There's been a partial victory for Nigeria's small farmers over a global oil firm. A Dutch judge has ruled that Shell did not do enough to protect its pipelines in Nigeria and prevent pollution. But the same court said the company should only compensate one of five farmers who took their case to the Hague.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Video - Nigerians react to verdict in Shell vs Nigerian farmers case
There's been a partial victory for Nigeria's small farmers over a global oil firm. A Dutch judge has ruled that Shell did not do enough to protect its pipelines in Nigeria and prevent pollution. But the same court said the company should only compensate one of five farmers who took their case to the Hague.
U.S. reduced oil import affects Nigeria's oil export
The Nigerian oil industry faces a difficult 2013 as shale oil in the US takes an increasing share of the north American market. Togo-based Ecobank has said that Nigerian crude oil exports to the US could fall by over a quarter this year, from 800,000bpd in 2012 to as low as 580,000bpd in 2013.
Already in January there were signs of stress. Crude oil shipments from Nigeria have, Ecobank says, declined from 75 cargoes in January to a scheduled 59 in March, and there is an unsold overhang of 21 out of 65 February cargoes. This is an unusual situation given that the cargoes contain Nigeria's premium grades of sweet and light crude, which are usually very much in demand.
As Rolake Akinkugbe, head of energy research at Ecobank, explained to beyondbrics, refiners in Asia are increasingly capable of handling larger volumes of sour crude oil grades, while European refiners are facing pressures on their margins and seeking lower-priced inputs. Neither are looking as favourably upon Nigerian oil grades, which are priced at a substantial premium to the sour grades from the Middle East.
"Nigeria and other oil producers in west Africa had a window of opportunity during the Libya crisis when their [Libya's] supply was taken off the market", she said. "There was a great switch to African crude grades, which partly accounts for their pricing premium at the moment."
Libyan oil is now coming back online, but the major problem for Nigerian crude is the soaring volumes of shale oil being produced in the US. The US is still Nigeria's biggest oil export destination, but the relationship can no longer be taken for granted.
"A decade ago" says Akinkugbe, "the industry thought that by 2015 around 25 per cent of America's oil would come from west Africa, but now there's a dramatic change in that picture. African governments need to look for alternatives destinations."
In recent years, she says, producers in west Africa and the Gulf of Guinea have exported around 2mbpd of oil to north America, but this has fallen to around 1mbpd, with the slump in Nigerian exports to the US being particularly severe due to the steeper price of its crude. Having accounted for 12 per cent of US crude imports in 2011, Nigeria's share fell to 6 per cent in 2012.
Nigerian oil exports to the US, Ecobank says, have already slumped to 700,000bpd from the 2012 average of 800,000bpd, and that could fall as far as 580,000bpd in 2013 as US domestic oil producers add an expected 800,000bpd of new capacity.
As if the stiff new competition from Texas and North Dakota were not enough, Nigeria's oil industry also has sizeable domestic problems too. Theft and pipeline vandalism cost it $7bn in 2012 according to the International Energy Agency, and uncertainty surrounding the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill is causing nervous oil companies to hold back investment.
Oil and gas make up 94 per cent of Nigerian exports, and so even a small slackening of demand for its hydrocarbons spells big trouble. No wonder senior figures in the Nigerian government seem to have been talking so much about economic diversification recently.
Already in January there were signs of stress. Crude oil shipments from Nigeria have, Ecobank says, declined from 75 cargoes in January to a scheduled 59 in March, and there is an unsold overhang of 21 out of 65 February cargoes. This is an unusual situation given that the cargoes contain Nigeria's premium grades of sweet and light crude, which are usually very much in demand.
As Rolake Akinkugbe, head of energy research at Ecobank, explained to beyondbrics, refiners in Asia are increasingly capable of handling larger volumes of sour crude oil grades, while European refiners are facing pressures on their margins and seeking lower-priced inputs. Neither are looking as favourably upon Nigerian oil grades, which are priced at a substantial premium to the sour grades from the Middle East.
"Nigeria and other oil producers in west Africa had a window of opportunity during the Libya crisis when their [Libya's] supply was taken off the market", she said. "There was a great switch to African crude grades, which partly accounts for their pricing premium at the moment."
Libyan oil is now coming back online, but the major problem for Nigerian crude is the soaring volumes of shale oil being produced in the US. The US is still Nigeria's biggest oil export destination, but the relationship can no longer be taken for granted.
"A decade ago" says Akinkugbe, "the industry thought that by 2015 around 25 per cent of America's oil would come from west Africa, but now there's a dramatic change in that picture. African governments need to look for alternatives destinations."
In recent years, she says, producers in west Africa and the Gulf of Guinea have exported around 2mbpd of oil to north America, but this has fallen to around 1mbpd, with the slump in Nigerian exports to the US being particularly severe due to the steeper price of its crude. Having accounted for 12 per cent of US crude imports in 2011, Nigeria's share fell to 6 per cent in 2012.
Nigerian oil exports to the US, Ecobank says, have already slumped to 700,000bpd from the 2012 average of 800,000bpd, and that could fall as far as 580,000bpd in 2013 as US domestic oil producers add an expected 800,000bpd of new capacity.
As if the stiff new competition from Texas and North Dakota were not enough, Nigeria's oil industry also has sizeable domestic problems too. Theft and pipeline vandalism cost it $7bn in 2012 according to the International Energy Agency, and uncertainty surrounding the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill is causing nervous oil companies to hold back investment.
Oil and gas make up 94 per cent of Nigerian exports, and so even a small slackening of demand for its hydrocarbons spells big trouble. No wonder senior figures in the Nigerian government seem to have been talking so much about economic diversification recently.
Related story: U.S. doesn't need Nigeria's oil
Each Super Eagle to get $15,000 for beating The Elephants in Nations Cup
The Super Eagles will each receive $15,000 if they beat Cote d'Ivoire and qualify for the semi-final of the 2013 AFCON on Sunday.
A top Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) official reconfirmed an MTNFootball.com exclusive of several weeks ago when he also disclosed each player will be $20,000 richer if they triumph in the semi-final.
For victory in the championship game on February 10 inside the National Stadium in Johannesburg, each player will pocket another $30,000.
Each player received $30,000 a day after the team qualified for the quarterfinal on Tuesday.
Team sponsor Guinness has also made a financial commitment for goals scored at the AFCON, while the Eagles are expecting billionaire Aliko Dangote to splash more cash after they reached the last eight.
Each player was paid about $80,000 when Nigeria finished third at the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola.
On Sunday afternoon in Rustenburg, they face 1992 champions Cote d'Ivoire.
The winners of this match-up will clash with the winners of the quarterfinal between hosts South Africa and Mali.
A top Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) official reconfirmed an MTNFootball.com exclusive of several weeks ago when he also disclosed each player will be $20,000 richer if they triumph in the semi-final.
For victory in the championship game on February 10 inside the National Stadium in Johannesburg, each player will pocket another $30,000.
Each player received $30,000 a day after the team qualified for the quarterfinal on Tuesday.
Team sponsor Guinness has also made a financial commitment for goals scored at the AFCON, while the Eagles are expecting billionaire Aliko Dangote to splash more cash after they reached the last eight.
Each player was paid about $80,000 when Nigeria finished third at the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola.
On Sunday afternoon in Rustenburg, they face 1992 champions Cote d'Ivoire.
The winners of this match-up will clash with the winners of the quarterfinal between hosts South Africa and Mali.
Related stories: Ivorian football star Emmanuel Ebue berates Nigeria on twitter ahead of Nation's Cup draw
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Nigerian farmer wins case against oil corporation Shell in Dutch court
For Royal Dutch Shell, it was a case of win some, lose some Wednesday as a Dutch court ordered its Nigerian affiliate, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), to pay damages to a Nigerian farmer for oil pollution.
The court, however, dismissed four other claims filed against the parent company, in which the plaintiffs were seeking compensation from the oil giant for the pollution of their farmlands and destruction of their means of livelihood.
Four Nigerians and an interest group, Friends of the Earth, had filed the suit in 2008 in The Netherlands, where Shell has its global headquarters, seeking reparations for loss of income from contaminated land and waterways in the Niger Delta.
In its ruling, The Hague Civil Court held that the Royal Dutch Shell could be held partially responsible for pollution in the Niger Delta, saying the company should have prevented sabotage at one of its facilities.
The court ruled that SPDC should be held responsible for a pipeline leak poisoning farmland in the Niger Delta, as it had failed to take adequate measures to prevent sabotage.
The judges ordered SPDC to pay an unspecified amount as compensation to 52-year-old Friday Akpan for breach of duty of care by making it too easy for saboteurs to open an oil well head that leaked on to his land.
"Shell Nigeria should and could have prevented this sabotage in an easy way. This is why the district court has sentenced Shell Nigeria to pay damages to the Nigerian plaintiff," the judges said.
Yesterday's judgment was believed to be the first time a Dutch court has held a multinational's foreign subsidiary liable for environmental damage and ordered it to pay damages.
In its official reaction to the ruling, SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, said the company welcomed the court verdict that all spill cases were caused by criminal activity.
The court ruled that the four oil spills at Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo between 2004 and 2007, which have been the subject of litigation, were caused by sabotage.
However, only in the case of Ikot Ada Udo that the court ruled that SPDC could have prevented the sabotage by plugging the well earlier enough.
In this particular case, it was established that saboteurs opened the valve above the surface with a wrench.
But the Dutch court rejected the case brought by other Nigerian farmers and the environmental pressure group, saying the leaking pipelines were caused by saboteurs, not Shell's negligence.
The court accepted Shell's argument that the spills were caused by sabotage and not poor maintenance of its facilities, as had been argued by the plaintiffs.
They said they could no longer feed their families because the region had been polluted by oil from Shell's pipelines and production facilities.
The pollution is as a result of oil spills in 2004, 2005 and 2007, they said.
Reacting to the judgment afterwards, the parent company said it was "happy" with the verdict.
It said it would pay compensation, adding that it did not lose the case. "It was not an operational failure. The leak was the consequence of sabotage," Royal Dutch Shell's Vice-President for Environment, Allard Castelein, said.
He said Shell would negotiate the amount of damages with the farmer, but that an appeal could postpone the outcome of those talks.
Akpan, the farmer who won the compensation and has 12 children, said he was very happy with the judgment.
"I am not surprised at the decision because there was divine intervention in the court. The spill damaged 47 fishing ponds, killed all the fish and rendered the ponds useless. I had borrowed the money from the agriculture loans board and had no way to pay it back," he told Reuters in Port Harcourt.
"Since then, I have been living by God's grace and on the help of good Samaritans. I think this will be a lesson for Shell and they will know not to damage people's livelihoods," he added.
Friends of the Earth spokesman, Geert Ritsema, said they would appeal against the acquittals "because there is still a lot of oil lying around. These sites need to be cleaned."
SPDC, which has been ordered to compensate Akpan, in its reaction, said the vast majority of oil pollution in the Niger Delta was caused by oil thieves and illegal refiners and acknowledged that the problem had affected the daily lives of the people of the oil-rich region.
Sunmonu stated that the company also "welcomes the court's ruling that all spill cases were caused by criminal activity."
"This causes major environmental and economic damage, and is the real tragedy of the Niger Delta. SPDC has made great efforts to raise awareness on the issue with the government of Nigeria, international bodies like the UN, the media and NGOs. We will continue to be at the forefront of discussions to find solutions," he said.
He explained that for SPDC, no oil spill was acceptable, adding that Shell is working hard to improve its performance on operational spills.
The court, however, dismissed four other claims filed against the parent company, in which the plaintiffs were seeking compensation from the oil giant for the pollution of their farmlands and destruction of their means of livelihood.
Four Nigerians and an interest group, Friends of the Earth, had filed the suit in 2008 in The Netherlands, where Shell has its global headquarters, seeking reparations for loss of income from contaminated land and waterways in the Niger Delta.
In its ruling, The Hague Civil Court held that the Royal Dutch Shell could be held partially responsible for pollution in the Niger Delta, saying the company should have prevented sabotage at one of its facilities.
The court ruled that SPDC should be held responsible for a pipeline leak poisoning farmland in the Niger Delta, as it had failed to take adequate measures to prevent sabotage.
The judges ordered SPDC to pay an unspecified amount as compensation to 52-year-old Friday Akpan for breach of duty of care by making it too easy for saboteurs to open an oil well head that leaked on to his land.
"Shell Nigeria should and could have prevented this sabotage in an easy way. This is why the district court has sentenced Shell Nigeria to pay damages to the Nigerian plaintiff," the judges said.
Yesterday's judgment was believed to be the first time a Dutch court has held a multinational's foreign subsidiary liable for environmental damage and ordered it to pay damages.
In its official reaction to the ruling, SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, said the company welcomed the court verdict that all spill cases were caused by criminal activity.
The court ruled that the four oil spills at Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo between 2004 and 2007, which have been the subject of litigation, were caused by sabotage.
However, only in the case of Ikot Ada Udo that the court ruled that SPDC could have prevented the sabotage by plugging the well earlier enough.
In this particular case, it was established that saboteurs opened the valve above the surface with a wrench.
But the Dutch court rejected the case brought by other Nigerian farmers and the environmental pressure group, saying the leaking pipelines were caused by saboteurs, not Shell's negligence.
The court accepted Shell's argument that the spills were caused by sabotage and not poor maintenance of its facilities, as had been argued by the plaintiffs.
They said they could no longer feed their families because the region had been polluted by oil from Shell's pipelines and production facilities.
The pollution is as a result of oil spills in 2004, 2005 and 2007, they said.
Reacting to the judgment afterwards, the parent company said it was "happy" with the verdict.
It said it would pay compensation, adding that it did not lose the case. "It was not an operational failure. The leak was the consequence of sabotage," Royal Dutch Shell's Vice-President for Environment, Allard Castelein, said.
He said Shell would negotiate the amount of damages with the farmer, but that an appeal could postpone the outcome of those talks.
Akpan, the farmer who won the compensation and has 12 children, said he was very happy with the judgment.
"I am not surprised at the decision because there was divine intervention in the court. The spill damaged 47 fishing ponds, killed all the fish and rendered the ponds useless. I had borrowed the money from the agriculture loans board and had no way to pay it back," he told Reuters in Port Harcourt.
"Since then, I have been living by God's grace and on the help of good Samaritans. I think this will be a lesson for Shell and they will know not to damage people's livelihoods," he added.
Friends of the Earth spokesman, Geert Ritsema, said they would appeal against the acquittals "because there is still a lot of oil lying around. These sites need to be cleaned."
SPDC, which has been ordered to compensate Akpan, in its reaction, said the vast majority of oil pollution in the Niger Delta was caused by oil thieves and illegal refiners and acknowledged that the problem had affected the daily lives of the people of the oil-rich region.
Sunmonu stated that the company also "welcomes the court's ruling that all spill cases were caused by criminal activity."
"This causes major environmental and economic damage, and is the real tragedy of the Niger Delta. SPDC has made great efforts to raise awareness on the issue with the government of Nigeria, international bodies like the UN, the media and NGOs. We will continue to be at the forefront of discussions to find solutions," he said.
He explained that for SPDC, no oil spill was acceptable, adding that Shell is working hard to improve its performance on operational spills.
Ivorian football star Emmanuel Ebue berates Nigeria on twitter ahead of Nations Cup draw
Eboue, who through his twitter handle @TheRealEboue, congratulated Nigeria shortly after the Super Eagles defeated Ethiopia to reach the knock-out stages but was quick to caution Nigeria not to celebrate to much as the Elephants are coming for them.
The former Arsenal player maintained that Eagles were no match to his side. His first tweet read: "Congrat to Nigeria. Don't celebrate too much cuz we are coming for you. We are going to eat you like fufu".
Minutes later, the Ivorian defender tweeted again: "Sorry guys, point of correction. We are going to eat Nigeria like #SuperFriedChickens."
From then on, it has been an unending tweet tirade on not just the Eagles as a team but Nigeria in its entirety, a situation that has seen some twitter users arguing that Eboue was being impersonated.
Some of the tweets read:
"@TheRealEboue I see ppl saying I hv pride by saying we wud eat Nigeria like fried chickens, it's not pride guys, it's hardwork & passion 4 my country"
"@TheRealEboue: In Nigeria team, some of your best strikers like martins, yakubu & odewinge are not in the team. Why? No peace, passion, & humility"
"@TheRealEboue: Ivory has some of the top players in d world, and when our country calls. We go. We go back home and play. Nobody is a big boy. So shut it"
"@TheRealEboue: A country where mikel obi is your best player & captain . Out of 150million people. You sure have a problem super chickens"
"@TheRealEboue: With all due respect 2 mikel, he is a good player but not Okocha, Samson,yekini,Oliseh, adepoju. Your football association is a joke"
"@TheRealEboue: When keshi was in Togo, he dropped adebayor. He is in Nigeria and drops the best player. He is a manger he should be able to work on their ego"
@TheRealEboue: I have said enough on this matter. I was so angry. Speak to me when your national television can broadcast the game. Have a good day
@TheRealEboue: Keep fooling yourself and calling yourselfs the giant of africa. You are nothing but the soil of Africa we all work on now.
@TheRealEboue: You guys are jokers. Your institutions are comedy clubs. You have so many resources & man power yet you are always falling short.
@TheRealEboue:Oh sorry Nigeria, I even heard your country owns the first African television and you cannot even televise the game to the masses
@TheRealEboue: Drogba, Yaya,kolo, Zakora, gervinho,KaLou, and myself and all other players. We are all the same. One unity and family. Country comes 1st
@TheRealEboue: I have said enough on this matter. I was so angry. Speak to me when your national television can broadcast the game. Have a good day
@TheRealEboue: If we don't beat you in the game, it means you are lucky. But trust me, we are going to deal with you so much , you would be eating grass
@TheRealEboue: Why don't you speak to your NFA that cant grow a good soccer academy & produce players to last for a decade instead of new faces every week
@TheRealEboue: Blame me, i don't care. I would say my mind. You can even blame me Ghana can show the game to the masses and NTA cannot . Cover your face
TheRealEboue: My last word for Nigerians . Do not cry for me , cry for yourselves. In the true spirit of sport , I love you all . Don't get too emotional."
Related stories: Victor Moses takes Super Eagles to Nation Cup quarter finals
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