Dec 16th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell Taps Cow Dung to Power German Trucks, Cut CO2
by Bloomberg: Rachel Graham: Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Trucks in Germany could soon be running on fuel that’s made partly from manure at one of Europe’s biggest oil refineries.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is aiming to produce liquefied natural gas with a bio-component for use in heavy vehicles within about two years. Trucks using the fuel can travel for 1,500 kilometers without refilling, according to Shell, which will make the new product at Rheinland, the biggest oil-processing complex in Germany.read more
Aug 12th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
August 11, 2021
Shell has moved forward its target to install AdBlue dispensers for passenger cars at 500 of its 2,000 gas stations in Germany by two years, reports Argus Media.
Shell had installed AdBlue dispensers at 200 sites in Germany as of July. It now plans to have 300 more available to drivers by the end of 2022.
Jun 7th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Seeking Alpha
Nord Stream 2’s completion a ‘fait accompli,’ Blinken tells House panel
Jun. 07, 2021 2:25 PM ETBASFY, ENGIY…By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline a “fait accompli” in testimony today before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and said the U.S. is working with Germany to mitigate the damage it will cause to Europe’s energy system.
Sanctioning the top executive of the project’s parent company would have led to worse U.S.-German relations, Blinken said, and now Germany has expressed a desire to prevent Russian President Putin from using Nord Stream 2 as leverage to weaken European nations by increasing dependency on Russia.
“We have an opportunity to make something positive out of a bad hand that we inherited when we came into office,” Blinken said.
Only ~100 km of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline are left to lay, according to Russia’s ambassador to Germany, meaning the remaining pipeline could need just three more months for completion.
In an interview with German media outlet RND, Sergei Nechayev also said he was hopeful the Gazprom-led (OTCPK:OGZPY) pipeline would be completed before the upcoming German election on Sept. 26.
The ambassador’s comments suggest ~21 km have been laid in Danish waters in the April 1-May 7 period, according to S&P Global Platts.
Two Russian vessels – the Fortuna and the Akademik Cherskiy – currently are operating in Danish waters; it they will lay pipe at a combined 1 km/day, and assuming weather conditions allow, it would take ~100 days to lay the remaining pipeline.
London — Shell is planning to build the first commercial bio-PTL (power-to-liquid) at its Rheinland refinery in Germany, which will involve expanding its electrolyzer project at the site to 100 MW.
Construction of the PTL unit, which would produce 100,000 mt/year of synthetic kerosene and raw gasoline (naphtha) using green hydrogen generated in the electrolyzer as well as biomass (waste wood), could start in 2023, with a view to commercial operations beginning in 2025, Shell said in a statement Feb. 26.read more
Dec 12th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
TIMELINE-Nord Stream 2: Russia to Germany gas pipeline’s difficult birth
Maarten Wetselaar, Klaus Schaefer, Mario Mehren, Alexey Miller, Gerhard Schroeder, Isabelle Kocher, Gerard Mestrallet, Rainer Seele, and Matthias Warnig after signing of financing agreements for Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project on April 24, 2017
Reuters Staff: DECEMBER 11, 2020
Dec 11 (Reuters) – Russia has resumed construction of the politically-charged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, laying pipes after a one-year hiatus prompted by U.S. sanctions, the pipeline operator said on Friday.read more
Jul 23rd, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Energy majors ‘spend 90%’ on fossil fuels despite climate pledges
23/07/2020: Paris (AFP)
Energy giants Shell and Total continue to invest 90 percent of their capital on planet-warming fossil fuels despite promises to slash their greenhouse gas emissions, according to an industry analysis seen exclusively by AFP.
With combined emissions equivalent to that of Germany — the world’s fourth largest economy — both companies are likely to fall “well short” of their own sustainable investment targets, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said.read more
Jul 4th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
1 JUL, 17:49
US sanctions trying to stop Nord Stream 2 are unacceptable – German Foreign Office
Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Niels Annen pointed out that, in addition to German, French, Dutch, and Austrian companies, as well as services, in particular, certification and supervision, may be at risk of restrictive measures
BERLIN, July 1. /TASS/. Possible new US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 are aimed at halting the project’s implementation, which complies with EU legislation, and therefore unacceptable, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Niels Annen said on Wednesday.
“It would block a commercial project, which is being implemented on the basis of EU law,” he said. “The position of the German government on this issue is unequivocal: extraterritorial sanctions are a blatant interference with EU sovereignty. It is obvious that the US side is trying to unilaterally stop the project,” Annen said. He pointed out that, in addition to German, French, Dutch, and Austrian companies, as well as services, in particular, certification and supervision, may be at risk of restrictive measures.read more
May 15th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The regulator said the Nord Stream 2 consortium – which also includes Uniper, Wintershall-Dea, Royal Dutch Shell, OMV and Engie – did not qualify for an exemption…
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s energy regulator on Friday declined to grant a waiver of European Union gas directives to the operators of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, dealing a fresh blow to the project to carry gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream 2, designed by Russia’s Gazprom to increase direct shipments to Europe, is far behind schedule and has faced political opposition from Washington, as well as from Ukraine and Poland through whose territory Russian gas is shipped to consumers in western Europe.read more
Jan 21st, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Nord Stream 2 Pins Hope on Germany to Clear EU Gas Rule Hurdle
Brian Parkin: Jan 21 2020, 9:30 AM
(Bloomberg) — Nord Stream 2 expects regulators to decide by May whether its contested natural gas pipeline linking Germany to Russia will be able to operate as planned.
Already suffering U.S. sanctions, the project led by Gazprom PJSC is pinning its hopes on Germany’s Bnetza regulator to help it clear hurdles erected by European Union competition authorities.
The consortium is being financed by Royal Dutch Shell Plc; Uniper SE and Wintershall AG in Germany; France’s Engie SA; and Austria’s OMV AG.read more
LAS VEGAS — Daimler, the world’s largest truck manufacturer, could commercialize a hydrogen-powered city bus in the next two to three years, r&d boss Markus Schäfer told reporters at CES last week.
While electrification is sweeping the passenger-car side of the industry, fuel cells are a more promising option for larger vehicles because they have better energy density than battery-electric vehicles.
Lithium ion battery chemistry currently struggles to deliver the range long-haul trucks require, Schäfer said.read more
Dec 29th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Russia is not forcing Shell to buy its gas. Shell is also a big investor in solar power and is a 50% owner in offshore wind farms Atlantic Shores in New Jersey and the Mayflower Consortium in Massachusetts.
Last week’s announcement from the White House of a cease and desist order for the foreign firms building the Russia-to-Germany natural gas line may come about a year too late.
Nord Stream 2 was always seen as a slap in the face to Ukraine, once a main route into Europe for Gazprom’s natural gas from Russia. But Russia and Ukraine have since gone their separate ways, pulled closer into Europe and the U.S.’s orbit by both Washington and Brussels, and now Russia has opted to look for alternatives.read more
Jul 7th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Just days after Russia said it had fully resumed oil flows to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline after a major disruption in supplies due to crude contamination in April, a Shell oil refinery in Germany halted imports via the pipeline because, again, slightly higher concentration of organic chlorine was found in the crude, a Shell spokesman told Germany business daily Handelsblatt on Friday.
At the end of April, Russia halted supplies via the Druzhba oil pipeline to several European countries due to a contamination issue, which the Russians said was deliberate.read more
May 9th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The German government has made a formal objection to Shell’s plans to decommission the Brent field in the North Sea.
by Allister Thomas and Mark Lammey: 09/05/2019
Shell submitted plans in 2017 which proposed to leave the huge concrete legs of three of the four Brent platforms in place, prompting outcry from environmental groups.
Germany’s environment ministry commissioned a new report on the plans from Aberdeen-based consultancy Scientia et Sagacitas, which has highlighted “major issues” with Shell’s assessments.
The UK and Germany are both part of Ospar, an international agreement with several European countries to protect the marine environment.read more
LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has struck a deal with Dutch tank terminal firm HES International to partially restart a German oil refinery mothballed since 2011 in response to new restrictions on marine fuels, two trading sources told Reuters.
A new cap set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that will cut the sulphur content in shipping fuel to 0.5 percent from 3.5 percent from next year is set to be one of the biggest fundamental events to hit oil markets in years.read more
Feb 15th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy German residential solar battery maker sonnen, as the oil and gas major expands its electricity business in its bid for a bigger role in the global transition to low-carbon energy.
Sonnen, which has 40,000 battery systems worldwide and in 2017 had sales of 65 million euros ($73 million), is the German market leader in home storage batteries and has expanded into electric vehicle charging systems.
Regulatory approval and completion of the transaction, involving Shell New Energies, was expected in the first quarter of 2019, a sonnen spokesman said, without giving a value.read more
Feb 9th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
GRAPHIC DOES NOT APPEAR IN REUTERS ARTICLE
FEBRUARY 8, 2019
AMSTERDAM, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Gas production at the Groningen field in the north of the Netherlands is falling faster than planned, the Dutch government said on Friday.
Output at the field will fall to 15.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the year ending October 2020, the government said, which is 1.5 bcm lower than originally planned.
The Dutch government last year said it would end production by 2030 and lower it as quickly as possible in coming years, as decades of extraction have led to a series of damaging earthquakes in the region.read more
Jan 8th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Patrick Donahue: 7 January 2019, 17:00 GMT Updated on 8 January 2019, 10:10 GMT
Merkel coalition lawmakers become more critical of Nord Stream
Mood shift may place pressure on government to shift stance
Support in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition for a major new Russian gas pipeline is slipping as frustration with the Kremlin’s brinkmanship grows and pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump starts to bite.
Nord Stream 2, an $11 billion project that will double the natural gas supply under the Baltic Sea to Germany, faces growing skepticism among German officials who had previously defended it against criticism from Trump and some European Union allies, according to senior lawmakers. The shift could translate into pressure on Merkel’s government to back down on the controversial pipeline and possibly delay its implementation.read more
Sep 11th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Royal Dutch Shell should apologise for antisemitic conduct and Nazi support
By John Donovan
I strongly believe that Royal Dutch Shell should be held accountable for its outrageous antisemitic actions against its own employees, which cost some of them their lives. The same applies to Shell’s huge financial support for Nazi Germany that contributed to the deaths of some 50 million victims in WW2 including those poor souls who perished in the Holocaust. Shell’s leader, Sir Henri Deterding, was an ardent Nazi feted by Adolf Hitler. Shell has never apologised or expressed any remorse. read more
Aug 28th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11 billion) in cost.
By Elena Mazneva and Anna Shiryaevskaya | Bloomberg
August 27 at 12:00 AM
A planned new natural-gas pipeline into Europe from Russia is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, worries leaders in Eastern Europe, has stirred the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump and has put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the hot seat.
1. What is Nord Stream 2?
It’s a planned new 1,230-kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from fields in Russia to the EU network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route — the original Nord Stream — that opened in 2011. Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11 billion) in cost.read more
“Together with German partners we are working on the new natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, which will complete the European gas transport system,” Vladimir Putin declared as he met with Chancellor Angela Merkel near Berlin on Saturday.
While the U.S. wasn’t present at the meeting, it could have a big say in the outcome amid concerns that it would increase Europe’s already-high dependence on Russian natural gas and give the Kremlin political leverage and substantial revenues.
The project is being developed by Gazprom (OTCPK:OGZPY), along with Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), Wintershall, Uniper (OTC:UNPPY), OMV (OTCPK:OMVZY) and Engie (EMGIY).
The U.S. warns Western companies invested in Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to Germany that they are at risk of sanctions.
The $11B project, led by Gazprom (OTCPK:OGZPY), would double capacity of the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany, bypassing traditional routes through Ukraine.
A German business group says it is not up to the U.S. to dictate how German companies do business, that the country’s energy partnership with Russia had spanned decades with mutual benefits, and that gas imports from Russia are a competitively priced and reliable energy source.
A planned natural-gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, is the latest point of friction between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. At a summit meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, Trump said the pipeline risks making Germany “a captive of Russia.” He’s not the first American leader to criticize the pipeline project, and the U.S. isn’t alone in its disapproval.
1. What is Nord Stream 2?
It’s a planned new 1,230 kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from fields in Russia to the EU network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route and cut Russia’s reliance on gas transit through Ukraine. (Russia has been locked in conflict with Ukraine since 2014, when a pro-Russian president there was forced from power and Russia seized the country’s Crimean Peninsula.) Russia’s Gazprom PJSC is overseeing the project with funding from five investors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Engie SA, which are providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($10.3 billion) in cost.read more
The Netherlands has been the source of cheap energy for northwest Europe for the past decades. The discovery of the Groningen gas field, the 9th largest in the world, provided a reliable source of energy in a period when the oil market was rocked by embargos due to the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The future of the Dutch gas sector, however, looks bleak due to two important developments in 2018: a political decision to reduce production with a timeline to stop entirely until 2030 and a new climate agreement. The Netherlands is preparing to make major changes regarding the role of gas in people’s lives.read more
Jun 4th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
…the EU may protect the companies financing Nord Stream 2. Those include Royal Dutch Shell Plc…
By William Wilkes and Ewa Krukowska
4 June 2018, 05:00 BST
As Donald Trump’s trade policy risk worsening economic conflict with Europe Union, Russia’s Vladimir Putin is strengthening ties with the region.
Putin will mark 50 years of gas exports to Europe at an event in Vienna on Tuesday. A controversial 9.5 billion-euro ($11 billion) pipeline to feed more supplies from Siberia directly into Germany is progressing despite a U.S. sanctions threat. And Moscow-based Gazprom PJSC last month settled a seven-year-old pricing dispute with the European Union, enabling it to expand its market share.read more
Mar 20th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Sputniik International (Russian Publisher) 19 March 2018
WARSAW (Sputnik) – Poland will try to convince Germany to reconsider the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the wake of the nerve agent attack on former Russian intelligence officer Skripal in London, Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs Konrad Szymanski said Monday.
“[Nord Stream 2] will surely be the most important issue of the talks, because after Salisbury we have a new situation. It is, beyond doubt, one of the aspects of Russian policy regarding Europe, not regarding the UK. And we should consider once again whether Russia is a trustworthy partner… Nord Stream 2 carries only negative consequences, but Germany is an independent state as much as Poland,” Szymanski told RMF FM radio.read more
Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has completed its acquisition of one of the UK’s biggest challenger energy suppliers and appointed Colin Crooks as its chief executive.
In December, Shell revealed it would buy First Utility in a deal thought to be worth £200m.
The energy supplier, which serves around 825,000 homes in the UK, will now become a subsidiary of Shell within its new energies division and be led by Crooks, previously Shell’s vice president of downstream strategy and portfolio.read more
Feb 16th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Norbert Barthle (Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport), Thomas Bystry (Project Manager Shell), Michael Reinhardt (Project Manager Air Liquide) and Sybille Riepe (H2 Mobility) at the opening in Wendlingen
H2 Mobility Deutschland, Shell and Air Liquide today jointly opened the first hydrogen (H2) station in the district of Esslingen – the twelfth in Baden-Württemberg, taking another step towards a nationwide H2 supply network in Germany.read more
Feb 12th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 12 February 2018 – Today, Oath announces a global deal with Mediacom and Shell to take the energy brand’s “Make the Future” campaign into its next phase. The new phase brings the content of its “On Top of the World” music video to life through a crafted WebGL “Globe” activation, created by Oath’s RYOT Studio global solutions team in collaboration with UNIT9: allowing people to explore the five cleaner energy projects featured within the music video through its interactive design. The music video itself features five global artists and celebrates five cleaner energy solutions supported by Shell across four continents that are helping provide access to cleaner energy and support local communities. This content will reach Oath’s millennial and mobile audiences across five markets (US, UK, Brazil, Singapore, and India) using Tumblr and its Yahoo Gemini and BrightRoll premium video distribution and syndication channels, driving audiences to the interactive “Globe” to explore the content.read more
Jan 23rd, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Tuesday 23 Jan 2018
Companies come together to develop large-scale hydrogen production project
The world’s largest hydrogen electrolysis plant is set to be built in Germany. The plant will be built at a refinery in Rhineland, Germany, by ITM Power, a leading developer of fuel cells, and Shell. The two companies will also be working with SINTEF, thinkstep, and Element Energy to develop the new electrolysis plant. The project has received some $10 million in funding from the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, adding onto another $10 million in investments the project had already attracted.read more
The project, with ITM Power, will take shape at the Wesseling site of the Rhineland refinery.
With a capacity of ten megawatts, it would be the largest plant of its kind in Germany and the largest PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) electrolysis in the world.
In addition to the production of hydrogen, the technology could also contribute to the stabilization of the electricity grid with an increasing share of irregularly available renewable energies in the energy mix.read more
Aug 25th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
24 August 2017 12:21 Source:ICIS News
LONDON (ICIS)–Two fires at Shell’s Rhineland refinery in Wesseling, Germany, in the early hours of Wednesday morning were quickly extinguished by the site’s fire brigade, according to a statement from Shell.
The first fire, which broke out at a crude oil distillation plant, according to local news reports, was caused by a scaffolding plane catching fire. Sections of the unit are currently undergoing planned inspections, according to Shell, and it was shut down as a precaution in the wake of the fire.read more
This summer has seen the governments of several of the world’s major economies propose to eliminate internal combustion engine vehicles over the next 10-30 years.
At the same time, Royal Dutch Shell announced several major clean energy investments over the summer in anticipation of a drop-off in petroleum demand.
This article looks at how Shell’s clean energy investments fit into its energy profile forecasts compared to its peers.
This summer has been filled with the sort of headlines that can give strategic planners in the petroleum & gas sector heartburn. One-upping Germany’s earlier non-binding pledge to ban new internal combustion engine [ICE] vehicles by 2030, the government of France’s new centrist president Emmanuel Macron announced in early July that the country will end sales of ICE vehicles by 2040. This move, which is part of that country’s efforts to comply with its greenhouse gas emission reduction target under 2015’s Paris Climate Agreement, would eliminate gasoline- and diesel-only engines and is aimed at reducing the country’s air pollution as it is at mitigating climate change. Britain intends to do the same by 2050. Even China and India, which have long been posited as important future sources of petroleum demand, are moving to electrify their vehicle fleets: China recently announced that it wants 25% of the country’s vehicles to be “alternative fuel” by 2025, while India is drafting plans to electrify all of its vehicles by 2030.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) says it is considering expanding capacity at its 140K bbl/day refinery at Wesseling, Germany, which together with the former Godorf refinery near Cologne-Godorf form its 325K bbl/day integrated Rheinland refinery, the largest in Germany.
Shell says an expansion would be part of a series of measures aimed enabling production of fuels that will conform to the International Maritime Organization’s more stringent maximum permitted sulfur levels for marine fuels taking effect in 2020.
The company has not disclosed a time frame for when it might make a decision about the possible expansion.
New US sanctions against Russia will not affect multi-billion dollar oil projects in Kazakhstan backed by Chevron, ExxonMobil and other western energy majors, the country’s economy minister has said. Italy’s Eni, France’s Total, Exxon and Royal Dutch Shell all hold stakes in Kashagan, another Kazakh oil field. The decision to expand sanctions… was taken to primarily target Gazprom’s under-construction Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany… partially funded by… Shell… FULL FT ARTICLEread more
Royal Dutch Shell plc (NSYE:RDS.A) has been on a divestiture spree after its debt-laden $50 billion purchase of BG Group plc last year, the latest being its sale of some of its oil and gas properties in the North Sea to private equity-backed Chrysaor Holdings Ltd. for $3.8 billion as well as its stake in a Thailand field to Kuwait Petroleum Corp. for $900 million. The sales — which follow the recent unloading of assets in Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia – are nudging it toward 40% of the $30 billion divestiture goal it hopes to reach by the end of next year. What could be next?read more
Dec 20th, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Zacks Equity Research
Published on December 19, 2016
Integrated energy major Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A – Free Report) and leading refining firm VARO Energy recently reported that they are in advanced discussions regarding the divestment of Shell’s 37.5% interest in the PCK Refinery in Schwedt, Germany. The PCK Refinery has the capacity to refine 220,000 barrels of oil per day.
The value of the deal has not been disclosed as yet. However, Shell expects the deal to help it focus its downstream activity on areas where it can be most competitive.read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
In 1938, a year after the retirement of Deterding as chief executive, Royal Dutch Shell had joined a consortium called Catalytic Research Associates (C.R.A.). IG Farben was also a member of that consortium. IG Farben used forced labor and held the patent on Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children.
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Index of Shell leadership financial support for the Nazis
Dutch cartoons provide evidence of a perception in pre-WW2 years that Sir Henri Deterding was a major financier of Hitler’s Nazi regime. Identified by name in both cartoons, Deterding is depicted handing over a bag of money to the Nazis containing a large sum – 1000 000 00 – in unspecified currency: see enlargements 1 and 2. Overwhelming evidence confirms that the perception was well founded.
INDEX IN DATE ORDER
Extracts from relevant news reports and books, many authored before WW2, are listed in date order, providing compelling evidence of what transpired all those years ago.read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Chapter 16: Shell historians attempt to distance Deterding from Hitler
Shell’s historians downplayed the relationship between Hitler and Deterding. As far they are concerned, the two never met. They said that a request by Sir Henri for a meeting with Hitler in March 1933 was rebuffed and disregarded Deterding’s claim that he met with Hitler in November 1933.Not only were there meetings. Deterding “was revered and ultimately mourned by Hitler.”
Shell’s historians portrayed the relationship between Deterding and Hitler as standoffish on the part of Hitler, with all of Deterding’s attempts to meet with him being rebuffed. See pages 481 to 485 of RDSH V1. read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Chapter 14: Control of Royal Dutch Shell companies in Nazi-occupied Europe
Hauptmann Eckhardt von Klass
Hauptmann Eckhardt von Klass (seated)
The Nazis presented considerable challenges to Royal Dutch Shell over control of its subsidiaries in occupied countries. The above caricature (and seated Nazi officer) is a former Shell director, Hauptmann Eckhardt von Klass, the Verwalter (administrator) appointed by the Nazis to “exercise supervision over Group companies in occupied Europe.” See pages 80 and 81 from RDSH V2.
Before, during, and after World War 2, Royal Dutch Shell was the owner of companies located in Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe, including Rhenania-Ossag. read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Chapter 11: Shell collaborated in the Nazi annexation of Austria and occupation of Czechoslovakia
German forces entered Vienna on 17 March 1938 (above). The Nazis annexed Austria in what became known as the Anschluss and occupied Czechoslovakia a year later. Royal Dutch Shell authorized its German subsidiary Rhenania-Ossag, to take over Shell operating companies in both countries.
Being one of the two biggest German oil concerns and the main lube oil manufacturer, Shell subsidiary Rhenania-Ossag was an industry leader in Nazi Germany. Many of its directors and staff were Nazis.
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Chapter 13: Royal Dutch Shell and Nazi slavelabor
The photograph shows military uniforms worn by marching employees of the Shell German subsidiary, Rhenania-Ossag. A photograph on the next page shows swastika flags on display during a staff meeting. Rhenania-Ossag was part and parcel of the Nazi movement when the Shell Group was in undisputed full control of the company.A senior director was involved in Nazi military planning.
In 1935, Rhenania-Ossag (owned by Royal Dutch Shell) was Germany’s second-largest gas station company, with 16,363 petrol pumps and several refineries. There were active Nazi members in the workforce and management. It’s DG, Dr. Erich Boeder, was involved in Nazi military planning (oil production) on behalf of the company.read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Chapter 10: Shell support for the Nazis continued after the retirement of Sir Henri as leader
The above photograph is of Sir Henri Deterding around the time of his retirement as absolute leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, standing alongside his third wife, a thirty-eight-year-old German-born ardent Nazi, Charlotte Knaack. Her admiration for the Nazis probably strengthened his views, and no doubt played a part in the decision to move their home to Germany.
In October 1936, the first news reports of the pending resignation of Sir Henri Deterding as the leader of Royal Dutch Shell Group were published.read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Chapter 5: Great friend of the Germans
This chapter deals with the role of Royal Dutch Shell as a contributor to the economy of Nazi Germany and financier of the Third Reich via its long-time Director General, Sir Henri Deterding.The funding was of a scale that led to Hitler paying homage to him as a great friend of the Germans. Sir Henri actively supported the rearmament of Nazi Germany. He was a generous friend that the Nazis tried to exploit even after his death.
Any major company in existence for over 100 years is bound to have some skeletons in the closet. In the case of Royal Dutch Shell, it arguably includes indirect responsibility for millions of deaths. read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
INTRODUCTION
SUMMARY OF MAIN CONTENT
In the years leading up to WW2, the Dutch founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Sir Henri Deterding became an ardent Nazi. He financially backed the Third Reich and met directly with Hitler on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell.
As a major financial contributor to Nazi Germany in pre-WW2 years, the Royal Dutch Shell Group, under Dutch leadership, arguably had some indirect responsibility for the death toll in the subsequent war, in which over 50 million people perished.
Shell publicly boasted at the time about the importance of its financial contribution to the German economy. The claims were made by Shell in Germany while the country was under Nazi control.
In years leading up to WW2, Shell conspired with partners, Standard Oil, and German chemical giant I.G. Farben, to covertly import oil products, including airplane fuel, from the US into Nazi Germany. The US government was kept in the dark.
I.G. Farben supplied the Zyklon-B gas used in the Holocaust to kill millions of people.
The portrayal in 2007 by Shell’s paid historians of a distant relationship between Deterding and Hitler, in which all attempts by Deterding to meet with Hitler were rebuffed is simply untrue.
In fact, their meetings included a four-day one-on-one summit held at Hitler’s mountain retreat, as reported by Reuters in 1934.
Deterding has been described by independent authors as “a hardline Nazi revered and ultimately mourned by Hitler.” That description is confirmed by the evidence within this book and evidence accessible via links.
There are credible allegations that the Royal Dutch Shell Group, under the control of Dutch directors, used forced labor at its German subsidiary, Rhenania-Ossag. Many of its directors and staff were fanatical Nazis.
Royal Dutch Shell collaborated in the annexation and occupation of sovereign countries by the Nazis – Austria and Czechoslovakia – before the outbreak of WW2.
The donations and financial contributions to the Third Reich were all carried out under the control of Dutch directors of companies within the Royal Dutch Shell Group.
In 1936, while still a director of multiple Royal Dutch Shell group companies, Sir Henri purchased the Castle Dobbin estate North of Berlin for 1,050,000 Reich marks from Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.
Deterding moved into Castle Dobbin with his young German wife, Charlotte-Minna Knaack, his secretary, a fanatical Nazi said by one source to be a former private secretary of Hitler’s.
Sir Henri’s friend Hermann Göring, the founder of the Gestapo, regularly visited Castle Dobbin to go hunting with him. Deterding generously gave Göring the Rominten Hunting Lodge in East Prussia as a spectacular gift. Kaiser Wilhelm II once owned it.
In 1936 and 1937, Sir Henri – while still a director of multiple companies within the Royal Dutch Shell Group, in which he held a controlling interest – made huge donations of food (“millions of tonnes”) to Nazi Germany as part of the “Winter Help” scheme. A New York Times report in June 1937 (“Deterding to Distribute More Food in Germany”) specifically linked the food donations to Germany’s rearmament policy.
The massive donations enabled significant funds to be diverted at a time when the Nazi regime was engaged in urgent rearmament of its military might.
Seven thousand railway wagons were used in the first immense delivery.”
Deterding died just before the outbreak of WW2. He was honored by a Nazi ceremonial funeral at Castle Dobbin in February 1939. It was attended by a full contingent of Royal Dutch Shell Group directors mingling with Nazi military officers.
A glowing tribute to Sir Henri on behalf of the German nation was inscribed on a wreath sent by Adolf Hitler.
The Bishop who conducted the funeral service was asupporter of Hitler and a rabid anti-Semite.
Film footage of the Nazi funeral spectacular exists.
Fears that the Nazis intended to exploit the death of Sir Henri, just before the start of WW2, to seize control of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, were well founded.The UK National Archives has kindly given permission for related documents and correspondence to be featured within this book.
Dutch directors of the Royal Dutch Shell Group engaged in anti-Semitic policies against Shell employees and were also guilty of collaboration and appeasement.
Royal Dutch Shell employees in the Netherlands were instructed to complete a form that for some amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Many did not survive the war.
The Nazis did succeed in gaining control over Dobbin Castle.
In the latter part of WW2, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, SS leader Heinrich Himmler and General Alfred Jodl, Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command, were all stationed at Dobbin Castle.
Hitler’s final despairing message from his Berlin bunker, a day before he committed suicide, was sent to Field Marshal Keitel at Dobbin Castle, whilst it was still owned by the Deterding family. Strangely, that somehow seems appropriate.
Evidence was on display at Castle Dobbin, signed by Hitler, confirming Deterding’s financial support for the Nazis. Also a personal testimony by Herman Göring acknowledging the generosity of his friend and benefactor, Sir Henri Deterding.
DETERDING’S PALATIAL UK RESIDENCES
Kelling Hall, in Holt, Norfolk, shown center, was one of Deterding’s palatial UK residences. It is located near the Sandringham estate of the British royal family.
Built for Sir Henri in 1913, in grounds of 1,600 acres, the property was sold in 2008 by his grandson James Deterding for £25 million (over $37 million USD).
Deterding at various times owned a Dutch estate in Wassenaar near the Hague, a grand country home in Buckhurst Park in Winkfield, near Ascot in Berkshire, a fashionable apartment in Park Lane, London, and a villa at St. Moritz in Switzerland.read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Chapter 5: The Nazi Funeral of Royal Dutch Shell Leader Sir Henri Deterding
On 10 February 1939, a burial ceremony with many of the trappings of a state funeral was held at a private estate near Berlin. The spectacle included a funeral procession led by a horse-drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and Shell directors in attendance. An indication of the high esteem in which Sir Henri Deterding was held by his Shell colleagues and by Adolf Hitler, who sent a wreath.
Sir Henri Deterding, a foreign national, was honored with what amounted to a state funeral in Germany, where he was buried.read more
Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL
Chapter 4: Media coverage of Sir Henri Deterding’s Death
Sir Henri Deterding died in St. Moritz, Switzerland on 4 February 1939 several months before the outbreak of the 2nd World War. As could be expected given his global fame as an oil mogul and a man of wealth, mystery and intrigue, there were numerous newspaper obituaries from around the world. Many mentioned his financial support for Hitler and the Nazi movement in Germany.
It might seem odd to focus at this early stage on the death of Sir Henri Deterding, but the global news coverage of his death and even more significantly, the location – Nazi Germany – of his extraordinary funeral, speak volumes.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 …
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 …
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?