As Colonel Gaddafi’s power slowly ebbs away in Libya, many people will be worried that he is planning a brutal, bloody, finale. Predicting the unpredictable dictator is a dangerous game. But in mapping how the end game is going to play out, you could also play the blame game in how we got here. And … Read More
African Oil
“The last man will switch off the button”
At one point yesterday, Brent crude, the European benchmark grade of oil was topping $108 a barrel—its highest level in 2½ years. Such is the surge in oil prices caused by the Libyan crisis that it could derail the global economic recovery according to Fatih Birol, the International Energy Agency’s chief economist. Analysts argue that … Read More
Was Ugandan Oil Deal “Corrupt”?
Tullow Oil is “approaching the finishing line” in talks with the Ugandan government to resolve a tax dispute that has held up plans to bring in new partners to exploit its oil reserves there. Tullow expects to reach an agreement to sell a share of its Uganda assets to Total SA and China National Offshore … Read More
“Shell, Let’s Go Clean Nigeria!”
Just before dawn yesterday, activists from Friends of the Earth in the Netherlands scaled the front of Shell’s headquarters in the Hague and urged the company to “clean up” its operations in Nigeria. Some activists were dressed as oil-smeared birds. Others held pictures of polluted land or hung plastic strips appearing to smear Shell’s corporate … Read More
The “Great Oil Thief”
The brutal reality of the resource curse in Africa is once again laid bare. The latest revelations from Wikileaks is that the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has siphoned $9bn in oil money and deposited it in foreign accounts, many of which are in London. Whilst the rest of the country languishes in brutal poverty, the … Read More
Nigeria: “Shell has access to everything”
One of the main concerns of the Ogoni activist and writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa was the collusion between Shell and the Nigerian Government. We already know that this collusion went from the top levels of the government to routine logistical and financial support for the military. Saro-Wiwa once said that one of their protests was “anti-Shell, … Read More
Saro-Wiwa Was Framed, New Evidence Shows
Fifteen years after the execution of Nigerian playwright and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, new compelling evidence has surfaced that suggests that the Nigerian military killed the four Ogoni elders that Saro-Wiwa was later accused of murdering. The new evidence also reveals that the soldier’s commander, the notorious Lt Col Okuntimo, who was implicated in murder and … Read More
Shell’s Nigerian PR Strategy Exposed
To mark the 15th Anniversary of the execution of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, we are exposing the public relations tactics that Shell employed to counter criticism of its operations in the country. The evidence is contained in documents collected for the landmark trial last year of Wiwa versus Shell, but they were never made public … Read More
Shell to Pay $30 Million to Settle Nigeria Bribery Case
Nigeria was once Shell’s jewel in its crown. But for so long it has been the thorn in its side. Whether its pollution, collusion, corruption, bribery or false accounting, Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary has been accused of them all. So many of the group’s problems keep coming back to Nigeria. The company settled out of court … Read More
Court rules companies can’t be sued under Alien Tort
This is bad news, which could have serious ramifications for holding companies legally accountable in the US for their operations abroad. And it has virtually received no press attention at all. Last Friday the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a suit brought by the Ogoni, who alleged that Shell was complicit in human … Read More