Definite answer on case against Shell by end of May

April 20, 2010 5:25 AM

Deputy of Public Health Humphrey Davelaar (PNP) hopes that there will be clarity on the possibility to institute legal proceedings against oil company Shell for the pollution of the soil in Curaçao by the end of May.

Regardless of whether the legal proceedings will take place, Davelaar believes that Curaçao has to put an end to this issue.

Up to and including 1985, Shell operated the refinery in Curaçao. The group subsequently sold the installations to the Curaçao government for only 1 guilder. Two years ago, Davelaar gave the Refeneria di Korsou (RdK), owner of the refinery, instructions to conduct an investigation into the social and legal possibility to institute legal proceedings against Shell, so that the company can be held responsible for the soil pollution caused by the refinery. RdK consulted law firm VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne for advice.
These instructions were followed by a motion of Ineke van Gent (“GroenLinks” [Green Party]) in the House of Representatives which also called for an investigation to see to what extent Shell and the present operators of the refinery PdVSA can be held responsible for the pollution of the soil. Later, the Netherlands Antilles Parliament also adopted a motion stating that it has to be investigated whether Shell can be held responsible.

Meanwhile, the process has progressed to such an extent that talks have taken place with various organizations, experts, and lawyers, both locally and in the Netherlands. Recently, a strong delegation of RdK left for the Netherlands with Davelaar, where talks took place for a whole week with experts and lawyers who already instituted legal proceedings in the past in connection with pollution issues in Nigeria and Ecuador, according to the Deputy.

He did not want to mention names specifically, because the investigation is still in an early phase and this is sensitive information. One of the organizations that was consulted is at any rate the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. The key question is why Shell decided to sell the refinery at the time for 1 guilder. The question that follows is whether it was already known then that the costs for cleaning up the soil exceeded the price that could be obtained for the sale.
It is also interesting that, in order to have a refinery, you either have oil or you have the outlet for oil products. “Curaçao does not have either. Shell obtained the oil from Venezuela and the outlet was Europe,” Davelaar knows.
But in order to get an answer to these questions, more information is needed, according to Davelaar. The consideration to institute legal proceedings has to be contemplated carefully, according to the Deputy, because the costs for a soil analysis are already close to 2 million guilders.

Whatever the case may be, Davelaar finds it important that Curaçao puts an end to this issue and that developing countries take note of the situation so that this never happens again in the future. By the end of May the final advice should be ready, so that a decision can be made on whether or not to institute legal proceedings against Shell.

(Source: National newspaper Amigoe)

14 April 2010