Shell in Nigeria

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Liquid_Turbo

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/..._medium=twitter

Quote:
The oil giant Shell claimed it had inserted staff into all the main ministries of the Nigerian government, giving it access to politicians' every move in the oil-rich Niger Delta, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.


Nigerian-oil-Shell-007.jpg


Holy crazy stuff . "Campaigners tonight said the revelation about Shell in Nigeria demonstrated the tangled links between the oil firm and politicians in the country where, despite billions of dollars in oil revenue, 70% of people live below the poverty line."

Anyone else a little disturbed by this? A little disappointed with Shell.
 
That's how business gets done in the 3rd world..That's why ,despite the immense natural resources in Africa , poverty is the primary problem. Unfortunately self government is largely unknown,and government office is seen as an opportunity to enrich ,rather than a responsibility to serve. If this is too political, I'll understand
 
That is pure exploitation for $$ at the known expense of the Nigerian people. It is utterly despicable and really makes me question if I ever will use their products again. The post by 'flacoman' is no excuse for a supposed upstanding company to do business that way. Shame on them! I will use AMSOIL or RL.
 
Those pesky Dutch!

I guess they should have let Sinopec or PetroChina help them extract the oil. Sometimes the wikileaks need a balance, even some third party confirmation.

Quote:
Nigeria tonight strenuously denied the claim. Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, said: "Shell does not control the government of Nigeria and has never controlled the government of Nigeria. This cable is the mere interpretation of one individual. It is absolutely untrue, an absolute falsehood and utterly misleading. It is an attempt to demean the government and we will not stand for that. I don't think anybody will lose sleep over it."


Trust me, I'm not defending Shell, I just wonder how much deeper they are into Nigeria than say some other countries an their lobby money fountains.....
 
Back in the mid 90s, I was offered a job in Nigeria working on Shell projects.

Talk about dodgy, pay was $80k US, paid into an account anywhere I wanted in the world, no group certificates, deposits into Oz banks etc... Asked if that was the camp where Shell supplied the M16s to the local Police Force, and the guy quickly changed the subject.
 
Yeah it's sad. The Nigerians as a whole are so well educated that they should make far more money than they do. Everyone is looking for a capitolist villan. Socialism is really taking hold in many folks minds.
 
The whole problem with the government over there (and here?) is that it is totally corrupted by the politicians. Shell just takes advantage of the situation and exploits it to their benefit. Shell prospers, those in power prosper and the poor, well they're left to fend for themselves. That's why it's like the wild west over there. Don't blame Shell, they are a corporation not a welfare agency. They are there to make a profit. Am I defending them? No, but 100% of the blame for Nigeria's troubles begins with the corrupt government. If they would turn the tables and exploit Shell for the good of Nigerian citizens, like Saudi Arabia does with it's oil dealings, it would be a completely different picture in that country.
 
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I'm certainly not defending Shell but they're acting like every other large company in a profitable industry. You didn't honestly think the oil giants were ethical, did you?
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Those pesky Dutch!

I guess they should have let Sinopec or PetroChina help them extract the oil. Sometimes the wikileaks need a balance, even some third party confirmation.

Trust me, I'm not defending Shell, I just wonder how much deeper they are into Nigeria than say some other countries an their lobby money fountains.....


No more than any other oil giant, including U.S. owned XOM, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron.
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Those pesky Dutch!

I guess they should have let Sinopec or PetroChina help them extract the oil. Sometimes the wikileaks need a balance, even some third party confirmation.

Quote:
Nigeria tonight strenuously denied the claim. Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, said: "Shell does not control the government of Nigeria and has never controlled the government of Nigeria. This cable is the mere interpretation of one individual. It is absolutely untrue, an absolute falsehood and utterly misleading. It is an attempt to demean the government and we will not stand for that. I don't think anybody will lose sleep over it."


Trust me, I'm not defending Shell, I just wonder how much deeper they are into Nigeria than say some other countries an their lobby money fountains.....


IIRC the ChiCom's are drilling in Sudan.
 
I agree with flacoman. If that quote is true, Shell has probably done such things simply to carry out business there. Otherwise doing business in those places is impossible. You can't blame Shell alone, they simply played along with the corrupt local leaders. I'd guess that every oil company that operates in that region does the same. The oil company that spilled a monstrous amount of crude oil in our very own gulf has done much worse meddling during decades of their operations in the middle east.
 
As long as my house oil tank, that heats the water and baseboards, is topped off monthly, and as long as I can fill up my car whenever I want, I certainly don't care and definitely don't feel disturbed by the article or disappointed with "big oil company".

I find the biggest complainers of oil companies are the biggest hypocrites out there.

Someone needs to start a touchy feel good oil company.

I don't blame Shell, or any other company, for any so called exploitation. I BLAME YOU!!!

Most products you own come from exploitation of resources, labor.... from the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the credit you use, the electronics you post with..... EXPLOITER!
 
Quote:
Asked if that was the camp where Shell supplied the M16s to the local Police Force

Have you found a credible source for this...yet?
 
Do you think any other corporations do anything different? Do you have any idea who owns our "U.S.A." politicians. WE sometimes need a wake up call.
 
Originally Posted By: Tempest
Quote:
Asked if that was the camp where Shell supplied the M16s to the local Police Force

Have you found a credible source for this...yet?


Have you looked ? yet?

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=0W8-...p;q&f=false

Note, that although a greenpeace site, it's an article from the observer mid 90s.

http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/ken/observer.html

Quote:
Eric Nickson, a spokesman for Shell international, said: "Shell has purchased sidearms handguns on behalf of the Nigerian police force who guard Shell's facilities. But once imported, the arms remain the property of the Nigerian police, who store, guard and use them." He added: "The Nigerian police do not sufficient funds to equip themselves... We purchase the weapons on their behalf. But Shell does not have arms itself."

Shell would not say where the arms were being imported from, nor how many are involved. Mr Nickson said the practice is carried out by a "wide range of companies in Nigeria, who employ the police to guard their facilities."

But a highly respected Chief of Defence Staff in Nigeria, Lieutenant General Alani Akinrinade, said: "The Nigerian police are well equipped and do not need anyone to import arms for them."

Pointing out that the Nigerian police have "their mobile force, who are armed to the teeth", he added: "There is no excuse for any one to have a private army in Nigeria. They don't need it."
 
Quote:
Shell has admitted buying arms for the Nigerian police who guard its installations - 107 handguns bought 15 years ago - but it claims this is normal practice for any corporation operating in the country.

Spokesman Eric Nickson said: "These guns were purchased through the Nigerian police. They are purely for issue to police protecting Shell locations."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/nigerians-take-shell-campaign-to-jersey-1318621.html

15 year old handguns are hardly M16's being handed out in order to indiscriminately kill people on a given day.

I'm not defending Shell or the military controlled government of their actions, but there's no evidence to suggest that Shell initiated or ordered the shootings, or that guns bought by Shell were involved.
 
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