Nigeria: OPL 245 – Eni Threatens Legal Action Against Heda, Others for Defamation

By Peter Uzoho: April 14, 2021

The Italian oil major, Eni, has threatened to take legal action against the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) and other critics for allegedly defaming the company over the Milan Court’s ruling on the Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 case.

Eni, in a statement that was issued yesterday in Abuja, said it found it shocking and contrary to any principle of law that the HEDA had ignored all the facts in the Milan judgment and went about defaming the organisation, its management and the Italian Court. read more

Ensure Shell, Eni Face Prosecution In Nigeria, Group Tells Buhari

Eni and Shell have been dragged to court in Milan, Italy over alleged cases of corruption in relation to the OPL245.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK APR 12, 2021

An anti-corruption group, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the oil giants, Shell and Eni, face prosecution in Nigeria.

The group, in a letter addressed to Buhari, advised the President to ignore public statements by the oil company, Eni, that the trial the company had faced in Italy should substitute for any other possible legal action in Nigeria. read more

Drumcliffe’s involvement in the OPL 245 case

A new side to the OPL 245 case has emerged in the state of Delaware, which has the most lenient corporate laws in the United States.

The Nigerian government enlists help from US offshore fund

According to open and undisputed sources , the federal government of Nigeria commissioned the Lagos-based law firm Johnson & Johnson, whose principal partner is Babatunde Olabide Johnson, to represent it in the lawsuit filed against Eni and Shell in Italy and other countries. Johnson & Johnson is reported to have drawn up an agreement for the covering of legal costs with the American firm Poplar Falls, founded in 2016 in Delaware by Maryland-based offshore fund Drumcliffe Partners, which specialises in financing lawsuits for debt recovery. read more

Zik Gbemre: ON HOW TO REVAMP NIGERIA’S UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM OIL & GAS SECTOR

3 APRIL 2021

With recent reports that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a whopping $1.5 billion to rehabilitate the epileptic Port Harcourt refinery, I consider it a national tragedy and a shame of a nation that Nigeria, despite its over fifty decades of oil and gas exploration and production activities, has been exporting its hugely produced crude oil and natural gas at commercial quantity and then import ‘refined petroleum products’ at higher costs to satisfy domestic demands. The said move, according to the government, is to ensure that the obsolete Port-Harcourt refinery, which last benefitted from a Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) work in 2000, comes back to life, while also supposedly contributing to the development of Nigeria’s oil sector. read more

1 Mar 2021: Author: Channa Samkalden, Prakken d’Oliveira

Lawyers’ insights on corporate legal accountability: Channa Samkalden, Prakken d’Oliveira, Netherlands

Channa Samkalden reflects on the decision of the Hague Court of Appeals in the lawsuit against Shell in the Netherlands regarding oil pollution in Nigeria.

1.Why is this case important?

The case is important because it was one of the first cases to argue parent company liability – and (as far as I know) it became the first where a parent company duty of care for the activities of a subsidiary abroad was indeed established. Oil pollution in the Niger Delta has been an immense problem for decades – and Shell has never really been held accountable for it. A crucial first step was taken in 2015 when the Court of Appeal of The Hague confirmed the jurisdiction of the Dutch courts and opened the route to justice for the Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth. Five years later the court concluded that Shell Nigeria must pay compensation and that Royal Dutch Shell must see to it that a Leak Detection System is installed on the Nigerian pipeline. read more

OPL 245: Eni, Shell must face corruption charges in Nigeria, CSOs tell FG 

A coalition of civil society organisations has urged the federal government to press corruption charges against Eni, Shell, and other defendants involved in the OPL 245 deal.

This comes after an Italian court acquitted Shell, Eni and other defendants of corruption charges in the OPL 245 deal.

In a letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, the CSOs said there would be no risk of double jeopardy due to the differences between legal systems in Italy and Nigeria. read more

Tunisia faces exodus of Western oil giants

By Ron Bousso, Shadia Nasralla: 3 MIN READ: MARCH 26, 2021

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni are seeking to sell their oil and gas operations in Tunisia, industry sources said, as the North African country struggles to attract new investments following years of political instability.

Shell has hired investment bank Rothschild & Co. to sell its Tunisian assets, which include two offshore gas fields and an onshore production facility the Anglo-Dutch company acquired as part of its 2016 $53 billion takeover of BG Group, the sources told Reuters. read more

“Two middlemen have already been found guilty for their role in this deal in a separate trial. A criminal trial of Shell and Eni’s Nigerian subsidiaries is ongoing in Nigeria while they also face an investigation in The Netherlands where Shell has said they expect to face criminal charges. Today’s verdict does not mark the final word in this scandal for Shell and Eni.”

Shell and Eni verdict: Not the final word on this scandal

NGOs and activists are today disappointed and outraged as Shell and Eni – two of the worlds biggest polluters – were found not guilty of corruption relating to the purchase of a Nigerian oilfield, in a Milan trial. Global Witness urges the prosecution to consider all options to appeal this verdict and continues to follow ongoing criminal investigations into the case in Nigeria and the Netherlands. read more

“Two middlemen have already been found guilty for their role in this deal in a separate trial. A criminal trial of Shell and Eni’s Nigerian subsidiaries is ongoing in Nigeria while they also face an investigation in The Netherlands where Shell has said they expect to face criminal charges. Today’s verdict does not mark the final word in this scandal for Shell and Eni.”

Malabu Scandal: Acquittal of Shell, Eni ‘stain on Italy’ — Anti-corruption campaigners

Environmental and social justice groups on Wednesday condemned Italy’s anti-corruption laws as “unfit for purpose”. read more

Shell, Eni acquitted in Nigeria oil corruption case

Three year trial revolved around the 2011 purchase of offshore oil field, report says

MILAN – A court in Milan on Wednesday acquitted oil giants Shell and Italy’s Eni of corruption charges in a $1.1 billion bribery case involving control of a lucrative Nigerian oil block.

In addition to the companies, Eni’s current CEO, his predecessor and a former Nigerian oil minister were among 13 defendants acquitted after a three-year trial involving the 2011 purchase of the OPL 245 offshore oil field. read more

Eni and Shell Acquitted of Nigeria Bribery Charges in Milan

Alberto Brambilla, Laura Hurst: Mar 17 2021, 9:24 PM Mar 18 2021, 4:43 AM

(Bloomberg) — Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and several of their current and former executives were acquitted of corruption charges related to a Nigerian oil deal by a court in Milan.

The verdict ends a three-year legal saga that loomed large over the tenure of Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi, who was among those found not guilty on Wednesday. Italian prosecutors had sought an eight-year jail term for him. read more

Italy court acquits Eni and Shell in Nigerian corruption case

MILAN — A Milan court on Wednesday acquitted energy companies Eni and Royal Dutch Shell along with a series of past and present managers including Eni Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi in the oil industry’s biggest corruption scandal.

The sentence, read out in court by judge Marco Tremolada, comes more than three years after the trial first began and after a total of 74 hearings. He said the companies and defendants had been acquitted as there was no case to answer. read more

Shell, Eni Found Not Guilty of Corruption in Nigeria Oil Case

A Milan court has found European oil companies Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Eni SpA, along with the latter’s chief executive, not guilty of bribery and other charges on Wednesday in one of the energy industry’s biggest corruption cases.

Shell and Eni, along with Claudio Descalzi—who has been with Italy’s state-backed Eni for 40 years and chief executive officer since 2014—were on trial over a $1.3 billion payment for drilling rights in Nigeria. read more

OPINION: UK leads way in holding corporations to account for rights abuses

British court rulings reflect global movement towards greater accountability for multinational corporations

By Oliver Holland and Liberty Bridge, a partner and solicitor at Leigh Day

EXTRACTS

For Zambian farmers, Nigerian fisherman and Bangladeshi shipyard workers, recent judgments from the UK courts have provided clarity that multinational companies can be held accountable for the harm caused to individuals by their operations. Claims that are based on whether a UK company can owe a duty of care to a foreign claimant even where damage has been caused by a third party is a rapidly evolving area of law – there is a global movement towards greater accountability for multinational corporations and these recent judgments show the UK courts are leading the way. read more

Eni and Shell face Italian court ruling in Nigerian corruption case

A Milan court is due to issue a verdict on Wednesday…

MILAN, March 17 (Reuters) – A Milan court is due to issue a verdict on Wednesday in the oil industry’s biggest corruption trial, a case centred around the purchase of a Nigerian oilfield by Eni ENI.MI and Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L for $1.3 billion a decade ago.

After more than three years of proceedings and 74 hearings, judges withdrew to their chambers on Wednesday to consider their verdict, said Marco Tremolada, who heads the panel of judges, adding that a ruling was expected in the afternoon. read more

OPL 245 LITIGATION: POLLUTING THE PROCESS

The powerful Italian energy giant Eni is leading lobbying efforts in Europe, pushing for the EU to support climate-wrecking fossil gas – all whilst on the stand in the corporate corruption trial of the decade.

We can also reveal new details surrounding the “OPL 245” trial, in which both Eni and Shell are accused of involvement in a vast bribery scheme that saw hundreds of millions of dollars funnelled to Nigerian politicians.

Key findings

Our new report finds that Eni’s CEO, who is also personally on trial and facing up to eight years in prison, was granted high level access to lobby the EU’s Energy Commissioner as recently as June 2020. read more