Shell’s Brent Charlie, which is 185km (115 miles) North East of Lerwick, Shetland, contacted HM Coastguard just before 5pm on November 27 reporting that they had lost power and were running on backup batteries.
“The Brent Charlie platform was shut down for maintenance and although the 184 crew were safe and well the platform had limited power, meaning no lighting, heating or water,” said a spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
“With severe incoming weather HM Coastguard and Shell made the decision to ensure the safety of the crew and to declare an emergency situation and evacuate 135 non-essential crew.read more
The British-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch Shell has reportedly announced its plans to invest in the North Sea to construct a gas field 149 miles east of Aberdeen. As per trusted sources, the energy giant is making a slew of new investments in the basin after selling off about EUR 2.4 billion worth of North Sea fields and assets in early 2017.
Reportedly, Shell decided to invest in the Arran field following investments in revamping the Fram field in the Central North Sea, the Penguins field in the northern North Sea, and the Alligin field West of Shetland. According to a press release by Shell, the Arran field is likely to produce nearly 100 million cubic feet of gas and 4,000 barrels of condensate each day which is equivalent to 21,000 barrels of oil.read more
Aug 15th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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In spite of everything hurled by the North Sea and global market conditions across half a century, and despite predictions to the contrary, Shell remains a big player on the UK Continental Shelf.
Energy Voice interviewed Shell UK upstream vice president Steve Phimister aboard the Shearwater platform.
A characteristic throughout has been a quest to lead.
Driving Shell forward is VP Upstream President Steve Phimister who, by coincidence, was born the same year as Shell’s UKCS odyssey began 50 years ago.
The super-major has lived through boom times followed by harsh periods when commodity prices were in the basement and, from the late 1990s, speculation grew as to whether such companies had a future in the North Sea.read more
Jan 15th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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By Collin Eaton: Updated 9:18 am, Monday, January 15, 2018
Royal Dutch Shell plans to build its first major oil-production vessel in the northern U.K. North Sea in almost three decades, in an effort to redevelop the Penguins oil and gas field, the company said Monday.
Shell believes the floating production, storage and offloading vessel will pump 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from the Penguins field at its peak, and that it could break even on its investment even if oil prices slide below $40 a barrel.read more
Jan 15th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Ron Rousso: JAN 15, 2018
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell gave the green light on Monday for an expansion of the Penguins oil and gas field in the UK North Sea, its first major new project in the ageing basin in six years.
Shell said the development, which includes the construction of a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, reaffirmed the Anglo-Dutch company’s commitment to the region after it sold around half of its assets there last year.
“Penguins demonstrates the importance of Shell’s North Sea assets to the company’s upstream portfolio,” said Andy Brown, director of Shell’s oil and gas production, known as upstream.read more
Shell has launched an investigation after a lifeboat accidentally “descended” from the aging Brent Alpha platform during maintenance.
A Shell spokesperson said that on Saturday morning, a mechanical failure occurred during routine maintenance, “allowing [the lifeboat] to descend into the sea.” The BBC reports that the lifeboat davit’s clutch slipped during work on the boat. No injuries were reported, and the boat was recovered the following day.read more
Shell announced that production from the Shearwater and Nelson platforms in the central North Sea had been suspended due to Forties pipeline shutdown.
Forties pipeline is a vital artery of the North Sea production. Production loss is estimated at about 400K Boep/d which is significant and may boost oil prices for weeks.
This situation could be considered as a net positive for Shell and other oil majors.
Investment Thesis:
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B), BP P.l.c (BP), and Exxon Mobil (XOM) are the most reliable long-term oil companies and should be part of your main oil portfolio. However, this special status comes with the shareholders’ obligation to follow tightly what is going on with the company on the day-to-day news which may eventually change the future outlook — in this case with a potential production cut. This is exactly what I intend to discuss today.read more
Steve Phimister, upstream vice president for the UK and Ireland at Shell, said the company had delivered on its plans for the current year and paid tribute to staff members.
Highlights from the year included the sale of a package of North Sea assets to Chrysaor and the arrival of the Brent Delta platform in Hartlepool for scrapping.
Shell hopes to make a final investment decision (FID) on redeveloping the Penguins area “shortly”.
Mr Phimister said Penguins was on track to be the “first cab out of the rank” next year.read more
Dec 5th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Shell has told BBC Scotland it has no more plans to sell assets
Oil giant Shell will not sell off any more North Sea assets.
A senior figure at the company has told BBC Scotland he has no plans to sell resources despite the chancellor announcing measures to make the process easier.
Shell has just completed the sale of a package of assets to the company Chrysaor for $3.8bn.
It included stakes in the Buzzard, Beryl, Elgin-Franklin and Schiehallion fields.
Director of Shell’s Upstream Commercial business, Steve Phimister, said he would now invest in what remains.read more
Opportunities for new North Sea field investment are “beginning to appear on the horizon”, according to Shell UK’s commercial manager Ben Taylor.
The upstream commercial lead for the supermajor’s North Sea operations admitted that there are still many “challenges” facing the industry.
He cited the balancing act of juggling decommissioning older assets with maximising the remaining North Sea reserves as one such test for the sector.
But he said there should be optimism that a change of perception from within industry culture should lead to signs of renewed activity.
Speaking at a business breakfast in Aberdeen, Mr Taylor said: “When you talk across industry there’s an opportunity now for new field investment beginning to appear on the horizon.read more
Oil major Shell has taken 60 people off the Brent Bravo platform in the North Sea.
The firm said that “poor weather” was impacting delivery of diesel.
This resulted in a partial downmanning as a “precautionary measure”, the operator said.
A spokesperson for Shell UK said: “Shell UK can confirm that 60 personnel from the Brent Bravo platform have returned to shore as a precautionary measure.
“Poor weather has impacted the delivery of diesel and we are working to reinstate supplies as soon as possible, weather permitting.”read more
The package of assets consists of Shell’s interests in Buzzard, Beryl, Bressay, Elgin-Franklin, J-Area, the Greater Armada cluster, Everest, Lomond and Erskine, plus a 10% stake in Schiehallion
The deal includes an initial consideration of $3billion and a payment of up to $600m between 2018-2021 subject to commodity price, with potential further payments of up to $180m for future discoveries.
The transaction was backed by private equity fund EIG Global Energy Partners, through its Harbour Energy joint venture with Asian commodity group Noble.read more
Sep 4th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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NEWS FROM JULY 2, 2015 RELEVANT TO RECENT EVENTS
Oil giant Shell was today fined over £6,000 after a diesel leak on board the same North Sea platform where two workers died 12 years ago.
Sean McCue, 22, and Keith Moncrieff, 45, lost their lives when they were overcome by gas while working on the energy firm’s Brent Bravo rig in 2003.
The oil company was previously fined nearly one million pounds admitting safety breaches which led to their deaths.
Yesterday Shell UK bosses returned to the court after approximately 13 to 15 tonnes of diesel spilled into the North Sea despite warnings over the transfer system going back over a decade.read more
Shell has been served with more safety warnings over a gas leak in May at its Brent Charlie facility in the UK northern North Sea, which is only now beginning a gradual restart of production.
A Shell spokesperson told Upstream on Wednesday that the facility commenced a gradual restart at the weekend and is fully up-manned.
Royal Dutch Shell has been served a prohibition notice over the potential for “fire and explosion” on the Brent Charlie platform.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the supermajor had failed to act under the Offshore Prevention of Fire regulations.
The watchdog said the breach related to the possibility of an uncontrolled release of flammable or explosive hydrocarbons from safety critical pipework in the Column Four leg.
The breach was recorded back in May, with the prohibition notice served at the end of the month.read more
Jun 22nd, 2017
by John Donovan.
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One of the brains behind an iconic piece of the North Sea oil and gas landscape will have a last chance to say goodbye before it is dismantled for good.
Shell’s Brent Delta platform was a major part of offshore infrastructure for more than 40 years.
But, last month, the top was removed from the waters, leaving its legs behind, and transported to Hartlepool as part of the decommissioning process.
The huge 24,000 tonne topside, which weighs the same as the Empire State Building, is currently being stored in an Able UK’s shipyard, where it is waiting to be taken apart and recycled.
However, Shell gave some of its former employees the chance to bid farewell to the platform, which generated more than £35billion over its four decades.read more
Jun 16th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Friday 16 July 2017
The European Commission approved on Friday Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) $3.8 billion sale of North Sea oil and gas assets to private equity-backed Chrysaor.
“The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns, because of its limited impact on the market structure,” the Commission said in a statement.
Shell welcomed the “important milestone” toward the completion of the deal which is expected in the second half of this year.read more
Shell paid more than $55.6billion (£43.7billion) to governments around the world in 2016, but got a sizeable rebate from the UK Treasury, the oil major revealed today.
The group, which is headquartered in London and the Netherlands, received a tax credit of £111million from the UK government last year primarily as a result of North Sea decommissioning costs.
About £90million worth of UK tax credits were linked to the Brent field and other northern North Sea projects.
ROYAL Dutch Shell has revealed that it was refunded $142.5 million tax in the UK last year, in a development that highlights the scale of the bills the government will face as North Sea fields run dry.
Around $116m of the refund appears to be due to the relief provided to Shell for the costs of decommissioning work completed on the giant Brent field north east of Shetland.
The first of four platforms used on the field was shipped to Hartlepool on a giant vessel earlier this month in a move that marked the end of an era. Brent became one of the first North Sea fields to go into production in 1976.read more
Royal Dutch Shell paid over $55.6bn (£43.7bn) to 31 governments last year, but in the UK it received a tax credit as a result of decommissioning costs, according to a report.
Shell received a $142.5m tax credit in the UK primarily for decommissioning costs in its North Sea business, according to the oil major’s report on payments to governments where it and its subsidiaries have upstream operations.
The firm paid $8.17bn to the UK government in fees.read more
Jun 5th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: Monday June 5, 2017
Royal Dutch Shell has cut operating costs for some of its North Sea fields by 70 per cent since the price of crude crashed, the oil company said. Andy Brown, Shell’s head of upstream, said it was able to make “significant money in the North Sea at $50 [a barrel oil prices]” thanks to the reductions, which analysts said were among the steepest by any company.
Mr Brown said he had been shocked by some of the inefficiencies Shell found when it reviewed operations worldwide after oil prices fell. Shell’s global operating costs have been cut by 20 per cent, or $10 billion, since 2014. In the Gulf of Mexico, for example, it has cut the number of vessels serving its platforms from 61 to…read more
A north-east MSP called for “urgent government action” after oil giant Shell said yesterday it was axeing 90 onshore roles in Aberdeen.
Labour’s Lewis Macdonald said it highlighted a need for support to protect jobs and skills in the UK oil and gas industry amid “the ongoing impact of the downturn” caused by a sharp slump in oil prices.
“The failure of other parties to act makes the result of next week’s general election even more important,” he added.read more
May 29th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Conservationists want oil companies and regulators to consider leaving more old rigs in the North Sea rather than removing them, with the savings paid into a fund to protect sealife. After the Brent Spar debacle in 1995 when Shell provoked public outrage with plans to sink an old storage buoy, international regulations were imposed that work on the presumption that operators will remove rigs. Exemptions can be granted but are rare and on limited grounds.read more
May 22nd, 2017
by John Donovan.
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By Laura Paterson: 20th May 2017, 6:36 pm
A GAS LEAK sparked a major evacuation and shut down of a North Sea oil rig.
The gas detection alarm was sounded on Friday morning on Shell’s Brent Charlie platform, 115 miles north-east of Shetland.
The oil giants said all 176 people on board have been accounted for and a total of 31 non-essential workers were being evacuated from the platform as a precaution.
A Shell spokeswoman said: “Following a gas detection alarm, production was shut down and the platform called to muster. The source of the leak has been safely detected and isolated and a full investigation into the cause will be completed.read more
The alarm was raised on Friday on the operator’s Brent Charlie.
The oil super major was forced to shutdown production after a gas detection alarm was triggered.
A total of 31 personnel were flown off the platform. The crew were largely associated with production, which remains suspended today.
Investigations into the cause of the isolated incident will be carried out for the remainder of the day.
The Brent field, operated by Shell, lies off the north-east coast of Scotland, midway between the Shetland Islands and Norway. It was discovered in 1991. The field’s lifespan was originally estimated to be only 25 years. To date, the Brent field has produced around three billion barrels of oil equivalent.read more
May 16 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell has started the process to take down legacy operations at the Bravo production platform in the North Sea, which supports the Brent oil field, Wood Group said.
The Scottish oilfield services company said it secured a contract from Royal Dutch Shell to start tearing down the platform. “Effectively immediately,” the company said it was preparing the platform for removal and carrying out modifications so it can “operate on minimum manning mode.”read more
While the Brent Delta decommissioning is not controversial, Shell’s proposal to leave the concrete and steel structures that support the four Brent topsides in the sea, as well as other materials, are being opposed by environmental groups.
The largest vessel on the planet has successfully carried out the world’s biggest lift at sea, plucking a 24,000-tonne oil rig platform from the North Sea.
The mammoth engineering task was carried out as part of the first phase of decommissioning one of the most important oilfields in the region.
Engineers took hours to position the specially-built £2.4bn Pioneering Spirit into place around the Brent Delta platform.
But it took just seconds for the powerful hydraulic system to lift the topside off its supporting legs, setting a world record in the process.read more
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Shell had failed to put appropriate controls in place to protect workers from dangerous gases in one of the platform’s legs.
HSE said the company had identified the risks of exposure to hydrogen sulphide and hydrocarbon gas while accessing the column C1 leg.
But Shell did not adequately describe how control measures would be “organised, controlled, monitored or reviewed”, according to HSE.
The prohibition notice was served early in February.read more
Apr 11th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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April 10 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell hasn’t provided enough information on plans to take down key North Sea infrastructure to address our concerns, environmental groups said.
Shell started a 60-day consultation period for its plans to decommission three of its Brent production platforms in the North Sea in early February. That consultation period concludes at the end of the business day Monday.
In preparation, a consortium of environmental groups said they opposed the decommissioning plans as submitted because of the lack of information. Lang Banks, the Scottish director of environmental group WWF, said that, by his read, the outline from Shell lacks “qualitative judgments and opinions” from experts, including some of the engineers at the Dutch supermajor.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) has come under fire over its plans to decommission the Brent oil and gas field in the North Sea. The move would see the company leave several structures in place, with the oil major arguing that removing them would be risky as well as costly.
The Financial Times reported yesterday that environmental groups had accused Shell of cutting corners to save costs as a public consultation began on the biggest decommissioning project of its kind in the oil industry. The Anglo-Dutch oil major said yesterday that it had submitted plans to the UK government which include removing the upper parts of the group’s four Brent platforms in the North Sea. The company, however, wants to leave behind the concrete legs, as well as 64 subsea storage tanks, and drill cuttings contaminated with oil.read more
An extended 60-day public consultation on recommendations to decommission the Brent oil and gas field in the North Sea has begun today following submission by Shell U.K. Limited (“Shell”), the field’s operator, of a comprehensive decommissioning programme to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The field, located 115 miles north-east of the Shetland Islands has produced around three billion barrels of oil equivalent since production commenced in 1976, which is almost 10% of UK production.read more
Feb 9th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell are likely to take their time over the Brent decommissioning process due to the controversial fallout from a previous disposal attempt, according to one industry analyst.
The energy giant hit the headlines back in 1995 when it first floated plans to dispose of the Brent Spar holding and loading platform by sinking it in the deep waters of the Atlantic.
After getting wind of the plans, environmental group Greenpeace mounted a large-scale media campaign against the dumping of the Shell-owned oil and tanker loading buoy.
Protesters managed to occupy the installation for nearly three weeks before being evicted.
Shell later said the Brent Spar had become of “symbolic significance out of all proportion to its environmental effect”.read more
When the company proposed sinking the Spar oil storage buoy in 1995, it prompted protests by Greenpeace, petrol boycotts in Germany and a falling share price. Shell was eventually forced to back down and find a more environmentally-friendly plan.
Feb 1st, 2017
by John Donovan.
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By DAVID SHAND: PUBLISHED: 00:01, Wed, Feb 1, 2017
A “GENERATIONAL change” in North Sea oil and gas production was signalled yesterday after Shell sold a large chunk to private equity-backed exploration group Chrysaor in a £3billion deal.
The sale is part of Shell’s plans to dispose of £24billion of assets by 2018 to reduce its debts following its £35billion takeover of BG Group last year.
Major producers like Shell are also withdrawing from the North Sea to focus on higher profit areas such as Brazil. read more
Feb 1st, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s $3.8 billion sale of North Sea oil and gas fields creates a model for further transactions in a region where the question of who pays to remove decades-old offshore platforms has been an obstacle for other deals.
Shell’s agreement with Chrysaor Holdings Ltd. included the condition that Europe’s largest oil company covers $1 billion in decommissioning costs, leaving the private-equity-backed explorer with an estimated $2.9 billion of liabilities. Sharing end-of-life costs between buyers and sellers is likely to remain the trend in the North Sea, where the billions of dollars of spending required to remove aging platforms and pipelines over the coming years presents a “real challenge” to deal-making, according to consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) has agreed to sell a package of oil and gas fields to private equity-backed Chrysaor for $3.8 billion, giving the Anglo-Dutch group a major boost in its drive to reduce debt following the acquisition of BG Group.
The deal, which accounts for more than half of Shell’s production in the North Sea, will breathe new life into the ageing North Sea where production has steadily declined since the late 1990s and where oil majors such as Shell and BP have struggled to generate profits.read more
Jan 25th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has joined a group that’s in advanced talks to buy a package of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s U.K. North Sea assets for more than $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said.
Canada’s largest pension fund has joined Washington-based EIG Global Energy Partners and North Sea-explorer Chrysaor Holdings Ltd. to bid for the operations, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
The sale is a key part of Shell’s plans to divest about $30 billion in assets through 2018 to help offset the $54 billion acquisition of BG Group, which increased debt and lowered its credit rating. Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden has vowed to boost savings following a two-year slump in crude oil prices.read more
Shell’s plans to sell off UK oil assets are expected to move ahead within weeks ahead of an M&A boom for the North Sea.
City sources have said that private-equity backed investment funds are expected to close in on asset sales from supermajor Shell as well as French energy giant Engie amid rising investor confidence in the oil market recovery.
In the wake of the oil price crash early last year industry experts predicted that cash strapped oil companies would streamline their portfolios by selling off assets to bargain hungry funds, but deals have been slow to emerge due to market volatility.read more
Much of the detail has already been revealed. Shell is aiming to remove the 24,000-tonne “topside” of its Brent Delta platform next summer. A specially designed ship the length of five jumbo jets will then carry the structure to a yard in Teesside for recycling.
However, the focus of the consultation is expected to be on Shell’s plans to leave most of the subsea infrastructure in place, including giant concrete legs each as heavy as the Empire State Building.read more
Littering the North Sea appears a rather emotive statement by the Professor, quite appalling, completely unacceptable etc. He also links the plans for the concrete structures to an outsourcing of jobs from Glasgow which is unrelated to the structures.
Professor Russell previously wrote about the storage cells containing radioactive material also in an exaggerated way, the sludge contains naturally occurring low-level radioactive material which many studies declare does not pose a risk to persons or the environment.read more
ONE of Scotland’s leading oil industry figures has attacked decommissioning plans by Shell that could see the giant legs of three offshore oil platforms left in the North Sea.
Speaking exclusively to The National, Professor Alex Russell – chairman of the Oil Industry Finance Association, who also chairs a working group on North Sea decommissioning – said: “It’s appalling, completely unacceptable, particularly when they are outsourcing jobs from Glasgow to India and elsewhere.read more
Shell said today that it had submitted “a majority” of the plan for its Brent field decommissioning campaign to the UK Government.
Earlier, WWF Scotland cited a Shell communique to stakeholders as saying the plan was with the UK department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis).
But a spokesman for Shell later confirmed that the submission process had not been fully completed.
The remaining documents are expected to be handed in during the next few weeks, with a 60-day public consultation to start early next year.read more
Shell has launched an investigation after it was forced to shut down and evacuate personnel from its Shearwater platform in the North Sea.
The oil major was drilling, what was thought to an exploration well, when the activity triggered an alarm.
Shell decided to evacuate all non-essential personnel and shut down operations.
A spokeswoman said: “Shell UK can confirm that production on our Shearwater platform was shut down on the evening of Friday 2nd December as a precaution due to an alarm being triggered during work on a new well. There has been no loss of containment. The coastguard and regulator were informed and the situation is being closely monitored. A precautionary downman took place on Saturday returning 62 non-essential personnel safely to Aberdeen. The platform remains shutdown in the meantime.”read more
Nov 9th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan (updated 18 November 2016)
Energy Voice has announced that it has teamed up with Shell to “celebrate 40 years of Brent”.
A series of related “promoted” articles are being published. I take that as meaning Shell is paying for the articles. If this assumption is correct, the only history included will be of the whitewashed variety.
I doubt there will be any reference to the consequences of Shell’s appalling safety record on the Brent platforms, with falsified safety records, a “Touch F*** All” regime in regard to critical equipment maintenance, followed by the cover-up and the deaths on Brent Bravo, leading to a record-breaking fine. Will the unseaworthy lifeboats get a mention? Of course not. Shell continued to put production and profits before safety. Just read this index of related articles.read more
IEA Forms Global Energy Efficiency Commission 09 Jul 2019 12:53 Rigzone by Andreas Exarheas
|Rigzone Staff
|Tuesday, July 09, 2019
The International Energy Agency establishes a global commission to examine how progress on energy efficiency can be rapidly accelerated.
The International Energy Agency revealed Tuesday that it …
Shell’s boss delivers some hard truths on oil and climate change 05 Jul 2019 00:42 Economist WHEN BEN VAN BEURDEN was a boy in the Netherlands, one of his chores was to fill the coal scuttle. It was a hateful task—especially in the cold weather when he had to traipse out to a shed in the back garden. “I can still feel the wet, freezing cold …
President Tokayev receives Royal Dutch Shell CEO 04 Jul 2019 16:53 Kazinform NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM – President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received CEO of Royal Dutch Shell plc. Ben van Beurden, Kazinform has learnt from the Akorda's press service.
During the meeting, the Head of State was briefed on the projects in the …
125% pay rise for Shell boss fuels executive pay furore 13 Jun 2019 03:38 Herald Scotland ROYAL Dutch Shell has defended the bumper pay rise awarded to chief executive Ben van Beurden, whose total earnings increased to €20.1 million (£17.8m) last year from €8.9m.
The annual report of the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas giant shows Mr van Beurden’s pay …
Bulls beware: The 2020 oil market is quickly turning ugly 10 Jun 2019 12:26 Houston Chronicle Photo: Amr Nabil, Associated Press
Minister of Energy of the United Arab Emirates, UAE, Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei attends a meeting of energy ministers from OPEC and its allies to discuss prices and production cuts, in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, May 19 …
500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR WEBSITES
See our link list of 477 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 64 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner Head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC FAT CAT CEO, BEN VAN BEURDEN, PAID $30 MILLION IN 2014
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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.
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?
The gas is coming from the Shearwater platform
A new pipeline to help take gas from Shell’s Shearwater platform to the St Fergus plant in Aberdeenshire has been announced.
Posted by
In spite of everything hurled by the North Sea and global market conditions across half a century, and despite predictions to the contrary, Shell remains a big player on the UK Continental Shelf.
Energy Voice interviewed Shell UK upstream vice president Steve Phimister aboard the Shearwater platform.
By 
Opportunities for new North Sea field investment are “beginning to appear on the horizon”, according to Shell UK’s commercial manager Ben Taylor.
Shell this morning finalised its $3.8billion North Sea deal with Harbour Energy-backed Chrysaor Holdings.
Written by
NEWS FROM JULY 2, 2015 RELEVANT TO RECENT EVENTS
Written by 
Royal Dutch Shell received a huge UK tax credit due to North Sea decommissioning costs
By Laura Paterson: 
By 
Written by 
INVEZZ.Com: Group under fire over plans to abandon North Sea structures
OilVoice.com: 
ONE of Scotland’s leading oil industry figures has attacked decommissioning plans by Shell that could see the giant legs of three offshore oil platforms left in the North Sea.
Head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
