DutchNews.nl

Damning report slams state, oil companies for Groningen gas failures

February 24, 2023 – By Robin Pascoe

The interests of the people of Groningen were systematically ignored by both the government and oil companies, and making money remained the dominant concern when natural gas extraction started causing earthquakes, according to the parliamentary commission set up to investigate.

The worlds of those making the decisions and the locals were ‘miles apart’, commission chief Tom van der Lee said at the presentation of the report into the problems, which has taken two years and hundreds of interviews to complete.

Gas extraction has become an ‘unprecedented system failure’ and both the public and private sector have failed in their duties, Van der Lee said.

Ministers were not properly informed and that meant that MPs could not fulfill their role as guardians of the public interest. The damage, both material and mental, suffered by locals was consistently underestimated and the maximalisation of profit was the guiding force. read more

“Gas extraction in Groningen was so successful and lucrative for the Dutch government, Shell and Exxon Mobil that they hardly took any notion of the long-term risks and the ever-clearer signs of the detrimental effects for the people in Groningen…” 

REUTERS

Dutch gov’t, Shell and Exxon ignored Groningen risks for years, inquiry finds

AMSTERDAM, Feb 24 (Reuters) – The Dutch government and energy companies Shell (SHEL.L) and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) ignored the risks of gas production in Groningen for years, to the detriment of people living in the province, a parliamentary inquiry concluded on Friday.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and others involved “gravely underestimated” the urgency of the problems in Groningen, said the committee set up to investigate the decades of lucrative gas extraction that caused tremors damaging thousands of houses and buildings in the region.

The massive Groningen field is operated by Shell and Exxon joint venture NAM and was one of Europe’s major suppliers of natural gas for decades.

“These are hard and painful conclusions,” Rutte told a news conference. “They make clear there is a lot to do to help the region and to hopefully restore trust.”

The government will take time provide a full response to the report, he said without indicating how long that would take.

A statement from NAM director Johan Atema said: “It is clear that we need to have a better eye for the society in which we work. It is up to us to show that we as a company have learned from this.” read more

NL TIMES

After winning lawsuit against Shell: Milieudefensie announces new climate case

Sunday 29 Jan 2023

After the case against Shell in 2021, Dutch climate organization Milieudefensie will start a new climate case against a company that emits a lot of greenhouse gasses at the end of this year, without naming the company involved. This was announced by the director of Milieudefensie, Donald Pols, on Sunday morning in the NPO Radio 1 program Vroege Vogels. Which company it is, he could not yet say. read more

OILPRICE.COM

Netherlands To Shut Down Europe’s Largest Gas Field

By Irina Slav – Jan 23, 2023, 7:30 AM CST

The Dutch government plans to close the Groningen gas field this year despite Europe’s precarious supply position. Groningen is the largest gas field in Europe.

The field is dangerous, a government official from the Hague told the Financial Times, and the government has no plans to boost production from it.

“We won’t open up more because of the safety issues,” Hans Vijbrief told the FT. “It is politically totally unviable. But apart from that, I’m not going to do it because it means that you increase the chances of earthquakes, which I don’t want to be responsible for.” read more

Climate activists across world raise funds for the court case against Shell

Friends of the Earth Netherlands: 20/01/2023 | 16:25 PM

In 2021, thousands of Dutch citizens took one of the largest carbon emitters in the world to court and won. Together with Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) they won a historic court case against Royal Dutch Shell, the parent company of Shell Group, forcing the company to take climate action.

The judge ruled that Shell’s current climate policy would contribute to a level of climate change that would be so dangerous that it would impose a threat to human rights. read more

Large-scale polluter Shell loses legal battle

The Guardian: Isabella Kaminski: Thu 29 Dec 2022 12.00 GMT

Between 2004 and 2007, the villages of Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo in Nigeria were polluted with oil from infrastructure built by Royal Dutch Shell. More than 15 years later, in late December, the company finally agreed to pay four farmers and their communities €15m in compensation and install a leak detection system after a court in the Netherlands ruled that Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was liable and the parent company had a duty of care. read more

BBC News

Shell to pay $16m to Nigerian farmers over oil damage

23 Dec 2022

Shell has agreed to pay $16m (£13m) to four Nigerian farmers and their communities to compensate for damage allegedly caused by pollution coming from leaks in its oil pipelines.

The sum was agreed in negotiations between the oil company and campaign group Friends of the Earth.

But it is being given on the basis of “no admission of liability”, a joint statement says.

Nigeria’s oil industry has been a major source of environmental damage. 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

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

OILPRICE.COM

Exxon And Shell Look To Sell $1.5 Billion Natural Gas Venture

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Sep 06, 2022, 9:30 AM CDT

Supermajors ExxonMobil and Shell are looking to sell their 50/50 NAM natural gas producing joint venture in the Netherlands in a potential sale worth up to $1.5 billion, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing industry sources and a document it had seen.

Shell and Esso set up the NAM joint venture in the 1950s and started producing gas from the giant Groningen field in the Netherlands in the 1960s. According to NAM’s website, the company supplies 75% of the natural gas required by Dutch households and businesses. A total of 93% of all Dutch households use natural gas and gas accounts for 45% of all the energy that is used in the Netherlands.

Shell and Exxon’s decision to sell one of the oldest gas-producing ventures would be part of both companies’ plans to divest aging assets they no longer consider core to their respective operations, Reuters notes.

According to Reuters’ sources, NAM’s assets up for sale – including three gas processing plants, pipeline networks, and offshore gas fields – could be valued at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.

The two international majors expect that the current dire need for gas supply in Europe and the high natural gas prices could make those assets attractive to prospective buyers, the sources told Reuters. read more

UPI

Shell safety consultant quits over ‘double-talk on climate’

By Sheri Walsh: 23 MAY 2022

May 23 (UPI) — A Shell safety consultant has resigned over what she calls the oil company’s “extreme harms” to the environment and “disregard for climate change risks.”

Caroline Dennett submitted her resignation to Shell executives and 1,400 employees Monday in an email and public video, accusing the U.S. company of “failing on a massive planetary scale” and blasting the oil giant’s plans to expand fossil fuel extraction. read more

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Shell to Proceed With Share Simplification; Will Change Name in January

By Joe Hoppe: Dec. 20, 2021 at 9:14 a.m. ET

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Monday that it has decided to proceed with simplifying its share structure, shifting its tax residence to the U.K., and it will change its name to Shell PLC in January.

The energy company said it expects to change its name in the week beginning Jan. 24.

Shareholders in the company approved the amendment of the group’s articles of association on Dec. 10, after Shell proposed in November to collapse its current dual-share class and move its tax residency to the U.K. from the Netherlands. read more

Brinkwire

As Shell relocates to the UK, Project Fear reveals four major warnings that Remainers missed.

BY HELENA SUTAN ON NOVEMBER 28, 2021

As Shell relocates to the UK, Project Fear reveals four major warnings that Remainers got wrong.

BREXIT BRITAIN’S most recent victory, which will see oil giant Shell relocate its headquarters to the UK, has sparked new Frexit calls, with one leading campaigner insisting that it once again proves Project Fear was “wrong on everything.”

Royal Dutch Shell is scrapping its dual share structure and relocating its headquarters from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, a major victory for Brexit Britain. read more

BBC News

Shell plans to move headquarters to the UK

15 Nov 2021

Royal Dutch Shell has announced a plan to move its headquarters to the UK as part of proposals to simplify the company’s structure.

The oil giant will ask shareholders to vote on shifting its tax residence from the Netherlands to the UK.

It also wants to do away with its dual share structure in favour of just one class of shares to boost “the speed and flexibility” of shareholder payouts.

Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, will relocate to the UK. read more

NL TIMES

Designate Groningen earthquakes a national crisis, Ombudsman says

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2021

The consequences of the fracking earthquakes in Groningen have all the features of a national crisis and should therefore be designated as such, National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen said. He wants this to keep attention on the situation in Groningen until homes are reinforced, damages are repaired, and residents feel safe, Trouw reports.

“I wanted to choose words that hit so hard that people think: damn it, now we really have to do something,” the National Ombudsman said in an interview with Trouw. “In one way or another, the attention for Groningen is disappearing. Things are taking too long, and the good things don’t really happen. This is a national crisis, which the government and administration have to deal with differently.” read more

Joe Lycett to tackle greenwashing for Channel 4

Lycett will focus on the energy giant Shell and their marketing as they continue to search for new oil reserves.

In May 2021, the International Energy Agency published a report that outlined a plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050, including a call for an end to the exploration and development of new oil fields.

That same month, the District Court in The Hague judged that Shell’s parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, currently “disregards its individual responsibility” to reduce its overall emissions. It ordered the group to start reducing them by 45% by 2030, but they confirmed in July 2021 that they will appeal the ruling. read more

Bloomberg

Shell CEO Says Company Will Appeal Climate Ruling

by Bloomberg| Laura Hurst & Diederik Baazil | Wednesday, July 21, 2021

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it will appeal a ruling by a Dutch court which ordered it to cut its carbon emissions by 45% over the next decade.

Shell has said it will speed up its energy transition plans in response to the order, but is looking to overturn it so it can stick to its own climate timetable. After intense pressure from investors, the May 26 ruling showed companies’ hands may increasingly be forced by courts, and result in far-reaching implications for the global energy industry. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Exxon’s defeat in a boardroom battle is a turning point for social activism.

An activist investor successfully waged a battle to install three directors on the board of Exxon Mobil last week with the goal of pushing the energy giant to reduce its carbon footprint. The investor, a hedge fund called Engine No. 1, was virtually unknown before the fight.

The tiny firm wouldn’t have had a chance were it not for an unusual twist: the support of some of Exxon’s biggest institutional investors. BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street voted against Exxon’s leadership and gave Engine No. 1 powerful support. These huge investment companies rarely side with activists on such issues. read more

Shell’s Australia boss says Big Oil faces a push for faster change

By Nick Toscano: June 9, 2021 — 5.09pm

The Australian boss of global energy giant Shell says society’s growing determination to speed up the shift to cleaner energy has driven a sharp escalation of climate pressure engulfing oil and gas producers this year.

In his first public comments since a Dutch court ordered Shell to set deeper and faster emissions cuts targeting a 45 per cent reduction by 2030, Shell Australia chairman Tony Nunan said he believed industry, governments and the public were becoming increasingly aligned on the need to achieve net-zero emissions by the middle of the century. read more

euronews.green

Shell climate case verdict: ‘A stark warning to any corporate polluter’

By Johnny White  •  Updated: 08/06/2021

Last week a Dutch court ruled that one of the world’s biggest oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell, must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by almost half in the next nine years.

It’s no exaggeration to say this landmark verdict, which linked the need for the fossil fuel company to decarbonise to climate science and human rights, is a watershed moment for corporate climate accountability.

The case, brought by Friends of the Earth Netherlands and over 17,000 Dutch citizens, established that Shell was in breach of its duty of care under the Dutch Civil Code, informed by its human rights responsibilities, by contributing dangerously to climate change. read more

Seeking Alpha

Big Oil’s Very Bad Wednesday

The Guardian

Court orders Royal Dutch Shell to cut carbon emissions by 45% by 2030

Daniel Boffey: Wed 26 May 2021 15.25 BST

A court in the Hague has ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut its global carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2030 compared to 2019 levels, in a landmark case brought by Friends of the Earth and over 17,000 co-plaintiffs.

The oil giant’s sustainability policy was found to be insufficiently “concrete” by the Dutch court in an unprecedented ruling that will have wide implications for the industry. read more

EnergyVoice.com

Shell faces Dutch court ruling on global emissions

By Ed Reed: 24 May 2021

A court in The Hague will rule on May 26 on a climate case against Shell, led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie).

The environmentalist case demands that Shell cut CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030. Success for the NGO would see the corporation ordered to “reduce its emissions in line with global climate goals”.

The outcome, it said, should “impact climate policy and corporate accountability globally”. It does not seek compensation, rather a change to Shell’s business plan. read more

Shell Green Plans Under Scrutiny as Holders Seek More Action

Laura Hurst: Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:21 PM

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc has been under increasing pressure from investors to slash emissions and pivot toward cleaner energy, and the tension was on show at its shareholder meeting on Tuesday.

The company’s long-term energy transition plan, laid out to investors for the first time, received overwhelming support, but a competing resolution asking for stricter targets also garnered more votes than ever. Adding to the tension, shareholders were meeting as the International Energy Agency warned that all new oil and gas developments need to stop immediately for climate targets to be met. read more

NAM director calls for rethink on Groningen earthquake damage

Just 50 not 26,000 homes in the Groningen earthquake area need strengthening to comply with the latest safety standards, according to Johan Atema, director of gas company NAM in the NRC.

So far 2,000 homes have been strengthened because they are vulnerable to the quakes, caused by the ground settling after natural gas has been extracted. And only half the 26,000 homes identified as being problematic have actually been inspected. read more

NAM disputes Groningen gas extraction earthquake damage claims

NAM, the Dutch gas concern responsible for gas extraction in Groningen, raised doubts about the level of damage claims and the home strengthening operation in the fracking earthquake zone in the province. In a statement, NAM said that a major part of the damages was wrongly attributed to earthquakes, and that the standards of the reinforcement project are far too strict, NOS reports.

According to NAM, the risks in the earthquake zone are grossly overestimated, and as a result, many homes will be reinforced with measures that far outweigh the risks, “for some buildings even by a factor of a thousand to ten thousand”. “This leads to unnecessary feelings of insecurity among residents and additional costs.” read more

OPL 245: Dan Etete says he has no case to answer in Nigeria after Italian court verdict

22 March 2021

Dan Etete, former minister of petroleum, says Nigerian courts must now strike out charges against him after an Italian court ruled that there was no corruption involved in the OPL 245 transaction.

He also said Malabu Oil and Gas lost over $10 billion to the corruption allegations tied to the oil block.

The OPL 245 deal involved the $1.3 billion purchase of an oil bloc by Royal Dutch Shell and Eni from Malabu, a company in which Etete held majority shares. read more

Shell Using Battery Power Storage for EV Use in Europe

By Thomas Mulloy | March 8, 2021: Facebook

Shell and Alfen have launched a pilot to trial an on-site battery-powered system to support ultra-fast electric vehicle charging at Shell’s Zaltbommel forecourt in the Netherlands.

A Shell first, the battery-powered system offers an alternative solution to costly and time-consuming public grid upgrades by storing electricity in an on-site battery. The increased supply of energy helps power ultra-fast chargers, allowing drivers to simultaneously use the site’s two 175kW charge points. read more

Shell May Re-evaluate Oil Operations Onshore Nigeria

By Charles Kennedy – Feb 05, 2021, 1:30 PM CST

Persistent issues with theft and sabotage in the Niger Delta could prompt Shell to take a hard look at its operations onshore Nigeria, the supermajor’s chief executive Ben van Beurden said this week.

“Our onshore oil position, despite all the efforts we put in against theft and sabotage, is under challenge,” van Beurden told reporters, as carried by Reuters, after Shell reported another set of weak Big Oil results affected by the pandemic. read more

Shell makes record loss in 2020 after more write-offs

Published date: 04 February 2021

Shell posted a record loss in 2020 after it booked more hefty write-offs in the fourth quarter.

Excluding inventory effects, Shell made a loss of $4.48bn in the October-December period, compared with a profit of $871mn a year earlier. The quarterly loss was largely driven by pre-announced, non-cash post-tax impairment charges of $2.7bn and charges of $1.1bn mainly for “onerous contract provisions”. read more

Dutch appeals court rules Shell Nigeria unit responsible for oil leaks

AMSTERDAM, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A Dutch appeals court on Friday said that the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell was responsible for oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages farmers.

The decision went a step further than a 2013 ruling by a lower court, saying that Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was responsible for multiple cases of oil pollution.

Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; editing by Jason Neely read more

Shell Is Back in Court for Nigeria Oil Spills Liability Ruling

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc faces the latest ruling in a long-running legal dispute with Nigerian farmers who say the energy giant is responsible for oil leaks that have polluted their villages.

The case is the first in which a company and its foreign subsidiary have been tried in the Netherlands for allegedly breaching duty of care abroad, and it could have far-reaching implications for future suits brought against oil firms. read more

Shell-Exxon aims at $2.5 bln in Dutch subsidies for carbon storage

AMSTERDAM, Jan 14 (Reuters) – A consortium that includes oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil has requested a total of 2.1 billion euros ($2.55 billion) in subsidies for a project to store CO2 gasses in empty Dutch gas fields in the North Sea, the Dutch Economy ministry said on Thursday.

The subsidies were requested together with industrial gas suppliers Air Liquide and Air Products for a project which aims to capture carbon dioxide emitted by factories and refineries in the Rotterdam port area in order to significantly reduce emissions in Europe’s largest sea port. read more

Shell climate lawsuit: Dutch activists push courts for steeper emissions cuts

Companies that make money selling coal, oil and gas could be held more accountable if judges in the Hague order fossil fuel giant Shell to cut its emissions.

Backed by 17,000 Dutch citizens, climate activists are wrestling fossil fuel giant Royal Dutch Shell in court over its responsibility to cut emissions to levels that comply with global treaties.

On the last of four days of hearings in the District Court of the Hague, seven environmental groups led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands pressed the court to force the oil major to commit to the Paris Agreement target of keeping warming to 1.5C. This would mean cutting net carbon emissions by 45% from today’s levels in a decade, the campaigners say, at a time where Shell is still investing heavily in fossil fuels. read more

Communities in oil-rich Niger Delta pin hopes on Shell climate case

By Nellie Peyton, Thomson Reuters Foundation: DECEMBER 1, 2020

DAKAR, Dec 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As a legal case over energy giant Shell’s planet-heating emissions kicked off in the Netherlands, activists said the health and livelihoods of people in Nigeria’s oil-producing region would hinge on its outcome.

Royal Dutch Shell faced its first court hearing on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by environmental and human rights groups in The Hague, the company’s headquarters. read more

Gas company NAM to cut hundreds of jobs as prices drop and production is squeezed

October 15, 2020

Dutch gas company NAM is cutting its workforce by hundreds of jobs as gas prices fall and production is cut back.

Over the next six months, 200 to 300 of the permanent workforce of 1,300 will be able to take advantage of a voluntary redundancy scheme and a further 300 contract workers will be let go, regional paper Dagblad van het Noorden said.

Director Johan Atema told the paper that the company had been hit by falling gas prices. ‘We are supplying almost as much gas as last year, but our income has halved,’ he said. ‘Then you are talking about a crisis situation.’ read more

Shell, XOM to seek arbitration against Netherlands: report

May 29, 2020

Shell and ExxonMobil will file an arbitration claim against the Netherlands government over compensation for the early closure of gas field, according to Global Arbitration Review (GAR).

The companies operate the Groningen gas field through NAM — a 50-50 Dutch joint venture. Production from the onshore gas field causes earthquakes affecting local communities, which has prompted the government to shut it down early.

NAM is working with the Dutch government and other stakeholders to fulfill its obligations to residents of the area, which include compensation for damage caused by the earthquakes. read more

AMSTERDAM, May 7 (Reuters) – Shell Netherlands said on Thursday it bid in a tender last week to build a 760 MW wind farm off the Dutch coast, and it hopes to couple it with a large new hydrogen plant it would build in Rotterdam.

The Dutch subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell said it had entered a bid in the Hollandse Kust Noord tender, together with a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi.

Other known bidders in the tender, the latest in a series of such auctions by the Dutch government, include Orsted of Denmark. read more

by Tom Russell in Corporate 10/01/2020

Mark Gainsborough, Executive Vice President at Shell New Energies, has revealed that he is stepping down from his role after being involved with the company for 39 years. Gainsborough is to be replaced from 1st April by Elisabeth Brinton, who has been serving as Global VP Strategy & Portfolio for Shell New Energies.

Mark Gainsborough commented on LinkedIn: “It is time for a transition of a different kind! After an amazing 39 years with Shell and almost four years leading our New Energies business, I will end my Shell career later this year. I’m looking forward to contributing to the energy transition in new ways in the next few years. Congratulations to Elisabeth Brinton, who takes the reins from April 1st, and a huge thank you to everyone for all we have achieved together.” read more

EBN and Shell joining geothermal heat consortium in the Netherlands

FULL ARTICLE

Dutch firms to study solar-to-hydrogen project

By Energy Reporters  | 18.12.2019

Dutch transmission operator Enexis, natural gas infrastructure firm Gasunie and oil producer Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) are in discussions over plans to convert spare solar power into hydrogen.

The three firms said a feasibility study was being conducted for sites owned by NAM, a joint venture formed by Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil, in Emmen and Drenthe with the results expected in the middle of next month. 

Enexis said: “The research is examining the conditions under which it is feasible to directly convert locally generated sustainable energy into hydrogen. And whether that energy can be transported via existing gas pipelines to customers so that this green energy still contributes to the energy transition.” read more

Nov. 8, 2019

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell said there was a gas leak on Friday on a unit at its 404,000 barrel per day Pernis oil refinery in the Netherlands.

The leak has been stopped and the situation at the refinery is under control, a spokesman said.

Shell did not specify the unit involved.

The company separately reported on Nov 6 that while taking one of the units at Pernis offline for scheduled maintenance flaring occurred.

Shell did not specify which unit that was.

(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; editing by Jason Neely) read more

Shell appoints new head of downstream business

* Downstream business seen as key to Shell’s energy transition

* Vigeveno previously led Shell’s global commercial business 

By Ron Bousso

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has appointed Huibert Vigeveno to head its downstream businesss, the refining, trading and marketing operations that are to become a key pillar for the oil and gas company as it transitions to cleaner energy.

Vigeveno, 50, previously led Shell’s global commercial business and rose to prominence when he oversaw the integration of smaller rival BG Group after its $53 billion acquisition in 2016. read more

SELECTION OF WEBPAGE HEADER IMAGES ALL FROM WEBSITES OPERATED BY JOHN DONOVAN, ALL FOCUSSED ON ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Header images on royaldutchshellplc.com

Header images on royaldutchshellgroup.com

Remembering HON, DR BARINEM NUBARI KIOBEL’S BIRTHDAY: 23rd September

Happy Birthday HON, Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel. Though you are not physically with us, your spirit lives on and your memory remains fresh in our hearts. Your legacy will live forever. You shall always be remembered. We love you but Jesus Loves You more. May your precious soul continue to rest in peace. Remain in the bosom of the LORD Almighty God until we meet to part no more. Happy posthumous birthday. We Love you.

See more information below about the career of Dr. Kiobel and a loving memorial salute by his widow. 

Esther Kiobel (above) the widow of DR Kiobel is currently suing Royal Dutch Shell in the Dutch courts for alleged complicity in his murder.  A panel of three Dutch judges has given approval for the case to proceed. Esther is the lead plaintiff in the action brought collectively by three Ogoni 9 widows whose husbands were all hanged by the Nigerian military regime allegedly in collaboration with Shell. 

Remembering (Hon) Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel

PH.D MCOM, MBA, BBA, DIPM DIPMGT-ABE MCIM MINSTT

Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel was born in Kpor Town, Gokana local Gov’t area of River State, Ogoni in Niger Delta into the family of Madam Vurage Kile Diiyor (mother) and chief Francis Kiobel Barika (father) on September 23^rd, 1959. read more

AMSTERDAM, July 12 (Reuters) – Dutch prosecutors said on Friday they were investigating whether producers at some of the country’s small gas fields had exceeded the amount they were licensed to produce.

Gas production limits have become a sensitive issue in the Netherlands as the country tries to reduce production at its large Groningen gas field that has caused damaging earthquakes.

Prosecution spokeswoman Marieke van der Moolen confirmed a report by regional broadcaster RTV Drente that investigations in several locations were ongoing and were taking place in collaboration with the country’s State Supervisor of Mines. read more

Clara Denina, Stephen Jewkes, Toby Sterling: JUNE 24, 2019 / 4:43PM

LONDON (Reuters) – A domestic consortium set up by Royal Dutch Shell and pension fund manager PGGM has taken a bigger lead in the race for Dutch energy company Eneco as two other contenders have dropped out, sources close to the matter said.

French oil and gas company Total SA and Italy’s electricity giant Enel, which had teamed up with Dutch pension fund manager APG, have both withdrawn their non-binding offers, said the sources.

One of the sources added that APG was now looking for a new partner.

Infrastructure fund Macquarie and Japan’s biggest trading house Mitsubishi Corp are also still in the race for the company estimated by analysts to be worth about 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion), sources said. One said French nuclear energy utility EDF had also made a non-binding offer. read more

by David McPhee: 20/06/2019, 1:28 pm

Work on Shell’s first solar plant in the Netherlands is complete, according to engineering and construction firm Wood.

The Moerdijk Solar PV Plant is a 27 megawatt (MW) development near the city of Breda.

The new plant holds 76,000 solar PV panels and is one of the country’s largest facilities.

Wood, who acted as Shell’s engineering contractor throughout the project, provided Shell’s clean energy team with “technical procurement expertise” during the 16-month contract. read more

JUNE 17, 2019 / 2:17 PM

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch court on Monday ordered Royal Dutch Shell to pay a 2.5 million euro ($2.8 million) fine for failing to prevent an explosion at its Moerdijk facility in 2014 and for breaching emissions limits at the plant.

The district court in Den Bosch said Shell had not done enough to prevent an incident on June 3, 2014 which resulted in a series of explosions and a large fire at the Moerdijk chemical plant.

“The factory, employees, the surroundings and the environment were subject to great danger that day”, the court said. “This justifies a significant punishment.” read more

Earlier this month, a Dutch court ruled that it had the jurisdiction and would hear a damages lawsuit against Shell brought by the widows of activists executed by Nigeria’s government after the protests in Ogoniland in the 1990s.

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 27, 2019, 4:00 PM CDT

The Nigerian unit of Royal Dutch Shell doesn’t have any plans to return to exploring or producing oil in Ogoniland in Nigeria’s Rivers state after it ceased operations there in the 1990s, Igo Weli, General Manager, External Relations, at the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said this weekend at the release of Shell Nigeria’s 2019 Briefing Notes.

SPDC, as operator of the SPDC Joint Venture, carried out exploration and production operations in Ogoniland from the 1950s until the early 1990s. Production ceased in 1993 following a rise in violence, threats to staff, and attacks on facilities, Shell said. read more