"UK court reserves judgment in £55m Shell oil spill case", 24 June 2025

The High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, London, has concluded hearings in the £55m oil spill lawsuit against the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited.

The case, designated Case No: HT-2013-000028, stemmed from two major oil spills that occurred in 2008 in the Bodo community, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria.

Justice O’Farrell took final arguments on Monday and Tuesday, June 16 and 17, and reserved judgment, which typically takes up to three months.

The case, which was initially mediated by the Dutch government in 2013, returned to court in May this year after the Bodo community, represented by King Berebon and 14 others, disputed the quality of the clean-up undertaken by SPDC.

Justice O’Farrell had in a February 2024 ruling granted the Bodo community’s request for the case to proceed to trial. The court dismissed SPDC’s objection to the request.

According to court documents, Shell admitted liability for the 2008 spills and, in 2014, agreed to fund cleanup efforts as part of a £55m settlement with the Bodo community.

The Dutch government launched the Bodo Mediation Initiative in March 2013, as a voluntary Alternative Dispute Resolution process aimed at facilitating cleanup agreements between SPDC and the community.

Initially chaired by a former Dutch ambassador to Nigeria, Bert J. Ronhaar, the BMI helped the parties reach a mediated settlement in December 2014.

That settlement included £55m in compensation—both for the community’s claim and approximately 15,000 individual claimants.