The UK government has endorsed plans by oil giant Shell to leave some decommissioned North Sea oil infrastructure in place.

Catherine Early:22nd February 2019

The government is supporting plans by Shell to leave leftover oil and chemicals in some of its installations in the North Sea, according to an investigation by Unearthed, Greenpeace’s investigative journalism team.

Oil and gas operators in the UK are decommissioning their infrastructure as it reaches the end of its life. This has cost companies in the sector more than £1 billion each year since 2014, according to a report by government spending watchdog the National Audit Office. read more

“It is alleged that Shell and Eni engaged in bribery and unlawful conspiracy to harm the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that they dishonestly assisted corrupt Nigerian government officials,” the statement added.

The Nigerian government’s decision to formally launch a $1.1bn claim against Shell and Eni in UK courts, relating to funds allegedly misappropriated for bribes and kickbacks during the acquisition of an oil block in 2011, could lead to the largest-ever payment in an oil sector corruption case.

If successful, the case, launched in November 2018, could also open the door for more scrutiny by governments of deals made by their predecessors in the hope of winning similar awards. Eni and Shell deny any wrongdoing related to the deal. read more

Britain and Germany are at loggerheads over plans to let Royal Dutch Shell abandon oil platform legs in the North Sea.

The Times can reveal that last month the government endorsed the oil major’s plans to leave the concrete legs of three platforms and the steel footings of a fourth at the Brent field, about 186km northeast of Shetland.

It did so despite serious environmental and safety concerns raised by Germany, which claims that the British assessment process may be biased in favour of dumping at sea, according to documents obtained by Unearthed, the investigative unit of Greenpeace, the campaign group. read more

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN Business

Updated 1819 GMT (0219 HKT) February 15, 2019

London (CNN Business)Royal Dutch Shell is making a bet on home battery storage as it tries to boost its sustainable energy business. The oil giant announced Friday that it has purchased Sonnen, a German startup that makes residential battery systems that store energy generated from solar panels. The move puts Shell in direct competition with companies such as Samsung (SSNLF), LG (LPL) and Tesla (TSLA), which makes a home battery system called the Powerwall. Full Article read more

Mike Corder 12 Feb 2019

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The widow of a Nigerian activist executed by their country’s government more than two decades ago accused oil giant Shell of complicity in his death at a civil case in a Dutch court Tuesday.

“Shell came into my life to make me a poverty-stricken widow,” Esther Kiobel told judges at a one-day hearing.

“With this case I seek justice for my murdered husband so that he can be exonerated from a crime he never committed,” she added. read more

Amnesty International sign: Esther Kiobel standing outside Dutch Court building 12 February 2019

Declaration of Esther Kiobel

Hon. (Dr) Barinem Nubari Kiobel was a man with a prodigy with refined heart that cared for others. A kind-hearted man that was selfless. He was a wonderful husband, a God-fearing man, good Father, brother and a best Friend. He was the finest definition of refinement, consummate technocrat and upright character. He has been very much missed and will always be remembered. read more

Graeme Gallagher | Contributor: 21 Feb 2019

The Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company is on trial for complicity in the death of four Nigerian activists over 20 years ago, according to Amnesty International.

The wives of those four activists — Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula — are all demanding compensation and an apology for the death of their husbands in a civil case that started on Tuesday in The Hague, Netherlands.

The four husbands were part of nine activists who were hanged by the military regime due to their massive protests against oil pollution in the Nigerian Ogoniland in 1995. The case brought by the four women accuses Shell of being complicity with the executions.

“These women believe that their husbands would still be alive today were it not for the brazen self-interest of Shell, which encouraged the Nigerian government’s bloody crackdown on protesters even when it knew the human cost,” said Mark Dummett, business and human rights researcher at Amnesty International.

The four plaintiffs are accusing Shell of the unlawful detention of their husbands, the violation of their husbands’ integrity, the violation of the right to a fair trial and to life, and their own right to a family life, according to the Amnesty report. In addition, the plaintiffs are calling for the court to order Shell to hand over more than 100,000 related documents to the case.

The Dutch-based oil company has denied these allegations.

“We have always denied, in the strongest possible terms, the allegations made in this tragic case,” Shell said in a statement. “The Shell Petroleum Development Company did not collude with the authorities to suppress community unrest, it in no way encouraged or advocated any act of violence in Nigeria, and it had no role in the arrest, trial and execution of these men.”

Kioble and Victoria Bera were in court today, with the other two being unable to make it due to denied visas.

“The abuses my family and l went through are such an awful experience that has left us traumatized to date without help,” wrote Kiobel in a written statement.  “We all have lived with so much pain and agony, but rather than giving up, the thought of how ruthlessly my husband was killed … has spurred me to remain resilient in my fight for justice.”

Kiobel has been fighting since she first filed her case in 2002. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled that it had no jurisdiction in the case in 2013, in which the court never fully examined the allegations. Amnesty International has helped Kiobel’s legal team bring the case to the Netherlands in 2017.

“It’s time to bring an end to decades of impunity for Shell,” said Dummett, “These women’s courage, resilience and determination to clear their husband’s names and bring Shell to account is inspirational. They have the support of Amnesty International activists all over the world.” read more

Rod Austin: Tue 12 Feb 2019

Four Nigerian women at the centre of a long-running legal battle against oil giant Royal Dutch Shell saw their historic case reach the Hague on Tuesday.

The company is accused of complicity in the state execution of nine Ogoni protesters and human right abuses dating back to 1993. The allegations concern the 1990s violent government crackdown in Ogoniland, in the oil-rich Niger delta region, where oil spills inflicted environmental damage on a huge scale.

The Netherlands court will decide whether a case can proceed after hearing arguments from both sides on Tuesday. read more

By MIKE CORDERPublished February 12, 2019 EnergyAssociated Press

The widow of a Nigerian activist executed by their country’s government more than two decades ago accused oil giant Shell of complicity in his death at a civil case in a Dutch court Tuesday.

“Shell came into my life to make me a poverty-stricken widow,” Esther Kiobel told judges at a one-day hearing.

“With this case I seek justice for my murdered husband so that he can be exonerated from a crime he never committed,” she added. read more

12 Feb 2019

The widow of a Nigerian activist suing oil giant Shell over the execution of her husband says his death left her “traumatised” and “poverty-stricken”.

Esther Kiobel is testifying in court in The Hague, demanding compensation from the Netherlands-based firm.

She is among four women who accuse Shell of being complicit in the hanging of their husbands by Nigeria’s military in 1995. Shell denies the allegation. read more

A banner displayed outside the court in support of one of the widows expected to testify

12 Feb 2019

A civil court case is getting underway in the Netherlands, brought by Nigerian Ogoni activists against The Hague-based oil company, Royal Dutch Shell.

The firm is accused of having been complicit in the executions of nine Ogoni men during a Nigerian military crackdown in 1995.

Four of their widows are suing Shell for compensation and demanding an apology.

Shell denies any wrongdoing, saying it never colluded with Nigerian authorities or advocated any act of violence. read more

IMAGE INSERTED BY JOHN DONOVAN

By Janene Pieters on February 12, 2019 – 15:30

Four Nigerian women are suing Shell in the court in The Hague. They’re demanding apologies and compensation from the Dutch oil and gas giant for the execution of their husbands in Nigeria in 1995. According to the widows, and Amnesty International who is supporting them, Shell encouraged the then military regime to unlawfully arrest and detain their husbands because they were critical of Shell and the regime, RTL Nieuws reports. read more

By AFP: PUBLISHED: 11:20, 12 February 2019 | UPDATED: 15:05, 12 February 2019

The husbands of Victoria Bera (L) and Esther Kiobel (R), were executed in 1995

The widows of four Nigerian activists executed by the military regime in the 1990s launched a court case in the Netherlands Tuesday against oil giant Shell for complicity in their deaths.

Esther Kiobel, whose husband Barinem was hanged in 1995 along with famed writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and seven others, said the “horrible” experience had left her “traumatised”.

The widows allege that Anglo-Dutch Shell helped in the arrest of the men, who had sought to peacefully disrupt the oil giant’s work in Nigeria’s Ogoni region because of health and environmental impacts.

Shell said it was “inconceivable” that it could have been involved in the death of the men.

Kiobel and one of the other widows, Victoria Bera, were in court in The Hague for opening arguments in the case against Shell, while the other two women whose husbands were killed were denied visas to attend.

“My husband had a good heart. Now I am a poor widow who has lost everything,” Kiobel was quoted as telling the court in The Hague by Dutch news agency ANP.

“The abuses that my family and I went through were a horrible experience that has traumatised us to this day,” added Kiobel, who fled Nigeria in 1998 and now lives in the United States. read more

Latest news on the OPL 245 scandal involving several senior Shell executives, including Malcolm Brinded and MI6 “people” hired by Shell, as admitted by RDS Chief Executive Ben van Beurden during a telephone call surreptitiously recorded by investigators. During the same conversation, on the spur of the moment and perhaps shocked by the news that RDS global HQ was being searched for evidence, he issued instructions that if carried out, could qualify as obstruction of a criminal investigation.  read more

MELBOURNE, Feb. 5, 2019: By Rick Wilkinson OGJ Correspondent

The Perth-based Australian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC has begun the approval process for a potential $2-billion (Aus.) development of its Crux natural gas-condensate field in the Browse basin license AC/L9 offshore Western Australia as a tie in to the company’s Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) facilities. FULL ARTICLE read more

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

Total may challenge Shell in violation of the acquisition of energy company Eneco

From our Editor

The French energy group Total is considering making an offer for the Dutch energy company Eneco. The financial press agency Bloomberg reports this on the basis of information from insiders.

Total would already have counsellors in hand to study the pros and cons of a bid. If the French continue this plan, they may expel Shell who has publicly announced that they want to acquire Eneco.

About three weeks ago, it became known that the British-Dutch oil and gas multinational and pension provider PGGM wanted to bid together for Eneco, one of the three major energy companies in the Netherlands. The combination was the first party that had publicly announced its interest. read more