Having written about Shell in Nigeria for over fifteen years, we have known that there was huge internal disquiet about the company’s operations in the country. In the aftermath of the murder of Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995, Shell was pilloried in the international press for being complicit in his death and for being … Read More
Nigeria
As violence starts again, Shell off-loads Nigerian assets
Things are hotting up in the Niger Delta again and once again Shell finds itself at the centre of the vortex of violence and conflict. On Saturday the company had to shut three oil flow stations in the Delta region after a pipeline was sabotaged by armed gun-men. It was the same day as Nigeria’s … Read More
Shell to Fight Chinese in Nigeria
Shell is facing the humiliation of having to reduce its workforce by 5000 as part of a radical cost-cutting drive due to the falling oil price. As the oil giant’s profits had plummeted an amazing 73 per cent, Peter Voser, the chief executive, said “the outlook remains very uncertain, and we are not expecting a … Read More
Nigeria: MEND Dismiss Chinese Oil Bidders as “Locusts”
Yesterday, the Financial Times rocked the oil world with a story about how the Chinese state-owned oil company, CNOC, was in talks with the Nigerian Government to buy large stakes in some of the country’s key oil blocks. The story was so compelling, because if it is accurate, it puts the Chinese in direct competition … Read More
Clinton’s African Scramble
First it was President Obama who delighted his audience when he undertook a whistle-stop tour. Now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is embarking on a seven-country tour of Africa. Why is she going? It couldn’t be so crude to be about crude could it? The answer is yes. The visit could be construed as the … Read More
The First of Peter’s Problems: Nigeria
When Peter Voser takes control at Shell next week from his predecessor Jeroen van der Veer, he will have a bursting in-tray that includes one persistent problem for Shell: Nigeria. Here the oil giant faces a myriad of problems including continuing community unrest, militant attacks and what to do about gas flaring.
Shell Worried Ogoni PR was “Green Imagery”
It’s not often that a company’s public relations strategy is laid bare for all to see. It’s very rare that these most sensitive of company documents – the ones that talk of using the dark arts of persuasion – ever see the light of day. But occasionally it happens. It did with big tobacco when … Read More
Shell’s Secret Collusion Documents
A week ago, on the eve of a highly embarrassing trial, oil giant Shell was forced to pay out $15.5 million to settle a land-mark legal case that it had been fighting for thirteen years against the family of executed writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Nigerians. The legal case argued that Shell was complicit … Read More
Shell is Guilty of Much More than Human Rights Abuses
As the news sinks in of the Shell settlement, emails have been pouring in this morning asking what does it mean for the plaintiffs, the Ogoni and ongoing struggles on human rights and the environment? People are asking whether this is a victory for the Plaintiffs or a victory for Shell. You would have to … Read More
“Our oil will be a blessing and not a curse”
As president Obama reads the reactions to his first fleeting visit to the Middle East, his first proposed African visit is also causing quite a stir. In just over a month, Obama will undertake his first visit to the continent. The country he will visit is not the powerhouse of West Africa, Nigeria, but its … Read More