royal dutch shell
Founded 1897
In 1897 Shell was founded by Marcus and Sam Samuel as an oil trading company. Shell later merged with Royal Dutch Petroleum to form Royal Dutch Shell. In 1956 Shell became the first company to strike oil in Nigeria after being granted full access to explore the country for oil in 1938 by the British Empire. Shell has ever since had a prime spot for drilling for oil in the Niger Delta River. Shell has made a large profit from drilling but has also been protested against by environmental groups and local tribes for damaging the landscape and local health by drilling and no cleaning up oil spills as well as they should but most prominently, violating human rights by encouraging violence to disrupt protests (the people who are most effected by these violations are the Ogoni, on whom's land Shell conducts most it's operation's). These violations include paying off local's to start violent acts to disrupt protests, funding dictators in power so they may continue to drill and also ask the army to eliminate protests and protesters by any means. One case in particular was when Shell was accused in 1995 by the family of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, for paying off the government to execute Saro-Wiwa and eight others under false accusations of murder and even though Shell strongly denied any involvement, most environmental groups and others in Nigeria and across the globe, still speculate that they orchestrated the execution.
Interview with Shell executive-
In 1897 Shell was founded by Marcus and Sam Samuel as an oil trading company. Shell later merged with Royal Dutch Petroleum to form Royal Dutch Shell. In 1956 Shell became the first company to strike oil in Nigeria after being granted full access to explore the country for oil in 1938 by the British Empire. Shell has ever since had a prime spot for drilling for oil in the Niger Delta River. Shell has made a large profit from drilling but has also been protested against by environmental groups and local tribes for damaging the landscape and local health by drilling and no cleaning up oil spills as well as they should but most prominently, violating human rights by encouraging violence to disrupt protests (the people who are most effected by these violations are the Ogoni, on whom's land Shell conducts most it's operation's). These violations include paying off local's to start violent acts to disrupt protests, funding dictators in power so they may continue to drill and also ask the army to eliminate protests and protesters by any means. One case in particular was when Shell was accused in 1995 by the family of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, for paying off the government to execute Saro-Wiwa and eight others under false accusations of murder and even though Shell strongly denied any involvement, most environmental groups and others in Nigeria and across the globe, still speculate that they orchestrated the execution.
Interview with Shell executive-