Shell disagrees with $5 billion Nigeria fine

July 17, 2012 | Africa, Legal

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Royal Dutch Shell PLC confirmed Tuesday it faces a $5 billion fine for its Bonga oil spill offshore Nigeria late last year, but added that it doesn’t “believe there is any basis in law” for such a punishment.

The company’s Nigerian subsidiary “responded to this incident with professionalism and acted with the consent of the necessary authorities at all times to prevent environmental impact as a result of the incident,” Shell said in a statement.

The leak at the 200,000 barrel-a-day Bonga field in December was Nigeria’s worst offshore spill in more than a decade and resulted in at least 40,000 barrels-a-day of oil spilling into the ocean.