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Oil, gas & coal companies: General materials Oct.-Dec. 2001 |
See also other materials on " Oil, gas & coal companies"
Oct.-Dec. 2001:
ChevronTexaco operations in Kazakstan model destructive potential of oil exploitation: Production at Kazakhstan’s biggest oil field run by a ChevronTexaco led consortium has created a 35-foot-tall (11 meter) slab of yellow sulfur next to the field's pipelines and storage tanks impacting the health of workers and people living near the operation. (Project Underground, Drillbits & Tailings, 30 Dec. 2001)
Coal mine blast reported kills 16 in eastern China:...The blast in the eastern province of Shandong was the latest in series of grim accidents in China's mining industry that have killed more than 5,000 people so far this year. (Reuters, 27 Dec. 2001)
Indonesian minister eyes illegal tin, coal miners (Reuters, 24 Dec. 2001)
EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] issues notices of violations to four refineries: EPA issued notices of violation on Dec. 20 to the Sunoco Corp. and the ExxonMobil Corp. for violations of the Clean Air Act at four refineries in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas and Louisiana. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 21 Dec. 2001)
Resolution Urges ExxonMobil to Strip Chair from its CEO, a Global Warming Naysayer: Robert Monks' resolution claims that ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Lee Raymond's denial of global warming is harming the company's reputation and shareowner value. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 21 Dec. 2001)
US senator seeks to stop leaky underground tanks: A new Senate bill would help prevent underground tanks storing gasoline and fuel additives like MTBE from leaking into drinking water supplies (Reuters, 21 Dec. 2001)
U.S. announces clean air agreements with Conoco Inc., Navajo Refining Co., and Montana Refining Co.: Petroleum Refiners Will Reduce Air Emissions In Five States [consent decree filed in U.S. District Court] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Dec. 2001)
New Resolution Targets ExxonMobil Board and CEO Over Loss of Value: Action reflects growing discontent with ExxonMobil's position on global warming (Campaign ExxonMobil, 18 Dec. 2001)
Key points related to Sudan and oil: The purpose of this WOA [Washington Office on Africa] document is not to analyze the oil situation extensively...but is rather to highlight key points in the evolution of this issue and its relation to decisions about US investments. (The Washington Office on Africa, 17 Dec. 2001)
North Carolina oil refinery, three individuals indicted [for alleged conspiracy to discharge oil into the Cape Fear River in violation of the Clean Water Act] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 Dec. 2001)
United States Announces $11.2 Million Settlement of Hazardous Waste Case Against Exxon Mobil (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 Dec. 2001)
Protesters occupy TotalFinaElf head's chateau [France]: French protesters occupied a chateau owned by TotalFinaElf Chairman Thierry Desmarest's family yesterday to press the oil giant to pay compensation to victims of a chemical factory explosion and a 1999 oil spill (Emelia Sithole, Reuters, 12 Dec. 2001)
Asia needs big investment for clean fuels: Shutdown or upgrade. That's the advice oil experts will dish out to Asian oil refiners for the next decade as growing insistence for cleaner air standards and intense market competition generate demand for more complex plants. (Lawrence Yong, Reuters, 10 Dec. 2001)
Colombian Admits Killing Unionist: A right-wing paramilitary militia on Saturday accused a slain union leader in Colombia of being a rebel commander and accepted responsibility for his killing. The body of Aury Sara, a regional leader of a militant oil workers union, and his bodyguard were found Wednesday (AP, 8 Dec. 2001)
Colombia: the massacre continues - In a letter sent on December 6 to Colombian President Andrès Pastrana, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) condemned in the strongest possible terms the assassination of Aury Sara Marrugo, President of the Bolivar-based trade union, ‘Union Sindical Obrera’ (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 6 Dec. 2001)
SUDAN: Khartoum against UN draft on human rights - The Sudanese government has expressed its opposition to a draft resolution on human rights adopted by the UN General Assembly's Third Committee last week, saying the text was biased in favour of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A)...The draft text highlighted the occurrence of extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, the use of civilian premises for military purposes and the forced displacement of populations living around the oilfields. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network, 6 Dec. 2001)
Lundin Exits Talisman Sudan Stake Talks; Pressure Mounts: Swedish oil junior Lundin Petroleum AB Wednesday ruled itself out of acquiring part or all of Talisman Energy Inc.'s 25% stake in the politically controversial Greater Nile oil project in Sudan. (Michael Wang, Dow Jones, 5 Dec. 2001)
Esso says effects of UK protests not yet clear:...Industry experts said that the impact on Esso's retail sector was likely to be minuscule but warned that the effect on its brand name could be more damaging. (Reuters, 4 Dec. 2001)
Amnesty to ExxonMobil: Do the Right Thing - earlier this year Amnesty USA filed its first shareholder resolution. The resolution asks ExxonMobil to adopt a "human rights policy which shall include an explicit commitment to support and uphold the principles and values contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." [based on interview of Mort Winston, Amnesty USA’s former Board Chair and current head of its Business and Economic Relations Group] (Simon Billenness, Trillium Asset Management, in Investing for a Better World, Dec. 2001)
Litigation Update: A Summary of Recent Developments in U.S. Cases Brought Under the Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture Protection Act [includes updates on human rights-related lawsuits against Unocal, Chevron, Royal Dutch/Shell, Talisman Energy, Texaco, ExxonMobil] (Jennifer Green [staff attorney at Center for Constitutional Rights] and Paul Hoffman [civil rights attorney and editor of ACLU International Civil Liberties Report], in ACLU International Civil Liberties Report 2001 [American Civil Liberties Union], Dec. 2001)
Recent ILRF [International Labor Rights Fund] Cases to Enforce Human Rights Under the ATCA [includes reference to human rights-related cases against Unocal, ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, DynCorp] (Terry Collingsworth, Executive Director of International Labor Rights Fund, in ACLU International Civil Liberties Report 2001 [American Civil Liberties Union], Dec. 2001)
Corporations Behaving Badly: The Ten Worst Corporations of 2001 [Abbott Laboratories, Argenbright Security, Bayer, Coca Cola, Enron, ExxonMobil, Philip Morris, Sara Lee, Southern Co. and Wal-Mart] (Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor, Dec. 2001)
Oil, the World Trade Organization and Globalization (Project Underground, Drillbits & Tailings, 30 Nov. 2001)
Talisman prepares to disengage in Sudan: A Canadian energy firm is preparing to disengage from Sudan amid heightened fighting in the war-torn south. (MENL, 30 Nov. 2001)
Greens to protest at 300 Exxon UK filling stations:... more than 300 UK Esso filling stations will be targeted by thousands of protesters this weekend in a bid to urge motorists to boycott the oil giant because of its stance on global warming. (Stefano Ambrogi, Reuters, 30 Nov. 2001)
Human Rights and Global Civilisation: 2nd Annual BP Lecture by Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [includes several paragraphs about business/human rights near the end of the lecture, in the section entitled: "Broadening the human rights coalition"] (Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, 29 Nov. 2001)
SUDAN: US pressure group urges tough line on Khartoum -...The campaigners [a coalition of more than 100 religious and civil rights leaders in the United States] particularly criticised Bush for having apparently prevailed upon the US Congress to put aside any work on the Sudan Peace Act, which passed the House of Representatives and had terms which would have allowed for foreign oil companies doing business in Sudan to be barred from selling shares and other securities in the United States. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network, 23 Nov. 2001)
Sudan: the other (and forgotten) religious war:...the regime [the Sudan Government] has been driving villagers from their land in the oil-rich provinces of southern Sudan, and oil revenues are being diverted to re-equip the army and air force. In the past two years, the military budget has doubled to $4 million a day, in a nation where 96 per cent of non-Arabs live in poverty. "The oil companies, like it or not, are aiding and abetting genocide," says Deng [Telar Deng, chairman of the South Sudan Law Society and a senior figure in the Episcopal Church of Sudan], who argues that the oil revenues have helped fund bombing missions against civilian targets in the south. (Tony Parkinson, The Age [Australia], 22 Nov. 2001)
Sudanese rebels say they kill 100 government soldiers in oil zone:...The SPLA renewed its warning that "oil regions are legitimate military targets and urged oil companies to withdraw from them," it said. "Oil revenues are not being used to improve the standard of living of the Sudanese people but to finance the war machine" of the Sudanese government, the SPLA said. (AFP, 20 Nov. 2001)
Colombian Union Leaders Under House Arrest: Oil workers' leaders could still face trial for strike against terror -...Ironically, the strike itself was a protest against anti-union terror. (ICEM, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, 20 Nov. 2001)
U.S. closer to lifting Talisman listing: U.S. legislation that would strip Talisman Energy Inc. of its New York Stock Exchange listing over its investment in Sudan has moved a step closer to reality. The House of Representatives approved a motion yesterday to open talks with the Senate to resolve conflicting anti-Sudan bills passed by the two bodies. (Barrie McKenna, Globe and Mail [Canada], 16 Nov. 2001)
Shell's Phil Watts becomes chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development:...The WBCSD was created in 1992 to provide business input to the Rio Earth Summit, and has since become the leading business advocate on sustainable development issues. (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 15 Nov. 2001)
SUDAN: IRIN Focus on human rights - The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Gerhart Baum, last week presented his latest report to the UN General Assembly...Baum told the General Assembly that internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan, now living in camps, had fled from oil regions of the country, yet did not benefit from oil revenues...Relevant sources agreed that the exploitation of oil reserves had led to "a worsening of the conflict, which has also turned into a war for oil", he added. No matter what oil companies did in terms of providing social services in the areas in which they operated, they would continue to face international criticism by doing business in Sudan until military warfare ended there, he said. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network,14 Nov. 2001)
Shell called negligent in Brazil toxic waste case: The Public Ministry of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo says a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch/Shell was negligent in the exposure of at least 156 people to toxic pesticides...Shell officials reached by Reuters last week dismissed the report as baseless. (Sharon Cohen, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)
Exxon Valdez ruling frustrates Alaska plaintiffs: Plaintiffs in the 12-year court battle over the nation's worst oil spill say they are frustrated that the case will continue to drag on now that an appeals court has struck down the landmark $5 billion punitive fine assessed for the Exxon Valdez oil disaster. (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)
SUDAN: Special Rapporteur queries use of oil revenues - Gerhart Baum, the [United Nations] Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan, called for documentation to verify how the Sudanese government uses its oil revenues in a report discussed yesterday at the UN General Assembly. "Oil exploitation has continued to have a negative impact on the human rights situation," Baum told delegates in New York yesterday. "There is no concrete evidence of oil revenues being spent for the development of the south, in spite of the fact that 40% of the national budget comes from oil." (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network, 9 Nov. 2001)
RIGHTS: Canadian Oil Firm Sued In U.S. Court Over Sudan Dealings - An anti-slavery group has filed suit in U.S. court against the largest foreign investor in Sudan's oil sector. The move follows years of campaigning to force Western oil companies out of the country. The target of the litigation is Canada-based Talisman Energy Co., Inc. The company strongly denied all charges. (InterPress Service, 9 Nov. 2001)
Talisman disputes charges of 'ethnic cleansing' in Sudan U.S. lawsuit launched: Talisman Energy Inc. said it "strongly disputes" allegations made in a class-action lawsuit filed yesterday in the United States that seeks substantial compensation for victims of the Sudan civil war. (Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post [Canada], 9 Nov. 2001)
Talisman faces suit over Sudan: A US anti-slavery group yesterday filed a Dollars 1bn (Pounds 600m) lawsuit against Talisman, the Canadian oil company, alleging its operations in Sudan have contributed to an ethnic cleansing campaign against civilians in the country's south. The class action suit, led by a southern Sudanese church leader, also seeks an injunction to prevent Talisman from continuing to co-operate with the Sudanese government, which has been involved in a 20-year war with southern rebels. (Edward Alden & Ken Warn, Financial Times, 9 Nov. 2001)
Suit filed in U.S. against Talisman - Sudan class action disappoints firm - Talisman Energy Inc. is "disappointed" about a class-action lawsuit filed in the United States against the company yesterday alleging complicity in human rights abuses in Sudan, a spokesman for the company said. "Obviously, Talisman believes in and respects human rights of all individuals around the world, so we're disappointed to learn of this action," said David Mann, the company's manager of investor relations. "We believe we have actively promoted transparency, respect for human rights and an end to the civil war in Sudan." (Lily Nguyen, Globe & Mail [Canada], 9 Nov. 2001)
Exxon Valdez appeals ruling stuns Alaskans: Exxon Mobil Corp.'s reprieve this week from a $5 billion punitive fine stunned and angered Alaskans who had sued the energy giant for punitive damages from the 1989 Valdez oil spill disaster (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 9 Nov. 2001)
BP introduces anti-smog gasoline in Washington state: BP Plc, the British oil giant, introduced a lower-sulfur gasoline in Washington state yesterday designed to fight air pollution. BP said the newly formulated fuel is expected to reduce vehicles' nitrous oxide emissions by about 4 percent. (Reuters, 9 Nov. 2001)
US court rules $5 bln Exxon Valdez award excessive: A federal appeals court yesterday overturned a $5 billion punitive damages award against Exxon Mobil Corp. in the worst oil spill in U.S. history - the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster - and ordered a district court to set a new, lower amount (Andrew Quinn, Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)
Petroleum, Gas Senior Staff Association Boss Carpets Oil Industry Employers [Nigeria]:...Comrade Luwoye...noted that employers in the sector do not allow casual workers the freedom of association and protection as well as right to organise themselves as stated in the ILO Convention No. 87. (Chioma Ugwunebo, Vanguard [Lagos], 7 Nov. 2001)
Exxon Corp. ordered to pay $225,000 fine: Exxon Mobil Corp. was ordered to pay $225,000, the largest fine ever handed down by Texas' oil-industry regulators, for a pipeline blast last year in West Texas that killed a local police officer. (Calgary Herald [Canada], 7 Nov. 2001)
Critics of Kyoto talks say air now a commodity:...Sounding a more favourable note, Mark Kenber of the World Wildlife Fund said emission trading was not the evil capitalistic scheme presented by some. "If emission trading delivers what you want it to deliver one would be in favour, but if it does not do that and expands the loopholes that exist, we would be against it," he said at a workshop on the sidelines of the conference. Speaking at a news conference, the NGOs' representatives gathered under a broad-based coalition called Climate Justice insisted on the need for big corporations to effectively adhere to guidelines that would protect the environment. "Only 122 companies in the world are responsible for 80 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions," said Amit Srivastava, of San Francisco-based CorpWatch. "And just four private global oil corporations produce 10 percent of all CO2 emissions". (Gilles Trequesser, Reuters, 6 Nov. 2001)
Interview with Mark Wade, Shell Sustainable Development Group -...How is Shell going about becoming a truly sustainability-supporting company?...What are institutional investors asking for from Shell today that they didn’t ask for 5 years ago? (Ethical Corporation Magazine, 1 Nov. 2001)
A Tip for Wall Street: Don't Help the Bad Guys - In 1998, Trillium Asset Management Corporation (TAMC) attended a shareholder meeting at California-based Unocal Corporation. TAMC was protesting a gas pipeline deal that would have put millions of dollars into the hands of a regime that oppressed women and ethnic minorities, sponsored the opium trade, and had connections to terrorists. The proposed partner was Afghanistan's fledgling Taliban regime. (Blaine Townsend, Trillium Asset Management, in Investing for a Better World, Nov. 2001)
Exxon says it is taking action on climate change: U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil defended its decision not to invest in renewable energy at an industry conference in London yesterday, and said it was focusing on energy efficiency instead...The company has come under fire from environmental groups for opposing the Kyoto Protocol (Neil Chatterjee, Reuters, 31 Oct. 2001)
The Paradox of Poverty and Corporate Globalisation [refers to Shell's environmental and human rights impact on Ogoni community in Nigeria] (Owens Wiwa, Executive Director of AFRIDA - African Environmental and Human Development Agency and brother of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, speech to International Conference on Globalisation, 30 Oct. 2001)
Indigenous groups seek self-determination: Indigenous groups are organizing to demand control over their lands and resources. (Barbara J. Fraser, Inter Press Service, 30 Oct. 2001)
Protesters urge World Bank to halt oil funding: Environmental group Friends of the Earth held a protest in Brussels yesterday against World Bank funding of oil, gas and mining projects in developing nations. (Reuters, 30 Oct. 2001)
Responsible Care: Unions' New Offer To Chemical Employers - The world's chemical industry unions have launched a new drive for a global agreement with employers on the industry's Responsible Care programme. ICEM and the companies' International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA)...were close to signing a global agreement on Responsible Care. But the deal was scuppered this April by the ICCA's US member, the American Chemistry Council (ACC). This was, apparently, at the behest of two anti-union American companies, Exxon and Dupont. (ICEM - International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, 29 Oct. 2001)
Shell passes the buck in Nigeria: This week Shell announced that it is suing six Nigerian youths accused of occupying a Shell oil flow station in the Niger Delta on 27th September. The case, set to begin in court next week, has astounded oil campaigners...Shell’s own stated aim demonstrates the company’s lack of irony; a spokesman in London said last week, ‘We are the victim of frequent acts of vandalism and sabotage which is dangerous to human life and damages the environment. We have decided to take civil action against the individuals responsible for the acts of sabotage to send a signal that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable.’ Inhabitants of the Niger Delta have their own view of who is responsible for acts which are ‘dangerous to human life and damage the environment’ – the death and destruction resulting from Shell’s activities in the region and their use of the Nigerian military are well-documented. (Corporate Watch, 26 Oct. 2001)
UK polluting more thanks to shift to coal: A shift towards burning more coal in Britain's power stations is threatening to derail government plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, seen by many scientists as contributing to global warming. (Matthew Jones, Reuters, 25 Oct. 2001)
Social Investors Press Unocal to Cut Ties to Burma: Social investors have become part of a sophisticated, multi-pronged campaign to keep the Burma issue in front Unocal senior management. (part II of a two-part article) -...Social investor activities to pressure the oil company, which in the past focused on shareowner resolutions and dialogue, have taken a step deeper into the investment world to include analyst meetings. "Investors are realizing the risk of doing business with [Burma's military junta] simply outweigh the benefits," said Heidi Quante of the Unocal Corporate Accountability Campaign. The Campaign, which is a project of Global Exchange, is working with shareowners to get Unocal to withdraw from Burma. (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 24 Oct. 2001)
Russia republic, Sudan seek deals on arms, oil - New wealth could tip long African civil war:...A delegation led by the Sudanese external trade minister, Abdel Hamid Mussa Kasha, was in the autonomous Volga River republic of Tatarstan over the weekend, talking oil with the Tatneft company and checking out Mi-17 helicopters, optical sighting devices, trucks and passenger planes...Sudan has extensive oil fields, which happen to lie on the front lines between the northern and southern forces. One joint venture has already gone to work there, a consortium of three companies: Talisman of Canada, Petronas of Malaysia and the China National Petroleum Corp. Since pumping began in August, the consortium has been producing about 220,000 barrels a day -- not much by international standards, but enough to double Sudan's military spending. That, plus the lure of a lot more oil, has caught the attention of the authorities in Tatarstan...One factor that has kept Sudan from crushing its rebels has been the country's extreme poverty. There were reports that crewmen tossed bombs out of planes by hand, without much expectation of accuracy. But the prospect of oil money could tip the balance; what was once a fight over the attempted Islamization of the largely Christian south has now become a fight over access to oil fields. With precision optical sights from the Kazan Optic Mechanical Factory, the advantage could soon lie with the Arabic north. (Will Englund, SunSpot [Maryland, USA], 23 Oct. 2001)
SUDAN: SPLM/A aims to shut down oilfields - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) said on Tuesday that it aimed to shut down all the oilfields run with government backing in southern Sudan. "We are doing all we can to stop the flow of oil to the north," George Garang, a rebel spokesman, told IRIN. "We want to make the oil companies go away."...The SPLM/A would "probably support" independent human rights monitoring in the oil region, George Garang told IRIN on Tuesday. "Such a commission would show there has been massive displacement of people, and [that] the government has been committing human rights abuses, but we know the Sudanese government would never allow it," he said. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 23 Oct. 2001)
WestLB, Germany’s Largest Public Bank Urged to Pull Out of Oil Pipeline in the Ecuadorian Amazon: World Wide Demonstrations Planned in 10 Countries on October 24! - Environmental activists in Los Angeles will join their counter parts around the world in protesting the involvement of Germany’s largest publicly held bank, WestLB, in financing the new heavy crude pipeline in the Ecuadorian Amazon. WestLB is the lead arranger for nearly $900 million in financing for the billion-dollar project, which not only cuts through fragile rainforests but will also result in the doubling of oil production from Ecuador’s fragile Amazon and Andean ecosystems. The project has been plagued by lawsuits and protests. Demonstrations and media events are also planned on October 24 in the following cities: San Francisco, Quito, Washington DC, Barcelona, London, Munster, Dusseldorf, Munich, Milan, Zurich, Warsaw, Sydney and Canberra. (Amazon Watch, 23 Oct. 2001)
BP to build Singapore stations for hydrogen cars: British energy group BP and the Economic Development Board (EDB) yesterday signed a letter of intent to build hydrogen refueling stations for future Singapore motorists driving hydrogen-powered vehicles. In May, the EDB signed a similar letter of intent with DaimlerChrysler to develop hydrogen-power cars for the Singapore market. "You'll probably see the installation of hydrogen systems in 2003, with the construction one year ahead of the introduction of the vehicles, which could be 2004," said Gary Oliver, hydrogen market development manager at BP. (Reuters, 23 Oct. 2001)
Shell sues Nigerian villages: Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil company, is suing two villages in Nigeria for alleged damage to equipment during an attack by militant youths in September. (Sola Odunfa, BBC News, 22 Oct. 2001)
Government, oil company officials rebuff Sudanese rebel claims of major fighting, government losses: Government and oil company officials in Sudan on Monday rebuffed claims by the Sudan People's Liberation Army that the rebels had attacked oil-fields in southern Sudan, causing heavy losses to government forces guarding them. (Andrew England, Associated Press, 22 Oct. 2001)
Power of the individual: More and more companies recognise that being seen to be responsible is likely to be good for sales, good for employee morale and productivity, and good for share prices...Among the biggest driving forces behind companies adopting these environmental and socially responsible practices is the individual, whether it is the employee, the consumer who will boycott the goods of companies they deem to have behaved irresponsibly, or shareholders who may also be employees and customers. These are the so-called stakeholders. David Rice, director of BP's policy unit, reckons that one of BP's biggest incentives to corporate responsibility is its employees. "All employees want to feel good about what they do, whether it is human rights or climate change," he says. (Kate Burgess, in Responsible business in the global economy: A Financial Times Guide, 22 Oct. 2001)
Oil companies linked with counterinsurgency: International oil companies in Sudan are "knowingly or unknowingly" involved in a government counterinsurgency strategy in the country, according to the report of an independent fact-finding mission released this week. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 19 Oct. 2001)
US energy dept gives $51 mln for clean coal technology: The U.S. Energy Department will spend $51 million to begin testing cleaner-burning technologies at eight coal-fired power plants to reduce emissions, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said yesterday. In addition to the federal spending, private companies will contribute another $61 million for so-called "clean coal technology" pilot program to cut emissions, increase reliability and improve waste removal. (Reuters, 19 Oct. 2001)
Beyond Burma: Following the decision by the University's [University of Virginia's] investment manager to sell off University stock in Unocal, the fight for divestment from Burma has come to a conclusion. But the work does not end here. The Board of Visitors should continue to welcome students' input and investigate ways for the University to make ethical investments in the future...The fact that the University's money managers could acquire and hold onto stock with ties to Burma indicates that human rights and ethical concerns don't have enough of an impact on investment decisions. The Board should commit to finding a feasible way for University investments to be overseen and evaluated on an ethical basis. Until this occurs, there is nothing to prevent a similar situation from arising with other stock in the future. (editorial, Cavalier Daily [University of Virginia], 19 Oct. 2001) [note: scroll down to the second editorial on the page]
University [University of Virginia] sells stock in Unocal company: The nine-month student campaign for divestment from Unocal, a stock previously held by the University, is over. The University's investment manager, Richard Mayo, sold Unocal stock last week...Mayo told The Daily Progress Tuesday that he was influenced by the student campaigns and controversy on Grounds. "You've got to respect what your client's pressures are," Mayo said. "If I have something just as good [as Unocal] that I could own, why leave [the issue] out there festering."..."We plan to use the case of Unocal in Burma as a case study to further the dialogue we've been having about a standard of ethical investments," Fifer [Student Council President Abby Fifer] said. The Free Burma Coalition will continue pressing for a creation of a committee on ethical business practices, a code of conduct for outside money managers and "ways to harness stockholder resolutions," Freedman-Schnapp [Free Burma Coalition Campaign Manager Michael Freedman-Schnapp] said (Deirdre Erin Murphy, Cavalier Daily [University of Virginia], 18 Oct. 2001)
French judge probes TotalFinaElf on Erika oil spill: French oil company TotalFinaElf is to be placed under judicial investigation over the sinking of its oil tanker Erika, which caused huge marine and coastal pollution in 1999, the company said this week. TotalFinaElf said French judge Dominique de Talance had told the company she intended to investigate accusations that it failed to take the necessary action to avoid the accident and for complicity in deliberate violation of safety rules...TotalFinaElf rejected the accusations, saying it was not warned the ship was unsafe and therefore the security lapse was not its fault. It also said maritime authorities, not the company, should have worked to limit pollution. (Reuters, 18 Oct. 2001)
Oil company defends Sudan operations:...Jim Buckee, Talisman's chief executive, warned that the public campaign by human rights organisations for his company to leave Sudan was counter-productive because its place would be taken by others "less enthusiastic" about corporate social responsibility. (David Buchan, Financial Times, 17 Oct. 2001)
Talisman expected to sell Sudan holdings in favour of southeast Asia play (Es Stevenson, Canadian Press, 17 Oct. 2001)
Independent Investigation Documents Campaign of Terror in Sudan: An independent investigative mission to Sudan released a report today documenting intensified armed attacks on civilians by government forces. Gunships, for example, frequently attack and terrorize villagers from an airstrip maintained by Talisman Energy and its partners in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company...The report recommends that foreign oil companies, including Talisman, should not remain in Sudan if they continue to refuse regular, international, independent reporting of the impacts of their operations on the Sudanese people. (press release, report by Georgette Gagnon and John Ryle, commissioned by Canadian & British NGOs, 16 Oct. 2001)
Talisman head defends Sudan business to international affairs institute: Canadian oil giant Talisman Energy Inc. again defended Tuesday its involvement in war-torn Sudan, despite recent rumours that the war against terrorism would force the Canadian oil producer out of the troubled African country. In a speech to the prestigious Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, Talisman president Jim Buckee said his company's policy of "corporate social responsibility" in Sudan was better than leaving the country with sanctions. But a report in Ottawa submitted Tuesday by several non-governmental agencies says an airstrip maintained by Talisman and its partners has been the launch pad for repeated attacks on civilians by the Sudan government. (James Stevenson, Canadian Press, 16 Oct. 2001)
NGOs to confront Talisman CEO: Plan to release report on Sudan while Buckee is scheduled to make major speech - A coalition of non-governmental organizations is bidding to steal the thunder of Talisman Energy Inc. chief executive officer James Buckee, as he presents today what's expected to be a major defence of his company's presence in war-torn Sudan. Mr. Buckee is scheduled to speak in London on the subject of "corporate social responsibility" at a conference hosted by the prestigious Royal Institute of International Affairs. At the same time, a group of Canadian and British non-governmental organizations (NGOs) plans to release the report of what it calls "an independent investigative mission" to Sudan to document the role of oil development in the country's bloody civil war...The 52-page report, obtained by The Globe and Mail, says that Talisman has failed at "constructive engagement" in Sudan -- its goal of bringing net benefits to the Sudanese people by supporting oil production. The report documents what it describes as government attacks on civilians and other human rights violations. It also alleges that Talisman and its consortium partners are "knowingly or unknowingly" involved in a government strategy that is displacing people from rural areas in the oil concession. (Gordon Pitts, The Globe and Mail [Canada], 16 Oct. 2001)
RUSSIA: Major Oil Company Joins Global Compact - At a ceremony Friday at the U.N. Office for Project Services' headquarters in New York, UNOPS [United Nations Office for Project Services] Executive Director Reinhart Helmke and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the chairman and CEO of Russia's second-largest oil company, YUKOS, signed a partnership framework agreement. YUKOS officially joined U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's Global Compact initiative. Under the agreement, the two partners will undertake and design projects in Russia and surrounding countries, targeting areas such as social investment in post-conflict societies, environmental cleanup and management, educational and cultural exchanges in support of peace or stabilization processes, the digital divide, health care and the development of small- and medium-size enterprises..Khodorkovsky also met separately with Annan to sign numerous agreements on environmental protection and human rights, according to the RosBusiness Consulting Agency. (UN Wire, 15 Oct. 2001)
British oil firms accused of Burma abuses: Burmese soldiers retained by the British companies Premier Oil and TotalFinaElf are guilty of multiple human rights abuses and subject local peasants to forced labour, extortion and beatings, the European parliament was told yesterday [testimony by Earth Rights International; article includes responses by Premier Oil and TotalFinaElf] (Andrew Osborn, Guardian [UK], 12 Oct. 2001)
Thin roof caused 2000 Kentucky coal disaster - study [USA]: A thin roof above an underground coal mine caused last year's disaster in Kentucky that flooded rivers with millions of gallons of toxic coal sludge, according to a study soon to be released by the federal government. (Timothy Gardner, Reuters, 12 Oct. 2001)
Sudan: U.N. Expert Says Oil Exploitation Is Fueling Civil War - A U.N. human rights expert told a meeting of the General Assembly yesterday that Sudan's bloody civil war, which has pitted the government against the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army for the past 18 years, has been perpetuated and made worse by international oil companies seeking to exploit the country's petroleum reserves. Gerhart Baum, a human rights investigator appointed by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, said in his report that the exploitation of Sudan's oil fields by companies registered in Canada, China, France, Iran, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Qatar and Sweden "has led to a worsening of the conflict, which has also turned into a war for oil." (UN Wire, 11 Oct. 2001)
New Oxfam America Report Reveals Poverty, Health Problems Worse in Developing Countries Dependent on Oil And Mining: Findings released as World Bank launches major review of extractive resource projects (Oxfam America, 10 Oct. 2001)
UNDP Pledges Assistance to Fight Environmental Degradation [Nigeria]:..."The active participation of the private sector in funding thematic issues of the [environmental] conventions has to be encouraged", he [UNDP Resident representative in Nigeria] advised...[T]he Executive Director of the Nigerian conservation foundation (NCF), Dr Muhtari Amini-Kano, bemoaned the continued erosion of the nation's forest resources despite all efforts being taken to guard against the practice. "A combination of factors have been identified for the loss of forest resources in Nigeria. Apart from logging and farming, other direct causes of deforestation in Nigerian have included fuel-wood gathering, livestock grazing, bush burning, conversion of natural forest to plantations of commercial grade trees, mining, oil exploitation and de-reservation of forest reserves by government for non-forest uses, including urbanisation and infrastructural development he observed. (Jude Njoku, Vanguard [Lagos], 9 Oct. 2001)
Shell Loses N880bn to Ogoni Crisis [Nigeria]: Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has incurred a loss of about $8.1 billion following withdrawal of its operations in Ogoni, Rivers State. SPDC, Vanguard gathered, feels disenchanted with the situation and has been craving to make a turn back to the oil-rich communities of Ogoni it left in 1993. The management of the company, Vanguard gathered, is currently canvassing to make peace with the indigenes through negotiations as it promises to meet reasonable demands that may be made by the Ogonis provided there will not be a recurrence of vandalization of SPDC's facilities nor attack on its staff. (Emeka Ugwuanyi, Vanguard [Lagos, Nigeria], 9 Oct. 2001)
POLITICS: Energy a Major Factor in Looming Afghan Conflict: Just as the Gulf war in 1991 was all about oil, the new conflict in South and Central Asia is no less about access to the region's abundant petroleum resources, say analysts here [New Delhi]. (Ranjit Devraj, Inter Press Service, 5 Oct. 2001)
Protesters arrested at Dutch chemical plant: Dutch police arrested 15 activists from environmental group Greenpeace yesterday after they occupied a chemical plant owned by French firm Atofina. Police said 10 of the protesters were arrested earlier in the day after chaining themselves to a fence at the plant's entrance to protest its production of a toxic paint additive...Atofina is owned by France's TotalFinaElf , the world's fourth largest oil company. (Reuters, 5 Oct. 2001)
Sudan: Coming out of the cold - Sudan is co-operating with America in the war on terrorism, but its other problems remain unresolved...The SPLA fears that the government is biding its time until its oil money—it earned over $1 billion last year, the first full year of production—makes it a more formidable fighting force. The rebels have therefore dispatched their artillery—all of it captured from government units—to the oil wells in the centre of the country. Though the government talks of peace, it is making no real efforts to negotiate with the southerners, or to spend oil revenues on the sort of development that might persuade them to stay within Sudan. (The Economist, 4 Oct. 2001)
KARACHI: Noise, air pollution on the rise in city [Pakistan] - Smoke and noise-emitting vehicles have converted Karachi into the most-polluted city of the country, compelling its citizens to breathe in an atmosphere full of carbon dioxide. According to a survey, for every litre of petroleum consumed by an automobile, 2.2 grams of carbon dioxide is released into the air, consequently spreading different kinds of diseases...It is surprising to note that the multinational petroleum-marketing companies operating in Pakistan have adopted dual standards for marketing their products. These oil-marketing companies, while operating in Western countries, maintain minimum levels of lead in petroleum products in order to abide by the strict environmental laws enforced in those countries. However, a doctor observed that they were least bothered about the general health of their fellow human beings in Pakistan and freely marketed heavily lead-loaded petroleum products (Latif Baloch, Dawn [Pakistan], 4 Oct. 2001)
Shell accused of mismanaging toxic waste in Brazil: The Brazilian state of Sao Paulo this week accused a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch group Royal Dutch/Shell of exposing at least 156 people to toxic pesticides in a rural town in the interior of the state...But the company rejected the charges. (Sharon Cohen, Reuters, 4 Oct. 2001)
Energy giant Shell prepares for end of oil era: Big Oil must prepare itself for the end of the hydrocarbon age as alternative energies win over consumers in coming decades, chairman of world No. 2 energy firm Royal Dutch/Shell said yesterday...Shell has moved firmly into the same camp as fellow oil supermajor BP, which has made vigorous efforts to carve out an environmentally friendly public image. The world's No. 1 oil firm, Exxon, has by contrast concentrated firmly on its oil and gas interests, and had little truck with the environmental lobby. Shell has pledged to spend between $500 million and $1 billion in the next five years to develop new energy businesses, concentrating primarily on solar and wind energy. (Andrew Mitchell, Reuters, 4 Oct. 2001)
Unocal denies misdeeds in Burma: Investors and human rights activists weigh in on controversial University and international issue (Justin Bernick and Ben Sellers, The Cavalier Daily [University of Virginia], 3 Oct. 2001)