Stop gas flaring in the Niger Delta

Royal Dutch Shell, a UK-based company, has been the major oil producer in the Niger Delta for the past 50 years, making billions of dollars while polluting eco-systems and persisting in the prohibited practice of ‘gas flaring'.

Flaring burns off the gas produced when oil is pumped out of the ground. Local communities want it to stop. They say it pollutes the air and water, causing health problems that are being ignored by Shell, the other oil companies and the Nigerian government.

Background information

The Niger Delta’s oil deposits have generated an estimated $600 billion for the Nigerian government and multinational oil companies since the 1960s. But the majority of the 31 million-strong population lives in poverty.

Much of this once fertile land is now so polluted that no crops will grow. Three-quarters of rural people have no access to clean water, and pollution from oil and gas is killing the fish people they rely on for food and income.

Behind this catastrophe lies a multi-billion pound company based right here in the UK. Royal Dutch Shell has been the major oil producer in the Niger Delta for the past 50 years, making billions of dollars while polluting rivers and persisting in the prohibited practice of ‘gas flaring’.

It’s dirty: Flaring burns off the gas produced when oil is pumped out of the ground. Local communities have complained about the huge flares burning next to villages, schools and waterways, emitting constant noise,
light, heat and smell, and black dust and soot that settle in people’s homes.

It’s prohibited: Gas flaring has been illegal under Nigerian law since 1984 – except with ministerial consent – yet gas flaring continues on a huge scale. Although the government has announced deadlines for gas flaring
in the Niger Delta to stop, the commitment has not been enforced.

It’s unnecessary: There are alternatives to gas flaring: the gas can be reinjected or stored for local people to use for fuel.

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Royal Dutch Shell, a UK-based company, has been the major oil producer in the Niger Delta for the past 50 years, making billions of dollars while polluting eco-systems and persisting in the prohibited practice of ‘gas flaring'.

Flaring burns off the gas produced when oil is pumped out of the ground. Local communities want it to stop. They say it pollutes the air and water, causing health problems that are being ignored by Shell, the other oil companies and the Nigerian government.

Send the appeal letter below to end gas flaring in the Niger Delta once and for all.