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Oil Spill – Nigerian Communities/Shell Face-Off

By Egufe Yafugborhi

Port Harcourt — Communities in Bayelsa State impacted by May 17 oil spillage from Shell Petroleum Development Company’s, SPDC, Trans-Ramos Pipeline have vowed to disrupt repairs on the key asset over perceived biased Joint Investigation Visit, JIV.

However, Bamidele Odugbean, in a Shell feedback, said it would be hasty and unfair for any party to question the JIV process that was yet to be concluded, adding that the issues with relief materials would be looked into.

The representatives of the communities, which raised the concern, are Arthur Bendiwei, Egburu Dehmeon Wuka, Eric Paka and Moses for Agge; Egboru Asubor, Bunky England and Martins Tuduo, for Ekogbene and Monday Etoige and Oborowei Fred, for Kandaghan. read more

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Nigeria says Shell signs $3.7B gas project agreement

|By: , SA News Editor

  • Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) reportedly has signed an agreement with Nigeria’s state-run oil company and two other groups to develop natural gas projects worth $3.7B, as part of the country’s efforts to deal with a looming domestic fuel shortage.
  • The seven projects would add 3.4B cf/day of natural gas to the Nigerian market to avoid a shortage that has been forecast for 2020, with gas produced under the projects used to produce a target amount of 15 GW of electricity by that year.
  • Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer but has suffered a decline in oil and gas investments – despite the rebound in crude oil prices – due to a lack of government incentives and a delay in the approval of energy industry reform.
  • read more

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    Nigeria: Court Orders Shell to Pay $3.6 Billion Fine Over Oil Spill

    Nigeria: Court Orders Shell to Pay $3.6 Billion Fine Over Oil Spill

    20 June 2018

    By Adelanwa Bamgboye

    Lagos — Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, sitting at a Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed a suit by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd challenging the imposition of $3.6billion fine on it by the Federal Government.

    The court resolved all the issues in the defendant’s favour and dismissed the suit.

    Shell sued the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), challenging its powers to impose levies or fines over oil spills.

    The plaintiff prayed the court to declare that NOSDRA cannot, in the light of Section 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution, validly exercise any powers under Section 5, 6, 7 and 19 of the NOSDRA Act. read more

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    Italy’s top court rejects appeal to stymie Shell, Eni corruption trial

    REUTERS STAFF: JUNE 13, 2018 / 4:03 PM

    ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s Supreme Court threw out an appeal from Shell and four former Shell managers to stymie a corruption trial that has also involved Eni’s chief executive, legal sources said on Wednesday.

    The long-running graft case on alleged corruption in Nigeria, revolves around the 2011 purchase by Eni and Shell of Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oilfield for about $1.3 billion. The trial began last month, with the next hearing set for June 20. read more

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    Italy’s top court tosses appeal in Shell, Eni corruption trial

    |By: , SA News Editor

    Italy’s Supreme Court rejects an appeal from Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.ARDS.B) and four former Shell managers to reverse a trial on alleged corruption in Nigeria, which also has implicated Eni (NYSE:E) CEO Claudio Descalzi.

    The appeal hoped to reverse the trial to the preliminary hearing stage due to what it said were procedural errors, but the court ruled that the appeal was inadmissible.

    Nine current and former company executives or contractors, including Descalzi, are accused by Italian prosecutors of paying bribes to secure the license to explore Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oilfield, which holds ~9B barrels of oil but has never entered production. read more

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    Shell says Nigeria attacks continue despite oil output recovery

    Nigeria’s oil wells may be flowing again, but the country’s largest operator says attacks continue to put a brake on output.

    Written by

    “Security in parts of the Niger delta remains a major concern with persisting incidents of criminality, kidnapping and vandalism as well as onshore and offshore piracy,” said Igo Weli, general manager for external relations at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s local unit. The warning underlines the enduring threat of attacks even as production recovers from a major militant campaign in 2016.

    Shell declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude shipments last month following pipeline leaks, while loadings of Forcados exports were also delayed. Weli didn’t specifically link those incidents to his comments on vandalism. read more

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    WSJ: Pollution worsens around Shell oil spills in Nigeria

    |By: , SA News Editor

    A confidential study that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) has been accused of trying to shield from public view showed worsening “catastrophic” pollution around oil spill sites in Nigeria, WSJ reports.

    At least one of the study’s authors has urged the findings to be widely distributed because they pointed to significant health risks to the local Bodo community in Nigeria but said that Shell had denied him permission to publish the study’s results in a scientific journal, according to the WSJ report. read more

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    Tanzanian MP Wants Shell-BG U.S.$500 Million Transaction Investigated

    Tanzanian MP Wants Shell-BG U.S.$500 Million Transaction Investigated

    Dodoma — Momba MP Mr David Silinde (Chadema) has asked the Parliament to form a special committee to investigate the transaction between Shell and BG over Tanzania’s gas blocks alleging that Shell did not pay capital gain tax.

    Debating the budget of the Ministry of Energy on Friday, Mr Silinde said the company should pay the tax estimated at $500 million.

    “There is a possibility that the transaction involved corruption. Hence, denies the country the revenue which could address different challenges in the energy sector,” said Mr Silinde. read more

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    Nigeria’s Bodo community claims win over Shell after latest UK court ruling

    REUTERS STAFF: MAY 24, 2018

    By Estelle Shirbon

    LONDON, May 24 (Reuters) – A British judge ruled on Thursday that Nigeria’s Bodo community, which has been involved in a protracted legal battle with Shell over the clean-up of two 2008 oil spills, should retain the option of litigation for another year.

    Lawyers for Bodo had accused Shell of trying to kill off the legal case by seeking a court order that would have meant the community had to meet onerous conditions before it could revive its litigation, which is currently on hold. read more

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    Nigeria: Shell’s Oil Spill Dispute With Nigerian Villagers Back in UK Court

    Nigeria: Shell’s Oil Spill Dispute With Nigerian Villagers Back in UK Court

    Lawyers for the Bodo community in Ogoniland of Rivers State, which was devastated by two major oil spills in 2008, went to court in London yesterday to fend off what they said was an attempt by Shell to kill off their litigation.

    This is coming as crude oil price rose briefly to $80 per barrel yesterday after the United States toughened its stance on Iran and Venezuela, key oil producers and members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

    The Bodo oil spills have been the subject of years of legal wrangling. read more

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    Nigeria: Court Fixes Tomorrow to Rule On N122bn Judgment Debt Against Shell, FBN

    By Davidson Iriekpen: 21 May 2018

    Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed tomorrow to rule on the garnishee proceedings filed by some Ogoni chiefs from Ejama community in Rivers State against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and First Bank of Nigeria Limited for their failure to pay a N122 billion judgment debt against Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SDPC).

    The judge also fixed the same day to rule on whether to jail the Chairman of First Bank, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, for failing to pay the amount as ordered by a Federal High Court in Owerri, Imo State. read more

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    Nigeria: Tackling Insecurity in the Niger Delta

    15 May 2018

    Shell’s payment of $4.32 billion to the Nigerian government in 2017, despite the closure of the 400,000 barrels per day capacity Forcados Oil Terminal, has clearly demonstrated the potentially huge earnings in Nigeria’s oil sector if security challenges are fully addressed, Ejiofor Alike reports

    Insecurity of crude oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta has remained a major risk peculiar to Nigeria’s operating environment, which has continued to drive the costs of oil and gas projects in the country above the global benchmark. read more

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    Shell, Eni trial on Nigeria corruption re-adjourned to June

    Reuters Staff: MAY 14, 2018

    MILAN (Reuters) – The trial of top executives from oil majors Eni (ENI.MI) and Shell (RDSa.L) over alleged corruption in Nigeria kicked off on Monday with a brief procedural hearing and a decision to re-adjourn next month.

    At the next hearing, set for June 20, the Milan court said it would assess requests from third parties, including a series of international non-profit organizations, to join the case.

    At Monday’s hearing Domenico Cartoni Schittar, a lawyer representing the Nigerian government, said he was stepping down from his role.  read more

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    Shell boss Ben Van Beurden facing a shareholder revolt over his £7.8m pay packet

    The boss of oil giant Shell is facing the threat of a revolt over his £7.8million pay packet.

    Institutional Shareholders Services, a leading investor advisory group, is recommending that Ben van Beurden’s pay is voted down at the annual general meeting later this month.

    ISS said it also wants more information about how the 60-year-old’s bonus was affected by an incident in Pakistan in 2016, when a fuel tanker operated by a Shell Pakistan contractor exploded, killing more than 200 people. read more

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    Shell, Eni oil executives on trial for graft in Nigeria

    A corruption trial against oil giants Shell and Eni and Nigeria’s ex-oil minister Dan Etete is getting started in Milan. The case deals with alleged bribes valuing millions, and the Italian trial is not the only one.

    Starting Monday, the Italian city of Milan will be the scene of a month-long trial that deals with corruption allegations in the oil industry.

    The Milan public prosecutor’s office accuses the Italian oil firm Eni and the British-Dutch oil company Shell of having paid millions of dollars in bribes in order to acquire a lucrative oil exploration and drilling license in Nigeria.

    Now 15 defendants are facing trial. Most of them employees of the two companies but Nigeria’s ex-Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete, will also be tried. read more

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    Shell and Eni in court over alleged corruption in $1.1bn Nigerian oil deal

    Royal Dutch Shell, Italian oil giant Eni and a number of senior executives at the two firms face trial in Milan on Monday over corruption charges relating to a $1.1bn (£800m) deal for a Nigerian oil block.

    The Milan public prosecutor alleges that $520m from a 2011 deal to buy rights to a vast oil block off Nigeria’s coast was converted into cash and intended to be paid to the then Nigerian resident Goodluck Jonathan, members of the government and other Nigerian government officials.  read more

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    Malabu Oil Deal: Two British Secret Service Agents Docked As Trial Begins In Milan

    Shell and Italian oil giant, Eni, are also defendants in the charge of ‘Aggravated international corruption,’ leveled against the oil executives in the trial which began in Milan, Italy on Monday.

    BY SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK: MAY 11, 2018

    Two retired secret agents of British Mi6 identified as Collegate Guy Jonathan and John Coplestone De Carteret, are among the executives of Royal Dutch Shell under prosecution in the ongoing trial of bribery allegation in the purchase of lucrative Nigerian Malabu oil block.

    Shell and Italian oil giant, Eni, are also defendants in the charge of ‘Aggravated international corruption,’ leveled against the oil executives in the trial which began in Milan, Italy on Monday. read more

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    Malabu Oil: Trial of Shell, Eni CEO, Other Top Executives, Begin Monday

    By Bayo Akinloye: 12 MAY 2018

    The Royal Dutch Shell and Eni, along with a number of their senior executives, will on Monday face criminal charges in Milan, Italy, for alleged aggravated international corruption for their role in a $1.1bn deal for a Malabu Oil’s OPL 245.

    This was made known in a statement yesterday by the international corruption watchdog, the Global Witness.

    It noted that no company as large as Royal Dutch Shell or senior executives of a major oil company had ever stood trial for bribery offences.  read more

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    Shell’s fresh bid for Ogoni oilfield stirs tension

    By Kelvin Ebiri (South-South Bureau Chief) 22 April 2018

    An atmosphere of unrest is looming over Ogoni land, following the renewal request by Shell Petroleum Development Company for Oil Mining Leases (OML11).

    Already, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates (KSWA) have intensified mobilisation of the people for a possible showdown with authorities over the development, coming when the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report for the cleanup of Ogoni is yet to be implemented.

    Shell has consistently maintained it is not interested in returning to Ogoni. The Guardian, however, discovered it wrote a letter dated October 16, 2017 to the Minister of State for Petroleum, seeking the renewal of its lease, due to expire June 2019.  read more

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    Intrigue Thickens Over OML 42 As Neconde Sues Shell

    Indigenous energy firm, Neconde, has sued International Oil Company (IOC), Royal Dutch Shell in London, for allegedly refusing to make remittances to it after it had bought a stake in controversial oil block Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42. In late March, Shell had instituted a criminal procedure against Peter Robinson, a former employee, in the Netherlands, in relation to the sale of the aforementioned block.

    BY SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK APR 10, 2018

    Indigenous energy firm, Neconde, has sued International Oil Company (IOC), Royal Dutch Shell in London, for allegedly refusing to make remittances to it after it had bought a stake in controversial oil block Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42. read more

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    Shell Losses 9,000 Barrels of Oil per Day In Nigeria In 2017

    Multinational oil company, Royal Dutch Shell says it lost 9,000 barrels of crude oil to theft from the pipeline network of its Nigerian operation per day in the 2017 fiscal year. Shell made this known in its ‘Report on Payments to Governments for the Year 2017’ released on Monday, April 9.

    BY SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK APR 10, 2018

    Multinational oil company, Royal Dutch Shell says it lost 9,000 barrels of crude oil to theft from the pipeline network of its Nigerian operation per day in the 2017 fiscal year. read more

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    Shell’s Payment To Nigeria Up By 19 % In 2017

    Payments made by Royal Dutch Shell, the major international oil company operating in Nigeria to the federal government increased from $3,638,241,040 in 2016 to $4,322,742,582 in 2017. The rise in payment was as a result of a 10 % growth in production, the oil company said in its 2017 sustainability report published on Monday.

    BY SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK APR 10, 2018

    Payments made by Royal Dutch Shell, the major international oil company operating in Nigeria to the federal government increased from $3,638,241,040 in 2016 to $4,322,742,582 in 2017.

    The rise in payment was as a result of a 10 % growth in production, the oil company said in its 2017 sustainability report published on Monday.

    The company said in the report that output from its operated fields averaged 464,000 barrel of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) while production from offshore and deep-water fields managed by its local subsidiary, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), averaged 167,000 boe/d. read more

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    Shell says Nigeria payments and oil theft climb in 2017

    Reuters Staff: APRIL 9, 2018 / 1:41 PM

    LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) –

    * Shell’s payments to the Nigerian government grew to $4.32 billion in 2017, up nearly 19 percent from $3.64 billion in 2016, according to its annual sustainability report released on Monday

    * The bulk of the payments, $3.197 billion, went to state oil company NNPC for production entitlement 

    * Crude oil theft from pipelines of Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary SPDC increased by some 50 percent, rising to roughly 9,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2017 from 6,000 bpd in 2016, the report said. read more

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    Shell pays out £41billion to governments globally in 2017

    The firm also drew attention to a number of safety incidents in 2017 which it is working to address and provide support to victims for, including oil spills and theft in Nigeria, earthquakes in Groningen and a road tanker disaster in Pakistan.

    Written by

    The company has published the findings in a report to accommodate UK regulations requiring transparency on government payments.

    It includes payments in 29 countries where Shell operates and does not include details related to refining, natural gas liquefaction, or gas-to-liquids activities which are not in the scope of UK regulations.

    Shell made the largest contribution to Nigeria, paying over £3billion last year, while the smallest sum went to Bulgaria at £109million.

    The funds for Nigeria include the government’s production entitlement, covering more than £2.1billion. read more

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    Nigerian oil firm Neconde mounts arbitration case against Shell

    The oilfield in question, Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42, is also at the center of corruption allegations. Shell filed a criminal complaint against a former employee in late March over suspected bribes in the $390 million sale of the field.

    Alexis Akwagyiram, Chijioke Ohuocha: APRIL 9, 2018

    LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigerian energy company Neconde has launched an arbitration case against Royal Dutch Shell, the West African firm’s chief executive said, alleging the oil major continued to lift crude and failed to remit funds after a lease had been sold.

    The oilfield in question, Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42, is also at the center of corruption allegations. Shell filed a criminal complaint against a former employee in late March over suspected bribes in the $390 million sale of the field. read more

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    Malabu Scandal: UK Opposition Leader Wants Govt Probed over Payments to Etete

    The transactions were made by the U.S. bank when Royal Dutch Shell and Eni bought offshore oilfield OPL 245 from Malabu Oil and Gas in 2011. The $1.3 billion deal has spawned legal cases spanning several countries and involving Nigerian government officials and senior ENI and Shell executives, a number of whom would be facing trial in Italy on corruption charges next month.

    Ejiofor Alike with agency reports

    A Liberal Democrat and former British Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has called on the UK Home Office and National Crime Agency to explain themselves over the revelation that the country’s anti-money laundering agency allowed JP Morgan to transfer $875 million to a former Nigerian oil minister, Mr. Dan Etete. The transfers were made in relation to the Malabu oil deal, involving the controversial Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245.

    JP Morgan’s London branch had claimed it repeatedly sought consent from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) to pay the fund into accounts linked to Etete. The bank said instead of being told to block the transfers, it was authorised by Soca to make the payment. read more

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    JP Morgan says it knew ex-minister linked to firm in Nigeria oilfield deal

    Shell said in April last year that it “always knew” the Nigerian government would compensate Malabu and that Etete was involved. It had previously told Reuters only that payments went to the Nigerian government.

    Julia Payne, Libby George: 7 April 2018

    LONDON (Reuters) – JP Morgan Chase has acknowledged it knew a former Nigerian oil minister convicted of money laundering would benefit when it transferred over $800 million of government funds to a company he controlled, according to a court document seen by Reuters.

    JP Morgan made the acknowledgement in its legal response to a lawsuit filed by Nigeria over transactions made by the U.S. bank when Royal Dutch Shell and Eni bought offshore oilfield OPL 245 from Malabu Oil and Gas in 2011. read more

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    Nigeria: Oil Communities Storm NASS, Protest Against Land Re-Acquisition Fees By Shell

    Nigeria: Oil Communities Storm NASS, Protest Against Land Re-Acquisition Fees By Shell

    21 March 2018

    Abuja — OIL Producing Communities under the aegis of Landlords of Shell Oil Producing Communities of Niger Delta, yesterday, stormed the National Assembly, protesting the non-payment of land owners by an oil company, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC.

    The protesters who besieged the main gate of the National Assembly Complex in Abuja yesterday, decried the discriminatory payment for land re-acquisition and rentals for land by the oil company, just as they accused the company of divide and rule. read more

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    Selection of Shell related news stories 16 March 2018

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    Nigeria: Lessons From UK Court’s Judgment On Niger Delta Oil Spills

    By Ejiofor Alike: 13 March 2018

    The recent judgment by the UK Appeal Court on the dispute between Shell and two Niger Delta communities underscores the need for people of the environmentally-polluted region to seek redress in disputes that do not require international arbitration within Nigeria’s judicial system.

    Some communities in the Niger Delta and other interest groups in the region have expressed frustration with the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal in London, which ruled that two Nigerian communities cannot pursue Royal Dutch Shell in English courts over oil spills in Nigeria’s Delta region. read more

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    Selection of recent news coverage of Shell/Eni OPL 245 corruption scandal

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    Trial of Shell, Eni over Nigeria to switch to new Milan court: sources

    The Italian inquiry is one of several into the acquisition of OPL-245, including cases in the Netherlands and Nigeria.

    Reuters: 2 March 2018

    MILAN (Reuters) – A trial in Italy of Royal Dutch Shell and Eni executives over alleged corruption in Nigeria, which had been due to start on March 5, will be transferred to another court in Milan, delaying the proceedings, legal sources said.

    Earlier this week, the Milan tribunal informed lawyers that the court which had been due to hear the trial had too many cases and could not guarantee that it would do so in a reasonable period of time, three sources told Reuters on Friday. read more

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    Eni’s strong performance has been clouded by allegations of bribery

    Extract relating to OPL 245 Shell/ENI Malabu Oil Deal scandal taken from FT article: “Eni reports record oil and gas production”

    Eni’s strong performance has been clouded by allegations of bribery related to a $1.3bn deal in 2011 to acquire one of Nigeria’s largest untapped oilfields. Mr Descalzi and several other current and former executives are due to stand trial for alleged corruption in Milan in March. Mr Descalzi has denied wrongdoing and Eni’s board has maintained its “full confidence” in him. read more

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    Nigerian court sets Malabu oilfield corruption case hearing for June 18

    ABUJA, Feb 15 (Reuters) – A Nigerian court has set a hearing over a disputed 2011 oilfield deal for June 18, the country’s financial crimes watchdog said on Thursday, part of a string of international corruption probes into the purchase.

    The case relates to a purchase of the offshore OPL 245 oilfield in Nigeria by oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in 2011.

    At the core of the case is a $1.3 billion payment from Shell and Eni to secure the block from Malabu Oil and Gas, allegedly controlled by former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete. read more

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    Ogoni: Shell Continues to Cast Shadow Over Human Rights in Nigeria

    Photo courtesy of UNPO @Flikr

    15 FEB 2018

    As the British-Dutch oil company pushes to return to the Ogoniland region, civil society actors warn about the risk for human rights that its presence would pose. Since the beginning of Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta in 1957, the company has been responsible for the ruthless exploitation of natural resources in the area, severely degrading the living conditions of the population. Should it succeed in its intention to regain the activity in the region, the respect for the rights of the Ogoni would once again be placed at risk. read more

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    Appeal court rules Nigerians cannot pursue Shell spill claim in England

    Libby GeorgeTife Owolabi: 14 FEB 2018 LONDON/YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) – The Court of Appeal in London ruled on Wednesday that two Nigerian communities cannot pursue Royal Dutch Shell in English courts over oil spills in Nigeria’s Delta region.

    The split decision upheld a High Court ruling last year that was a setback to attempts to hold British multinationals liable at home for their subsidiaries’ actions abroad.

    The court rejected the appeal from law firm Leigh Day on behalf of Nigeria’s Bille and Ogale communities, and upheld a ruling that English courts do not have jurisdiction over claims against Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

    SPDC is jointly operated with the Nigerian government. read more

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    Nigeria: UK court deals a blow to oil spill victims and corporate accountability

    Responding to a Court of Appeals judgement that two Niger Delta communities cannot have their case against oil giant Shell heard in the UK because the parent company cannot be held liable for the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary, Joe Westby, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on Business and Human Rights, said:

    “With this ruling the court has struck a blow not only to the Ogale and Bille communities, who live everyday with the devastating consequences of Shell oil spills, but with victims of corporate human rights abuses all over the world. This ruling sets a dangerous precedent and will make it more difficult to hold UK companies to account. read more

    This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

    Oil giant Shell wins latest UK court fight over Niger Delta pollution claims

    PRESS ASSOCIATION

    Oil giant Shell has defeated the latest legal bid by thousands of Nigerians to have their damages claims over pollution dealt with by the English courts.

    Last year, a judge in London made a ruling which meant that any compensation actions by two Nigerian communities affected by oil spills would have to be heard in Nigeria.

    The communities later went to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of Mr Justice Fraser.

    On Wednesday, judges in London dismissed their appeal by a majority of two to one. read more

    This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

    Inside the Bribery Scandal Sweeping Through the Oil Industry

    Shell and Eni paid $1.3 billion for oil rights in Nigeria. Whether the money was mostly a bribe is at the heart of one of the industry’s most dramatic criminal cases

    EXTRACTS

    By Sarah Kent in Abuja, Nigeria, and Eric Sylvers in Milan: Feb. 13, 2018 12:40 p.m. ET

    A top oil executive walked into the marble lobby of an exclusive Milan hotel on a chilly winter night. His dinner date was a former Nigerian oil minister offering to sell one of Africa’s biggest untapped oil discoveries.

    Eight years later, the question of whether the $1.3 billion paid for the license to that prized oil field was mostly a bribe is at the heart of one of the biggest bribery scandals the oil industry has ever seen.

    Shell executives, including Malcolm Brinded, Shell’s global exploration and production chief at the time of the deal, will also be tried on those charges, as well as both companies. Eni and Shell both deny wrongdoing, saying they simply paid the government and didn’t know the money would be used for … read more

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    Production of Nigeria’s Bonga oil ramping up after shutdown -Shell Nigeria

    Reuters Staff: LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) –

    * Production of Nigeria’s Bonga crude oil is “being ramped up gradually” after brief shutdown, a spokesman for Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production company (SNEPCo) said on Monday

    * The company performed a “brief shutdown” from Jan. 16-28 for repairs on a piping system. It added that “further checks and ancillary repairs” mean that oil and gas production were gradually ramping up

    * Traders told Reuters the maintenance had impacted oil loadings, and a list of vessel loadings showed the last cargo to load was the suezmax Sea Garnet on Jan. 17. The Narmada Spirit is expected to load early this week, according to loading plans seen by Reuters read more

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    Nigeria: 5 Months After, Irate Residents Still Occupy Shell Flow Station

    By Victor Edozie: 29 JAN 2018

    Port Harcourt — Five months after it shut down Shell flow station at Belema, hundreds of indigenes of Kula are still occupying Shell flow at Belema in Akuku-Torlu Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    The indigenes, drawn from Offoinama, Belema and Ngeje, occupied the flow station in August 2017 shortly after it was shut down by irate youths of the community.

    A visit by our reporter to the flow station at the weekend revealed that hundreds of nursing mothers, men and youths are still occupying the facility. read more

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    Oil Boom Gives the U.S. a New Edge in Energy and Diplomacy

    A pump jack in a Permian Basin oil field in West Texas. The area has been a focus of the shale drilling boom. Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America

    HOUSTON — A substantial rise in oil prices in recent months has led to a resurgence in American oil production, enabling the country to challenge the dominance of Saudi Arabia and dampen price pressures at the pump.

    The success has come in the face of efforts by Saudi Arabia and its oil allies to undercut the shale drilling spree in the United States. Those strategies backfired and ultimately ended up benefiting the oil industry.

    Overcoming three years of slumping prices proved the resiliency of the shale boom. Energy companies and their financial backers were able to weather market turmoil — and the maneuvers of the global oil cartel — by adjusting exploration and extraction techniques. read more

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    Shell, ENI take final investment decision on ‘juicy’ OPL 245

    By TheCable: 24 JAN 2018

    Despite the litany of court cases surrounding the award of the juicy deepwater OPL 245, the two principal stakeholders in the acreage, Anglo/Dutch firm Shell and Italian oil giant Eni, are proceeding with the development of the main oil field already discovered.

    TheCable Petrobarometer understands that Shell and Eni have taken the final investment decision (FID) to develop the field known as Zabazaba field, which lies in water depth ranging from 1,700 and 2,000 meters and holds an estimated oil reserves of up to a billion barrels. read more

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    Nigeria sues JP Morgan for $875 million over Malabu oilfield deal

    Late last year, a Milan judge ruled that Shell and Eni must stand trial in Italy…

    Libby George, Julia Payne: 18 JAN 2018 LONDON (Reuters) – Nigeria has filed a claim against JP Morgan Chase for more than $875 million, accusing it of negligence in transferring funds from a disputed 2011 oilfield deal to a company controlled by the country’s former oil minister.

    A spokeswoman for JP Morgan dismissed the accusation on Thursday, saying the firm “considers the allegations made in the claim to be unsubstantiated and without merit”.

    The suit filed in British courts relates to a purchase of the offshore OPL 245 oilfield in Nigeria by oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in 2011.

    At the core of the case is a $1.3 billion payment from Shell and Eni to secure the block that the lawsuit says was deposited into a Nigerian government escrow account managed by JP Morgan. read more

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    U.S. offers drillers nearly all offshore waters, but focus is on eastern Gulf

    Ernest Sheyder and Valerie Volcovici

    HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed opening up nearly all of America’s offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, but the industry says it is mainly interested in one part of it, now cordoned off by the Pentagon: the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

    The industry’s focus on an area located near a sprawling network of existing platforms, pipes and ports could ease the path to new reserves, and assuage the drilling opponents near other places offered under the Interior Department’s proposed drilling plan issued last week, like California’s Pacific, the Atlantic and Arctic. read more

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    ‘Why we will never allow firm to resume oil production’

    On:

    The National Coordinator of Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, Chief Gani Topba, has disclosed why Ogoni people will never allow Robo-Michael Ltd to resume oil production in Ogoniland’s four local governments of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

    He accused the oil company of lack of capacity, while its association with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the oil production arm of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), would be to its disadvantage. Topba said SPDC would not be allowed to return to Ogoni through the backdoor. read more

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    Ogonis Protest In Abuja Against Shell, NNPC

    Friday 5 Jan 2018

    The entrance to the corporate headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Abuja was on Thursday barricaded, as persons said to be representing the Ogoni people of rivers state staged what they called a non-violent protest against Shell and NNPC.

    They accused both Shell and NNPC of using undercover tactics to resume oil production in the area.

    It is the 2018 Ogoni day celebration and the people say they have chosen the day to protest against perceived marginalisation by shell and the NNPC. read more

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    Leaked documents reveal how Shell blackmailed Nigeria in Malabu deal

    29 December 2017

    Confidential internal documents of Royal Dutch Shell suggest that the oil giant capitalised on the 2011 presidential election to arm-twist the federal government into a “cheap” deal over the sale of the disputed OPL 245.

    The international oil company also used an arbitration case it filed with the International Centre for the Settlement of International Disputes (ICSID), an organ of the World Bank, to railroad the government into brokering truce between it and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, its estranged erstwhile partner and the original licensee. read more

    This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

    All That New Shale Oil May Not Be Enough as Big Discoveries Drop

    Three years after causing an oil-price crash, the shale boom may not be enough to meet rising global demand because the industry has cut back so sharply on higher-risk mega-projects.

    Discoveries of new reserves this year were the fewest on record and replaced just 11 percent of what was produced, according to a Dec. 21 report by consultant Rystad Energy. While shale wells are creating a glut now, without more investment in bigger, conventional supply, the world may see output deficits as soon as 2019, according to Canadian producer Suncor Energy Inc. read more

    This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

    Eni and Shell on trial in Italy over Nigeria ‘corruption’

    20 December 2017

    Two global oil giants, Eni and Shell, are to stand trial in Italy over allegations of corruption in Nigeria.

    The case involves the purchase of an offshore oil block in Nigeria for $1.3bn (£1bn) in 2011.

    The companies deny wrongdoing, saying they acquired the rights in accordance with Nigerian law.

    The trial in Italy is expected to start in March next year. It follows a lengthy investigation by Italian prosecutors.

    Anti-corruption watchdog Global Witness says it could be one of the biggest corporate corruption trials in history. read more

    This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.