Royal Dutch Shell has been forced to defend its record on oil spills and human rights in Nigeria in the face of a barrage of criticism before a panel of Dutch politicians.
At a hearing in The Hague, Shell was bombarded with accusations from Amnesty International and other pressure groups who claim as many as 9m barrels have been spilt in the African nation since oil exploration began in the 1950s.
Not only are campaigners angry about alleged oil spills, but also pollution caused by flaring gas from drilling operations into the atmosphere.
On Wednesday, Shell executives insisted they would not pay compensation for up to 2,000 oil spills caused by sabotage.
The company has pledged to appeal a $100m (£63m) fine from a Nigerian court for a 40-year-old oil spill and blames an oversight from the country’s government. “When it comes to issues of the safety of people and crime, it’s the responsibility of the government. That’s not happening. But you can’t lay it on our doorstep,” said Peter de Wit, director of Shell Netherlands.
Ian Craig, Shell’s director for sub-Saharan Africa, said sabotage by Nigerian militants opposing drilling in the area is responsible for 70pc of oil spills in the troubled Niger Delta region. He said Shell compensates residents for pollution caused by pipeline corrosion or lack of maintenance. However, he said paying for sabotage would “incentivise” attacks.
Last year, Shell pledged to put $700m (£486m) towards phasing out the controversial practice of gas flaring at up to 75pc of its operations in Nigeria.
It emerged in US diplomatic cables released on the Wikileaks website last year that Shell’s Nigeria head, Ann Pickard, claimed to have infiltrated the country’s government. Shell said this statement was “absolutely untrue, false and misleading”.
The company has been trying to sell up to $4bn (£2.6bn) of onshore oil assets in Nigeria for more than a year.
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.
