Court orders unit of Shell to pay farmers

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — In a victory for environmentalists and Nigerians whose land was polluted by oil leaks, a Dutch appeals court Friday ordered the Nigerian subsidiary of energy giant Shell to compensate farmers in two villages for damage to their land caused by leaks in 2004 and 2005.

The amount of compensation paid to three farmers in the villages will be established at a later date.

The Hague Court of Appeal held Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary liable for two leaks that spewed oil over an area of about 60 soccer fields in two villages, saying it could not be established “beyond a reasonable doubt” that saboteurs were to blame. Under Nigerian law, which was applied in the Dutch civil case, the company is not liable if the leaks were the result of sabotage.