Shell - The African Mirror

Oct

2023

Amid gas scramble, Africa leads a boom in nimble export facilities

AFRICA is at the forefront of a global wave of new floating gas facilities as countries on the continent seek to meet surging demand in Europe as quickly and cheaply as possible, analysts and energy companies told Reuters. Eni, BP and smaller independent players such as Nigeria's UTM Offshore are driving the surge with projects on Africa's east and west coasts. Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) vessels shipped Mozambique's first-ever gas exports last November, and the Republic of Congo is preparing for its first LNG exports in December. Africa currently exports 40 million tons per annum (mmtpa) of gas, and Westwood…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Namibia sees first oil from offshore discoveries by 2030

NEWS

NAMIBIA expects the first oil from major offshore finds by 2030 and is considering a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) platform to help it export the crude oil, its petroleum commissioner said. Namibia, which has yet to produce any oil and gas, has attracted strong interest from international energy companies after Shell and TotalEnergies made discoveries off the coast of the southern African country. Petroleum commissioner Maggy Shino told Reuters at an oil conference in Cape Town, South Africa, that the two oil companies were conducting appraisal tests to determine if they contained commercial amounts of oil that could be developed.…

May

2023

By MACDONALD DZIRUTWE

Nigeria needs $12 billion to clean up Bayelsa oil spills – report

NEWS

NIGERIA needs $12 billion to clean up decades-old oil spills in southern Bayelsa state over a 12-year period, a new report said and singled out Shell and Eni for being responsible for most of the pollution. Bayelsa is one of the major oil-producing states in the Niger Delta, a region blighted by pollution, conflict and corruption related to the oil and gas industry. Oil majors in Nigeria have long faced legal challenges over Niger Delta spills, which they mostly blame on sabotage and vandalism of pipelines and illegal refining. The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission said in a report that it…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigerians accuse Shell of delay in oil spill London lawsuits

NEWS

SAM TOBIN SHELL Plc is attempting to shield itself from scrutiny over pollution in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta, lawyers representing more than 13,000 Nigerians argued at London's High Court, allegations which the company strongly denies. Thousands of members of the Bille and Ogale communities are suing Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary SPDC over oil spills. Shell strongly denies any liability and argues that parts of the cases were brought too late. It also says the majority of the spills were caused by illegal third-party interference, such as pipeline sabotage and oil theft. The company is asking the High Court to set an initial…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Blast at Shell’s Nigeria oil pipeline kills 12 – police

NEWS

TIFE OWOLABI AN explosion on a Nigerian oil pipeline owned by Shell killed at least 12 people, authorities at the scene said, while members of the affected community in Emohua said they feared many more had died in the blast. A spokesperson for Shell Petroleum Development (SPD) company of Nigeria Limited said a fire occurred on its Rumuekpe-Nkpoku Trunk Line in Rivers State and that it was working with authorities to put it out. Garuba Yabuku, civil defence spokesman for Emohua, in Rivers State, the heart of Africa's biggest oil industry, said the incident was reported around 4:30 a.m. (0330 GMT).…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigerian communities file damages claim against Shell in London court

NEWS

MORE than 11,000 Nigerians from the oil-producing Niger Delta have filed a compensation claim against Shell at the London High Court, the latest step in a case that will test whether multinationals can be held to account for the actions of overseas subsidiaries. In 2021, the UK Supreme Court allowed a group of 42,500 Nigerian farmers and fishermen to sue Shell in the English courts after years of oil spills had contaminated land and groundwater. The judges said at the time there was an arguable case that Shell, one of the world's biggest energy companies, was responsible because it exercised significant control over…

Dec

2021

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE: Shell eyes return to Libya with oil, gas, solar investments

NEWS

RON BOUSSO ROYAL Dutch Shell is considering a return to Libya with a plan to develop new oil and gas fields and infrastructure, as well as a solar project, two sources said, a decade after exiting the North African country because of unrest. The plan, details of which were seen by Reuters, marks a rare new oil and gas foray by the energy major as it seeks to cut fossil fuel investment and slash greenhouse gas emissions. In that strategy, Shell still needs some new projects to maintain output as reserves in existing oil and gas fields have rapidly fallen…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

FirstBank, Shell oppose Nigerian group’s bid to seize assets in oil spill dispute

BUSINESS

TIFE OWOLABI and LIBBY GEORGE MEMBERS of a community in southern Nigeria had no right to seize assets from a bank branch this week in a dispute over compensation for an oil spill more than five decades ago, the FirstBank and a unit of energy giant Shell has said. Members of the Ejama-Ebubu community and law enforcement officers entered a FirstBank branch in Port Harcourt this week to seize assets following a court award relating to the spill that took place in the 1967-70 civil war. The community was awarded damages worth 17 billion naira ($44.7 million), with accruing interest,…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigerian Shell employees orchestrated oil spills for own profit – Dutch TV

NEWS

BART H MEIJER and ANTHONY DEUTSCH EMPLOYEES at Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian joint venture orchestrated damage to oil pipelines to profit from the money spent on clean-up operations, Dutch investigative TV programme Zembla has reported. Employees of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) recruited local youth to sabotage the pipelines and then hired them back as workers to clean up the mess, the report said, citing research by Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie. Shell's SPDC said it investigates all credible reports of misconduct and takes action where needed. "As of now, we are not aware of any staff or contractor…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Communities in oil-rich Niger Delta pin hopes on Shell climate case

NEWS

NELLIE PEYTON AS a legal case over energy giant Shell's planet-heating emissions kicked off in the Netherlands, activists said the health and livelihoods of people in Nigeria's oil-producing region would hinge on its outcome. Royal Dutch Shell faced its first court hearing on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by environmental and human rights groups in The Hague, the company's headquarters. Seven green groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, filed the case on behalf of more than 17,000 Dutch citizens who say Shell is threatening human rights by knowingly undermining international climate goals. They are demanding the company…