Nigeria's Senate is reportedly to ask a Shell unit to pay $1.5bn (£0.84bn) compensation to oilfield communities for environmental damage...SPDC [Shell Petroleum Development Corporation] operates through a joint venture in Nigeria, in which it owns 30% while state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp owns 55%. SPDC is also one-tenth owned by France's Total, and Agip, a unit of Italy's ENI, owns 5%...Shell in London said..."SPDC strongly contested the claims made by the Ijaw Aborigines..." [that led to the Senate action].