“Shell extracts a lot of oil and gas from Nigerian soil, and that is associated with pollution, sabotage, tax lawsuits, protests from the local population and suspected corruption.”

English translation of a Dutch article by nrc.nl

Dutch ambassador leaked information to Shell

Nigeria Robert Petri, the Dutch ambassador to Nigeria, had been in post for less than a year and a half. He did not have a good relationship with his staff. And above all: wasn’t he too close to Shell?

Prime Minister Mark Rutte (l) and Shell chairman Ben van Beurden (r) visiting President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, autumn 2019. Photo Bart Maat / ANP read more

English translation of an article published by nrc.nl

OPL 245: Shell was tipped off in advance about a pending visit to Nigeria by officers from a Dutch criminal investigative agency “about an extensive corruption investigation into Shell the oil company itself.”

Ambassador leaked to Shell

• Merijn Rengers
• Carola Houtekamer

3 juni 2020 om 22:54

Nigeria In 2017, the Dutch ambassador to Nigeria shared confidential information about a visit from the FIOD with the local Shell director.

At the end of 2017, the Dutch ambassador to Nigeria leaked confidential information about an extensive corruption investigation into Shell to the oil company itself. This was revealed in an integrity investigation into Robert Petri, who was prematurely replaced as ambassador to the Nigerian capital Abuja in early 2019. read more

The ambassador warned Shell that it was under investigation over bribery allegations. (OPL 245)

By Janene Pieters on June 4, 2020 – 09:34

In 2017 the Dutch ambassador to Nigeria, Robert Petri, leaked confidential information about an extensive corruption investigation into Shell to the oil company itself, NRC reports based on information revealed in an integrity investigation into Petri. The ambassador warned Shell that it was under investigation over bribery allegations.

Petri was prematurely replaced as ambassador to the Nigerian capital of Abuja in early 2019 and brought back to the Netherlands. According to NRC, this happened after an integrity investigation into Petri at the end of 2018, and a subsequent investigation into the working climate at the Dutch embassy in Nigeria early in 2019. read more

Senators to push sanctions bill on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline

Jun. 3, 2020 5:51 PM ET|About: Public Joint Stock Company … (OGZPY)| By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is set to introduce legislation that would expand sanctions against Gazprom’s (OTCPK:OGZPY) Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany by targeting insurance companies that work with Russian vessels on completion of the project.

Senator Ted Cruz, one of the sponsors of the legislation, says the pipeline poses “a critical threat to America’s national security and must not be completed.”

The bill would expand sanctions to companies that provide “underwriting services or insurance or reinsurance” for vessels working on the pipeline as well as those that provide “services or facilities for technology upgrades or installation of welding equipment for, or retrofitting or tethering” of vessels. read more

Shell plastics plant Trump touted faces oversupply risks: Energy institute report

04 Jun 2020 12:16PM (Updated: 04 Jun 2020 02:58PM)

WASHINGTON: A massive Pennsylvania plastics project that President Donald Trump touted during a visit last year faces risks of oversupply and a low price outlook for the materials, a report by an institute that examines energy issues said on Thursday.

The Pennsylvania Petrochemical Complex plant in Beaver County, owned by Shell, has been promoted by some as an economic savior in a region still suffering from the demise of steel industry in the 1980s. read more

June 2, 2020

The CORE Coalition and the ICJ have jointly submitted evidence as interveners in a landmark case before the UK Supreme Court brought by some 40,000 people from the Ogale and Bille communities of the Niger Delta (Nigeria) against oil major Royal Dutch Shell (Okpabi et al vs Royal Dutch Shell et al) for serious harm to their human rights and well-being. 

On 23 June, the Supreme Court will consider whether Shell can arguably be held liable for pollution caused by its Nigerian subsidiary, which destroyed farming land, wiped out fish stocks and poisoned drinking water. In 2018 the Court of Appeal ruled that Shell did not exercise enough control over the subsidiary to hold it responsible for the well-being of those affected by the oil spills.

This is the latest stage in a four-year legal action brought by communities seeking compensation for the catastrophic environmental damage caused by widespread oil spills. read more

Zacks Equity Research: Zacks:May 29, 2020

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the petition of oil supermajors and ruled that state courts are more suitable to impartially adjudicate climate change lawsuits against oil and gas companies instead of federal venues that are suspected to be bias to the energy industry.

The lawsuits, filed by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, hold five Big Oil majors, namely ExxonMobil XOM, Chevron CVX, ConocoPhillips COP, BP plc BP and Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A accountable for misleading the public by wrongly promoting their work to be environmentally friendly when in reality, they were aware of their hazardous contribution to climate change. By alleging the companies to be financially responsible for this menace, they demand the oil giants to cough up billions for the damages caused due to intensified carbon footprint and help construct a protective infrastructure to prevent the rise in sea-level and other problems cropping up from global warming. read more

UPDATE 1-U.S. senators weigh additional sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2

By Timothy Gardner, Christoph Steitz and Vladimir Soldatkin: 28 MAY 2020

WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT/MOSCOW, May 28 (Reuters) – Two U.S. senators are considering drafting further sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline if Moscow goes ahead and finishes laying pipes, in another blow to a project which has already faced delays.

U.S. sanctions legislation originally sponsored by Senators Ted Cruz, a Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, in December halted work by Swiss-Dutch company Allseas on the pipeline that aims to boost Russia’s gas exports under the Baltic Sea to Germany. read more

120,000 home owners in Groningen to get compensation for quake property value cut

(Information added by John Donovan: NAM is the Shell/Exxon Joint Venture company responsible along with the Dutch government for the earthquake blighted Groningen Gas Field and the consequential bill for dealing with 120,000 damaged residences.)

May 27, 2020

Some 120,000 home owners in Groningen province are entitled to financial compensation because the value of their property has gone down due to the earthquakes, the institute set up to assess the damage says. read more

News provided by

Oil and Gas Climate Initiative

May 26, 2020, 08:03 ET

Focusing on what matters

LONDON, May 26, 2020 /CNW/ — The unprecedented challenges the world is facing force us all to sharpen our focus on what really matters. Our immediate priority, as CEOs, is to do everything we can so that our people and communities are safe and capable of confronting the pandemic effectively. We will work to help the world recover from the economic shock of this crisis that has undoubtedly hit some more than others yet impacts us all. read more

By Soni Daniel & Udeme Akpan: 27 MAY 2020

BARELY, a week after the London court had dismissed the $1.1 billion Malabu case, involving the purchase of Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL)245, on grounds of lack of jurisdiction, the court in Milan, Italy, has adjourned a similar case ‘to a yet to be announced date’ because of the negative impact of coronavirus pandemic.

An investigation by Vanguard showed that the adjournment of the case earlier slated for May 14, 2020, has kept the parties – FG, Shell and Eni – waiting.

When contacted, Dr. Umar Jibrilu, media aide, office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, stated: “The case was initially slated for the 14th May, 2020, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been adjourned till a date to be communicated later.” read more

By Brian Melley | AP  May 26, 2020 at 7:22 p.m. GMT+1

LOS ANGELES — Big Oil lost a pair of court battles Tuesday that could lead to trials in lawsuits by California cities and counties seeking damages for the impact of climate change.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by energy companies and ruled state courts are the proper forum for lawsuits alleging producers promoted petroleum as environmentally responsible when they knew it was contributing to drought, wildfires, and sea level rise associated with global warming.

The lawsuits claim Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other companies created a public nuisance and should pay for damage from climate change and help build sea walls and other infrastructure to protect against future impact — construction that could cost tens of billions of dollars. read more

This 1988 Shell report, discovered by Jelmer Mommers of De Correspondent, shines light on what the company knew about climate science, its own role in driving global CO2 emissions, the range of potential political and social responses to a warming world.

The confidential report, “The Greenhouse Effect,” was authored by members of Shell’s Greenhouse Effect Working Group and based on a 1986 study, though the document reveals Shell was commissioning “greenhouse effect” reports as early as 1981. Report highlights include: read more

OPL 245 Scandal: Biased media reports protect oil giants, former public officers – Group

Godwin Tsa, Abuja: 24 MAY 2020

A coalition of local and international anti-corruption movements have raised concerns over what they allege to be a plot to foil the corruption charges against some mega oil companies involved in the Malabu (OPL 245) oil scandal.

In a statement on Sunday, the groups under the aegis of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Re-Common, Cornerhouse and Globalwitness collectively called on the media to protect the interest and integrity of the judiciary by being professional in their reportage on the scam associated with OPL 245. read more

The Syrian Job: Uncovering the Oil Industry’s Radioactive Secret

By Justin Nobel • Wednesday, April 29, 2020 – 10:38

Cancerous lesions have developed across Keith MacDonald’s body and his son is dead from leukemia. His life has disintegrated, and in his eyes fault lies with the third richest company on earth. It is headquartered in the Netherlands, incorporated in the United Kingdom, and is an entity (thanks to the Parliamentary Pension Fund) that every single British MP has a stake in — Royal Dutch Shell.

The story of how MacDonald got here is a tale of adventure and tragedy fit for a Hollywood thriller, only it is real. Even with many unknowns, MacDonald’s case unearths a shocking part of the world’s most powerful industry that somehow has remained hidden for generations. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 22, 2020, 12:30 PM CDT

A UK judge dismissed on Friday a lawsuit against Eni and Shell brought by the Nigerian government alleging that the oil and gas supermajors knew about US$1.1 billion in bribes given to secure an oil license in Nigeria nearly a decade ago.

The judge in London dismissed the case on the grounds that the UK has no jurisdiction to try the lawsuit that is basically the same for which Shell and Eni are currently under trial in Italy, Bloomberg reported. read more