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Key facts
Shell has been operating in Nigeria for decades. We have interests in several companies, producing oil and gas onshore and in deep water off Nigeria’s coast.
- Nigeria depends on the oil industry for 95% of its export earnings and 80% of government revenues.
- Shell has over 50 years’ experience of operating in Nigeria.
- Shell interests in Nigeria include the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), whose operations are concentrated in the Niger Delta; the deep-water operations of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO); a 25.6% interest in Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG); and Shell Nigeria Gas (GNG).
- SPDC is the largest private-sector oil and gas company in Nigeria.
- Shell is the operator of the SPDC joint venture (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation 55%, Shell 30%, Elf Petroleum Nigeria Ltd 10%, Agip 5%).
- 95% of SPDC’s employees are Nigerian
- The federal government receives about 95% of the revenue after costs from SPDC’s onshore production in the Niger Delta.
- Between 2004-2008 the joint venture operated by SPDC contributed more than $34 billion to the federal government in royalties and taxes.
- The total revenue from oil and gas divided among Nigeria’s population of 140 million amounts to less than $1 a day per person.
- In 2008 Shell-run companies in Nigeria provided more than $158 million ($56.8 million Shell share) to the Niger Delta Development Commission as required by law.
- Operations run by SPDC also contributed an additional $84 million ($25.2 million Shell share) directly to state and private community development projects.
- The majority of oil spills in the Niger Delta (85% by volume in 2008) are the direct result of sabotage and other criminal activity. SPDC is reducing the number of spills for reasons within its control, such as from corrosion or the operational failures. Whatever their cause, it works to clean up spills and remediate the land.
- Between 2000 and 2008 SPDC invested $3 billion in reducing flaring which resulted in a decrease of the amount of gas flared by 60% in the Niger Delta (although half of the reduction was due to oil production losses from shut-downs due to security concerns). SPDC is working to end all flaring.
