Decades of unchecked Niger Delta oil spills could cost Royal Dutch Shell billions in compensation and clean-up costs, Amnesty International warned investors as the Anglo-Dutch oil giant publishes its profits figures for the first quarter of 2015.

The United Nations Environment Programme estimated that $1 billion is needed for the first five years of oil clean-up for Ogoniland, just one Nigerian region where Shell operates. It projected that cleaning up oil pollution in the area could be a 30-year operation.

“Investors must beware the hidden costs that await Shell from its Niger Delta operations. For decades the multi-national oil giant has failed to stop the oil spills, or clean up the devastating pollution that has destroyed lives and livelihoods,” said Mark Dummett, Business and Human Rights researcher at Amnesty International.  “Last year Shell made profits of $15 billion, so investors may see it as a safe bet. But court actions have already forced it to pay out millions in compensation, paving the way for future actions from other Nigerian communities...”...

“Shell continues to blame theft and sabotage for oil spills, but old pipelines and badly maintained infrastructure are a major cause of pollution,” said Mark Dummett.  Investors in Shell should ask the company to remedy the corporate abuses in the Niger Delta and demand more transparency about oil spills and future clean-up and compensation plans.