Shell’s Nigerian accounts frozen in oil deal dispute
- A Nigerian court has restricted Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDS.A, RDS.B) access to its bank accounts in the country amid a legal dispute over a pipeline deal six years ago.
- A local oil producer is demanding billions of dollars in damages, claiming Shell misrepresented the condition of the pipeline and undercounted the volume of crude one of its facilities received from the Nigerian company, Bloomberg reports, citing court documents.
- The allegations involve its $2.4B purchase in 2015 of a 45% interest in an oil block and pipeline from three multinational companies, including Shell.
- The dispute is just one among several related to Shell’s activities in Nigeria; YTD, a Dutch court has ruled Shell is liable for oil spills in two villages 13 years ago, and the U.K. Supreme Court allowed 40K fishermen and farmers to sue Shell in England.