By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research,Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday it had appealed against a Nigerian court ruling in favour of community elders who challenged its land rights for the Bonny oil export terminal in the restive Niger Delta.
A court in Bori, in the southern Rivers State, earlier this year found in favour of local elders who disputed the right of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) — a joint venture with the Nigerian state — to use the land at Bonny.
“Judgement was given against the SPDC joint venture in July 2008 at the High Court in Bori, Rivers State, in a case brought by two Bonny families and the Bonny Council of Chiefs over the Bonny Terminal land issue,” a Shell spokeswoman said.
“We are of the view that the judgement was erroneous. We have since filed an appeal,” said Caroline Wittgen, a spokeswoman for Shell in Nigeria, giving no further comment.
Foreign investors say Nigeria ranks among the most litigious and bureaucratic business environments in the world. Legal disputes commonly take years to settle, usually becoming bogged down in a tangle of counter-claims and appeals.
Industry sources said the dispute over Bonny had had no impact on operations at the terminal and was not likely to do so in the immediate future because Shell’s appeal meant the legal process continued.
The Niger Delta is home to Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry but residents in some of the polluted villages nestled in its labyrinthine mangrove creeks have seen little benefit from five decades of oil extraction.
Armed groups, some of whom say they are fighting for a greater share of the natural wealth in the region, have blown up pipelines and attacked industry installations, cutting output by around a fifth over the past two years.
Shell has been the hardest hit by the latest unrest. Six days of attacks last month forced it to declare force majeure on shipments from Bonny, meaning it may not be able to meet all of its contractual export obligations.
Security experts say the gangs are mostly part of a criminal mafia whose real motivation is protecting a lucrative trade in stolen crude, worth millions of dollars a day. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ )
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
RELATED BLOG POSTS
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
