Archived press release

Shell Reforms Must Clean Up Company's Operations

28 October 2004

Friends of the Earth today (Thursday 28^th October) welcomed the announcement that oil giant Shell was to reform the company's structure to improve decision making and accountability, but urged the company to ensure it also transformed its operations on the ground. The company also announced a 70 per cent increase in net profits for the third-quarter to $4.4bn (£2.4bn).

The oil giant, which admitted misleading investors about the level of its oil reserves earlier this year and today announced that a further downgrade was likely, also stands accused of abusing the health and environment of communities living next door to its operations in Nigeria, South Africa, the United States, Brazil and the Philippines [1].

In Nigeria, tensions are currently running high in the oil-producing Niger Delta region threatening oil production. Shell is the biggest operator in the Delta and is in dispute with many of the communities.

Friends of the Earth's Corporate Accountability Campaigner Craig Bennett said:

"Shell's long-awaited reforms must not only benefit the company's balance sheet, but must transform the way this oil company works on the ground. For too long, Shell has been exploiting the health and the environment of communities, yet claiming to be socially and environmentally responsible. The financial health of a company is part and parcel of the way the company operates and if these reforms are to be seen as a cure, they must treat the company's operations as a whole."

Speaking from Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta, Friends of the Earth Nigeria deputy director Oronto Douglas said:

"Shell is making obscene profits by sucking the environment and the community dry in Nigeria. Our land and rivers are polluted and we can no longer fish or farm. The UK Government must recognise its responsibility for this British company and act to provide us with a right to compensation for the damage Shell has done."

Notes

[1] Behind the shine - The other Shell Report 2003 (PDF format)

Pictures of Shell's operations in the Niger Delta are available from the press office at Friends of the Earth.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust