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Sakhalin II Impacts
Shell’s Sakhalin II gas & oil project in far eastern Russia has disrupted the social and economic fabric of local communities, including indigenous communities and local fishermen. Rare and endangered species are being threatened with extinction, including the Western Pacific Gray Whale and Stellar’s Sea Eagle. Shell’s pipeline stretches from the northern tip of Sakhalin…
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Shell’s greed punished in Sakhalin
This analysis report was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 6. After months of haggling over the Sakhalin II gas project, differences between Shell and the Russian government have been resolved through a change in project ownership. The Russian state gas company Gazprom will become the majority shareholder, while Shell, Mitsubishi and Mitsui…
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US Iraq strategy – oil objectives unchanged
As Carbon Web goes to press, an announcement is expected of President Bush’s “new strategy” for Iraq. But one thing unlikely to change is his approach to Iraqi oil – This analysis article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 6. In December, the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group urged the US government to provide…
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Western banks threaten Kazakh communities
A recent fact-finding mission by Crude Accountability and CRBM (Campaign for reform of the World Bank) found expansion of Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field by an international consortium promises environmental degradation and economic uncertainty for residents of western Kazakhstan. Elena Gerebizza and Kate Watters investigate – This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter Issue 6.…
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Poisoning the Amazon
Cancer, birth defects and skin diseases affect 30 000 rainforest residents in Ecuador, Joseph Mutti investigates – This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 6. It’s the smell that hits you first as you approach a pit the size of a football field filled with a choking sludge of oil and dead…
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Remember Saro-Wiwa, in ‘Land, Art – A Cultural Ecology Handbook’
In Land, Art, A Cultural Ecology Handbook, Ed. Max Andrews, RSA, Arts Council England, 2006 The Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed together with eight Ogoni colleagues by the Nigerian military on 10th November 1995 for his effective campaigning against the consistent despoilation of the oil-rich lands of the Niger Delta by oil…
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Will Iraq repeat Russia’s oil mistakes?
By Greg Muttitt, PLATFORM Published in al-Sabah al-Jadeed, October 2006 Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani announced last week that he aimed to sign oil production contracts with foreign companies by the end of next year. Notably, the announcement was made in Australia – like most of the significant statements of Iraqi oil policy, it was…
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George’s oil Dubya-speak
As decision-time approaches, the USA pulls levers on Iraqi oil policy – This report was first published in Platform’s carbon web newsletter, issue 5. “The oil belongs to the Iraqi people. It’s their asset,” declared George W. Bush in a press conference on the White House lawn in June. He had just returned from his…
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Oil-rich South America forces US free trade agenda on the back foot
In a sign of increasing resistance to US hegemony in South America, both Bolivia and Ecuador have moved towards nationalisation of their oil industries – This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 5. Bolivian President Evo Morales in May issued an ultimatum to foreign oil companies to negotiate new contracts or leave…
