Big oil is paying the police for protection – here’s why that’s a problem

The document alleges a systemic pattern where oil and gas companies fund police and political entities to silence opposition to fossil fuel infrastructure. It highlights the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota, where Enbridge is permitted to invoice police for security, and notes a trend of increasing criminalization of climate protests across the US, UK, and Australia. The text also cites historical allegations of corporate-backed state violence by Shell and Chevron in Nigeria, and Frontera Energy in Colombia.

• In Minnesota, police departments have been permitted since May 2020 to bill Enbridge, the company responsible for the Line 3 pipeline, for the costs of "maintaining the peace in and around the construction site".
• Enbridge's lobbying expenditures at the Minnesota state Capitol rose significantly from US $500,000 in 2008 to US $11 million in 2018.
• Major US oil companies provide financial support to police foundations; Shell and Chevron are "featured partners" of the New Orleans police foundation, and Chevron is on the board of the Houston police foundation.
• The document cites historical allegations of corporate-backed state violence, including Chevron reportedly paying Nigerian soldiers and police during a 1998 protest that killed two people, and Shell's alleged complicity in the military execution of nine men in Nigeria during the 1990s.
• In 2018, the Canada-based company Frontera Energy paid Colombia’s Ministry of Defence more than US $1.3 million for army protection, after which eight critics of the company were arrested.
• There is a growing trend of legislation to criminalize climate activism in democratic nations, with Ohio becoming the 13th US state since 2017 to increase penalties for fossil fuel protesters, and similar legislative efforts occurring in the UK and Australia.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). Big oil is paying the police for protection – here’s why that’s a problem. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/big-oil-is-paying-the-police-for-protection-heres-why-thats-a-problem/

Chicago

Global Witness. Big oil is paying the police for protection – here’s why that’s a problem. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/big-oil-is-paying-the-police-for-protection-heres-why-thats-a-problem/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Global Witness |title=Big oil is paying the police for protection – here’s why that’s a problem |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/big-oil-is-paying-the-police-for-protection-heres-why-thats-a-problem/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{globalwitnessndbig, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Big oil is paying the police for protection – here’s why that’s a problem}}, publisher = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/big-oil-is-paying-the-police-for-protection-heres-why-thats-a-problem/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }