Damning Evidence Reveals Shell’s Complicity with Crimes Against Humanity; Landmark Case Resolved in Favor of Families of Executed Nigerian Environmental Leader Ken Saro-Wiwa and Others After 13 Year Legal Battle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2009

CONTACT:
U.S. (DC): Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International, +1-202-497-1033; steve@priceofoil.org
U.S. (NY): Han Shan, Oil Change International, +1-917-418-4133, han@priceofoil.org
U.S. (DC): Elizabeth Bast, Friends of the Earth U.S., +1-202-222-0719, ebast@foe.org
U.K. (London): Ben Amunwa, PLATFORM/Remember Saro-Wiwa, +44-207-357-0055, +44-7891-454-714, ben@remembersarowiwa.com

New York– After legal battles lasting nearly fourteen years, oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has been forced to pay a $15.5 million out-of-court settlement. Plaintiffs from the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta have successfully held Shell accountable for complicity in human rights atrocities committed against the Ogoni people in the 1990s, including the execution of writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. The legal action is one of the few cases brought under the U.S. Alien Tort Statute that have been resolved in favor of the plaintiffs. The settlement includes establishment of a $5 million trust to benefit local communities in Ogoni.

“We congratulate the plaintiffs on their victory. Let there be no doubt that Shell has emerged guilty. With this settlement, Shell is seeking to keep the overwhelming evidence of its crimes away from the scrutiny of a jury trial,” said Ben Amunwa from the UK-based Remember Saro-Wiwa project. “Shell could not stand the damage of bad publicity around this human rights case. Global campaigners have helped to highlight Shell’s abuses and we share in this historic victory.”

“Shell is guilty. Despite this victory, justice will not be served in Ogoni and throughout the Delta until the gas flares are put out, the spills cleaned up, and the military stops protecting the oil companies and starts serving the people,” said Steve Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International. “This issue will not be solved until these legitimate grievances of the community are addressed.”

“This case should be a wake up call to multinational corporations that they will be held accountable for violations of international law, no matter where they occur,” said Han Shan, ShellGuilty Campaign Coordinator for Oil Change International.

The next phase of the struggle continues with another case with an Ogoni plaintiff pending in the New York District Court, and a further legal action in The Hague, Netherlands, where Royal Dutch Shell is headquartered. The company faces a legal action there for repeated oil spills, brought by residents of the Niger Delta, with support from Friends of the Earth Netherlands and Friends of the Earth Nigeria.

“Shell will be dragged from the boardroom to the courthouse, time and again, until the company addresses the injustices at the root of the Niger Delta crisis and put an end to its environmental devastation,” said Elizabeth Bast, International Program Director for Friends of the Earth U.S. “Communities, human rights lawyers and activists will continue to demand justice with the same determination and hope shown by Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people.”

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The ShellGuilty campaign is a coalition effort of Friends of the Earth (www.foe.org), Oil Change International (www.priceofoil.org), and PLATFORM’s Remember Saro-Wiwa project (www.remembersarowiwa.com), with support from environmental and human rights groups in Nigeria, North America, and Europe. Visit www.ShellGuilty.com for more information.

To read the Lawyers Press Release, use this link.

To read the official Statement of the Plaintiffs, use this link.

To read the official Statement of the Attorneys, use this link.

To read the settlement documents, click here and here.

To read the deed for the Kiisi Trust, click here.

For a pdf document of all settlement agreements and orders, click here.

For Immediate Release:
May 19, 2009

CONTACT:
Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International, US Mobile in London +1-202-497-1033; steve@priceofoil.org
U.S. (Washington DC): Elizabeth Bast, Friends of the Earth U.S., +1-202-641-7203, ebast@foe.org
U.S. (New York): Han Shan, Oil Change International, +1-917-418-4133, han@priceofoil.org

London, May 19 – Research by four leading environmental organizations released today to coincide with Royal Dutch Shell’s Annual General Meeting, reveals the carbon intensity of the top international oil companies.  Shell is now the most carbon intensive oil company in the world based on its total resources.

The research examined the leading international oil companies and measured their carbon intensity by calculating emissions per future barrel of oil produced.  While all the companies are moving into higher carbon production, Shell stands out because of its reliance on Nigerian crude which is associated with huge levels of gas flaring, liquefied natural gas which is highly energy intensive, and Shell’s massive gamble on Canada’s tar sands.  Shell revealed to investors last year that 30% of its total resources are tar sands.

“As carbon control legislation moves forward in the US, and the world looks towards Copenhagen for action to limit climate change, Shell is going the wrong way by massively increasing the carbon intensity of its production,” said Steve Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International, and one of the authors of the report.

Charlie Kronick, senior climate advisor of Greenpeace UK said “Shell has a stated goal to be the leading tar sands operator, but they can’t lead on tar sands and climate change at the same time. A strategy based on tar sands will inevitably not just damage the climate but also increase risks to the company’s future as well as shareholder and investor value.”

“Shell’s carbon heavy portfolio explains why they have been leading the industry lobby against EU carbon control legislation in Brussels,” said Paul de Clerck, Corporate Campaign Coordinator for Friends of the Earth International.

This is not just a problem for Shell. Investors around the world are voicing their concerns over tar sands investment. 30% of ConocoPhillips shareholders voted for a resolution calling for an assessment of the environmental impact of the company’s tar sands projects and today at Statoil’s annual meeting significant support is expected for a motion calling for the company to end its tar sands investment altogether. This research shows that Shell’s tar sands liability and carbon exposure is in fact the greatest among its peers and its claims on “responsible energy” need to be seriously questioned by investors.

“Next week, Shell will go on trial for crimes against humanity and murder for its activities in Nigeria 14 years ago,” said Kretzmann. “The company publicly expresses regret over the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa, but maintains its innocence despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. One wonders if 14 years from now, they will similarly profess innocence for the state of the world’s climate.”

Click here to download the report as a PDF document.

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