REUTERS

Court rejects Nigeria’s compensation request against Eni, Shell

By Alfredo Faieta and Francesca Landini: November 11, 2022

MILAN, Nov 11 (Reuters) – An appeals court in Milan on Friday rejected Nigeria’s $1.092 billion compensation request against Italian energy group Eni SpA (ENI.MI) and Shell Plc (SHEL.L) in civil proceedings relating to a $1.3 billion oilfield deal.

The decision was read out in court.

In July prosecutors had dropped related criminal proceedings, clearing Eni and Shell, as well as managers including Eni Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi, in one of the oil industry’s biggest alleged corruption cases. 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

British Spies, British Lies (James Hall vs Walied Shater)

I have never before seen a court document containing so many allegations of repeated lies by a top-level Shell official, supported by copious similar fact evidence of his alleged deceit.

By John Donovan

I reported in August 1917 that Mr Crockett Oaks III, Shell security manager for the Americas, received a ‘big bucks’ court case settlement from Shell.

The litigation arose from an alleged pattern of discrimination in favour of ‘White Brits’ by Shell and Shell Corporate Security VP James WD Hall, a British national.

Mr Hall is a security professional who worked in an undisclosed position purportedly in the British Foreign Office (MI6?) before his long career at Shell. 

Mr Hall has faced a succession of accusers on the same race/national origin grounds starting with Crockett Oaks III. 

The second case was brought by Mr Mike Oliveri, another gentleman with a military/security affairs background. Mr Oliveri is a decorated war veteran – a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Mr Hall’s current accuser is Mr Walied Shater a former US Secret Service agent.  read more

DutchNews.nl

Groningen gas: former mining director says gas firms taken more seriously than supervisor

Sept 1, 2022

The economic affairs minister took gas companies more seriously than government safety supervisors, according to evidence at the six-week enquiry into what has gone wrong in Groningen.

This week the enquiry restarted into how decades of gas extraction caused ever more earthquakes and damage for local people, and why compensation schemes have failed so badly. It will run until October 14. read more

The Guardian

South African court bans offshore oil and gas exploration by Shell

Judgment is huge victory for campaigners concerned about effect of seismic waves on marine life

A South African court has upheld a ban imposed on the energy giant Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas off the Indian Ocean coast.

The judgment delivered in Makhanda on Thursday marks a monumental victory for environmentalists concerned about the impact the exploration would have on whales and other marine life.

The 2014 decision granting the right for the “exploration of oil and gas in the Transkei and Algoa exploration areas is reviewed and set aside”, the high court ruled in the southern city. read more

Reuters

Russian court rules local Shell JV to move under Moscow control -Ifx

MOSCOW – A Russian court ruled on Monday that Salym Petroleum Development (SPD), a joint venture between Shell and Gazprom Neft, should be transferred to Russian jurisdiction, Interfax news agency reported, citing the verdict.

Kommersant daily reported last week that Gazprom Neft was suing to have its Salym Petroleum Development joint venture with Shell be transferred to Russian jurisdiction, and for Shell’s shareholding rights to be suspended. read more

Extracted from pages 18 & 19 of Shell Sustainability Report 2020

SHELL PLC BUSINESS ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

Our core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people underpin our work with employees, customers, investors, contractors, suppliers, non-governmental organisations and others. The Shell General Business Principles, introduced more than 40 years ago, describe our core values, our responsibilities and the principles and behaviours that guide how we do business. read more

Court filing confirms that Shell settled a claim from Crockett Oaks III involving serious allegations against Shell and Shell Spymaster James W.D. Hall

By John Donovan

I reported in August 1917 that Mr Crockett Oaks III, Shell security manager for the Americas, received a ‘big bucks’ court case settlement from Shell.

The litigation arose from an alleged pattern of discrimination in favour of ‘White Brits’ by Shell and Shell Corporate Security VP James WD Hall, a British national. read more

BBC News

Greenpeace lodges legal bid to halt Jackdaw gas field in North Sea

By Kevin Keane
BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent

Greenpeace has lodged a legal challenge over consent being given to develop a large North Sea gas field.

Regulators gave the go-ahead in June for Shell to develop the Jackdaw field, which lies 150 miles east of Aberdeen.

The environmental charity believes that in granting consent, the UK government failed to consider emissions from burning the gas.

The UK government would not comment on legal proceedings but said Jackdaw would boost domestic gas supply. read more

SHELL COMMENTS ON THE VERDICT FROM THE MILAN TRIBUNAL OVER OPL-245

Mar 17, 2021

Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“RDS” or the “Company”), today made the following statement after the Milan Tribunal acquitted the company of charges related to Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 in Nigeria:

“We welcome today’s decision by the Milan Tribunal. We have always maintained that the 2011 settlement was legal, designed to resolve a decade-long legal dispute and unlock development of the OPL 245 block. At the same time, this has been a difficult learning experience for us. Shell is a company that operates with integrity and we work hard every day to ensure our actions not only follow the letter and spirit of the law, but also live up to society’s wider expectations of us.” read more

Shell comments on dismissal of Dutch investigation into OPL 245

Jul 21, 2022

Shell plc (“Shell”) today made the following statement after the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s office announced it had dismissed its investigation into bribery allegations related to Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 in Nigeria.

“We welcome today’s decision, which marks an end to the criminal investigation in The Netherlands. It follows the Milan Public Prosecutor’s appeal withdrawal earlier this week, which ended all criminal proceedings and confirmed the Milan Tribunal’s decision to acquit Shell and four of our former employees in March 2021. read more

THE TIMES

Netherlands ruling links climate change, human rights — and corporations

There is debate over whether the arguments apply in this country, but the UK Supreme Court has recently been indulgent of novel negligence claims

A judge in The Netherlands ruled last year that Royal Dutch Shell owed Dutch residents a duty of care to reduce its carbon emissions — and the international energy company was ordered to reduce CO₂ emissions by 45 per cent, relative to 2019 levels, by the end of 2030. read more

Bloomberg

Nigeria to Continue $3.5 Billion Claim Against Eni And Shell

William Clowes and Alberto Brambilla: Tue, July 19, 2022, 5:37 PM

(Bloomberg) — Nigeria will continue its $3.5 billion civil claim against Shell Plc and Eni SpA after Italian prosecutors dropped criminal proceedings against the companies, a lawyer representing Africa’s largest crude producer said.

The West African country, which joined the case as a civil party in 2018, still plans to appeal the March 2021 ruling by a court in Milan acquitting the energy giants and several of their current and former executives of corruption charges, Olabode Johnson, a lawyer for the Nigerian government, said by phone. read more

OILPRICE.COM

What Is Shell Doing On TikTok?

By Felicity Bradstock – Jul 18, 2022, 4:00 PM CDT

• Gen Z will be a vital piece of the global workforce moving forward, and Big Oil is no exception. 
• Oil and gas firms are now doing everything they can to secure the next generation of talent.
• Shell is even taking to TikTok to appeal to the younger, more climate-aware audience.

Oil and gas firms are increasingly realizing the importance of appealing to the Gen Z population, particularly as their voices on social media and other public forums are influencing the climate change response and national energy agendas. With more pressure than ever to transition away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives, oil and gas firms may rely on this young generation for their survival in the coming decades. read more

REUTERS

Exxon, Shell May Pursue Part of $1.8 Billion Nigerian Award–US Appeals Court

By Reuters: July 8, 2022, at 11:34 a.m.

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Friday said Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc affiliates may try to enforce part of a $1.8 billion arbitration award against Nigeria’s state-run oil company, in a dispute concerning oil extraction near the African country’s coastline.

It said the judge should have determined which parts of the award had been deemed enforceable by a Nigerian appeals court. Lawyers for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. read more

Newsweek

Fact Check: Was Amy Coney Barrett’s Father an Attorney for Shell Oil?

The U.S. Supreme Court‘s recent decision to rule against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a highly important case about carbon emissions has led to criticism of the six justices who voted in the majority.

The Court found that the EPA can no longer regulate emissions from U.S. power plants, with the three liberal justices dissenting in one of the final cases of this judicial term.

Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett was part of the majority and many critics took to social media to claim that Barrett’s father had once been worked for Shell, a major oil company, and suggested that that had informed her decision-making. read more