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An “unusual travel book” along a pipeline
A Guest Blog by John de Falbe of Sandoe’s Books. I just received an early copy of “The Oil Road: A Journey from the Caspian Sea to the City of London” by Platform’s James Marriott and Mika Minio-Paluello, published by Verso, due out in mid-September. I read it in manuscript: it’s a brilliant analysis of…
21 Aug 2012 admin -
Exclusive interviews with Al-Jazeera on Shell’s security spending in Nigeria
On 20 August, Al-Jazeera interviewed Platform researcher Ben Amunwa about the leaked data that revealed Shell’s deep financial links to human rights abusers in Nigeria. Unfortunately a technical hitch cut the first interview short. However, it’s worth watching, if only for the ‘shifty eyes’ at the end of the video as the line cuts out…
21 Aug 2012 admin -
Nigeria: Shell Spent 40 Percent of Global Security Budget On Nigeria
All Africa – August 21, 2012
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Data leak reveals Shell’s deep financial links to human rights abusers in Nigeria
Shell spent at least $383 million on security in Nigeria between 2007 and 2009, according to company data leaked to oil watchdog Platform.[1] Shell’s leaked data is analysed in a new Platform briefing, Dirty Work: Shell’s security spending in Nigeria and beyond, which shows that a substantial amount of Shell’s security spending went into the…
19 Aug 2012 admin -
Unpicking Nigeria’s new draft oil law
This guest blog was written by Jeremy Weate. He runs Naijablog and is on twitter. Over the past few years, Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has acquired a mythic, if not theological framing. It’s as if the document, once gazetted, will provide a final judgement on the direction of reform of the sector. No matter the…
25 Jul 2012 admin -
Tangled up in US cables: an intern’s view
This post was written by Platform intern, Pip Brown. Back in October 2011, I gladly accepted the task of working together with Platform researchers and sifting through the US Embassy cables to find information on oil and conflict in the Niger Delta. How many could there be? I typed the words “Shell” and “Nigeria”…
5 Jul 2012 admin -
EU announces Arctic policy, but what does it mean?
Yesterday (3rd July) the European Commission published a document outlining its policy position on the Arctic region. Alarmingly, one of the action priorities listed in the press release is "Promotion and development of environmentally friendly technologies that could be used by extractive industries in the Arctic". In the Communication full text (p9) they add: In…
4 Jul 2012 anna -
Tullow Oil’s foul play in Ghana
Sunderland FC’s controversial sponsorship deal with a Tullow Oil front group was featured in today’s Independent: There are growing concerns surrounding the suitability of Sunderland's new sponsor, Invest in Africa, amid claims from the oil watchdog Platform that the initiative's founding partner, Tullow Oil, is responsible for damaging business practices on the continent. Tullow…
28 Jun 2012 admin -
Blowing the whistle on Sunderland AFC’s oil sponsorship deal
At Platform we’ve been very focused on looking at how oil companies use cultural institutions to plaster over their controversial operations, but just yesterday a UK-based oil company moved into the sports sector. The Guardian reported that Premier League Sunderland AFC had secured “pioneering African sponsorship” with Invest in Africa. The article makes Invest In…
26 Jun 2012 admin
