By Faridat Salifu & Abdullahi Lukman
A coalition of civil society organisations, environmental advocates, and frontline community leaders converged on Abuja on Monday to sound an alarm over what they describe as Shell’s attempt to “walk away” from the Niger Delta without cleaning up the damage it has allegedly caused.
While these aggrieved sound complain, the multinational oil company is finalizing arrangements to acquire TotalEnergies’ stake in Bonga deepwater field
Speaking at a press conference, the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Social Action Nigeria, and the International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition, corroborated urgent appeals from His Royal Majesty King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State, over the problem.
Addressing newsmen and allies, King Dakolo indicted Shell, alleging that the multinational oil company has destroyed communities and ecosystems through decades of oil spills, gas flaring, and regulatory evasion.
“We drink from polluted creeks”, King Dakolo cried out. “Our children breathe soot. We are surrounded by poison and now Shell wants to sell off its assets and disappear?”
According to . Bassey, Executive Director of HOMEF, the Niger Delta has become a “crime scene of ecological warfare.”
Bassey recalled: “Shell has operated here with impunity for over 70 years,” alleging, “They’ve taken the wealth and left poisoned water, flaring skies, and broken lives. This is not just about one community. It’s about an entire region resisting annihilation.”
Representatives of the convening organisations alleged that Shell’s reported sale of its 30 percent stake in the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd. is moving forward without environmental remediation or meaningful community consultation.
Backed by data from the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC), speakers at the event painted an alleged grim picture of the region:
• Over 1.5 million people exposed to hydrocarbon pollution.
• Communities living with benzene and chromium levels far exceeding WHO safety limits.
• Oil spills contaminating nearly every water source.
• Soils rendered unfit for farming and fish stocks depleted by more than 70% in some areas.
Dr. Prince Edegbuo, Programme Manager of Social Action Nigeria, described the situation as a tipping point for environmental accountability in Nigeria.
He demanded: “Shell and others must not be allowed to escape their responsibilities through rushed divestments.”
Barrister Chuks Uguru, who spoke as legal counsel supporting the community’s demands, emphasized that environmental rights are human rights.
“The right to a clean and healthy environment is protected under Nigerian law,” he said. “This is not a favour communities are asking for it is a legal and moral obligation that must be enforced.”
The CSOs stressed that their focus is not only on litigation, but on building national momentum to demand transparency, cleanup, reparation, and long-term environmental justice.
The press event was organized to spotlight growing resistance to what environmental campaigners call a dangerous divestment pattern in Nigeria’s oil industry where companies offload assets and liabilities without fulfilling cleanup or compensation responsibilities.
Amid these complaints, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), however, announced on June 30, 2025, its plan to acquire TotalEnergies’ 12.5 percent stake in the deepwater Bonga oil field, offshore Nigeria.
The agreement, signed by both parties, will increase Shell’s interest in the OML 118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) from 55 percent to 67.5 percent upon completion.
SNEPCo operates the Bonga field, which is located in the OML 118 oil mining lease and currently produces crude oil via the Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
The company had also approved the development of the Bonga North field in December 2024, aiming to boost production capacity.
Peter Costello, Shell’s President, Upstream, described the acquisition as a significant investment in Nigeria’s deepwater sector, supporting sustained liquids production and growth within Shell’s upstream portfolio.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions and is expected to be finalized by the end of 2025.
Currently, the Bonga field is operated by SNEPCo with partners Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. (20 percent), Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd. (12.5%), and TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd. (12.5%) on behalf of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
After the acquisition, TotalEnergies will exit the partnership, with SNEPCo’s stake rising to 67.5 percent.
The Bonga field, situated in water depths exceeding 1,000 meters, began production in 2005 and has a capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day.
It reached a milestone of producing its one-billionth barrel of crude oil in 2023.
The Bonga North development, a subsea tie-back to the existing FPSO, is expected to yield peak production of 110,000 barrels of oil per day with first oil targeted before 2030.
The project holds over 300 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent, classified as proven and probable reserves.
This acquisition aligns with Shell’s strategy to grow its integrated gas and upstream production by one percent annually through 2030, helping to sustain its output of 1.4 million barrels of liquids per day globally.