Internal emails reveal Shell kept pumping through compromised Niger Delta pipeline despite warnings

Internal company correspondence indicates Shell chose to keep a Niger Delta pipeline in service despite internal warnings that it was below technical standards and risked harming Nigeria's nearby wetlands.

The reporting describes a yearslong pattern of internal knowledge tied to major spills that residents have said ravaged mangrove habitat and local fishing grounds, according to Mongabay.

What happened?

At the center of the documents is the Nembe Creek Trunk Line, a 97-kilometer (60-mile) pipeline that moved about 150,000 barrels of oil a day to Bonny Island.

Senior Shell officials had been aware since 2008 that the pipeline was in poor condition, according to memos and emails obtained by Mongabay.

In one email, technical vice president Markus Droll said keeping the line running made him "pretty uncomfortable" and wrote: "I find the argument that we can't effectively shut the supplying wells down as a reason to keep going, at best weak."

Even so, regional executive vice president Ann Pickard said continuing operations was "the lower risk to both people and environment."

Later internal documents labeled tampered pipelines, such as the Nembe Creek line, as "red," a category requiring either an immediate shutdown or the prompt removal of illegal connections.

People in Bille, a nearby riverine community, said spills between 2011 and 2013 destroyed about 2,000 hectares of mangroves and damaged a much larger surrounding area.

In a lawsuit filed in the U.K. in 2015, plaintiffs argued Shell was responsible even if oil theft contributed to the leaks. Shell said organized criminal gangs caused the spills.

Why does it matter?

The ecological stakes are high in the Niger Delta, which includes four Ramsar-designated wetlands and Africa's largest mangrove forest, as Mongabay noted.

Research identified the area around Bille as a hotspot for mangrove degradation, and residents said the destruction has harmed fish, shellfish, oysters, and periwinkles that communities depend on for both food and income.

For Bille residents, the damage is immediate: harmed waterways, lost fishing livelihoods, and a far more difficult road to recovery unless cleanup and accountability follow.

More broadly, the fossil fuel industry has been in the crosshairs of public criticism for years because it contributes to air and water pollution linked to asthma, heart disease, cancer, and premature death. Oil and gas extraction, transportation, and burning also worsen extreme weather disasters that destroy homes, livelihoods, and local economies.

Meanwhile, families can be left grappling with high energy bills while corporate profits climb, and industry lobbying can slow the shift to cleaner, cheaper energy solutions that would better protect public health, affordability, and community resilience.

What are people saying?

Boma Renner Igolima-Dappa, spokesperson for the Bille Kingdom Chiefs Council, told Mongabay: "The aquatic life is gone. Our people can no longer go to the river and catch reasonable fish — they can't even find the fish in the first place."

Matthew Renshaw, the lawyer representing community members, said, "What has now emerged through disclosure is that executives in London were deeply responsible for what was happening in Nigeria."

Shell, meanwhile, said, "Operational decisions were, therefore, taken in a highly complex environment, balancing safety, environmental considerations, and security risks."

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