Oil company on trial in $1.1bn corruption case given access to top EU officials to lobby for gas

Eni holds six European Parliament passes – more than any other oil and gas company, report finds

Ben Chapman: @b_c_chapman: 16 March 2021

An Italian energy giant on trial in a $1.1bn (£790m) bribery and corruption case has been granted privileged access to senior EU officials to lobby for fossil fuel investment, an investigation has found.

Eni and its chief executive Claudio Descalzi are on trial alongside Royal Dutch Shell in connection to a deal for one of Nigeria’s most promising oil blocks. read more

Shares in Shell and BP still part of the scheme

Jon Stone Policy Correspondent @joncstone: 24 March 2020

The parliamentary pension fund for MPs is still investing in fossil fuels despite parliament declaring a climate emergency, new figures show.

The fund is still heavily invested in Shell (£8m) and BP (£4.4m) despite over 350 current and former MPs backing a campaign to set a good example by diverting cash elsewhere.

MPs have however welcomed news in the fund’s latest filings that it is increasingly shifting its cash towards renewable energy – with five per cent of investments going to the green sector for the first time. read more

Activists urge UK government to ‘tell the truth’ about impact of fossil fuel industry

Three members of Extinction Rebellion Scotland have climbed aboard the Valaris 122 rig in Dundee ( Extinction Rebellion Scotland )

Conrad Duncan: 6 JAN 2020

Climate activists have boarded a gas mining rig in Dundee in an attempt to stop it from heading out to the North Sea.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) Scotland has said three of its members had climbed aboard the Valaris 122 rig and intended to there for as long as possible to prevent it from operating.

The environmental group added that the trio had taken all necessary safety precautions and informed police of their “peaceful occupation”. read more

‘A museum dedicated to science education should not be helping promote any company that is actively exacerbating this planetary emergency until they show a serious proactive drive to switch to renewables’

• Josh Gabbatiss Science Correspondent
• @josh_gabbatiss

Tens of thousands of people have urged the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry to drop Shell as a sponsor from an upcoming event.

The announcement that the museum’s new exhibition, “Electricity: the spark of life”, would be supported by the oil giant sparked controversy among local groups.

Specifically, they have highlighted the role that fossil fuels play in driving global climate change and the role that oil companies have played in the phenomenon.

A petition with over 57,000 signatures has been handed to the museum as the Manchester Science Festival, which includes the new exhibition. read more

• Ben Chapman
• @b_c_chapman
• Sunday 13 May 2018 18:19 BST

Royal Dutch Shell, Italian oil giant Eni and a number of senior executives at the two firms face trial in Milan on Monday over corruption charges relating to a $1.1bn (£800m) deal for a Nigerian oil block.

The Milan public prosecutor alleges that $520m from a 2011 deal to buy rights to a vast oil block off Nigeria’s coast was converted into cash and intended to be paid to the then Nigerian resident Goodluck Jonathan, members of the government and other Nigerian government officials.  read more

The group said it will provide details of the impact of the new US tax changes in its full-year results in February

• Holly Williams
• Wednesday 27 December 2017 10:18 GMT

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has said President Donald Trump’s US tax reforms are set to boost the group and its US business thanks to next month’s cut in corporation tax.

The group said the 1 January changes – largely the move to slash US corporation tax from 35 per cent to 21 per cent- are expected to be “favourable” for the group but will impact its fourth-quarter results.

It will announce the full impact as part of its fourth-quarter and full-year results on 1 February. read more

Greg Hands used a meeting with a Brazilian minister to pass on oil companies’ concerns: Rex Features

• Ben Kentish
• @BenKentish
• Monday 20 November 2017

Brazilian government later gave major drilling licenses to the two companies

Liam Fox’s Department for International Trade successfully lobbied the Brazilian government over environmental regulations on behalf of three major oil companies, an official document has revealed.

Greg Hands, the international trade minister, reportedly made representations on behalf of BP, Shell and Premier Oil during a trip to Brazil in March.

He asked the Brazilian government to help British companies secure deals to drill in the pre-salt region of Brazilian waters, according to a British diplomatic cable obtained by Greenpeace. read more

Neither company sets targets to reduce emissions and BP’s total investment in renewable and clean technologies has actually shrunk since 2005, the report said Getty Images

Companies are trying to ‘have their oil and eat it’ by committing to 2°C in public while planning for much higher temerpature rises, says shareholder campaign group, ShareAction

• Ben Chapman
• @b_c_chapman
• Friday 27 October 2017

Oil giants Shell and BP are planning for global temperatures to rise as much as 5°C by the middle of the century. The level is more than double the upper limit committed to by most countries in the world under the Paris Climate Agreement, which both companies publicly support.

The discrepancy demonstrates that the companies are keeping shareholders in the dark about the risks posed to their businesses by climate change, according to two new reports published by investment campaign group Share Action. Many climate scientists say that a temperature rise of 5°C would be catastrophic for the planet. read more

‘Instead of owning up to it, they copied a page from the Big Tobacco playbook,’ says San Francisco’s city attorney

• Ian Johnston Environment Correspondent
• @montaukian
• Thursday 21 September 2017 13:09 BST

The Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay

The US cities of San Francisco and Oakland are suing five of the world’s largest oil companies for the coasts of walls and other defences against rising sea levels, saying the industry made vast profits from fossil fuels while knowing they were causing “an existential threat to humankind”.

Drawing a direct comparison to the tobacco industry’s sale of cigarettes despite knowledge of the health risks, the city attorneys announced they had filed separate lawsuits against BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. read more

‘Shell and the military regime formed an alliance in the events leading to the deaths’, a writ filed at a court in The Hague alleges

Environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was among those hanged

• Ben Chapman
• Thursday 29 June 2017 16:28 BST

The widows of four men executed by Nigeria’s military regime in 1995 are suing oil giant Shell for allegedly aiding the army crackdown which led to their husbands’ deaths.

The women, led by one of the widows, Esther Kiobel, and supported by Amnesty International, filed a writ at a court in the Hague in which they are seeking an apology and unspecified damages.

Nine men, known as the Ogoni nine were hanged during the brutal military crackdown under the regime of dictator Sani Abacha. The hangings by a military court followed a peaceful uprising by 300,000 protesting against widespread environmental damage to the Niger Delta region caused by oil extraction. The incident provoked widespread international outcry. read more

• Aaron Sheldrick
• Wednesday 21 June 2017 09:02 BST
• Reuters

A number of producers – notably Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia – have aggressively ramped up output

Oil prices held near multi-month lows on Wednesday as investors discounted evidence of strong compliance by OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers with a deal to cut a global output.

Global benchmark Brent LCOc1 was unchanged at $46.02 barrel at 0651 GMT after falling nearly 2 per cent in the previous session to its lowest settlement since November.

US crude futures CLc1 for August were trading up 4 cents at $43.55, after spending much of the day slightly lower and falling more than 2 per cent on Tuesday to the lowest since September. read more

• Ben Chapman
• Wednesday 14 June 2017 16:55 BST

The UK Government handed Shell a £112m tax rebate last year, despite the oil giant making billions of pounds in profits.

Most of the payment from HM Revenue and Customs is a contribution towards Shell’s costs for decommissioning its North Sea oil and gas fields. It follows a similar payment of £85m in 2016.

The figures highlight how the North Sea has transformed from being a cash cow for the Government over four decades, to being a drain on the nation’s finances, as the remaining oil has become unprofitable to extract. read more

A whistleblower has accused oil giant Shell of concealing data on the health effects of two major oil spills on communities in Nigeria. 

In a letter seen by the Independent, Kay Holtzmann, a former employee at the company, said data gathered in the Bodo community which was devastated by two huge oil spills in 2008 and 2009, showed levels of pollution were “astonishingly high”. He also accused the company of refusing to make the findings public. 

Mr Holtzmann was the former director in charge of Shell’s project to clean up oil spills in the Bodo community, which is located in the oil-producing Niger Delta region.  read more

Ben Chapman: 6 Sept 2016

Never mind the drop in crude prices, huge spending cuts and thousands of job losses, the world’s top oil and gas companies are set to produce more than ever for some time.

While top oil companies struggle with slumping revenues following a price rout after years of spectacular growth, their production has grown as projects sanctioned earlier in the decade come on line. Overall production at the world’s seven biggest oil and gas companies is set to rise by around 9 per cent between 2015 and 2018, according to analysts’ estimates. read more

Tom Bawden Environment Editor: 5 FEB 2016

Shell yesterday confirmed plans to cut 10,000 jobs now that its takeover of rival BG Group is set to go through, and raised the prospect of further redundancies, as it reported an  80 per cent slump in profits to a 13-year low.

Two days after BP announced its biggest-ever annual loss, Shell revealed that its profits had fallen to $3.8bn (£2.6bn) last year, from $19bn in 2014. The industry has been rocked by a sustained slump in the oil price, from $115 a barrel in the summer of 2014 to $35.41 yesterday.  read more

Mark Leftly: 20 JAN 2016

Royal Dutch Shell has come under fire for being part of a consortium that accepted an “extraordinary” $3.3bn (£2.3bn) tax break in Nigeria – twice the poverty-stricken country’s annual health budget.  

In a new report ActionAid estimated the consortium, which also includes France’s Total and Italy’s Eni, received this benefit between 2004 and 2012 on top of Nigeria’s standard five-year tax holiday to encourage investment. The charity says the cost of the tax breaks could have been better spent on improving health and education systems at the same pace that oil revenue pours in. read more

Hazel Sheffield: 18 JAN 2016

Not everyone agreed with the RAC when it said that petrol could become cheaper than bottled water.

RAC wagered that if the price of oil slid below $20 barrel, it could push petrol prices to 90p a litre – while a fall to $10 a barrel or less could see petrol sold at 86p a litre, or cheaper than a bottle of water.

But only if you are a water snob, according to the Hydration Council, who emailed us to say that the average price of a litre bottle of water, purchased in a multi-pack, is 38p. Take that, Perrier drinkers.  read more

Zlata Rodionova: 18 JAN 2016

Volkswagen has made a list of non-governmental organisations’ “most hated” brands in the UK for the first time, following a turbulent year for the company dealing with fallout from the emissions scandal.

VW came in at fourth place in the survey that named Shell as the most hated brand.

VW is now the seventh least popular brand in the world, according to the survey of more than 7,500 NGOs by Sigwatch, a consultancy.

Robert Blood, founder and managing of Sigwatch, told the Independent that the Volkswagen scandal allowed NGOs to draw attention to the bigger problem of green emissions. read more

Jamie Nimmo: 5 Jan 2016

The oil price surge made Shell’s swoop for smaller rival BG slightly more palatable for investors, despite concerns the deal could be called off. The regulatory hurdles have all been cleared, but shareholders must now give  their views on the cash and shares deal, currently worth £37bn – £10bn less than when it was struck in April last year.

That was when the oil price was near $60 a barrel. It now stands at $38 a barrel, even after a 2 per cent jump yesterday.

Shell and BG’s backers vote on 27 and 28 January respectively, but the former could be forced by its own shareholders to renegotiate. read more

How idiotic would its board look if it ditched its current bride at the altar, only to see her hook up with a rival in a few months’ time?

Jim Armitage: Wednesday 23 Dec 2015

It will be the first big test of 2016: will Shell press on with its takeover of BG when the oil price is stubbornly below $40 a barrel? Today, it gave a clear “yes” by publishing its full merger documentation and posting the paperwork out to shareholders. If it was not planning to press on with the deal, it would have found some excuse why not to do so.

The documents rap out a series of reasons why the current bombed-out oil price is not relevant to the logic of integrating these two vast companies. The deal will bring so many efficiencies, Shell promises, that its hallowed dividend will be safer, bringing in more cashflow to pay into the divi pot at as low as $50 a barrel. Few people really think crude is likely to stay below that for decades to come. And, as far as the value of the combined assets goes, it can breakeven at the low $60s, Shell adds. read more

Michael Bow: 15 Dec 2015

Royal Dutch Shell moved to shore up support for its £35bn BG Group takeover yesterday, by promising to slash more jobs amid concerns shareholders could rebel against the deal. 

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant will axe a further 2,800 jobs around the world on top of 7,500 roles it had previously announced were for the chop.

The losses – equivalent to 3 per cent of the combined group’s workforce – coincide with the final furlong of the long-running takeover saga, which has been put under pressure due to this year’s oil price rout.  read more

The World Wildlife Fund warned the size of the fine would ‘do little to deter future poor behaviour’

Shell apologised for the lack of information and said it was not a deliberate attempt to cover up the spill. 

Adam Barnett: 24 November 2015

A £22,500 fine imposed on the energy giant Shell as punishment for the worst North Sea oil spill in a decade has been dismissed as “paltry” by environmental campaigners.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warned the size of the fine, for a company that earns billions, would “do little to deter future poor behaviour” by oil and gas companies to avoid more damage to the environment.

The leak from the Gannet Alpha platform in August 2011 was the worst in the region in 10 years and saw more than 200 tons of oil – about 1,300 barrels – flood into the sea.  read more

Mrs Alison-Madueke, 54, part of a prominent Nigerian family and a former Shell executive, was appointed as Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources in March 2010 by now former president Goodluck Jonathan

• Cahal Milmo§
• @cahalmilmo
• Wednesday 7 October 2015 18:29

Until last Friday, Diezani Alison-Madueke’s position as one of the most prominent women on the global stage had seemed assured. Boasting a Cambridge degree and a portfolio of senior government positions in her native Nigeria, she is also the first female president of the OPEC oil cartel.

Such is her influence that the British government earlier this year placed her top of a list of former recipients of the taxpayer-funded Chevening Scholarship for future leaders of foreign states whom it wanted to recognise for International Women’s Day. The roll call paid tribute to women who it said personified the slogan for the event – “make it happen”. read more

The true nature of big oil sponsorships was exposed last week, after it was discovered that Shell had sought to influence the content of the climate change exhibition “Atmosphere”, which it sponsors at the Science Museum.

Emails obtained via Freedom of Information requests show how the company positioned its own staff as advisors: “Regarding the gallery update, can I check whether you have touched base with David Hone to see if he would like to participate in the content refresh?” read one email from May last year. read more

ANDREW BUNCOMBE: NEW YORK: Monday 25 May 2015

Chiara D’Angelo interview: Arctic activist who spent 66 hours suspended from anchor said nature inspired her to continue protest

The activist who spent 66 hours suspended from the anchor of an oil exploration vessel has said she took strength during her protest from looking at the wildlife surrounding her.

Chiara D’Angelo attached herself on Friday evening to the anchor of the Arctic Challenger as it moored north of Seattle. The ship is among those that Royal Dutch Shell intend to use as they drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean off northwestern Alaska later this summer.

Ms D’Angelo ended her protest at around 9.30m. Speaking from the town of Bellingham, she told the The Independent that when she started the protest, she had no idea how long she would manage to remain suspended from the anchor. read more

Article by Jim Armitage published by The Independent on Friday 10 April 2015

Following the Shell-BG deal, could Exxon bid for BP?

Another day, another tide of speculation sweeps through the City investment banks about oil industry takeovers following Shell’s £47 billion bid for BG, the UK’s third largest energy supplier.

Even that old saw about Exxon dispatching its galleons across the Channel to buy BP was being punted around by some brokers this morning. Forgive me if history proves me a fool, but, even taking Exxon’s recent chest beating about its appetite for deals, it seems unlikely.

For starters, monopoly regulators would force such a vast company to sell huge amounts of their combined assets, negating the whole point to a deal. Second, Exxon has just painfully extricated itself from its joint exploration project in Russia thanks to US sanctions. It’s hardly likely to jump back into bed with the biggest western operator there. Third, there’s the small matter of the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil spill litigation. read more

Oil giant BP has said it will rack up costs of at least $1 billion (£637 million) over the next year as it embarks on a corporate shake-up which could cull more than 1,000 jobs. It comes as an Iranian official in the Opec oil cartel said crude prices could plunge as low as $40 a barrel in the near future…

Article by Russell Lynch published by The Independent Wed 10 Dec 2014: BP unveils $1bn restructuring amid plunging oil prices

Extracts

Oil giant BP has said it will rack up costs of at least $1 billion (£637 million) over the next year as it embarks on a corporate shake-up which could cull more than 1,000 jobs.

The FTSE 100 giant has accelerated its plans to strip costs out of the business in response to a dramatic plunge in crude prices since June. It is understood that BP, which has 84,000 staff worldwide and 15,000 in the UK, could shed more than 1000 staff by the end of the process.

It comes as an Iranian official in the Opec oil cartel said crude prices could plunge as low as $40 a barrel in the near future if divisions among the producers widened. read more

DAILY EXPRESS: Oil giant Shell floats as prices sink

Extracts

ROYAL Dutch Shell unleashed an industry-beating rise in quarterly profit yesterday, despite falling oil prices, and vowed to keep slashing less-lucrative projects.

Finance chief Simon Henry said: “It’s quite likely we’ll take a very close look at investment levels where we have flexibility if we see oil price weakness persisting.”

FULL ARTICLE

DAILY MAIL: Shell posts forecast-busting profit rise of 31pc despite slump in oil prices

Extracts

Shell has managed to weather the sharp drop in the price of oil since June, announcing forecast-busting results for the third quarter. read more

Shell dropped a bombshell on investors after warning that fourth quarter profit will be “significantly” lower than last year, blaming low production, high exploration costs and continuing problems with refining.

“It’s not good. When you’re talking about higher costs and lower production volumes, it’s a lethal combination,” said Nick Xanders, who heads European equity strategy at BTIG, the trading and brokerage firm.

FULL ARTICLE

For five years a London law firm and Anglo-Dutch oil giant have argued over reparations for one of the world’s worst spills in Africa’s oil heartland. But now, as fishing villages on the banks of the Niger Delta continue to count the cost of the leaks, compensation claims are finally due to be settled. Royal Dutch Shell will tomorrow seek to reach an “acceptable agreement”

Five years after fishing and farming livelihoods were ruined, oil giant is ready to agree compensation which could reach £100m

SAM MASTERS: Sunday 08 September 2013

For five years a London law firm and Anglo-Dutch oil giant have argued over reparations for one of the world’s worst spills in Africa’s oil heartland. But now, as fishing villages on the banks of the Niger Delta continue to count the cost of the leaks, compensation claims are finally due to be settled.

Royal Dutch Shell will tomorrow seek to reach an “acceptable agreement” with inhabitants of the cluster of Nigerian fishing villages over claims their livelihoods were ruined by the spills in 2008. read more

Paul Melia – 12 August 2013

GARDAI have rejected claims that officers policing the Corrib Gas protests were given alcohol worth €35,000 by the company building the pipeline.

An oil services company has claimed it delivered the alcohol in an unmarked van to Belmullet garda station in Mayo at Christmas 2007 following instructions by Shell E&P Ltd.

And OSSL, based in Bangor Erris, also claims it was charged with providing “accommodation services” to local residents, including home improvements, tennis courts, donating kitchen appliances and paying school fees.

The company, which worked with Shell since 2002, had its contract terminated in 2010, and claims it is owed money by Shell E&P Ltd. read more

Ambitious Greenpeace stunt drew neck-craning crowds and widespread media coverage for protest against Shell’s Arctic drilling

Tom Bawden: ENVIRONMENT EDITOR: Thursday 11 July 2013

As Western Europe’s tallest building, the Shard skyscraper in London already gets its fair share of attention. But commuters travelling to work today glimpsed an even more amazing sight: six women scaling the 310m-high landmark in protest against Shell’s drilling in the Arctic.

Taking part in a hugely ambitious Greenpeace stunt that took months to plan, the climbers quickly drew a large crowd of neck-craning, eye-shielding spectators to the foot of the London Bridge building. read more

The National Contact Point (NCP) agency will today give Shell a rap on the knuckles for its reporting of its spills in the Niger Delta region, some of which have been highly damaging to the environment. NCP has reached this conclusion following an investigation into accusations by Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International that Shell has exaggerated the proportion of spills caused by sabotage to avoid paying compensation and to reduce damage to its reputation.

TOM BAWDEN: WEDNESDAY 19 JUNE 2013

Shell’s persistent claims that theft and sabotage are responsible for almost all the oil spills at its operation in Nigeria could have been exaggerated, an international watchdog has found.

The National Contact Point (NCP) agency will today give Shell a rap on the knuckles for its reporting of its spills in the Niger Delta region, some of which have been highly damaging to the environment.

The agency, set up to oversee OECD guidelines on multi-national companies, said: “Given the many years of discussion about the causes of oil spills in Nigeria, Royal Dutch Shell management should have had a more cautious attitude about the percentage of oil spills caused by the sabotage,” noting that the data they are based on is “not absolute”. read more

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

Mr Salazar said: “Shell screwed up in 2012 and we’re not going to let them screw up when they try to drill in the Arctic again.”

The i: Friday 29 March 2013 Page 48 of Business Section

By Tom Bawden

Shell’s beleaguered campaign to produce oil in the Arctic has suffered a further setback yesterday  when US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the company “screwed up” its attempt to drill in Alaska last year.

Furthermore, he said, Shell will not be allowed to drill in the area again until it demonstrates it can handle Arctic conditions and commissions an independent audit of its management systems.

The US Department of the Interior ordered a 60-day review in January of Shell’s plans to drill off the coast of Alaska after a series of incidents in the area that culminated in the grounding of the Kulluk rig. read more

Campaigners hope move heralds end of programme

Kevin Rawlinson  Alex Jackson  Friday 22 March 2013

Shell’s controversial plan to drill in the Arctic has been dealt a further blow after it confirmed today that the man running its exploration programme in North America is to leave the company.

Campaigners said they hoped the move heralded the beginning of the end for the programme, which has been vehemently opposed by Greenpeace, among others.

“This disaster should force them to mothball the programme completely, but it will depend on whether or not shareholders can handle sinking more money into a project with minimal return for the foreseeable future,” one campaigner told the Independent. read more

…the City is concerned about Shell’s prospects in the Arctic after the company’s Kulluk drilling rig ran aground off the coast of Alaska on New Year’s Eve. The grounding was the latest in a series of mishaps in Shell’s quest to extract oil from the polar region, which has cost the company £3.2bn but has yet to result in the discovery of any commercial quantities of oil.

Oil giant’s profit to soar as price rises and China booms

Tom Bawden: Sunday 27 January 2013

Shell will announce a bumper set of 2012 results this week, though the sheen of a profit leap will be removed as it updates the market on its problems in the Arctic.

The FTSE 100 oil giant is set to report on Thursday that net income soared by 42 per cent to $7bn (£4.4bn) last year on the back of increased oil production from Canada’s tar sands and rising output from its liquefied natural gas operations in Qatar.

Shell also benefited from a strong oil price and increased profit margins at its refining business, amid declining competition after refineries, such as Coryton in Essex, closed. China’s buoyant car market will have also fuelled the results. read more

The pressure is mounting on Shell to abandon its quest for Arctic oil after the US government ordered two reviews into the company’s activities off the Alaskan coast… after a series of accidents in the area involving its ships, rigs and equipment that culminated in the grounding of the rig Kulluk… The US Coastguard…opened an investigation… which could lead to civil or criminal penalties for Shell or its staff.

The pressure is mounting on Shell to abandon its quest for Arctic oil after the US government ordered two reviews into the company’s activities off the Alaskan coast that could halt its planned drilling campaign.

The Obama administration has ordered a sweeping review of Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic after a series of accidents in the area involving its ships, rigs and equipment that culminated in the grounding of the rig Kulluk near an Alaskan island on New Year’s Eve. read more

“TOUCH F*** ALL” STORY BELOW PUBLISHED IN UK AND AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS WAS SOURCED FROM THIS WEBSITE: RoyalDutchShellPlc.com

SHELL HAS RESPONDED WITH WHOPPING GREAT LIES AND ACCORDINGLY WILL TAKE NO LEGAL ACTION BECAUSE IT DID OPERATE A TOUCH F*** ALL POLICY ON NORTH SEA PLATFORMS AND SAFETY RECORDS WERE ROUTINELY FALSIFIED. EVEN THE LIFEBOATS ON SHELL PLATFORMS WERE UNSEAWORTHY. THERE IS AN ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE ABOUT SHELL’S NOTORIOUS TOUCH F*** ALL POLICY. IF CHRIS FINLAYSON, THE NEW CEO OF BG GROUP, DENIES THE ALLEGATIONS, THEN HE SHOULD SUE SHELL WHISTLEBLOWER BILL CAMPBELL, THE RELEVANT NEWSPAPERS, AND ME. IF NO LEGAL ACTION IS TAKEN THEN THE PUBLIC AND BG GROUP EMPLOYEES WILL BE ABLE TO DRAW THE RIGHT CONCLUSION. THEIR NEW BOSS, LIKE SHELL, PUT PROFITS BEFORE THE LIVES OF MERE EMPLOYEES. 

ARTICLE PUBLISHED YESTERDAY BY JOHN DONOVAN: Finlayson is no Chapman!

Mark Leftly: Thursday 13 December 2012

Oil & gas giant BG Group has asked a former Shell executive who was once accused of dangerous health and safety breaches in the North Sea to be its new boss.

Chris Finlayson, who is a BG board member and joined from Shell in 2010, was one of the men who were accused by an insider of having been involved in a Touch F*** All policy when he was a director for the company’s UK division in the late 1990s. read more

Selection of article links provided by a regular contributor

John

These articles may be of interest to your visitors:

Sandy causes 300000 gallon oil spill on U.S. East Coast

Motiva, a joint venture of Shell Oil and Saudi Refining, said the spill occurred earlier this week when Sandy damaged two diesel storage tanks …

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Energy Collective: While browsing this morning, I ran across a well-designed, and probably well-funded ad campaign from Shell Oil touting natural gas as a …

Seeing Through the Smoke: Oil, Security, and the Environment in … read more

 From our Shell News Archive Sunday 31 October, 2004

The fallout from the Shell reserves fraud continues…

The Independent On Sunday (UK): Business View: Shell’s real location problem is finding more black stuff: “The misreporting of reserves scandal showed all the worst Shell traits – secrecy, haughtiness, inertia.”: “So what’s the hurry? Was it because Shell had to admit that it had uncovered another 900 million barrels of doubtful crude in its reserves and was likely to uncover 600 million more?”

Sunday Express (UK): Shell boardroom changes backfire on reserves news: “ONE OF the world’s most influential financial firms has given the thumbs down to an announcement from Shell it is to end its 97-year-old dual board structure.”: “…financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said it had adjusted Shell’s investment rating downwards to “creditwatch negative”, a status which implies there may be more bad news to come from the company.”

Mail on Sunday (UK):  Shell bosses in a charm offensive: “The Board, headed by Jeroen van der Veer, will see thousands of staff to explain the proposed changes and shore up the mood of the employees damaged by scandals over Shell’s inflated oil reserves.”: “Last week, Shell was forced to downgrade its estimates of proven oil reserves for the fifth time this year. Reserves are now a third lower than originally thought” read more

FROM OUR OCTOBER 2004 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Friday 29 October, 2004 – A DREADFUL DAY FOR SHAREHOLDERS IN SHELL TRANSPORT AND TRADING COMPANY PLC

The Times (UK): The Hague for head office: “ALTHOUGH it maintains otherwise, Shell is effectively going Dutch…”: “From May, the big decisions will be taken by a new board in The Hague, which has seven Dutch members and only four Britons.”: “…from 2006 it will hold AGMs only in The Hague.”

The Times (UK): Fear of new Shell reserves downgrade: “ROYAL Dutch/Shell yesterday raised fears that it may have to write down its reserves by more than 1.5 billion barrels…”: “With less than 60 per cent of its reservoir audit completed, Shell was unable yesterday to put a ceiling on the potential downgrade of its reserves…”

Daily Telegraph (UK): Dutch chiefs take helm of merged Shell: “The radical move, which needs to be approved by shareholders, is likely to be seen as a Dutch takeover of the energy giant…”: “The news was overshadowed by yet more revelations about the company’s “proven” reserves…” read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE SEPT 2004

The Independent: Michael Harrison’s Outlook: Shell supertanker steers into deeper waters

“brotherly love has been notable for its complete absence inside the South Bank politburo, where the motto has been stab someone in the back before you are made to walk the plank yourself.”: Judging by the reaction in the City to the company’s strategic review, investors are not overflowing with the milk of human kindness either.”

Posted 24 September 2004

“Let brotherly love continue”, read the gilded inscription above the doorway of the livery hall where Shell yesterday unveiled its latest version of what passes for a strategy. Chance would be a fine thing. Far from continuing, brotherly love has been notable for its complete absence inside the South Bank politburo, where the motto has been stab someone in the back before you are made to walk the plank yourself.

Judging by the reaction in the City to the company’s strategic review, investors are not overflowing with the milk of human kindness either. The truth is that Shell will not begin to emerge from the black cloud which enveloped it in January until it has fundamentally changed the way the business is run and governed. That is still some months away and no amount of management gobbledegook about raising performance bars and the like, of which there was plenty on offer yesterday, will make much of a difference in the meantime. read more

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

The Independent: Ballad of the Rossport five

The men held in Ireland’s Cloverhill prison now have not only their own title – the Rossport Five – but their own ballad as well, which lauds their gallantry and decries the energy giant Shell as an “ignoble predator”.

“The campaign received a boost in recent months when it was revealed that consultants brought in by the government were not independent, as had been claimed, and in fact had connections with Shell.”

Wednesday 7 Sept 2005

It is David versus Goliath as residents of Mayo try to halt Shell’s efforts to bring Ireland’s gas ashore. They say the oil giant’s plans are unsafe – and five protesters are now in jail.

David McKittrick reports

“Come all ye who love liberty, and listen to my tale, read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2004 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

The Independent: Michael Harrison’s Outlook: Money talks for Shell’s singing director

“Shell is hardly a byword for good corporate governance, and yesterday it lived up to its reputation by producing another stonker…”: “As usual, Shell is unable to cast any light in the darkness as to why the two men’s severance arrangements are so different in size and nature. Perish the thought that one of them is being paid to grass up the other.”

13 August 2004

Shell is hardly a byword for good corporate governance, and yesterday it lived up to its reputation by producing another stonker of a pay-off for one of the directors caught up in its reserves reporting scandal.

On this occasion, however, there is a twist in the tail. Walter van de Vijver is going to have to sing for his severance. In order to qualify for his full £2.5m package, the company’s former head of exploration and production will have to co-operate with the “relevant authorities” as they conduct their various criminal inquiries into how Shell came to invent quite so many non-existent barrels. read more

Mark Leftly: Sunday 24 June 2012

Royal Dutch Shell is expected to turn up the heat in its battle for Cove Energy, the Mozambique-focused gas explorer that has generated huge interest among the supermajors.

Cove shareholders have until Wednesday to accept Shell’s 220p-a-share bid, which was tabled in April but has since been trumped by an offer of 240p, or £1.2bn, from Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production. Shell has already extended its offer once, but can do so again as an absolute deadline cannot be enforced until mid-July. read more

Toby Green Wednesday 20 June 2012

Environmentalists may want to look away now. Royal Dutch Shell’s search for oil in the Arctic has not been short of controversy, coming under attack from, among others, Xena: Warrior Princess actor Lucy Lawless, who earlier in the year boarded one of the energy giant’s ships in protest against the drilling.

Yet yesterday came a reminder why Shell is pushing on with its quest — money, and rather a lot of it. Ten billion dollars (£6.4bn) in fact, according to the calculations of Nomura’s analysts, who think that is how much Shell could net from the region. read more

FROM OUR ARCHIVES…

The Independent: Shell opens talks about a return to Nigeria’s troubled Ogoni region

By Rachel Stevenson

01 June 2005

More than 12 years since it fled the Nigerian region of Ogoni in fear at the growing violence towards its operations from the local population, oil giant Shell has reopened talks with the people of the Ogoni about a possible return.

Representatives of the Ogoni people, the Nigerian federal and state governments, and Shell have all pledged to attempt reconciliation in an effort to bring stability to the Ogoni region. Since 1990, Ogoni has been dogged by violence, crime, corruption, and poverty. read more

FROM OUR ARCHIVES…

Shell seeks to draw a line after fourth cut in reserves

By Michael Harrison, Business Editor

25 May 2004

Royal Dutch-Shell, the crisis-torn oil giant, yesterday cut its proven reserves for the fourth time this year but then sought to reassure the City that it had drawn a line at last under the fiasco.

The latest downgrade means that Shell has now removed 4.5 billion barrels of oil from the proven category, equivalent to just under a quarter of its total reserves.

Malcolm Brinded, the head of exploration and production for Shell, said he was as sure as he could be that this would be the last revision to reserves estimates. “We are not planning to make further changes but you can never say never,” he added.
read more

23 May 2012

Shell became the latest company to receive a bloody nose yesterday, as more than a tenth of the oil giant’s investors failed to approve the pay awards of its top-level executives.

Despite Shell reporting a 54 per cent jump in profits last year, just over 9 per cent of investors voted against the pay award for chief executive Peter Voser, which more than doubled over the period. Including abstentions, 11 per cent of shareholders failed to back Shell’s remuneration report, which also included a €2.52m (£2m) severance payment for Malcolm Brinded, who stepped down as head of exploration and production in April. read more