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| Satellite image of the 350 mile oil slick caused by the Shell oil leak in the Niger Delta. Image credit: Skytruth |
On December 20, 2011, a major leak occurred at an offshore oil platform operated by Royal Dutch Shell off the coast of Nigeria. A break in the flexible line which transports oil from the vessel onto oil tankers led to 40,000 barrels of oil being leaked into the ocean. Nigerian regulators have told Parliament Shell should be fined US$5 billion for the environmental damage caused by its spill -- considered the largest in Nigeria in the last ten years. The Taipei Times reports that over its 50 year history of extracting oil in Nigeria, shell has spilled 550 million gallons into the Niger Delta.
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