Participants in a Shell Oil Co. 401(k) plan sued the company and plan fiduciaries alleging multiple violations of their fiduciary duties for selecting investment options, monitoring the plan, setting fees and dealing with the plan’s record keeper.
The participants also sued the record keeper, Fidelity Investments, plus its parent company, FMR LLC, and several other Fidelity units, claiming that Fidelity also violated guidelines outlined in the Employee Income Retirement Security Act. They accused Fidelity of exploiting its role as a record keeper to cross-sell products to participants that weren’t part of the Shell DC plan.read more
Dec 13th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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By Jack Gray: 12/12/19
Environmental lawyers at ClientEarth have criticised The Pensions Ombudsman’s (TPO) decision not to uphold a complaint against the Shell Contributory Pension Fund’s (SCPF) climate risk policies.
Concerns were raised as TPO did not ask the SCPF to release information to the claimant about how it deals with the financial risks posed by its investments in fossil fuels and its sponsorship by an oil and gas company.
SCPF member Christoph Harwood had been seeking reassurance that the scheme is properly dealing with risks posed to members’ pension as a result of their policies.read more
Jan 17th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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After Carillion how many firms can the pensions lifeboat rescue?
The Pension Protection Fund can absorb the firm’s liabilities but the spotlight is now on others with big pension deficits
The companies with the biggest deficits, according to a report last year from pension consultants LCP, are Royal Dutch Shell, BP, BT and BAE Systems. The four FTSE 100 companies each had a deficit of more than £6bn in 2016.
The pensions lifeboat that comes to the rescue when firms go bust is about to get a lot more crowded following the collapse of Carillion.
The sprawling construction and outsourcing firm had a pension deficit of £580m but is now likely to rise to at least £800m because it no longer has a solvent business standing alongside it. The company’s crash into liquidation has thrown the spotlight on other firms with huge pension scheme deficits such as IAG, BTand BAE.
It has also raised questions about how many more big company failures the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) can absorb, and why companies with big deficits are allowed to pump out bumper dividend payouts to shareholders.read more
Oil company Shell’s Dutch defined contribution (DC) scheme has introduced variable pension benefits in the wake of new legislation (Wet Verbeterde Premieregeling).
In its 2016 annual report SNPS – a relatively new scheme set up in 2013 with individual defined contribution (IDC) arrangements – said it had started to offer members the option of keeping accrued pension capital invested after retirement, while investment risk and longevity risk remain collectively shared.read more
Dividends at some of Britain’s largest companies – many of them likely to be a staple of your portfolio – could be at risk from ballooning pension deficits.
Huge final salary pension obligations have the potential to limit your investment returns, with tighter regulation and negative publicity surrounding the demise of BHS, the defunct retailer once owned by Sir Philip Green, already taking their toll.
Analysis by Telegraph Money shows that, of the 10 companies paying the highest dividends in Britain, seven have a pension deficit of more than £10bn, prompting concerns for the sustainability of payments to shareholders. Many of us will be investing in these companies through company pension schemes and other savings plans.read more
SSPF, the closed Dutch pension fund of oil giant Shell, has divided its €27bn investment portfolio into three sub-portfolios for matching assets, return-seeking investments, and liquidity.
In its annual report for 2016, it said the liquidity portfolio’s holdings included collateral for other parts of its investment portfolio.
It added that the benchmark for the new liquidity portfolio comprised euro-denominated government bonds and investment grade credit (excluding financials), and US government paper.read more
Jan 6th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Published By: Myrna Salomon on January 6, 2017 10:52 am EST
Oil & gas companies have been in a celebratory sentiment since OPEC meeting in Vienna last year; the results of the meeting led to a wave of optimism in the global energy market. Energy majors around the world are now looking to increase their exploration and production (E&P) activities.
The past couple of years have dented financial profiles of oil & gas companies, given the low crude environment and economic slowdown. However, the latest rally in the oil prices has come as a golden opportunity for energy giants to mitigate their losses.read more
Shell is removing its network of pensioner liaison representatives with a view to changing to a more cost-effective approach to supporting retired members of the Shell Contributory Pension Fund.
While some trustee boards communicate with pensioner members only very occasionally, others engage with retired employees on a regular basis through newsletters, online and via specially made committees or networks of representatives.
The main objective of Shell’s Pensioner Liaison Scheme is to maintain a link between pensioners and the company, and the representatives help with various problems and questions that can face retired employees and their dependants.read more
Shell runs several pension schemes with different features and benefits depending on if you worked for the firm before 2009, still work with the company or have left.
If you belong to the Shell Overseas Contributory Pension Fund and were an employee on or before December 31, 2008 and have a salary of more than £30,000 a year, you are contributing 6%.
Shell pays the ‘balance of cost’ which makes up the difference of the amount you should receive as benefits less your contributions and any investment growth. read more
If you have a pension with oil giant Shell and are worried about what may happen to your retirement savings if you lose your job you need to take specialist financial advice.
Many Shell workers have built up significant retirement savings as high-earners in a well-paying industry.
The company runs the Shell Overseas Contributory Pension Fund – but a key point to remember is the scheme is not an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) registered pension.
Unlike the Shell scheme, a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) is a registered pension and operates under a framework of rules administered by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). read more
Apr 22nd, 2015
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
Trouble is brewing for Shell in the UK as Shell pensioners revolt against the proposed change of name of their association. The “Shell Pensioners’ Association” (SPA) is open to all Shell pensioners in the UK and arranges a raft of social and other events through its Branch network. It also publishes a quarterly magazine, “SPA News”.
With the latest edition comes an announcement of a plan to change the name of the Club to “Shell Pecten Association” – the rationale being that younger new Shell pensioners are put off joining the SPA because they don’t wish to be seen as pensioners! No evidence to support this claim is provided. read more
Jul 5th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article by Jim Armitage, Deputy Business Editor of The Independent, published 4 July 2014
The pension fund of oil giant Shell is suing arch rival BP and its former chief executive Lord John Browne for millions of pounds over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill catastrophe.
Shell Pension Trust is one of more than a dozen giant UK investment funds who have joined a massive lawsuit against BP and its directors at the time including Tony Hayward, who took over from Lord John as CEO three years before the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
The investors are suing over the dramatic crash in BP’s share price caused by the spill and have won the right to sue under UK law but in the generous Texas court. While they had the right to take action in the High Court in London, they have held out to take their claims in the US where higher awards are likely.read more
Jun 7th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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You may want to keep an eye on this latest development in relation to the Shell Dutch Pension Fund. Your website was involved in breaking news about the recovery plan for the pension fund after a financial meltdown a few years ago. Shell Netherlands is on a warpath with the staffcouncil.
RECEIVED FROM A ROYAL DUTCH SHELL SOURCE
Hello John
You may want to keep an eye on this latest development in relation to the Shell Dutch Pension Fund.
Shell Netherlands is on a warpath with the staffcouncil. They want to introduce a new pension system (for new staff) which is much less favorable for the employees.
It will be done. But the Staffcouncil is against. Drama will develop, all in dutch of course. Start is 1st July.read more
Jun 1st, 2013
by John Donovan.
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 …the two Arctic drilling barges deployed by Shell were plagued with issues. The first was under criminal investigation for failing safety requirements, while the second was the Kulluk
Rachel Maddow: Shell Covered Up The Fact That They Moved Kulluk For Taxes
Posted: 05/31/2013 11:43 am EDTÂ Â |Â Â Updated: 05/31/2013 12:45 pm EDT
Rachel Maddow concluded earlier this week that “oil companies lie.”
I have personally spoken with guys who have already started to take their Shell pension, and they have been most dismayed to learn about what they could have had, in the way of a cash equivalent transfer (into their own retirement trust) and the massive improvement that such a move heralds in relation to passing their fund to their wife and kids, in addition to the possibility for higher growth between now and retirement and higher levels of income at retirement, than if they were to stay in the Shell scheme.read more
“I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was able to transfer my Shell pension into a self invested scheme, with Shell offering a generous transfer value. Now, I feel like I have the best of both worlds. Am still able to grow my fund and will be able to generate an income at retirement but, will now be able to pass my fund of almost £1million on to my family, not back to Shell”read more
Oct 7th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE OCTOBER 2004
New Straits Times: Ageing and sickly, ex-Shell staff wait on court
“Some have died. Others are losing their memory and many are ailing.”: “399 former employees of Sarawak Shell Bhd and Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd engaged in a protracted legal battle with their ex-employers…” “claiming that they unlawfully deducted money from their internal retirement funds…”: “They won their case at the Miri High Court on Sept 20 but their employers filed an appeal.”: “For now, all they can do is hope their time doesn’t run out.”
By Johannes Ridu & Sharifah Arfah
MIRI, 6 October 2004
Some have died. Others are losing their memory and many are ailing. They are among a group of 399 former employees of Sarawak Shell Bhd and Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd engaged in a protracted legal battle with their ex-employers over an estimated RM50 million they claim is rightfully theirs.
In November 2002 they sued their ex-employers, claiming that they unlawfully deducted money from their internal retirement funds, Shell Sarawak & Sabah Retirement Benefit Fund (RBF) and Shell Sarawak & Sabah Provident Fund (SSF).read more
Aug 3rd, 2012
by John Donovan.
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Oil firms and government say nearly 200,000 barrels of oil stolen each day from pipelines and wells by criminal gangs.
Last Modified: 03 Aug 2012 11:14
A sophisticated criminal network has stepped up its operations in Nigeria’s Bayelsa State, costing state and oil companies as much as a billion dollars per month.
Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company’s Nigerian subsidiary said in a recent report that between 150,000 and 180,000 barrels of oil are stolen each from its pipelines and wells. Government estimates have put the number of stolen oil as high as twice this amount.
The trade in stolen oil involves international traders who provide oil at discounted prices to refineries in other parts of the world.read more
Feb 3rd, 2012
by John Donovan.
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Fuel giant Shell has been accused of moral bankruptcy for announcing profits of £18billion just a month after closing its final salary pension scheme for new recruits.
Fuel giant Shell has been accused of moral bankruptcy for announcing profits of £18billion just a month after closing its final salary pension scheme for new recruits.
The multinationals haul soared 54% last year thanks to sky-high oil prices caused largely by political tensions in the Middle East. But union leaders accused the firm of raking it in while hammering workers.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: Shell reminds us of the moral bankruptcy of the corporate elite. The company is needlessly closing its final salary scheme while posting colossal profits.read more
When even successful companies such as Shell and Unilever are taking an axe to staff retirement packages, is the outlook bleak for everyone?
Unilever, the maker of everything from Pot Noodles to Dove soap, has infuriated its staff by cutting pension payouts despite being highly profitable. Shell, another household name, has followed suit with plans to cut retirement incomes.
Unilever suffered a wave of strikes which started last week and will continue for the next five days. Much of the anger among employees at its factories and research units is focused on the company’s £6bn operating profit and the pay, bonus and pension top-ups awarded to chief executive Paul Polman. He pocketed £2.8m last year, of which £1.7m was a performance-related bonus. His pension was increased by a company donation of £352,000, according to the 2011 annual report.read more
Jan 6th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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By STEVE HAWKES, Business Editor: 6 January 2012
SHELL is to scrap final salary pensions from 2013 despite making billions in profits.
The oil giant will close its scheme to new recruits in two years.
All existing staff will be kept on final salary benefits for now.
The move means that every UK company in the FTSE 100 has now scrapped the generous retirement packages.
It came as the UNITE union revealed thousands of health workers had “unanimously rejected” government calls to cough up more money for their own saving pots.
Matthew Sinclair at the TAXPAYERS ALLIANCE said Shell’s action showed a huge divide between the public and private sector. While the Government is £990 billion in debt, Shell is expected to post annual profits of almost £17billion for 2011.read more
Jan 5th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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5 January 2012 Last updated at 17:18
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is to close its final-salary pension scheme to new employees in the UK.
From early 2013, new staff at Shell will be offered membership of a scheme without a guaranteed level of pension.
Existing members of the Shell scheme can continue contributing and building up their salary-linked pensions.
As employers look to cut costs, 90% of final-salary schemes have been closed to new members, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries.read more
Oct 10th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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By Linda Sandler – Oct 10, 2011 8:30 PM GMT+0100
Shell Pension Fund, which runs pension plans for Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) companies, joined an appeal of a court ruling in the Bernard Madoff case that denied customer status to so-called feeder fund investors.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland backed the liquidator of the con mans firm in June, saying investors in feeders cant file claims for payment with the estate because they didnt have accounts with the Madoff firm in their own names. More than 50 companies, pension funds and individuals — from National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) SAK and Aozora Bank Ltd. (8304) to Upstate New York Bakery Drivers & Industry Pension Fund — appealed the ruling, asking a district judge to decide whether Lifland erred in defining what a customer was.read more
…French companies dismiss claims of political fix (FT) Shell critic says oil major targeting his website Royaldutchshellplc.com operator cites released emails (Reuters) Nigerians urge Yar’Adua to step down Warnings of power vacuum… Kate Mackenzie
…corporations (in western countries) to campaign for change in corporate practices. Meanwhile John Donovan at royaldutchshellplc.com is irked , because he says Shell asked him not to make the directory public for security and personal reasons… Kate Mackenzieread more
Jan 30th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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If you haven't seen the attached, it may interest you to know that the attached is a copy of Sarawak Shell Berhad/Sabah Shell Petroleum Company's internal management exchange which was leaked by one of the employees who is disgusted with Shell. You may take note that Shell cheats on paying the Retirement Benefit Fund resulting in the class action at Miri High Court by ex and current staff of Sarawak Shell Berhad/Sabah Shell Petroleum Company.
Jan 7th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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The Irish Times – Tuesday, January 4, 2011
FINTAN O’TOOLE
WEVE just been through a year when the unthinkable became normal. The problem is that all the unthinkables have been bad: the nationalisation of the banks and their debts, the arrival of the IMF and so on. Is it not time to consider another unthinkable that would be of potentially transformative significance taking back control of our offshore resources.
Wishful thinking is the last thing we need, but it is not far-fetched to suggest that oil and gas finds could play a huge role in Irelands long-term economic and fiscal future.read more
The £10.5 billion ($14.3 billion) pension fund for Royal Dutch Shell PLC has become the latest big investor retreat from active fund management, in a further blow to managers already suffering from reduced market values and a poor economic outlook.
In documents posted on the pension plan’s Web site, the fund’s trustees wrote that they had placed an upper limit on the amount they would entrust to stockpickers: 40% of its equities holdings. The fund didn’t say what percentage it previously had under active management, but it didn’t previously have an upper limit. It has also upped the percentage of its investments that go to passive bond investments such as those tracking bond indexes.read more
Dec 26th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Shell Asset Management Co., the manager of Royal Dutch Shell PLCs various pension funds, has taken its stake in hybrid electric power company Enova Systems to almost 20% following a $10 million capital raising exercise.
Dec 6th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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A study by consultants Lane Clark & Peacock found a massive turnaround in corporate pension accounts. Royal Dutch Shell's scheme saw a surplus of £6.8 billion turned into a deficit of £5.6 billion.
LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) – A prominent Internet critic of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) says the oil major has asked an anti-cyber fraud agency to target his site, which Shell admits provides better information on the group than its own internal communications.
John Donovan, who runs the Royaldutchshell.plc website, where disaffected Shell employees post company news and gossip, said the move suggests Shell has adopted more aggressive tactics in its long battle to shut him down.read more
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) will only have to top up its pension fund by around $5 billion, compared with previous expectations of $6-8 billion, because of the recovery in global equity markets, said Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry Thursday.
Oct 12th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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One of the U.K.'s biggest pension plans is moving forward with a strategy to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in alternative assets, potentially including hedge funds for the first time. The £10.6 billion ($16.8 billion) U.K. pension fund for oil company Royal Dutch Shell Group PLC agreed to a new strategic investment plan over the summer, according to a recent report to members of the pension plan.
It has come to our attention that former Shell executive Paddy Briggs (above) has been elected to serve the thirty-three thousand Shell pensioners in the UK as a Trustee of the Shell Contributory Pension Fund for four years commencing January 2010. In addition to the elected members, the Board of Trustees has seven Shell appointees, including UK country chairman James Smith and Clive Mather, the Chairman of the Board.
The manifesto on which Paddy Briggs was elected was:
“I joined Shell Mex and B.P. in 1964 and retired from Shell in 2002 having worked in Shell UK Ltd, Shell International and operating companies in The Netherlands, Hong Kong and Dubai. The Shell that most of us once worked for is long gone – as the reserves scandal and the recent furore over top executive remuneration have shown. Such events, coupled with the deteriorating financial position of many pensioners (which was exacerbated this year by a derisory 0.9% annual pension increase) illustrate the extent of the changes in Shell and confirm the urgent need for a strong defence of SCPF member interests by the one elected MNT Trustee directors. I was First reserve in the elections in 2007 and hope to go one better this time around. If elected I will do my upmost robustly to represent the interests of the Pensioner constituency and all other beneficiaries of the fund.”read more
Sep 4th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell pumped in 2 billion in rescue payments to its Dutch pension fund during the second quarter as it recovered to the 105% minimum funding level on June 30.
Jul 23rd, 2009
by John Donovan.
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In December 2008, based on information provided by the website royaldutchshellplc.com, the Financial Times and other news organizations, including the International Herald Tribune reported the the Shell Dutch Pension Fund was substantially underfunded and that employee contributions would have to increase.
Jul 23rd, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Shell said earlier this year it would need to increase contributions to its pension funds, after turmoil in financial markets decreased the value of their assets.
Jul 23rd, 2009
by John Donovan.
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July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europes largest oil company, contributed an additional 2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) to its pension fund after falling below a regulatory threshold.
Jun 7th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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The Sunday TimesJune 7, 2009
Final-salary pensions are now ‘finished’
Your benefits will be scaled back.
Jennifer Hill
Pension experts last week said that final-salary schemes were finished after three big British firms moved to reduce members benefits.
BP said on Tuesday that it would close its final-salary scheme for anyone joining after April 2010. A day later, Barclays said existing members would stop accruing benefits in its scheme, a move expected to hit 18,000 employees. On Friday, Morrisons, the supermarket group, said it would scrap its final-salary scheme for 4,500 existing members.
These are just the latest major companies to throw in the towel: the writings been on the wall for many years, said Ros Altmann, a pensions expert and former Treasury adviser.read more
Jun 2nd, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell, BPs main rival, continues to offer a final salary scheme to its UK workforce, but BPs move is likely to prompt fresh speculation that Shell will follow its competitors lead.
Apr 30th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Global Pensions
by Raquel Pichardo-Allison 30 April 2009
NETHERLANDS Royal Dutch Shell plans to inject US$5bn into its pension fund in 2009, chief financial officer Peter Voser told analysts yesterday.
In a presentation about the firms first quarter returns, Voser said the increased contribution amount, up from $1.6bn in 2008, is driven by regulatory and other legal requirements.
Voser said: The sharp decline in the world markets at the end of 2008 has left pension deficits for many companies, and Shell is not immune from that. read more
Apr 27th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Shell's contribution to the fund has risen from 5% to 23.6% and the employee contribution has risen from 2% to 8% of salaries, the company said in an update posted on its Web site Saturday. The increased payments should bring the pension's funding ratio to 105% within three years and 127% by 2023, the company said.
Apr 26th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Two directors have already amassed pension funds which will pay them more than £1m a year on retirement. Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, has accrued a nest egg worth almost £1.2m;
Apr 13th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Financial News OnlineMark Cobley
13 Apr 2009 Oil group Royal Dutch Shell has unveiled a multi-million euro rescue package that will increase pension contributions by a factor of more than six to its stricken Dutch scheme, which slid into deficit during the financial crisis last year. SOURCE ARTICLE (SUBSCRIPTION)
Apr 6th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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EXTRACT FROM EMAIL RECEIVED FROM JONATHAN MORT, LEGAL ADVISOR (AND MANAGER?), SHELL SOUTH AFRICA PENSION FUND: It is apparently my draft response (per the email of 15 February 2009) to Mr Purchase (on 18 February 2009) which has driven you to the conclusions of conspiracies, collaborations and unethical conduct so liberally sprinkled through your article. The truth is more mundane, entirely proper, and (sadly for your website) considerably less newsworthy than the spectacular claims made in your draft article.
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 and BP take a beating as bank woes hit crude pricesMarch 15, 2023 17:36Proactive InvestorsBP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) shares have taken a hit, dropping over 8%, due to a sell-off in the banking sector.
The natural resources market has been volatile, with Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate falling by 4- …
Shell CEO Pay Up 50%March 9, 2023 21:23Manufacturing Business TechnologyCEO of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Beurden speaks at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Shell paid outgoing Chief Executive Ben van Beurden a total of 9.7 million pounds ($11.5 million) in 2022 as the …
Former Shell CEO's pay jumped 53% to $11.5m in 2022March 9, 2023 11:17Gulf NewsBen van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during the 26th World Gas Conference in Paris, France, June 2, 2015
Image Credit: Reuters
London: Shell's former chief executive, Ben van Beurden, received a pay package of 9.7 …
Big Oil Goes Green: Shell Acquires VoltaFebruary 9, 2023 06:03Law Street MediaIn Big Oil’s latest foray into green energy, Shell has announced its acquisition of Volta, Inc. for $169 million.
Expected to close during the first half of 2023, the all-cash deal “builds on the momentum in electric mobility by combining one of the …
Shell CEO's first changes combine upstream and LNG operationsJanuary 30, 2023 09:20ReutersFILE PHOTO: The Royal Dutch Shell logo is seen at a Shell petrol station in London, January 31, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo/File Photo
Changes could result in some job cuts, Shell says
Upstream boss to oversee expanded unit
Executive …
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?
By Jack Gray: 12/12/19
The companies with the biggest deficits, according to a report last year from pension consultants LCP, are Royal Dutch Shell, BP, BT and BAE Systems. The four FTSE 100 companies each had a deficit of more than £6bn in 2016.
21 SEPTEMBER 2017 
Shell is removing its network of pensioner liaison representatives with a view to changing to a more cost-effective approach to supporting retired members of the Shell Contributory Pension Fund.
October 28, 
Extracts from an article by Jim Armitage, Deputy Business Editor of The Independent, published 4 July 2014
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
