A Dutch court may decide on Wednesday if Shell was complicit in the Nigerian government’s execution of the Ogoni Nine, environmental activists who were trying to fight the petroleum company’s exploitation of their oil-rich homeland.
The widows of four of the activists accuse Shell of instigating a brutal crackdown against peaceful protesters that led to the deaths of the Ogoni Nine in 1995.
Two of the widows will be in court to hear the ruling, in their most recent attempt to get justice for their husbands, who were falsely accused of murder and hanged in secret under Sani Abacha’s military regime after what is widely acknowledged to have been a discredited trial.read more
By Dulue Mbachu and Sherry Su: 30 April 2019, 10:38 BST Updated on 30 April 2019
Shell, Total declare force majeure on some crude oil grades
Idled Chevron well suffers fire after third-party incident
A spate of disruptions and security concerns, including kidnappings, are threatening to hinder surging Nigerian oil exports.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA declared force majeure on some of their Nigerian exports over the past week, a measure that allows companies to skip supply obligations. Chevron Corp.’s Nigerian unit said an idled well was interfered with.
While the precise cause of the Total force majeure remains unclear, the Shell and Chevron incidents involved third parties. The disruption comes just a few years after militants caused Nigeria’s oil production to plunge by attacking pipelines and other pieces of energy infrastructure.read more
Esther Kiobel and John Donovan: Colchester UK: 28 April 2019
By John Donovan
I was delighted to welcome Esther Kiobel to my families Colchester home yesterday.
Esther and I have each been engaged for decades in our respective much-publicised epic litigation battles with Shell.
For over 22 years, Esther has been seeking justice for the alleged complicity by Shell in the murder of her beloved husband Dr Barinem Kiobel, executed with eight other Nigerian Ogoni rights campaigners, including Ken Saro-Wiwa – collectively known as the “Ogoni Nine“.read more
A Dutch court will this week (Wednesday 1 May) rule on an historic case against Shell, in which the oil giant stands accused of instigating a raft of horrifying human rights violations committed by the Nigerian government against the Ogoni people.
Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula are suing Shell over what they say is its role in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of their husbands by the Nigerian military, following a brutal crackdown on Ogoni protests against Shell’s devastating pollution of the region in the 1990s.read more
Esther Kiobel’s husband, Barinem, was one of the Ogoni Nine anti-oil protesters executed by Nigeria’s military regime: AMNESTY INTERNATIONALPhilip Aldrick:The Times
A Dutch court will rule this week on whether Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in the death of nine Nigerian anti-oil protesters in the 1990s.
The wives of four of the “Ogoni Nine” executed by Nigeria’s military regime are demanding compensation and a public apology from the oil major over allegations that it was instrumental in the arrests. One of the victims was Ken Saro-Wiwa, the prominent writer and activist. They were hanged in 1995.
A district court in the Hague is expected to rule on Wednesday. Shell has paid the families of protesters $15.5 million, but has never admitted wrongdoing and insists that it pleaded for clemency for the Ogoni Nine.read more
Several big fund managers believe that oil companies should shut themselves down because soon they will become impossible to invest in as the world switches to renewable energy.
A survey of 39 fund managers with $10.2 trillion under management found that 24 per cent wanted the oil industry “to wind down their businesses and return cash to shareholders”. All but two of the funds said that oil stocks would not be attractive investments within ten years if they failed to respond to climate risks.read more
A Shell spokesperson in The Hague reiterated on Saturday evening that the group is supporting the police in investigating the kidnapping case. He also abstained from further explanation.
Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT, Financieele Dagblad.
Two Shell employees were abducted in Nigeria on Thursday. Two Nigerian agents who accompanied them died in the process.
The raid took place in the Delta region, the Nigerian police announced on Friday evening. The employees and their assistants returned from a business trip and were attacked by armed men on a road in the state of Rivers. The supervisors were killed, after which the Shell employees were taken away.
Nothing was disclosed about the identity and nationality of the two Shell employees.read more
Two oil workers of Shell Nigeria have been kidnapped in Rivers State.
Two police escorts were also killed during the kidnap, The Nation understand.
It was gathered that the incident happened on Thursday evening along the Ahoada-Ndele-Rumuji-Emohua axis of the East-West road, Rivers Staten.
The two kidnapped senior staff members of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) were said to be returning from an official trip from the neighbouring Bayelsa state when they were attacked by the gunmen, killing their security escorts.read more
London (CNN Business)Royal Dutch Shell’s stand on LGBT rights has come under scrutiny following the introduction of laws that punish gay sex with death in Brunei.
Eumedion, a Dutch corporate governance group backed by 60 institutional investors, will push Shell to use what influence it has with the Brunei government to press for the improvement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.
Eumedion counts large Shell shareholders including BlackRock, Standard Life Aberdeen and Capital Group among its members.
Talks with Shell could take place as early as next week…read more
By Mark Dummett, Amnesty International Business and Human Rights Researcher
On 1 May, a court in The Hague, the oil multinational’s home town, will deliver a ruling on whether a case brought by Esther and three other Nigerian women over Shell’s role in their husband’s deaths can proceed.
The four widows accuse Shell of instigating a brutal crackdown by the-then military regime against peaceful protesters in Ogoniland, in Africa’s most valuable oil-producing region, the Niger Delta, in the 1990s. The protests were over pollution, the chronic lack of development, and the unfair distribution of oil wealth.read more
April 25, 2019: An analysis by oil consultancy firm, Resources for Development, says oil giants Shell/Eni’s deal for the controversial OPL 245 included “unprecedented terms” which funded an alleged bribery scheme.
The analysis was commissioned by four non-governmental groups — Global Witness, HEDA, Re:Common and The Corner House — based on publicly available documents.
This included Shell and Eni’s valuations of the oil block, according to a statement released by the NGOs on Thursday.read more
Saudi Arabia’s state oil group has agreed to pay almost £500 million to Royal Dutch Shell to buy it out of an oil refinery joint venture on the Gulf.
Saudi Aramco will buy Shell’s 50 per cent stake in the plant, ending a 30-year joint venture, as it expands its refining and petrochemical operations in a drive to become the world’s largest energy company.
Saudi Aramco is the world’s biggest oil company, pumping more than 10 million barrels per day last year. The acquisition, for $631 million, is due to complete later this year.read more
Since Maarten Wetselaar, Royal Dutch Shell’s director of gas and new energies, suggested a few weeks ago that Shell could be “by far the biggest power company in the world” by 2035 as it moves into electricity, oil and gas rivals have been asking if they should be doing the same. Existing power suppliers have begun to worry about whether their business models are secure.
Bogus Group: BG Alumni….... normally your post wouldn’t warrant a response from me, however I’m curious to know, what was the idea that was fostered?
The website is intertwined since Shell’s acquisition of BG Group, and having worked for both companies, I feel compelled to post my comments, as others should be made aware of the traits of some of their “colleagues”.
I don’t know why you’d state the website is becoming ‘bitter and twisted’, my posts are factual, and having knowledge of the workings of BG Group, there is no reason to doubt that Bonus Group’s posts are not equally factual.
I had the pleasure of working with a lot of committed people in both companies, mostly with good intent, but there were others with contrasting agendas, some bordering on sinister. Unfortunately, many of the good ones either left or were pushed, as they were seen as a threat to the lackey’s, intent in moving up the corporate ladder at all costs, emboldened by the toxic corporate culture.
Some issues must be highlighted. For example, the Brent ‘TFA policy’, fatalities in a Brent Bravo utility shaft, a further fatality 2-years later in the same utility shaft and BG Group’s 20 plus fatalities in a ten-year period. Many of the causal factors can be attributed to the same management enablers, but because they were shielded by company lawyers, there was no accountability. If anyone should be branded ‘bitter and twisted’ it’s the lawyers. Is this what Michael Coates meant when he said one of his biggest internal challenges was his in-house legal team?
It’s crucial to have people with the courage to express an opinion as opposed to those who turn a blind eye to failings. I could hazard a guess at what camp you’d be in.
Bonus Group: BG Alumni. Ha, ha! Your post is a typical example of the quality of BG Group work. Can't read what they have written, can't check what they have written, can't type and if you don't know, then lie. Bonus Group's posts are about the dismally poor standards at BG Group and their consequences. Sure, everyone liked being employed by BG Group, because they were well paid and didn't have to do any serious work. It was a case of 'passing the parcel' by email when you couldn't do the work required. All to the shareholders' detriment. I suggest that you go back to your cappuccino. Or is it a latte?
BG Alumni: It's about time Bonus Group and Bogus Group moved on. This website is repaidly becoming all baout the bitter and twisted.I can't imagine how that idea was fostered.
Bonus Group: For a further example of outstanding performance by BG Group Alumni, London Lad need look no further than Sound Energy where the share price has plummeted from £0.935 in February 2017 to £0.0335 December this year. This remarkable performance, however, does not detract from the Directors' and the Senior Managers' whopping salaries and bonuses. One can barely hear oneself think above the slurping and grunting at the trough.
Bogus Group: Interesting news article. “Network Rail are well into devolving and restructuring the organisation so that all activities and roles are closer to passengers in order to drive up train performance”. In 2018, many UK train commuters had a tough time with timetable schedules, journeys that didn’t leave or arrive on-time and delays due to major projects.
Could this revival be attributed to the previous chief executive and one of the former Shell and BG Group ‘chosen few’, stepping down from his role?
Bonus Group: To put London Lad's rather naive comments into context. In the final days before the Executive Chairman, Andrew Gould 'pulled the plug' on the whole shooting match, at a Town Hall Meeting, the Chief Operating Officer, Sami Iskander, stood up and announced, to anyone who could be bothered to listen, that the company had spent £200MM assuring work which later cost them £2Bn because it was wrong. An absolutely, stellar performance. The people responsible for this are now deeply embedded within Shell's matrix organisation. An excellent result for the shareholders. Perhaps, a Bridge too Far?
Bonus Group: London Lad, Good to hear from you. I hope that you enjoyed your recent trip to Aberdeen. Having also been employed by Shell, I consider myself fortunate that I was not one of the 'Chosen Few'. The 'Chosen Few' are the most corrupt of the corrupt and will fit in well with your ilk. In respect of the slur about my performance, BG were involved in what can only be described as a stupendous multi-billion dollar technical fraud against Petrobras based upon a corrupt workflow which was both Functionally Approved through their Assurance Team and signed-off by the relevant Discipline Functional Head. They refused to correct their workflow and that resulted in a technical fraud. They tried to make me complicit in this fraud, but I refused. That is called integrity, something which I have no doubt that you know little of. You clearly relish brushing shoulders with fraudsters and liars.
LondonLad: I can only assume from the continuous moaning from “Bonus Group” that he/she was not one of the “chosen few” from the BG group and hence the vindictiveness. Poor performance = limited or no job opportunities which applies to both Shell and ex-BG staff. As a share holder I wouldn’t want it differently.
Bonus Group: Further to Bogus Group's post of Thursday 21st November. BG Group the failed Internet Cafe, cappucino and Belgian chocolate lifestyle company had an established reputation for: constructive dismissal, lack of transparency and corrupt 'do as I say, not as I do' line management. The acceptance of the 'Chosen Few' from BG by Shell into its upper echelons can only lead to further corruption. After all what was on the BG Portal in terms of Company Policy was of course also law, or at least that is what they would have you believe. As employers they were a complete disgrace and the company a complete shambles from top to bottom. Visitors to this site can look forward to more revelations of incompetence in due course as they unfold.
Bogus Group: I was lured by the Michael Coates (Associate General Counsel at Shell) interview by Lawyer Monthly, and the question……. what is the most challenging aspect of your job and how do you overcome this? His response “There are a number of interesting challenges but I will share one internal challenge, the management of our in-house legal team”
The acquisition of BG Group and the infiltration of “the chosen few” from that company’s in-house legal team, may have bestowed a challenge he could never have imagined.
LondonLad: Well “Theo” when you say that “I know for sure the following” followed by a former director said “Black Gold we are digging up” then I think perhaps you are making this up. Most directors of an oil company (even including Shell) would not use the word “digging”! “Drilling” or “producing” yes but certainly not “digging” - exception being the muppets in the HR departments perhaps. In addition your last two sentences are irrelevant to the usual attacks on Shell and are somewhat waffle and insulting to most readers here. You clearly have a problem. I await the onslaught!!
Bogus Group: There are normally two sides to every story, but Mike Curless’ version of his termination employment under the pretext of the takeover of BG reorganisation could hold some credence. However, if there was a fair and transparent succession strategy, Sarah Franklin’s self-promotion, see previous post and article, https://www.accdocket.com/articles/tips-and-insights-a-world-class-combination.cfm must have made her a good candidate for one of the “vacant” roles within the Shell legal team. Time will tell if the relevant due diligence was done on Ms Franklin, considering her escapades with a previous company.
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John Donovan’s ebooks
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Dutch group Follow This is targeting U.S. giants ExxonMobil …
Shell supply deal to boost shipping group CMA CGM’s use of low-sulphur biofuel 15 Dec 2019 22:34 Investing.com Container shipping group CMA CGM is to increase its use of sustainable marine bio-fuel oil through a supply deal with Royal Dutch Shell, following a pilot scheme this year with furniture retailer IKEA.
Shell is to supply CMA CGM with several tens of …
How to Invest in Gas Stocks 15 Dec 2019 18:15 The Motley Fool If you're interested in the energy industry, you might be most interested in the giant oil companies, or maybe in green energy options like solar and wind. However, don't forget about oil's cleaner-burning cousin, natural gas.
The gas industry …
Climate Talks Fail To Reach Agreement on Carbon Markets 15 Dec 2019 16:33 Calgary Herald (Bloomberg) — The international effort to rein in fossil fuel pollution took a step backward this weekend after envoys at a marathon round of United Nations talks watered down language on issues they had agreed on in previous years.
The delegates from …
Carbon Markets Fail to Win Backing at UN Talks on Climate 15 Dec 2019 13:53 Calgary Herald (Bloomberg) — Envoys from almost 200 countries endorsed a limited set of measures to rein in climate change, shelving efforts to expand carbon markets as a tool to fight global warming.
Delegates at a United Nations meeting in Madrid expressed an “urgent …
Carbon Markets Fail to Win Backing at UN Climate Talks 15 Dec 2019 12:37 Calgary Herald (Bloomberg) — Envoys from almost 200 countries endorsed a limited set of measures to rein in climate change, shelving efforts to expand carbon markets as a tool to fight global warming.
Delegates at a United Nations meeting in Madrid expressed an “urgent …
A Dutch court may decide on Wednesday if Shell was complicit in the Nigerian government’s execution of the Ogoni Nine, environmental activists who were trying to fight the petroleum company’s exploitation of their oil-rich homeland.
A Dutch court will this week (Wednesday 1 May) rule on an historic case against Shell, in which the oil giant stands accused of instigating a raft of horrifying human rights violations committed by the Nigerian government against the Ogoni people.
Climate change could wipe up to $4 trillion off the value of fossil fuel assets, the governor of the Bank of England has said: ALAMY
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April 25, 2019: An analysis by oil consultancy firm, Resources for Development, says oil giants Shell/Eni’s deal for the controversial OPL 245 included “unprecedented terms” which funded an alleged bribery scheme.
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EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.