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

The Guardian

Governments urged to act after oil giants accused of misleading public

Documents suggest Shell and BP staff privately downplayed public commitments on climate crisis

Alex Lawson Energy correspondent: Fri 16 Sep 2022 16.42 BST

Campaigners have urged governments to intervene after oil companies were accused of misleading the public about their commitment to reducing carbon emissions.

Oil and gas companies including Britain’s Shell and BP were urged to “stop their deception” this week as the US House committee on oversight and reform released documents showing that oil industry executives privately downplayed their public messages on efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

The memo claimed that internal BP documents highlighted how carbon capture and storage (CCS) – a nascent technology that involves inserting CO₂ emissions into underground rock formations – could “enable the full use of fossil fuels across the energy transition and beyond”.

Congressional investigators also unearthed an internal Shell email discussing carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) in which an executive said: “We want to be careful to not talk about CCUS as prolonging the life of oil, gas or fossil fuels writ large.” 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

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

DutchNews.nl

Carbon dioxide compensation? Shell again criticised for misleading advert

June 30, 2022

The Dutch advertising standards authority has again criticised an advert by oil giant Shell, following complaints by anti-fossil fuel campaigners and Greenpeace Nederland.

The company cannot claim that compensating for carbon dioxide emissions nullifies the damage to the climate caused by a car trip, the commission said on Wednesday.

Last year, the RCC ordered the term CO2-neutral be removed from the same ad. Shell complied, and replaced it with the CO2 compensation claim. read more

REUTERS

Shell says its Nigeria asset sale not affected by court ruling

ABUJA, June 21 (Reuters) – Shell Plc (SHEL.L) has said its planned sale of onshore assets in Nigeria will go ahead and was not affected by a Supreme Court ruling in a case in which a Niger Delta community is seeking compensation for a 2019 oil spill.

Bamidele Odugbesan, spokesman for Shell in Nigeria, said the June 16 Supreme Court ruling was in response to an appeal launched by Shell against a contempt ruling linked to the dispute with the Niger Delta community.

The lawyer for the community said the ruling, which was made public on Monday, barred Shell from disposing its assets as ordered by a lower court in March.

“The Supreme Court ruling on 16 June was with respect to the contempt proceedings and not related to (the) onshore portfolio review,” Odugbesan said.

Shell has invited bids for its onshore assets. Odugbesan did not say how many bids had been received.

Eighty-eight communities in Rivers state were awarded $1.95 billion compensation for an oil spill they blamed on Shell and which damaged their farms and waterways. Shell denies causing the spill. read more read more

REUTERS

JPMorgan wins London oil trial in which Nigeria sought $1.7 bln

By Sinead Cruise and Estelle Shirbon: June 14, 2022

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) has won a London High Court battle against Nigeria, which was seeking $1.7 billion in damages over the U.S. bank’s role in a disputed 2011 oilfield deal.

JPMorgan said the judgment reflected its commitment to acting with high professional standards everywhere it operates, while Nigeria said it was disappointed and would review the judgment carefully before considering its next steps. read more