Leaked internal documents have revealed an estimated $10.9 billion decommissioning and environmental cleanup liability linked to decades of oil pollution in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, according to a report released on Wednesday by Amnesty International and seven partner organisations.

The coalition—which includes The Corner House, Hawkmoth, HEDA Resource Centre, Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre, Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative, ReCommon and Social Action—said 27 redacted internal documents disclosed during litigation in the United Kingdom expose years of ageing infrastructure, weak oversight and alleged efforts by Shell to minimise cleanup costs before divesting its onshore Nigerian business in 2025.

“The real scandal is Shell’s pursuit of profit at the expense of people’s rights,” Amnesty International Nigeria Director Isa Sanusi said.

“Shell knew the risks from ageing and leaking infrastructure, including an internal description of a pipeline as ‘a basket’, yet kept oil flowing. That tolerance for environmental risk would not have been accepted elsewhere.”

According to the report, internal emails, technical audits and company presentations point to repeated pipeline integrity failures, neglected maintenance and weakened safety standards within Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

One internal document from 2013 reportedly questioned whether the company should continue production despite knowing that “further environmental damage will occur.” Another revealed that Shell staff had lost track of the location and condition of hundreds of oil wells, prompting a “well hunt campaign” in 2014.

The report estimates that about 375 square kilometres of mangrove forest have been damaged and cites a 2013 internal assessment that put the cost of fully decommissioning SPDC’s assets at approximately $10.9 billion.

Social Action Executive Director Isaac Osuoka said Shell’s exit from its onshore operations should not shield the company from accountability.

“Communities in the Niger Delta have borne the costs of pollution for decades. Those responsible must no longer evade scrutiny or accountability,” he said.

Allegations of collusion and cost-cutting

The coalition argued that the leaked documents undermine Shell’s long-standing position that most oil pollution in the Niger Delta resulted from crude theft and sabotage.

According to the report, company executives allegedly allowed tapped pipelines to remain operational rather than shutting them down for repairs to avoid production losses, despite warnings that the decision would worsen environmental damage.

An internal 2011 security review reportedly described SPDC’s security operations as “seriously flawed” and warned that employees and contractors could have been involved in illegal oil bunkering.

The report also quoted a Shell manager as writing in 2012 that “there is collusion, nepotism and corruption running through the veins of SPDC,” adding that the company’s code of conduct was routinely ignored.

It further alleged that Shell’s parent company was directly involved in key operational decisions in Nigeria, contradicting previous assertions that SPDC operated independently. Internal discussions reportedly showed plans to sell the onshore business had begun more than a decade before the eventual 2025 divestment, partly to limit future decommissioning liabilities.

Shell rejects allegations

Shell rejected Amnesty International’s characterisation of the documents.

In a response to the organisation dated July 3, 2026, the company said Amnesty had “selectively referred to and quoted from documents in a way that creates a misleading impression.”

Shell said its former Nigerian subsidiary operated in an exceptionally challenging environment marked by widespread oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining, adding that it responded to oil spills regardless of their cause, in line with Nigerian law.

Renaissance Africa Energy, which acquired Shell’s onshore assets in 2025, did not respond to Amnesty’s request for comment, according to the report.

Legal implications

Many of the documents emerged from a lawsuit filed in 2015 by the Bille and Ogale communities against Shell and SPDC in UK courts.

The 27 documents were made public in April 2026 following a successful public-interest disclosure application by campaign groups, with additional materials released in May.

The Bille case is scheduled for trial in March 2027.

Amnesty International and its partners are urging the Nigerian government to strengthen regulation of the oil sector, require transparent audits of active and abandoned oil assets, and establish a dedicated Niger Delta environmental restoration fund.

The coalition also called on regulators in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to investigate whether Shell misled shareholders and regulators about the condition of its Nigerian assets and the scale of its environmental liabilities.

The groups said ongoing court proceedings and possible regulatory investigations in Europe mean the controversy surrounding Shell’s legacy operations in the Niger Delta is likely to continue.