There's no excuse
Geoffrey Chandler, a former director of Shell International and founder chair of the Amnesty International UK Business Group, says companies with no moral basis do not deserve to survive and probably won't. Interview by Tom Nicholls
"THE END of the Cold War, and the discrediting of Communism and of state control of national economies offered vast opportunities to the oil industry. The countries of the former Soviet Union and established oil producers in the developing world opened up to Western companies, providing access to previously inaccessible reserves. "They also brought social and environmental challenges, problems of insecurity and human-rights violations, for which companies were unprepared. Without appropriate policies, companies made worse, rather than improving, the situations they confronted. The benefits they brought to the world were too often accompanied by collateral damage – with the 1989 Exxon Valdez
Also in this section
23 April 2026
The addition of an oil pipeline to the Power of Siberia 2 gas project could ensure deliveries of Russian oil to China, materially shorten logistics lines between West Siberia and final customers, and—amid disruption in the Strait of Hormuz—offer a land-based export route that reduces exposure to maritime chokepoints
23 April 2026
There is a clear push to bolster exports to Asia amid uncertainty around its North American neighbour, but there are limits to the benefits from the energy crisis
23 April 2026
Shell made the play-opening discovery in Namibia’s Orange basin back in 2022, but its next well could decide whether the project can actually be commercialised
22 April 2026
The failure of OMV Petrom’s keenly watched exploration campaign at Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh block highlights the Black Sea’s uneven track record, despite major successes like Neptun Deep and Sakarya
