(MENAFN) Royal Dutch Shell decided to pay USD51 million compensations for two oil spills in Nigeria in 2008, but lawyers said that it could pay more than that after London court ruled it could be liable for damage, The Peninsula Qatar reported.
A total of 15,000 residents of the Bodo community in the Niger Delta represented by law firm Leigh Day appealed in 2011 to a London court for more than USD406.14 million in compensation.
Claimants say that the two spills resulted in the leakage of 500,000 barrels of oil but Shell estimated the volume at around 4,000 barrels. Shell has already offered some compensation for the spills.
In a preliminary hearing ahead of a trial which will take place in May 2015, the London high court ruled that Shell's Nigerian subsidiary could be liable if it were proven that it did not take reasonable steps to protect and maintain the pipeline from thefts which have plagued the key African oil producer.
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