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The conclusion that they were aware of corruption was made by a judge in a separate case in Milan that resulted in the conviction of two middlemen…

Times Article: Judge claims Shell knew of Nigerian corruption

Emily Gosden: December 18, 2018

Royal Dutch Shell and Eni were aware that their $1.3 billion deal for a Nigerian oilfield would result in corrupt payments to politicians and officials, an Italian judge has said.

The two oil majors and former executives are on trial in Milan over alleged corruption in their 2011 deal to secure control of the prized OPL 245 block off the country’s coast. Prosecutors allege that most of the proceeds of the deal went to a company linked with a convicted money launderer and ended up being paid in bribes and kickbacks. Shell and Eni have denied wrongdoing. read more

Almost a year on from raids that led to over a dozen arrests, including of several former employees of the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell, charge sheets state that around 340,000 tonnes of gasoil were stolen from the oil major’s Pulau Bukom site in Singapore. Some of the incidents date back to 2014.

Smokes rises out of chimneys from a Shell oil refinery on Pulau Bukom, five kilometres to the south of the main island of Singapore on January 13, 2015. 

Around $150 million worth of oil was stolen from Shell’s biggest global refinery over several years, Singapore court documents reviewed by Reuters show, far more than reported when police first revealed the heist earlier this year.

Almost a year on from raids that led to over a dozen arrests, including of several former employees of the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell, charge sheets state that around 340,000 tonnes of gasoil were stolen from the oil major’s Pulau Bukom site in Singapore, in incidents dating back to 2014. read more

Nigeria files $1.1 bln London lawsuit against Shell, Eni over oil deal

* Milan trial related to same oil deal ongoing

* Nigeria also suing JPMorgan over transfers for same deal 

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) – The Nigerian government said it had filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in a commercial court in London on Thursday in relation to a 2011 oilfield deal.

The OPL 245 oilfield is also at the heart of an ongoing corruption trial in Milan in which former and current Shell and Eni officials are on the bench.

Milan prosecutors allege bribes totalling around $1.1 billion were paid to win the licence to explore the field which, because of disputes, has never entered into production. read more

Shell’s confirmation that it is expanding the Shearwater hub could lead to further North Sea investment, according to an analyst. The Shearwater platform will serve newly-sanctioned projects like Fram and Arran, as well as the nearby Columbus field. FULL ARTICLE

While it is true that Royal Dutch Shell gave shareholder activists on climate an early Christmas present, agreeing to reduce its carbon footprint by 20 per cent by 2035 and 50 per cent by 2050 ( FT View, December 7), a closer look reveals that the commitment is a cynical game. read more

Their hope and expectations were that Saro-Wiwa’s hanging would silence the Ogoni people and send signals to the rest of Nigeria’s Niger Delta about what awaits anyone who raises questions about the unfair and inhuman distribution of the wealth of the people of the Niger Delta.

By Fegalo Nsuke

Ogoni, the people and the land represent an oppressed nationality, a people persecuted by their own government for seeking respect for their human and environmental rights especially over their natural endowments, a people whose government have authorized its armed forces to unleash on them, unimaginable brutality with assurances that military crimes against the Ogoni people will never be questioned nor punished.

Over 4,000 Ogonis have been killed since 1993 in state-sponsored terrorism and quite regrettably, no one has been prosecuted, punished or indicted in the Ogoni saga. read more

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7 December 2018

Dow Chemical Co and Shell Oil Co have been hit with a lawsuit by the city of Arcadia, California accusing the companies of contaminating the city’s drinking water with a toxic chemical found in pesticides the companies once made.

Filed on Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, the lawsuit said the companies knew or should have known that the chemical, known as 1,2,3-trichloropropane, or TCP is toxic and renders drinking water unsafe.

The companies still manufactured and marketed pesticides containing the chemical for years, the lawsuit said. read more

OPL 245 & OML 42 corruption ridden Nigerian oil deals involving Shell and a former Shell Vice President, Peter Robinson, have become even murkier. See Reuters report below. No wonder Amnesty International has publicly asked the question of whether Royal Dutch Shell is a Criminal Enterprise in relation to its conduct in Nigeria? 

By Ron Bousso: 6 Dec 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has concluded that a Nigerian oilfield sale where it suspects an executive took bribes was not linked to a separate court case in which he and Shell face corruption charges over a $1.1 billion offshore acquisition.

The Anglo-Dutch company filed a criminal complaint in March against Peter Robinson, a former vice president for sub-Saharan Africa, saying he took bribes in the $390 million sale of onshore Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 to a Nigerian firm. read more

SOURCE

FULL ARTICLE

One of the listed articles focussed on allegations that Shell was spying on its own employees. Runar Kjørsvik, a whistleblower from the Shell Nyhamna Gas Plant, had discovered to his shock and horror that Shell was in possession of surveillance photographs of him taken by persons unknown. He alleges that Shell used undercover agents to spy on him.

Norske Shell whistleblower, Runar Kjørsvik

By John Donovan

Nearly two years ago, I published an extraordinary series of articles about the sinister conduct at Norske Shell, the Norwegian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Links are provided below in date order.

A translated example of one of the news articles published in Norway in the late few days is printed below. They reveal the pressure being put on the Norwegian government over the involvement of “external investigators” in so-called fact-finding surveys used in proceedings against employees. read more

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad.

Shell links concrete climate targets to the top reward

Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden

Bert van Dijk: 3 December 2018

Oil and gas multinational ShellRDSA € 26.71 – will set concrete medium and short-term climate goals. The remuneration of the top of the company is partly made dependent on the achievement of those goals. With this, Shell is meeting pressure from large shareholders who asked for it.

Shell announces the changes in a joint statement with shareholders. The changes must go into effect in 2020.

Climate agreement of Paris

In 2017, Shell formulated the ambition for the first time to reduce its CO₂ footprint (a measure to measure CO₂ emissions, ed.) Of its energy products by 2050. Although CEO Ben van Beurden then indicated that he wanted to be settled, the company did not give concrete medium and short-term goals. Shell did not want that, because the company was afraid, among other things, to lose too much flexibility when making business decisions. read more

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SOURCE

By John Donovan

No, the headline is not referring to the OPL 245 oil deal in which former Shell and ENI executives and the companies themselves are currently on criminal trial in Italy on corruption charges.

Both companies have prior convictions for illicit joint activity that most people have forgotten.

In September 2006, the European Commission fined Shell $137m for their role in a cartel that fixed the price of bitumen. According to a report published in the Houston Chronicle, “the EU Commission said the company was an instigator, took the leadership in the cartel and was a repeat offender”. The report went on to state that “Shell’s fine was increased by 50 percent because of its involvement in previous cartels and another 50 percent for instigating and leading the cartel.”  read more

By Russell Padmore Business reporter, BBC World Service

A court in Milan is considering charges of corruption against Eni and Shell in a controversial oil deal that led to Nigeria losing an estimated $6bn.

The campaign group Global Witness has calculated the OPL 245 deal in 2011 deprived Nigeria of double its annual education and healthcare budget.

Eni and Shell are accused of knowing the money they paid to Nigeria would be used for bribes.

The Italian and Anglo-Dutch energy giants deny any wrongdoing. read more

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