Business & Human Rights: Oil, gas & coal companies July-Sep 2001

Sustainability, Not Sanctions, Improves World (J. Michael Stinson, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, Corporate Strategy and Communications for Conoco Inc., in sponsored section, International Herald Tribune, 13 Sep. 2001)

Talisman Energy shares slide over Sudanese operations: Shares of Talisman Energy Inc. spiralled on the Canadian stock market Thursday over fears the oil and gas giant will be punished for its operations in Sudan, an east African country with a history of sheltering terrorists. Talisman stock fell nearly eight per cent or $4.65 Thursday to $55.85 as the impact of Tuesday's terrorist attack on New York was absorbed by Canadian investors...Talisman - one of Canada's largest independent energy producers - has tirelessly defended its involvement in Sudan as a positive influence helping the war-torn country. But critics charge that Talisman is creating blood money for the Sudanese government to use in a vicious civil war that has raged for at least 18 years. (James Stevenson, The Canadian Press, 13 Sep. 2001)

Administration's Energy Connections Elicit Concerns [USA]: While the Bush administration reviews whether to pursue lawsuits against companies accused of violating the Clean Air Act, some of Bush's top officials working on the issue formerly worked for a law firm that lobbied on behalf of the very companies involved in the suit, the Washington Post reports. (Power Report: The Power Marketing Association Online, 12 Sep. 2001)

Oil Companies Help Curb HIV/AIDS: Two US oil companies are helping teachers and students in the Republic of the Congo (ROC) learn about the risks of HIV/AIDS and how to avoid the deadly virus, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) announced Monday. Chevron and Nomeco are supporting a project - that UNDP and UNICEF are carrying out in cooperation with the National Programme Against AIDS and the ministry of education - with contributions of more than US $50,000 and dozens of used computers and printers. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 11 Sep. 2001)

US firms pay $120 mln to clean Texas dump site: A group of refiners and petrochemical companies has agreed to pay $120 million for cleaning up a contaminated dump site in Texas, the U.S. Justice Department announced last week. The second-largest settlement in the history of the federal environmental Superfund program will go to the U.S. government and the State of Texas to cover their cleanup costs. The firms accused of wrongdoing include Exxon Mobil, Shell Oil Co., Phillips Petroleum and BP-owned Atlantic Richfield, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Occidental Chemical Corp., the El Paso Group and Rohm & Haas, a provider of specialty chemicals. (Reuters, 10 Sep. 2001)

Solar Power Is Reaching Where Wires Can't: Strategies Unlimited predicts that the leading companies in the industry, like the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Siemens, BP, Sanyo Electric, Sharp, Kyocera and AstroPower, will continue to have revenue growth of about 20 percent a year from these markets. That will make the remote rural market alone worth roughly $2.5 billion by 2005...International organizations like the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program have started to put money into projects, and businesses, to help solve the financing problem. (David Lipschultz, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2001)

Texaco Left Toxic Legacy in Ecuador: A group representing more than 30,000 Ecuadoreans is suing Texaco in U.S. District Court, charging that the company dumped some 4.3 million gallons a day of toxic oil waste water into the Amazon. Texaco also left behind more than 300 open waste pits contaminated with heavy metals and other carcinogenic hydrocarbon compounds. The Ecuador plaintiffs have filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that Chevron has not adequately divulged the huge potential liability of the lawsuit to its shareholders. For those living in the shadow of Texaco's shining star, the company's toxic legacy in Ecuador will never fade. The SEC must insist that the company settle its liabilities in Ecuador as a condition for the merger. (letter to the editor from Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch, in Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2001)

Unocal closer to trial over human rights violations: California Superior Court Judge Victoria Chaney yesterday rejected Unocal Corp's bid to dismiss claims that it facilitated and abetted human rights abuses on its Yadana Pipeline project in Burma. (Pravit Rojanaphruk, Burmanet, 8 Sep. 2001)

Bishops [Sudan Catholic Bishops] Link Oil Companies With Intensification of War: The Sudanese civil war had intensified over the past three years due to the oil business, made possible by the completion of an oil pipeline by a consortium of multinational corporations, and oil revenue was one factor in encouraging the government "to seek a military rather than a negotiated settlement to the conflict," according to the bishops. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 8 Sep. 2001)

Congress body may sue White House: The US congressional investigative and audit agency said yesterday that it may sue the White House over its refusal to name the corporate leaders the administration consulted over its controversial energy plan. (Julian Borger, Guardian [UK], 8 Sep. 2001)

Heating Up the Globe? See You in Court: Taking a cue from broad-based, class-action lawsuits like those filed on behalf of Holocaust survivors or against tobacco companies, a group of environmental lawyers is exploring novel legal strategies to adopt against global warming...The lawyers, representing groups like Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, envision winning damages for people or whole countries that have suffered adverse effects of global warming. (Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, in International Herald Tribune, 7 Sep. 2001)

Nations face pollution suits: Environmental groups are threatening to sue the governments of America, Britain and other countries accused of causing pollution, on behalf of millions of people affected by global warming. A consortium of lawyers representing organisations such as Greenpeace and America's World Wildlife Fund have discussed ways of holding governments and corporations to account for damage done to the planet by carbon dioxide and other emissions. (Ben Fenton, Daily Telegraph [UK], 7 Sep. 2001)

Environmental regulators reject industry petitions to reconsider diesel sulfur rule [USA]: Federal environmental regulators said Friday they had denied three industry petitions asking the government to reconsider a Clinton-era rule demanding cleaner diesel trucks and buses. The Bush administration previously said it would enforce the rule. But the American Petroleum Institute, the American Trucking Association and Mack Trucks/Volvo Powertrain had each petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to take another look. (Associated Press, 7 Sep. 2001)

Rebels Warn Against 'Blood Oil': Sudanese rebels have warned that African countries such as Zimbabwe that are contemplating buying cheap fuel from Khartoum will be buying "blood oil" which has been drilled from areas where villagers have been driven out by bombs. (Financial Gazette [Zimbabwe], 6 Sep. 2001)

Bush names peace envoy to oil-rich Sudan: U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday appointed former Sen. John Danforth as special envoy to Sudan to try to work for peace in the country wracked by civil war which has potentially rich oil fields...The Bush administration, which includes many senior officials with links to the oil industry, has shown a strong interest in trying to resolve conflicts that could disrupt potential suppliers, from Sudan to the Caucasus...Oil has become a growing issue in the Sudan conflict. Earlier on Thursday Sudan's Catholic bishops accused foreign oil companies of complicity in brutal human rights abuses committed by the Khartoum government. (Deborah Charles, Reuters, 6 Sep. 2001)

Government Gives Oil Firms 2008 Deadline [Nigeria]: the Federal Government has issued fresh directives to oil firms to end gas flaring in their oil installations by the year 2008 (Isichei Osambi, This Day [Lagos], 6 Sep. 2001)

Christian Association Moves to Reconcile Mosop, Shell: The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has joined efforts at finding an amicable solution to the lingering crisis involving the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) and Anglo-Dutch oil firm -- Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria...Speaking on SPDC's new Corporate Image Campaign yesterday, Berg [Shell Nigeria's Chairman and Managing Director, Ron Van Den Berg] said the initiative is to open up a new vista of understanding for the company, which he said will give rise to the idea being replicated in selected countries, including Malaysia, Ireland and South Africa. "The thrust of this new corporate identity campaign of Shell is our sustainable development programme, which ensues that Shall conducts its business in an environmentally and socially responsible manner," he said. (Yakubu Lawal, Guardian [Lagos], 5 Sep. 2001)

No caribou for oil: An Arctic tribe struggles for survival - In early August, the US House of Representatives passed an energy bill that included a provision to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. If the bill passes in the US Senate in September, multinational oil and gas corporations stand to make billions of dollars in profit, while the Gwitch'in people stand to lose their livelihood and their culture. (Nadine Pedersen, Alternatives for a different world, 3 Sep. 2001)

Angola's Wealth: Stories of War and Neglect - ...Angola's oil reserves are mainly off-shore; therefore neither oil companies nor the small number of Angolans profiting from the industry have much interaction with ordinary Angolans. This creates an economic and political distance that encourages neglect and undermines accountability. Most Angolans see few results of their country's wealth. Government spending on social services, such as health and education, remains just a fraction of what is spent in the war. The Angolan government does not spend nearly enough on humanitarian aid, despite the fact that millions are in need. (Oxfam Briefing Paper, Sep. 2001)

Big Oil And The Bank: Clear And Present Danger:...At base, say critics, the issue is that Bank lending for fossil fuel projects runs counter to the Bank’s stated mission of helping the poor. Lending for fossil fuels actually harms both the poor and the environment, they argue. (Stephen Kretzmann, Campaigns Coordinator for the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network of the Institute for Policy Studies, in Multinational Monitor, Sep. 2001)

Bolivia: Shell and Enron Gas pipeline in the Chiquitano Forest: The construction of the gas pipeline between Bolivia and Brazil by the Shell and Enron petroleum companies has affected an area of 6 million hectares of Chiquitano Forest, inhabited by 178 indigenous and peasant communities. (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

company website: Cuiaba [Brazil]: Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies

company website: Enron South America

Ecuador: Action to stop the oil pipeline continues: A second joint letter from international environmental and human rights organisations is being circulated urging the head of the financing German bank, the Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB), the Prime minister of the German Federal State Nordrhein Westfalen, NRW (the main shareholder of WestLB), and the two responsible ministers for finances and economy in NRW, to stop the financial support to the Ecuadorian oil megaproject OCP (Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados). (WRM Bulletin, World Rainforest Movement, Sep. 2001)

South Carolina company [Carolina Upgrading of South Carolina, Inc.], president plead guilty to violations in six states: ...the defendants admitted that they conspired and falsified more than 1,500 tests of underground storage tanks to gasoline stations and state and federal facilities in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Federal law requires that underground storage tank owners periodically have their tanks inspected to test for leaks of petroleum or other products. Petroleum leaks from underground storage tanks can release benzene into groundwater, and benzene is a known cause of cancer. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 31 Aug. 2001)

Environmental Justice from the Niger Delta to the World Conference Against Racism: Erovie, a community in the Niger Delta, is thousands of miles from Durban, South Africa where delegates from around the globe are gathering this week for the World Conference Against Racism. But the tragedy that befell the citizens of Erovie, who were poisoned by toxic waste from Shell Oil's operations, is a graphic example of what the Conference's NGO Forum refers to as environmental racism: the disproportionate impacts of pollution borne by communities of color around the world. (Sam Olukoya, special to CorpWatch, 30 Aug. 2001)

company website:
- Environment (Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited)
- Human rights (Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited)

Burmese workers suing Unocal in Los Angeles will have their day in court: Claims that Unocal Knowingly Benefited from Rights Abuses to be Heard in Superior Court (International Labor Rights Fund, 30 Aug. 2001)

Sierra Club to launch ads urging Congress to pass meaningful campaign finance reform [USA]: "Elected officials should answer to people in their districts, not to the oil, mining, chemical and timber industries that buy undue influence with campaign dollars" (Sierra Club, 29 Aug. 2001)

Bishops' Conference to Hear Oil Group's Position: The Sudan Catholic Bishops, who are holding their annual meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, from 21 August to 1 September, have agreed, at the company's request, to hear a presentation by the Canadian oil company, Talisman, on its operations in Sudan, according to a press statement on Wednesday...Talisman's request for a meeting resulted from a letter the Catholic bishops wrote to the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in mid-September, suggesting that the production of oil in Sudan would fuel the civil war. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 29 Aug. 2001)

Shell disputes Brazil toxic site health report: Anglo-Dutch oil and chemical group Royal Dutch/Shell has disputed a report in Brazil that showed a high rate of contamination in residents near its former pesticide factory. Shell admitted in February that the factory had contaminated the groundwater and soil but not residents. (Sharon Cohen, Reuters, 29 Aug. 2001)

South Africa: Durban residents victims of environmental racism - The pollution hits your lungs and nostrils as soon as you enter Wentworth, a mixed-race community and apartheid-era dumping ground south of the Indian Ocean port city of Durban. Towering above "Noddy-town" as its known locally because of the small, box-like houses, are two huge oil refineries and a host of other industries. Between them they spew out a noxious cocktail of sulphur dioxide and other dangerous chemicals and local people say they've had enough. (Integrated Regional Information Networks, 28 Aug. 2001)

Wall Street Fights U.S. Effort To Push Human Rights in Sudan: Bill Would Close Capital Markets to Foreign Firms Working in African Nation - White House, Greenspan, Goldman Sachs Face Off Against Unions, Congressional Black Caucus - A U.S. congressional campaign to punish companies doing business with Sudan is forcing a debate over whether human rights should take precedence over the importance of keeping U.S. capital markets open to foreigners. (Neil King Jr. and Michael Schroeder, The Wall Street Journal Europe, 28 Aug. 2001)

How energy firms got their say on Bush policy: Executives who stood to benefit enjoyed access - Throughout February and March, executives representing electricity, coal, natural gas and nuclear interests paraded quietly in small groups to a building in the White House compound, where the new administration's energy policy was being written...Many of the executives at the White House meetings were generous donors to the Republican Party, and some of their key lobbyists were freshly hired from the Bush presidential campaign. They found a receptive task force. (Judy Pasternak, Los Angeles Times, in San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Aug. 2001)

Unsanctioned Action: Political Power Does Not Grow From The Barrel Of An Economic Gun - The [U.S.] Administration opposes a new form of economic sanction that might be applied to the government of Sudan. The House of Representatives recently passed the "Sudan Peace Act," which includes an amendment prohibiting foreign companies that do business in Sudan from raising money or listing shares in U.S. capital markets. The new provision would apply to foreign companies, particularly a Canadian oil company called Talisman Energy; China National Petroleum, Lundin Oil of Sweden and Petronas, the state oil company of Malaysia. (editorial, Thomas G. Donlan, Barron's [USA], 25 Aug. 2001)

Sudan's dilemma: Cutting off capital markets is a mistake - The [U.S] administration should continue to oppose the House bill, and remain wary of providing military assistance to the rebels, who also have considerable blood on their hands. The administration also should move quickly to assign a special envoy to address the broader peace issues and to diplomatically press China, Britain, Sweden, Canada and other countries to discourage oil companies from doing business in Sudan. (editorial, Dallas Morning News, 24 Aug. 2001)

Coastguards scoop up half Baltic oil slick: Rescue boats have scooped up almost half of an oil slick in the southern Baltic Sea, coastguards said. (Reuters, 24 Aug. 2001)

Replace dirty coal with the wind, engineers say: Health, environmental costs make it twice as expensive - Wind power is now cheaper than coal and could become a leading source of electricity with the right political support and investment, researchers said Thursday. The Stanford engineers calculated that building some 225,000 wind turbines across the country would be expensive — at an initial cost of $338 billion — but that the payback would include a huge drop in emissions tied to global warming. (MSNBC, 23 Aug. 2001)

Weir Group stands firm over Sudan: Weir Group [Glasgow-based maker of pumps vital for moving oil through pipelines] yesterday hit out at criticism from human rights groups of its business in war-torn Sudan and said it would consider further projects there...Human rights groups, led by Christian Aid, have castigated Weir for its involvement and charged that this makes it "complicit" in the Khartoum government's violent campaign against its own people in the south of the country. (Saeed Shah, Independent [UK], 23 Aug. 2001)

Government defuses explosives set by rebels to blow up major Sudanese oil pipeline (Associated Press, 23 Aug. 2001)

Talisman could be caught in SEC clampdown - Political battle: Alberta firm under pressure to divest Sudan operations - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is not backing down from a new demand that foreign companies wanting to raise capital in the U.S. must declare whether they are earning profits from "rogue" states. In what has become an intense political battle, Congress and at least one influential Washington lobby group are trying to force Harvey Pitt, the new SEC chairman, to honour a May 8 pledge made by Laura Unger, the former acting SEC chairman, to demand more disclosure from non-U.S. companies about foreign operations. The debate has ensnared Talisman Energy Inc. of Calgary, already under heavy pressure to divest its operations in the Sudan. Talisman is a part owner of an oil project in Sudan with the national oil companies of China, Malaysia and Sudan. The other major Western oil companies active in the country are TotalFinaElf SA of France and Lundin Oil AB of Sweden. (Peter Morton, Financial Post [Canada], 23 Aug. 2001)

Shell studies energy brick for cooking in African villages: An official of Royal Dutch/Shell said this week the company was studying the possibility of making a smokeless energy brick for cooking in African villages to reduce firewood consumption. (Reuters, 23 Aug. 2001)

Esso dismisses allegations by Green campaign: Esso has dismissed a boycott campaign against it by Green campaigners including Body Shop founder Anita Roddick as "ridiculous". (Stephanie Holmes, Reuters, 22 Aug. 2001)

4 major oil firms settle MTBE cleanup suit: S.F. judge presses 4 others to reach similar agreements - Four of the nation's largest oil companies agreed in court yesterday to clean up MTBE contamination in California caused by leaking gasoline storage tanks or face contempt of court penalties. The settlement, which will cover approximately 700 contaminated sites owned by Chevron, Shell, Texaco and Unocal since 1994, was signed in San Francisco Superior Court and could result in an outlay of millions of dollars in company cleanup costs...Superior Court Judge Stuart Pollak, who approved the settlement yesterday, praised it as a "sensible, very imaginative solution to the problem." But four oil companies -- ARCO, Exxon, Mobil and Tosco -- declined to settle the suit, and Pollak strongly urged them to meet with the court mediator to reach a similar agreement. (William Carlsen, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Aug. 2001)

China finds oil in Tibet...Oil extraction in Tibet's mountains is likely to attract criticism from environmentalists and human rights activists. (BBC News, 21 Aug. 2001)

Pipeline Fire Looms in Ogoni, Threatens Crude Oil Sale: Another catastrophe looms in Ogoniland, the oil-rich community of Rivers State, as the entire area continues to be ravaged by fire outbreaks resulting from burst pipelines. [Nigeria] (Yakubu Lawal, The Guardian [Lagos], 21 Aug. 2001)

Solar Power Lights Up Lives [public/private partnership aiming to solar-electrify 50,000 households in South Africa]: "There's nothing new in the technology, but what we're doing is unique, we're offering a complete solar utility service to isolated and scattered communities," Elize Gothard of Shell Solar Southern Africa told IRIN. (UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 21 Aug. 2001)

Route for Ecuador's new pipeline upheld in court: Ecuador's Constitutional Tribunal has upheld the route chosen for a new pipeline that's seen as the buoy of the nation's economy, despite challenges by protest groups, the Energy Ministry said in a statement last week....According to this statement, the Tribunal resolved "the route selected has been designed so that there is no damage to the right to live in a healthy, ecologically balanced and pollution-free environment." (Reuters, 20 Aug. 2001)

Industry bets big on energy policy ads: The big oil and gas companies that spent nearly $2 million to help elect President Bush last year are pouring millions more into an advertising campaign this summer to help sell his energy policy in Congress. (William E. Gibson, Orlando Sentinel [USA], 19 Aug. 2001)

Talisman seeks tighter security at Sudan site: Talisman Energy Inc. is talking to the government of Sudan about stepping up security at its Heglig oil project after a group of 10 to 20 rebels slipped inside its security perimeter before dawn on Aug. 5. (Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post [Canada], 17 Aug. 2001)

Air pollution labeled a killer: Direct link to deaths, study claims - A study released today provides substantial new evidence that air pollution from automobile exhausts and smokestacks is killing people worldwide. (Charles Seabrook, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 17 Aug. 2001)

AIR POLLUTION: Fossil Fuel Pollution A Current Health Hazard, Study Says - Pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels may have devastating effects on the global climate in years to come, but it is already killing people in cities around the world by contributing to asthma, heart disease and lung disorders, five scientists say in a study appearing in today's Science. (UN Wire, 17 Aug. 2001)

Govt sets environment pollution standards for firms [Nigeria]: Manufacturers of textiles, petro-chemical and other allied industries operating in Kaduna have been directed by the Federal Government to come up with globally acceptable environmental pollution control audit within three months. (Segun Aiyeoyenikan, Guardian [Nigeria], 17 Aug. 2001)

Greenpeace Executive director accuses Bush of putting the world's future at risk: Greenpeace’s recently appointed Executive Director, Gerd Leipold, today criticised President George W Bush for putting the world’s future at risk with a “truly astonishing policy path that could undo so much progress in environmental protection and world peace”. Speaking at the launch of the organisation’s Annual Report, Dr. Gerd Leipold said that in pursuing the Star Wars (missile defence) programme, rejecting the Kyoto climate change agreement and threatening to open the Alaskan Arctic Wildlife Reserve to oil exploitation, President Bush was failing to protect the environment to satisfy his corporate supporters. (Greenpeace, 16 Aug. 2001)

Shell, Legislator Differ On Pipeline Vandalisation in Ogoni [Nigeria] (Joseph Ollor-Obari, The Guardian [Lagos], 16 Aug. 2001)

Air and water pollution becoming great threat to citizens of Multan [Pakistan]: Air pollution and water pollution have become a great threat to the existence of the residents of Multan, spreading critical diseases due to continuous flow and discharge of gases from industrial fertiliser plants and liquid waste from municipal and industrial sources. [pollution from tanneries, paper factories, fertiliser units, dyes factories and textile matching units, sugar factories, power generating plants, oil and gas plants] (Hoover's Online, 15 Aug. 2001)

Nigeria demands safety report on oil pipelines: The Nigerian government yesterday directed multinationals producing the country's mainstay, crude oil, to submit reports on the state of their pipelines and their plans to combat oil pollution. Vice-President Atiku Abubakar told an international conference on oil pollution that the move was to ensure that oil and gas industry operators adopt good oilfield practices and comply with the environmental standards that obtain in other parts of the world. (Camillus Eboh, Reuters, 15 Aug. 2001)

Shell Explains Death of Youth Over Oil Spill [Nigeria] (Yakubu Lawal, Guardian [Lagos], 15 Aug. 2001)

EPA delays review of power plant pollution rules: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Tuesday it would delay until September its assessment of whether the agency should change the way power plants and oil refineries are regulated for clean air violations. (Tom Doggett, Reuters, 15 Aug. 2001)

reports (and Shell Nigeria's response) about the death of a Nigerian youth shot on 9 August 2001 by police accompanying a Shell crew repairing an oil leak: