Breaking News: Security Fiasco at Shell AGM. 

11.15 am 24 May 2022

Shell Plc Chairman Sir Andrew Mackenzie announced to assembled shareholders that the AGM meeting is halted because protestors have superglued themselves to seats. 

Does the question, therefore, arise of how the activists managed to smuggle superglue into the AGM? The possibility must have been considered bearing in mind that the same superglue tactics have been used previously on a number of occasions by protestors at the Shell Centre building and reported extensively by the news media? read more

FT

Odey urges Shell to drop appeal against order to slash emissions

Tom Wilson in London

Odey Asset Management has called on Shell to drop its appeal against a landmark Dutch court ruling targeting its climate strategy and instead to fund an independent body to audit the emissions of every oil and gas company. Fund manager Henry Steel, who wrote the letter, told the Financial Times that Shell was “sending the wrong signals” by appealing against last year’s Dutch ruling ordering the oil major to cut its emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. read more

Clifford Chance to handle Shell’s appeal against sensational defeat in the Milieudefensie case

The following are translated extracts from an article published on 19 May 2022 by the Dutch financial newspaper, the fd.

By Martijn Pols and Joris Polman.

Oil company Shell has set aside house lawyer De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek after the sensational defeat against Milieudefensie. Exactly one year ago, the judge forced Shell to tighten up its climate policy.

Shell appealed but had no confidence in a good outcome with De Brauw by its side. Lawyers for British Clifford Chance can now make another attempt. read more

CITYA.M. 

Activist investor prepares to take on Shell over climate targets

NICHOLAS EARL: THURSDAY 12 MAY 2022

Shell is preparing for a shareholder showdown at its upcoming general meeting later this month, with activist group Follow This pushing the energy giant to commit to more stringent environmental targets.

It has warned shareholders that Shell’s current transition plans are not aligned with the Paris Agreement, and has filed a motion – resolution 21 – calling for the oil and gas major to publish targets that cover short, medium and long term emissions in both its operations and the use of its energy products. read more

DutchNews.nl

Shell board ‘could be liable’ for failing to tackle CO2: Milieudefensie

April 25, 2022

Environmental campaign group Milieudefensie has written to the members of the board at Shell warning them they could be held liable for failing to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions despite being ordered by judges to do so last year.

Last May, a court in The Hague said that Shell must play its part in the fight against dangerous climate change and ‘reduce the carbon dioxide emitted by the Shell group and its customers by 45% net by the end of 2030, compared with the level in 2019.’ read more

Shell, Mitsubishi wind power consortium to produce ‘green hydrogen’ -Yomiuri

By Syndicated Content: Apr 6, 2022 | 10:09 PM TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and Shell Plc aim to produce 400,000 tonnes of “green hydrogen” in 2030 through the companies’ European offshore wind power project, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday.Dutch renewable energy firm Eneco, owned by Mitsubishi and Japan’s Chubu Electric Power Co, has decided to invest 10% in a joint venture that includes Shell, Norway’s Equinor and others, for the project, the paper said.The hydrogen would be produced through wind power instead of natural gas in a bid to reduce the fuel’s carbon footprint, the Yomiuri said.

($1 = 123.6800 yen)

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)

SOURCE

Reuters

Dutch govt to pay Shell, Exxon $8.28 billion for filling Norg gas storage

Toby Sterling  Reuters

AMSTERDAM, April 1 (Reuters) – The Dutch government on Friday said it expected to compensate NAM, a joint venture between Shell RDSa.L and Exxon XOM.N, around 7.5 billion euros ($8.3 billion) for filling the Norg gas facility the past three years, with most of the costs coming this year due to the current high price of gas.

In a statement, the Economic Affairs Ministry cited “the current historic high gas prices” and the exact amount would be determined at the end of the gas year, which runs through to Sept. 30. In all NAM will have purchased 8.8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas on the open market to fill the facility over the past three years. read more

Evening Standard

Shell finance boss Jessica Uhl departs with £1 million payday

Renumeration bonanza at odds with drivers facing record petrol prices at pumps

By Mark Banham: 1st April 2022

The former chief financial officer of Shell is set to walk away with a “golden handshake” worth more than £1 million.

Jessica Uhl’s renumeration package will include a £921,000 payment for “loss of office” plus salary paid until June this year and an as yet to be decided annual bonus. In addition, she will continue to receive pension payments and medical benefits until June despite officially stepping down yesterday.

She announced her departure from Shell early last month citing “family reasons”. She took the decision to leave after her position was moved from The Netherlands to London. read more

Nigeria: Dutch court rejects suit of ‘Ogoni Nine’ widows against Shell

The court said there was insufficient evidence to support claims of the families of the activists executed alongside the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995.

23 March 2022

A Dutch court has thrown out a suit against Shell brought by four widows of activists who were executed by late Nigerian military leader Sani Abacha in 1995 after protests against the company’s exploitation of the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The court said there was not enough evidence to support the widows’ claim that Shell had been involved in bribing witnesses related to the case.

In 2019, the court had handed the widows a rare win in their long-running battle by allowing the case to continue. But it had also said the claimants needed to prove Shell’s liability.

Shell has always denied wrongdoing.

Esther Kiobel, whose husband Barinem Kiobel was among those executed, said she would file an appeal at The Hague.

“We can’t do it in Nigeria because they [the government] are the collaborators,” she said. “I want their [activists] names exonerated. That’s what I want and that’s what I’m fighting for.” read more

Amnesty International

The Hague: Esther Kiobel vows to continue her campaign for justice

23 March 2022

Human rights defender Esther Kiobel today lost her civil case against oil giant Shell, which she accuses of complicity in the 1995 execution of her husband by the Nigerian military government, but has promised to continue her campaign for justice. Esther has spent 27 years seeking justice for her husband Dr Barinem Kiobel, who was hanged along with eight other men in connection with widespread protests against oil pollution in the Niger Delta.At a witness hearing in 2019, three men told the Dutch court that Shell and the Nigerian government had given them money and offered them other bribes in order to incriminate Esther’s husband and eight other men, known collectively as the “Ogoni Nine”. But today, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Shell had been involved.

Esther Kiobel brought the case against Shell along with three other women, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula, whose husbands were also executed in 1995. Amnesty International’s research into the historic injustice has revealed how Shell’s requests for ‘assistance’ in handling environmental protests led to a brutal government crackdown, culminating in the arrests and unlawful executions of the women’s husbands, as well as renowned activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and four other men.

“This is a disappointing outcome, but these extraordinarily brave women are not giving up. Their voices have been heard. They should be commended for their resilience and unbreaking commitment to exposing the truth, and for the invaluable work they have done to highlight the global culture of impunity for multinationals accused of human rights abuses,” said Mark Dummett, Head of Business and Human Rights at Amnesty International.

“It has taken years of legal wrangling for Esther Kiobel to get Shell to face her in a courtroom. Shell tried every trick in the book, from disputing jurisdiction to refusing to hand over crucial documents. The fact that it took more than twenty years for a court to hear Esther’s argument is a grim indictment of how corporations are able to evade accountability for terrible crimes and human rights abuses. Despite the ruling today, Esther’s battle for justice has not been in vain – her persistence represents a powerful argument for change. Governments must do more to hold companies accountable for human rights abuses, and make it possible for the victims to seek justice.”

Esther Kiobel fled Nigeria and settled in the US following her husband’s killing. She first filed a case against Shell in New York in 2002, but in 2013 the US Supreme Court ruled that the US did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. In 2017, Amnesty International supported Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula in bringing a new case against Shell in the Netherlands. The four plaintiffs accused Shell of being instrumental in the unlawful arrest and detention of their husbands; the violation of their husbands’ physical integrity; and the violation of their right to a fair trial and to life, and their own right to a family life. The case was held up when Shell refused to hand over crucial documents relating to the case, and it was not until 2019 that the District Court of The Hague heard the women’s arguments for the first time.

Amnesty International has extensively detailed Shell’s role in the crackdown in Ogoniland. In a 2017 report read more

CNBC

Shell’s board of directors sued for ‘failing to properly prepare’ for the energy transition

PUBLISHED TUE, MAR 15 202210:14 AM EDT

Sam Meredith@SMEREDITH19 KEY POINTS

• Environmental law firm ClientEarth, a Shell shareholder, said Tuesday that it had notified Shell of its claim against the company’s 13 executive and non-executive directors.
• It argues the board’s failure to implement a climate strategy that truly aligns with the landmark Paris Agreement is a breach of their duties under English law.
• In response to the legal action, Shell told CNBC via email that it was delivering on its global strategy that supported the Paris accord.

Shell’s board is being sued for failing to prepare the multinational oil and gas company for the transition away from fossil fuels.

Environmental law firm ClientEarth, a Shell shareholder, said Tuesday that it had notified Shell of its claim against the company’s 13 executive and non-executive directors. It argues the board’s failure to implement a climate strategy that truly aligns with the landmark Paris Agreement is a breach of their duties under English law. read more

Reuters

Dutch watchdog says gas production at Groningen remains unsafe

AMSTERDAM, March 8 (Reuters) – A Dutch watchdog said on Tuesday that gas production from Groningen field remained a safety threat, as Europe races to find other sources of the fuel to wean itself off Russian supplies in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Dutch government has been winding down Groningen for years because production triggers earthquakes in the area and it plans to cease output entirely by October. But the government has not ruled out a change course in an emergency. read more

BOYCOTT SHELL?

Shell criticised for buying oil from Putin’s Russia despite Ukraine invasion

Emails received in the last 24 hours…

FROM СЛАВА (Full name and email address supplied). An ordinary Ukrainian girl whose father is fighting for Ukraine 

Dear Shell Company! YOUR FUEL IS UKRAINIAN BLOOD!

Please, DON’T SUPPORT RUSSIA! You are still operating in RUSSIA – Ukraine’s aggressor! CLOSE CONNECTION WITH RUSSIAN TERROR STATE RIGHT NOW!!!

STOP THE GENOCIDE OF UKRAINE!

Russia has been conducting terror and crime against humanity on Ukrainian land and cities for nine days already! WE URGE the whole international community to STOP THIS WAR because YOUR families and homes WILL BE THE NEXT! read more

Reuters

Shell to Put Profits From Russian Oil Trade Into Ukraine Aid Fund

By Reuters: March 5, 2022, at 1:13 p.m.

By Ron Bousso

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil major Royal Dutch Shell will put profits from any Russian oil it purchases into a fund that will go towards humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the company said on Saturday.

Shell had on Friday bought a cargo of Russian crude oil at a record low discount, the first such trade since Russia invaded Ukraine last week.

The deal, which did not violate Western sanctions on Moscow, was criticized by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. read more

NL TIMES

Despite earthquakes, Groningen residents open to gas mining to thwart Putin

SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2022 – 09:06

A majority of Groningen residents expressed willingness to open the gas tap further in order to lessen dependence on Russian gas, Dagblad van het Noorden reports from results of a survey by Enigma Research among residents of the province this week. People who live in areas that experience earthquakes from gas extraction are even more willing than those who live outside the earthquake zone.

No less than 83 percent of those polled thought the Netherlands should stop importing Russian gas. More than six in 10 Groningen residents support further gas mining in their province, up to a maximum of 12 billion cubic meters per year.

The State Supervision of Mines (SodM) has always said that gas extraction can be relatively safe up to that maximum if all houses in Groningen are reinforced. However, SodM announced in February that it wanted to halt gas extraction in Groningen.

“From my perspective on the safety of the people in Groningen, raising gas production now is really a bad idea,” said Theodor Kockelkoren, inspector-general with the State Supervision of Mines (SodM), at the time. read more

English translation of extracts from a Forbes article published in German on 1st March 2022. 

FORBES

CAN SHELL GREEN?

In the public perception, Shell is an industrial giant – now Fabian Ziegler, Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Shell Holding GmbH since spring 2020, wants to make the company greener.

Will the Swiss succeed in pulling off the coup so vital to the group’s survival?

Text: Matthias Lauerer
Photo: Deutsche Shell Holding GmbH

1st March 2022

Is Shell on its way to a carbon-neutral future? Will this be a reimagined world, where green hydrogen, e-mobility and decarbonization have become a reality? Or do they prefer to greenwash to perpetuate the dirty old business model on which the global economy hangs? read more