Persistent issues with theft and sabotage in the Niger Delta could prompt Shell to take a hard look at its operations onshore Nigeria, the supermajor’s chief executive Ben van Beurden said this week.

“Despite all the efforts we’ve made against theft and sabotage, the location of oil on our shores remains a challenge,” Van Burden told Reuters after reports of another weak Big Oil result from the shell epidemic.

“But the improvement we still see at the moment means we need to pay more attention to our position on the Nigerian coast,” added Shell’s top executive.

Shell has identified problems with its pipeline network year after year over the theft of crude oil off the coast of Nigeria.

Last week, the Hague Court of Appeal ordered Shell to compensate Nigerian farmers 13 years ago for supplying two oils to the country, the first case in which an agency was responsible for its work abroad in the Netherlands.

The Dutch court’s ruling sets the stage for future lawsuits against oil companies, rather than countries that have been accused of spilling or polluting oil.