Nigeria moves to restart oil production in vulnerable region after Shell sells much of its business

People walk amid an oil spill in the Niger Delta in village of Ogboinbiri, Nigeria. 

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Nigerian government is in talks with local communities to restart oil production in a region that’s previously suffered environmental damage after oil giant Shell’s sale of its onshore business in the country.
Shell’s $2.4 billion sale of its onshore business to a group of local companies was confirmed last week by Nigeria’s special advisor to the president on energy, Olu Verheijen. It marks the end of the of the London-based energy giant’s nearly century-long operations in the onshore Niger Delta region, where it faces long-running complaints of environmental pollution.
Now a potential restart of oil production Ogoniland region in southern Nigeria, where Shell halted its operations in 1993 following violent protests over allegations of widespread environmental damage and human rights abuses, has been earmarked by government officials as a potential way of increasing its foreign exchange earnings. 

"The broad consensus in Ogoni is in favor of restarting production,” said Ledum Mitee, a veteran environmental activist and former president of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People.

In this frame from video, workers stand by a container to collect oil spill waste from a Shell facility in Ogoniland, Nigeria, June 26, 2023.