Dec 29th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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29 December 2017
Confidential internal documents of Royal Dutch Shell suggest that the oil giant capitalised on the 2011 presidential election to arm-twist the federal government into a “cheap” deal over the sale of the disputed OPL 245.
The international oil company also used an arbitration case it filed with the International Centre for the Settlement of International Disputes (ICSID), an organ of the World Bank, to railroad the government into brokering truce between it and Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, its estranged erstwhile partner and the original licensee.read more
Dec 29th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Credit: BSEE: By =&0=&2017-12-27 18:15:55
Oil exploration in U.S. Arctic waters got underway this week with the spudding of a new oil well from the man-made Spy Island in the Beaufort Sea. Eni began drilling the new well off the north coast of Alaska, becoming the first company to do so since 2015.The well is expected to be over six miles (10 kilometers) long, and the project could result in oil production levels of 20,000 barrels a day. Eni is working with Royal Dutch Shell and plans to drill two exploration wells plus two potential sidetrack wells over the next two years.
In 2015, Shell abandoned its exploration activities in offshore Alaska, citing high costs and stringent regulations. However, in April this year, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing offshore drilling in the Arctic. This week, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a statement highlighting the importance of U.S. energy dominance and the Administration’s national energy strategy. It also noted that two BSEE personnel were on-hand at the spudding operation on Monday to ensure compliance with approved permits, federal regulations and safety standards.read more
Hall didn’t declare oil was dead; indeed, he warned his withdrawal could be a contrarian signal (which turned out to be prescient).
Hall’s capitulation was a warning of a different kind. And while it may be mere coincidence, the appearance of something called OilCoin four months after God bowed out is a fitting coda.read more
Dec 29th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Julia Payne; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Mark Potter: December 28, 2017
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s biggest and most important oil and gas pipeline Forties should resume normal flows around the new year, slightly earlier than previously flagged, its operator Ineos said on Thursday.
Ineos had previously expected the pipeline, which suffered a rare unplanned shutdown because of a crack, to resume normal operations in early January.
The closure since Dec. 11 of the pipeline, which normally pumps about 450,000 barrels per day, and supply disruptions in Libya have helped push oil prices above $67 a barrel, their highest since mid-2015. [O/R]read more
Dec 28th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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GARY SHIPWAY, NT News: December 28, 2017 3:47am
THE Italian oil and gas firm that operates the Blacktip gas project, which supplies gas for Territory domestic power generation, has taken another significant step forward in its growth plans off Northern Australia.
ENI has bought out Shell’s stake in the large undeveloped Evans Shoal gas field 300km northwest of Darwin in the Timor Sea’s Bonaparte Basin.
The Blacktip gas field is 110km off our coast and pumps gas to ENI’s Yelcherr Gas Plant near Wadeye.
Evans Shoal is among five offshore gas ventures contributing to a $625,000 study being carried out into the feasibility of expanding the Darwin LNG plant. The study started in April and is due for completion this month.read more
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has said President Donald Trump’s US tax reforms are set to boost the group and its US business thanks to next month’s cut in corporation tax.
The group said the 1 January changes – largely the move to slash US corporation tax from 35 per cent to 21 per cent- are expected to be “favourable” for the group but will impact its fourth-quarter results.
It will announce the full impact as part of its fourth-quarter and full-year results on 1 February.read more
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, December 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ —
Royal Dutch Shell plc expects the potential economic impact of the recently enacted US tax reform legislation to be favourable to Shell and to its US operations, primarily due to the future reduction in the US corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%.
This change in US tax legislation (effective January 1, 2018) will impact Shell’s fourth quarter 2017 results but the analysis of the actual impact is not yet complete. Shell intends to determine and announce the actual impact including any fourth quarter movements, and balance sheet adjustments, as part of its fourth quarter 2017 results. However, on the basis of the third quarter 2017 financial statements, Shell would have incurred an estimated charge to earnings of $2.0 to 2.5 billion primarily driven by a re-measurement of its deferred tax position to reflect the lower corporate income tax rate. This charge represents a non-cash adjustment and will be reflected as an identified item.read more
Dec 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Dec 27 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it expects recently enacted U.S. tax reform legislation to have a “favorable” impact on its operations.
The change in U.S. tax legislation, which is a reduction to 21 percent from 35 percent, will affect Shell’s fourth-quarter 2017 results but added the “analysis of the actual impact is not yet complete.”
The Anglo-Dutch company said it expects to provide details of the impact of the tax reform, which is effective from Jan. 1, in its fourth-quarter 2017 results.read more
Dec 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Three years after causing an oil-price crash, the shale boom may not be enough to meet rising global demand because the industry has cut back so sharply on higher-risk mega-projects.
Discoveries of new reserves this year were the fewest on record and replaced just 11 percent of what was produced, according to a Dec. 21 report by consultant Rystad Energy. While shale wells are creating a glut now, without more investment in bigger, conventional supply, the world may see output deficits as soon as 2019, according to Canadian producer Suncor Energy Inc.read more
Displacing as much water as five aircraft carriers is just one eye-popping statistic that attempts to explain the sheer size of the world’s largest vessel.
Construction on Shell‘s huge floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) structure began in 2012 and was finished in July by Samsung’s Heavy Industries in South Korea, before being towed to Australia.
Now the floating facility sits at its first location, Shell’s Prelude gas field, around 125 miles north off the Western Australian coast.read more
PUBLISHED: 02:25, 24 December 2017 | UPDATED: 02:25, 24 December 2017
The three founders of an energy provider which set out to challenge the major firms are set for a stocking filler of more than £110 million this Christmas after a takeover by oil giant Shell.
First Utility was set up by entrepreneurs Darren Braham, 51, along with Mark Daeche and Marcus Citron, both 54, in 2008. The firm is now supplying gas, electricity and broadband to more than 825,000 homes.
The price paid by Anglo-Dutch Shell was not disclosed, but sources close to the deal told The Mail on Sunday it was about £240 million.
Daeche, who separated from his model wife Amanda Cronin earlier this year, is understood to own about 20 per cent of the company. Citron has a similar stake and the pair are set to receive about £48 million each.read more
Dec 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Kuwait Petroleum Corp. signed a 15-year liquefied natural gas import deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc to help the oil exporting nation meet growing domestic energy demand.
The sales purchasing agreement with Shell International Trading Middle East Ltd. will start in 2020, the companies said Sunday in an emailed statement. Shell has supplied Kuwait with the super-cooled fuel since 2010 and declined to say how much gas is covered under the new contract. While KPC is working to boost local natural gas production, Kuwait has a “pressing requirement” to secure natural gas supplies in the meantime, they said.read more
Dec 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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…hanging over any potential development in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve is the failed attempt by Royal Dutch Shell to tap reserves off Alaska. In 2015, after years of legal fighting with environmental groups, the European oil giant announced it was abandoning $2.5 billion in drilling rights in U.S. Arctic waters.
WASHINGTON – In enacting the biggest overhaul of the tax code in 30 years, the Republican-controlled Congress also opened the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development. But already environmentalists are moving to shut it down.
Just hours after the Senate passed the legislation Wednesday, environmental groups swore to fight to block the drilling provisions.
The National Audubon Society released a statement that it would “do whatever it takes to prevent drilling in America’s bird nursery.”read more
“Part of the attraction of this acquisition [by Shell] is the ability to use certain Shell routes to market — it might be their loyalty card, it might be [petrol] forecourts to help us expand the business and target the big six standard variable customers,” Mr Braham told the Financial Times.
Oil giant Shell will soon begin supplying lighting and heat to British homes through a major deal to buy the biggest energy supply rival to the ‘big six’ utilities.
Shell’s European arm will snap up First Utility for an undisclosed sum, giving the oil major a route into the domestic energy supply market in the UK and Germany, as it begins to shift towards clean electricity and electric vehicles.
The landmark deal emerged after a four-year relationship between the supplier and Shell, through which the Anglo-Dutch oil company provides all of First Utility’s wholesale gas and power. At the same time First Utility trades under the Shell brand in Germany.read more
Royal Dutch Shell will take on British Gas and the other “big six” household energy suppliers in the UK after striking a deal to buy First Utility, one of the largest so-called independent suppliers of electricity and gas to British homes. FULL FT ARTICLE
Dec 21st, 2017
by John Donovan.
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By Marc Bisbal Arias Dow Jones Newswires
Eni SpA (ENI.MI) said Thursday that it has acquired the 32.5% stake in an Australian gas field owned by Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA.LN)’s subsidiary Shell Australia Proprietary Ltd.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Evans Shoal field is located around 300 kilometers northwest of Darwin, where the Darwin liquefied natural gas plant is operating. The field is estimated to have at least 8 trillion cubic feet of raw gas in place, Eni said. The acquisition doubles Eni’s stake in the field to 65%.
The Italian company also said that it has become the operator of the retention lease NT/RL7 located in the north Bonaparte Basin, offshore Northern Australia.read more
Dec 20th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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…face trial alongside four Royal Dutch Shell staff members including Malcolm Brinded CBE, former Executive Director for Upstream International and two former MI6 agents employed by Shell….The prosecutor further alleges that money was also channelled to Eni and Shell executives…
BY GLOBAL WITNESS: DEC 20, 2017
Royal Dutch Shell and Italian oil giant Eni have been ordered to stand trial in Milan on charges of aggravated international corruption for their role in a 2011 $1.1bn deal for Nigerian oil block OPL 245. Mrs Justice Barbara handed down the ruling today. The judge set March 5 as the date for the trial to begin.
Eni’s current CEO Claudio Descalzi, former CEO Paolo Scaroni, Chief Operations and Technology Officer Roberto Casula were also ordered to face trial alongside four Royal Dutch Shell staff members including Malcolm Brinded CBE, former Executive Director for Upstream International and two former MI6 agents employed by Shell.read more
LONDON — An Italian judge ruled on Wednesday that two of the world’s largest oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell and Eni, the Italian company, must go on trial on charges of corruption over a $1.3 billion oil deal in Nigeria.
The judge set a March 5 trial date in Milan for the companies as well as a group of current and former executives, including Claudio Descalzi, Eni’s chief executive, and Malcolm Brinded, a former chief of exploration and production for Shell. No current Shell officials were to be tried in the case.read more
Dec 20th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Mr. Brinded said: “I have done nothing wrong and believe that will become clear in any legal proceedings. I stand by my view that there is absolutely no basis for the charges against me.”
By Eric Sylvers in Milan and Sarah Kent in London FeaturesDow Jones Newswires
An Italian judge Wednesday indicted Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the chief executive of the Italian oil-and-gas company Eni SpA and other industry executives on corruption charges connected to a 2011 deal to acquire drilling rights off the coast of Nigeria.
Prosecutors say in court documents that Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi and the other executives at both Shell and Eni knew that most of the $1.3 billion Eni and Shell paid to the Nigerian government to acquire the drilling rights would be distributed as bribes. Prosecutors will argue that Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian president at the time of the deal, received part of the kickbacks, according to court documents.read more
Dec 20th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Oil giants Eni and Shell will stand trial in Italy over allegations of bribery and corruption in the 2011 purchase of an offshore oil block in Nigeria.
…email exchanges between Shell management cited in a report by corruption watchdog Global Witness, and seen by AFP, suggest that Shell was aware the money was likely to be funnelled to individuals, including Etete and Jonathan.
Italian giant Eni and fellow petroleum company Shell will stand trial in Italy over allegations of bribery and corruption in the 2011 purchase of an offshore oil block in Nigeria.
A judge in Milan ordered Eni, Shell and key figures such as Eni chief Claudio Descalzi and his predecessor Paolo Scaroni to stand trial in proceedings to begin March 5.read more
Dec 20th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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The Anglo-Dutch company, whose former upstream director Malcolm Brinded is among those facing trial, acknowledged in April that it was aware of the destination of part of the payments…
Eni SpA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc and senior executives will face trial over a $1.1 billion bribery scandal in Nigeria, an Italian judge ruled on Wednesday.
The trial will start on March 5 in Milan, judge Giusy Barbara told reporters. The long-awaited decision, initially expected several months ago, will not only affect the two companies but 11 individuals including Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi.
The case is related to the acquisition of a deepwater oil-prospecting license by Eni and Shell in the Gulf of Guinea in 2011. Prosecutors allege that the two companies’ payment of almost $1.1 billion into a Nigerian government escrow account was later distributed as payoffs. While energy producers have come under scrutiny for bribery and corruption in the past, a trial centered around the sitting CEO of an oil major is rare.read more
Dec 20th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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MILAN, Dec 20 (Reuters) – An Italian judge has ordered oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and Eni to stand trial over alleged corruption in Nigeria with the CEO of Eni among past and present managers involved, legal sources said on Wednesday.
The judge set March 5 as the date for the trial to begin, the sources said.
All the parties involved have previously denied any wrongdoing.
The case revolves around the purchase in 2011 of Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oil block by Eni and Shell for about $1.3 billion.read more
Dec 20th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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DECEMBER 20, 2017
REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese refiners Idemitsu Kosan and Showa Shell Sekiyu will combine management of their key businesses, an Idemitsu spokesman said on Tuesday, pursuing a merger bitterly opposed by a core investor – Idemitsu’s founding family.
Japan’s second- and fourth-biggest refiners will form an office next spring with a staff of about 300 to manage crude oil purchases, refining and sales, seeking to cut costs by 30 billion yen ($266 million) over three years, Idemitsu spokesman Akitaka Yoshino said, confirming a Nikkei newspaper report.read more
Dec 20th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Methane seepage may make natural gas more polluting than coal
Gas focus, expansion of shale reinforce need for reliable data
After spending $50 billion on the world’s biggest bet on natural gas, Royal Dutch Shell Plc is at the forefront of Big Oil’s efforts to clean up its act. But what if the constant, insidious leaks of gas into the atmosphere actually make the fuel more polluting than coal?
Methane, the main component in natural gas, can seep into the air at various points between extraction and delivery. Trapping more heat than carbon dioxide, it’s a potent contributor to global warming. Yet credible data on the volumes released is scarce, and that’s spurring pressure from investors.
“This is such an important issue,” said Tim Goodman, a director at asset manager Hermes EOS who has urged oil companies to address climate matters in their quarterly updates. “The less methane is lost to the environment, the less dirty methane and natural gas is, and the longer gas might be a viable fuel.”read more
Once upon a time, it was only Elon Musk making shoot-for-the-stars statements about the glittering future of electric cars. Now, even the most sober of his rivals are getting in on the act. Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. and BAIC Motor Corp., China’s fourth- and fifth-largest automakers, announced in October and this month that they’ll end deliveries of petroleum-powered cars by 2025. A target for hybrids and electric vehicles to be 90 percent of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.’s sales by 2020 is still on track, according to a company presentation last week, despite making up about 1.5 percent of the total in the first half.read more
The Chinese investment bank CICC has joined oil majors Saudi Aramco, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron in backing a Californian start-up that is developing machine learning technology for the oil and gas sector. Maana has so far focused on uses of data to help oil and gas companies increase speed and reliability in their operations.
Shell has launched an investigation after a lifeboat accidentally “descended” from the aging Brent Alpha platform during maintenance.
A Shell spokesperson said that on Saturday morning, a mechanical failure occurred during routine maintenance, “allowing [the lifeboat] to descend into the sea.” The BBC reports that the lifeboat davit’s clutch slipped during work on the boat. No injuries were reported, and the boat was recovered the following day.read more
Dec 18th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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REUTERS STAFF: 18 DECEMBER 2017
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Three offshore oil workers filed a lawsuit against units of Royal Dutch Shell and Enbridge, seeking $1 million in damages for injuries they allegedly received during a Nov. 8 fire on a U.S. Gulf of Mexico production platform.
The suit, filed in Galveston County court in Texas on Dec. 5, claims safety lapses on Shell’s Enchilada platform caused severe injuries to the three. The complaint seeks more than $1 million in damages from Shell International Exploration and Production, Shell Offshore, and Garden Banks Gas Pipeline Co, a unit of Enbridge, which owns a gas pipeline connected to the platform.read more
Shell announced that production from the Shearwater and Nelson platforms in the central North Sea had been suspended due to Forties pipeline shutdown.
Forties pipeline is a vital artery of the North Sea production. Production loss is estimated at about 400K Boep/d which is significant and may boost oil prices for weeks.
This situation could be considered as a net positive for Shell and other oil majors.
Investment Thesis:
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B), BP P.l.c (BP), and Exxon Mobil (XOM) are the most reliable long-term oil companies and should be part of your main oil portfolio. However, this special status comes with the shareholders’ obligation to follow tightly what is going on with the company on the day-to-day news which may eventually change the future outlook — in this case with a potential production cut. This is exactly what I intend to discuss today.read more
Royal Dutch Shell doubled down on its previously-announced investments in clean energy earlier this month when its CEO told investors that it has raised this to $2 billion next year.
The company also announced its intention to reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% through 2050.
While the success of Shell’s proposed energy transition remains uncertain, its plans reflect recent developments in the energy markets and multinational policymaking.
Last July the multinational petroleum and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A)(RDS.B) announced its intention to spend $1 billion a year on clean energy investments through its New Energy division. As I highlighted the following month, this decision was set against a busy backdrop of involvement by the company in the Climate Leadership Council, which (unsuccessfully) urged the Trump administration to keep the U.S. in the Paris Climate Accord, and investments in renewable electricity capacity. Those maneuvers, it turns out, were just the opening moves. As reported by The New York Times last week, Shell’s transition from a fossil fuel producer to a broader energy provider is rapidly accelerating.read more
Dec 16th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Shell’s Enchilada platform, sitting atop Garden Banks Block 128 in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, caught fire early Wednesday (Nov. 8), injuring two workers. This map shows the location, outlined in yellow.
The lawsuit claims Shell and the pipeline operator were negligent or grossly negligent, failing to maintain a safe work environment…
Three workers injured in a November fire on Shell’s Enchilada platform in the Gulf of Mexico are suing the oil and gas company in a Texas county court. The suit claims Shell, its Gulf of Mexico subsidiary and a pipeline operator “acted with flagrant and malicious disregard” for the health and safety of the workers leading up to the incident.read more
A British judge ruled on Friday that up to $85 million from the notorious Malabu oil deal should be returned to the Nigerian government.
This is the first money to be successfully recovered from the $1.1 billion sale of the fantastically rich offshore oil block, OPL245, that has been mired in corruption allegations and legal trench warfare for years.
The sale, which was brokered by the then-government of Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, supposedly resolved a long running contest for the block between oil giant Shell and shelf company Malabu, beneficially owned by former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete.read more
Dec 16th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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31 million barrels of oil later, new life for old rig
Royal Dutch Shell’s 36-year-old Cougar oil and gas platform. The bulk of the platform was converted into an artificial reef in November.
By Collin Eaton:December 15, 2017Updated: December 16, 2017 12:17am
After chugging along for 37 hours, the lumbering heavy-lift vessel reached its destination 110 miles off Louisiana. There, the ship’s powerful cranes lowered a massive steel structure, used to support offshore oil platforms, to the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, 200 feet below the surface.
This location, however, will never produce oil. Instead, the 3,000-ton frame, from a retired platform operated by Royal Dutch Shell, will become home to barnacles, mussels, sponges and other aquatic invertebrates and a way station for migratory fish from red snapper to whale sharks seeking food and shelter.read more
On 14 December 2017, joint delegation of Gazprom and Shell visited Commercial Sea Port of Ust-Luga, JSC to discuss cooperation under Baltic LNG project, says the press center of CSPU.
An LNG plant able to produce 10 mln t per year for export shipments by sea-going ships is to be built at the port of Ust-Luga, north of CSPU.
Representatives of the delegation (17 members) visited Yug-2 terminal and discussed a number of issues related to transshipment of oversized equipment intended for the LNG plant.read more
Dec 16th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Shell Canada’s SEEL Program Fund provides learning experiences beyond the classroom
Undergraduate students and representatives recognized at annual luncheon
By University Relations Staff: December 18, 2017
On Nov. 30, the University of Calgary hosted the 10th annual celebratory luncheon for a diverse group of students who participated in activities funded by the Shell Experiential Energy Learning (SEEL) Program.
Having just completed its 11th year, the SEEL Program at UCalgary provides funding to undergraduate students and groups for field trips, conferences, special projects and other activities focused on sustainable energy, environment and economy, with a priority placed on hands-on learning experiences.read more
Dec 15th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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December 15, 2017
Unilever and Shell did not directly threaten to move their head offices out of the Netherlands if the dividend tax was not abolished, senior officials told a parliamentary hearing on Friday, the Financieele Dagblad reported.
However, officials did make it clear they had warned about the possible consequences if the tax was not abolished, the paper said.
Both companies have split headquarter operations between the Netherlands and UK and are thought to have lobbied hard to get the new government to abolish the 15% tax. The UK does not charge a tax on dividends.read more
Dec 15th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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By Jimitota Onoyume: 14 Dec 2017
WARRI—No fewer than 1,686,000 victims of Bonga oil field spillage in Rivers State have dragged oil giant, Shell Nigeria Exploration Company, SNEPCO, before a United Kingdom court over its alleged failure to pay $3,600,191,206 as compensation to them and communities affected by the incident.
Director, Oil Spill Victims Vanguard, OSPIVV, Mr Harrison Jalla, who disclosed this to newsmen in Warri, Delta State, said he filed a pre-action notice at the TCC High Court of Justice in London for the victims and communities, noting that it was unfortunate that the oil giant had allegedly failed to cushion the pains suffered by victims of the spill.read more
Dec 15th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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BY HENNING GLOYSTEIN: DECEMBER 15, 2017
* OPEC-led supply cuts, Forties pipeline outage support crude
* But rising U.S. output, driven by shale, weighs on market
SINGAPORE, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Oil markets were stable on Friday as the Forties pipeline outage in the North Sea and the ongoing OPEC-led production cuts supported prices, while rising output from the United States kept crude from rising further.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.13 a barrel at 0119 GMT, up 9 cents from their last settlement.read more
Dec 14th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Big Oil’s slump is over and industry domination beckons, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
In 2018, companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Exxon Mobil Corp. will find themselves with a surplus of cash to fund dividends, ruling the world of deep water mega-projects and even coming out ahead in tax negotiations with oil-reliant governments around the globe, according to Michele Della Vigna, Goldman’s head of energy-industry research.
The industry’s success in cutting costs, paired with a low oil price that keeps smaller competitors out of the biggest projects, has created an environment where only major players can compete, Vigna said. That should bolster earnings and return the industry giants to a position of dominance not seen in 20 years.read more
Shell Chemicals’ employees donated hundreds of gifts to the Aliquippa Salvation Army on Wednesday, gifts that will eventually go to 76 needy children in Beaver County.
ALIQUIPPA — Shell Chemicals’ employees donated hundreds of gifts to the Aliquippa Salvation Army on Wednesday, gifts that will eventually go to 76 needy children in Beaver County.
Shell spokesman Joe Minnitte said he had to rent a small U-Haul truck Wednesday to deliver the toys, clothing, bicycles and other gifts.
Shell employees, both locally and in Houston, have donated to the Aliquippa Salvation Army for the last three years. About 40 children were served three years ago, 50 children last year, and 76 this year.read more
Dec 14th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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14 Dec 2017
“We are delighted to have renewed and expanded our partnership with Shell,” said Claire Hungate, the chief executive officer of Brave Bison.
Brave Bison said the new partnership significantly builds upon the current deal managing Shell’s YouTube channel with an improved contract that will include strategic and proposition development services, reporting and analysis services, and creative services.
The extension has been back-dated to start in August 2017 and will run until August 2019.read more
Owner Ineos has said it will take “weeks rather than days” to fix the leak, which was detected during a routine inspection at Netherley last week.
The 235-mile pipeline system links more than 80 North Sea field to the UK mainland and the Ineos site in Grangemouth. It delivers almost 40% of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas production.
Ineos completed a deal to buy the system from BP for up to £190million ($250million) at the end of October.read more
It’s time for Shell to accelerate its efforts in the transition to a lower-carbon world. This is how I plan to drive change through the company.
How will a future CEO of Shell judge what I have just announced? Will they look back to the end of 2017 and consider it a turning point? In 20 years? 30 years? If things move as I expect, they probably will.
By then, I believe Shell will be at least as profitable and successful as today but it will be a very different company.
We will still have plenty of oil and gas in our energy mix but other areas of the business, which are small today, will have grown.read more
Dec 12th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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REUTERS STAFF: DECEMBER 12, 2017
OSLO, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, will probably win backing from parliament for its proposal to cut most oil and gas stocks from its portfolio, business daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported on Tuesday.
If adopted by parliament, the fund would over time divest billions of dollars from oil and gas stocks, which now represent 6 percent – or around $37 billion – of its benchmark equity index.read more
Dec 12th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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By Neanda Salvaterra: Dow Jones Newswires
Royal Dutch Shell PLC said on Tuesday it has suspended production on two offshore oil and gas platforms following the shutdown of a major European oil transport node.
The British-Dutch oil giant confirmed that it has halted the flow of oil and gas from its Shearwater and Nelson platforms in the central North Sea as a result of the shutdown of the Forties Pipeline System owned by Ineos, a refining and chemicals company.read more
Dec 12th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Singapore (Platts)–12 Dec 2017 202 am EST/702 GMT
Global energy major Shell is investigating claims of unethical dealings including charges of corruption in its tanker chartering team in Singapore and at least one employee has been asked to take leave pending further investigation, sources familiar with the developments have told S&P Global Platts.
It all started a few weeks ago when one member of the chartering team, acting as a whistleblower, made a complaint against a colleague for allegedly channeling a large part of the chartering business through a specific brokerage for pecuniary gains, sources said.read more
Dec 11th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Esther Kiobel holding a photo of her late husband Dr. Barinem Kiobel
The list of three court cases in blue text below was taken today from the live Pacer Electronic court records system in the USA.
Esther Kiobel is the plaintiff in each case.
All of the litigation relates to Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant she holds responsible for the murder of her husband Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel. He was executed on false charges with eight other prominent Ogoni collectively known as the Ogoni 9.
As can be seen, the first case was filed on 20 Sept 2002. Here we are, over 15 years later and not one minute has been spent in court on hearing the actual merits of her claim. read more
OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
JOHN DONOVAN, THE OWNER OF THIS AND SEVERAL OTHER SHELL FOCUSSED WEBSITES
SHELL PRELUDE TO DISASTER
The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell above, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.
The campaign waged on this website by John Donovan to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte - which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS - has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name - Pioneering Spirit.
GLOBAL NEWS COVERAGE: FEBRUARY 2010
MORE INFORMATION: Contact details for over 176,000 employees and contractors of Royal Dutch Shell reached John Donovan and some environmental and human rights groups, ostensibly from disaffected Shell staff calling for a “peaceful corporate revolution” at the company. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, contained names and telephone numbers for all the company’s work force worldwide, including some home numbers. It was supplied with a 170 page covering note, explaining that it was being circulated by “116 concerned employees of Shell dispersed throughout the USA, the UK, and the Netherlands”, to highlight the harm done by the company’s operations in Nigeria. John Donovan brought the leak to the attention of Shell. Tests proved that the data was authentic and he destroyed the database after being informed by Mr. Richard Wiseman, the then Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, that the confidential information if publicly disclosed, could put Shell employees and contractors in real danger.
This is not a Shell website. That fact should be abundantly plain from the overall content of this home page and our sister Shell focussed websites, including shellnazihistory.com. Click on the Disclaimer link at top of this page for more information. You Can Be Sure Shell does not endorse or approve of this website. There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations. It is an entirely free to use website drawing attention to the negative side of Shell while also publishing positive news about the company. The Shell logo image with the white text used on this website, as per the above example, is in the public domain because its copyright has expired and its author is anonymous. It can be found on WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. Our shellenergy.websitepublishes Shell Energy customer complaints posted on Trustpilot where there is an ample supply. Use this link for Shell’s own website.
Shell and BP take a beating as bank woes hit crude pricesMarch 15, 2023 17:36Proactive InvestorsBP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) shares have taken a hit, dropping over 8%, due to a sell-off in the banking sector.
The natural resources market has been volatile, with Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate falling by 4- …
Shell CEO Pay Up 50%March 9, 2023 21:23Manufacturing Business TechnologyCEO of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Beurden speaks at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Shell paid outgoing Chief Executive Ben van Beurden a total of 9.7 million pounds ($11.5 million) in 2022 as the …
Former Shell CEO's pay jumped 53% to $11.5m in 2022March 9, 2023 11:17Gulf NewsBen van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during the 26th World Gas Conference in Paris, France, June 2, 2015
Image Credit: Reuters
London: Shell's former chief executive, Ben van Beurden, received a pay package of 9.7 …
Big Oil Goes Green: Shell Acquires VoltaFebruary 9, 2023 06:03Law Street MediaIn Big Oil’s latest foray into green energy, Shell has announced its acquisition of Volta, Inc. for $169 million.
Expected to close during the first half of 2023, the all-cash deal “builds on the momentum in electric mobility by combining one of the …
SHELL’S ROLE IN NIGERIAN OPL 245 BRIBERY SCANDAL
Whatever fig leaves they might be trying to use to hide the truth, Shell and Eni paid over $1bn to a company called Malabu for the OPL 245 licence. Even though the payment was channelled through the Nigerian government, it was clear that Shell knew that the ultimate beneficiary was Dan Etete, the former minister of petroleum. Etete is the owner of Malabu, to whom he awarded the licence when he was Nigerian Minister of Petroleum.
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.
MORE INFORMATION
Shell appeased and collaborated with the Nazis. The oil giant instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Shell used slave labor and was a close business partner in Germany of I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that also used slave labor and supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children. Shell continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri and even after his death. It was money generated on Shell forecourts around the world, profiteering from cartel oil prices, that funded the Nazi party and saved it from financial collapse. Evidence about Shell's Nazi connections can be found in extracts from "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" Volumes 1 and 2 authored by historians paid by Shell, who had unrestricted access to Shell archives. There are 67 pages in total, so takes some time to download.
Photograph (full size here) shows a Swastika flag flying at the head office of Royal Dutch Petroleum, 30 Carel van Bylandtlaan, The Hague, during the Nazi occupation of the in World War II (From Image Database Hague Municipal)
Sir Henri Deterding, the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group - known as "The Most Powerful Man in the World" - who became an ardent Nazi and financial supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party.
Reading between the lines in various legal documents, it seems that the allegations are that after the technology in question had been disclosed to a Shell company in the USA, the information was passed to Shell in the Netherlands in breach of confidentiality. And Royal Dutch Shell subsequently exploited the technology without payment or credit to the company holding the rights; Newton Research Partners. The inference seems to be that Twister B.V. was founded by Shell partly on trade secrets stolen from Bloom/Newton.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Originally co-founded by the late Alfred Donovan and his son John, it is now operated by John, Shell's "No.1 Enemy", aided by an expert team, with invaluable support from retired Shell senior executives and officials as guest contributors and leaked information from Shell insiders. (JOHN DONOVAN, WEBSITE OWNER) For nearly a decade, we have operated globally under the Royal Dutch Shell Plc top level domain name, dealing on Shell’s reluctant behalf with job applications, business proposals, Shell pension enquiries, shareholder enquiries, complaints, invitations to speak at conferences, an approach from the Dutch Defence Ministry and even terrorist threats. All meant for Shell. Prospect magazine has aptly described this website as being:"An open wound for Shell": WIPO proceedings by Shell to seize the domain name failed. NO SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES: All of our watchdog activities monitoring Royal Dutch Shell, including operating this website, are carried out on a non-profit basis. Any advertising revenues generated are used to recover and/or defray operational costs. We are a news aggregator and original content website. All information is available free for educational and research purposes. SHELL TACIT ENDORSEMENT: WHAT A WELL INFORMED SHELL OFFICIAL SAID ABOUT US:
"John and Alfred Donovan well known in UK/Hague. They perceive Shell played them and so have made it their mission to embarrass,belittle and criticize Shell, which they do quite well. Their website, royaldutchshellplc.com is an excellent source of group news and comment and I recommend it far above what our own group internal comms puts out."
WARNING TO SHELL EMPLOYEES: Shell Global Affairs Security "CAS") is spying on Shell employees globally trying to trace who is visiting, posting, or leaking information to this website from Shell premises. Threats, including death threats, have allegedly been made against conscience driven Shell whistleblowers supplying us with information. The worlds biggest leak of employee details as part of a claimed corporate revolution by 116 Shell employees, suggest the espionage operation, threats and draconian litigation have not been entirely successful in cutting off the supply of information to this website. The insider leaks had already cost Shell billions on the Sakhalin Energy project and the loss of SEIC Deputy Chairman, David Greer. We publish our own carefully researched articles about Shell e.g. "How Royal Dutch Shell saved Hitler and the Nazi Party". MEDIA COVERAGE: Prospect Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian, have all published major articles about us: "Rise of the Gripe Site";"Two men and a website mount vendetta against Shell' and "92-year-old's website leaves oil giant Shell-shocked”. SHELL PETROL STATION images displayed in the website header panel are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Information on copyright issues here.
John Donovan can be contacted at [email protected]
SHELL’S $500,000 WEDDING GIFT TO CORRUPT BRUNEI ROYAL FAMILY
EXTRACT FROM ASIAN JOURNAL ARTICLE IN LIST OF LINKS BELOW: "Fireworks will light up the sky for three nights. The local unit of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has donated 500,000 Brunei dollars (US$292,400; euro 243,700) for the display, and for cultural events to be hosted by popular performers from Malaysia."
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:
THIS IS WHAT IT SAID:
Subject: This could be the most important whistleblower email you have ever received.
Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake.
My name is Bill Campbell. I am a former Group Auditor of Shell International. I am writing to you on a matter of conscience in an effort to avert the inevitability of another major accident in the North Sea. The consequences could potentially impact on families in many constituencies, including your own.
As Royal Dutch Shell and the Health & Safety Executive would acknowledge, I am an expert on safety matters relating to offshore oil and gas platforms. In 1999, I was appointed by Shell to lead a safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform. The audit revealed a platform management culture that basically gave a higher priority to production than the safety of Shell employees. To our astonishment we discovered that a "Touch F*** All" policy was in place. Worse still, safety records were routinely falsified and repairs bodged.
I personally brought the shocking situation to the attention of senior management including Malcolm Brinded, the then Managing Director of Shell Exploration & Production. I revealed that ESDV leak-off tests were purposely falsified, not once but many times and that Brent Bravo platform management had admitted responsibility for the dangerous practices being followed. In response to my team ringing alarm bells, management pledged to rectify the serious problems which had been uncovered.
When I later complained that the pledges were not being kept, I was removed from my oversight function.
Four years later, a massive gas leak occurred on the platform. Two workers lost their lives. I have no doubt at all that the inaction of the relevant Asset Manager, the General Manager, the Oil Director and Malcolm Brinded, contributed in some part to the unlawful killing of two persons on Brent Bravo in September 2003.
Shell subsequently pleaded guilty to breaches of the HSE regulations and a record-breaking £900,000 fine was imposed. I thought this would bring about a real change in policy to put the emphasis on safety.
Unfortunately I was wrong. Although I supplied the evidence related to 1999, and the fact that there had been a collapse in controls of integrity from 1999 to 2003 on all 16 of Shell's North Sea offshore installations covered in a post fatality integrity review to the HSE for review by the Procurator Fiscal, none of this evidence was presented before the Sheriff at the subsequent Inquiry. The situation is explained in a letter to the Procurator Fiscal and the Sheriff (on 24th February 2007).
Shell management has engaged in spin to try to pretend that it is getting to grips with its safety problem. However, its atrocious safety record - the worst in the North Sea in terms of accidental deaths and absolute number of enforcement actions – tells a different story. This fact has resulted in a number of newspaper articles.
I have had meetings with senior Shell people including its CEO Mr. Jeroen van der Veer. I regret to say that I have found him to be economical with the truth. He prefers to support cover-up and deceit rather than confronting the underlying problems. Brinded is now Executive Director of Shell Exploration & Production. He believes in burying evidence.
My family and friends would probably prefer me to give up on this matter and enjoy my retirement after so many years working for Shell.
However, by writing to every MP in the UK, no one can ever say that I did not do my best to avert an inevitable further major accident event in the North Sea. When it happens (I pray that I am wrong) I will make this warning communication available to the media together with the vast amount of evidence in my possession.
At least my conscience is clear. I have done everything possible to ring the alarm bells about Shell management and its unscrupulous attitude to the safety of its employees.
Yours sincerely
Bill Campbell
ENDS
(Malcolm Brinded and Jeroen van der Veer are no longer with Shell. The Oil Director referred to in the email is Chris Finlayson, who left Shell to become Chief Executive of British Gas before being fired - his photo immediately below)
SIR PHILIP WATTS, THE GROUP CHAIRMAN OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP, FORCED TO RESIGN IN 2004
Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves. US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits. Sir Philip Watts
and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal) were among the Shell executives forced to resign. More details at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: The Shell reserves scandal brought about
the end of the Royal Dutch Shell Group in its original form as an Anglo-Dutch partnership.
Shell Transport & Trading Co and Royal Dutch Petroleum were unified into a single Dutch owned company - Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Sir Philip turned to religion and is now a very wealthy priest after receiving a payoff/pension package from Shell reportedly worth $18.5 million. Walter van de Vijver in contrast was the victim of a sadistic sacking by his Shell senior management backstabbing colleagues.
Displayed below are some of the spectacular promotional campaigns my company Don Marketing created for Shell in the 1980s and 1990s. This was before the series of SIX high court actions we brought against Shell for stealing ideas (4) and for defamation (2) - all settled by Shell. This website is a permanent response by me to the malicious underhand tactics, including treachery, espionage and intimidation, used by Shell during and after the bouts of litigation. More information is printed at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: After a solicitor acting for Shell threatened to make the litigation "drawn out and difficult" with the intention of draining the resources of a financially weaker opponent, my late father (Alfred Donovan) and I decided to mount a wide-ranging campaign as a counter-measure. We jointly founded the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, which nearly 15% of Shell UK retailers joined. We regularly conducted ethical surveys involving up to 1500 Shell petrol stations. All responses were opened and authenticated by an independent solicitor who supplied Affidavits confirming the results. In whole page announcements in trade magazines (examples above) we challenged Shell to commission and publish the resuits of independent research asking the same questions and offering respondents GUARANTEED anonymity. Shell never took up the invitation. Instead it asked the UK Advertising Standards Authority to investigate our Shell surveys. No problems were found. The head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
SHELL CONTROVERSIES
selection of memorable warnings/articles/images associated with the controversial track record of Royal Dutch Shell.
WARNING: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR IDEAS TO SHELL GameChanger OR SHELL Ideas360 WITHOUT TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION. Shell management has ample funds to pay for intellectual property but prefers to steal it from small businesses and in our experience, gives its full backing to dishonest managers willing to do its bidding. We have sued Shell repeatedly in the High Court for the theft of our Intellectual Property. It is doubtful if anyone can match our dire experience in dealing with this ruthless unscrupulous serial poacher of other parties ideas. Expect threats, legal machinations and sinister action from Shell and its spooks if you object to having your ideas stolen.
Some years ago extensive documentary evidence was brought to the attention of Malcolm Brinded above, when he was Chairman of Shell UK, proving beyond any doubt that Shell executives had conspired to rig a tender for a major contract. A number of innocent firms were deliberately lured into signing confidentiality agreements and disclosing Intellectual Property to Shell under false pretences, in a carefully contrived plot. The firm which was awarded the contract never took part in the tender. One objective of the Machiavellian plan was to stop/delay IP trade secrets owned by the participants in the tender from being disclosed to Shell's rivals. This was achieved by outright deception, without paying a cent to the firms involved, who wrongly believed they were participating in an honest tender. Instead of sacking the ring leader, AJL - who had a personal relationship with the firm which miraculously won the race in which it never ran - Shell senior directors, including Brinded, gave AJL their full backing. Some of the Shell executives involved, including for example, Tim Hannagan, still hold high positions inside Shell - in his case, Global Brand and Visual Identity Manager. If Shell does not accept that this is a true, provable account of what happened, then it should sue for libel. How on earth is such predatory conduct compatible with Shell's claimed business principles?