In this episode and the next few, we are taking a slightly different approach. We want to take stock of a few major events in recent months, how they have affected Shell and the larger oil and gas sector, and what this means for strategies to dismantle Shell.

In this episode, we’ll talk about the fact that Shell moved its headquarters to the UK in January 2022. The biggest change that this shift of headquarters brings is that the fiscal residency of the company will move from the Netherlands to the UK.

In other words, the taxes Shell pays over profits, the rules for issuing shares and other financial decisions the company takes must all fall in line with UK law, rather than Dutch law. But what does this mean for the company and its shareholders? And more importantly, what does this mean for movements against Shell and for the project of dismantling Shell?

We speak to two experts to tackle these questions. We will speak with Olanrewaju Suraju, anti-corruption campaigner and chairman of the NGO HEDA Resource Center, or the Human and Environmental Development Agenda. We will also be speaking to Nicholas Hildyard, founder of the Corner House, a research and advocacy organization that advances environmental and social justice by supporting democratic and community movements. They have worked extensively on a court case against Shell and Italian oil and gas company ENI – they are suing the companies for corruption in the process of acquiring oil field OPL 245, an offshore oil field in Nigeria, in the Niger Delta region.

Olanrewaju, or Lanre, as we call him, was attacked and beaten at his home in Nigeria alongside his wife at the end of March 2022. The assailants stole valuables including phones, computers and a car. This was almost certainly an attack on the anti-corruption and human rights work that Lanre and his organization HEDA have been doing, and we condemn it.

Show Notes

How do multinationals operate (Dutch-language): https://www.groene.nl/artikel/hoe-multinationals-opereren
Shell plans to move headquarters to the UK: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59288593

Information on the OPL 245 case: https://opl245papers.org/en/

Info video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mquop7Dyveg&t=124s

The attack on Olanrewaju Suraju in March 2022 and subsequent statements: https://saharareporters.com/2022/03/29/breaking-gunmen-attack-heda-chairman-suraju-family-threaten-kill-activist-and-wife-steal

Anti-corruption organizations in Nigeria CACOL and PWYP react: https://alayode.com/2022/03/31/anti-corruption-groups-condemn-attack-on-hedas-chairman-olarewaju-surajus-home/

Dutch climate movement organization Code Rood statement: https://code-rood.org/en/2022/04/08/nigerian-anti-corruption-activist-attacked/