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Toxic contamination

Echo’s of the Shell to Sea Campaign in Ireland 

By Jared Stonesifer [email protected]: 8 Dec 2016

POTTER TWP. — A petition with more than 750 signatures was presented to the township supervisors Wednesday night concerning objections to several aspects of Shell Chemicals’ ethane cracker plant project.

The move came one week before the Potter supervisors are set to vote on Shell’s conditional use application for the $6 billion project. The supervisors must approve the 200-page document before Shell is authorized to start construction on the plant, although construction isn’t expected until the end of next year. 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.

Pleased to assist Leigh Day in Suing Shell says John Donovan

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The High Court in London today began hearing the latest case against Royal Dutch Shell brought by the London law firm Leigh Day on behalf of Nigerian claimants.

Thousands of farmers and fishermen located in the Niger River Delta region who have suffered from oil spills and related toxic pollution. 

Leigh Day approached me last year making “an impassioned appeal” for my help, after first contacting me via Greenpeace.

This is not an unusual occurrence. Many parties contemplating or involved in litigation against Shell contact me after becoming aware of my Shell related website activities and a decades-long history of dealing with Shell, including its army of lawyers (over a thousand) and spooks (Shell Global Security and their external spy firm Hakluyt). 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.

Shell seeks to block Nigeria pollution claims in London court

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By AFPPUBLISHED: 18:20, 22 November 2016

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell on Tuesday urged a High Court judge in Britain to block pollution claims brought against it by more than 40,000 Nigerians, demanding the case be heard in Nigeria instead.

Lawyers for the claimants are demanding action from Shell to clean up oil spills that have devastated their Niger Delta communities for decades.

But Royal Dutch Shell lawyer Peter Goldsmith told High Court of England and Wales judge Peter Fraser that the cases concerned “fundamentally Nigerian issues”, and shouldn’t be heard in London. 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.

Polluted water in hand, Nigerian king takes Shell to court in London

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By Editor   |   22 November 2016  

King Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi holds up a plastic bottle containing contaminated water from his community in Nigeria, proof of oil pollution that he blames on Royal Dutch Shell — and on which he hopes a London court will deliver justice.

“My people are drinking this water,” said the tribal king of the Ogale community in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Okpabi has flown to London for a High Court hearing on Tuesday in which lawyers for more than 40,000 Nigerians are demanding action from Shell to clean up oil spills that have devastated their communities for decades. 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.

Nigerian farmers, fishermen sue Shell in UK over pollution

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screen-shot-2016-11-08-at-20-51-26By ASSOCIATED PRESS22 November 2016 

LONDON (AP) — Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi, leader of Nigeria’s Ogale people, unpacked four bottles of water from his homeland and lined them up on a table to show why his subjects are suing Royal Dutch Shell in a London court.

The Nigerian water is contaminated with oil and cancer-causing compounds such as benzene. It’s what his people drink every day.

Britain’s High Court will begin hearing lawsuits on Tuesday filed by the Ogale and Bille people alleging that decades of oil spills have fouled the water and destroyed the lives of thousands of fishermen and farmers in the Niger River Delta, where a Shell subsidiary has operated since the 1950s. They brought their fight to Shell’s home base because they say the Nigerian courts are too corrupt. 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.

Shell case may launch wave of lawsuits

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By Emily Gosden, energy editor: 19 NOVEMBER 2016 

Royal Dutch Shell is facing a High Court battle over alleged environmental damage from its oil pipelines in Nigeria, in a test case that could open the floodgates to more multinationals being sued in London courts.

The oil giant and its subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), are both being sued by two Nigerian communities, who are seeking about £100m in compensation after suffering repeated oil spills they claim came from SPDC pipelines in the Niger Delta. 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.

Shell Fights Lawsuits Over Environmental Record in Nigeria

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By SARAH KENT: Nov. 19, 2016 7:00 a.m. ET

LONDON— Royal Dutch Shell PLC is fighting lawsuits this coming week in London and the Netherlands over its environmental record in Nigeria, highlighting the quagmire of problems the energy company faces there as it tries to pivot away from the West African nation.

The oil-rich Niger Delta has generated billions of dollars for Shell over the past 60 years, but the company’s operations have been plagued by sabotage, theft and oil spills that ravaged the local environment. 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.

Shell unit at Bukom site experiences ‘upset’

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Boats sail past Pulau Bukom on June 8, 2016.PHOTO: REUTERS

cropped-Screen-Shot-2016-09-09-at-20.58.10.jpg27 Sept 2016

SINGAPORE (REUTERS) – A unit at Royal Dutch Shell’s manufacturing site at Pulau Bukom in Singapore experienced an “operational upset” on Tuesday resulting in flaring with dark smoke, a spokeswoman said.

“This has since subsided after the affected unit was stabilised,” she said.

There was no fire as a result of the flaring and the rest of the site is operating normally, she added. 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.

Shell Oil to pay California $20 million over false claims

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BY DALE KASLER: [email protected]: 23 Sept 2016

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Shell and its Equilon Enterpises LLC affiliate were essentially caught double-billing the state fund

Shell Oil Co. and an affiliate have agreed to pay $20 million to California officials over false claims the companies submitted to a state-run underground storage tank cleanup fund, California officials said Friday.

As part of the settlement, state officials permanently rejected cleanup claims from Shell and the affiliate totaling as much as $150 million.

Andrew DiLuccia, a spokesman for the State Water Resources Control Board, said Shell and its Equilon Enterpises LLC affiliate were essentially caught double-billing the state fund. “They were getting reimbursement for cleanup costs from an insurer,” he said. 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.

Shell fined €1k and ordered to pay €15k in legal costs over gas flaring

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LIKE THE SUN A still image taken from a recording shows the glow of the flaring at the Corrib Gas Terminal on January 31.

SHELL IRELAND HAS been fined €1,000 and ordered to pay €15,000 in legal costs for causing light and noise pollution from a gas flare during start-up testing at the Corrib gas terminal in Co Mayo.

The prosecution was brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following complaints from people living around the Bellanaboy Bridge area in Co Mayo, the location of Shell’s terminal to bring in gas from the Corrib gas field 65 kilometres offshore.

Guilty plea

Shell E&P Ireland Ltd, which operates the controversial gas project, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court today to breaching two counts of the Environmental Agency Protection Act during “flaring” tests on the night of New Year’s Eve. 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.

UK Government must take “ethical lead” on Shell’s Brent decommissioning plans

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Screen Shot 2016-08-29 at 22.18.50Written by Mark Lammey – 30/08/2016 2:02 pm

An Aberdeen-based oil and gas industry expert has called on the UK Government to take an “ethical lead” on offshore decommissioning.

Alex Russell, professor of petroleum accounting at Robert Gordon University, said Shell’s plans to leave large amounts of infrastructure from its Brent field in the North Sea set a bad example for developing countries.

Prof Russell said the UK Government should order a complete clearance of the seabed now, instead of leaving future generations to deal with “unknown consequences”. 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.

Eiffel Towers in the North Sea – Shell’s decommissioning plans another Brent Spar PR disaster?

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Alex Russell and Peter Strachan: from Robert Gordon University

TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2016

Shell is preparing to start the decommissioning of its four gigantic oil platforms in the famous Brent field in the Scottish part of the North Sea – a huge undertaking. Unfortunately, write Professor Alex Russell of the Oil Industry Finance Association and Professor Peter Strachan of Robert Gordon University, the company plans to dismantle only the topsides of the platforms. It wants to leave the Eiffel-tower sized legs, including 64 giant storage cells at the base of these structures, in place. They will take hundreds of years to disintegrate. Russell and Strachan call on the UK government and other North Sea governments to call a halt to these plans. They also demand that the Scottish government will have a say in the project. 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.

Carson residents push for quicker payout of settlement in contamination case

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By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze: 5 August 2016

Carson officials signaled an end this week to a six-year court battle with two multinational corporations accused of secretly leaving a massive waste-oil dump buried just feet beneath 285 homes in the Carousel tract neighborhood for decades.

City leaders, who joined the lawsuit in 2012 to support residents seeking compensation for physical and emotional problems from longtime exposure to petrochemicals, agreed Tuesday to drop their complaint and approve settlements offered by Shell Oil Co. and Dole Food Co. totaling $120 million. 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.

Carson’s contaminated Carousel tract wins $120 million settlement

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By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze: POSTED: 07/23/16

Workers have only just begun removing millions of tons of oil-caked soil left buried for decades in the yards of Carson’s Carousel tract, but a long-awaited financial settlement for the pain and suffering of residents likely will be disbursed before Christmas.

The final payout from two companies deemed responsible for the mess will be $120 million for emotional and physical turmoil, according to an agreement between attorneys reached Friday.

The deal comes after more than a year of legal wrangling between Shell Oil Co., which operated the former oil-tank storage farm on the site, and Dole Food Co., which bought the tract’s developer, Barclay Hollander Corp., and was named responsible for cleaning the property by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board in 2015. 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.

Work begins on massive cleanup of contaminated Carousel tract yards in Carson

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By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze: 13 May 2016

They had been waiting for this day for eight years. But it was still wrenching for the Ancheta family when it finally came this week.

Their house in Carson’s infamous Carousel tract was the first of hundreds slated for cleanup of tons of soil contaminated with hazardous waste from old oil storage tanks. Beginning a five-year clean-up process across the 50-acre community, workers ripped out carefully manicured plants and lawns and dug up trees.

Teresa Ancheta winced at the sight of her trees being uprooted in front of the home where she’s lived for 26 years. 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.

Changes coming in wake of Shell incident

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Journal staff: May 9, 2016

Changes are in the works following an incident last month at Shell’s Corunna refinery that led to a precautionary shelter-in-place for some residents due to reports of elevated benzene levels detected outside the plant.

“We had a meeting with Shell and talked about getting air quality monitors set up for our firehall in Corunna,” St. Clair Township Mayor Steve Arnold said. “So, we’ll be able to do air monitoring ourselves, with our fire guys. We don’t currently have that capacity.

“To me, that’s a real plus.”

The township has also expedited the repair of one of its alarm sirens – which currently only has four of eight horns in working order — and fixed a glitch with another siren after it was discovered that it never sounded at all during the April 27 incident. 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.

Shelter-in-place order for Corunna a ‘precaution’

Shell’s refinery at Corunna manufactures gasoline, solvents, chemicals and other products. The World Health Organization says human exposure to benzene has been associated with a range of acute and long-term adverse health effects and diseases, including cancer and aplastic anemia.

By Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer: Thursday, April 28, 2016

A phone call from a neighbour of Shell’s refinery in Corunna alerted the company to an incident that resulted in a shelter-in-place advisory being issued Wednesday evening for a section of the St. Clair Township community. 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.

Nothing New About Shell Settling Fraud Cases

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From April 2016:

Shell guilty of energy fraud and market manipulation in the US

From August 2004:

Shell settles fraud case for $150M

Oil company agrees to pay SEC for overstating reserves, also settles market abuse case in Britain.

The settlements are not just for fraud but range all the way to complicity in murder.

New York Times: “Shell Settles Dumping Suit for $3 Million“: 9 February 1995

New York Times: “SHELL SETTLES ROYALTIES CASE FOR $33.5 MILLION“: 21 March 2002

Shell Oil Company Limestone Township $26 million settlement: December 2007

Plaintiffs win $66 million from Shell Oil after making the mistake of relying on Shell’s “honesty and integrity”: 17 May 2008

Houston Chronicle: Shell will pay millions to settle air pollution suit: 23 April 2009

Guardian: Shell agrees to pay compensation for execution of Saro-Wiwa: June 2009 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.

NWCAA alleges multiple failures by Shell Puget Sound Refinery in February 2015 chemical release

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“This incident sickened many people in the community, and people felt unsafe in their homes and at work,” said Mark Asmundson, Executive Director of the Northwest Clean Air Agency.

After a yearlong investigation, the Northwest Clean Air Agency is alleging Shell failed to follow shutdown and decontamination procedures while cleaning the refinery’s east flare system.

Shell’s actions led to a surge of wet, chemical-laden gases moving through the flare line and extinguishing the flare flame, allowing the release of unburned chemicals to the atmosphere. The purpose of the flare flame is to combust chemicals into less odorous and toxic forms. As a condition of its permit, Shell is required to maintain the flame if chemicals might be vented to the flare. The chemicals released included hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, mercaptans and benzene. 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.

Air agency: Shell refinery emissions sickened many

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By KIMBERLY CAUVEL: 13 April 2016

ANACORTES — Harmful emissions from the Shell Puget Sound Refinery in February 2015 could have been avoided had the refinery followed protocols, the Northwest Clean Air Agency announced Tuesday.

A yearlong investigation suggests Shell failed to follow shutdown and decontamination procedures while cleaning the refinery’s east flare system, according to a news release from the regional air agency.

The refinery allegedly took shortcuts in shutting down and decontaminating its east flare system, leading to the release of chemicals on Feb. 20, 2015, that affected hundreds in La Conner and in the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. 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.

There’s a Cancer-Causing Chemical in My Drinking Water, But California Isn’t Regulating It

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Consumer Confidence Report Footnote

123 Trichloropropane has been detected in 29 wells in Fresno…. Some people who use water containing it over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer, based on studies in laboratory animals.

Screen Shot 2016-03-07 at 21.15.23Wait…what? I have two little kids, and my family drinks the tap water. And it might cause cancer? I decided to fork out $200 to get mine tested. And to start digging into how 1,2,3-TCP got into the water.

Turns out, it’s not just Fresno. According to the State Water Resources Control Board, 1,2,3-TCP has been found in about a hundred public water systems across California, mostly in the Central Valley but also in counties like Santa Cruz, Monterey, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. 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.

March 2016: Multiple news sources report that Nigerians have been given the go-ahead to sue Shell in UK court over oil spills

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By John Donovan

Multiple news sources have reported the latest legal proceedings brought against Shell in London on behalf of Nigerian communities. 

Parties pursuing litigation against Shell are frequently in contact with me seeking advice, inside information and internal evidence. I am always grateful in this regard for invaluable input from Shell insider sources, some of whom have provided information to me for over a decade. 

With regards to the latest litigation, suffice it to say that I was pleased to provide extensive assistance on a confidential basis to Leigh Day, the London law firm acting for their Nigerian clients.  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.

Cash Can’t Fix the Village Ruined by Shell’s Oil

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Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 15.03.25By Chris Kay and Ed Kiernan: Bloomberg.com

3 March 2016

As canoes glide past mangroves blackened by oil in the Niger River delta, two dozen children splash around in a creek covered by a sheen of crude while families take shelter from the punishing midday sun in half-built houses.

Once a bustling farming and fishing town in the region of Ogoniland, Bodo has become a poster child in Nigeria for the devastating impact on local communities caused by the leakage of about 240,000 barrels of crude a year in the delta, close to the amount that spilled in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground off Alaska. 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.

SHELL FIRES TWO OVER MOERDIJK PLANT’S 27-TON GAS LEAK

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By Janene Pieters: 3 March 2016

Two employees at Shell Moerdijk were dismissed and sanctions were imposed against six others because of the 27.7 ton toxic gas leak at the plant between November and January, according to Union FNV. The gas leak poses no long- or short term risks for public health, according to a study done by the public health service and the RIVM, NU reports.

According to Ron Sinnige, press officer for FNV, the two dismissed employees were fired because they were also involved in another incident at Shell Moerdijk last year. He would not comment on what sanctions were imposed on the other six employees. 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.

Nigerians given go-ahead to sue Shell in UK court over oil spills

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Screen Shot 2016-02-17 at 08.47.47Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent: Wednesday 2 March 2016 

In a statement before the hearing on Wednesday, Shell blamed sabotage and oil theft for the pollution. The company said it had halted production more than two decades ago in Ogoniland, the area where the two communities are located.

Shell said it would challenge the jurisdiction of the British court: “Asking the English court to intervene … is a direct challenge to the internal political acts and decisions of the Nigerian state.”

Human rights activists argue that such pollution levels would never be tolerated in the home countries of such multinationals. 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.

Nigerian Communities Can Sue Royal Dutch Shell Over Oil Spills, U.K. Court Says

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Screen Shot 2016-03-02 at 15.29.20The suits are the latest international litigation to face Shell for environmental damage stemming from its Nigerian operations

By SARAH KENT: March 2, 2016 

LONDON—Two Nigerian communities can sue Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s Nigerian unit in the U.K. over oil spills in the West African country, a London court ruled Wednesday, testing whether energy companies can be held liable in their home country for events elsewhere.

The lawsuits, filed with the London High Court, are the latest international litigation to face Shell for environmental damage stemming from its Nigerian operations. The Anglo-Dutch company reached a £55 million ($77.4 million) settlement in a similar U.K. lawsuit brought by the Niger Delta-based Bodo community in January 2015. It also is being sued in the Netherlands in a separate case over Nigerian oil spills. 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.

INVESTORS WARNED: SHELL FACES FURTHER LAWSUITS FOR NIGERIA OIL SPILLS

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Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 15.03.25Shell’s failure to maintain and protect pipelines may leave it liable to a raft of compensation claims from dozens of Niger Delta communities, said Amnesty International today as London law firm Leigh Day announced two more lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell.

The latest cases were filed today on behalf of two communities in the Niger Delta who have been affected by oil pollution, Bille and Ogale.

In its investor briefing, Shell’s growing liabilities in the Niger Delta: Lessons from the Bodo court case , Amnesty International warns Shell’s investors that failures in the way the oil giant inspects and reports on oil spills could mask the scale of potential financial liability arising for Shell. 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.

Nigeria Groups Take Oil Spill Complaints Against Shell to Court

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Screen Shot 2016-02-29 at 15.03.25Sarah McGregor and Chris Kay: March 1, 2016

Two Nigerian communities have filed cases in a London court alleging Royal Dutch Shell Plc is responsible for oil spills that have contaminated the Niger River delta, according to the legal team representing them both.

The first hearing for both claims against Shell and its local unit, Shell Petroleum Development Co., will begin on Wednesday in a London court, according to the statement. The action is being led by Leigh Day, the law firm that handled a similar case that Shell settled last year by agreeing to pay 55 million pounds ($77 million) to compensate more than 15,000 residents of the Nigerian Bodo community for oil spills in 2008. Shell Petroleum Development is “at an early stage” of reviewing the claims, the company said in a statement. 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.

Shell being sued in two claims over oil spills in Nigeria

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Two communities are claiming compensation and want Shell to clean up their land.

Shell said it is at an “early stage” in reviewing the claims and that the case should be heard in Nigeria.

The Ogale community of about 40,000 people in Rivers State, on the coast of Nigeria, who are mainly farmers or fishermen, are some of the claimants.

Their case is being handled by law firm Leigh Day.

Spills since 1989 have meant they don’t have clean drinking water, farmland or rivers, their claim says. 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.

CANCER RATE INVESTIGATED IN VILLAGE NEAR SHELL MOERDIJK PLANT

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By Janene Pieters: FEB 29, 2016

The Public Health Service is launching an investigation into the cancer rate in the Brabant village of Klundert, near the Shell Moerdijk plant. Though there is no hard figures yet, most doctors feel that the cancer rate in the village is unusually high.

“It happens very often here. And that gives us food for fought. We would like to know if our feelings are true”, GP Jula-Louise Vladar said to Omroep Brabant. Vladar diagnosed seven cases of cancer in one week.

The first goal for the statistical investigation is to find out whether there are actually more cases of cancer in the village than in the rest of the Netherlands. If this turns out to be the case, the investigation should show why that is. 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.

Why Oil Production in Ogoniland is Still Impossible

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Why Oil Production in Ogoniland is Still Impossible

By Fegalo Nsuke: 

Shortly after the hangings on 10 November 1995, Shell Oil Company set up an Ogoni Re-entry department to help the company break the Ogoni resistance and pave the way for the resumption of oil mining in the area. That was Shell’s immediate response to the plight of the Ogoni people after the brutal killings of 9 leaders by the Nigerian government in 1995.

The government and Shell had thought that Saro-Wiwa’s killing would frustrate the Ogoni and ease the resumption of oil mining in Ogoniland. That was not to be as the people have consistently and persistently held on to the oil till date except in cases where agents of Shell have been reported to be stealing the Ogoni oil. 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.

Shell to face Nigeria oil spill lawsuit

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A Dutch judge has ruled that a court in the Netherlands should hear a case against Royal Dutch Shell brought by four Nigerian farmers.

The farmers and fishermen want Shell to clean up oil spills in four villages in the Niger Delta and pay compensation.

The latest ruling overturns a decision that was made two years ago by a lower court.

The oil giant said it was disappointed with decision made by appeals court judge Hans van der Klooster.

He ruled that Dutch courts had jurisdiction in the case against Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary. 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.

Nigerian Farmers Cleared to Sue Shell in Dutch Court

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Screen Shot 2015-12-18 at 08.01.07By MIKE CORDER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dec 18, 2015

Nigerian farmers will have the chance to sue oil multinational Shell in a Dutch court for pollution they blame on leaking pipelines, a Dutch appeals court ruled Friday.

Activists said the ruling sets a landmark legal precedent that clears the way for Dutch-based companies to be sued for alleged negligence of their subsidiaries elsewhere in the world.

“There is now jurisprudence that means victims of human rights violations or pollution can sue Dutch multinationals in the Netherlands,” said Geert Ritsema of the Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth, the environmental group that is also involved in the case.

The case centers on a charge from four farmers that Shell and its Nigerian unit are liable for damages caused by leaks from two underground oil pipes from 2004-2007. Shell has argued that it has no liability in the case and that Dutch courts did not have jurisdiction. read more

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State regulators fine Shell Oil for toxic release in Anacortes

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Screen Shot 2015-11-21 at 00.19.03Inspectors found that Shell had skipped critical decontamination steps while shutting down the main flare. The uncontrolled release exposed workers to toxic substances.

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS: NOVEMBER 20, 2015

TUMWATER, Wash. (AP) — Washington state regulators have fined Shell Oil Products $77,000 after an investigation found that it failed to control a toxic release.

The Department of Labor and Industries said Friday that they began investigating Shell’s Puget Sound Refinery in Anacortes after learning that the refinery’s main flare released contaminates into the environment.

The release prompted complaints about the odor by people living nearby.

A refinery flare is designed to burn off waste gases and vapors not used in production. It also helps to prevent fires. But the flare must be decontaminated and shut down periodically for maintenance. read more

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Niger Delta: Shell’s manifestly false claims about oil pollution exposed, again

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Screen Shot 2015-09-30 at 15.38.083 November 2015, 00:08 UTC

Claims by oil giant Shell that it has cleaned up heavily polluted areas of the Niger Delta are blatantly false, Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) said in a new report published today.

Clean it up: Shell’s false claims about oil spills in the Niger Delta documents ongoing contamination at four oil spill sites that Shell said it had cleaned up years ago. The report is being published to mark the 20th anniversary of the execution, on 10 November 1995, of the environmental activist and writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who campaigned tirelessly against the damage caused by the oil industry in the Niger Delta. 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.

New Report Blames Shell, Exposes Failure to Clean Niger-Delta Oil Spills

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Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 07.55.40By Senator Iroegbu: 29 October 2015

The Amnesty International (AI) and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) will launch a new report exposing what it described as Shell’s blatantly false statements about its efforts to clean up oil spills in the Niger Delta next week.

The Press Officer, AI Nigeria, Mr. Eulette Ewart, said in a statement on Thursday, that despite promising to act on a 2011 United Nations Environmental Programme report exposing shocking levels of pollution caused by oil spills, ‘Clean it up: Shell’s failure to tackle oil spills in Nigeria’ documents that Shell has either not cleaned up or has done it so badly that oil still pollutes the land. read more

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Oil Spill: Ilaje Coastal Communities Demand Compensation from Shell

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22 October 2015

The Ilaje coastal communities in Ondo state have alleged that oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) allegedly excluded them from the ongoing discussions and compensation agreement it reached with the communities that were affected in the oil spill from the Bonga oil field in 2011.

They have therefore appealed to President, Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the matter to ensure their inclusion in all discussions with regards to payment of compensation.

The communities, have however, threatened   a legal action against Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, (SNEPCO),a subsidiary of SPDC, should the oil firm continues to exclude them from the compensation agreement reached between it and the communities and over the Bonga oil Spill of 2011. read more

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Feds, Shell to pay $55 million to clean up contaminated L.A. site

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Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 07.55.40By KYLE FELDSCHER (@KYLE_FELDSCHER) 9/30/15 4:29 PM

Shell and a government agency will pay $55 million to clean up contaminated soil at a site in Los Angeles as a part of a settlement with the federal government.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it reached the settlement with Shell and the General Services Administration to clean up the Del Amo Superfund Site in Los Angeles. A superfund site is an abandoned area where hazardous waste is located.

The Del Amo site is the former location of a synthetic rubber plant built in the 1940s that closed in 1972. Among the chemicals used to produce the rubber, which were discarded into unlined pits and ponds and covered with soil, were benzene, propane, butylene and butane. Those chemicals contaminated the soil and groundwater in the area. read more

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California Appeals Court Allows Shell $90M Oil Contamination Settlement

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Shell’s $90M Oil Harm Deal Nears Win Over Dole Challenge

By Daniel Siegal

Law360, Los Angeles (September 8, 2015, 9:57 PM ET) — A California appeals court indicated Tuesday it will allow Shell Oil Co.’s $90 million settlement with nearly 1,500 Los Angeles-area residents over oil waste buried under homes built by a Dole Food Co. subsidiary, tentatively rejecting Dole’s argument that the deal unfairly exposes it to excessive liability. 

The appeal stems from Shell’s attempt to exit a sprawling legal battle over oil contamination affecting 1,491 residents of the Carousel housing development built by developer and Dole subsidiary Barclay-Hollander-Curci on land it acquired from Shell in the city… read more

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Court Says Chevron Can Be Pursued in Canada Over Ecuadorean Damage

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Screen Shot 2015-09-05 at 07.12.20By IAN AUSTEN and CLIFFORD KRAUSSA version of this article appears in print on September 5, 2015, on page B2 of the New York edition

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday that a group of Ecuadoreans can use an Ontario court in an attempt to collect billions of dollars from Chevron for environmental damage.

The ruling is the latest step in a 13-year legal battle over the contamination of a rain forest in Ecuador, where Texaco had oil operations. The lawsuit has pitted Ecuadorean villagers in the region of Lago Agrio against Chevron, which bought Texaco.

While a trial court in Ecuador initially awarded the villagers $17.2 billion, an appeals court reduced the damages to $9.5 billion. It was one of the largest judgments imposed by a court for environmental contamination. read more

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Shell Oil accidentally spills hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic gas in Deer Park

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Dylan Baddour, Houston Chronicle: Tuesday, August 11, 2015

On Sunday morning, hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic gas were accidentally released from the Shell Oil facility in Deer Park.

According to reports from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 326,166 pounds of butadiene escaped through an open valve on a spherical tank between 10:40 am and 11:35 am.

Neil Carman, a chemist with the Sierra Club of Texas and a former power plant inspector for the TCEQ, said that butadiene is a known human carcinogen, but that its molecular structure allows it to dissipate quickly in the hot summer air. The chemical is commonly expelled in car exhaust, but Carman said the quantity in the Shell incident was concerning. read more

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Contaminated Carson neighborhood braces for messy environmental cleanup

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$90 million legal settlement offered by Shell Oil

Screen Shot 2015-08-08 at 22.58.09By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze: 7 Aug 2015

In a notoriously contaminated Carson neighborhood where homeowners have been waiting for years for someone to neutralize the toxic goo beneath their homes and yards, relief is finally within sight.

Cleanup plans were finalized recently after four years of invasive testing and debate over what to do with tons of underground waste oil abandoned in the Carousel Tract in the 1960s and rediscovered in 2008.

But things won’t be fixed overnight. In fact, residents can expect at least six more years of smelly, noisy work before they have their neighborhood — and their lives — back. read more

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Landmark Deal Curbs Flaring Pollution

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Top oil-producing nations and companies pledge to eliminate the waste of natural gas that also exacerbates global warming

April 17, 2015 |By Lisa Friedman and ClimateWire

Top oil-producing nations, including the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Angola, as well as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and other companies say they will stop flaring natural gas by 2030 as part of a landmark agreement with the World Bank.

The deal was unveiled this morning during the World Bank’s Spring Meetings, where leaders said the voluntary agreement will curb 40 percent of the global gas flaring that results in 300 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

“Gas flaring is a visual reminder that we are wastefully sending CO2 into the atmosphere,” said World Bank President Jim Yong Kim in a statement. “Together we can take concrete action to end flaring and to use this valuable natural resource to light the darkness for those without electricity.” read more

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Bay Point: Removal of ‘Shell Pond’ polluted soil set to start in April

Screen Shot 2014-12-08 at 22.24.14From an article by Sam Richards published 23 March 2015 by Contra Costa Times

Bay Point: Removal of ‘Shell Pond’ polluted soil set to start in April

BAY POINT — More than two years after an aborted attempt to clean up the old “Shell Pond” along Suisun Bay, PG&E will soon begin removing 8,400 tons of dredged polluted soil from land adjacent to the pond on the community’s north edge, with an eye toward starting cleanup of the 73-acre pond itself in 2017.

The utility is set to begin, in mid-April, removing soil containing petroleum hydrocarbons (“carbon black”), metals and other compounds dredged in 2012 from the waste pond about three-quarters of a mile north of Willow Pass Road along the waterfront and trucking it about two miles to the Keller Canyon landfill, said PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian. That work is expected to take approximately three months, she said. read more

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Joint Investigation Visit Reports Indict Shell On Oil Spills In Bayelsa

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From an article by Fyneface Aaron published 23 March 2015 by The Tide

Joint Investigation Visit Reports Indict Shell On Oil Spills In Bayelsa, Nigeria

(JIV) report on Seibou and several other oil wells that are spilling its contents into the environments in Bayelsa State operated by Shell Development Company has been attributed to equipment failure.

The reports estimated that some 549 barrels of SPDC,s crude stream was discharged into Ogboinbiri River in Southern Ijaw Local government area and impacted several other communities living along the coast.

The JIV report obtained on Monday, indicated that the visit was concluded on March 13,  2015, and traced the spills to raptured pipes which were fast ageing. read more

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Nigeria’s Ogonis Divided Over Resuming Oil Production

Screen Shot 2015-02-22 at 10.18.33By Chris Stein – Voice of America, 06 March 2015

Nigeria’s Ogonis Divided Over Resuming Oil Production

KEGBARA DERE, NIGERIA—

Oil once flowed in Ogoniland, as it does from wells throughout the creeks and swamps of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.

But in 1993, the Ogoni people said enough. Leaking pipelines were polluting the fields they farmed and the waterways they fished.

Oil giant Shell was forced to pull out of Ogoniland that year in the face of protests led by the charismatic Ken Saro-Wiwa, head of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, or MOSOP. He was hanged two years later by the military dictatorship that ran Nigeria, in a move widely seen as retaliation for his activism. read more

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Shell confirms oil leak from underwater facility in Bayelsa

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Screen Shot 2015-01-06 at 21.26.38From an article published in the Premium Times on 5 March 2015:

Shell confirms oil leak from underwater facility in Bayelsa

Extracts

The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Thursday confirmed an oil leak incident from its underwater line within its oil fields in Bayelsa.

According to a statement issued by Joesph Obari, Spokesperson for the oil firm, the leakage was reported on January 23, 2015, and the company subsequently shut the facility.

A site visit however showed that residual leak from Seibou Deep facility operated by SPDC, has been discharging crude into Ogboinbiri River in Bayelsa.

“A spill was detected from an underwater flow line riser at the Seibou 2 Wellhead in the night of January 23, 2015,” the statement said.

“The well was closed-in about fifteen hours later, once it was safe to do so and the impacted area boomed off to prevent further spread of the spill. read more

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Ogoniland and Shell

Screen Shot 2015-02-22 at 10.18.33Article by Ben Ikari (International Human Rights and Environmental Justice Advocate)

Dr. Eddy Wikina Should Advocate Clean-up and Ogoni Bill Of Rights-Not Oil Production

My comments are based on a press statement credited to a respected elder of Ogoni Dr. Eddy Wikina on behalf of the “Ogonis Elites and Elders,” titled: Oil Resumption in Ogoniland: Elites Advocate 10-15 Percent Equity, and published March 4, 2015 on Ogoninews.com.

I wish to state clearly, and without equivocation that, although Dr. Wikina is a well known and respected Ogoni, especially as someone with enormous experience in the oil industry, he’d understand that Ogoni isn’t ready for oil production until the United Nations Environmental Program’s (UNEP) recommendations on Ogoni clean-up, restoration and sustainable development/people’s empowerment are implemented to a reasonable level. read more

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Oil Spill: Syndicates Defraud Communities As Shell Remains Adamant On Payout

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Screen Shot 2015-03-01 at 08.16.28BY SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK, FEB 28, 2015

An investigation by SaharaReporters reveals that several rogue syndicates have been selling oil spill compensation forms to members of oil-producing communities in Bayelsa State ostensibly to enable the residents to benefit from a fund established to compensate victims of the December 2011 Bonga oil spill. However, some concerned activists told Sahara Reporters that the sale of forms was exploitative, especially since it was not clear that those who file for compensation would ever receive any payment. read more

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Refinery operator Shell Canada charged for January 2013 incident at plant

Screen Shot 2015-01-06 at 21.26.38By Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer: Friday, February 13, 2015 11:57:12 EST AM

Refinery operator charged for January 2013 incident at plant

Extracts

Representatives of Shell Canada made a brief court appearance in Sarnia on Friday on environmental charges the company faces following an incident Jan. 11, 2013 at its plant near Corunna.

Shell is scheduled to appear again on April 10 at 9 a.m. in Provincial Offences Court at Bayside Centre.

Friday’s appearance was the first for the company since charges were laid in early January by Ontario’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

The charges allege Shell Canada committed the offence of discharging, or causing, or permitting a discharge of a contaminate into the environment that caused or was likely to have caused an adverse effect, contrary to Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act. 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.