Dutch court says Shell partly responsible for Nigeria spills The Nigerians - fishermen and farmers - said they could no longer feed their families because the region had been polluted by oil from Shell's pipelines and production facilities. The pollution is a result of oil spills in 2004, 2005 and 2007, they said. It is the first time a Dutch-registered company has been sued in a domestic court for offences allegedly carried out by a foreign subsidiary. The suit targets Shell's parent company in the Netherlands and its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Co (SPDC). It is the largest oil and gas company in Nigeria, Africa's top energy producer, with an output of more than 1 million barrels of oil or equivalent per day. In October, Shell lawyers said the company has played its part in cleaning up the Delta, which accounts for more than 50 percent of Nigeria's oil exports. The Niger Delta has about 31 million inhabitants and includes the Ogoniland region. It is the main source of food for the impoverished, rural population.