From CNN

An Amnesty International report blasts Shell Oil Co. for its handling of the hundreds of oil spills that occur each year in Nigeria and accuses the company of “serious deficiencies and abuses” that render “wholly unreliable” its claims about how much oil is spilled and how often, reports Tom Watkins.

The 80-page report, titled “Bad Information — Oil Spills in the Niger Delta,” cites corrosion, poor maintenance, equipment failure, sabotage and oil theft as causes of oil spills.

But it challenges the company’s assertion that the vast majority of the spills are caused by sabotage and theft.

“There is no legitimate basis for this claim,” the report says. “It relies on the outcome of an oil spill investigation process — commonly known as the Joint Investigation Visit or JIV process — in which the companies themselves are the primary investigators.

Reliable data about the spills is critical to limiting the harm they can cause to the environment, livelihoods and human health, the report says.

Determining their cause is critical because communities affected by spills blamed on sabotage or theft get no compensation in Nigeria, which is itself a flaw, the report says.

“Oil companies should be held responsible for a spill that is due to sabotage or theft if the operator has failed to take sufficient measures to prevent tampering with its infrastructure,” it says.

In response, Shell — in a statement sent to CNN by spokesman Ross Whittam — said: “The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) firmly rejects unsubstantiated assertions that they have exaggerated the impact of crude oil theft and sabotage to distract attention from operational performance.

Read more at CNN.