Thousands of barrels of oil spouted out of the broken pipeline at Bodo for 10 weeks before Shell finally clamped it on 7 November 2008. © CEHRD

Pastor Christian Kpandei contemplates the damage done to his fish farm in Bodo, Nigeria, May 2011. The farm flourished before the August 2008 oil spill, but the pollution destroyed his fish farm, leaving him and his workers without a regular income. © Amnesty International

3.2.1 FOUR FARMERS’ CASES

The first of the pollution-related cases marked the first time that any Dutch company had been sued in the Dutch court for the operations of its subsidiaries overseas.

In 2008, four Nigerian farmers (Eric Barizaa Dooh, Fidelis Ayoro Oguru, Alali Efanga and Friday Alfred Akpan), along with Milieudefensie, the Dutch section of Friends of the Earth, filed claims against RDS and SPDC.44

They are seeking to obtain compensation for alleged damage to fish ponds and land caused by oil spills from two underground pipelines and an oil well operated by Shell in the villages of Goi, Ikot Ada Udo and Oruma between 2004 and 2007.45 read more

Oil pollution in Kegbara-Dere (K-Dere) community in Ogoniland, Rivers State, Niger Delta, Nigeria. This community has experienced multiple oil spills since Shell started operations there in the 1960s. September 2015. © Michael Uwemedimo/cmapping.net

Shell’s pipelines in Ogoniland are old and poorly maintained. There have been several spills and in 2009 there was a huge fire, at the Bomu Manifold, at K. Dere, Rivers state. September 2015. © Michael Uwemedimo/cmapping.net

Dead periwinkles covered in oily mud from Bodo creek, Nigeria, May 2011. There were two massives spills in August 2009 from a poorly maintained Shell pipeline. © Amnesty International

Signboard warning people not to enter stream that has been contaminated by oil spills, Ogale, Rivers State, Nigeria. Every year there are hundreds of spills in the Niger Delta, and clean-up is often slow and ineffective. © Amnesty International

3.2 ENVIRONMENTAL CASES (Pages 16, 17, 18 & 10)

There are three separate legal proceedings taking place against Shell in Dutch and British courts relating to oil pollution. This has devastated the Niger Delta.

Data from Shell’s own spill incident reports reveal that from 2011-18 the company reported a huge number of spills – 1,010 – along the network of pipelines and wells that it operates.25 Spills have a variety of causes – from third-party tampering, to operational faults and corrosion of aged facilities. Shell blames most spills on theft and pipeline sabotage, and are not due to its own negligence.26 read more

The Ogoni Case is a Simple Demand for Basic Rights and Justice – MOSOP

Call for the Exoneration of Ken Saro-Wiwa and Others

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says all the Ogoni people want in Nigeria is respect for the rights of the people and justice. President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke made this known yesterday in Port Harcourt in a speech to mark the 24th anniversary of the U.N Secretary General’s fact-finding mission to Ogoni which noted that the Special Tribunal which ordered the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa had no jurisdiction to try Saro-Wiwa and the others.

Nsuke said it was shameful that Nigeria’s response to a simple and justifiable demand for basic rights and justice by the Ogoni people in Nigeria was repression by state security forces and the hounding by Shell through its agents which led to the death of thousands of innocent Ogonis. read more

Esther Kiobel and Victoria Bera sit with their lawyer as a Dutch court hears the first arguments in 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 in the 1990s, on February 12, 2019 in The Hague, Netherlands. © Pierre Crom/Getty Images

 KIOBEL AND OTHERS V SHELL

Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta were first, and most effectively, put under the spotlight in the 1990s by Ken Saro-Wiwa, an acclaimed Nigerian writer. Saro-Wiwa led a community organisation in his home area, Ogoniland, called the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). MOSOP said that while outsiders had grown rich on the oil that was pumped from under their soil, pollution from oil spills and gas flaring had, “led to the complete degradation of the Ogoni environment, turning our homeland into an ecological disaster.”10 read more

Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer.4

Its industry is based in the Niger Delta, in the south of the country, where Shell first found oil in commercially viable quantities near the village of Oloibori in 1956, when Nigeria was still a British colony.5

The Niger Delta has since become Africa’s most valuable oil-producing region.

The industry is run by joint ventures between the Nigerian government and multinational companies. Shell has always been the most important of these. Shell runs its oil operations in Nigeria through its subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). It is a major shareholder and the operator of the country’s largest joint venture, which produces almost 40 percent of Nigeria’s oil.6 read more

Says Ogoni Demands for Self Determination is Justifiable

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has again called for the exoneration of the nine innocent Ogoni activists killed on November 10, 1995 by the Nigerian government.

In an interview with Voice of America”s James Butty in Washington DC president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said one critical aspect of the Ogoni problem that must be addressed is the exoneration of the nine Ogoni activists executed by the Nigerian government on November 10, 1995

Listen to the VOA interview available here read more

On 28 August 2008 a fault in the Trans-Niger pipeline resulted in a massive oil spill into Bodo Creek in Ogoniland. The oil poured into the swamp and creek for weeks, covering the area in a thick slick of oil and killing the fish that people depend on for food and for their livelihood. © CEHRD

Amnesty International has been conducting research on human rights abuses linked to the oil industry in the Niger Delta since the mid-1990s.1 Working jointly with the Port Harcourt-based Centre for the Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), this has included investigations into the cause and impact of pollution in Ogale and Bodo, which are two of the communities that have brought cases against Shell.2 Amnesty International has also investigated Shell’s role in the military crackdown of the 1990s, reviewing thousands of pages of court depositions and internal company documents.3 read more

Cover photo: A Dutch court hears the first arguments in 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 in the 1990s, on February 12, 2019 in The Hague, Netherlands. © Pierre Crom/Getty Images

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.

Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations.

Since Shell first discovered oil near the village of Oloibiri in 1956, the Niger Delta has become Africa’s most valuable oil-producing region and the Anglo-Dutch giant has earned billions of dollars. read more

Spills in Nigeria for Shell increased to 2,000 tonnes in 2019, from 157 incidents, the company has disclosed in its annual report, up from 1,600 tonnes from 111 incidents in 2018.

by Ed Reed: 12/03/2020, 10:50 am

These are predominantly a result of sabotage, the company said. Of the 164 spills of more than 100 kg of crude, 95% were the result of “illegal activities by third parties”. Flaring also increased in 2019 in Nigeria, by around 10%.

The number of spills caused as a result of its own operational issues fell to seven incidents, from 15 in 2018. This saw the volume of crude spilled fall to around 30 tonnes of crude, from 400 tonnes in 2018. Where there have been operational spills, SPDC pays compensation to people and communities. read more

…it is more than halfway through the process of selling out of its holdings in oil majors BP, Shell and Total.

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Catholic religious order Jesuits in Britain will ditch fossil fuel companies from its $500 million equity portfolio by the end of the year, it said on Wednesday, citing corporate failure to respond quickly to the threat of climate change.

Asset managers responsible for more than $14 trillion have divested from the sector in recent years, though many more prefer to remain invested and engage with companies to change their business strategies.

Some companies have sought to address investor concern, including BP’s pledge this month to reduce its carbon emissions, though critics have said that such measures have not gone far enough. read more

As political and economic tides shift, pressure on Shell—from shareholders, evolving new technologies, and climate-aware consumers—to reinvent itself is mounting, while legal action has been taken against the company over its climate impacts.

Shell’s own research warned more than a quarter-century ago that burning fossil fuels posed catastrophic threats, yet it continued to pump billions into climate-disrupting ventures.

Shell has come under fire for its fierce campaigns against climate action. According to reports, it is among oil firms that spend millions a year lobbying to block or influence climate policies. read more

The spread of deadly chemicals by Shell Petroleum Development Company in the waterways of Odimodi and its federated communities of Iduwini Kingdom (Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State), has triggered massive poisoning of the fish population and other aquatic bodies in its waters. There is fear that the chemicals will have great and far-reaching implications on human health and environmental issues.

EMAIL RECEIVED BY JOHN DONOVAN TODAY FROM: The distressed unwell disabled pensioner terrorised by Shell Energy

FYI. Posted the following on two FB forums this morning:-

Yesterday I reluctantly accepted the Ombudsman’s decision.

I have always made it abundantly clear to Shell that my preferred means of communication is via Resolver and under no circumstances did I want (trust) to talk to them on the phone.

Despite this, while driving home from shopping yesterday afternoon, I receive a telephone call from the Shell Energy Ombudsman department. I told him I was driving and that it was not convenient. read more

English translation of an article published 23 Feb 2020 by the Dutch Financial Times (FD)

Dutch industry funded climate skeptic Frits Böttcher

From our editor

According to FTM, Shell is one of the companies that Böttcher financed. Photo: ANP

In brief

• Climate skeptic Frits Böttcher received at least one million guilders fom the Dutch business community in the 1990s.
• At the request of donors, he wrote activist papers in which he denied the existence of the greenhouse effect.
• Partly due to his work, there was little support for sustainable climate policy at the end of the last decade.

Between 1989 and 1998, Frits Böttcher received at least one million guilders (€ 450,000) from 24 Dutch companies, including Shell, NAM, AkzoNobel and DSM. With that money he set up an international network of climate skeptics. At the request of the donors, he also wrote activist papers and articles in which he denied the existence of the greenhouse effect. This is the result of research by Follow the Money (FTM) and the Authentic Journalism Platform (PAJ), who have access to the personal archive of Böttcher, who died in 2008. read more

By John Donovan

On 16 December 2019, we published extracts from emails that a distressed terrorised pensioner “John” sent to Shell Energy. The self-explanatory extracts are republished below.

Printed in red italics is the latest update from John following a decision just reached by the Energy Ombudsman.

Other equally pissed off customers of Shell Energy – there are hoards of them– may be interested in his insight gained from actually filing an official complaint with the supposedly independent regulator.  read more

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted during the last few days on Trustpilot.  Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. This article posted on 21 February 2020.

I would give this company zero stars if i could.

I would give this company zero stars if i could. This company has hiked up my payments. They were great when they were First Utility. Even their cheapest offering is useless. My marketing preferences are by email but they keep trying to phone & message me. I complained to them by email & they agreed that they should contact me by email only, yet they carried on contacting me by phone even though i told them that i’m profoundly deaf. They passed all my details on to SMS even though i asked them not to. SMS have been hounding me stating that ”Shell Energy are upgrading to the next generation of meters & have arranged SMS to complete your installation”. How on earth can Shell Energy arrange for a meter to be fitted without consulting me? I have blocked all their calls. Shell are using bully boy tactics. I’m now moving to Octopus. Shell could not come anywhere near the prices that Octopus have offered me. Shell & SMS should hang their heads in shame for using bully boy tactics. My data is being shared even though i asked it not to be. They are also STILL trying to contact me by phone calls & text messages even though my marketing preferences are email. read more