Dec 11th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Sunday Times Business Person of the Year 2022: The shortlist
The Sunday Times
In a year buffeted by war, falling markets and government upheaval, we present the shortlist for the business person who has stood out above the rest
Ben van Beurden, Shell
The Dutchman will call time on a 40-year career at Shell in 2023, having spent nine years in the hot seat. He gambled early in his tenure on the £36 billion takeover of gas giant BG Group, relocated Shell’s head office to London, and cut its dividend when the oil price tanked during Covid. But the company has surged this year on the back of higher oil prices stoked by the Ukraine war. Van Beurden, 64, leaves Shell in a fitter state and with plans to embrace green energy —read more
Strange article in the Prufrock column of The Sunday Times published 2nd August 2015
KEEPING the books for a £200bn behemoth is an endlessly taxing task. Just ask Simon Henry, Royal Dutch Spell’s finance director, who last week unveiled a plunge in profits of almost 40%.
Thankfully, he can call on exemplary advice to help keep track of Shell’s petrodollars. The company’s chief auditor is Ross Hunter at PwC – a man with an interesting past. According to the accounting firm’s website, Hunter helped Nat Rothschild’s Bumi in its “transition from a cash shell to a leading Indonesia-based thermal coal group”.read more
Jun 9th, 2013
by John Donovan.
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For the first time more than half the energy giant’s profits have not come from oil. The shift reflects a gas revolution
Danny Fortson Published: 9 June 2013
Three months ago at a shipyard in Rotterdam, Daniela Voser, the wife of Shell’s chief executive, smashed a champagne bottle on the hull of a river barge.
The Greenstream lacks the grandeur of a cruise ship, but its launch was notable nonetheless. It is the first vessel built to run on liquefied natural gas. It produces a quarter of the carbon dioxide and a fifth of the nitrous oxide typically emitted from barges powered by fuel oil.
The gas powers electric engines, which means the boat is much less noisy, too. The Greenstream is the Toyota Prius of marine transport. read more
Jan 31st, 2013
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
The Times published an important article by Tim Webb today under the headline: “Shell counts cost of oil damage in Niger Delta.” (Page 39, Thursday 31 Jan 2013). Tim correctly makes the simple, but immensely important point: “IT IS THE FIRST TIME THAT A COURT OUTSIDE NIGERIA HAS ORDERED SHELL TO PAY FOR POLLUTION IN THE DELTA AND THE RULING LEAVES IT VULNERABLE TO MORE CLAIMS.” Shell has predictably tried to downplay this historic, precedent setting verdict.read more
Oct 31st, 2012
by John Donovan.
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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
Oct 4th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE OCTOBER 2004
The Sunday Times: The wonder fuels that don’t deliver
“In February this year the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints against the claims Shell was making in its adverts, including that Optimax gives “an extra burst of power just when you need it”.
By Dave Pollard of The Sunday Times
October 03, 2004
The ads claim they are wonder fuels but our test was less than impressive
It is, according to Shell, petrol “with a dash of Ferrari”. Or as BP prefers to put it, fuel with “extra oomph”. Both oil giants are piling massive marketing budgets into their premium fuels — Shell’s Optimax and BP’s Ultimate. The fuels are on sale at the same pumps as ordinary unleaded, but cost about 20p per gallon more. The companies are keen to convince you to pay.read more
It is part of a web campaign jointly orchestrated by environmental group Greenpeace, activist organisation Yes Lab and members of the Occupy Wall Street movement to rally against Shell’s Arctic drilling programme.
The digital assault is a new type of internet campaigning. Rather than staging a protest, activist groups hijack brands and harness social media to derail a company’s image. “We’re only beginning to understand how much social media can change our society,” says James Turner of Greenpeace USA.read more
May 29th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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“The allegations are grave: rape, systematic and widespread torture, extrajudicial killings.”
THE SUNDAY TIMES: HAGUE TRIES TO HALT SHELL ‘MURDER’ CASE
27 May 2012
WILLIAM HAGUE has been accused of hypocrisy after the government intervened on the side of Shell, Britain’s biggest company, over court claims the oil giant was complicit in torture and murder.
The foreign secretary is facing pressure from human rights groups over Britain’s role in a case in America’s highest court being brought by the families of 12 people from Nigeria’s Ogoniland community.
The case puts Britain in conflict with President Barack Obama’s administration, which argues the families should be allowed to sue Shell over claims their relatives were tortured and killed by Nigerian troops in the Niger delta in the 1990s.read more
Mar 12th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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A Sunday Times article published in June 2001 detailed Shell/BP undercover activities including infiltration, spying and subversion operations around the world directed at perceived enemies. Contrary to The Sunday Times headline, it was not limited to “green groups”– as can be confirmed by reading the article.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
By John Donovan
In a Reuters article published today, the UK company Hakluyt & Company Limited is described as “an ultra-secretive firm that is purported to spy on companies in order to gather intelligence in a more covert manner.”
A Sunday Times article published in July 2001 detailed Shell/BP undercover activities including infiltration, spying and subversion operations around the world directed at perceived enemies. Contrary to The Sunday Times headline, it was not limited to “green groups”as can be confirmed by reading the article. The clandestine activity was carried out by Hakluyt & Company Limited. read more
Feb 27th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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The Sunday Times: Business Section Page 10: February 26, 2012
Xena’s squeeze on Voser
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL must have thought it had done the hard work when it won permits from the US government to drill for oil in Alaska.
Not so fast. There are still some fearsome opponents to be conquered, including Xena, the warrior princess. Fans of schlock TV will remember Xena, a kind of female Conan the Barbarian, who once threatened to crush a foe’s head “like a peanut between the thighs of doom”.
Last week Lucy Lawless, the Kiwi actress who played Xena, led a group of activists as they boarded a drilling rig in the port of Taranaki, New Zealand. The rig was due to sail to the Arctic to start drilling this summer.read more
Feb 4th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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The Times: 3 February 2012
Tim Webb Energy Editor
Ambitious plans to boost growth will cost too much and knock Shell off its top spot, the City warned yesterday. Unveiling disappointing results, the Anglo-Dutch oil group further unnerved investors when it said it planned to spend even more heavily on new oil and gas projects.
Analysts said that Shell would make lower returns from the huge outlays, leaving less room to raise its dividend significantly. The company, which has outperformed its rivals over the past 18 months, would struggle to maintain its position at the front of the pack, they added.read more
Nov 21st, 2011
by John Donovan.
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The release happened after Blair’s notorious “deal in the desert” with Muammar Gadaffi paving the way for multi- million-pound oil contracts with Shell and BP.
(Saif al-Islam Gadaffi – above right)
THE SUNDAY TIMES
Headline: Gadaffi son may spill British secrets
Sunday 20 November 2011
Marie Colvin and Dipesh Gadher
THE London-educated Saif al-Islam Gadaffi, 39, always denied that he played an active role in politics, but he holds the key to the secrets of his father’s despotic regime.
His trial could prove deeply embarrassing if he chooses to reveal details of his once-cosy relations with British politicians including Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson, the former business secretary.
Mohammed al-Alagi, Libya’s interim justice minister, said yesterday that Gadaffi will be placed on trial in Libya and faces the death penalty.read more
The report was made on behalf of Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands)
Author: Albert ten Kate: May 2011.
In May 2005, Shell signed an agreement to start a joint venture with the Libyan National Oil Corporation. The joint venture would revamp and expand the existing liquified natural gas (LNG) Plant at Marsa el-Brega on the Libyan coast. It would also explore for gas and subsequently develop five areas totalling 20,000 square kilometres located in the heart of Libyas Sirte Basin. Shell was committed to invest USD 637 million in the first phase of the joint venture.
Already in March 2004, Malcolm Brinded, head of exploration and production at Shell, stated: We were in Libya in the Fifties and we were in Libya in the Eighties for an exploration programme, but for this one we came back in 2001 and so this is the culmination of discussions over that. International sanctions on Libya were lifted in 2003 and 2004. Thus, Shell had been fishing for contracts from Gaddafi a long time before international sanctions were lifted.read more
Aug 23rd, 2011
by John Donovan.
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“The drip, drip, drip of negative information has been every bit as corrosive to the company’s reputation as the oil leaking from its pipe. It was not until a week after the oil was first spotted that the company apologised.”
By John Donovan
We have printed below extensive articles published over three pages of The Sunday Times on 21 August 2011.
It was this development which sparked a number of other major news stories published the following day.
The Sunday Times approached us for our help, which we were pleased to provide over a number of days. We put the newspaper into contact with our Shell related sources, including Bill Campbell. We provided a considerable volume of information from our extensive files. We also supplied documents referred to in the article, including the letter the HSE offshore division sent to Shell on 18 July 2011, which we now put into the public domain. This was kindly supplied to us by the HSE press office. read more
May 10th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan
We have recently received information from Shell in response to our 2011 SAR application under the Data Protection Act.
It always contains some surprises, and this time is no exception.
Unbeknown to us, Shell engaged in email correspondence in September/October 2010 with an unknown third party, a business owner, on the subject of Shell paying us a large sum to stop our campaigning focused on Shell.
The correspondence is reproduced below in chronological order, with the first email dated 25 Sept 2010. Identification information other than our surname and web domain name has been redacted by Shell.
We have good reason to believe that the person responding for Shell was Mr Richard Wiseman, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Mr Wiseman retired a couple of months ago.read more
Jun 27th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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THE SUNDAY TIMES
Shell chief Terry Nolan is confident that despite being a decade late and three times over budget, Corrib will win over its critics
Mark Paul
Published: 20 June 2010
Like another oil firm in big trouble at the moment, Shell caused a lot of upset, which Nolan accepts. If I was doing it all again, we would put more effort into understanding the community, he says
Terry Nolan, the managing director of Shell Exploration and Production (E&P) Ireland, picks up the microphone and addresses the 700 construction workers gathered at Shells Bellanaboy gas refinery, near Rossport on the wild northern Mayo coast.
The refinery will serve the contentious Corrib gas field, located 83km out in the Atlantic Ocean.read more
May 28th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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Francesca Steele: May 28, 2010
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy East Resources, the US natural gas explorer, for $4.7 billion (£3.2 billion).
The Amsterdam-based oil and gas giant said that it had struck a deal with East Resources and its private equity investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to acquire subsidiaries which own substantially all of the business.
East Resources has more than 650,000 acres in the Marcellus shale, a rock formation running from West Virginia to New York, which is said to contain vast amounts of natural gas. It produces the equivalent of almost 10,000 barrels of oil a day.read more
May 19th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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May 19, 2010
Chinas biggest energy company has agreed to take a stake in Royal Dutch Shells oil and gas unit in Syria in a deal estimated to be worth $1.5 billion (£1 billion).
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has acquired a 35 per cent interest in Syria Shell Petroleum Development.
Shell has been eager to foster closer links with China, the worlds second-biggest oil consumer after America, and to team up in exploring and producing in the Middle East.
Shell signed a 30-year deal with CNPC on Sunday for joint gas exploration and production in Qatar.read more
May 18th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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EXTRACT: “It is fair to conclude that Shell is allergic to criticism, and has no qualms about ruthlessly using its financial muscle to manipulate the news media, brainwash shareholders, greenwash motorists and censor critics who wish to point out the inconvenient truth.”
By John Donovan
Interesting to note the controversy over the last minute decision by the Financial Times against publishing a powerful anti-Shell advert by Amnesty International, who must be left wondering whether Shell brought some influence to bear?
I was left in the same position after The Sunday Times in 2007, aborted a half page article about us and our unique relationship with Shell.
At 11am on a Saturday morning, 3 February 2007, I received a phone call from a Sunday Times journalist, Steven Swinford. He read out the entire article to check on accuracy, particularly in respect of quotes attributed to me. Our involvement in the Sakhalin2 affair was described as the ultimate revenge costing Shell £11 billion UK pounds ($22 billion USD).read more
May 4th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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“In Washington, a fresh impetus to pursue alternative forms of energy and a renewed hostility towards Big Oil will not be directed solely at BP.”
May 5, 2010
David Wighton
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a tragedy for the families of those who died, for the environment and for local communities.
It is a huge challenge for the company and its chief executive, Tony Hayward. But in cold, cash terms, is it really so bad as to warrant the £20 billion that has been wiped off BPs market value?
The broken well, which is leaking 210,000 gallons of oil a day, could flow for a year and still be dwarfed by earlier incidents. The Ixtoc 1 blowout in Mexicos Bay of Campeche disgorged 140 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico in 1979 before it was finally halted. Even that was a fraction of the 1991 spill when Iraqi forces allowed 36 billion gallons of crude to bleed into the Persian Gulf.read more
Apr 28th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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April 28, 2010 Robin Pagnamenta, Energy Editor
Royal Dutch Shell announced a 60 per cent increase in profits this morning, propelled by higher oil and gas prices and growth in production.
Shell, Europes biggest oil company, said that the current cost of supply profits, a key industry measure which strips out fluctuations in the price of energy, reached $4.8 billion in the three months to March 31, up from $3 billion a year ago.
The performance was boosted by a 6 per cent increase in the Anglo-Dutch companys oil and gas production, which hit 3.59 million barrels per day after the ramp-up of the Sakhalin II project in Russia and Parque das Conchas in Brazil.read more
Apr 27th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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“In the draft, Shell tells Mr Blair to discuss positive progress on weapons of mass destruction as well as the investigation into the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan Embassy in London in 1984.”
David Robertson, Business Correspondent
Tony Blair lobbied Colonel Muammar Gaddafi on behalf of Shell in a letter written for him in draft form by the oil company, documents obtained by The Times reveal.
The correspondence, written while Mr Blair was Prime Minister, bears a striking resemblance to a briefing note by Royal Dutch Shell weeks earlier promoting a $500 million (£325 million) deal it was trying to clinch in Libya.
While it is common for government ministers to champion British interests abroad, Shells draft reveals an unusual assurance in its ability to dictate Mr Blairs conversation with the Libyan leader. It also raises questions about the motives behind Britains improved relations with Libya and the subsequent release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber. Lockerbie victims have claimed that the Government paved the way for al-Megrahis release as part of a deal with Libya to give British companies access to Libyas lucrative oil and gas industry.read more
Apr 3rd, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The Times April 2, 2010
Robin Pagnamenta, Energy Editor
Only hours after President Obama opened up vast tracts of Americas coastline to exploration, Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday that it plans to start drilling for oil in the Arctic Sea, north of Alaska, within weeks.
Marvin Odum, the chief executive of Shells North America business, said that Shell was absolutely ready to drill in terms of infrastructure and manpower in Alaska and signalled that activity could begin within ten weeks.read more
GAZPROM, Russias state-owned gas giant, is preparing an audacious bid to become one of the biggest fuel suppliers in Britain.
The company is expected to lodge an offer this week for a network of 800 petrol stations and the Lindsey oil refinery at Killingholme, Lincolnshire. The assets have been put up for sale by Total, the French oil group. It has hired JP Morgan, the investment bank, to sell its UK business, which employs 5,000 people. The business is expected to fetch more than £1 billion.
The prospect of the Kremlincontrolled giant owning key parts of the UK oil infrastructure could worry the government. When Gazprom was rumoured to be looking at a bid for Centrica, owner of British Gas, in 2006, ministers met to examine the possible consequences resulting from any takeover of a major UK energy supplier.read more
Mar 17th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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March 17, 2010: Robin Pagnamenta Energy Editor
Royal Dutch Shell will sell full or part-stakes in as many as 9,000 petrol stations worldwide and cut a further 1,000 jobs as it intensifies its global cost-cutting.
The announcement came as Shell appeared to be edging closer to a deal with Arrow Energy to bolster the groups position in Australias fast-growing industry supplying coal-seam gas to China and South-East Asia.
Peter Voser, the chief executive, said that Shell intends to leave about 30 of the 90 countries in which it operates petrol stations. The move, which is already under way, is part of a focus on more profitable markets and on exploration and production.read more
Mar 16th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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//
March 16, 2010
Comment: cracking Shell
Robin Pagnamenta
After seven years of year-on-year declines in oil production, Shells return to volume growth represents a significant turnaround for the Anglo-Dutch oil giant.
For Peter Voser, eight months in to his role as chief executive, it also reflects a new phase in the drive to rebuild the companys fortunes.
Since his appointment last summer, he has announced plans to cut 6,000 jobs and reorganise the group to strip out costs and excessive bureaucracy.
Today he announced plans to intensify that drive by trimming a further 1,000 positions, mostly in middle management and the groups downstream operation.read more
Feb 24th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The company has agreed terms for a ten-year lease with Canary Wharf on 200,000 sq ft of Docklands offices
February 24, 2010
A view of the London Eye, located along the Thames River at County Hall, is seen across from the Shell Oil Centre building.
Carl Mortished, World Business Editor
Staff at Royal Dutch Shell will be moved next year from the Shell Centre at Waterloo to Canary Wharf as part of a huge redevelopment of the oil companys historic London headquarters.
The company has agreed terms for a ten-year lease with Canary Wharf on 200,000 sq ft of Docklands offices at 40 Bank Street, a building close to the tower at One Canada Square.read more
Feb 18th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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TNK-BP and BP declined to comment yesterday on the decision from RosPrirodNadzor, which was reminiscent of the manouvering by Russian agencies that resulted in Shell losing control of its Sakhalin project in the Russian Far East in 2006.
Feb 17th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The Times
February 17, 2010
Robin Pagnamenta and Robert Lindsay
Royal Dutch Shell said that it would freeze the salaries of its top directors and reform a generous bonus scheme as the oil giant moved to soothe shareholders anger over excessive boardroom pay before its annual meeting.
In a letter to investors, Hans Wijers, the new chairman of the Anglo-Dutch companys remuneration committee, said that the changes were being made after extensive talks with shareholders, 60 per cent of whom voted down the executive pay plans at a stormy annual meeting last year.read more
Feb 14th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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TONY HAYWARD, BPs chief executive, has set the FTSE 100 oil group on a collision course with investors and environmentalists over a blockbuster oil sands deal.
Feb 14th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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A company funded by the charitable arm of Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant, has developed a cheap and efficient stove that it says could save carbon and lives.
Feb 12th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The Times
February 13, 2010
The leaked list includes the names and telephone numbers of 170,000 staff
Robin Pagnamenta, Energy Editor
A full-scale investigation was under way last night into a security breach at Royal Dutch Shell as the oil company faced explaining to staff how the personal details of 170,000 employees and contractors had made their way on to the internet.
The Times has learnt that seven non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who were e-mailed a database of all Shell staff this month have been dragged into the row.read more
Feb 12th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The database featured a letter that set out criticism of Shell’s activities in Nigeria
The Times
February 12, 2010
Robin Pagnamenta, Energy Editor
Royal Dutch Shell was at the centre of a major security breach last night after the names and telephone numbers of tens of thousands of the oil companys staff were circulating freely on the internet.
The details of up to 170,000 workers and contractors linked to the company, including some workers addresses, were contained in a database of Shells global workforce.read more
Feb 5th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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From The Times
February 5, 2010
In his fascinating new book about his life and long career at BP, Lord Browne reveals he had talks with Jeroen van der Veer in 2004 about a merger with Shell.
The idea was to combine the two companies and to dispose of all BPs refining and marketing operations. Lord Browne says it seemed so obviously right to me and the executive team.
But some BP directors took a different view and the proposal was never discussed by the board.
In retrospect, such a deal would not have addressed the key challenge both companies now face access to reserves. And while Lord Browne says it would have yielded cost savings of $9 billion, results from both companies this week have shown there was huge scope for efficiency savings even without a merger.read more
Jan 31st, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The Sunday Times
// <![CDATA[
//
January 31, 2010By Danny FortsonPETER VOSER, boss of Royal Dutch Shell, will warn of fresh job cuts this week as he reveals sagging profits at the oil giant. Since taking the top job six months ago Voser has cut 5,000 staff. He warned this weekend that the restructuring may need to go further as the company battles falling production and a huge cost base. He added: As part of that, it may also mean that some more people have to go.
Analysts expect the group to report a quarterly profit of $2.9 billion (£1.8 billion) on Thursday, a 40% drop over the same period last year. This would take its annual profit to $13.4 billion, down 57% on the $31.4 billion it made in 2008 when the oil price hit a record of $147 a barrel.The results will come in stark contrast to rival BP. Analysts expect it to post a profit of $4.8 billion for the quarter, about 75% better than the same time a year ago. The jump is largely thanks to the overhaul initiated by Tony Hayward since he took over as chief executive in 2006.
Peter Hitchens, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said: The question is, can Voser turn it round and get Shell going in the right direction? The underlying business is still in decline.
Voser is carrying out a raft of other cost-cutting measures, including the sale of large swathes of its Nigerian oilfields, a plan revealed in The Sunday Times last month.
Jan 13th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The Times
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January 14, 2010
Business big shot: Simon Henry, of Royal Dutch Shell
Emma Keens
After being knocked off the top spot as Europes largest oil and gas producer by market capitalisation this week, Shell executives did not get much time to lick their wounds.
The Anglo-Dutch companys shares continued their slide yesterday amid talk that it had been guiding analysts to reduce their fourth-quarter earnings forecasts by about 20 per cent. A handful of downgrades served only to fuel that fire.
One man feeling the pain more than most will be Simon Henry (right), Royal Dutch Shell groups chief financial officer, whose first year in the role has been anything but smooth, with falling demand continuing to pummel the oil industry.read more
Jan 13th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The men were working at the Shell-operated Afam gas and power plant east of Port Harcourt. They work for Netco Dietsmann, a venture between Nigerias state-owned National Engineering and Technical Company and the Dutch company Dietsmann.
The comment was contained in a Shell internal email sent on the day the article was published, 19 July 2009. The names of Shell employees involved in the email correspondence have been deleted to protect their identity.read more
Jan 5th, 2010
by John Donovan.
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The Times
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January 5, 2010
Michael Herman
Shell and two of its contractors were fined a combined £283,000 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) yesterday over an accident at an oil refinery that left a worker paralysed from the waist down.
The HSE said the accident at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in 2007, in which a 500-kilogram container fell 30ft on to a walkway, was totally avoidable. The container of waste material landed on Stephen Rizzotti, 42 who was employed by a Shell contractor as a manager at the refinery breaking his back, pelvis and both legs, and leaving him wheelchair-bound.read more
Jan 3rd, 2010
by John Donovan.
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Peter Voser, the chief executive who took over in July, has launched a huge restructuring, which includes substantial staff cuts. The companys shares have a 5.8% dividend yield that provides a good support for the price.
Dec 30th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Documents released by Royal Dutch Shell Plc under the Data Protection Act to John Donovan, a prominent critic of the world’s largest oil company, show that Shell does not deny that his intervention in the Sakhalin2 project in Russia cost Shell billions – according to the Sunday Times – $22 billion.
Shell internal correspondence from December 2006 to March 2007 reveal that Shell was concerned that:
“…the Sunday Times has picked up the Sakhalin/drilling leaked e-mail story from Donovan’s website, They are responding with agree Os and As that have been used previously with the Guardian, but are first trying to kill the story by pointing out that is old news – slim chance that this will work.” read more
Dec 22nd, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Two Chinese government-controlled companies are among front-runners in a £3 billion battle for control of oil assets in Nigeria that have been put up for sale by Royal Dutch Shell.
Dec 20th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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The Sunday Times
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December 20, 2009
Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant, has launched a shake-up of its controversial operations in Nigeria by offering oilfields valued at up to $5 billion (£3.1 billion) for sale.
The auction comes as Nigeria prepares to impose harsher terms on foreign operators next month and hand greater control to domestic firms.
Shell is the biggest western oil firm in Nigeria, the worlds tenth largest producer, and has had operations there for 70 years.
It is understood that the company recently launched a formal sales process that is being overseen by Ann Pickard, head of Shell Nigeria.read more
Dec 11th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Three British companies BP, Cairn Energy and BG Group are among the bidders, alongside companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Gazprom. Competition is expected to be fierce and the groups were reluctant to reveal which fields they wanted.
Nov 25th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell is hopeful that it will gain an equity stake in a giant Russian gas field that could supply all of the worlds needs for a decade. Peter Voser, Shells chief executive, said that talks with the Russian government about the Yamal project in the Siberian Arctic were progressing well.
Nov 13th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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Lord Myners, the City Minister, and other politicians have urged shareholders to engage with errant companies more actively, prompting a rash of protests over pay at blue-chip companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Royal Bank of Scotland.
SHELL, the oil giant, is facing a boycott of its products by armed forces veterans after it banned poppy appeal collections at its petrol stations.
Veterans will this week discuss organising an embargo in protest at the Anglo-Dutch companys refusal to allow poppies to be sold on its forecourts.
Shell Retail, which operates more than 1,000 service stations in the UK, imposed the ban because, it says, it already contributes to a number of charities, including Macmillan Cancer Relief, the RSPCA and Motability.read more
Nov 8th, 2009
by John Donovan.
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The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined UBS £8 million for weak controls that allowed staff in its private bank to make thousands of unauthorised trades with clients money and then hide the losses. It is the third-largest fine awarded by the FSA.
OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
JOHN DONOVAN, THE OWNER OF THIS AND SEVERAL OTHER SHELL FOCUSSED WEBSITES
SHELL PRELUDE TO DISASTER
The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell above, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.
The campaign waged on this website by John Donovan to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte - which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS - has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name - Pioneering Spirit.
GLOBAL NEWS COVERAGE: FEBRUARY 2010
MORE INFORMATION: Contact details for over 176,000 employees and contractors of Royal Dutch Shell reached John Donovan and some environmental and human rights groups, ostensibly from disaffected Shell staff calling for a “peaceful corporate revolution” at the company. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, contained names and telephone numbers for all the company’s work force worldwide, including some home numbers. It was supplied with a 170 page covering note, explaining that it was being circulated by “116 concerned employees of Shell dispersed throughout the USA, the UK, and the Netherlands”, to highlight the harm done by the company’s operations in Nigeria. John Donovan brought the leak to the attention of Shell. Tests proved that the data was authentic and he destroyed the database after being informed by Mr. Richard Wiseman, the then Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, that the confidential information if publicly disclosed, could put Shell employees and contractors in real danger.
This is not a Shell website. That fact should be abundantly plain from the overall content of this home page and our sister Shell focussed websites, including shellnazihistory.com. Click on the Disclaimer link at top of this page for more information. You Can Be Sure Shell does not endorse or approve of this website. There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations. It is an entirely free to use website drawing attention to the negative side of Shell while also publishing positive news about the company. The Shell logo image with the white text used on this website, as per the above example, is in the public domain because its copyright has expired and its author is anonymous. It can be found on WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. Our shellenergy.websitepublishes Shell Energy customer complaints posted on Trustpilot where there is an ample supply. Use this link for Shell’s own website.
Shell Breaking News
Shell Renewables Head to Leave Amid Fossil Fuel ShiftJune 30, 2023 14:49Financial PostBreadcrumb Trail Links PMN Business Shell Plc’s European renewable power boss Thomas Brostrom has decided to leave the company as the oil supermajor revises its strategy to focus more investment into fossil fuels. Author of the article: Bloomberg News …
Shell and BP take a beating as bank woes hit crude pricesMarch 15, 2023 17:36Proactive InvestorsBP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) shares have taken a hit, dropping over 8%, due to a sell-off in the banking sector.
The natural resources market has been volatile, with Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate falling by 4- …
Shell CEO Pay Up 50%March 9, 2023 21:23Manufacturing Business TechnologyCEO of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Beurden speaks at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Shell paid outgoing Chief Executive Ben van Beurden a total of 9.7 million pounds ($11.5 million) in 2022 as the …
Former Shell CEO's pay jumped 53% to $11.5m in 2022March 9, 2023 11:17Gulf NewsBen van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during the 26th World Gas Conference in Paris, France, June 2, 2015
Image Credit: Reuters
London: Shell's former chief executive, Ben van Beurden, received a pay package of 9.7 …
SHELL’S ROLE IN NIGERIAN OPL 245 BRIBERY SCANDAL
Whatever fig leaves they might be trying to use to hide the truth, Shell and Eni paid over $1bn to a company called Malabu for the OPL 245 licence. Even though the payment was channelled through the Nigerian government, it was clear that Shell knew that the ultimate beneficiary was Dan Etete, the former minister of petroleum. Etete is the owner of Malabu, to whom he awarded the licence when he was Nigerian Minister of Petroleum.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
MORE INFORMATION
Shell appeased and collaborated with the Nazis. The oil giant instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Shell used slave labor and was a close business partner in Germany of I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that also used slave labor and supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children. Shell continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri and even after his death. It was money generated on Shell forecourts around the world, profiteering from cartel oil prices, that funded the Nazi party and saved it from financial collapse. Evidence about Shell's Nazi connections can be found in extracts from "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" Volumes 1 and 2 authored by historians paid by Shell, who had unrestricted access to Shell archives. There are 67 pages in total, so takes some time to download.
Photograph (full size here) shows a Swastika flag flying at the head office of Royal Dutch Petroleum, 30 Carel van Bylandtlaan, The Hague, during the Nazi occupation of the in World War II (From Image Database Hague Municipal)
Sir Henri Deterding, the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group - known as "The Most Powerful Man in the World" - who became an ardent Nazi and financial supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party.
Reading between the lines in various legal documents, it seems that the allegations are that after the technology in question had been disclosed to a Shell company in the USA, the information was passed to Shell in the Netherlands in breach of confidentiality. And Royal Dutch Shell subsequently exploited the technology without payment or credit to the company holding the rights; Newton Research Partners. The inference seems to be that Twister B.V. was founded by Shell partly on trade secrets stolen from Bloom/Newton.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Originally co-founded by the late Alfred Donovan and his son John, it is now operated by John, Shell's "No.1 Enemy", aided by an expert team, with invaluable support from retired Shell senior executives and officials as guest contributors and leaked information from Shell insiders. (JOHN DONOVAN, WEBSITE OWNER) For nearly a decade, we have operated globally under the Royal Dutch Shell Plc top level domain name, dealing on Shell’s reluctant behalf with job applications, business proposals, Shell pension enquiries, shareholder enquiries, complaints, invitations to speak at conferences, an approach from the Dutch Defence Ministry and even terrorist threats. All meant for Shell. Prospect magazine has aptly described this website as being:"An open wound for Shell": WIPO proceedings by Shell to seize the domain name failed. NO SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES: All of our watchdog activities monitoring Royal Dutch Shell, including operating this website, are carried out on a non-profit basis. Any advertising revenues generated are used to recover and/or defray operational costs. We are a news aggregator and original content website. All information is available free for educational and research purposes. SHELL TACIT ENDORSEMENT: WHAT A WELL INFORMED SHELL OFFICIAL SAID ABOUT US:
"John and Alfred Donovan well known in UK/Hague. They perceive Shell played them and so have made it their mission to embarrass,belittle and criticize Shell, which they do quite well. Their website, royaldutchshellplc.com is an excellent source of group news and comment and I recommend it far above what our own group internal comms puts out."
WARNING TO SHELL EMPLOYEES: Shell Global Affairs Security "CAS") is spying on Shell employees globally trying to trace who is visiting, posting, or leaking information to this website from Shell premises. Threats, including death threats, have allegedly been made against conscience driven Shell whistleblowers supplying us with information. The worlds biggest leak of employee details as part of a claimed corporate revolution by 116 Shell employees, suggest the espionage operation, threats and draconian litigation have not been entirely successful in cutting off the supply of information to this website. The insider leaks had already cost Shell billions on the Sakhalin Energy project and the loss of SEIC Deputy Chairman, David Greer. We publish our own carefully researched articles about Shell e.g. "How Royal Dutch Shell saved Hitler and the Nazi Party". MEDIA COVERAGE: Prospect Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian, have all published major articles about us: "Rise of the Gripe Site";"Two men and a website mount vendetta against Shell' and "92-year-old's website leaves oil giant Shell-shocked”. SHELL PETROL STATION images displayed in the website header panel are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Information on copyright issues here.
John Donovan can be contacted at [email protected]
SHELL’S $500,000 WEDDING GIFT TO CORRUPT BRUNEI ROYAL FAMILY
EXTRACT FROM ASIAN JOURNAL ARTICLE IN LIST OF LINKS BELOW: "Fireworks will light up the sky for three nights. The local unit of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has donated 500,000 Brunei dollars (US$292,400; euro 243,700) for the display, and for cultural events to be hosted by popular performers from Malaysia."
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS:
THIS IS WHAT IT SAID:
Subject: This could be the most important whistleblower email you have ever received.
Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake.
My name is Bill Campbell. I am a former Group Auditor of Shell International. I am writing to you on a matter of conscience in an effort to avert the inevitability of another major accident in the North Sea. The consequences could potentially impact on families in many constituencies, including your own.
As Royal Dutch Shell and the Health & Safety Executive would acknowledge, I am an expert on safety matters relating to offshore oil and gas platforms. In 1999, I was appointed by Shell to lead a safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform. The audit revealed a platform management culture that basically gave a higher priority to production than the safety of Shell employees. To our astonishment we discovered that a "Touch F*** All" policy was in place. Worse still, safety records were routinely falsified and repairs bodged.
I personally brought the shocking situation to the attention of senior management including Malcolm Brinded, the then Managing Director of Shell Exploration & Production. I revealed that ESDV leak-off tests were purposely falsified, not once but many times and that Brent Bravo platform management had admitted responsibility for the dangerous practices being followed. In response to my team ringing alarm bells, management pledged to rectify the serious problems which had been uncovered.
When I later complained that the pledges were not being kept, I was removed from my oversight function.
Four years later, a massive gas leak occurred on the platform. Two workers lost their lives. I have no doubt at all that the inaction of the relevant Asset Manager, the General Manager, the Oil Director and Malcolm Brinded, contributed in some part to the unlawful killing of two persons on Brent Bravo in September 2003.
Shell subsequently pleaded guilty to breaches of the HSE regulations and a record-breaking £900,000 fine was imposed. I thought this would bring about a real change in policy to put the emphasis on safety.
Unfortunately I was wrong. Although I supplied the evidence related to 1999, and the fact that there had been a collapse in controls of integrity from 1999 to 2003 on all 16 of Shell's North Sea offshore installations covered in a post fatality integrity review to the HSE for review by the Procurator Fiscal, none of this evidence was presented before the Sheriff at the subsequent Inquiry. The situation is explained in a letter to the Procurator Fiscal and the Sheriff (on 24th February 2007).
Shell management has engaged in spin to try to pretend that it is getting to grips with its safety problem. However, its atrocious safety record - the worst in the North Sea in terms of accidental deaths and absolute number of enforcement actions – tells a different story. This fact has resulted in a number of newspaper articles.
I have had meetings with senior Shell people including its CEO Mr. Jeroen van der Veer. I regret to say that I have found him to be economical with the truth. He prefers to support cover-up and deceit rather than confronting the underlying problems. Brinded is now Executive Director of Shell Exploration & Production. He believes in burying evidence.
My family and friends would probably prefer me to give up on this matter and enjoy my retirement after so many years working for Shell.
However, by writing to every MP in the UK, no one can ever say that I did not do my best to avert an inevitable further major accident event in the North Sea. When it happens (I pray that I am wrong) I will make this warning communication available to the media together with the vast amount of evidence in my possession.
At least my conscience is clear. I have done everything possible to ring the alarm bells about Shell management and its unscrupulous attitude to the safety of its employees.
Yours sincerely
Bill Campbell
ENDS
(Malcolm Brinded and Jeroen van der Veer are no longer with Shell. The Oil Director referred to in the email is Chris Finlayson, who left Shell to become Chief Executive of British Gas before being fired - his photo immediately below)
SIR PHILIP WATTS, THE GROUP CHAIRMAN OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP, FORCED TO RESIGN IN 2004
Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves. US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits. Sir Philip Watts
and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal) were among the Shell executives forced to resign. More details at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: The Shell reserves scandal brought about
the end of the Royal Dutch Shell Group in its original form as an Anglo-Dutch partnership.
Shell Transport & Trading Co and Royal Dutch Petroleum were unified into a single Dutch owned company - Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Sir Philip turned to religion and is now a very wealthy priest after receiving a payoff/pension package from Shell reportedly worth $18.5 million. Walter van de Vijver in contrast was the victim of a sadistic sacking by his Shell senior management backstabbing colleagues.
Displayed below are some of the spectacular promotional campaigns my company Don Marketing created for Shell in the 1980s and 1990s. This was before the series of SIX high court actions we brought against Shell for stealing ideas (4) and for defamation (2) - all settled by Shell. This website is a permanent response by me to the malicious underhand tactics, including treachery, espionage and intimidation, used by Shell during and after the bouts of litigation. More information is printed at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: After a solicitor acting for Shell threatened to make the litigation "drawn out and difficult" with the intention of draining the resources of a financially weaker opponent, my late father (Alfred Donovan) and I decided to mount a wide-ranging campaign as a counter-measure. We jointly founded the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, which nearly 15% of Shell UK retailers joined. We regularly conducted ethical surveys involving up to 1500 Shell petrol stations. All responses were opened and authenticated by an independent solicitor who supplied Affidavits confirming the results. In whole page announcements in trade magazines (examples above) we challenged Shell to commission and publish the resuits of independent research asking the same questions and offering respondents GUARANTEED anonymity. Shell never took up the invitation. Instead it asked the UK Advertising Standards Authority to investigate our Shell surveys. No problems were found. The head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
SHELL CONTROVERSIES
selection of memorable warnings/articles/images associated with the controversial track record of Royal Dutch Shell.
WARNING: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR IDEAS TO SHELL GameChanger OR SHELL Ideas360 WITHOUT TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION. Shell management has ample funds to pay for intellectual property but prefers to steal it from small businesses and in our experience, gives its full backing to dishonest managers willing to do its bidding. We have sued Shell repeatedly in the High Court for the theft of our Intellectual Property. It is doubtful if anyone can match our dire experience in dealing with this ruthless unscrupulous serial poacher of other parties ideas. Expect threats, legal machinations and sinister action from Shell and its spooks if you object to having your ideas stolen.
Some years ago extensive documentary evidence was brought to the attention of Malcolm Brinded above, when he was Chairman of Shell UK, proving beyond any doubt that Shell executives had conspired to rig a tender for a major contract. A number of innocent firms were deliberately lured into signing confidentiality agreements and disclosing Intellectual Property to Shell under false pretences, in a carefully contrived plot. The firm which was awarded the contract never took part in the tender. One objective of the Machiavellian plan was to stop/delay IP trade secrets owned by the participants in the tender from being disclosed to Shell's rivals. This was achieved by outright deception, without paying a cent to the firms involved, who wrongly believed they were participating in an honest tender. Instead of sacking the ring leader, AJL - who had a personal relationship with the firm which miraculously won the race in which it never ran - Shell senior directors, including Brinded, gave AJL their full backing. Some of the Shell executives involved, including for example, Tim Hannagan, still hold high positions inside Shell - in his case, Global Brand and Visual Identity Manager. If Shell does not accept that this is a true, provable account of what happened, then it should sue for libel. How on earth is such predatory conduct compatible with Shell's claimed business principles?