

The deal is for the losses to the fishermen and community after two pipeline spills seven years ago

Shell has agreed a £55 million ($84m) compensation package for losses resulting from two pipeline spills in 2008, setting a precedent by making payments directly to the people affected. The settlement - made before a full trial was due to start in London this year - will give 600,000 naira ($3,240) to each of the 15,600 fishermen affected, while the community will receive a £20m payment.  Shell accepts that the spills, both of which continued for many weeks, were due to failures in the Bomu-Bonny pipeline, part of the Trans-Niger pipeline which flows 180,000 barrels a day (b/d) of crude to the Bonny export terminal. It has agreed to clean-up the Bodo Creek area, affected by the spills, where