ESG Enforcement Tracker

Key facts:

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) initiated a criminal investigation against Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), a joint venture company owned by Exxon-Mobil and Shell, in relation to allegations that NAM injected oil-drilling byproducts containing mercury into the ground in Borgsweer and handled hazardous substances without the proper permits during the period from 2010 and 2022.

The OM allege that during the period under investigation, NAM made false representations about the liquid byproduct of its oil drilling operations in the North Sea, claiming it was ordinary wastewater. Additionally, it was said that materials gathered during the investigation demonstrated a concerted effort by NAM to use high-ranking political figures to influence the OM’s investigation when it started examining the role of management in the breaches.

The OM also allege that NAM accepted hazardous substances at a processing site without the appropriate permissions and by doing so, it profited by over €5 million.

In September 2025, he OM told a court in Zwolle it was seeking:

• The payment of a €20 million fine by NAM in relation to the injection of oil-drilling byproducts into the ground; and
• Confiscation of a further €5.6 million in relation to the profit it purportedly obtained by accepting hazardous substances for processing without the requisite permits.

A ruling is not expected until later this year.