Dec 20th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Shell to Proceed With Share Simplification; Will Change Name in January
Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Monday that it has decided to proceed with simplifying its share structure, shifting its tax residence to the U.K., and it will change its name to Shell PLC in January.
The energy company said it expects to change its name in the week beginning Jan. 24.
Shareholders in the company approved the amendment of the group’s articles of association on Dec. 10, after Shell proposed in November to collapse its current dual-share class and move its tax residency to the U.K. from the Netherlands.read more
Nov 18th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporation tax in Britain
Robert Miller:
The Anglo-Dutch oil major paid a total of $7.8 billion in corporate income tax globally last year, but in Britain it received $116 million from the government
Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporation tax in Britain last year, despite paying billions of dollars in other jurisdictions.
The Anglo-Dutch oil major paid a total of $7.8 billion in corporate income tax and $5.9 billion in royalties last year on a pre-tax profit of $25.5 billion, according to its annual report, which was published yesterday.read more
Jan 8th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Shell pays £0 corporation tax and plans huge hike in fossil output
Michael Johnson, Leeds Socialist Party:
Faced with increasing scrutiny worldwide, oil giant Shell has revealed it paid no UK corporation tax in 2018. This is despite Shell also earning nearly £557 million in pre-tax profits in the UK over that year, with global pre-tax profits being $35.6 billion.
This has come about due to Shell receiving huge tax refunds for decommissioning its North Sea oil platforms. To help balance the expenses of plugging and abandoning their (highly profitable) oil wells and removing their equipment, the government lets energy companies deduct costs from their taxable profits or claim back tax they had previously paid!read more
Jun 12th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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Parliamentarians voted on Tuesday to establish an expert commission to examine how to make taxing multinationals “more fair” after Netherlands-based Shell recently acknowledged it had paid virtually no Dutch corporation tax in 2018. Royal Dutch Shell refused to release details of its unique advance tax ruling with the Dutch government at a recent hearing of a parliamentary panel on taxation.
By Reuters
By John O’Donnell and Toby Sterling
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Dutch lawmakers have launched an inquiry into how to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax, after public criticism that government reforms do not go far enough.
Scores of multinationals use the Netherlands to pare their tax bills but the Dutch, who bore tax hikes after the financial crisis, are growing increasingly hostile to minimising company tax, which is legal and has gone unchallenged for decades.
Parliamentarians voted on Tuesday to establish an expert commission to examine how to make taxing multinationals “more fair” after Netherlands-based Shell recently acknowledged it had paid virtually no Dutch corporation tax in 2018. Royal Dutch Shell refused to release details of its unique advance tax ruling with the Dutch government at a recent hearing of a parliamentary panel on taxation.read more
May 22nd, 2019
by John Donovan.
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MAY 21, 2019 / 2:51 PM
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell revealed on Tuesday that in 2018 only its gas subsidiary NAM paid corporate tax in the Netherlands, where it is headquartered, following Dutch parliamentary demands that it attend a hearing on tax avoidance.
“By giving openness before the round table, hopefully room will be created for the conversation to be about the substance,” Shell said, adding that it paid $10 billion in corporate tax globally in 2018 and had an effective tax rate of 33 percent.read more
Apr 11th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The chief executive of Shell’s Dutch business said on Thursday she is willing to attend a parliamentary panel on tax avoidance by multinational companies, but she will not discuss Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s tax filings.
Marjan van Loon had initially declined the invitation, saying it made more sense for the Netherlands’ business association to represent all taxpaying companies.
She then said she would attend the April 18 meeting after Dutch lawmakers insisted that a Shell representative should be present.read more
Nov 29th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Shell has not paid any profit tax in the Netherlands for years, despite earning billions of euros in the country every year, newspaper Trouw reports based on “well informed” sources and a confidential internal document from the Ministry of Finance.
Over the past decade Shell made profits ranging from 2 billion to 55 billion euros per year all over the world. Most of this was earned abroad, and the company was taxed in the country were the profits were made. In the Netherlands Shell derives income from its head office’s activities, service stations, the chemical plants in Moerdijk, and the refinery in Pernis. All in all Shell made 1.3 billion euros in profit on those activities last year.
According to Trouw’s sources, Shell has two main ways to brush away the profits made in the Netherlands, so as not to pay tax, using legal deductions. Firstly, the company can deduct interest in the Netherlands for loans that are used to invest abroad. And secondly, Shell charges losses suffered from, for example, the search for oil abroad, against the profit made in the Netherlands. Profits made by foreign oil extraction are not taxed in the Netherlands, but the losses made with that oil extraction may be deducted from Dutch profits.read more
Jun 21st, 2018
by John Donovan.
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June 20, 2018
By Linda A. Thompson
Practitioners are divided over whether an agreement between Shell and the Dutch tax administration breaks EU government aid rules.
The debate has heated up in recent days after an article released June 18 by a Dutch academic claimed Royal Dutch Shell Plc avoided a tax on dividends by routing shares through a trust in the Channel Island of Jersey.
Shell didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The company received permission to use the structure in 2005 during a merger of its British and Dutch parent companies, but the agreement may have violated Dutch withholding tax rules, according to the article, written by Jan van de Streek, a professor at the University of Amsterdam.read more
Jun 18th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Shell hits back at criticism of tax structure
Reports allege oil group’s plan has cost Dutch treasury as much as £6.1bn in lost income
Shell has hit back at criticism of a tax structure it set up as part of a relocation of its headquarters from London to The Hague following reports that it has cost the Dutch treasury as much as €7bn (£6.1bn) in lost income. Calls have been made for the European commission to investigate the oil group’s tax affairs after reports claimed that a multibillion-euro bill has been avoided through the use of an offshore trust in Jersey since 2005. FULL ARTICLEread more
Jun 18th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Shell Disputes EUR7 Billion Lost Tax Claim – Guardian
LONDON (Alliance News) – Royal Dutch Shell PLC has “hit back” against claims regarding its relocation from London to the Netherlands, which resulted in a EUR7 billion loss of income to the Dutch treasury, the Guardian reported on Monday.
Dutch newspaper Trouw claimed that the British-Dutch multinational oil & gas company’s Dutch tax authority agreement conflicted with EU rules and that Shell owes “as much as EUR7 billion” in taxes.
“I am astonished about the way we are portrayed in Trouw. This is tendentious. The fact that our headquarters is in the Netherlands has been very good for the Dutch treasury,” Shell Nederland President Director Marjan van Loon said in a statement.read more
Jun 18th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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By Janene Pieters on June 18, 2018
The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, wants the government to explain a controversial deal that Shell made with the Dutch tax authorities in 2005. As a result of this deal, Shell’s British shareholders are exempt from dividend tax in the Netherlands, through which the Dutch treasury lost out on over 7 billion euros, newspaper Trouw reported on Saturday.
The Kamer now wants to know whether this tax deal is allowed under Dutch law, and whether any politicians were involved in making it, according to newspaper AD. SP leader Lilian Marijnissen called it a “stinky” deal. GroenLinks wants a parliamentary inquiry into dividend tax. And the four coalition parties – VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie – jointly submitted questions to State Secretary Menno Snel of Finance. read more
Jun 17th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Dutch ecologist party asks for investigation of Shell dividend tax payment
Sat 16 June 2018
The Dutch ecologist party, Groen Links, has asked parliament this Saturday to appoint a commission to investigate payment of taxes on dividends by multinational oil company Shell. According to newspaper Trouw, company has since 2005 avoiding this rate “with permission of Dutch Treasury, through Jersey, island of channel of La Mancha [a dependence British Crown]”. During those years, “Shell has distributed among its shareholders about 45 billion euros, of which 7 billion should have been entered in coffers of state.” Shell claims that it has not violated tax rules.read more
Dec 15th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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December 15, 2017
Unilever and Shell did not directly threaten to move their head offices out of the Netherlands if the dividend tax was not abolished, senior officials told a parliamentary hearing on Friday, the Financieele Dagblad reported.
However, officials did make it clear they had warned about the possible consequences if the tax was not abolished, the paper said.
Both companies have split headquarter operations between the Netherlands and UK and are thought to have lobbied hard to get the new government to abolish the 15% tax. The UK does not charge a tax on dividends.read more
Jan 26th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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January 26, 2017
ASTANA (Reuters) – Kazakhstan has agreed to continue talks about a tax dispute with the Karachaganak consortium of oil majors led by Shell (RDSa.L) and Eni (ENI.MI) despite beginning arbitration proceedings, the Kazakh Energy Ministry said on Thursday.
Quoting minister Kanat Bozumbayev, a ministry spokesman said the sides had agreed in December to extend talks by nine months and Kazakhstan might stop the arbitration if it was satisfied with the consortium’s offer.read more
Jul 22nd, 2016
by John Donovan.
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By Bryan Koenig
Law360, Washington (July 21, 2016, 6:30 PM ET) — A Royal Dutch Shell PLC unit on Wednesday took its $1.2 billion tax recalculation dispute with the Philippines’ Commission on Audit over the gas-to-power Malampaya project the company operates to a World Bank arbitration dispute body.
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes records show that Shell Philippines Exploration BV initiated the arbitration proceedings, registered Wednesday, against the Republic of the Philippines over the taxation of a hydrocarbon concession.read more
Apr 26th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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“We are aware of taxpayers seeking to use artificial and contrived interim arrangements with the sole aim of avoiding a potential MAAL liability from January 1, 2016,” the ATO said in a taxpayer alert.
In 2014 Shell Australia paid $534 million in finance costs on $12.7 billion of debt owed to offshore Shell companies. But its submission to the Senate tax inquiry showed that while it paid that $169 million interest to a Bermuda associate, the biggest cost was $260.7 million paid to a Shell company in Luxembourg for cross-currency interest rate swap costs.read more
Apr 22nd, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt: 21 April 2016
The face-off between Bayelsa State government and multinational oil companies deepened on Thursday with Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, seeking the intervention of the Presidency over tax evasion, flagrant disregard of laws and non-compliance with the rules and regulations of the country.
A press statement from Bayelsa Govt House named the companies that evade tax as Shell Petroleum Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC); Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC); Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL); Consolidated Oil (CL); Conoil Producing; Brass LNG and Aiteo Energy.read more
Feb 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
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“TEXVETTE”
Looks like Marvin Odum was stripped of key responsibilities and placed in a lame Role. Ironically he will have to clean up the messes he left in Alaska and Unconventionals. A bit of Karma, but he should no longer be on thepayroll after all his major mistakes.
“OUTSIDER”
The merger of Shell T&T and Royal Dutch in 2004 resulted in a major loss to the UK exchequer, as the taxes previously paid by Shell T&T went to the Dutch government instead. Presumably the taxes previously paid by BG will now go to the Dutch government too?read more
Lloyds, brewer SABMiller and drugs company AstraZeneca were also among the six multinationals not to have paid any corporation tax in 2014, reports the Sunday Times.
The same year, the six British companies made a combined global profit of £30bn.
Shell used a complex corporate structure, a company branch in Switzerland, with hardly any tax rates, and tax havens such as Bermuda to reduced its tax payments.
In 2014, it paid no UK corporation tax but made a global profit of £19.87bn writes the Sunday paper. read more
Jan 31st, 2016
by John Donovan.
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AT LEAST six of Britain’s 10 biggest multinationals — including Shell, British American Tobacco (BAT) and Lloyds Banking Group — paid no UK corporation tax in 2014 despite combined global profits of more than £30bn.
The oil giant Shell is just one of the multinationals with an outpost in Zug, a Swiss canton with rock bottom rates. From there, it licenses its trademarks around the world.
Dec 18th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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MANILA| BY NEIL JEROME MORALES: Fri Dec 18, 2015
The Philippine unit of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) will exhaust all legal means, including international arbitration, to challenge a 53.14 billion peso (£751.8 million) tax claim against its Malampaya natural gas project, a company official said on Friday.
Shell Philippines Exploration B.V, is the operator of Malampaya in the southwestern Philippines, along with partners, Chevron Malampaya LLC, a unit of the U.S. energy firm (CVX.N) and the Philippines’ state-owned PNOC Exploration Corp.read more
For the third year on the trot, Shell service stations generated billions of dollars and revenue but not a cent in company tax. In fact the owners of the sunny yellow servos reported tax benefits in all three years despite total sales which may be in excess of $60 billion.
This is an incredible situation for a nationwide network of services stations as well as a large refinery which makes up the “downstream” division of the global oil brand.
May 29th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Federal Agency Dings Shell for Oil Rig Mishap in Arctic
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — May 28, 2015: By DAN JOLING Associated Press
As Royal Dutch Shell PLC seeks permits for exploratory oil drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast, a federal agency has concluded the company underestimated risk the last time it moved drill rigs to Arctic waters.
A National Transportation Safety Board report issued Thursday said the probable cause of the grounding of the company’s mobile drilling vessel, the Kulluk, in 2012 was “Shell’s inadequate assessment of the risk for its planned tow” across the Gulf of Alaska.read more
Shell has major hurdles to clear before Chukchi drilling resumes
Now that the Department of the Interior has, for the second time, affirmed the record-breaking Chukchi Sea lease sale it held seven years ago, is it smooth sailing for Royal Dutch Shell and its plans to drill this year on leases purchased in the sale?
Not so fast.
Shell, which spent over $2 billion on Chukchi leases, has already spent about $6 billion in total on its Alaska program and has ambitions for transforming the remote and undeveloped waters off Northwest Alaska into a major oil-producing region, still must clear several hurdles before it is given permission to sink a drill bit into hydrocarbons lying beneath the seafloor.read more
“The Arctic is an important component of the Administration’s national energy strategy, and we remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration offshore Alaska,” says Sally Jewell, Secretary of Interior, which made the decision.
Feb 13th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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HSBC whistleblower: There are ‘more revelations’
By John Donovan
We know that Royal Dutch Shell has a long track record of tax dodging.
The most recent example occurred during its Arctic Drilling debacle, when it recklessly sent a drilling ship to sea in the face of a storm, trying to avoid a tax bill.
According to a BBC News article published today, based on information from the HSBC whistleblower Herve Falciani, a major oil company could be next to feel the effects of a major data leak about how it operates.
Seems a safe assumption that one important aspect will be an attempt to detoxify the reputation of Shell, which has recently agreed to pay huge settlements of litigation arising from environmental pollution in Nigeria and the USA. Shell is said to be suffering from buyers remorse on the latter settlement deal.
Dec 11th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Even more troubling than Shell’s “Arctic-ready” armada problems is Shell’s spectacular failure of good judgment. To avoid an Alaska tax bill, company managers ordered its secondary drill rig towed south through the winter storm-lashed Gulf of Alaska despite the tug master’s prescient warning that: “the length of tow, at this time of the year, in this location, with our current routing, guarantees an ass-kicking.” The tug master was right.
Extracts from a letter dated 11 Dec 2014 by Kim Elton, who served four years as senior adviser to former US Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar.
Here are some lowlights from Shell’s pratfall-ridden 2012 effort to drill exploration wells: A Coast Guard inspection of Shell’s 47-year-old primary drilling ship found 23 “deficiencies” (including engine problems) days before it was set to sail for the Arctic; that rig nearly beached dragging anchor in a calm Aleutian port en route to the Arctic; Shell’s required spill response barge initially flunked minimum seaworthiness tests after it was rescued from a barge boneyard in Southern California; Shell’s spill containment dome was “crushed like a beer can” in placid Puget Sound sea trials, never making it to the Arctic; the lead drilling rig finally punched its first drill bit into the Arctic Ocean floor in mid-September and, the next day, an ice floe the size of Manhattan forced it off; that same rig then suffered an explosion and fire leaving the Arctic; it later was detained by the Coast Guard in Alaska for major safety, propulsion and pollution “discrepancies” (CBS reported when Coast Guard criminal investigators arrived, the crew had been provided with lawyers and declined to be interviewed); Shell’s secondary drilling rig had 19 deficiencies in electrical and maintenance systems discovered when it arrived back in Dutch Harbor from the Arctic; and Shell incurred more than $1 million in fines for air-quality violations in the Arctic.read more
Nov 30th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
The lead article in The Sunday Times Business section today (authored by Simon Duke and David Smith) says that Britain is at the forefront of a crackdown on corporate tax avoidance – a blitz on tax avoidance by multinationals.
The UK Treasury is planning a consultation on forcing multinationals like Royal Dutch Shell to declare how much tax they pay in every country in which they operate.
Extract
Country by Country reporting would introduce greater transparency into the complex structures used by big companies to minimise their tax liabilities…read more
Nov 20th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Bidness Etc discusses the ruling by an Indian court in a transfer-pricing case against Shell and its impact on future foreign investment in the country
The Bombay High Court has ruled in favor of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) in a high-tax profile case, which could pose a hurdle to the Indian government’s plans on bringing in foreign investment and much-needed revenue.
The ruling was announced on Tuesday, after Indian authorities claimed tax money paid to transfer shares of Shell. The court has not released a written judgment yet.
The judgment can negatively impact India’s image, which might cause leading foreign companies to hesitate to invest in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can intervene and reverse the ruling.read more
Nov 18th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
According to a recent article published by Bloomberg – Shell Seeks to Drill in Arctic in 2015, Defying Green Activists – Shell CFO Simon Henry, calling on all his vast experience as an accountant, voiced the opinion that it is not difficult to drill in the Arctic.
His assessment is surprisingly similar to that also expressed in optimistic terms in March 2012 by Shell EP senior Vice President David Lawrence, then in charge of Shell’s Arctic drilling plans.
“Royal Dutch Shell has won a significant victory in its long-running $3bn battle with India’s revenue authorities, in a judgment with implications for dozens of tax disputes involving multinational companies in Asia’s third-largest economy.”
The Narendra Modi government may appeal the decision to the supreme court of India.
When Ann Pickard says how sorry she is to be leaving the Westpac board after its shareholder meeting next month – just three years after taking her seat – there is no doubting her sincerity.
Chairman Lindsay Maxsted says that following the former Shell Australia boss’s “executive relocation to the US and expectations that her commitments in North America (as head of Shell’s Arctic operations) will increase in 2015, Ms Pickard reluctantly chose to retire from the board”.read more
The environmental group Oceana has obtained a copy of a letter from Shell to the U.S. Dept of the Interior revealing that the oil giant is seeking to pause Shell’s leases for five years. Approval would effectively extend the current drilling deadlines. Shell’s plans to drill off the Alaska coast have already been heavily delayed by a series of avoidable mishaps, initially caused by negligence and incompetence, and subsequently by a desire to evade tax.
Extracts from a related Bloomberg article:
Shell Seeks 5 More Years for Arctic Oil Drilling Drive
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) is asking the Obama administration for five more years to explore for oil off Alaska’s coast, saying set backs and legal delays may push the start of drilling past the 2017 expiration of some leases.
Shell, which has spent eight years and $6 billion to explore the Arctic’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas, said in letter to the Interior Department that “prudent” exploration before leases expire is now “severely challenged.”
“Despite Shell’s best efforts and demonstrated diligence, circumstances beyond Shell’s control have prevented, and are continuing to prevent, Shell from completing even the first exploration well in either area,” Peter Slaiby, vice president of Shell Alaska, wrote to the regional office of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.read more
Oct 14th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES ROYAL DUTCH SHELL TAX EVASION IN NIGERIA
A former manager of Shell Production Development Company in Nigeria has accused Shell of massive tax evasion. He also alleges that the Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission demanded a bribe from him as part of a related cover-up plan for Shell. The whistleblower also claims that his safety is in jeopardy. All strangely reminiscent of allegations surrounding the Corrib gas project in Ireland. MORE INFORMATION HERE.
SHELL FIRE SALE OF NIGERIAN ASSETS
A consortium led by Aiteo Group has won the auction for Shell oil block OML 29 in Nigeria, with a bid of N434b. The total cost of the acquisition is said to be $2.7 billion, allowing for working capital. MORE INFORMATIONread more
Kim Elton accuses Shell’s management of “a spectacular failure of good judgment” and points out that “Company managers ordered the Kulluk towed south through the winter-storm-lashed Gulf of Alaska before the 2013 new year — partly to avoid Alaska taxes.”
By John Donovan
Kim Elton, a former senior adviser to the U.S. Department of the Interior, who was involved in oversight of Shell’s 2012 Arctic drilling plans, has made some very blunt comments about the debacle.
Kim admits that she “fell for Shell’s promise that their drill fleet was ready to tackle the Arctic.”
She says Shell’s “dive into the Arctic Ocean was a spectacular belly flop”and lists the disastrous chain of events, reminding us that “Shell incurred more than $1 million in fines for air quality violations.”read more
The reputation of his predecessor as Shell CEO, Peter Voser, sunk after he faced and failed a challenge in the Arctic.
Voser came spectacularly unstuck as a result of sending a couple of refurbished old rust buckets into Alaskan waters in an ill-fated tax dodging scandal resulting in ship board fire, explosions, pollution, groundings and public humiliation.read more
Aug 29th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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A Shell spokesperson claims that the company’s latest Arctic exploration plan takes into account lessons learned from the 2012 operation (which turned into a dangerous farce after Shell engaged in reckless machinations in an effort to evade tax).
By John Donovan
Royal Dutch Shell has filed a plan with US federal regulators that could result in a resumption of its Arctic drilling campaign in the summer of of 2015.
However, the oil giant still has significant regulatory and legal issues to deal with in the meantime.
A Shell spokesperson claims that the company’s latest Arctic exploration plan takes into account lessons learned from the 2012 operation (which turned into a dangerous farce after Shell engaged in reckless machinations in an effort to evade tax). read more
Jun 1st, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from a Sydney Morning Herald article by Michael West published 2 June 2014 under the headline: “Is petrol producer an empty Shell?”
Suffice to say that Shell has contributed to the Australian economy in a big way over the years. Not quite so big any more, though. Shell Australia has become less an Australian company now than a figurine for its foreign parent. One corollary of this is that it is paying less tax. Shell, like other large corporations, is mimicking the aggressive tax practices of Google and the multinational new guard, and the implications for Australia’s tax base are menacing. If you look at Shell’s website, you will find that it calls itself Shell in Australia. It used to be Shell Australia. The word ‘‘in’’ is a small word but powerfully redolent of what has changed. This is no longer an Australian company in mind and management.read more
Apr 11th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article by RICHARD MAUER published 9 April 2014 by Anchorage Daily News
JUNEAU — A request by a Democratic senator that a Republican committee chairwoman require oil industry officials to be sworn before testifying Wednesday about the effects of last year’s tax cut erupted into a sharp personal battle between the two. The verbal confrontation started in committee and moved to the Senate floor. French cited the Coast Guard investigation into the grounding of Shell’s drilling rig Kulluk as a reason for putting the company officials under oath. Referring to a recent Daily News story on the investigation, French noted that a Shell official once denied to a reporter that there was any connection between Shell’s decision to move the Kulluk in early winter and the property tax the company would have to pay if the rig remained safely in Dutch Harbor. But under oath to the Coast Guard, the Shell official admitted the pending tax payment was one of the considerations for beginning the rig’s tow into a fierce Gulf of Alaska storm.read more
Apr 10th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article published by Sit News on 9 April 2014 under the headline: ‘Under Oath’ Request Unprecedented
(SitNews – Ketchikan, Alaska) – Yesterday Senator Hollis French (D-Anchorage) sent a letter to Resources Chair Senator Cathy Giessel requesting that she use her statutory authority to swear in the oil industry witnesses who were scheduled to appear before the Resources Committee today (Wednesday, April 9, 2014). The investigation surrounding the grounding of Royal Dutch/Shell’s Arctic drilling rig, the Kulluk, had a role in French’s decision to make the request. Through a series of problems the Kulluk went aground. Questions arose about whether Shell took the risky move of a mid-winter tow to avoid paying millions in state property taxes. A Shell executive told the press that tax considerations had nothing to do with the move. The same executive later admitted under oath that Alaska tax laws influenced the move.read more
Apr 10th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Ann Pickard, Riding to the Rescue of Shell’s Arctic Fiasco
Extracts from an article by Daniel J. Graeber published 9 April 2014 by UPI
HOUSTON, April 9 (UPI) — The arctic waters off the Alaskan coast may be one of the more promising reserve basins in the nation, but exploration will have to wait, Shell said Wednesday. Ann Pickard, executive vice president for Shell’s arctic programs, said arctic nations have decided to open their waters to exploration and her company aims to develop those reserves responsibly. Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard published a 152-page report on Shell’s operations in Alaska. Shell’s drillship Kulluk struck ground off the Alaskan coast in 2012, and the Coast Guard blamed harsh winter conditions and the company’s efforts to escape Alaskan tax laws for the incident.read more
Apr 10th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article by ROB DAVIES published 9 April 2014 by This is Money.co.uk under the headline: “Shell’s UK corporation tax bill tumbles by nearly 90 per cent as company invests more in North Sea and production declines”
Shell’s UK corporation tax bill tumbled by nearly 90 per cent to just £55.5m last year, as the company invested more in the North Sea and production declined. Shell’s UK bill fell from £487m last year to £55.5m, less than it paid in Nigeria, Norway, Australia, Malaysia, Canada and Italy.
Shell’s public image was tarnished last week by a report from the US Coastguard which criticised readiness for Alaskan Arctic drilling. …the US Coastguard assessment of Shell’s preparedness was rather more cutting. The report criticised the plan for towing the Kulluk, saying Shell showed a ‘lack of respect’ for the conditions. It also said Shell’s decision to tow the Kulluk to Seattle amid rough winter seas was partly motivated by a desire to cut tax, something former boss Peter Voser denied.read more
Apr 9th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Despite all promises to the contrary, Shell is still putting monetary considerations before safety. Just read some of the recent articles about Shell’s reckless conduct in offshore Alaska. It put the lives of offshore workers and the environment at risk to avoid a potential multimillion dollar tax bill. Personally, I do not believe enough attention has been drawn to the ethical issue of Shell deliberately putting peoples lives at risk in a calculated gamble.
Royal Dutch Shell Safety Last, not First
By John Donovan
Despite all promises to the contrary, Shell is still putting monetary considerations before safety.
Just read some of the recent articles about Shell’s reckless conduct in offshore Alaska.
It put the lives of offshore workers and the environment at risk to avoid a potential multimillion dollar tax bill.
This extract from a US News & World Report article published yesterday is typical of the many comments published elsewhere:
Notably, in September 2012, a Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig ran aground in Alaska as workers attempted to tow it beyond the state’s waters. A Coast Guard report released Friday found that the Anglo-Dutch oil company decided to move the rig – and insisted on doing so through dangerous stormy weather – to avoid paying new Alaskan taxes. The report also detailed myriad safety issues.read more
Apr 9th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article byAlan Neuhauser published 8 April 2014 by USNews & World Report
They’re preparing for the worst. Interior Department officials recently put out a call for “new and innovative mechanical technologies” to help clean up oil spills in the Arctic. Yet even as ice around the Arctic has melted amid rising global temperatures, potentially exposing rich oil and gas deposits, serious hazards remain. Notably, in September 2012, a Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig ran aground in Alaska as workers attempted to tow it beyond the state’s waters. A Coast Guard report released Friday found that the Anglo-Dutch oil company decided to move the rig – and insisted on doing so through dangerous stormy weather – to avoid paying new Alaskan taxes. The report also detailed myriad safety issues.read more
Apr 6th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an editorial published on 5 April 2014 by The Anchorage Daily News under the headline: “Our View: Kulluk report inspires no confidence for Arctic operations”
The United States Coast Guard didn’t mince words in its report of the grounding of Shell’s drilling rig, the Kulluk, in December 2012. The Coast Guard found Shell failed both in preparation and operations, and concluded that the company decided to move the vessel despite forecasts of worsening weather in part to avoid a state property tax obligation. None of this took place in the Arctic, where Shell did limited drilling program without incident in the summer of 2012. All of this gives evidence that Shell is not fully prepared for Arctic operations. A telling comment came from Rear Adm. Joseph A. Servidio, the Coast Guard’s assistant commander for prevention policy. Servidio said the most significant factor was the failure to assess and manage the extreme risks of the Gulf of Alaska.read more
Apr 4th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Article by Jim Snyder published Apr 4, 2014 5:00 AM GMT+0100 by Bloomberg News
A desire to avoid millions of dollars in Alaska state taxes played a role in Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s decision to move a drilling rig, which later broke free from a tow boat and ran aground on an uninhabited island in Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a report.
Shell had decided to move the Kulluk drill rig to Seattle for repairs because it might have been subject to a state property tax had it remained in Alaska waters beyond Jan. 1, 2013, according to the report released yesterday that offered eight recommendations to improve safety.read more
Apr 4th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article by Suzanna Caldwell published April 3, 2014 by AlaskaDispatch under the headline: Coast Guard report shows Shell was underprepared for ill-fated tow across Gulf of Alaska
A Coast Guard report released Thursday shows that while a series of events ultimately led to the grounding of a drilling rig designed to drill in the Arctic, an “inadequate assessment and management of risks” was the biggest cause of the Kulluk grounding.
The findings in the 152-page report conclude that while bad weather in the Gulf of Alaska was the primary cause of the grounding, “ineffective” risk management and application of towing measures from Shell and Edison Chouest contributed to the grounding.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 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?
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Parliamentarians voted on Tuesday to establish an expert commission to examine how to make taxing multinationals “more fair” after Netherlands-based Shell recently acknowledged it had paid virtually no Dutch corporation tax in 2018. Royal Dutch Shell refused to release details of its unique advance tax ruling with the Dutch government at a recent hearing of a parliamentary panel on taxation.
Shell has not paid any profit tax in the Netherlands for years, despite earning billions of euros in the country every year, newspaper Trouw reports based on “well informed” sources and a confidential internal document from the Ministry of Finance. 
June 20, 2018
Michael West
Federal Agency Dings Shell for Oil Rig Mishap in Arctic
Yereth Rosen
HSBC whistleblower: There are ‘more revelations’
By John Donovan 
Even more troubling than Shell’s “Arctic-ready” armada problems is Shell’s spectacular failure of good judgment. To avoid an Alaska tax bill, company managers ordered its secondary drill rig towed south through the winter storm-lashed Gulf of Alaska despite the tug master’s prescient warning that: “the length of tow, at this time of the year, in this location, with our current routing, guarantees an ass-kicking.” The tug master was right. 
By John Donovan
By John Donovan
US authorities say a desire to avoid taxes lead Shell to move an oil rig in rough seas in 2012, which lead to its grounding.
A Shell spokesperson claims that the company’s latest Arctic exploration plan takes into account lessons learned from the 2012 operation (which turned into a dangerous farce after Shell engaged in reckless machinations in an effort to evade tax). 
Extracts from a Sydney Morning Herald article by Michael West published 2 June 2014 under the headline: “Is petrol producer an empty Shell?”
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:
