Aug 25th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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skynews
Shell Energy pays out more than £500,000 for price cap overcharging
Industry regulator Ofgem says the supplier will refund and compensate 11,275 prepayment customers as well as pay into a fund to support vulnerable people for the breach, noting the hardship faced by consumers as energy prices surge.
Thursday 25 August 2022 10:29, UK
Shell Energy is to pay out more than half a million pounds for overcharging thousands of households above the permitted price cap.
Industry regulator Ofgem said the supplier would refund and compensate 11,275 prepayment customers as well as pay into a fund to support vulnerable people.read more
Dec 2nd, 2017
by John Donovan.
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By Robb M. Stewart Dow Jones Newswires
MELBOURNE, Australia — Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) has moved finally to unleash a massive natural-gas resource buried in coal deposits in eastern Australia in a development that will see fuel flow to its majority owned liquefied natural gas venture on the country’s tropical coast.
The energy giant and various partners have agreed to a 27-year sales deal covering 5 trillion cubic feet of gas that will anchor the staged development of the Arrow fields in Queensland.read more
Sep 4th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Protest event in Ireland during “Shell to Sea” campaign
Joe Brennan: 4 Sept 2017: Extracts from article: “Vayu warns of volatile prices for winter gas”
Ireland imports much of its gas needs through the UK, even though the Corrib field off the Mayo coast, which started production in late 2015, has the potential to meet up to 60 per cent of the country’s gas needs and is expected to supply fuel for up to 20 years.
“We are anticipating considerable energy price volatility this winter, which could be worrying for businesses as this is the time when their energy usage is at its highest,” said Keith Donnelly, an energy analyst with Vayu, noting that winter gas prices have risen by 8 per cent in the past six weeks.read more
The State could be a big loser from Shell’s heavy financial hit on the Corrib gas field. If tax losses racked up by Shell are carried over to the new owners, it will reduce the corporation tax receipts on what will be a profitable venture for some shareholders in the years ahead.
So how did Shell manage to lose nearly $1bn (€870m) on the enormous commercial gas find off the west coast? One easy but rather simplistic explanation is that the protests not only delayed the project but ended up costing Shell a fortune. But $1bn? Hardly.read more
Energy company Shell has sold its 45 per cent stake in the Corrib gas field to a unit of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in a deal worth $947 million (€830 million).
Below is a timeline of the controversial gas field’s past.
1996 – Corrib gas field discovery declared by Enterprise Energy Ireland Ltd, which submitted plans to pump it ashore and build an onshore refinery in north Mayo.
2001 – Government petroleum lease granted for Corrib field
April 2002 – Corrib acquired by Shell, which became lead developer with Norwegian company Statoil and Marathon.read more
Jul 13th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Development of the Corrib field sparked a series of confrontations between the Irish police and environmental demonstrators before the first gas was brought ashore two years ago: NIALL CARSON/PRESS ASSOCIATION
Emily Gosden: July 13, 2017
Royal Dutch Shell has sold its stake in the contentious Corrib gas project off the Republic of Ireland to a Canadian pension fund for up to $1.23 billion.
The Anglo-Dutch energy group agreed to sell its 45 per cent stake in Corrib, about 50 miles off Ireland’s northwest coast, to a subsidiary of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
The latest deal in a $30 billion divestment programme comprises a $947 million payment up front and up to a further $285 million between 2018 and 2025, depending on gas prices and production.read more
Jul 13th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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13 July 2017
Energy groups behind the controversial Corrib gas field off the Mayo coast are as much €2.5 billion in the red on their investment, as Shell’s move to sell a stake to a Canadian state pension fund has left it with loss of up to €1 billion.
Shell, currently in the middle of selling up to $30 billion (€26.3 billion) of assets to cut its debt pile, has agreed to sell its 45 per cent stake to a unit of the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
The deal could be worth as little as €830 million to Shell but its return may rise by up to €250 million over the next eight years subject to future gas prices and the field reaching certain production targets. This would also boost the value of the other investors’ stakes in the project.read more
The Corrib gas field has left Shell and its partners in the project with losses running to the best part of €2bn to date.
Shell announced yesterday it was exiting the project in a deal worth potentially as much as €1.08bn, selling its 45pc stake in the project to a Canadian pension fund, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
The deal – which is expected to complete next year – will see Shell take an impairment charge of around $350m (€307m) and write off $400m (€350m) in historical currency movements that have impacted on its valuation of the asset.read more
Jul 12th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Barrington’s report highlighted Shell’s policy of employing former public officials, former gardaí and former journalists – “giving rise to the appearance that Shell is seeking to influence those who regulate them”.
Royal Dutch Shell’s proposed sale of its major share in the Corrib gas field came as little surprise to residents in Erris, Co Mayo whose views are still divided on the multibillion euro project.
After years of acrimony and protest the first delivery of gas from the field was taken in December 2015 and the project was formally opened the following month. This was some 20 years after the gas discovery was reported off the north Mayo coast.
Rossport farmer Wilie Corduff, who was one of five men jailed indefinitely over opposition to the project’s high pressure pipeline route, said the decision by Shell came “16 years too late, as the damage to the community is done”.read more
Royal Dutch Shell has sold its 45 per cent interest in the Corrib gas field to a unit of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in a deal worth up to $1.23 billion (€1.08 billion), as the group continues to sell off non-core assets.
The deal includes an initial consideration of $947 million and additional payments of up to $285 million over the next eight years, subject to gas price and production. It is subject to partner and regulatory consents and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.read more
Dec 20th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Corruption of Police by Shell
Printed below is an extract from a current submission to The Pitchford Inquiry by the Shell to Sea organisation in Ireland. As can be seen, it very much involves Shell.
The Pitchford Inquiry is investigating undercover policing activities in England and Wales. Pressure is mounting to also cover the activities of undercover British police in Ireland.
EXTRACT FROM THE SUBMISSION
Corruption of Police by Shell
In March 2013 Shell to Seacontacted a reporter in the London-based Observer newspaper regarding a series of allegations which had appeared consistently since September 2012 on a website co-founded by John Donovan and his late father Alfred, available at www.royaldutchshellplc.com. It took from March until publication on 11 August to research and legal-proof the article written by award-winning journalist Ed Vuillamy(http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/18/ed-vulliamy-ryszard-kapuscinski-award) under the heading ‘Strange tale of Shell’s pipeline battle, the Gardaí and £30,000 of booze’. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/10/shell-pipeline-protests-county-mayoWhile the reportage of alcohol provision to the police came as no surprise, we find the claim made by Mr Neil Rooney of OSSL as quoted below to be, indeed, sinister:read more
Dec 20th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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By: Shell to Sea
Open Letter to the Irish Minister of Justice, Francis Fitzgerald
Shell to Sea are calling for the Minister of Justice, Francis Fitzgerald to seek that the inquiry into the behaviour of undercover British police (entitled the Pitchford Inquiry) be extended to include the activities of undercover police in Ireland.
The Pitchford Inquiry is so far only investigating undercover policing activities in England and Wales, however the German Government, the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister, Claire Sugden have all called for the remit of the inquiry to be widen to include the activities of the undercover British police in their jurisdictions.read more
Nov 29th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Shell Canada President Michael Crothers (above) says “Canada should stick to its values and do something to protect the environment, regardless of what policy tack the incoming U.S. president takes.”
Nov 16th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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The Irish Police are said to be in the pocket of Shell
Gordon Deegan:Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Sales of more than €1.2m a day are being generated from gas flowing from the Corrib field off the Mayo coast, new figures show.
Production started on the field at the end of last year and for the first nine months of this year, the Corrib partners — including Shell, Statoil, and Canadian company Vermilion Energy — recorded estimated revenues of $360m (€335m) from the production of gas from the field.
A new report from Vermilion — which has an 18.5% stake in the project — show that it, alone, has generated sales of $66.42m from the first nine months of production. According to Vermilion production volumes on the project reached full capacity at the end of second quarter of this year.read more
Nov 10th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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The 10th of November 2006 was chosen by the Shell to Sea campaign as a suitable day of action as it marked the anniversary of the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni activists who opposed Shell in Nigeria.
In 2007, following the baton charge and other incidents in which people were injured, GSOC sought to do a “policies and practices” investigation into the policing of Shell/Corrib protests. However, the then Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan denied GSOC permission to carry out this investigation. As the 2010 Frontline report stated this created “the impression that the State does not want the Garda Síochána held properly to account over the policing of the Corrib dispute”. [2]read more
Nov 7th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Regular visitors to this website will be aware of the admittance made by a Shell “Mr. Fixit” contractor on the Corrib Gas development in Ireland, that at Shell’s behest, they distributed bribes to smooth the path of the controversial project. On one occasion, €30,000 was splashed out on free booze for the Irish police (the Garda).
Interesting then to see a recent article published by The Irish Times, reporting that a whistleblower – a serving police officer – has made bribery allegations implicating 50 Garda officers in a tale of corruption involving the pub trade. Cheers.read more
Oct 10th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
OSSL is the whistleblower “Mr Fixit” company that has admitted distributing bribes to the Irish Police (the Garda) and other parties on behalf of their client, Irish Shell, to smooth the path of the controversial Corrib Gas project in Ireland.
OSSL director Desmond Kane has drawn my attention to the astonishing news articles below, which speak volumes about the deeply flawed integrity of the Garda.
OSSL has spoken directly with Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden about the corruption in question and related very serious actions carried out by OSSL at the express instruction of Irish Shell, which funded the bribes, including €30,000 worth of alcohol.read more
Sep 23rd, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article by Colm Keena published by The Irish Times on 22 Sept 2016
Shell E&P Ireland Offshore Inc associated with Corrib gas project
Two companies registered in the Bahamas and used by Dublin property investor Paul Fenelon for investments in the UK are among companies of Irish interest on the Corporate Registry of the Bahamas.
The registry, normally difficult to access, is being made publicly available by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), of which The Irish Times is a media partner.
Shell E & P Ireland Offshore Inc, a company with an address in Nassau, has had a number of Irish directors over the years, starting in 2000. The company is associated with the Corrib gas project in Co Mayo.read more
May 7th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – May 7th 2016
Shell to Sea campaigner Maura Harrington was arrested in Belmullet on Friday afternoon and jailed for 10 days in Mountjoy prison for the non-payment of a court fine of E300.
It is thought that the jailing relates to a 2012 protest attempting to block construction of the disputed development.
Ms. Harrington has continuously opposed the Corrib gas project due to health and safety concerns, environmental damage and the giveaway of Ireland’s natural resources to private corporations. [1]
The jailing comes on the same day as Vermillion Energy – who owns an 18.5% share in Corrib gas – released sales figures of $17million from Corrib from the first three months of 2016. [2] At this rate the Corrib partners – Shell, Statoil and Vermillion – stand to make sales of $7.35billion from Corrib over a 20 year field lifespan. [3]read more
May 7th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Shell to Sea activist Maura Harrington arrested over fine
Mark Hilliard: 6 May 2016
Shell to Sea campaigner Maura Harrington has been arrested on foot of a warrant for the non-payment of a €300 court fine.
Ms Harrington, a spokesperson for the protest group, was arrested on Friday afternoon in Mayo and transported by gardaí to the Dochas women’s prison in Dublin where she is to serve a ten day sentence.
Speaking to the Irish Times, her brother Sean Harrington said he believes the offence which led to the imposition of the fine would have been a protest action at the Corrib plant in or around 2012, possibly using her car to block access to the facility.read more
May 6th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Friday 6 May 2016
SHELL TO SEA campaigner Maura Harrington has been arrested in Mayo and taken to Mountjoy Prison to serve time for an unpaid fine.
It is understood she was arrested this afternoon as she left a bank in Belmullet. She was taken to Belmullet garda station and then transported to the Dóchas Centre women’s prison at Mountjoy, where she is expected to spend ten days.
The activist was convicted last year in relation to the obstruction of a tunnel-boring machine at the Shell plant in Ballinaboy. A monetary penalty of €300 was imposed as part of her sentence, but she has refused to pay it.read more
Jan 27th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
I am aware of speculation over the claimed resignation of John Egan, as a director of Shell E&P Ireland.
It is, in fact, true.
The proof is provided below.
For a number of years, Egan has been the Communications supremo at Shell E&P Ireland, the main partner in the Corrib Gas Project, which has been surrounded by accusations of corruption from the outset.
Ironically, in view of his conduct, Egan claims expertise in reputation restoration.
On New Years Eve, Shell warned nearby residents about gas flaring at the newly commissioned onshore processing plant at Bellanaboy.read more
As the gas starts to flow a member of the pro gas lobby reflects on the controversy
Who is to blame for the delay?
The gas was due ashore in 2002 at a cost of €800 million. It finally arrives at the start of 2016 at a cost of €3.5 billion-€4 billion. Planning such a huge project was, of course, protracted, with EPA and An Bord Pleanála hearings. Kevin Moore, the board’s planning inspector, did at the outset recommend that planning not be granted for the terminal at Ballinaboy, but the board of An Bord Pleanála did not agree with him – something that is not unusual.read more
Jan 26th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Lorna Siggins: 26 JAN 2016
The Corrib gas project is a template for “how not to undertake a development”, according to a new planning approach published by the British Institution of Civil Engineers.
Although the gas project has secured its final Government approval from Minister for Energy Alex White, the prospect of further legal challenges and the large Garda presence at an “invitation-only” opening reflects the fact that it still does not have community consent.
Two of the report’s four authors say that had both Shell and Government agencies adopted a more democratic approach, they could have avoided cost overruns, including “the loss of at least €600 million loss to the tax payer”, and could also have “avoided the serious ensuing conflict with the local community”.read more
Jan 11th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Extract from an email sent by OSSL today to Ben van Beurden concerning Shell bribery and corruption in Ireland, as admitted by OSSL, the firm that worked for Shell. This is stated as a fact not an allegation.
Jan 5th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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…many of those involved have been ridiculed, slandered, spied on, harassed, beaten and jailed – all for upholding their democratic right to peaceful dissent. Incidents included the 2005 jailing of the Rossport Five, who spent 94 days in prison at the behest of Shell.
Ruairí McKiernan
As gas is flared into the skies above north Mayo, it is worth reflecting on a project that has been one of modern Ireland’s greatest scandals, a stunning fiasco in planning, economics, environmental protection and the abuse of civil liberties.
Far from it being just about energy supply, jobs and development, the Corrib gas project cuts to the core of this republic and asks big questions about how the country is run.
For more than 10 years now, campaigners have attempted to highlight the project’s many flaws.read more
HOUSTON — Royal Dutch Shell has started extracting natural gas off the coast of Ireland after more than a decade of project delays and an estimated $3.1 billion in unexpected cost overruns.
The Anglo-Dutch oil major on Wednesday said it aims to pump enough gas from the Corrib gas field to quench as much as 60 percent of Ireland’s demand for gas. It’s the latest move by Shell to cement its place among the world’s biggest gas suppliers, coming eight months after the company agreed to a $53 billion deal to buy British liquefied natural gas firm BG Group.read more
Dec 30th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Peter Murtagh: 30 Dec 2015
Natural gas is flowing into the national supply grid from the Corrib gas field off Co Mayo for the first time since it was discovered in 1996.
One of six wellheads, drilled in 350m of water 84km off the west coast, was opened on Wednesday by the field developer, Shell E&P Ireland.
This started gas flowing through a 20 inch diameter off-shore pipeline to an 8.3km-long on-shore pipeline, which includes a 4.9km tunnel beneath Sruwaddacon Bay, the longest in Ireland.
It continues from there into the company’s reception terminal at Ballanaboy, near Belmullet in Co Mayo.read more
Dec 30th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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BySARAH KENT: Dec. 30, 2015 2:59 p.m. ET
LONDON—After nearly two decades of development, one of Ireland’s largest-ever energy projects is now producing natural gas, Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Wednesday.
…the Anglo-Dutch firm’s plans to build an onshore pipeline to transport the Corrib field’s gas to a terminal it would construct at Bellanaboy in County Mayo met with fierce local opposition. The concerns surrounding the safety of the pipeline and its effects on the environment, led to delays and increased costs…read more
Dec 30th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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New Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – December 30th 2015 – For immediate release
— Minister White slips consent to Shell during Christmas period —
Shell to Sea have called the granting by Alex White of consent to operate the Corrib Gas pipeline – desperate and disgraceful. Permission was granted despite Shell’s EPA consent to operate the Corrib Gas refinery currently being admitted for hearing before the High Court. [1]
Shell to Sea is of the view that Shell possibly had contractual obligations which required that Corrib gas flow before end 2015 so they once again snapped their fingers at government to do the needful – in this instance the government of ‘law and order’ has shown itself no different to Fianna Fáil.read more
Nov 19th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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The costs of the Corrib gas project are set to top €3.6bn by the end of this year, more than four times the original estimate of €800m.
Gordon Deegan: Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Yesterday, operator Shell E&P Ltd confirmed that the 2015 spend by the Corrib partners on the field will be €260m.
Some €320m was spent last year, as total costs approach €3.6bn by the end of 2015.
A spokesman for Shell Ireland said: “As construction of the Corrib development is essentially completed, the capital investment in the project will reduce significantly from 2016 onwards.
“The Corrib facilities have been technically ready to start up since September 1 last.
“After what has been a protracted development phase, Shell is understandably eager to start producing gas as soon as possible.read more
Nov 18th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Corrib Gas Project mired in corruption allegations and a related cover-up led by Michael Crothers
Paul O’Donoghue: 18 November 2015
The company behind the controversial Corrib gas project racked up losses of over €98m last year as it awaits a final government permit to begin flowing gas at the site.
Accounts just filed for Shell E&P, the Shell subsidiary managing the project in Ireland, show administrative costs amounted to €18.8m last year, down from €20.3m in 2013.
It made an operating loss of just over €26m compared to €28.5m the year before. Most of the loss was an actuarial loss that related to the firm’s pension scheme.read more
Jul 22nd, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Richard Hartley-Parkinson for Metro.co.uk
Wednesday 22 Jul 2015
Shell has been accused of supplying £25,000 in alcohol to Irish police officers by two suppliers to an Irish gas project.
Desmond Kane and Neil Rooney both claimed in court that they were told by someone from Shell E&P Ireland to buy the alcohol, according to the Irish Journal.
Rooney told Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court that he was asked by senior pipeline engineer Conor Byrne to make the delivery in 2007.
He said he initially bought £7,000 worth of alcohol but was told by Byrne ‘you stupid c**t, there’s over 300 guards here, you’ll have to go back and get more’.read more
Jul 21st, 2015
by John Donovan.
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The detailed claims were made in a Mayo court last week.
TWO FORMER SUPPLIERS to the Corrib gas project told a jury they supplied £25,000-worth of alcohol to gardaí in 2007 on behalf of Shell E&P Ireland.
The allegations were made by Desmond Kane and Neil Rooney, co-owners of OSSL, which had previously supplied personal protective equipment for the Corrib gas project in north Mayo.
Both claimed that a person from Shell E&P Ireland asked them to buy alcohol in Northern Ireland and store it in a container at the back of their premises in Bangor Erris.read more
Jul 21st, 2015
by John Donovan.
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EXTRACTS
Under oath, Mr Neil Rooney claimed that the first delivery of alcohol to Belmullet Garda Station was made in 2005, and that in 2007, he was asked by Conor Byrne, a Senior Pipeline Engineer with Shell, to make a large delivery.
Mr Rooney, from Downpatrick, Co Down, said he went to the north and bought £7,000 worth of alcohol. When Mr Byrne saw the amount of alcohol, Mr Rooney claimed he was told there were 300 gardaí in Erris and to get more. He said he bought another £18,000 worth of alcohol.read more
Jul 10th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Footage appeared to show some protesters and security officers involved in scuffles
The jury in the trial of two Shell protesters were shown video footage of the protest where up to 70 protesters entered a Shell compound in north Mayo.
The video footage was captured by CCTV at the compound and by security officers policing the site when the protesters entered the Shell compound at Aughoose, Pollathomas in Co Mayo on June 23rd, 2013.
Gerry Bourke of Aughoose, Pollathomas Co Mayo and Liam Heffernan of Kilnagear, Belcarra, Castlebar, Co Mayo are on trial in Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court both charged with violent disorder and criminal damage as a result of the protest.read more
Jul 3rd, 2015
by John Donovan.
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EPA turns down oral hearing request on Corrib gas project licence
Lorna Siggins:Friday, 3 July 2015
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has turned down requests for an oral hearing into a revised licence sought by Shell E&P Ireland for the Corrib gas project in north Mayo.
The revised licence covering atmospheric and marine emissions from the Corrib gas refinery is one of the last State authorisations required before the project becomes fully operational.
Shell had received its original EPA licence in 2007, but sought a review after it agreed to a demand by Erris fishermen that “treated produced water” from the refinery be discharged out at the well head, rather than some 12 km offshore.read more
Jul 1st, 2015
by John Donovan.
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The lessons for all from the Corrib Gas project in North Mayo
Major infrastructure that is years behind schedule and massively over budget
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
The Corrib Gas project represents a cautionary example of how large industrial developments should not be handled by governments or multinational companies. A lack of consultation and sensitivity to local concerns in the initial stages led gradually to resistance and confrontation. Smouldering resentment over what objectors regarded as unqualified state support for the developer caught fire when five protesters, concerned about the safety of a gas pipeline and its proximity to their homes, were jailed on an application from Shell. From there, there was no going back.read more
Jun 30th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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PHOTO CAPTION FROM RECENT IRISH TIMES ARTICLE: Bríd McGarry, a Mayo landowner, and Mary Corduff, wife of jailed farmer Willie Corduff, after five Mayo farmers were jailed in 2005 for refusing to give an undertaking not to obstruct the construction of the Corrib gas pipe line. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Printed below is a comment on the Irish Times article received from OSSL, the Irish firm currently the subject of an investigation by the Irish police (the Garda) for alleged harassment of parties who received bribes distributed by OSSL on behalf of their disreputable employer, Irish Shell. read more
Jun 30th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Corrib gas cost overruns deprive State of €600m in tax
The €2.4 billion cost overrun is largely as a consequence of opposition to the project, which was stimulated in part by poor management of it at its outset.
The huge cost overrun on Corrib gas, the single most expensive energy infrastructure project in Ireland and the largest since the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric scheme on the Shannon in the 1920s, will deprive the Government of an estimated €600 million in tax revenue.
The €600 million represents 25 per cent of the project’s likely cost overrun of €2.4 billion, much of which was incurred because of changes made to the project since it began.
Had this additional €2.4 billion not been spent on development costs, an extra €600 million would have been paid to the exchequer as tax on profit, which for exploration companies is levied at 25 per cent. However, like all companies, Shell Exploration and Production Ireland, which is a partner with Statoil of Norway and Vermilion Energy of Canada, can write off capital development costs against taxation.read more
Jun 29th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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The Corrib legacy: what the protests achieved
A rerouting of the pipeline and greater public awareness of how Ireland treats its natural resources were among the positive outcomes of the Shell to Sea, campaigners say
Bríd McGarry, a Mayo landowner, and Mary Corduff, wife of jailed farmer Willie Corduff, after five Mayo farmers were jailed in 2005 for refusing to give an undertaking not to obstruct the construction of the Corrib gas pipe line. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Lorna Siggins: Monday June 29, 2015
“You’ve gone very quiet up there.” North Mayo resident Mary Corduff reckons that if she had a euro for every time she heard this remark over the past few months, her purse could be pretty full. “People think because they don’t see us on protesting on the television that we have accepted this, but we haven’t,” Corduff says, looking out of her farmhouse window towards the Corrib gas refinery several miles away.read more
Jun 27th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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The Corrib impact: business boomed and friendships died
As the gas is about to be brought onshore, Peter Murtagh takes a tour of the Corrib gas plant and speaks to people affected by its arrival.
SAT, Jun 27, 2015
Gas is expected to come later this year to the Shell terminal in Bellanaboy, Co Mayo, through the controversial pipeline that rises from the Atlantic seabed 83km offshore. The terminal is currently being commissioned and tested. As gas passes through the terminal, impurities will be removed and pressure adjusted before the gas is pumped into the Bord Gáis network.
Outside the terminal, at Glengad and Aghoose, the start and end points of the 4.9km tunnel under Sruwaddacon Bay, work to restore the landscape is under way.read more
Jun 19th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Exclusive – Gazprom building global alliance with expanded Shell
The deal with Shell is a coup for Gazprom at a time when many Western companies are reducing their exposure to Russia because of Western sanctions over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Gazprom, which is under U.S. but not EU sanctions…
Fri Jun 19, 2015
Gazprom (GAZP.MM) is building a global strategic alliance with energy major Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) that will include asset swaps and allow the Russian gas giant to penetrate new markets, its chief executive told Reuters.
Gazprom, the world’s top gas producer, said on Thursday that Shell and its long-time gas buyers in Europe – Germany’s E.ON (EONGn.DE) and Austria’s OMV (OMVV.VI) – had agreed to build two new Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic sea to Germany.read more
Apr 29th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Article from BreakingNews.ie published Wed 29 April 2015
Mayo men sue Irish Cops over alleged brutality atShell to Sea protest *(were the cops tipsy?)
Three Mayo men are suing for damages over alleged garda brutality at a Shell to Sea protest eight years ago.
Patrick Coyle, and brothers Patrick and Martin O’Donnell, claim they were assaulted at Bellanaboy bridge on January 19, 2007.
It is the men’s case that gardaí displayed brutality and indiscipline during a protest outside the Shell oil refinery at Bellanaboy.
They claim Patrick Coyle was punched in the face and struck on the back of the head while trying to stop another demonstrator being pulled from the line of protesters by gardaí.read more
Apr 24th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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EMAIL SENT TODAY BY FORMER SHELL E&P IRELAND SUPPLIER OSSL, TO THE IRISH POLICE ( THE GARDA) AND SENIOR SHELL EXECUTIVES, INCLUDING BEN VAN BEURDEN.
OSSL HAS BLOWN THE WHISTLE ON SHELL CORRUPTION OF SENIOR IRISH COPS NAMED BELOW AND IS NOW BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE SAME POLICE FORCE ON BEHALF OF THE IRISH DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS FOR ALLEGED HARASSMENT.
Subject:police alcohol DPP has Belmullet Policewoman investigating Belmullet delivery with a …view to prosecuting the Shell vendor who delivered the Shell / Garda joint venture alcohol .read more
Apr 21st, 2015
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
The lid on the corruption scandal in Ireland involving a “Mr Fix” company OSSL, its client Shell E&P Ireland, and various recipients of Shell’s generous bribes distributed by OSSL, keeps coming off.
Recipients have included senior Irish Police Officers, who took delivery of £30,000 of free alcohol kindly supplied by Shell.
One local family had a tennis court installed at their property as another spectacular gift from Shell. They must think it’s perfectly normal for an oil company to install tennis courts to buy influence.read more
Apr 13th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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— Shell to Sea send submission on RTE’s Public Service Statement —
12 April 2015
RTÉ – Ireland’s National Television and Radio Broadcaster
Shell to Sea have today sent in a submission to RTE as part of RTE’s public consultation on the updating of their Public Service Statement [1]. In the submission, Shell to Sea claimed that RTE had failed to inform the public in an honest and balanced manner on the Corrib Gas project.
In the submission nine examples of RTE bias over the course of the more than decade long community campaign against the Corrib Gas project were highlighted.
One of the examples given related to the so-called “Garda Rape tape” over which RTE were forced by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to issue an apology, after a news item broadcast on July 28th 2011 was deemed by the BAI to be “inaccurate”, “unfair” and “harmful” to a Corrib campaigner. This related to Gardaí being inadvertently recorded joking about threatening to rape the two women who were in their custody. At the time of the incident the Garda Commissioner acknowleged the incident had happened and apologised for the incident occurring. Despite this RTE subsequently attempted to create the impression that the recording of the incident had been “altered” or “tampered with”. [2]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 Breaking News
Shell Renewables Head to Leave Amid Fossil Fuel ShiftJune 30, 2023 14:49Financial PostBreadcrumb Trail Links PMN Business Shell Plc’s European renewable power boss Thomas Brostrom has decided to leave the company as the oil supermajor revises its strategy to focus more investment into fossil fuels. Author of the article: Bloomberg News …
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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 …
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?