LINK TO ARTICLE

JOHN DONOVAN SAR APPLICATION LETTER TO SHELL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED UNDER THE DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998

19 July 2016

Mr. Gary Thomson SI-LSC/K
Shell International Limited
40 Bank Street
London E14 5NR

Dear Mr Thomson

Data Protection Act 1998 – Subject Access Request (SAR)

Thank you for your email dated 19 July 2016.

Please find enclosed completed application forms together with a postal order for £10 made out to Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

I obtained it before finding out that the fee can now instead be paid to a charity.

As you are aware, I operate royaldutchshellplc.com – a website focussed on the activities of Shell. read more

Rakteem Katakey: Bloomberg.com: February 11, 2016

BG Group Plc, pioneer of natural-gas shipping, will trade on stock exchanges for the last time on Friday, 19 years after it was created.

The shares will delist Monday as BG becomes a fully owned unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc following the industry’s biggest acquisition in more than a decade. The stock has increased ninefold since 1997, when former state monopoly British Gas Plc split its exploration and production arm from retail. Shell gained just 15 percent in the period, while BP Plc declined 4.4 percent.

The BG takeover will catapult Shell into second place among the world’s most valuable public oil companies, behind Exxon Mobil Corp. Shell plans to run BG as a subsidiary initially, merging the two companies over the course of a year, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the matter. BG’s assets, including gas projects from Australia to Kazakhstan, will help the Anglo-Dutch energy giant ride out the oil-price slump. read more

Outspoken articles about Shell

2017

Shell’s litigation in the U.S. courts over misappropriated $1.4bn Nigerian oil: 18 April 2017

Ben van Beurden distracted by a wiretapping incident: 18 April 2017

Neal Katyal, the best justice money can buy: 17 April 2017

The world’s biggest ship originally with a Nazi name, now named Pioneering Spirit: 16 April 2017

Keith Ruddock and the OPL 245 scandal: 16 April 2017

Unsubstantiated allegations against Shell CEO Ben van Beurden: 16 April 2017

Shell’s Nigerian Nightmare Continues: 16 April 2017

Spectacular falling out of ‘Security Professionals’ at the top of Shell: 12 April 2017

How Shell fell out with former FBI Special Agent Crockett Oaks III: 12 April 2017

Can Shell CEO Ben van Beurden Survive OPL 245?: 11 April 2017

OPL 245: Shell admits it knew payments would go to convicted money launderer: 10 April 2017

Key role of Shell Chairman Malcolm Brinded in OPL 245 Scandal: 10 April 2017

OPL 245: I think Shell may be in a spot of bother: 10 April 2017

New leaked emails put Shell at centre of billion dollar bribery scheme…: 10 April 2017

OPL 245 Scandal: Wiretapped phone call between Ben van Beurden and Simon Henry: 9 April 2017

APRIL 2017: TOP U.S. LAW FIRMS BATTLING TO FRUSTRATE ESTHER KIOBEL LITIGATION AGAINST SHELL: 7 April 2017

Shell’s Nigerian Quagmire: 25 March 2017

Benzene exposure risks and the Norwegian Oil and Gas Industry: 23 March 2017

A/S Norske Shell Secret Meeting With Whistleblower : 22 March 2017

Shell’s tacit acknowledgement of a ‘culture of fear’: 20 March 2017

Shell Upstream Director Admits Culture of Fear Among Shell Employees: 20 March 2017

OPL 245: A falling out of thieves: 19 March 2017

Disillusioned Shell Whistleblower Runar Kjoersvik:  17 March 2017

Shell Sinking in OPL 245 Quicksand: 17 March 2017

LEAKED EMAIL FROM SHELL MD TOR ARNESEN ABOUT SHELL SPYING ON ITS OWN EMPLOYEES: 15 March 2017

Web Attack on Whistleblower by Shell Upstream Director: 13 March 2017

Employees Exposed to Benzene Contamination at Shell Nyhamna Gas Plant: 11 March 2017

Shell Multimillionaire CFO Simon Henry Departs Today: 10 March 2017

Shell confirms several countries investigating OPL 245 scandal: 10 March 2017

NEW SHELL MI6 SPY POPS UP IN OPL 245 ARTICLE: 9 March 2017

MI6 Spy Network Inside Shell: 9 March 2017

SHOW TRIAL OF A SHELL NORWAY SAFETY REP: 7 March 2017

Shell Prelude FLNG project relegated to backburner: 6 March 2017

OPL 245 scandal and Shell’s former MI6 spies: 5 March 2017

Informers regime at Shell Nyhamna Gas Plant: 4 March 2017

Kiobel vs Shell discovery doc battle continues in US Courts: 4 March 2017

LEAKED EMAILS SHOW SHELL AND ENI CONSPIRING TO HIDE PAYMENT IN CORRUPT OPL 245 DEAL: 3 March 2017

Financial tremors for Shell/Exxon (NAM) triggered by Dutch earthquakes: 2 March 2017

Shell trying to ignore media firestorm in Norway: 1 March 2017

Shell Nigerian corruption, lunch and lots of iced champagne: 28 Feb 2017

Shell, the oil giant run by unscrupulous hypocrites: 28 Feb 2017

Climate of fear at Shell Nyhamna Gas Plant in Norway: 27 Feb 2017

Dysfunction Crisis and Scandal at Shell Norway: 26 Feb 2017

Oil Resumption in Ogoni: Does Our Society Still Have Any Conscience?: 25 Feb 2017

Fake news naming Shell as an animal testing company?: 23 Feb 2017

Shell’s Role in Irish Police Corruption Scandal: 23 Feb 2017

Simon Henry sells another £1m worth of Shell shares: 17 Feb 2017

Trials and Tribulations of Royal Dutch Shell Plc: 16 Feb 2017

US Legal Battle over 100,000 Shell Internal Docs: 16 Feb 2017

US appeal against order to hand over Shell docs for Dutch case: 14 Feb 2017

Shell Charged With Corruption In OPL 245 Nigerian Oil Deal: 13 Feb 2017

Brexit, Trump, Populism and Royal Dutch Shell Plc: 12 Feb 2017

Which Members of the Royal Dutch Shell Executive Committee Approved the OPL 245 Scam?: 10 Feb 2017

Italian prosecutors seek trial of Shell Foundation Chairman Malcolm Brinded on OPL 245 Corruption Charges: 8 Feb 2017

Royal Dutch Shell CEO: Dividends No Longer No.1 Priority: 8 Feb 2017

€8.5 million Shell slush fund mishandled in Ireland: 5 Feb 2017

Reflecting on the anti-Leigh Day verdict in Shell Nigerian oil spill case: 31 Jan 2017

NIGERIAN AUTHORITIES SEIZE BILLION DOLLAR OIL BLOCK FROM SHELL AND ENI: 27 Jan 2017

Shell Nigerian Litigation: Win in UK. Loss in USA: 26 Jan 2017

A deserved shitstorm of Shell Nigerian litigation: 25 Jan 2017

A poisoned chalice for Shell’s Ceri Powell: 24 Jan 2017

New Boss of Shell Exploration: 23 Jan 2017

Discrepancy in Shell’s Corrib Gas Project financial filings?: 22 Jan 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Plc.com in Chapter 11: 21 Jan 2017

Hakluyt & Company Spying Missions For Shell: 20 Jan 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Motiva Blues: 19 Jan 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Hydrogen News: 18 Jan 2017

Think Twice Before Disclosing An Idea To Shell: 17 Jan 2017

Dramatic Breakup of Shell/Saudi Aramco jv Motiva: 16 Jan 2017

Shell a player in Iranian oil machinations: 16 Jan 2017

Esher Kiobel v Shell article published in Dutch FT: 15 Jan 2015

Resurrection of Kiobel v Royal Dutch Shell litigation: 11 Jan 2017

On 11 Jan 2017 RoyalDutchShellPlc.com will publish Court Orders involving Shell: 11 Jan 2017

Shell Chairman named in $1.3 billion OPL 245 fraud: 7 7 Jan 2017

Financial tremors for Shell and Exxon from Groningen earthquakes: 6 Jan 2017

Royal Dutch Shell hardline attitude to its employees: 5 Jan 2017

Royal Dutch Shell PLC saddled with a mountain of debt: 3 Jan 2017

OPL 245: Shell and Eni executives set to be arraigned: 1 Jan 2017

2016

Dan Etete turns on his accomplices Eni and Shell: 30 Dec 2016

Alarm Bells – Shell Pearl GTL gasifiers crippled?: 28 Dec 2016

Shell’s complicity in human rights abuses in the Niger Delta: 27 Dec 2016

ENI AND SHELL TO BE PROSECUTED OVER OPL 245 $1.1 BILLION CORRUPTION SCANDAL: 24 Dec 2016

A devastating blow for Shell in U.S. Federal Court: 23 Dec 2016

Explosive allegations around Shell and Eni’s OPL 245 deal: 23 Dec 2016

Obama’s April Fool’s Joke Approving Shell Arctic Drilling: 22 Dec 2016

RoyalDutchShellGroup.com for Shell Breaking News:21 Dec 2016

THE OPL 245 SCANDAL INVOLVING SHELL: 21 Dec 2016

Corruption of Police by Shell: 16 Dec 2016

Shell cost-cutting plan will undermine the welfare of its pensioners: 12 Dec 2016

Shell Canada President Michael Crothers says Canada should stick to its values: 29 Nov 2016

Pleased to assist Leigh Day in Suing Shell says John Donovan: 22 Nov 2016

21st Anniversary Commemoration of Ogoni Martyrs: 12 Nov 2016

LIVING IN TRUMPWORLD: 11 Nov 2016

The Uncensored History of the Shell Brent Oil and Gas Field: 9 Nov 2016

Award for deadly Corrib Gas Project: 8 Nov 2016

Irish Police, Shell, Corruption and Alcohol: 7 Nov 2016

No credibility in Shell Peak Oil Forecasts, says John Donovan: 3 Nov 2016

Hearing on Royal Dutch Shell: Committee Room 1, House of Commons Wednesday 2 November 2016: 1 Nov 2016

Lament for Royal Dutch Shell: 14 Oct 2016

CORRUPT IRISH POLICE FORCE: THE GARDA: 10 Oct 2016

Australian Government unconvinced about FLNG safety claims: 28 Sept 2016 read more

Christopher Helman

So this is how the consolidation starts. Royal Dutch Shell is making a smart move in its $70 billion acquisition of BG Group . The deal will gain Shell access to the most exciting deepwater oil projects in the world, in Brazil. While adding in BG Group’s fast-growing liquefied natural gas business will soon make Shell the undisputed world leader in LNG. The combination will set Shell on the path to unseat Exxon Mobil XOM -1.95% as the world’s biggest oil company — at least until the next big acquisition is revealed. read more

Love hurts: How a special relationship between a Shell oil executive and a Government Minister contributed to offshore deaths 

SELF-EXPLANATORY EMAIL FROM JOHN DONOVAN TO BARONESS HELEN LIDDELL: 

From: John Donovan 

Subject: THE EMAIL YOU RECEIVED FROM MR BILL CAMPBELL

Date: 9 March 2015 22:50:38 GMT

Cc: Campbell <Cambell

To: [email protected]

Dear Baroness Liddell,

I understand you have received an email from Mr Bill Campbell, the highly esteemed retired HSE Group Auditor of Shell International.

As you are aware, it relates to your alleged contact some years ago with Mr Malcolm Brinded, when he was a Shell Managing Director whose responsibilities included Shell North Sea Platforms.  read more

Chris Finlayson representing Shell and Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom’s Vice Chairman

By John Donovan

Royal Dutch Shell executive Chris Finlayson held a leadership position in Shell’s Sakhalin II project in Russia from September 2005 to September 2009.

The venture was described as “the Mother of all Projects” by the Financial Times.

When Finlayson joined the Sakhalin II project, Shell was the controlling stakeholder in the venture.

By the time he departed, Shell had lost its controlling stake and had become a junior partner in humiliating circumstances.

The Putin government found out that Shell had hidden information from them in a high level cover-up. As a Russian government minister, Oleg Mitvol, confirmed to the news media at the time, and more recently in a GERMAN TV documentary segment broadcast across Europe, I supplied that crucial insider information to him. I did so before the real nature of Putin had become apparent.   read more

(THE ABOVE SCREENSHOT IS FROM AN ARTICLE IN THE INDEPENDENT PUBLISHED SUNDAY 28 DEC 2014)

ARTICLE BY BILL CAMPBELL, RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL

Could you really trust ex Shell executives to run a railway network?

In the usual manner *TFA Malcolm the Tank Engine arranged for his apprentice Marc Carne to take over as CEO of Network Rail, but like his disciples Bjorn Berget, Chris Finlayson, Gregory P Hill, dear Marc is a follower, not a leader, how otherwise would TFA Brinded have recruited them as his obedient servants in the first place.

Outside the protected arena of Shell, and in the public domain, we sense their true worth. read more

Bichsel will undoubtedly leave shortly, joining Ollila, Rees, Brown, Brinded, Voser, Finlayson, Carne… And when everything starts to collapse, he will at least now have the satisfaction of saying “I told you so”. This is typical for a coward…

By John Donovan

Earlier today Reuters published comments attributed to Royal Dutch Shell Plc Executive Director, Matthias Bichsel.

Extract

“There is always so much talk about these big LNG projects around the world, but only a small fraction of them will get built,” said Matthias Bichsel, who is also a member of Shell’s Executive Committee.

The Financial Times has this weekend pointed put “the company’s leadership is changing at a time when its financial performance has been under scrutiny from investors” and also drew attention to the recent profit warning, following a succession of dismal quarterly results.  read more

Shell Germany had offered a free Kindle e-reader for 999 points to be earned when filling up. But also when buying a chocolate bar of € 1.29, this gave 100 points…. Buying 10 bars of chocolate and you had an e-reader. They ran out of Kindles after 3 hours!!!  Their website collapsed due to 40-fold traffic increase. Big disaster. Many people pissed off.

FROM AN OLD EP HAND

Shell Germany had offered a free Kindle e-reader for 999 points to be earned when filling up. But also when buying a chocolate bar of € 1.29, this gave 100 points…. Buying 10 bars of chocolate and you had an e-reader. There were ‘only’ 10.000 e-readers so they soon ran out, Germans are not crazy and can calculate. Now many disgusted customers.  Shell offered excuses to customers.

Good idea, not thought through and blind to an error of giving many points for a chocolate bar.

From their website:
 
http://www.shell.de/products-services/on-the-road/card-services/clubsmart/informationen-zum-neuen-shell-clubsmart-praemienprogramm.html
 
They ran out of kindles after 3 hours!!! 
 
Their website collapsed due to 40-fold traffic increase.
 
Big disaster. Many people pissed off. If only Shell would admit they screwed up people would understand. Now lot of wishy washy language. read more

“With hindsight you should revisit his CV printed out by the BG Group at the time of his appointment, a work of fiction that Hans Christian Andersen would have been proud of. You are right, your web site warned the World about his previous track record but such foresight is often ignored.”

Comment received from Bill Campbell, Retired HSE Group Auditor, Shell International

John

There was many years ago a principle put forward by LJ Peter in his 1969 book as to why things always go wrong in organisations.  Peter espoused that managers were oft promoted into positions that they were incompetent to handle. So it was with Chris Finlayson who was tracked up through the ranks holding on to the coat tails of his mentor TFA Brinded.  I used to call it the parasitical approach to development and promotion through attachment to a big powerful animal who was on an accelerated promotion curve the employee could avoid the normal HR assessment process safeguarded by his powerful mentor.  In return Brinded had a set of disciples who would be loyal and unquestioning and whom he could micromanage as he saw fit.  read more

Leads me to speculate whether Chris Finlayson was infiltrated into BG Group by Royal Dutch Shell for surreptitious purposes, including dragging the company down. If so, he appears to have done a magnificent job.

By John Donovan

BG Group has been the subject of bid speculation for a long time. e.g.

• BG Group shares rise on bid reports (BBC News Aug 2010)
• Speculation over hostile bid for BG Group (London Evening Standard Nov 2012)
• BG Exposed to Bids (Bloomberg Jan 2013)
• BG Group investors say Finlayson’s exit raises takeover prospect (FT 28 April 2014)

Extract from the FT article:

However, a top 10 shareholder said that, with BG now rudderless, it had become a prime takeover target. “It’s a green light to a potential bidder….”

ExxonMobil is identified as one such potential bidder.

According to an email I received this morning from a Shell source: “BG… reserves might also be good for Shell…”

Shell has certainly flirted with the idea many times. read more

“BG Group chief executive Chris Finlayson has been ousted by the oil and gas explorer’s board following a disastrous 16 months in the job….” No one can say that we did not repeatedly warn BG Group about the competence and ethics of Chris Finlayson…

By John Donovan

The news media is reporting that former Royal Dutch Shell executive Chris Finlayson has quit as CEO of BG Group.

Actually, he was unceremoniously fired.

Extract from article published by The Independent: “BG Group chief Chris Finlayson resigns after 16 months at the helm”

BG Group chief executive Chris Finlayson has been ousted by the oil and gas explorer’s board following a disastrous 16 months in the job.  He is understood not to have another job to go to… In an unusually blunt statement Gould said: “The board felt that it was in the best interests of the group to accept Chris’ resignation and seek fresh leadership.” Since taking over Finlayson has presided over a succession of profit warnings and a 37% slump in annual profits… read more

LONDON EVENING STANDARD TODAY:

Chris Finlayson’s dreadful first year as chief executive at BG Group was today capped by the news that profits slumped 37% to $4.16 billion (£2.54 billion) in 2013. The former Royal Dutch Shell executive said he shared shareholders’ “disappointment” at the oil producer’s many problems, which have included four profit warnings in little more than 12 months. Garry White, chief investment commentator at broker Charles Stanley, said: “I reckon it’s time for BG Group to be broken up.”

By John Donovan

WE REPEATEDLY WARNED BG SHAREHOLDERS AND EMPLOYEES ABOUT CHRIS FINLAYSON…

HE IS NOT THE ONLY COMMON DENOMINATOR BETWEEN ROYAL DUTCH SHELL AND BG GROUP.

BOTH COMPANIES HAVE JUST ISSUED PROFIT WARNINGS

• How Chris Finlayson bungled the Mother of all Projects: Sakhalin II: 24 December 2012
• BG Group corporate incubator for Shell strays?: 22 December 2012
• BG Group CEO Chris Finlayson and the Shell ‘Touch F*** All’ Scandal: 20 December 2012
• CHRIS FINLAYSON AND THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RESERVES SCANDAL: 18 December 2012
• Contact with BG Group about its controversial new CEO Chris Finlayson: 17 December 2012
• Shareholder alarm over appointment of BG Group CEO Chris Finlayson: 16 December 2012
• Chris Finlayson: One can of worms after another: 17 Jan 2013
• Chris Finlayson saw himself as the victim of a brutal Shell regime: 21 October 2013

THE DEVASTATING ARTICLE PUBLISHED TODAY BY THE LONDON EVENING STANDARD IS SELF-EXPLANATORY

Gloom continues for new BG boss amid profits slide

4 February 2014

Chris Finlayson’s dreadful first year as chief executive at BG Group was today capped by the news that profits slumped 37% to $4.16 billion (£2.54 billion) in 2013.

The former Royal Dutch Shell executive said he shared shareholders’ “disappointment” at the oil producer’s many problems, which have included four profit warnings in little more than 12 months. read more

In summary, and there was evidence in 1999 to support this to a degree, Finlayson saw himself as a victim of a brutal regime run out of Seafield House where the TFA mode was born and his MD Malcolm Brinded who was frantically doing everything in his power to suppress all this because he was seen by the Audit to be the principal architect of the demise in standards throughout the oilfield.  Finlayson in my book was weak, and ineffective, promoted in my opinion into a position he wasn’t competent or willing to handle.

EMAIL SENT 21 OCT 2013 TO A THIRD PARTY BY BILL CAMPBELL, RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL

Subject: Chris Finlayson

My dealings with Chris were a long time ago during an Audit in 1999.  This Audit uncovered remarkably bad behaviour in the then Shell Expro organisation stemming from the business drivers and messages coming from the top of the organisation.

I spent some hours in the presence of Aberdeen auditors trying to get Finlayson to retract his statements made to journalists and the BBC North reporter Colin Wight that the Touch F All concerns raised by workforce representatives were unwarranted whilst in fact the situation was worse, much worse than anyone outside the organisation could have envisaged.  Last December on his appointment as the BG Chief the Independent newspaper (Mark Leftly) run a article on Finlayson titled if I can remember BG Chief breached safety rules when he was at Shell.  Subsequently I wrote a couple of articles putting the meat on the bones of this which John Donovan published.  BG given the right to reply made no comment and to date have not requested the evidence to support although this was offered to them.
 
In summary, and there was evidence in 1999 to support this to a degree, Finlayson saw himself as a victim of a brutal regime run out of Seafield House where the TFA mode was born and his MD Malcolm Brinded who was frantically doing everything in his power to suppress all this because he was seen by the Audit to be the principal architect of the demise in standards throughout the oilfield.  Finlayson in my book was weak, and ineffective, promoted in my opinion into a position he wasn’t competent or willing to handle. read more

WHISTLEBLOWER INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO CHIEF SUPT. BILLY GORDON OF THE SCOTTISH POLICE BY BILL CAMPBELL, RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL. INCLUDES SHELL INTERNAL DOCUMENTATION MARKED “STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL”.

EXTRACT FROM ONE STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL SHELL INTERNAL DOCUMENT – circulated to Chris Finlayson and Tom Botts

There was evidence of false and misleading information in maintenance records for safety critical equipment, for example the Brent Bravo ESDV which failed its leak-off test in April 1998 was recorded as ‘NO FAULT FOUND’.

EMAIL FROM BILL CAMPBELL TO SUPT. BILLLY GORDON, SENT 27 SEPT 2013. COPIED TO MICHIEL BRANDJES, COMPANY SECRETARY & GENERAL COUNSEL CORPORATE, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

From: [email protected]
Subject: Bundle C and D
Date: 27 September 2013 11:29:54 GMT+01:00
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]m, [email protected]

This covers Emergency Shutdown Valves (ESDV), fire and gas detection systems designed to operate on ESDV in an emergency and unapproved temporary repairs.  This data is not disputed by Shell as being their data. This data supports the articles sent to you a few days ago. read more

The crisis in my book, and we are far from the endpoint in this, is that RDS officials lied in that the decision to move Kulluk was not related to tax avoidance when it was.  Perhaps that is why the RDS CEO has taken a closer interest in his family and the sustainability of his future.

ARTICLE BY BILL CAMPBELL, RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL

In the new Shell, that which developed in the days of post transformation, group dancing in that nice hotel near the Het Loo Palace, with the dear leader Watts arriving from space etc around the same time, who can forget those heady days.  Is that when to lie and deceive became the norm in the head sheds of The Hague. Is that when the growth of VP’s started, not the Joe Biden variety, the Shell model, we currently appear to have more VP’s than indian meals sold in Bradford on a Friday night. read more

In summary, Finlayson (right) sees himself as a victim to the goings-on in 1999, just one of many victims in the then Shell Expro, described in our Audit notes as a hostile environment of extreme denial.  I can concur that Chris was a victim, when for example he made light of the Touch F-All scandal in various press statements of which there is an audio record he did so because his Brent Field Manager Jorn Berget misled him.  He soon realised this but despite many attempts by me and his Internal Audit Manager he would not retract the statement.  In fear, no doubt for his job, his future promotion prospects etc, and led by the ear by his mentor and boss Malcolm Brinded he toed the line. read more

Shell internal email correspondence irrefutably proves that Simon Henry was aware in March 2002 that “reserves bookings were made that should not have been made”. Walter van de Vijver, the “sick and tired” Chief Executive of Shell EP, gave the information directly to him. As can be seen in the email, Walter van de Vijver aggressively accused Mr Henry of setting targets that were near impossible to achieve. The question arises of whether Mr Henry was a culprit, an accomplice, or an innocent bystander.

By John Donovan

INTRODUCTION

We have published a series of articles about the starring role of Simon Henry in the Royal Dutch Shell reserves scandal.

Shell internal email correspondence irrefutably proves that Simon Henry was aware in March 2002 that “reserves bookings were made that should not have been made”. Walter van de Vijver, the “sick and tired” Chief Executive of Shell EP, gave the information directly to him. Walter van de Vijver accused Mr Henry of setting targets that were near impossible to achieve. read more

Were they aware that Simon Henry was a key player, as Head of Global Investor Relations, in dealing with the reserves data and actually had responsibility to ensure the quality/accuracy of the data before it was disclosed to analysts and investors? As we all know, it turned out that some of the data was not only inaccurate, but fraudulent. He had been warned that a Gorgon 600 million BOE reserves booking was an IR time bomb.

Introduction: A draft of the article below was supplied to Shell in advance, namely to Mr Michiel Brandjes, the Company Secretary & General Counsel Corporate of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the CFO, Mr. Simon Henry. We invited Shell to point out any factual inaccuracy and/or supply comment for unedited publication with the article. No response other than an automated message has been received.

ARTICLE

By John Donovan

On 13 March 2009, the Financial Times published an article about Simon Henry, who was about to become Chief Financial Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. It said that he had survived the reserves misreporting scandal with his reputation intact. I wonder how much investigation of the facts was undertaken before arriving at that conclusion? read more

Despite his scandal-ridden record at Shell, Chris Finlayson was recently appointed as Chief Executive of BG Group plc. We have already published articles relating to his involvement in the Shell reserves fraud and his time as head of Shell in Russia, when he played a starring role in the Sakhalin 2 debacle, which cost Shell untold billions. This article takes us back even further, to his time as a director of Shell’s North Sea operations and his involvement in the notorious “TOUCH FUCK ALL” policy…

CHRIS FINLAYSON’S SCANDAL-RIDDEN TIME AT SHELL: ONE CAN OF WORMS AFTER ANOTHER

By John Donovan

Despite his scandal-ridden record at Shell, Chris Finlayson was recently appointed as Chief Executive of BG Group plc.

We have already published articles relating to his involvement in the Shell reserves fraud and his time as head of Shell in Russia, when he played a starring role in the Sakhalin 2 debacle, which cost Shell untold billions.

This article takes us back even further, to his time as a director of Shell’s North Sea operations and his involvement in the notorious “TOUCH FUCK ALL” policy adopted by Shell Expro, which ruthlessly put production and profits before the safety of employees. read more

By John Donovan

I know that many people must be baffled why Shell does not take legal action against us bearing in mind that some articles authored by us may appear rather forthright.  The reason why we are not buried in Shell injunctions is because of meticulous research to ensure we can substantiate in court everything we publish. In other words, we have the documentary evidence to prove that what we say is true.  This thorough research will be evident in a pending article about Royal Dutch Shell CFO Simon Henry. We will put detailed information into the public domain about his involvement in the Shell reserves scandal. The third in our series of articles about the scandal mired years of Chris Finlayson at Shell is also in the pipeline. One can of worms after another. Not the ravings of disgruntled lunatics, but provable unpalatable fact.
read more

Chris Finlayson representing Shell and Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom’s Vice Chairman

By John Donovan

Chris Finlayson, the newly appointed Chief Executive of BG Group, held a leadership position in Shell’s Sakhalin II project in Russia from September 2005 to September 2009. The venture was described as “the Mother of all Projects” by the Financial Times.

We have already published an article about his involvement in the Royal Dutch Shell reserves scandal, providing evidence – in the form of authentic Shell internal documents – supporting my conclusion that he was either part of the cover-up, or negligent in his fiduciary duties as a senior Shell executive to protect the interests of investors. read more

“Nowhere in the flattering and in my judgement misleading CV for Finlayson is there any mention of the words safety, health or environment. It eulogises Finlayson for his optimising of production and operating performance, well that is what TFA was all about.”: “Anyway for fair reason or foul, Finlayson arrives, Carne leaves, Finlayson reaches the Board, Berget maybe gets his marching orders. Maybe all pals together they were keeping BG seats warm for the next Shell bum or maybe there was more to it as suggested, anyway it shows BG Advance as an entity acting as a corporate incubator for Shell strays?”

By Bill Campbell, retired HSE Group Auditor, Shell International

Post Piper Alpha it was readily apparent to Lord Cullen that the legislation pertaining to offshore oil and gas extraction was weak with regards to pinning down responsibility and accountability. At that time the statutory instrument SI 1019 made the Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) specifically responsible for what happened offshore re health and safety.

SI 1019 essentially made the OIM Captain of the ship and Occidental Directors appeared on paper at least to be twice removed from how these issues were handled offshore on their installations. read more

“With regards to the reserves fraud, Mr Finlayson was either part of the cover-up, or negligent in his fiduciary duties as a senior Shell executive, supposedly protecting the interests of investors”; “That should be of great concern to investors in BG Group. Surely the company could have found a new CEO untainted by scandal?”

John Donovan

In January 2004 news broke about the Shell reserves fraud. These examples from hundreds of news reports speak for themselves:

Daily Telegraph: Shell drops ‘bombshell’ on reserves: 9 Jan 2004
The Times: How Shell blew a hole in a 100-year reputation: 10 Jan 2004
The West Australian: Investors howl for Shell’s blood: 12 Jan 2004

Shell executives, led by then chairman Sir Philip Watts, who has recently repented by becoming the Rev. Sir Philip Watts, admitted they had repeatedly lied to investors about the true level of Shell’s oil and gas reserves. Shell senior management had engaged in a massive cover-up to fool the market i.e. deceive its own shareholders. Shell admitted that it had misled investors. read more