…this oil giant, with its impeccable track record of putting profits first, wants you to believe that most spills in the Niger Delta are caused by pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. How innovative of them to recycle excuses!

POSTED BY JOHN DONOVAN 26 JUNE 2023

In a stunning display of corporate responsibility, Nigerian authorities and Shell’s local subsidiary have embarked on an investigative journey to uncover the cause of a spill on the Trans Niger pipeline, which persisted for an impressive number of days.

The Trans Niger pipeline, a humble conduit for exporting Bonny Light crude, decided to grace the region with yet another oil spill, this time in Eleme, Rivers state. The spill, detected on June 11, inconvenienced Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) to the extent that they had to confirm it four excruciating days later. read more

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Nigeria: Shell must clean up devastating oil spills in the Niger Delta

February 2, 2023

Reacting to the news that two Nigerian communities, which have been devastated by oil spills, have filed claims against Shell at the High Court in London, Amnesty International’s Head of Business and Human Rights Mark Dummett, said:

“More than 13,500 residents from the Ogale and Bille communities in the Niger Delta have now filed claims against Shell asking that the company clean up oil spills which they say have wrecked their livelihoods, poisoned their wells, and polluted their land and water, which means they can no longer farm or fish.”

“Amnesty stands by these two communities in the Niger Delta, which have been engaged in litigation against Shell for seven years, asking that the company clean up the damage caused and compensate them for their lost livelihoods.

“Shell announced in 2021 that it plans to sell its onshore oilfields and assets in the Niger Delta after 60 years of highly profitable operations in the area. It is concerning that Shell has not explained how it plans to address the widespread and systemic pollution of Nigerian communities linked to its operations over many years before it sells up and leaves. read more

REUTERS

Shell to pay 15 mln euros in settlement over Nigerian oil spills

December 23, 20229:31 AM GM

AMSTERDAM, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Shell (SHEL.L) will pay 15 million euros ($15.9 million) to communities in Nigeria that were affected by multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta, the oil company on Friday said in a joint statement with the Dutch division of Friends of the Earth.

The compensation is the result of a Dutch court case brought by Friends of the Earth, in which Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary last year was found to be responsible for the oil spills and was ordered to pay for damages to farmers. 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

Reuters

Nigerian oil export terminal had theft line into sea for 9 years

Forcados operator SPDC, a local subsidiary of Shell, said the theft pipeline was distant.  “SPDC appreciates the additional surveillance conducted on behalf of NNPC to deal with illegal activities,” a spokesperson told Reuters by email.

By Camillus Eboh: October 6, 20225:36 PM GMT+1

ABUJA, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Officials in Nigeria discovered an illegal connection line from one of its major oil export terminals into the sea that had been operating undetected for nine years, the head of state oil company NNPC LTD said. read more

REUTERS

Shell says its Nigeria asset sale not affected by court ruling

ABUJA, June 21 (Reuters) – Shell Plc (SHEL.L) has said its planned sale of onshore assets in Nigeria will go ahead and was not affected by a Supreme Court ruling in a case in which a Niger Delta community is seeking compensation for a 2019 oil spill.

Bamidele Odugbesan, spokesman for Shell in Nigeria, said the June 16 Supreme Court ruling was in response to an appeal launched by Shell against a contempt ruling linked to the dispute with the Niger Delta community.

The lawyer for the community said the ruling, which was made public on Monday, barred Shell from disposing its assets as ordered by a lower court in March.

“The Supreme Court ruling on 16 June was with respect to the contempt proceedings and not related to (the) onshore portfolio review,” Odugbesan said.

Shell has invited bids for its onshore assets. Odugbesan did not say how many bids had been received.

Eighty-eight communities in Rivers state were awarded $1.95 billion compensation for an oil spill they blamed on Shell and which damaged their farms and waterways. Shell denies causing the spill. read more read more

The Guardian

The village that stood up to big oil – and won

The fossil fuel industry faces a reckoning in the Niger Delta after a disaster left families ‘eating, drinking, breathing the oil’

Wednesday 1 June 2022

Today, the oil industry in Nigeria faces a reckoning with Shell at the helm. According to Amnesty International, the oil company has come under “unprecedented legal scrutiny” in recent years for its negligent and criminal practices in the Niger Delta. Several lawsuits are ongoing while others have culminated in courts ordering Shell to pay plaintiffs billions of dollars in damages. The mounting pressure has Shell considering a rapid departure from the region’s oil market. In early August 2021, the company announced it would sell off all remaining onshore oilfields in Nigeria, citing challenges with community unrest, sabotage and a company-wide refocus on promoting green energy. But locals and lawyers see the move as Shell ducking its responsibility to clean up after itself. A court in March barred Shell from selling any more assets in Nigeria while the company appeals against a ruling in which it was found liable for a 2019 oil spill and ordered to pay affected communities nearly $2bn in damages. read more

CNN

Shell escaped liability for oil spills in Nigeria for years. Then four farmers took them to court — and won

By Nimi Princewill and Krystina Shveda, CNN: Updated 1540 GMT (2340 HKT) May 25, 2022

Nigeria (CNN)When Nigerian environmental lawyer Chima Williams launched a lawsuit against oil giant Shell plc, he did not envisage a 13-year battle that would lead to a landmark ruling and land him a prestigious environmental award.

Williams, who is the executive director of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, successfully convinced the Court of Appeal in the Hague that Shell plc was responsible for the activities of its subsidiary in Nigeria — Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) — and for oil spills that ravaged local farmlands.

The suit against Shell Nigeria was brought by four farmers from the Goi and Oruma communities in the country’s oil-rich but impoverished Niger Delta region, who said their farms were left in ruins after major spills from underground pipelines.

The decision to allow Shell plc, formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell plc, to be sued in this jurisdiction set a precedent as it was the first time the Dutch parent company was sued in its home country for the actions of its foreign subsidiary, SPDC.

Shell Nigeria (SPDC) was eventually held liable for the oil spills and ordered to pay damages to the farmers in a January 29, 2021, ruling by the Court of Appeal of the Hague. SPDC was also ordered to carry out an intensive clean-up of the damage to the communities.

Williams was on Wednesday awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work in holding the company accountable for the environmental damage. read more

The New York Times

Oil Giants Sell Dirty Wells to Buyers With Looser Climate Goals, Study Finds

The transactions can help major oil and gas companies clean up their own production by transferring polluting assets to a different firm, the analysis said.

By Hiroko Tabuchi: May 10, 2022

When Royal Dutch Shell sold off its stake in the Umuechem oil field in Nigeria last year, it was, on paper, a step forward for the company’s climate ambitions: Shell could clean up its holdings, raise money to invest in cleaner technologies, and move toward its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. read more

The Hague: Esther Kiobel vows to continue her campaign for justice

March 23, 2022: Vivian Omotori

Human rights defender Esther Kiobel today lost her civil case against oil giant Shell, which she accuses of complicity in the 1995 execution of her husband by the Nigerian military government, but has promised to continue her campaign for justice. Esther has spent 27 years seeking justice for her husband Dr Barinem Kiobel, who was hanged along with eight other men in connection with widespread protests against oil pollution in the Niger Delta. read more

allAfrica.com

Nigeria: Bonga Oil Spill Victims Urge Shell to Pay $3.4bn NOSDRA Fine

Leadership (Abuja)

By Anayo Onukwugha: 24 Jan 2022

Victims of the 2011 Bonga oil spill have demanded that Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) should immediately pay the sum of $3.4billion fines and awards to them as imposed by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).

“We demand on behalf of all the victims of the Shell (SNEPCO) Bonga Oil Spill which is rated globally as one of the most devastating, that Shell pay immediately the fines/awards of $3.4billion imposed on it by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) which fines/awards were upheld both by the National Assembly through the House Committee on Environment and a competent court of the land -the Federal High Court in Lagos. read more

BNN Bloomberg

Shell Appeals $2 Billion Judgment in Nigeria Pollution Case

William Clowes, Bloomberg News: 20 Jan 2022

(Bloomberg) — A Nigerian court will hear Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s appeal to overturn an almost $2 billion award against the company for allegedly spilling oil in the West African country.

The energy giant is challenging a November 2020 judgment in favor of community members claiming a leak from a company pipeline damaged their land and waterways. A federal court of appeal in the city of Owerri is scheduled to consider applications from both sides on Jan. 25, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs. read more

Reuters

Exclusive-Shell’s Nigerian oil assets attract interest from local firms, sources say

LONDON (Reuters) – At least five Nigerian oil and gas companies are preparing to submit bids this month for Royal Dutch Shell’s onshore oilfields in a sale that could fetch up to $3 billion, three sources involved in the process told Reuters.

Shell started talks with the Nigerian government last year about selling its stake in the West African country’s onshore fields, where it has been active since the 1930s, as part of a global drive to reduce its carbon emissions. read more

SHELL ASSETS DIVESTMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA: THE WHOLE TRUTH FROM AN INSIDER’S VIEW

By Zik Gbemre

• I am vindicated by the unbiased account expressed by a former Shell General Manager on why the oil major left Delta state.
• Until we situate the blame in all honesty and amend our ways, we will remain stagnated as a state and in the south of the Niger Delta at large.

When stakeholders often rationalise where to situate the blame over the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) unforgettable divestment of its key assets in Delta state which drastically shattered the state’s economy, I tell people not to look too far to find the key actors who forced that situation.

People may blame Shell, but Shell wasn’t the problem. Even if Shell genuinely intended to leave Delta, it never meant to leave the way it did. The greedy, thieving PDP hegemony of government over the state gave much recognition to violent youths above the law-abiding from the greed of James Ibori to the insensitivity of his successor cousin forced the Shell exit. read more

Bloomberg

Nigerians in Oil-Rich Delta Pin Hope on U.K. Trial Against Shell

In the heart of Nigeria’s oil region, communities and their leaders see a U.K. court as their best chance to resolve a legacy of environmental damage in the area that they blame on Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

More than 40,000 residents of the crude-rich Niger Delta were permitted by the U.K. Supreme Court in February to seek compensation over pollution, allegedly caused by Shell, in a reversal of two previous rulings. The communities see this process as a guarantor of their legal rights, even if Shell were to follow through on its plans to exit some of the oilfields. A date for a trial hasn’t been set. read more