Tell Exxon: Clean Up Your Oil Spills in Nigeria

Clean Up Your Oil Spills in Nigeria

Dear Chairman and CEO Rex W. Tillerson:

We write in solidarity with communities in Nigeria who continue to bear the brunt of Exxon Mobil's reckless operations in Akwa Ibom state—where in the last six months four oil spills have occurred as a result of the operations of Exxon Mobil’s Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN). While Exxon Mobil admits to some spillages in Akwa Ibom state, even Nigeria’s National Oil Spills Detection And Response Agency (NOSDRA) says Exxon Mobil is grossly underestimating the spill size. Indeed, the spill has permeated a network of coastal waters from the facility up to the Bonny estuary in Rivers State. Exxon Mobil must respond in an effective way that is inclusive of all impacted peoples.

In June of this year, Nigeria’s Minister of Environment admonished ExxonMobil that Nigeria would not tolerate breaches of its environmental laws. We call on ExxonMobil to live up to its own International Operations Policy, which states, “It is the policy of Exxon Mobil Corporation to comply with all governmental laws, rules, and regulations applicable to its operations outside the United States and to conduct those operations to the highest ethical standards.”

Following the May 1, 2010 spill, representatives of Exxon Mobil conducted closed-door meetings with members of the Akwa Ibom state government and representatives of some of the communities the company considers its host communities. However, the company has not included all residents whose livelihoods are impacted by the recent spate of oil spills, including fishermen from surrounding villages. Moreover, women and youth from one host community were beaten—by soldiers deployed to guard Mobil facilities—during peaceful protests against the repeated spills. According to those people, the talks had not met their needs as a host community.

Justice in Nigeria Now joins affected communities in their call for Exxon Mobil to step up its own motto and indeed "tackle the world's toughest energy challenges" by taking the following actions:

• Supporting a comprehensive Post Impact Assessment study, conducted by an independent and reputable third party, to assess the damage caused by Exxon Mobil’s oil spillages;

• Monitoring (including free unfettered access) of ongoing spillage by independent scientists, journalists, NGOs, and appropriate Nigerian governmental agencies;

• The immediate clean-up and remediation of impacted land and waterways;

• Instituting a credible assessment mechanism for clean-up activities and remediation, including fish stock and environmental recovery;

• Offering adequate compensation to communities for damage to their environment, health, and loss of livelihood;

• An immediate cessation of the use of toxic chemical dispersants;

• An inclusive resolution and compensation process that recognizes all residents whose livelihood has been impacted—for instance, not only the immediate host communities, but also fishermen from nearby communities who rely on the web of polluted waters for subsistence fishing, and the women who provide for their families through swamp fishing and selling fish at markets—as well as all those exposed to ongoing health impacts.

• Immediate access to health care services for those who are directly impacted by the current oil spills;

• Compensation for long-term health issues that affected communities face as a result of more than half a century of reckless operating practices by Exxon Mobil.

In response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, that company has, within two months of its spill, established a $20 billion fund that will compensate local residents whose livelihood is impacted. Exxon Mobil should respond to its litany of spills in Nigeria with at least this level of regard. Moreover, Exxon Mobil must make reparations for future ongoing impacts of its reckless and toxic operations on health, environment, and livelihood in the Niger Delta.

Operating in the U.S. in accordance with a different standard than in Nigeria is reprehensible and an affront to the dignity of the people of the Niger Delta.

Sincerely,

[Your name]