Shell Subsidiary to Pay $3.8 Million for 2016 Gulf Spill

A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $3.8 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit over a 2016 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $3.8 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit over a 2016 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The May 11, 2016, spill of nearly 2,000 barrels (317974.6 liters) occurred about 97 miles (156 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast.

The New Orleans Advocate, citing court documents, reports that an investigation pointed to a leak in a piping system that is used to transport oil from a production well on the sea floor.

The settlement isn’t final. It must first be published in the Federal Register and have a 30-day public comment period before it can get final approval from a federal judge. read more

Esther Kiobel poses with a picture of her beloved late husband, Dr. Barinem Kiobel, one of “Ogoni 9” executed by Nigeria’s military government after a peaceful uprising against Shell in 1995. Photograph: Amnesty International

29 June 2018

Esther says Amnesty activists have given her the strength to carry on fighting for justice

A year ago today, Esther Kiobel stood on the steps of the Palace of Justice in The Hague. It had taken over twenty years to get there, but she had just filed a landmark case against the oil giant Shell over what she says is its role in the 1995 execution of her husband Dr. Barinem Kiobel. Dr Kiobel, a former government official, was hanged by the Nigerian military government in connection with widespread protests against oil pollution in the Niger Delta. read more

Nigeria: Court Orders Shell to Pay $3.6 Billion Fine Over Oil Spill

20 June 2018

By Adelanwa Bamgboye

Lagos — Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, sitting at a Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed a suit by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd challenging the imposition of $3.6billion fine on it by the Federal Government. The court resolved all the issues in the defendant’s favour and dismissed the suit. Shell sued the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), challenging its powers to impose levies or fines over oil spills. FULL ARTICLE read more

Academic Report reveals true extent of pollution in Niger Delta following Shell oil spills

The lawyer representing over 30,000 Nigerians following two devastating oil spills in the Niger Delta has expressed his grave concern following the publication of an academic paper which found that the environmental damage around the site of the two spills has worsened significantly after delays to clean up the region.

The Bodo community was devastated by two large oil spills in October and December 2008 from Shell’s pipelines in the Niger Delta which caused the largest destruction of mangrove habitat in the history of oil spills. read more

Nigeria’s oil wells may be flowing again, but the country’s largest operator says attacks continue to put a brake on output.

Written by Bloomberg – 05/06/2018 9:35 am

“Security in parts of the Niger delta remains a major concern with persisting incidents of criminality, kidnapping and vandalism as well as onshore and offshore piracy,” said Igo Weli, general manager for external relations at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s local unit. The warning underlines the enduring threat of attacks even as production recovers from a major militant campaign in 2016. Shell declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude shipments last month following pipeline leaks, while loadings of Forcados exports were also delayed. Weli didn’t specifically link those incidents to his comments on vandalism. FULL ARTICLE read more

May 25, 2018 12:58 PM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

A confidential study that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) has been accused of trying to shield from public view showed worsening “catastrophic” pollution around oil spill sites in Nigeria, WSJ reports.

At least one of the study’s authors has urged the findings to be widely distributed because they pointed to significant health risks to the local Bodo community in Nigeria but said that Shell had denied him permission to publish the study’s results in a scientific journal, according to the WSJ report. read more

REUTERS STAFF: MAY 24, 2018

By Estelle Shirbon

LONDON, May 24 (Reuters) – A British judge ruled on Thursday that Nigeria’s Bodo community, which has been involved in a protracted legal battle with Shell over the clean-up of two 2008 oil spills, should retain the option of litigation for another year.

Lawyers for Bodo had accused Shell of trying to kill off the legal case by seeking a court order that would have meant the community had to meet onerous conditions before it could revive its litigation, which is currently on hold. read more

Nigeria: Shell’s Oil Spill Dispute With Nigerian Villagers Back in UK Court

By Ejiofor Alike with Agency Reports

Lawyers for the Bodo community in Ogoniland of Rivers State, which was devastated by two major oil spills in 2008, went to court in London yesterday to fend off what they said was an attempt by Shell to kill off their litigation.

This is coming as crude oil price rose briefly to $80 per barrel yesterday after the United States toughened its stance on Iran and Venezuela, key oil producers and members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The Bodo oil spills have been the subject of years of legal wrangling. read more

MOSOP Condemn Shell’s Resurgence in Ogoniland

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) strongly condemn the current military-backed laying of pipelines in K-Dere in Gokana local government area and other parts of Ogoniland by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Shell International. We see the current invasion of parts of Ogoniland by Shell with the backing of Nigerian soldiers as a clear signal to Shell’s determination to kill local people and members of civil society groups especially MOSOP who have consistently protested against oil resumption in Ogoni without a broad-based engagement with the Ogoni people. MOSOP maintains that oil related activities in any art of Ogoniland must be properly negotiated, not forced and must be done in good faith with the people’s free, prior and informed consent. We recall that Shell”s injustices in Ogoniland had sparked up a conflict between the people, the government and the company since 1993. Consequently, over 4,000 Ogonis were killed by Shell–sponsored repression executed by Nigerian soldiers between 1993 and 1999. The current affront by Shell is clearly another plot to further dehumanize, kill, abuse, rape and torture our people. MOSOP strongly condemn Shell’s penchant for human rights abuses and disregard for the wishes of the Ogoni people. We insist that Shell will not push forward forceful resumption of oil production in the region and that Shell will end its use of Nigerian soldiers to intimidate, harass and torture of our people We are deeply concerned about the danger posed by Shell’s presence in Ogoniland particularly as it affect the safety of local people who have consistently protested against the company. We demand that Shell immediately withdraw its facilities from Ogoniland and desist from further actions that threaten the peace and security of our people. Signed: Fegalo Nsuke Publicity Secretary Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP)

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Estelle Shirbon: MAY 22, 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – Lawyers for the Bodo community in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta, which was devastated by two major oil spills a decade ago, went to court in London on Tuesday to fend off what they said was an attempt by Shell to kill off their litigation.

The Bodo oil spills have been the subject of years of legal wrangling. In 2015, Shell accepted liability for the spills, agreeing to pay 55 million pounds ($83 million at the time) to Bodo villagers and to clean up their lands and waterways. read more

By Doris Esa: 20 MAY 2018

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has met with Shell companies in Nigeria to plan the protection of oil installations, including deployment and use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The Air Force said it was ready to partner with Shell to deploy the drones to help secure the companies’ oil and gas pipelines.

The NAF said it would deploy the drones to other critical oil installations in the Niger Delta.

A statement by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, AVM Olatokunbo Adesanya, announced this in Abuja. read more

“Shell operations still impossible unless ruthless military operations are undertaken for smooth economic activities to commence.” Security forces led by Okuntimo shot at thousands of people who were peacefully demonstrating outside Shell’s main compound at Rumuobiakani in Port Harcourt. One eyewitness told Human Rights Watch that he heard Major Paul Okuntimo order his soldiers, “Shoot at anyone you see.” According to Human Rights Watch: “The troops began throwing canisters of tear gas, shooting indiscriminately…”

Extracts from pages 23 & 24 of an Amnesty International document headed: “A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE? SHELL’S INVOLVEMENT IN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN NIGERIA IN THE 1990s”

EXTRACT BEGINS

MILITARY RULE AND DEEPENING VIOLENCE IN OGONILAND

In November 1993, General Sani Abacha, a man intolerant of dissent who was prepared to use violence to suppress opposition, seized power in a coup.74 Abacha banned all political activity, replacing civilian governors with military administrators, and jailing and executing opponents.75 By early the next year, the military administrator of Rivers state

Lieutenant-Colonel Musa Dauda Komo had put in place a new plan to deal with MOSOP, creating the Internal Security Task Force (ISTF), under Major Paul Okuntimo.76 Almost immediately the ISTF engaged in excessive use of force and other human rights violations in response to community protests in the Niger Delta. For example, on 21 February 1994, security forces led by Okuntimo shot at thousands of people who were peacefully demonstrating outside Shell’s main compound at Rumuobiakani in Port Harcourt. One eyewitness told Human Rights Watch that he heard Major Paul Okuntimo order his soldiers, “Shoot at anyone you see.”77 According to Human Rights Watch: “The troops began throwing canisters of tear gas, shooting indiscriminately, beating demonstrators with the butts of their guns, and making arrests. P, a community elder, still has a scar on his head from the brutal beating to which he was subjected. Five people were shot, and more than ten people were arrested.”78 read more

15 May 2018

Shell’s payment of $4.32 billion to the Nigerian government in 2017, despite the closure of the 400,000 barrels per day capacity Forcados Oil Terminal, has clearly demonstrated the potentially huge earnings in Nigeria’s oil sector if security challenges are fully addressed, Ejiofor Alike reports. Apart from the shutdown of Forcados export terminal, sabotage-related oil spill incidents in SPDC’s facilities also rose to 62, from 48 recorded in 2016, according to Shell’s Sustainability Report 2017. But despite these gloomy pictures of insecurity in the Niger Delta, the Royal Dutch Shell Plc paid $4.32 billion to the Nigerian Government in 2017, representing an increase of 19 per cent from the $3.64 billion the oil giant paid in 2016. The Shell’s Sustainability Report 2017 showed that the $4.32 billion paid to Nigeria was the highest paid by the oil giant to any government in the 29 countries covered by the report. FULL ARTICLE read more

The manager of Shell’s eastern division, J.R. Udofia, faxed the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State specifically requesting the intervention of the Mobile Police (also known as MOPOL), a paramilitary unit. According to a subsequent judicial enquiry, the villagers had not in fact attacked Shell installations, but conducted a peaceful protest demanding that the oil company compensate them for damage caused by pollution from oil spills. Over the course of the next two days, the Mobile Police attacked the village, “like an invading army that had vowed to take the last drop of the enemy’s blood”, the inquiry found. The Mobile Police, using guns and grenades, killed 80 people, throwing many corpses into a nearby river, the survivors testified.

Extracts from pages 19 to 23 of an Amnesty International document headed: “A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE? SHELL’S INVOLVEMENT IN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN NIGERIA IN THE 1990s”

EXTRACT BEGINS

LOCAL PROTESTS AND MILITARY CRACKDOWN

In November 1990, just over two years before the Ogoni protests gathered pace, a violent crackdown by armed police in Umuechem community (some 30km from Ogoniland), showed how high the stakes were for anyone protesting in the oil-producing region. Following demonstrations by villagers, Shell warned the government of an “impending attack.”32 The manager of Shell’s eastern division, J.R. Udofia, faxed the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State specifically requesting the intervention of the Mobile Police (also known as MOPOL), a paramilitary unit.33 read more

The Shame of an African Giant:: The Case of Nigeria’s Suppression of Civil Rights in Ogoni

The author, Fegalo Nsuke is the Publicity Secretary of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). 

At the inception of this administration, I had anticipated some relief for the Ogoni people not only because the new president had during his campaign pledged to implement the clean-up of Ogoniland but I had expected that the clean-up will open discussions on crucial issues affecting the Ogoni people especially the issue of the political rights to self determination.

I had hopes that president Buhari’s integrity, based on what I had heard about him and his uprightness, will not be compromised and was actually optimistic of a renewed commitment to resolve the Ogoni problem.

I was sure that president Buhari understood that in over 30 years of oil exploration in Ogoniland, an estimated $81 billion dollars had been generated from the area, excluding the huge gas potentials of the area, the revenue from the two seaports, two refineries, a petro-chemical complex and two power stations in the area. read more

Multinational oil company, Royal Dutch Shell says it lost 9,000 barrels of crude oil to theft from the pipeline network of its Nigerian operation per day in the 2017 fiscal year. Shell made this known in its ‘Report on Payments to Governments for the Year 2017’ released on Monday, April 9.

BY SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK APR 10, 2018

Multinational oil company, Royal Dutch Shell says it lost 9,000 barrels of crude oil to theft from the pipeline network of its Nigerian operation per day in the 2017 fiscal year. FULL ARTICLE read more