Shell Nigeria is the common name for Shell plc's Nigerian operations carried out through four subsidiaries—primarily Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC). Royal Dutch Shell's joint ventures account for more than 21% of Nigeria's total petroleum production ( (bpd) in 2009). The company has been controversial in communities in the Niger Delta, who point to its poor environmental record and that most of the economic benefit from oil exploitation has not benefited local communities. In particular, when, in 1993 the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) organized large protests against Shell and the government, it led to repression of the local community. The company has been responsible for some significant oil spills in the Niger delta, and both Nigerian and European courts have held them liable for environmental destruction. One of the most significant cases was at one of Shell's oil extraction facilities located in the Ejama-Ebubu community. History Shell started business in Nigeria in 1937 as "Shell D'Arcy" and was granted an exploration license. In 1956, Shell Nigeria discovered the first commercial oil field at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta and started oil exports in 1958. Prior to the discovery of oil, Nigeria like many other African countries strongly relied on agricultural exports to other countries to support its economy. Many Nigerians thought the developers were looking for palm oil. Recent news In July 2013, Shell Nigeria awarded Kaztec engineering Limited a $84.5 million exploration and production contract for the Trans-Niger oil pipeline. On 25 March 2014, Shell Nigeria declared a force majeure on crude oil exports from its Forcados crude oil depot which stopped operations due to a leak in its underwater pipeline, a clause freeing the company from contractual obligations as a circumstance beyond its control happened. While it struggled repairing the pipeline, Royal Dutch Shell announced a force majeure on Nigerian crude oil exports. Structure Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is the largest fossil fuel company in Nigeria, which operates over of pipelines and flowlines, 87 flowstations, 8 natural gas plants and more than 1,000 producing wells. SPDC's role in the Shell Nigeria family is typically confined to the physical production and extraction of petroleum. It is an operator of the joint venture, which composed of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (55%), Shell (30%), TotalEnergies (10%) and Eni (5%). Impact In the 1990s, tensions arose between the native Ogoni people of the