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Greenpeace in ‘peaceful protest’ on Shell’s Brent platforms

Greenpeace has announced it is carrying out “peaceful protests” at Shell’s Brent field in the UK North Sea.

by Allister Thomas: 14/10/2019

Activists from the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark are protesting on two platforms in the field, around 115 miles north-east of Shetland – brandishing signs of “Shell, clean up your mess”.

It comes as a special meeting of Ospar, an agreement between 15 governments to protect Europe’s marine environment, takes place in London on Friday.

Some countries have lodged objections to Shell’s plans to leave the legs of three of the platforms – Bravo, Charlie and Delta – in the sea, with concerns around the contents of oil storage cells within them deteriorating. read more

PODCAST LINK

In 1995, the Nigerian government executed the Ogoni Nine – environmental activists who were trying to fight Shell’s exploitation of their homeland. Now, four widows are taking the oil company to court. And: Dan Sabbagh on the ramifications of Trump’s shock decision to withdraw from the Turkish-Syrian border

How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know

Presented by Rachel Humphreys with Kate Hodal, Esther Kiobel, Channa Samkalden and Dan Sabbagh, produced by Gary Marshall; executive producers Nicole Jackson and Phil Maynard read more

By Ellen Milligan: 8 October 2019, 14:39 BST

Two Royal Dutch Shell Plc units were sued over their involvement in one of the largest oil spills in Nigeria’s history.

Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co. and Shell International Trading & Shipping Co. allegedly undermined the emergency response to the spill eight years ago and made inadequate efforts to contain it, according to lawyers for the Oil Spill Victims Vanguard.

“That oil, which has never properly been cleaned up, continues to blight the claimants, their environments, livelihoods and communities to this day,” lawyer Graham Dunning said in court documents. read more

Q & A with Esther Kiobel, currently the lead plaintiff in the above Dutch lawsuit against Shell

Q: Who are the Ogoni People?

The Ogoni people are mainly fishermen and farmers who live on the coastal plains in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. With a population now over a million, going by recent estimates, Ogoni people are mainly lovers of peace, lovers of their guests, especially the guests that bring development. However, in recent past, the peaceful disposition of the Ogoni has been abused and pockets of violence deliberately orchestrated by Shell has further rendered the people worse than poor.

Ogonis produce the richest harvest that feeds not just Rivers State, but also parts of Nigeria. This explains why the Ogoni economic mainstay remains farming (agriculture) and fishing. Only a handful of Ogonis are government employees such as academics and other forms of civil service. Others are traders. read more

Nigeria’s Rivers state buys Shell’s stake in Ogoniland oilfield

LAGOS, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Rivers state has purchased Royal Dutch Shell’s stake in an oil mining licence in the restive Ogoniland region, the state’s governor said on Monday.

The license, OML 11, has been undeveloped for nearly 25 years, since the execution of regional activist Ken Saro-Wiwa under the military government of Sani Abacha.

(Reporting By Tife Owolabi; Writing by Libby George; Editing by Jan Harvey)

SOURCE

UPDATE 1-Nigeria’s Rivers state buys Shell’s stake in Ogoniland oilfield

ENERGY SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 / 2:22 PM

PORT HARCOURT, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Rivers state has purchased Royal Dutch Shell’s stake in an oil mining licence in the restive Ogoniland region, the state’s governor said on Monday. read more

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Alleged Non-Remittance: Environmental Activist Wants EFCC, AGF To Probe Shell: Writ Issued 24 Sept 2019

An environmental activist and legal practitioner Anderson Achilike has in a suit called on the Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, and the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited.

Achilike in the suit filed on Wednesday at the Federal High Court, Abuja sued Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria limited over alleged non-remittance and under declaration of crude oil exportation and shipment; instigation of acts of pipeline vandalism; oil theft; third party interference in trunk line operations; incessant cases of fire outbreak.

Achilike said he filed the action “as a matter of urgent national importance to save the dwindling economic fortunes of the country from acts capable of undermining the future of Nigeria.” read more

CENTER FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (CATHUD)
4711 W. Midlothian Turnpike, Unit 20, Crestwood, IL. 60418
~ Ph.: 708.761.0029 ~ Fax: 708.628.7015 ~

Email: [email protected]

August 25, 2019

OGONIS REJECT OIL RESUMPTION BEFORE CLEANUP

Preamble

Oil is the mainstay of the Nigeria economy, hence, the world should be appalled that a nation whose economy is dependent on the oil industry has no clear cut industrial laws, and laws that protect the oil-bearing communities from the enormous hazardous environmental side effects of gas flaring and oil spillages on peoples’, farmlands, swamps, streams, rivers, and the atmosphere. It is grossly unacceptable that some privileged Nigerians who sleep quietly thousands of miles away from the hazardous harms of oil production are the owners of oil wells and oil blocks in Nigeria. It is bemoaning and we find it unacceptable that President Mohammadu Buhari and his administration that claim to play by democratic rules have turned blind eyes to the death toll in Ogoni and the rest of the Niger Delta in preference to oil extraction by treating the environmental cleanup of Ogoni with levity. read more

While insisting that the attackers are known, Nsuke charged the government to end the attacks on Ogoni by asking Shell and the Nigerian industry as well as those who organized the Saakpenwa meeting of June 22, 2019, to halt the crazy push for oil resumption in Ogoni…

Printed below in italics is a press statement issued by one of the two competing organisations, both calling themselves MOSOP. The statement is from the MOSOP led by Fegalo Nsuke which is indisputably active, while the MOSOP led by Legborsi Saro Pyagbara (Wikipedia article) has an online presence, but otherwise appears to be dormant?

MOSOP kingdom coordinators and affiliate heads held at the organization’s headquarters in Bori, Ogoniland

PRESS STATEMENT

Oil Resumption Campaigners Behind Gangsters in Ogoni Says MOSOP

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has accused the campaigners for forceful oil resumption in Ogoni of patronizing criminal gangs that are currently terrorizing the Ogoni area. President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, made the declaration on Saturday, August 17, 2019 at a meeting with MOSOP kingdom coordinators and affiliate heads held at the organization’s headquarters in Bori, Ogoniland. read more

The people who some would say have sold their souls to a toxic oil company with an evil history. Back Row: Catherine J. Hughes, Sir Nigel Sheinwald GCMG, Euleen Goh, Gerrit Zalm, Linda G. Stuntz, Roberto Setubal, Ann Godbehere. Front Row: Jessica Uhl (CFO), Ben van Beurden (CEO), Charles O. Holliday (Chair), Tjalling Wiersma, and Gerard Kleisterlee

HOW TO GRAB MAXIMUM ATTENTION AT MINIMUM COST TO VENTILATE YOUR GRIPE OR CAMPAIGN AGAINST SHELL, WHETHER ON THE GROUNDS OF OPL 245 CORRUPTION, PLUNDER, POLLUTION, ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS, PERSONAL INJURY, OR ALLEGED COMPLICITY IN THE MURDER OF THE OGONI 9.

BECOME A SHELL INVESTOR AND GENERATE AWARENESS AT AN INVESTMENT COST OF JUST OVER £30. THAT MODEST INVESTMENT WILL ALLOW YOU TO RAISE A RUCKUS AGAINST ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC AT ITS AGM IN FRONT OF THE ASSEMBLED SHELL BOARD, SHELL SHAREHOLDERS AND THE NEWS MEDIA.

The information in italics comes from a Daily Mail article published on 12 August 2019.

You can buy shares through an AJ Bell Youinvest account online for £9.95, for example, with ongoing fees of up to £7.50 a quarter.

You need to purchase only one share in the company you want to target. A share in Shell currently costs £23.98…

Once you are a shareholder, you should be sent the firm’s annual report and other information for investors, which can also be found on its website.

You will also have the right to attend annual general meetings (AGMs) and vote on company policies. read more

Printed below is a press statement issued by one of the two competing organisations, both calling themselves MOSOP. The statement is from the MOSOP led by Fegalo Nsuke which is indisputably active, while the MOSOP led by Legborsi Saro Pyagbara (Wikipedia article) has an online presence, but otherwise appears to be dormant?

PRESS STATEMENT

• Says government should respect Ogoni rights
  
• Calls for the Release of the detained reporter, Omoleye Sowore

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says the struggle of the Ogoni people in Nigeria is for human rights and justice. A resolution of the MOSOP Central Committee, also known as the Steering Committee which serves as the highest decision making organ of the organization, called on the Nigerian government and people to respect the political rights of the Ogoni people to self-determination.

The Steering Committee which held at the MOSOP secretariat in Bori, traditional headquarters of the Ogoni people today, August 3, 2019, strongly rejected calls by agents of Shell for oil resumption in Ogoniland noting that the Ogoni environment cannot support oil mining at this time.

The Steering Committee resolved that oil resumption will lead to the death of the Ogoni people and therefore remain unacceptable to the people.

The Steering Committee expressed the desire of the Ogoni people to enter into dialogue with all parties to resolve all contentious issues which led to the exit of Shell from Ogoniland over 20years ago.

Addressing newsman shortly after the meeting, President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said the Ogoni people are deeply committed to a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria where citizens rights are protected and all ethnic groups are treated equally.

Nsuke said “given our peculiar circumstances especially the Shell-backed state repression which led to the death of over 4,000 Ogonis, oil resumption will be resisted by the Ogoni people and  government response will be the usual deployment of soldiers who will shoot and kill the Ogoni people” He said to avoid further deaths, the Ogoni people have resolved not to support the resumption of oil mining in the land at this time”

Nsuke also said it was unjust that the resources of the Ogoni people be carted away to build the rest of Nigeria leaving the Ogoni people in the most terrible conditions.

The MOSOP president asserted that the easy way out of the problem is for the Nigerian government and people to respect the Ogoni people, treat them fairly by respecting their political rights to self-determination as demanded in the Ogoni Bill of Rights.

The MOSOP Steering Committee also condemned the arrest and detention of the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore. Describing the arrest of Sowore as an attempt to intimidate citizens from expressing their likes and dislikes, president of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said citizens should enjoy the rights to peaceful expression including peaceful protests.

While calling for the unconditional release of Sowore, Nsuke noted that the “revolution protests” proposed by Sowore does not represent a threat to society but simply gives the government the opportunity to consider other views on what it does.

Signed:

Dcn Monday Neeka Ziinu

General Secretary, MOSOP

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP)

Headquarters: Peace and Freedom Center, Bori Ogoni

Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: www.mosop.org.ng

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mosoponline

Disclaimer

The views, information, allegations or opinions expressed above are those of the author/originator of the article. They have not been substantiated by the publisher of this website and may not represent the publisher’s views. read more

Appeal on Shell Pollution in Nigeria case to be heard by UK Supreme Court

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP: 2 August 2019

In a sign of the extent to which class actions have become part of the mainstream of English litigation, the Supreme Court has recently given permission to appeal in three cases brought by or on behalf of large groups of claimants in three completely different contexts.

The third appeal is in litigation brought by large groups of individuals against UK-based Royal Dutch Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary relating to alleged pollution from pipelines and associated infrastructure in Nigeria. In February 2018, the Court of Appeal held, by a majority, that the English court did not have jurisdiction to hear the claims, as the claimants could not demonstrate a properly arguable case that Royal Dutch Shell owed a duty of care to those affected – see Okpabi and others v Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 191, considered in this post on our Litigation Notes blog. read more

The Times: Supreme Court to hear Nigerian villagers’ battle with Shell

July 25, 2019

Residents of the Bille and Ogale areas of the Niger Delta are to take their battle with Shell over alleged pollution to the UK’s top court. Lawyers representing the two Nigerian communities confirmed yesterday that they had been granted leave to take the challenge to the Supreme Court. They argue the case should be heard in the English court because the oil company is headquartered in London and is legally responsible for the environmental failures of its subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. Daniel Leader, a partner at Leigh Day, the London law firm that represents the Nigerians, said: “The era of corporate impunity is drawing to a close. FULL ARTICLE (Paywall) read more

According to Shell’s records, the community has been impacted by at least 40 oil spills from Shell’s pipelines and equipment since 1989, including 23 spills in the past 4 years. Shell’s pipelines and infrastructure in Ogale are several decades old and in a poor state of repair making the area vulnerable to oil spills which have caused, and continue to cause, long-term contamination of the land, swamps, groundwater and waterways in the Community.

The Supreme Court hearing will appeal a judgment from February 2018, from the Court of Appeal in London, which upheld an earlier High Court judgment, that the English Court does not have jurisdiction over the claims.

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK JUL 24, 2019

Lawyers representing 40,000 Nigerian farmers and fisherman from two communities in the Niger Delta have been permitted to take their legal claim against the oil giant Shell to the UK Supreme Court.

The decision will allow the two communities from Bille and Ogale in the Niger Delta to appeal to the UK’s highest court, having suffered from decades of pollution from Shell’s pipelines.

They have taken their case to the English Courts on the basis that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), which is headquartered in London, is legally responsible for the environmental failures of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), a subsidiary of RDS. read more

The decision to hear the appeal re-opens the possibility for British multinationals to be held liable at home for their subsidiaries’ actions abroad.

JULY 24, 2019

ABUJA, July 24 (Reuters) – The Supreme Court in London will hear an appeal by Nigerian farmers and fishermen to pursue claims in England against oil major Shell over oil spills in the Niger Delta, lawyers for the two affected communities said on Wednesday.

The decision to hear the appeal re-opens the possibility for British multinationals to be held liable at home for their subsidiaries’ actions abroad. It comes after a setback in February last year when a London court ruled that the claim could not be pursued in England. read more

Printed below in italics is a press statement issued by one of the two competing organisations, both calling themselves MOSOP. The statement is from the MOSOP led by Fegalo Nsuke which is indisputably active, while the MOSOP led by Legborsi Saro Pyagbara (Wikipedia article) has an online presence, but otherwise appears to be dormant?

PRESS STATEMENT

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has cautioned against a possible crackdown on the Ogoni people to kill them in order to force oil resumption in the land.

President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke, raised the alarm while addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday. Nsuke said the plot is being hatched by allies of Shell who have disguised as Ogoni leaders and championing the campaign for oil resumption.

“Oil resumption will kill our people and we do not want it” Nsuke said.

He explained that government orientation to force oil production in Ogoni using the military has not helped matters but has rather endangered the Ogoni people.

“Attempts to force oil resumption in Ogoniland without the consent of the people have always been resisted. Usually, the government responds by sending soldiers who shoot and kill Ogoni people and we do not want this to happen again”

Nsuke further warned that “killing Ogoni people over oil could attract sympathy from the rest of the Niger Delta and possibly throw the region into crisis”

He described the campaigns for oil resumption as an invitation to state repression against the Ogoni people noting that the Ogoni environment cannot support any form of oil exploitation at this time.

“The Ogoni people and the environment can logically not support any form of oil production at the moment as the people have not been receptive to the idea. The implication is that every attempt to force oil production in Ogoni will be resisted by the people and government will as usual respond by sending in the soldiers to kill us which we do not want. It is therefore imperative that to save lives, we must not contemplate oil resumption in Ogoni at this time” Nsuke said.

According to him, Shell’s crime against the Ogoni people were still very fresh and affecting lives severely, therefore, plans to resume oil production without the people’s consent could cause civil protests and lead to conflicts with attendant loss of lives.

Signed

Dcn Monday Ziinu

Gen Secretary, MOSOP

Disclaimer

The views, information, allegations or opinions expressed above are those of the author/originator of the article. They have not been substantiated by the publisher of this website and may not represent the publisher’s views. read more

By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo: 5 June 2019, 01:00 BST

About 100,000 barrels of crude are being taken daily: SBM

Oil-theft is now an industry employing thousands in Nigeria

Just as Nigeria gets to grips with militants who brought the nation’s oil industry to its knees a few years ago, another group of longstanding foes are slowly making a comeback: thieves.

Saboteurs including thieves caused an 80% increase in the number of spills in 2018, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the largest international producer in the West African country, said in a report last month. By contrast, there have been no militant-related halts to operations since 2016. read more