The 1980s saw the development of offshore exploration projects, which were in much more challenging conditions than had previously been attempted. The 1990s Shell saw the technology of biomass fuels and Gas to Liquids make giant leaps forward. Shell was criticized over the Brent Spar episode in 1995, which centered on its plans to dispose of the storage platform. The Group learned that public opinion had become much more sensitive to environmental issues. In the next decade, the Group worked much harder to open a dialogue with interested parties regarding its environmental impact and to develop good relations with the communities affected by its work.
Another problem to hit the Group arose from its presence in the Nigerian region of Ogoniland. The tribal minority in the Ogoni were aggrieved with the Nigerian government because they felt denied a proper share of federal revenues from the oil, and what they saw as other fundamental human rights. Their champion was the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa. The oil companies were targeted as “collaborators” with the corrupt government. Shell was accused of environmental despoliation. The story achieved international notoriety when Saro-Wiwa and eight of his colleagues were sentenced to death by hanging for their activities.
Shell has since strived to follow a policy of demonstrating its community of interests and reciprocal good feeling with both the governments and the local populaces it deals with.
The 1990s were notable for Shell for the development of the LNG gas business. Improved transportation and rising demand made this area of the Group’s activities increasingly important and are expected to continue to do so in the first decades of the twenty-first century (Shell, 2010).