Shell in Nigeria: Views & Reality

[heman]

Guys...i want to have your views on this...like what's the reality,,i mean whatever i read on internet had a very bad image on me regarding shell...
i want to listen you...what do you think??

and some links for who are unaware of this...
http://www.essentialaction.org/shell/issues.html

http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/mm1297.02.html

 

[turbo]

Rice was a director for Chevron for 10 years, and the company named an oil taker after her.

 

[russ_watters]

Guys...i want to have your views on this...like what's the reality,,i mean whatever i read on internet had a very bad image on me regarding shell...

It should not be surprising that activist sites have negative activist information on them, just like if you look at the company website it'll have positive information on it.

http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=nigeria

Development of any kind damages the environment, so choices have to be made as to what is worth doing and what is too much damage. In addition, some countries have good environmental regulations and some don't, so it is quite likely that Shell's environmental policies in Nigeria are not up to the standards of their work in other countries. And then there is the added problem of Nigeria not being a stable country: security is an enormous concern and fights with warlords also take a toll on the environment.

All that said, the primary complaint on that website is against the Nigerian Government, not Shell. Their anti-globalization/ anti-corporate mindset is making them go after the wrong target. The idea that Shell should attempt to cause the overthrow of the government in Nigeria is ludicrous. Even worse (but funny), they are demanding Shell do the very thing they are against: corporations influencing government! They are so blinded by their vage/unfocused ideology, they don't even understand what they are fighting for. Typical radical hippie environmentalism.

And all that said, it is true that the discovery of oil has done little to help the Middle-East and Africa. Anyone see "Syriana"? '100 years ago, you guys were living in tents in the desert and that's exactly where you are going to be in another 100 years.' The ME and Africa simply do not have the societal maturity to deal with life in the modern age.

 

[russ_watters]

Well that is interesting when one looks at countries like Saudi Arabia. They have so much oil money but their intellectual output is not much and everyone that works there that produces anything is foreign. One would think that with so much money they would make their country productive so they are not in trouble when oil runs out!

Again, I'd recommend seeing the movie "Syriana". Corporations don't care about anything other than making money - and frankly, that's the way it has to be.

You're right that the government should take advantage of the opportunity they have (Saudia Arabia is actually better than most at that), but they don't. It is a responsibility they are not living up to. Whether it is pure greed or just governmental immaturity, it is a problem that is only going to get worse in 50 or 100 years when oil starts running out for those countries. It is a shame and a mess we're going to have to deal with for generations.

 

[Astronuc]

Corporations don't care about anything other than making money, . . . .

Some corporations, and that's really the CEOs and board, do not care about anything other than money, but I suspect that is a minority. I know many corporate leaders who care very much about their employees and the impact of their company on the local and global economy, and the impact on the environment. Such corporate leaders accept the responsibility of 'stewardship.'

To care only about making is the mark of a selfish and greedy person.

 

[russ_watters]

Some corporations, and that's really the CEOs and board, do not care about anything other than money, but I suspect that is a minority. I know many corporate leaders who care very much about their employees and the impact of their company on the local and global economy, and the impact on the environment. Such corporate leaders accept the responsibility of 'stewardship.'

To care only about making is the mark of a selfish and greedy person.

Perhaps I'm pessimistic, but greed is the driver of a market economy and other apparent motivations are only forms of economic pressure. I do not think that corporate leaders have become fundamentally more caring than they were a hundred years ago - they do things to foster the appearance of caring primarily for economic reasons.

Now clearly every person is an individual - I'm talking averages. Perhaps I see it more pessimisticly than most, but I doubt few people would disagree that if we didn't have the Sherman Act, child labor laws, OSHA, FDA inspectors, the Clean Air Act, and "60 Minutes", the behavior of businesses in the US would be significantly worse than it is now.

 

[Astronuc]

One example of a good company -

Back in 1897, in the Midwestern farming community of Orrville, Ohio, Jerome Monroe Smucker pressed locally grown apples into cider and apple butter. True to his upbringing, Jerome took great pride in a job well done and signed the lid of every crock of apple butter as his personal guarantee of quality. By adhering to a very simple set of Basic Beliefs, The J.M. Smucker Company grew and prospered.

http://www.smuckers.com/fc/default.asp?

The same strong, ethical values on which our Company was founded provide the standards by which we conduct our business as well as ourselves. We accept nothing less, regardless of the circumstances.

Therefore, we will maintain the highest standards of business ethics with our customers, suppliers, employees, and shareholders, and with the communities in which we work.

http://www.smuckers.com/fc/about/ethics.asp?

Community pride
The J.M. Smucker Company encourages and supports the involvement of its employees in their communities. Through organizations like the United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, YMCA, Junior Achievement, and local Chambers of Commerce, our Company and employees get involved to help improve the communities in which we work and live.

Education initiatives
An area of special commitment is education. Wherever we have plants and facilities, our employees and Company are volunteering extra time and energy to support local education initiatives including:

Heartland Education Community, Inc., a community-wide effort in Orrville, Ohio focused on improving education through a partnership between community organizations, parents, schools and local businesses

• Adopt-a-School programs

• Junior Achievement classroom volunteers

• Secondary Education Partnerships with local colleges

http://www.smuckers.com/fc/about/community.asp?

IIRC, Smuckers was voted one of the best companies to work for. I've heard a lot of good comments about this company, especially about the CEO and the commitments to employees and community. AFAIK, his actions indicate that commitment.

Also, Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group, just announced a major investment in alternative energies.

Branson makes $3bn climate pledge (BBC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5368194.stm

Sir Richard Branson is to invest $3bn (£1.6bn) to fight global warming.

The Virgin boss said he would commit all profits from his travel firms, such as airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, over the next 10 years.

"We must rapidly wean ourselves off our dependence on coal and fossil fuels," Sir Richard said.

The funds will be invested in schemes to develop new renewable energy technologies, through an investment unit called Virgin Fuels.

One of the UK's best known entrepreneurs, Sir Richard made the announcement in New York on the second day of the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual conference hosted by former US President Bill Clinton.

Sir Richard, 56, said that transport and energy companies "must be at the forefront of developing environmentally friendly business strategies".

We certainly could use more CEO's like Branson.

 

[Hawknc]

Not to mention google.org's alternative energy car that they're developing...it'll be interesting to see how effectively a for-profit charity operates.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Shell recently lost any business from me when, regarding the US energy strategy and future, the CEO declared on Meet The Press: "I think energy independence is going too far".

Bull! I think Shell Oil needs to get out of the way. Of course they are working to obtain ethanol from wild grasses, but this technology is twenty years away, according to Shell. Of course it is.

The CEOs of Exxon and BP were much more encouraging.

 

[Anttech]

speaking of which:

Sept. 22, 2006 — How did British billionaire Sir Richard Branson decide to pledge about $3 billion to developing alternative energy sources?

Former Vice President Al Gore convinced him over breakfast one morning.

Branson, in fact, admits to being skeptical about global warming in the past.

"I was skeptical, but I've met a lot of scientists. I've read a lot of books. I've had Al Gore spend two hours at my home giving me his personal time to convince me, and sadly, I'm now convinced that the world has a serious problem," Branson said today on "Good Morning America."

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2477400

 

[Skyhunter]

They all lost my Business. I ride a bike, use public transit, and when I need it, I have a bio-diesel pick-up.

 

[heman]

It should not be surprising that activist sites have negative activist information on them, just like if you look at the company website it'll have positive information on it.

http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=nigeria

Development of any kind damages the environment, so choices have to be made as to what is worth doing and what is too much damage. In addition, some countries have good environmental regulations and some don't, so it is quite likely that Shell's environmental policies in Nigeria are not up to the standards of their work in other countries. And then there is the added problem of Nigeria not being a stable country: security is an enormous concern and fights with warlords also take a toll on the environment.

All that said, the primary complaint on that website is against the Nigerian Government, not Shell. Their anti-globalization/ anti-corporate mindset is making them go after the wrong target. The idea that Shell should attempt to cause the overthrow of the government in Nigeria is ludicrous. Even worse (but funny), they are demanding Shell do the very thing they are against: corporations influencing government! They are so blinded by their vage/unfocused ideology, they don't even understand what they are fighting for. Typical radical hippie environmentalism.

And all that said, it is true that the discovery of oil has done little to help the Middle-East and Africa. Anyone see "Syriana"? '100 years ago, you guys were living in tents in the desert and that's exactly where you are going to be in another 100 years.' The ME and Africa simply do not have the societal maturity to deal with life in the modern age.

Thanks for the link...i will definitely go through it soon..and yeah the only nice thing in this case i have found is Shell's website only where they have written nice things about themselves...I am yet to see articles published by any other source which shows Shell to be by any degree to be sympathetic to the cause of Nigerians...
yeah i absolutely believe that making profit is top priority for a company but what gives them right to deteriorate the condition of Nigeria...I somewhere read this..

But Shell's crimes are deeper still. When Ogoni activists organized to demand that Shell clean up spilled oil, and share oil profits more equitably with the Ogoni people, the Nigerian military dictatorship --with financial assistance, logistical support, and guns provided by Shell[1,pgs.23,43,91-92] --conducted a campaign of terror in which at least 1800 Ogoni people were murdered, some of them tortured to death.[1,pg.95]

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Urgent_Action/apic_5157.html


Well my quest for knowing more about Shell started as it is 2nd priority Recruiter in our campus but i never realized that i will read such things for companies whose tag line is " Honesty,Integrity and respect for people are core values in Shell"...
This realized me how can any company can go to any limit just for the sake of profit...

 

[edward]

Enron is a prime example of what happens to corporations who's operations are based solely on greed.

There are a lot of other American companies who will, or are, going down the tubes for the same reason.

The cheaters will not end up being the winners in the long run. The winners will be those corporations who played the best game within the rules.