We are working very hard to manage the situation. Speaking at the Issues Management Conference, a November 1997 gathering of top corporate PR executives, Christie was there to unveil Shell's new model of environmental management and local participation for its latest gas-drilling project in Peru, which seeks to position Shell as a fierce protector of the rainforest. The project is hailed as one of the most ambitious and largest gas operations in South America. The company hopes to exploit a gas field that is believed to contain 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 600 million barrels of natural gas liquids. Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight other Ogoni tribesmen, for opposing Shell's Niger Delta operations.
All materials are to be brought in by helicopter.
Shell will forbid hunting and fishing by staff, personnel are not allowed to wander off the worksite, and it will ensure minimal pollution and clean up all waste. We were trying very hard. Apparently, not hard enough. Despite all these efforts, the Peruvian gas operation has already drawn charges of environmental destruction. Peruvian activists have complained that the local people have little idea what is happening at the drilling site or what future operations might involve.