February 28, 2012|By Chris Klint | Channel 2 News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Shell Oil is requesting a temporary restraining order against Greenpeace to protect its planned offshore drilling operations in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, after protesters with the environmental group delayed the departure of a crucial drillship from a New Zealand port Thursday.

According to documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, Shell claims the order is necessary to protect its personnel and equipment drilling wells on the Outer Continental Shelf this summer, as well as to prevent Greenpeace from violating state and federal laws. read more

By Robert Barnes, Wednesday, February 29, 1:07 AM

A majority of the Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed disinclined to allow human rights advocates to sue corporations in American courts over allegations that the companies might be complicit in atrocities committed overseas.

About a dozen Nigerians charge that Shell Oil’s parent company aided and abetted the Ni­ger­ian government in torturing and killing people protesting the oil company’s operations in the Ogoni region during the 1990s.

But conservative justices seemed skeptical that a more-than 200-year-old U.S. law formulated at the time of the country’s founding allowed such suits against corporations. The law allows “aliens” to bring civil lawsuits for acts that violate the “law of nations.” read more

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum over whether corporations can be sued for human rights violations overseas. The plaintiffs filed suit in the United States under the Alien Tort Statute, a law enacted by Congress in 1789, that empowers the federal courts to hear cases by foreigners bringing a civil suit for wrongs committed “in violation of the law of nations.”

Should the Alien Tort Statute hold corporations liable for heinous crimes? Is there a more effective way to do this? read more

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) – A number of Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism on Tuesday that corporations can be sued in the United States for alleged complicity in human rights abuses abroad, a case with important financial, legal and international implications.

The high court during arguments considered limiting the reach of a 1789 U.S. law that was largely dormant for nearly two centuries, but used in the past 20 years by foreign victims to sue multinational corporations for abuses committed overseas. read more

By Bob Van Voris

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the company can’t be sued by Nigerians seeking damages for torture and murders committed by their government in the early 1990s.

The high court in Washington is considering whether companies are exempt from two statutes imposing liability for human-rights violations. Shell, Europe’s biggest oil company, argued today that the Alien Tort Statute, which dates to 1789, can’t be used to sue corporations. The Nigerian plaintiffs claim there’s nothing in the law that limits liability to individuals. read more

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Ben Amunwa

Below is a short extract from the letter:

Today the US Supreme Court hears Kiobel v Shell, a case that alleges Shell aided and abetted human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by the Nigerian military against the Ogoni people from 1992 onwards. Twenty years later, Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta continue to be linked to human rights violations committed by government forces and other armed groups, as well as result in extensive environmental devastation. read more

“Philip Watts, the reserves fraudster who was later forced to resign as Shell Group Chairman with a $18.5 million pension pot, helped to organise and pay for a virtual private army.  Shell engaged in militarised commerce in a conspiracy with the military regime in Nigeria.”

By John Donovan

Royal Dutch Shell crimes against humanity in Nigeria.

The case for the defence, authored by Shell’s paid historian, Keetie Sluyterman, who has had full access to Shell confidential internal information, will be published here later today, subject to legal intervention by Shell lawyers. We have already received threats by Royal Dutch Shell Plc Company Secretary & General Counsel Corporate, Mr Michiel Brandjes, in relation to publication of information from this source material. read more

If corporations have rights then surely they have responsibilities too. Yet in a case before the Supreme Court Feb. 28, lawyers for petroleum giant Shell will argue that corporations are immune from laws that prohibit complicity in human rights violations and crimes against humanity. As a human rights lawyer who has helped survivors of torture, rape and slavery sue their corporate abusers for over 15 years, I thought I had heard every defense in the book. But this morning, I’ll be sitting in the Supreme Court listening to Shell’s lawyers argue to our nation’s highest court that companies should get to have it both ways: rights when it benefits them, but no responsibilities for abuse. read more

The Moscow Times: It gained some LNG production after it muscled in on Royal Dutch Shell's Sakhalin project...

Editor’s note: Marco Simons is the legal director at EarthRights International (ERI), a nongovernmental organization dedicated to protection of human rights and the environment worldwide. Marco oversees ERI’s Legal Program, which aims to hold corporations and other actors accountable for human rights and environmental abuses, and has represented victims in several transnational human rights cases in U.S. courts, including Doe v. Unocal, Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. (Shell), Bowoto v. Chevron, and Doe v. Chiquita. He has co-authored numerous amicus briefs for ERI, including four briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court. read more

A proposal to tap the world’s largest oil-shale deposits in the western U.S. by heating rocks until petroleum sweats out has become the latest election-year conflict over energy policy.

The Sunday Times: Business Section Page 10: February 26, 2012

Xena’s squeeze on Voser

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL must have thought it had done the hard work when it won permits from the US government to drill for oil in Alaska.

Not so fast. There are still some fearsome opponents to be conquered, including Xena, the warrior princess. Fans of schlock TV will remember Xena, a kind of female Conan the Barbarian, who once threatened to crush a foe’s head “like a peanut between the thighs of doom”.

Last week Lucy Lawless, the Kiwi actress who played Xena, led a group of activists as they boarded a drilling rig in the port of Taranaki, New Zealand. The rig was due to sail to the Arctic to start drilling this summer. read more

COMING SOON: ON THE DAY FOLLOWING THE OSCARS, “THE THIGHS OF DOOM” – CO-STARRING THE NORMALLY MILD-MANNERED ROYAL DUTCH SHELL CEO, PETER VOSER – WILL APPEAR HERE LATER TODAY…

Now posted: Xena’s squeeze on Voser

Some of the claims were; violation of customary international law for human right abuses, corporate bullying, aiding and abetting the Nigerian government in committing genocide against the Ogoni people, bribery and corruption

STATEMENT ISSUED BY NATIONAL UNION OF OGONI STUDENTS, USA
(NUOS INTL. USA)
3046 W. 77TH STREET (ANNEX)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60652
Ph. 773. 863. 1115
Fax. 773. 572. 4544
February 27, 2012

SHELL OIL COMPANY CULPABLE IN ESTHER KIOBEL, ET AL V. ROYAL DUTCH PETROLEUM COMPANY, ET AL

The corporate human rights abuse case, Esther Kiobel, et al V. Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company Plc., coordinated by the National Union of Ogoni Students’ USA in 2002 makes its way to the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court presided over by Justice John Roberts will adjudicate in the case on Tuesday February 28, 2012 after reviewing an earlier decision by the Appeal Court. read more

In 2009, Shell paid $15.5 million to settle a separate lawsuit filed in New York under the Alien Tort Statute and alleging that the oil giant was complicit in the executions of Saro-Wiwa and the others.

Justices to weigh foreigners’ suits against companies

By Mark Sherman: Associated Press Sunday, February 26, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Corporations and human rights groups are squaring off in a Supreme Court fight over whether foreign victims of war crimes, killings and other atrocities can haul multinational companies into American courts and try to prove they were complicit in the abuses and should pay damages.

The rights groups say a 223-year-old law gives foreigners such as Nigerian-born Charles Wiwa the right to try to hold businesses accountable for the roles they play in atrocities. Energy and mining companies have been among the most frequent targets of these lawsuits in recent years following efforts by the military in Indonesia, Nigeria and elsewhere to clamp down on protests against oil and gas exploration and development. read more

n 2001, it faced controversy when it was alleged to have employed an operative to infiltrate environmental groups on behalf of BP and Shell.

A version of this editorial appeared in print on February 26, 2012, on page SR10 of the New York edition

Oil drilling off the North Slope of Alaska now seems virtually a sure thing. This month, the Interior Department gave tentative approval to Shell’s plans for responding to a potential spill in the Chukchi Sea, an important step toward approval of the company’s plan to drill six wells in the Chukchi’s frigid and forbidding waters. The company still needs a permit, and before the administration grants one it must be absolutely sure that Shell can meet the safety conditions stipulated in the approval. read more

“I confirm that in my experience Shell UK operates oppressively against small business people.  Its staff has acted unscrupulously and possibly illegally. The tactics of Shell UK management is completely opposite to the honesty and integrity promised by Shell in its code of ethics.”

By John Donovan

At the 1999 Shell AGM in London, Malcolm Brinded (above) rather surprisingly walked over and introduced himself to me. We had corresponded, but never met. At the time he had just taken over as Country Chairman of Shell UK.

I managed to corner him into setting up an informal meeting at the AGM between Shell executives, including Brinded and Group Chairman Mark Moody-Stuart, with a group of thoroughly disgruntled Shell UK service station retailers, to whom I had supplied shareholder passes to gain entry. read more

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXifgcaCTW8

Mr. Stanley was sentenced to 2½ years in prison, three years after he pleaded guilty to orchestrating $180 million in bribes to Nigerian officials between 1995 and 2004. He oversaw the bribes and made several trips to Nigeria to meet with senior officials where his role, according to federal prosecutors, was to figure out who to bribe.

Fri Feb 24, 2012 6:12pm EST

* At issue is reach of 1789 US law used to sue corps

* Lawsuit accuses Shell of aiding Nigerian rights abuses

* Ruling expected by the end of June

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – The Supreme Court will weigh next week whether corporations can be sued in the United States for suspected complicity in human rights abuses abroad, in a case being closely watched by businesses concerned about long and costly litigation.

The high court on Tuesday will consider the reach of a 1789 U.S. law that had been largely dormant until 1980, when human rights lawyers started using it, at first to sue foreign government officials. Then, over the next 20 years, the lawyers used the law to target multinational corporations. read more

ROXANA - Shell Oil Co. says it plans to close its oil blending and packaging plant, resulting in loss of 83 local jobs and bringing to an end the company's direct presence in the area, which dates back almost a century.

2/24/2012 @ 11:38AM

Daniel Fisher, Forbes Staff

Next Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, a case that asks whether former residents of Nigeria’s Ogani region can sue Shell in U.S. court over human-rights abuses committed by local government forces.

The decision may hinge on how justices view the skin-crawling comparison between Shell and I.G. Farben, the German chemicals conglomerate that actively participated in Nazi crimes. No one’s accusing Shell of being another I.G. Farben, exactly — the German company prospered in part on the labor of 50,000 slaves. read more

The Xena: Warrior Princess star and six other Greenpeace protesters sneaked onto the Shell-contracted Noble Discoverer at Port Taranaki at dawn yesterday, climbing its 53-metre drilling tower and hoisting banners which read "Stop Shell" and "Save the Arctic".

PTT Exploration offered 220 pence for each Cove share, 13 percent more than Shell’s proposal, according to a statement today. Cove surged 21 percent to 235 pence in London trading, indicating investors are betting on further bids.

Friday, February 24, 2012

The US Coast Guard is proposing a 500-meter safety zone around each of the two drill ships that Shell would use if its plans to spud exploratory wells in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort Seas this summer are approved.

Shell requested the zone to reduce any chances of vessel collisions outside of the normal shipping channels. The request was also made due to safety concerns for the Noble Discoverer crew, as well as the environment.

A 500-meter safety zone would be established around the mobile offshore drilling unit Noble Discoverer, which Shell has said it would use to drill exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea. The proposed zone would be established from July 1 through October 31. Coast Guard officials suggest that the safety zone will greatly reduce collision threats, which could result in oil spills or the release of natural gas. read more

OIL giant SHELL stunned experts yesterday by bidding to boost its reserves with a £1billion gamble on Mozambique in East Africa.“This shows how desperate Shell are to boost reserves,” said one expert.

Shell’s £1bn Africa punt

Thursday, February 23, 2012

OIL giant SHELL stunned experts yesterday by bidding to boost its reserves with a £1billion gamble on Mozambique in East Africa.

It revealed a 195p per share offer for COVE ENERGY which holds an 8.5 per cent stake in one of the world’s biggest gas fields there.

It contains the equivalent in gas of more than TWO BILLION barrels of oil.

“This shows how desperate Shell are to boost reserves,” said one expert. Cove shares raced 25 per cent to 193.5p.

East Africa is one of the fastest growing frontiers for oil and gas exploration. Shell’s offer is one of only a handful of deals in the past decade. read more

We must not feel too sorry for Malcolm. He has millions accumulated in his pension pot from FAT CAT bonuses etc to fall back on and has probably negotiated a great severance package to buy his silence.

By John Donovan

What is noticeable from the news dispatches reaching us today from the Corrib Gas War front-line is that both sides are video taping each other.

The use of such technology in sensitive circumstances, reminds me of the surprise expressed by a Guardian newspaper journalist went he arrived to carry out an interview at Shell London HQ about our activities.

First he discovered that it was not going to to be a one-to-one conversation. Instead Shell was represented by a Shell director, Shell internal and external lawyers and for good measure, someone from Shell media. read more

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu4JZ4_Nxl4

Hello Alfred, John

Here’s a link to an article and video on a Corrib incident that happened to me this week. This is how Shell and their partners are building relations with the local community.

John Monaghan

The Irish Times – Friday, February 17, 2012

North Mayo residents protest at road disruption by Corrib gas haulage

LORNA SIGGINS, Western Correspondent

NORTH MAYO residents have begun a series of protests to reclaim the road they say is being lost to the local community and overtaken by heavy traffic of working equipment and haulage associated with the Corrib gas project.

The residents, who are not aligned to any formal protest grouping, say they feel “abandoned by the State and all its agencies”.

The residents of Pollathomas, Aughoose, Lenamore, Aughagower, Barnacuillew and Glengad live along the L1202 coast road, which runs parallel to the Sruwaddacon estuary in inner Broadhaven Bay. The L1202 is currently one of the main haulage routes for work on the onshore Corrib gas pipeline. read more

We can now read in a court deposition given under oath, the dramatic and emotional account by van de Vijver himself of how he was brutally pressurised into resigning by his colleagues, including Jeroen van der Veer. A masterclass in backstabbing.

By Eduard Gismatullin and Fred Pals – Feb 23, 2012 9:45 AM GMT

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s $1.6 billion bid for Cove Energy Plc (COV) starts a race to develop natural-gas fields off Mozambique’s Indian Ocean coast that may hold more than Norway’s entire reserves.

Winning Cove would give Shell an 8.5 percent stake in a block where Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) has found 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. Italy’s Eni SpA (ENI) has discovered even more in a neighboring area. Together, there’s sufficient fuel for the development of two $20 billion liquefied natural gas plants to supply customers in Asia, according to Deutsche Bank AG. read more

The Financial Times has described the unexpected exit of Malcolm Brinded from Royal Dutch Shell, as a surprise. Probably an even a bigger surprise to Brinded bearing in mind that at 58, he is still a few years from retirement. It seems to have been a case of premature ejection.

Royal Dutch Shell promoted the head of its business in Qatar to director of international exploration and production, replacing a veteran who lost the race to the top job at Europe’s largest oil company.

Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:04pm GMT

* Brown to become director, upstream international

* Malcolm Brinded to leave Shell by end of April

By Alex Lawler

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell promoted the head of its business in Qatar to director of international exploration and production, replacing a veteran who lost the race to the top job at Europe’s largest oil company.

Andrew Brown, 50, is to become director, upstream international, on April 1. Shell also said on Wednesday Malcolm Brinded, who has worked for the company since 1974, would step down as executive director, upstream international on that date. read more

Thursday, February 23, 2012

By Andante Okanya

Four employees of petroleum giant Shell Uganda have asked the High Court in Kampala to block its alleged sale.

Anthony Ogalo (retail sales manager), Christine Busingye, Diana Kigozi, and Sam Bukenya say the company has deliberately refused to inform them about the details of its intended sale.

In the suit filed on February 21 through Barenzi and Company Advocates, the four workers contend that the company has not consulted them, as negotiations with potential investor continue. read more

Graphic from Greenpeace website

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Environmental campaigners climbed to the roof of the National Gallery today to stage a protest against energy giant Shell.

They scaled the gallery in London’s Trafalgar Square, where an evening reception is being held for Shell, saying they wanted to demonstrate against plans to drill for oil in the Arctic this summer.

The campaigners, from Greenpeace, dropped a 40-metre square banner, which has a picture of an oil rig and the words It’s No Oil Painting, down the front of the gallery. read more

Hi Alfred,

I designed an online resource guide for students called http://www.environmentalsciencedegree.com.

Would you help connect prospective students with my site by adding it to your resources page of http://royaldutchshellgroup.com/category/green? read more

Ogoni rallying call…

EDITED MESSAGE FROM OUR FRIEND, OGONI ACTIVIST, BEN IKARI (Ben is not particularly fond of Shell)

Dear Ogonis, Friends and Supports of the Ogoni struggle living in the Washington, DC. area in particular. Please endeavor to attend the upcoming Ogoni case: Kiobel et al vs. Royal Dutch Shell. The hearing or argument is taking place at the United States Supreme Court (USSC), at One First Street Washington, DC on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 (next week).

This case will hopefully help change the way American companies and foreign ones such as $hell, will do business oversees henceforth. They shall be forced to apply same standards that are operational in America when in foreign countries. Implying especially, that they shall be held accountable for human rights violations as a way to curb corporate sponsorship of the kinds of crimes, genocidal cases recorded in Ogoni and Niger delta. read more

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, offered to buy African explorer Cove Energy Plc for 992.4 million pounds ($1.6 billion) to gain a foothold in Mozambique.

Shell is offering 195 pence for each Cove share, a 26 percent premium to the closing price of the London-based company yesterday, according to a statement. Cove’s board separately said it expected to recommend the proposed acquisition.

Cove put itself up for sale last month after reporting one of the world’s largest gas discoveries in a decade off Mozambique. Cove has an 8.5 percent stake in Rovuma Area 1, which holds 15 trillion to 30 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, enough to justify production of liquefied natural gas for Asian markets. The find is operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. read more

HOUSTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) — Shell announced that it encountered oil at its Appomattox discovery in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the Mississippi Canyon block.

Shell said it encountered roughly 150 feet of oil pay in an appraisal well in the Mississippi Canyon block in about 7,257 feet of water.

“We are pleased with the continued success at our Appomattox prospect and this well supports our continuing appraisal efforts to progress this to a new hub class development,” David Lawrence, an executive vice president of exploration at Shell, said in a statement. read more

At least two Port Arthur refineries, Motiva Enterprises and Valero, would be on the receiving end of the 1,661-mile pipeline.

By Eduard Gismatullin – Feb 22, 2012 9:31 AM GMT

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) said Malcolm Brinded, a 37-year veteran at the company, will step down as exploration and production director and be replaced by Andrew Brown, currently Shell’s Qatar chairman.

Brinded, who worked as an executive director for almost 10 years, will leave the company after April, said Jon French, a London-based spokesman. Brown has been promoted to join the executive board as a director after overseeing at least $21 billion of Shell’s investment in Qatar. read more

By John Donovan: Wednesday 22 February 2012

Seems we should change the poster to “NOT WANTED”

Royal Dutch Shell has today announced the surprise departure of Executive Director Malcolm Brinded.

The announcement does not say that he has retired from the company, but instead that he has “agreed to step down.” In other words, he was asked to leave.

Mr Brinded has attracted negative publicity for his association with past scandals, including the oil reserves fraud.

His role in the Brent Bravo “avoidable accident” resulted in the deaths of Shell employees, a record breaking fine being imposed on Shell, a police investigation and a long campaign for offshore worker safety by retired Shell International HSE Group Auditor, Bill Campbell. read more

22/02/2012: Shell announces today that Malcolm Brinded has agreed to step down as an Executive Director of the Company with effect from 1 April 2012. Mr Brinded has agreed to remain at Shell until 30 April 2012 in order to assist with the transition of his responsibilities.

Mr Brinded is currently Executive Director Upstream International. He first joined Shell in October 1974 and has served the company in Brunei, the Netherlands, Oman and the United Kingdom. In 1998 he became Managing Director of Shell UK Exploration and Production and from 1999 until 2002 he was Shell Country Chairman in the UK. He has been a member of the Royal Dutch Shell plc Board (and its predecessors) since 2002. Prior to his current role, he was Executive Director in charge of Exploration & Production. read more

By Edvard Pettersson – Feb 21, 2012 8:34 PM GMT

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s air pollution permits for offshore oil drilling in Alaska were challenged by environmental groups who said the permits violate the U.S. Clean Air Act.

The Alaska Wilderness League and eight other organizations filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Feb. 17, asking it to review two permits the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted Shell to operate its Discoverer drillship in the Sea of Beaufort and the Sea of Chukchi. read more

The Competition Commission of South Africa announced on Tuesday that it has reached settlement agreements with two major oil companies, namely Engen Petroleum Limited (Engen) and Shell South Africa Marketing (Pty) Limited (Shell) in which they admit to having fixed the price of bitumen with other oil companies.

The commission said the two companies did so by collectively determining and agreeing on pricing principles, including a starting reference price and monthly price adjustment mechanism. Engen has agreed to pay a penalty of R28,8m and Shell has agreed to pay R 26.3m. read more

Chief amongst complaints by Nigerians is the massive corruption in the sector, which siphons off billions of dollars…

Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:03am EST

* Oil theft, regulatory uncertainty holding back exploration

* Nigeria could double output to 4 million bpd, Shell says

* Oil minister admits problems, sees 2.68 million bpd soon

By Joe Brock

ABUJA, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Attacks on oil pipelines, a dearth of funding from the state oil firm and regulatory uncertainty have dampened appetite for exploration of Nigeria’s huge oil and gas reserves, its biggest producer Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday.

In a speech to an oil and gas conference in the capital Abuja, Ian Craig, Shell’s director for sub-Saharan Africa, said Nigeria could produce 4 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) but that big changes would be needed for this to happen. read more

Royal Dutch Shell's Brent oilfield, among the largest fields ever found in the UK North Sea, is set to be decommissioned in the near future, a company official said on Tuesday.

BBC NEWS: European Union officials are expected to vote on draft legislation that would label Canadian fuel as more polluting than oil from other parts of the world. Oil extracted from "oil sands" is regarded by some as energy intensive and environmentally damaging.