Shater v. Shell Oil Co. A spectacular falling out of corporate spies

By John Donovan: 3 Dec 2022

Shater v. Shell Oil Co

USDC No. 4:20-CV-1465

The above US court case involves many members of Shell Corporate Securities, including the head of Shell Global Security James WD Hall.

Links to the latest court decisions filed on 28 November 2022.

Shater Judgement 28 Nov 2022

(November 28, 2022 MEMORANDUM TO COUNSEL OR PARTIES LISTED BELOW Regarding: Fifth Circuit Statement on Petitions for Rehearing or Rehearing En Banc No. 22-20289 Shater v. Shell Oil Co USDC No. 4:20-CV-1465) read more

REUTERS

Court rejects Nigeria’s compensation request against Eni, Shell

By Alfredo Faieta and Francesca Landini: November 11, 2022

MILAN, Nov 11 (Reuters) – An appeals court in Milan on Friday rejected Nigeria’s $1.092 billion compensation request against Italian energy group Eni SpA (ENI.MI) and Shell Plc (SHEL.L) in civil proceedings relating to a $1.3 billion oilfield deal.

The decision was read out in court.

In July prosecutors had dropped related criminal proceedings, clearing Eni and Shell, as well as managers including Eni Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi, in one of the oil industry’s biggest alleged corruption cases. read more

REUTERS

Nigerian widows end their case in the Netherlands against Shell

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A group of four widows who had sought to hold Shell liable for damages in the Netherlands after their anti-oil activist husbands were executed by the Nigerian government in 1995 have cancelled further legal proceedings, their lawyer said on Monday.

“Obviously this is not without disappointment and frustration,” said lawyer Channa Samkalden in statement announcing that the widows have cancelled an appeal launched after the Hague District Court rejected their case earlier this year. read more

The Washington Post

Widows of executed Nigerian activists end case against Shell

By Mike Corder | AP: November 8, 2022 at 5:49 a.m. EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The widows of four Nigerian activists executed in 1995 have withdrawn their appeal in a Dutch civil case in which they alleged that oil giant Shell was complicit in the men’s deaths, ending a yearslong legal battle for compensation and an apology.

The four widows, Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula, launched the case in 2017. It was rejected in a final ruling by The Hague District Court in March, following an interim decision in 2019 dismissing parts of their claim.

Their husbands were among nine activists from the Ogoni tribe, led by writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, who were hanged in 1995 for the murder of four political rivals. Supporters say they were really targeted because of their involvement in protests against environmental damage by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary. read more

The Sydney Morning Herald

Pressure mounting on $318b energy giant that says it cares about climate

Laura Chung: November 4, 2022 — 8.45am

All around the world, the pressure on $318 billion oil and gas giant Shell is mounting. In the Netherlands, the company was forced to remove ads promoting “carbon-neutral” petrol after they were found to be misleading by the Netherlands’ Advertising Code Committee. In the US, a House of Representatives committee heard Shell had touted its climate goals and vision but internal emails painted a different picture. read more

Malabu Oil Scandal: International Organisations File Appeal At The Hague, Demand Fresh Probe Of Shell Company, Managers

October 24, 2022

Three non-governmental organisations, Re:Common (Italy), HEDA Resource Centre (Nigeria) and Corner House (UK) on Monday announced that they had filed a complaint at the Court of Appeal in The Hague challenging the decision by the Dutch Prosecutors Office to drop its investigation of Shell and Shell management relating to alleged corruption in Nigeria.

The Complaint was filed by the Dutch law firm Prakken pursuant to Article 12 of the Dutch Code for Criminal Procedure.

Article 12 permits interested parties to challenge prosecutorial decisions not to investigate or prosecute an alleged crime.

In 2017, the three NGOs sought an investigation by the Dutch Prosecutors Office into Shell’s involvement in the 2011 acquisition of the exploitation rights to the Nigerian oil block OPL245. They have since submitted further concerns relating to Shell’s divestments of oil mining licences in the Niger Delta.

Separately, Shell also reported a senior manager to the Dutch Prosecutors Office for bribery relating to one of the oil field divestments. read more

Shell Loses Dutch Appeal Over Misleading Carbon Emission Ads

(Bloomberg) — Shell Plc lost its appeal against the Dutch advertising watchdog’s ruling that an ad campaign that promoted carbon-dioxide emission credits was misleading and must be withdrawn.

Bloomberg News: Diederik Baazil and Cagan Koc: 21 Oct 2022

(Bloomberg) — Shell’s advertisements offer customers the option to pay extra for their fuel, with the money going to buy credits in emission-reduction projects that “compensate” for the pollution generated. The ads are a reboot of a similar campaign last year that the regulator also deemed misleading. read more

Another departing Shell leader seeking redemption?

By John Donovan

Departing Shell Plc CEO Ben van Beurden seems to be seeking redemption in his closing period with the energy giant.

THE GRONINGEN SCANDAL

BvB now admits that Shell should have pulled out of the controversial earthquake-blighted Groningen project operated by NAM – a Shell-Exxon joint venture company.

According to Reuters: “A damning report in 2015 from the independent Dutch Safety Board had accused the government and the field’s operators of ignoring the threat of earthquakes linked to the field for years.” 

As regular visitors to this website know, we have been drawing attention to the Groningen scandal for many years. Thousands of properties have been damaged. As a consequence, Dutch prosecutors are pursuing litigation against NAM. Tens of thousands of Groningen residents are eligible for compensation for earthquake damage. read more

Dutch prosecutors to pursue pollution case against Shell-Exxon gas venture

By Syndicated Content Oct 12, 2022 | 7:53 AM

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch prosecutors said on Wednesday they will pursue a pollution case against NAM, a joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil that operates gas fields in the Netherlands.

The prosecutors “(suspect) NAM of injecting waste streams from natural gas extraction into the deep subsurface without a permit”, a statement from their office said.

Prosecutors say they believe the company took waste products from natural gas extraction in the North Sea, then processed and injected them into empty gas fields in the province of Groningen.

A spokesperson for NAM said the company would respond later on Wednesday.

Reuters reported last month that Shell And ExxonMobil have put their 50-50 venture up for sale, with expected proceeds of over $1 billion.

NAM started producing natural gas in 1963 following the discovery of the giant Groningen field, which was a major source of gas for the Netherlands and Europe for decades.

But extraction has been almost completely wound down in the past 10 years as tremors blamed on drilling damaged buildings and prompted protests by residents and campaigners. read more

OILPRICE.COM

Activist Investor: Shell Must Do More To Curb Emissions

By Charles Kennedy – Sep 30, 2022, 5:00 AM CDT

An expected drop in Shell’s net greenhouse gas emissions is not aligned with the Paris Agreement and with a Dutch court order for the now UK-based supermajor to slash emissions much more by 2030, activist investor Follow This says.

A recent report from Australia-based Global Climate Insights showed that Shell’s net emissions, after CCUS and offsets, are forecast to be 6% lower in 2030 compared to 2019, assuming it is on track to achieve its targets for CCUS and offsets. read more

British Spies, British Lies (James Hall vs Walied Shater)

I have never before seen a court document containing so many allegations of repeated lies by a top-level Shell official, supported by copious similar fact evidence of his alleged deceit.

By John Donovan

I reported in August 1917 that Mr Crockett Oaks III, Shell security manager for the Americas, received a ‘big bucks’ court case settlement from Shell.

The litigation arose from an alleged pattern of discrimination in favour of ‘White Brits’ by Shell and Shell Corporate Security VP James WD Hall, a British national. read more

Reuters

Shell, Exxon launch joint sale of UK, Dutch North Sea assets -sources

Ron Bousso: Tue, September 27, 2022 at 4:16 PM

LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Shell and Exxon Mobil have launched a joint sale process of a large package of offshore natural gas assets in the southern UK and Dutch North Sea, three industry and banking sources said.

The two companies have hired investment bank Jefferies to run the sale, which could raise over $2 billion, the sources said.

Launched earlier this month, the sale comes after Shell and Exxon independently ran initial sales processes for their British and Dutch assets.

Shell declined to comment. Jefferies declined to comment. Exxon did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

In July, Shell and Exxon launched the sale of the 50-50 NAM joint venture in the Netherlands, operator of the Groningen gas field and one of Europe’s largest and oldest natural gas production companies.

The two companies have also separately put up for sale their stakes in their British southern North Sea gas hub, which include the Clipper Leman Alpha hubs as well as the Bacton terminal in eastern England, the sources said. read more

Dutch limit Groningen gas production despite energy crisis

AMSTERDAM -Gas production at the Groningen field in the Netherlands will be lowered to the minimal amount needed to keep wells operational in the coming year, as extraction is expected to end by 2024 at the latest, the Dutch government said on Monday.

Production at Groningen, once one of Europe’s major suppliers of natural gas, will be capped at 2.8 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the year starting Oct. 1, the government said, down from 4.5 bcm in the current year.

The Groningen field, operated by a joint venture of Shell and Exxon Mobil, still holds massive reserves of natural gas. read more

The Guardian

Governments urged to act after oil giants accused of misleading public

Documents suggest Shell and BP staff privately downplayed public commitments on climate crisis

Alex Lawson Energy correspondent: Fri 16 Sep 2022 16.42 BST

Campaigners have urged governments to intervene after oil companies were accused of misleading the public about their commitment to reducing carbon emissions.

Oil and gas companies including Britain’s Shell and BP were urged to “stop their deception” this week as the US House committee on oversight and reform released documents showing that oil industry executives privately downplayed their public messages on efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

The memo claimed that internal BP documents highlighted how carbon capture and storage (CCS) – a nascent technology that involves inserting CO₂ emissions into underground rock formations – could “enable the full use of fossil fuels across the energy transition and beyond”.

Congressional investigators also unearthed an internal Shell email discussing carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) in which an executive said: “We want to be careful to not talk about CCUS as prolonging the life of oil, gas or fossil fuels writ large.” read more

At Royal Dutch Shell, an October 2020 email sent by an employee, discussing talking points for Shell’s president for the United States, said that the company’s announcement of a pathway to “net zero” emissions — the point at which the world would no longer be pumping planet-warming gases into the atmosphere — “has nothing to do with our business plans.”

The New York Times

Oil Executives Privately Contradicted Public Statements on Climate, Files Show

The documents, subpoenaed in a House investigation of climate disinformation, show company leaders contravening industry commitments. read more

Dutch state earned €363.7 billion through Groningen gas extraction

NL TIMES

TUESDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2022 – 08:44

After almost 60 years of gas extraction in Groningen, the involved parties finally announced how much money they made from it. Adjusted for inflation, the Groningen gas field yielded a total profit of 428 billion euros, of which the Dutch state received 363.7 billion euros, Het Financieele Dagblad reports based on calculations from shareholder Shell.

After almost 60 years of gas extraction in Groningen, the involved parties finally announced how much money they made from it. Adjusted for inflation, the Groningen gas field yielded a total profit of 428 billion euros, of which the Dutch state received 363.7 billion euros, Het Financieele Dagblad reports based on calculations from shareholder Shell.

The remaining 64.7 billion euros in profit went to the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), the operator of the Groningen gas field. NAM paid the amount out as dividends to its shareholders – Shell and ExxonMobil. read more