After having spent part of my summer at the Rossport Solidarity Camp in Co. Mayo Ireland fighting against Shell (and Statoil!) there, I am even more thankful for all your hard work on your website. You are really inspiring. Many of my friends have been involved in that campaign since 2005. Making the international links has been really important for the local community. Maybe some day we’ll meet. Till then, lots of love, kudos, energy and solidarity your way!
LORNA SIGGINS, Western Correspondent, and TOM SHIEL
SHELL E&P Ireland is to fund drilling of a new production well, but for water, not gas, and in the north Mayo village of Rossport.
The multinational says it is giving €750,000 towards upgrading the village’s water network as a “gesture of goodwill to the Rossport community, which has experienced particular difficulties as a result of the Corrib gas project”.
The money will pay for a new water well, replacement of the distribution network with new piping, reservoir, three-phase electricity and installation of consumer and district metering, the company said yesterday. Rossport group water scheme co-op chairman Tony Corduff said the co-op approached Shell for funding after it was refused by Mayo County Council. An offer by the company to upgrade the 35-year-old scheme was accepted by a majority of the community at a meeting on April 29th, he said.
However, Rossport resident and Pobal Chill Chomáin community group chairman Vincent McGrath, who was jailed in 2005 over opposition to the gas project, has questioned the need for refurbishment.
“We have a perfectly good . . . water scheme, and we had no indication that there were any problems with it,” he said. “If funding was required and Mayo County Council refused, we need to know full details.”
Acknowledging it would be “difficult for many residents to be seen to oppose a goodwill gesture”, Mr McGrath said that such funding would be “divisive” and was “not going to win consent for the project, when the community’s health and safety remains our primary concern”.
Local objections filed with An Bord Pleanála over a new pipeline route – including one submission representing 300 residents on both sides of the route through Sruwaddacon estuary – illustrated that more residents than ever were concerned about the project’s methodology and impact, Mr McGrath said.
“We are delighted to be able to support such a worthwhile and widely beneficial project in the Rossport community,” Shell EP Ireland Mayo area manager Mark Carrigy said yesterday.
The group water scheme was constructed in 1975 and serves 153 people in Rossport, Shell EP said. “While it has served the community well . . . in recent years leakages have become more commonplace due to the general condition of the group water scheme infrastructure”, it added.
VIDEO FEATURING COMMENTARY BY FORMER ROYAL DUTCH SHELL EXECUTIVE, PADDY BRIGGS
By John Donovan
In the YouTube.com video above, *Paddy Briggs quotes from the minutes of a meeting of Royal Dutch Shell Group Managing Directors held on 23 July 2003 (MARKED “MOST CONFIDENTIAL”.
“It was noted that development of the Corrib field may be delayed until 2004 as planning consent had been refused for the terminal. The Committee queried whether the Group had sufficiently well placed contacts with the Irish government and regulators. Paul Skinner undertook to explore this issue further in consultation with the Country Chairman in Ireland.”
The video also mentions a pivotal Shell meeting with the then Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland. It is no secret that Berti Ahern is tainted by corruption -- see further information from Wikipedia below.
So there you have it. An Irish Prime Minister who has a track record of corruption associated with planning matters and a greedy ruthless oil giant, also with a track record of corruption. A true meeting of like minds.
This is all to be expected from a multinational which has an ethics boss, Richard Wiseman, an admitted bender of professional rules and loyal supporter of corrupt practices by predatory Shell executives preying on smaller companies. This naturally made Mr Wiseman the perfect choice for appointment as the Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. A lofty position he still holds, traveling the world making anti-corruption speeches.(1) (2)
RELATED: On Friday, 22nd October 2010 at 6:15 pm, a film about the community at the centre of the Corrib Gas controversy, entitled ‘The Pipe’, will screen at the British Film Institute in Southbank – only a few hundred metres away from the headquarters of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. It was here in this building on the 22nd July 2002, that the Committee of Managing Directors of Shell met to discuss, among other things, the recent refusal of planning consent for the Corrib gas field refinery by the Irish Planning Board. The following decision taken here by the senior Shell management team would set in train a collision course between a tiny community and the Irish State, and one which would have devastating consequences for the inhabitants of the small coastal village of Rossport.
*Paddy Briggs worked for Shell for 37 years, the last 15 of which were in international brand and reputation management appointments. Today, through his BrandAware™ consultancy, he advises businesses on brand and reputation management issues. Paddy is a prolific writer and journalist, especially on his specialist business subjects and on sport. He is also one of two pensioner-elected trustees of the £13 billion Shell Contributory Pension Fund.
FROM WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE “Bertie Ahern” (22 October 2010)
Admission of undeclared payments
Ahern was criticised by the Moriarty Tribunal for signing blank cheques for the then Taoiseach Charles Haughey, without asking what those cheques were for. Ahern told the tribunal that a policy of signing blank cheques was used on the Fianna Fáil party leader’s account for reasons of “administrative convenience”.[70] In September 2006 The Irish Times printed claims allegedly leaked[71] from The Mahon Tribunal that Ahern had received money from a millionaire businessman while Minister for Finance in 1993.
The editor of The Irish Times defended the publication as being in the public interest at a hearing of the tribunal, saying that it was not a party to the Supreme Court case which restrained the Sunday Business Post from publishing leaked documents. This order was directed against the Sunday Business Post but its interim order purported to restrain all media outlets from publishing confidential material from the inquiry.
Ahern has admitted that he did receive money but said on being interviewed that:
What I got personally in my life, to be frank with you is none of your business. If I got something from somebody as a present or something like that I can use it.
What Ahern said in 1996, while in opposition:
The public are entitled to have an absolute guarantee of the financial probity and integrity of their elected representatives, their officials and above all of Ministers. They need to know that they are under financial obligations to nobody. (Dáil Éireann transcript, December 1996)
This contradiction has been criticised in editorials in both the Irish Independent[72] and The Irish Times[73]
Six days after the payments were publicised, Ahern admitted in a[74] television interview[75] that he had received two payments totalling IR£39,000 (€50,000) in 1993 and 1994. Ahern regarded the money as a loan, but he conceded that no repayments had at that time (September 2006) been made and no interest has been paid. He said that he had attempted to repay it, but that his friends would not accept repayment. He claimed that he had broken no codes -- ethical, tax, legal or otherwise.
On 28 November 2007, former NCB managing director Padraic O’Connor at the Mahon Tribunal, “directly contradicted Mr Ahern’s claims that long-standing friends gave him a loan just after Christmas 1993.”[76]
In the same interview, he also admitted to receiving a payment of £8,000 from a group of 25 businessmen in Manchester on one occasion. He claimed that this money was again unsolicited, that it was a gift and therefore not subject to tax as it had been received when abroad, and that it was paid to him after he gave an after-dinner speech at an ad hoc function. He claimed that the money was given to him as a private citizen, not to him in his then role as Minister for Finance, and that no other payments were received by him after speaking at other similar functions. The Irish Times reported on 30 September 2006 that part of this payment was actually a cheque drawn on NCB Stockbrokers, a large Irish company. A number of his benefactors have received appointments as directors of State boards.[77] Insisting that no favours had been offered or received, Ahern said:
I might have appointed somebody but I appointed them because they were friends, not because of anything they had given me.
Under the Standards in Public Office Commission’s rules,
State appointments should be made on the basis of merit, taking into account the skills, qualifications and experience of the person to be appointed.
Members of Dáil Éireann must conduct themselves[78]
in accordance with the provisions and spirit of the Code of Conduct and ensure that their conduct does not bring the integrity of their office or the Dáil into serious disrepute.
In the face of negative publicity, Ahern has repaid the monies advanced to him, with 5% interest totalling €90,000.[79]
On 3 October 2006 Ahern made a 15 minute statement in Dáil Éireann defending his actions in taking loans totalling IR£39,000 (€50,000) from friends in Ireland and £8,000 (€11,800) as a gift from businessmen in Manchester in 1993 and 1994.[80][81][82] In his statement he apologised for the distress his actions had brought saying:
The bewilderment caused to the public about recent revelations has been deeply upsetting for me and others near and dear to me. To them, to the Irish people and to this house, I offer my apologies.
Confirmation of sterling cash lodgements
On 20 March 2008 at the Mahon Tribunal the disclosure,[83][84] of lodgements of £15,500 sterling into building society accounts of Ahern and his daughters was accepted as a matter of probability by Ahern’s former secretary Grainne Carruth.
Previously in her evidence, Carruth, on 19 March 2008 had said, that she had not lodged sterling for Ahern, while she accepted (as a matter of probability), a day later, that she must have lodged sterling on Ahern’s behalf based on the paperwork available although her recollection is that she never had sighting of sterling at any time.
Ahern had told the tribunal during his evidence in February 2008, that the lodgements to his and his daughters’ accounts had come from his salary as a politician.
‘No bank account’
Further questions were raised about IR£50,000 (€63,300) which he had lodged to his bank account in 1994. He claimed this was money he had saved over a substantial period of time (1987–1994) when he had had no active bank account. During this period he was Minister for Labour and subsequently Minister for Finance. He was asked by the leader of the Labour party, Pat Rabbitte whether, in the absence of a bank account, he had kept the money in a ‘sock in the hot-press’ and by Joe Higgins, the leader of the Socialist Party if he had kept the money ‘in a shoe-box’. Ahern replied that he had kept the money ‘in his own possession’.
Payment in relation to house
On 5 October 2006 further information emerged[85] in the Dáil that Ahern had bought his house in Dublin from Manchester based Irish businessman, Micheál Wall, who was at an event in Manchester in 1994 where the Taoiseach received a payment of GBP£8,000 (€11,800). This caused further tensions within the Government coalition parties.
On 10 October 2006 the Taoiseach[35] again told the Dáil that it was an ‘error of judgement’ for him to accept loans and gifts for personal purposes in the early 1990s. Ahern expanded on his apology to the Dáil of the previous week, which he described as unqualified. Ahern said there would now be a change in the ethics law requiring office holders offered a gift from friends to consult the Standards in Public Office Commission[86] and to accept their ruling.
Money from developer
Allegations had been made that he had taken IR£50,000 (€63,300) from a property developer, Owen O’Callaghan, in return for favours at this time. Ahern won a libel action against a Cork businessman, Denis “Starry” O’Brien, defending himself against this allegation. However, broadcaster Eamon Dunphy has testified in the Mahon Tribunal, that he was told by developer Owen O’Callaghan, that Ahern was taken care of to support a shopping centre development in the 1990s.[87] This follows the initial allegations, denied by Ahern and O’Callaghan, by retired developer Tom Gilmartin, that O’Callaghan told him that he had given Ahern a payment of £50,000 in 1989, and a payment of £30,000 in 1993, in connection with a development of lands at Quarryvale, west Dublin. Gilmartin further alleged being told that O’Callaghan had paid Ahern in excess of £20,000 in relation to tax designation of a site in which O’Callaghan had an interest in Athlone, the designation having been Ahern’s last act as Finance Minister before the Fianna Fáil-led Government fell in December 1994.
In March 2007, one of Ahern’s Manchester benefactors, Paddy ‘The Plasterer’ Reilly, was appointed as the Fianna Fáil Director of Elections for Ahern’s Dublin Central constituency.
In April 2007, it was alleged[88] in a statement by his former official driver, that Ahern in 1994, while Minister for Finance, took a briefcase full of cash to Manchester. This has been denied by Ahern.
While the payment details initially seemed to damage Ahern’s standing, the result of the 2007 general election indicated that the damage was minor. In April 2007, an opinion poll found that nearly half of voters believe Taoiseach Bertie Ahern still has questions to answer over the payments controversy.[89]
Payment to refurbish property managed by Celia Larkin
In May 2007, it emerged that Ahern’s then partner, Celia Larkin, received £30,000 from the businessman Micheál Wall to contribute towards the refurbishment of the house that Ahern was to buy later. Questions for Bertie.[90]
Money given to Celia Larkin
On 2 February 2008, it emerged at the Mahon Tribunal, that a house was bought by the Ahern’s former partner Celia Larkin in 1993 with money donated to Ahern’s constituency organisation in Drumcondra.[91] There was no documentation to back up this loan to Ahern’s partner or to prove around IR£30,000 in other expenditure from this account. Dublin businessman Tim Collins has denied that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was joint holder of the so-called BT account from which Celia Larkin was loaned IR£30,000 without documentation to describe the loan agreement.[92] Tim Collins denied that the BT account referred to Bertie and Tim, even though he operated a joint account with Des Richardson known as the DT account[93]
Appearance at the Mahon Planning Tribunal
On 13 September 2007, Ahern commenced four days of testimony under oath at the Mahon Tribunal. On 13 September, Ahern admitted that he had not cooperated with the Mahon planning tribunal. Counsel stated that information supplied “did not encompass all of the material questions that had been asked of you” to which Ahern replied “I accept that, yes”.[94][95] On 14 September 2007, inconsistencies in Ahern’s statements to the Tribunal emerged, after he changed his story on the infamous IR£25,000 dig-outs.[96] On 21 September 2007 Ahern again changed his story and said he could not remember key events at the centre of the current controversy.[97]
Tribunal chairman Judge Alan Mahon said there were “significant gaps in the money trail provided by Mr Ahern which “would have made it impossible for the tribunal to follow the trail”.[98]
Judge Gerald Keyes accused Mr Ahern of having no recollection of buying stg£30,000 in the early 1990s.[99]
Judge Mary Faherty accused Mr Ahern of giving polar opposite accounts of why he withdrew IR£50,000 from AIB, O’Connell St in January 1995.[100]
On 24 September there were further discrepancies, memory lapses and contradictions to his testimony under oath[101] with Ahern agreeing with the assertions of the Tribunal that there are inconsistencies and contradictions in his statements compared to bank records and the testimony of his then partner Ms Larkin.
Ahern agreed with the Tribunal that; “It cannot be the case that Ms Larkin changed a sterling equivalent of £28,772.90 on that day, if that bank record is accurate, isn’t that correct?”.[102][103]
Journalist Vincent Browne has asserted that “Ahern’s numbers game just doesn’t add up“.[104]
Again on 20 and 21 December 2007, Ahern spent two further days under questioning by the Mahon tribunal about his finances in the 1990s.[105] In January 2008, it was revealed that Ahern was in discussion with the Revenue Commissioners about his liability for tax on the sums received in Manchester and on his tax clearance status as declared in 2002, before details of the Manchester payments were revealed.[106][107] Opposition leader Enda Kenny has said that, it is not acceptable to have a Taoiseach who cannot declare compliance with the tax codes.[108]
On 12 February 2008, it emerged[109] that the Mahon tribunal had not all of the information provided to it, that Ahern indicated in the Dáil, that he had provided to the tribunal. Ahern has taken a High Court action to prevent the Mahon Tribunal from addressing and questioning him on the information, that he released in the Dáil in 2006.[110] The total value of lodgements and other transactions that have to date been queried by the Mahon tribunal in its public inquiries into the finances of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, exceeds £452,800. The lodgements and transactions occurred between 1988 and 1997, although the vast bulk of the money was lodged in the period to 1995.[111]
On 4 June 2008, Ahern admitted that he knew about sterling lodgements before his secretary’s testimony,[112] but said to laughter at his Tribunal appearance on that day that those lodgements were from horse racing betting-winnings.[113]
Tax Clearance Certificate
In mid-January 2008 it emerged in the press,[114] reportedly as leaks from parties to the Mahon tribunal, that Ahern will not be in a position to present a Tax Clearance Certificate to the Dáil, as is required under Ethics’ legislation. This certificate is issued by the Revenue Commissioners, to persons who have shown themselves to be tax compliant. It is a legal requirement that this certificate be presented to a Dáil committee by 31 January 2008 by those elected to the Dáil. In the absence of this, a certificate stating that Ahern is in negotiation with the Revenue Commissioners will suffice. An inability to declare tax compliance by a prominent individual, while highly embarrassing will suffice temporarily until Revenue either issue a tax compliance certificate or refuse it.
The issue of compliance is serious and is an offence to make a false declaration.
The Standards in Public Office Bill also makes provision for tax clearance requirements for persons elected to the Oireachtas, and others. Persons elected will be required to make a statutory declaration of tax compliance, and the making of a false declaration will be an offence. They will also have to produce a tax clearance certificate. There will, therefore, be considerable policing of tax compliance of members.[115]
The Standards in Public Office Commission has been asked to investigate the Taoiseach’s declaration of tax compliance after the 2002 General Election.[116]
Ahern’s inability to furnish the tax clearance certificate has led to further calls for Ahern’s resignation. He is also the only member of the Oireachtas not to have a tax clearance certificate[108] On 14 January 2008 while on a visit to South Africa, Ahern accused Enda Kenny, leader of the opposition of telling[117] a “bare-faced lie” about Ahern’s tax situation. Ahern and Fianna Fáil’s response has not addressed the issue, but has attacked the leaking of Ahern’s tax affairs so as to attempt to enable the non-compliance issue to be ignored. Labour party leader “Mr Gilmore joined the offensive over the weekend, saying the Taoiseach was now providing at least four different versions of his personal finances and was unable to get a tax clearance certificate.”[118] As of 2010 Ahern has still not been able to provide a tax clearance certificate.[citation needed]
Ahern admitted to the Mahon Tribunal on 21 February 2008, for the first time, that he did not pay tax on substantial payments that he received when Minister for Finance in the 1990s.[119]
Royal Dutch Shell is expected to pay around $30 million in penalties to settle charges stemming from its use of Panalpina as an agent in Nigeria, the paper reported.
NASDAQ
By Joseph Palazzolo, Of DOW JONES NEWSLETTERS
The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are close to announcing settlements in several foreign-bribery cases linked to Swiss logistics company Panalpina Group, with civil and criminal penalties likely reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, people familiar with the matter said.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Panalpina and one of its customers, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSA.LN), were on the brink of settling the three-year-old probe. Investigators have been looking at whether the logistics company paid officials in Nigeria and other countries to gain customs clearance and permits for a raft of oilfield services companies.
Along with Panalpina and Royal Dutch Shell, the Justice Department and the SEC will likely announce settlements with oilfield services companies Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR), Noble Corp. (NE), Pride International Inc. (PDE), Tidewater Inc. (TDW) and Transocean Ltd. (RIG), the people familiar with the situation said.
Officials plan to announce all the settlements at once, possibly by the end of the month, one person said, adding that negotiations with some of the parties are ongoing. Officials have been organizing the group settlement for months, and some of the companies involved have expressed pique at having to wait for others, the people said.
A spokesman for Panalpina said that negotiations were ongoing and that the company was “confident” a settlement would be reached by the year’s end. The other companies involved either declined to comment or didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The companies have all said in their corporate filings that they are cooperating with the Justice Department and the SEC.
The investigation surrounding Panalpina, which withdrew from the custom clearance and freight-forwarding markets in Nigeria in 2008, is driven by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans companies from paying bribes to foreign officials to obtain or keep business.
Individually, the settlement amounts in the Panalpina investigation are likely to be smaller than in some other high-dollar FCPA cases this year. Engineering company Technip SA, for example, agreed in June to pay $338 million in disgorgement and criminal fines to resolve charges that from 1994 to 2005 the company bribed Nigerian officials to win $6 billion in contracts.
That settlement was part of a separate FCPA investigation of a scheme to bribe Nigerian officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction contracts. The SEC and the Justice Department have obtained more than $900 million in criminal and civil penalties in those cases.
The Panalpina investigation came to light in 2007, after subsidiaries of Vetco International Ltd. pleaded guilty to paying $2.1 million in bribes to Nigerian customs officials through the Swiss logistics company. Vetco agreed to pay $26 million in criminal fines, the largest-ever FCPA penalty at the time.
Taken together, the new Panalpina-related settlements could be among the largest in the statute’s 33-year history. Based on company estimates in SEC filings, the total is likely to exceed $200 million in civil and criminal penalties.
Panalpina is expected to pay around $85 million in fines to settle charges that paid bribes to officials in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Kazakhstan to expedite services, such as clearing drilling rigs and other equipment through customs, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Royal Dutch Shell is expected to pay around $30 million in penalties to settle charges stemming from its use of Panalpina as an agent in Nigeria, the paper reported.
Pride has reserved about $52 million to settle allegations that from 2001 to 2006 it paid government officials–directly and through companies such as Panalpina–in Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Nigeria, Libya, Angola and the Republic of the Congo to expedite services, according to SEC filings.
Tidewater has set aside $11 million to settle civil charges related to payments the company made in Nigeria and Azerbaijan, the company said in corporate filings. The company said in the filings it expects to pay a criminal fine as well but made no prediction about the amount. Meanwhile, Noble has reserved about $5 million for an expected settlement.
Nabors Industries and Transocean haven’t disclosed how much they expect to pay to resolve civil and criminal investigations related to their business relationship with Panalpina.
But Transocean and other companies involved have said in SEC filings that the investigation has taken its toll.
Last month, Transocean disclosed that it may not be able to obtain or renew import permits to operate rigs in Nigeria and other West African countries without falling foul of the FCPA.
Although companies often acknowledge the risk of doing business in emerging markets, Transocean’s disclosure was a stunning example of the escalating enforcement of the FCPA and the shadow it casts over those seeking to tap into West Africa’s oil reserves, considered among the most promising in the world.
Noble, likewise, said in a filing that import permits for two of its three rigs in the area had expired in 2008, after the company came under investigation by U.S.authorities. The renewal applications have been pending for nearly two years without action by the Nigerian customs office, the company said.
Noble said it had obtained a temporary import permit for a third rig that arrived in the country in 2009.
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB, SLBS.VI) has also disclosed an FCPA investigation related to Panalpina in SEC filings, and the company faces a separate FCPA probe for its dealings in Yemen, The Wall Street Journal reported.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-21-101409ET
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The suit alleges that the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster caused an oil spill that harmed and killed both endangered and threatened species, which may continue to feel the effects long after the cleanup.
By Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times October 21, 2010
Reporting from Atlanta —
Three environmental advocacy groups sued BP on Wednesday, alleging the company’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill harmed and killed both endangered and threatened species — one of hundreds of civil suits the oil giant will probably be fighting for years.
The suit, brought by the nonprofit groups Defenders of Wildlife, Gulf Restoration Network and the Save the Manatee Club, says that the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig blowout and the resulting oil spill “have caused and will continue to cause the take of endangered and threatened species,” including whales, manatees, birds and sea turtles that “show no avoidance response to oil slicks.”
“Our concern is that the impact on threatened and endangered species is going to continue for a long time after the oil spill is in the news,” said Gregory Buppert, a Defenders of Wildlife attorney. The lawsuit, brought under the Endangered Species Act, will “make BP accountable for the ongoing impacts,” he said.The suit suggests some of the ways the court could hold BP accountable, including helping to establish national marine sanctuaries and creating a permanent endowment to restore and study gulf species.
BP officials did not return a call seeking comment. But the company has repeatedly vowed to aggressively clean up the oil and restore the gulf, including funding a major wildlife rehabilitation program and committing $500 million to research on the effects of the spill.
The gulf region is home to at least 27 endangered or threatened species. The rig explosion killed 11 workers and spilled 4.9 million barrels of oil. More than 600 sea turtles were found dead and an additional 456 were found alive but soiled with oil. More than 4,300 oiled birds have been found, more than half of them dead.
Long-term effects on wildlife are unclear. Much of the oil remains dispersed deep under the sea. Scientists are unsure how this and 1.8 million gallons of chemical dispersant will alter the fate of marine creatures and habitats.
Wednesday’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Orleans, is likely to be rolled into the massive “multidistrict litigation” action, in which one federal judge handles proceedings that are combined into one unified process, said Catherine Wannamaker, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, who is representing the plaintiffs.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is presiding over more than 300 cases related to the spill, including personal injury and death cases and loss claims from individuals, businesses and governments. Barbier is also handling environmental cases, including a suit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity seeking $19 billion in civil penalties under the Clean Water Act.
Justice Department officials have filed papers indicating they will probably file suit on behalf of the American public, possibly for violations of the Oil Pollution Act and the Clean Water Act. The government is pursuing a criminal investigation as well.
By the end of 2011, BP hopes to sell off $30 billion in assets to raise money to cover its post-spill obligations. On Monday, it announced it was selling off $1.8 billion in interests in Venezuela and Vietnam.
The company has promised to put $20 billion into a fund to handle legal claims. People receiving a payout from the fund waive their right to sue.
IRMS has worked on security for the Corrib gas project since 2008. Last year it became involved in controversy after one of its former employees, Michael Dwyer – who had worked at the Corrib project in 2008 – was killed by police in mysterious circumstances in Bolivia on April 16, 2009.
Doyle joins Corrib security: Former Westport garda chief Pat Doyle recruited by IRMS
Aine Ryan
A RETIRED senior garda has become one of the latest high-profile recruits to work on the controversial Corrib gas project.
Former Superintendent Pat Doyle has joined Shell’s 170-strong security team – under contract from Integrated Risk Management Solutions (IRMS) – for the project, The Mayo News has learned.
The retired garda superintendent, who spent eleven years as garda chief in Westport, joined the IRMS team during the summer. The Carlow native retired after 35 years in the force in May 2009.
He is not the first retired senior garda to be employed on the project. In 2006, Shell announced the appointment of Mayo’s former Chief Superintendent, John Carey as a part-time adviser. Mr Carey is a native of nearby Bangor Erris.
IRMS took over the security operation at the Ballinaboy terminal on September 25, after the contract with Brendan Gilmore Security Ltd ended.
Its security personnel are also deployed at Sruwaddacon Bay, the site of Shell’s ongoing investigative works for a sub-sea tunnel proposed to link the last section of the pipeline to the terminal. In a statement yesterday IRMS Director, Jim Farrell, confirmed the expansion of the company’s services for Shell and Pat Doyle’s employment.
“In September, we expanded our services on Corrib Gas. In addition to our work on the pipeline route, we also now manage all safety and security services at the terminal site. We are pleased that over 60 of those who had worked at the terminal for Gilmore Security have joined our team. We now have 70 people from the local area working with us, all benefitting from enhanced training and qualification courses.”
The statement continued: “Among our new colleagues is Pat Doyle. Pat joined us in July 2010 and will play an important role as part of the management team. Pat retired from the Garda Siochána in May, 2009 and his skills and 35-years experience will be invaluable.”
Mr Farrell’s spokesman confirmed also that the entire security team for Corrib now numbers 170.
Responding to Pat Doyle’s appointment, John Monaghan of Pobal Chill Chomáin said: “From a community perspective we are not at all surprised. Of course, people are entitled to employment but this appointment certainly reinforces our suspicions and views about the entire security dimension of this project.”
IRMS has worked on security for the Corrib gas project since 2008. Last year it became involved in controversy after one of its former employees, Michael Dwyer – who had worked at the Corrib project in 2008 – was killed by police in mysterious circumstances in Bolivia on April 16, 2009.
Just over a week later, IRMS security personnel again became embroiled in another mysterious controversy after Rossport farmer, Willie Corduff claimed he was assaulted by masked men in the middle of the night, following a protest under a parked truck at the Glengad landfall site for the pipe.
In the aftermath, IRMS Director, Jim Farrell categorically said that none of his personnel was involved in any assault on Mr Corduff. Moreover, he also later called on human rights group, Frontline to retract any insinuation in its 2010 report, Breakdown in Trust, about his employees’ involvement in the alleged assault.
Mr Farrell said at the time that the DPP had concluded that IRMS had ‘no case to answer and no prosecution will be sought’ in relation to the investigation. He also said the DPP had concluded that IRMS’s actions were ‘both legal and justified’.
The author, barrister Brian Barrington’s evidence was corroborated by Mr Corduff’s hospital medical records which stated he had ‘been kicked all over the body’.
The Frontline report proposed that gardaí outside Mayo re-investigate the assault.
David J. Greer I have recently moved on to another exciting challenge and have been appointed as CEO of SIS, the flagship company of the Al-Suwaidi Group, providing professional project management, construction and maintenance services to major industries and is one of the most respected and reputable contractors in Saudi Arabia.
In this regard, I am very interested in hiring experienced construction managers and supervisors, contract engineers, estimators, quantity surveyors, planners and project accountants who I have had the pleasure of working with in past projects.
Interested? Please get in touch asap
RELATED MOSCOW TIMES ARTICLE
AP: David Greer
Friday, June 22, 2007. Issue 3683. Page 5.
By Max Delany
Staff Writer
David Greer, the Sakhalin Energy deputy CEO running the giant Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project, has left the company unexpectedly just weeks after a leaked e-mail he wrote revealed the pressure that managers working there were facing.
Greer’s departure comes as Shell is adjusting to ceding control of the $20 billion project to Gazprom after sustained state pressure.
“I can confirm that David Greer has left the company to pursue other business interests,” Sakhalin Energy spokesman Ivan Chernyakhovsky said Thursday. He did not elaborate on Greer’s future plans.
“He decided to leave the company and left the company,” Chernyakovsky said. “We wish him well in his future after working at Sakhalin Energy for 3 1/2 years.”
Chernyakovsky said any suggestion that the departure of Greer, a 27-year Shell veteran, was connected to the leaked e-mail was “pure speculation.”
Shell spokesman Maxim Shub could not say when Greer had offered his resignation, saying only that the announcement was made Thursday.
Greer could not be reached by cell phone Thursday evening.
Sakhalin Energy’s technical director, Jaap Huijskes, has been appointed as the new project director for the remainder of the Phase-2 development, a source inside Shell confirmed.
A motivational e-mail written by Greer to staff working on the project, originally leaked to an anti-Shell web site,Royaldutchshellplc.com, was the subject of a front-page story in the Financial Times earlier this month.
It also emerged that Greer had borrowed heavily in the e-mail from a speech made by U.S. General George Patton on the eve of the D-Day landings in World War II, with phrases such as “Lead me, follow me or get out of my way.”
Greer’s memo, written shortly after Gazprom officially took control of the Sakhalin-2 project this spring, took the form of a bombastic pep talk.
Citing bad body language and comments at a biannual meeting, the e-mail said that senior managers at Sakhalin Energy were running “the risk of becoming a team that doesn’t want to fight and lacks confidence in its own ability.”
Last December, Shell and its Japanese partners ceded majority control of the project, Russia’s first to process and export liquefied natural gas, to Gazprom after a sustained 1 1/2-year campaign of state pressure over purported environmental violations.
Ian Craig, head of Sakhalin Energy, the project operator, is due to be replaced by a Gazprom manager once the project comes on line. LNG shipments to Asia are due to begin next year.
(Comment by John Donovan: While Mr Greer attracted criticism by some SIEC employees, he also appeared to have many avid supporters and we wish him well)
We feel we have been tricked, fooled and demoralized
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE
Produced 90,000 barrels per day. Company must dismantle refinery and decontaminate soil
By KEVIN DOUGHERTY, The Gazette October 20, 2010
Nicolas Houle, director of Shell Canada’s Montreal East oil refinery, got a rough ride yesterday at special National Assembly hearings challenging the company’s decision to shut down the facility.
“Why should I give you a permit to dismantle it?” asked Natural Resources Minister Nathalie Normandeau.
“We feel we have been tricked, fooled and demoralized,” added Nicole Leger, the Parti Quebecois MNA for Pointe-aux-Trembles riding, where the refinery, with a payroll of 500, is located.
“I remain convinced there are buyers,” Leger added, suggesting Shell did not invest in the refinery, making it unattractive to potential buyers.
Houle replied to Normandeau that under Quebec’s environmental laws, Shell must dismantle the 77-year-old refinery now that it has closed, and must decontaminate the soil.
He said the decision to get out of the refining business in Montreal was motivated by a global strategy, in the interests of Shell shareholders, to shift upstream, focusing on the crude oil end of the business rather than refined products.
Normandeau noted Shell had no trouble selling two refineries in France, asking why it could not sell the Montreal facility.
Houle said “eight or nine” potential buyers approached Shell, resulting in two “declarations of interest,” but no offers.
He said the inventory of the refinery in worth $400 million and it would require investments of $600 million to remain competitive.
“I’m a straight shooter,” Houle told the committee, saying Shell looked into adapting the Montreal refinery to handle Alberta tar-sands.
“Montreal was not the place to make this investment,” he said.
Jean Matuszewski, an economist with E&B Data, told the committee that with the Shell refinery, Quebec was a net exporter of refined petroleum products. Quebec’s three refineries produce 369,000 barrels of gasoline, diesel, heating fuel and other products a day.
Quebec consumes 309,000 barrels of those products daily, leaving a 60,000-barrel surplus available for export, Matuszewski explained.
The Shell refinery accounted for 90,000 barrels a day and Quebec now has a 30,000-barrel deficit, he said, creating a problem of security of supply and the potential for higher prices.
Normandeau disagreed, presenting figures indicating that with Shell, the province had nearly 50 per cent overcapacity in refining.
With Shell closed, that surplus shrinks to about 11 per cent, the minister said, adding that Shell has assured her closing of the Montreal refinery would not jeopardize Quebec’s security of supply.
Amir Khadir, the Quebec solidaire MNA, noted that BP offered assurances which proved unfounded after its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, suggesting big oil companies do not always tell the truth.
Investigation on behalf of current long term investors in Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) over possible foreign bribery – RDS.A stockholders should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com
After the U.S. Department of Justice begun looking into allegations against Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) as a customer of Panalpina Group in connection with possible foreign bribery an investigation on behalf of current long term investors in Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) was announced.
If you are a current long term investor in Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A), and/or have any information relating the investigation, you have certain options and you should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc by email mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1(858) 779 – 1554.
The investigation by a law firm on behalf of current long term investors in Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) concerns whether certain officer and directors of Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) possibly violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), which prohibits companies from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business.
Netherlands Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) is an independent oil and gas company. Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) reported in 2006 $318billion in 12 month Total Revenue, in 2007 $355billion, in 2008 $458billion, and in 2009 $278billion. Its Net Income went from $25.4billion in 2006 to $12.5billion in 2009.
In July 2007, Shell’s US subsidiary, Shell Oil, was contacted by the US Department of Justice regarding Shell’s use of the freight forwarding firm Panalpina, Inc and potential violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as a result of such use. Shell has an ongoing internal investigation and is co-operating with the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission investigations.
In October 2010 the Wall Street Journal reported also that Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) as a customer of Panalpina Group is also among the companies investigated by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with potential foreign bribery and violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by Panalpina Group. According to the Justice Department “the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was enacted for the purpose of making it unlawful for certain classes of persons and entities to make payments to foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business. Specifically, the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA prohibit the willful use of the mails or any means of instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of any offer, payment, promise to pay…to a foreign official to influence the foreign official in his or her official capacity … to secure any improper advantage in order to assist in obtaining or retaining business for or with, or directing business to, any person.”
Panalpina Group, which has 14,000 employees and branches in more than 80 countries, is a supplier of forwarding and logistics services, specializing in end-to-end supply chain management solutions and intercontinental air freight and ocean freight shipments.
According to the Wall Street Journal the Panalpina Group is at the center of a sprawling probe into whether it paid officials in places including Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Kazakhstan to expedite services, such as clearing drilling rigs and other equipment through customs.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Panalpina is expected to pay around $85 million in fines to settle charges that it violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Wall Street Journal said that Royal Dutch Shell plc is expected to pay around $30 million in penalties to settle charges stemming from its use of Panalpina as an agent in Nigeria.
Shares of Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) traded in 2006 at $61 per share and increased until the end of 2006 to $70.79 per share. RDS.A continue to increase in 2007 and closed 2007 at $84.85 per share. During the first half of 2008 RDS.A fell to $65.68 per share before climbing to over $86 per share in May 2008. Since May 2008 RDS.A shares lost value and closed 2008 at roughly $52 per share. In 2009 RDS.A continued to lose value and traded as low as $41.89 per share in March 09. Since then RDS.A shares were able to regain value and currently traded at $63.65 per share, its trading price during the first half of 08.
Those who are current long term investors in Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (Public, NYSE:RDS.A), and/or have any information relating the investigation, have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc by email mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1(858) 779 – 1554.
The letter continued “reportedly, in the months immediately following the imposition of sanctions, your company raised purchases by 27%, at the same time enjoying an increased discount due to the ‘reputational risk’ for companies trading with Iran.”
Samuels added “apparently, the once proud reputation of your parent, Royal Dutch Shell, has been sullied by irresponsible greed. Your payment of $ 1.5 billion this summer to Tehran enriched your coffers, but Shell arguably, may be perceived as now indirectly complicit in encouraging Tehran’s weaponization programme, its sponsorship of global terrorism and its repressive abuse of domestic fundamental rights.”
The Centre stressed that “Shell’s alleged exploitation of the sanctions regime for immoral enrichment must carry a reputational price.”
“Until Shell publicly announces the cancellation of further crude oil purchases from Iran,we urge the public to exercise its intelligent choice and avoid Shell gas stations to give their business to companies that honour sanctions. All who are concerned for world peace and human rights should leave Shell products on the shelf.” concluded Samuels.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).
For further information contact Shimon Samuels on 0033 (0) 609770158, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.
Illustration of 94 year old Alfred Donovan, founder of royaldutchshellplc.com, displayed courtesy of The Wall Street Journal. DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it endorsed by or affiliated with Shell. It is recommended internally by Shell far above what our own group internal comms puts out.
an observer of Shell: It appears that Voser finally got fed up with Mr Overpromise/Underdelivery. Despite all the nice words about him, he is clearly kicked out. Plenty of sycophants around him are now fearing for their jobs and positioning themselves whom to kow-tow now.
This bearded fellow wasted his great brain on very small details and he was unable to delegate. I think his only real good project was the SLIM project. This was many moons ago and launched him to the top jobs. And there he failed as frequently and eloquently pointed out on the Donovan site.
Big brain, a micromanager on par with the pointy haired boss in Dilbert, a vicious and vindictive attitude to those that were of no use to him or that might talk back.
In summary: Good riddance and now the legal system of Scotland can go after him. But I doubt they will.
Golden Triangle Watchman: What goes around comes around.... The announcement of Brinded has long been anticipated. We now wait for the next much smaller announcement.... Tom Purves to retire..... This will make our day when that moment happens.
Shell never deals with the issue of bad leadership until it is too late and the havoc has been wreaked.... However, as we say in the US, Every dog has its day..... and today that was Malcolm.
LondonLad: So early retirement then after all that ....... REPLY BY JOHN D. You are still playing a point scoring game. You seem to forget that the avoidable deaths of Shell offshore workers on Brent Bravo is at the heart of this matter. The deaths occurred after a safety audit led by Bill Campbell exposed a shambolic, illegal and shameful safety regime on Brent Bravo. They occurred after Shell senior Expro management had promised Bill that Shell would bring an end to the "Touch F*** All" culture and the falsification of safety records. The explosion and record breaking fine provide proof that the promises were not kept. There is NO commercial aspect to this matter as far as Mr Campbell is concerned. He is driven solely by a fear of an even worse event due to the same policy by Shell of putting production and profits before the safety of offshore workers. Please give Bill some credit for his integrity and for his long campaign, which has rightly received cross-party support from many MP's.
LondonLad: Agent provocateur indeed!! Never been called that before, and I am most certainly not in league with Shell in any way! I again reiterate my point : was Campbell fired or given early retirement from Shell and thereby lies his grudge or did he reach full retirement age in the company? An honest answer might convince many that his continuous aggressiveness against Shell is genuine or just an ongoing grudge. This is not a "slanging match" merely a point of clarification.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN:
Mr Campbell has made it clear that he does not wish to get into discussion with someone making insulting comments while hiding behind an alias. With regards to his comment that you may be an agent provocateur, perhaps he gained that impression from checking your history of postings. Just so there is no misunderstanding, we welcome contributors who provide a counter-balance to negative postings about Shell. I have provided some links to further information about the Brent Bravo scandal. Despite all of the promises by Shell senior management about safety, which including appointing a safety Czar, its track record remains atrocious. Years after the Brent Bravo debacle, it was revealed that the lifeboats for a Shell North Sea platform were not seaworthy. You could not make it up.
“Lifeboats trouble at Brent field” published on 14 March 2008, UpstreamOnline revealed “SHELL’s safety record on its Brent Bravo platform in the UK Northern North Sea is once again under scrutiny after the discovery of technical problems with two lifeboats on the installation that resulted in both of them being removed from service.” Jake Molloy, general secretary of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee was quoted in the article by Christopher Hopson as claiming “If they had loaded up this particular lifeboat, the chances are it could have been launched into the sea in an uncontrolled fashion which would have caused death or injury as it was held in place by corrosion and not by the designed system”. The article said that problems had been found with a second lifeboat on the Brent Bravo platform. It also reported that a lifeboat had launched itself into the sea from Shell’s Tern platform because the brakes and clutches were “dysfunctional” and had damaged the launch mechanism off the platform. Shell confirmed problems had been discovered with two lifeboats on Brent Bravo during “routine maintenance”. Shell was quoted as stating that it viewed the matter seriously and had “mobilised an investigation team on the platform”.
BILL CAMPBELL EMAIL SENT TO MEMBERS OF THE UK HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL SAFETY CONCERNS
Outsider: LondonLad: In many cases "Reaching Retirement age" in Shell simply means being unable to find a position outside Shell -nowadays the most competent people generally move on long before reaching retirement age and pursue a second career elsewhere.
LondonLad: To : an observer of Shell, you state "It is commonly known that a great many employees of Shell Expro are freemasons". Where did you get this "fact" from - smoking whacky backy?? I doubt very much that a great many are indeed freemasons. Even if they are (wich I seriously doubt), so what? Let's face it they are a society that provide one of the largest contributions to charities in the UK. I think you very clearly have an axe to grind against Shell. In that context why does Campbell have such a chip on his shoulder over Shell? Was he sacked for some reason? Did he actually reach his retirement age in Shell? Would be nice to know so that we can believe more that his rants are genuine problems he has with Shell rather than caused by some hidden grudge.
Old Spirit: GTW, I know you are right, TP and others will get their due. What is painful is that those whose lives have been changed and whose spirits have been destroyed because of his actions, will not be compensated. Tom is not the only one taking credit for this new cruel process of forced ranking, by claiming credit for what market demand has meant for profits. There are promotions taking place right now because credit is claimed by those executing Tom's plan for performance 'refirings'. I worked in manufacturing sites where management and performance was a joke, and profits were above forecast. It's always been market demand and the hard work of the folks on the ground that make manufacturing successful, Tom is not a pioneer in taking undue credit for local successes, but he has certainly been the cruelest!
an observer of Shell: I have no proof nor will I ever find that proof, but this reprehensible conduct of the legal authorities smells to high heaven of masonic lodges. It is commonly known that a great many employees of Shell Expro are freemasons. The police forces all over the world are well presented in the various lodges. I would not be surprised if Brinded himself is a member.
Bill Campbell is a very courageous man taking on these evil forces. We in Shell all knew him to be a completely honest and competent Maintenance manager and HSE auditor. But he loses against all the parasites and sycophants whose sole job is to protect the directors. And then live well on the spoils of their abhorrent activities.
Top marks for the Donovans who keep this festering sore in the spotlight. To some it maybe a lot of repeating old stories, but those that want to hide and bury their bad actions know that time is on their side. And Shell has deep pockets and knows how to procrastinate.
GoldenTriangle Watchman: John, there is no issue with my post. This is the same GTW that has been providing updates for some time on the ill fated project CEP and the ill fated Tom Purves, both of which should be going fading into the background this year as old worn out news.
Goldentriangle Watchman: I retract my previous statement. COMMENT BY JOHN DONOVAN: WE HAVE REASON TO SUSPECT THAT THIS POSTING IS NOT IN FACT FROM THE PARTY WHO USES THE ALIAS "GOLDENTRIANGLE WATCHMAN ON THIS BLOG, BUT IS FROM AN IMPOSTER.
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