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Houston Chronicle: Nigerian court orders an end to gas flaring: "Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other oil companies in Nigeria must stop burning off gas associated with oil production or risk prison time and fines, a Nigerian federal court has ruled.": Posted Tuesday 15 November 2005

If companies don't stop, prison time a possibility

Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other oil companies in Nigeria must stop burning off gas associated with oil production or risk prison time and fines, a Nigerian federal court has ruled.

Justice C.V. Nwokorie ruled in the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Benin City that so-called gas flaring, the burning of natural gas as waste, and its related pollution violate constitutional rights to life and dignity. The court said flaring cannot continue, according to a news release Monday from the environmental group Friends of the Earth. Shell, based in the Netherlands, said it appealed the decision.

"The court has declared gas flaring illegal," said Chimi Williams, a lawyer for the environmental group Friends of the Earth Nigeria, which supported the case that was filed by Jonah Gbemre on behalf of the Iwerekan community in Nigeria's Delta state.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, burns more than 16 billion cubic meters of gas a year through flaring, more than any other country, according to the World Bank. Flaring contributes to the buildup of greenhouse gases and harms local communities, the World Bank has said.

Shell said on Sept. 29 that it needs to invest $2 billion to meet a 2008 target of ending gas flaring in Nigeria. The company said it has previously appealed the jurisdiction of the ruling. The company also said it has already cut routine flaring at 22 of its 73 flow stations.

Williams said any penalties related to the court order would be suspended until an appeal decision was made.

"Let them appeal to the Supreme Court. This decision will never be upturned," Williams said.

Shell also said that between 1996 and 2004 the budget of the federal government was $4 billion less than agreed to support joint venture programs, including those related to gas gathering.

"A full response will be made when the details of the judgment are received," Shell said in a prepared statement. Shell has a "commitment to ending routine flaring of gas in its Nigerian operations."

Spokesmen for Chevron and Exxon Mobil didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nigeria cut flaring to 40 percent of total gas output in 2004 from 78 percent in 1996, Abiodun Ibikunle, assistant director in Nigeria's oil ministry, said at a conference on Sept. 29. Flaring will probably drop to about 5 percent by 2008, he said.