“Watts only ended his 35-year career with Shell because he was forced out over the 2004 oil reserves fiasco. News that the company had been overstating its reserves by 20 per cent caused Shell’s stock prices to fall by $15bn — yet Watts still walked away with a £1 million pay-off and a pension of more than £500,000 per annum…”
It’s not just Justin Welby – oiligarchs beat the path from profit to pews
5 November 2012
From Mammon to God. The Church of England seems to be flooded with former oil men at present.
Last week Justin Welby, who spent 11 years working as an oil executive, was appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. What’s less well known is that another big name in oil has received a clerical promotion. Sir Philip Watts, Shell’s former chairman, is to become priest in charge at Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire, after being a curate at another local church.
Although they worked in the same industry, the two men’s paths to salvation have been rather different. While Welby voluntarily swapped the high pay for pews because he was “unable to get away from a sense of God calling”, Watts only ended his 35-year career with Shell because he was forced out over the 2004 oil reserves fiasco. News that the company had been overstating its reserves by 20 per cent caused Shell’s stock prices to fall by $15bn — yet Watts still walked away with a £1 million pay-off and a pension of more than £500,000 per annum.
Watts declined to comment on the new Archbishop but he is delighted by his own promotion, saying the Church was “like a second life for me”. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all float away to second lives on a river of oil money?
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
