The inspector general found an e-mail from some dork at Shell Pipeline to a woman in the federal royalty office, asking her to join him at a tailgate party before a Houston Texans football game: “Have you and the girls meet at my place at 6 a.m. for bubble baths…

baltimoresun.com

Viewpoint: Sex, drugs and natural gas royalties

By Carl Hiaasen
September 17, 2008

People always say the Bush administration is in bed with the oil companies, but it turns out to be literally true.

According to the Interior Department, some government officials in charge of collecting oil and gas royalties smoked pot, snorted cocaine and had sex with employees of big energy firms.

Meanwhile, the rest of us were getting screwed at the gas pump.

Three reports delivered last week to Congress portray “a culture of ethical failure” in which employees of the federal Minerals Management Service often accepted gifts from oil and gas interests, steered lucrative contracts to cronies and partied hard with those with whom they did business on behalf of the U.S. taxpayer.

The MMS collects about $10 billion annually in royalties from energy companies that drill offshore and on federally owned lands. Beside the IRS, it’s one of the biggest sources of government revenue.

During the Bush years, the agency has faced harsh criticism for failing to vigorously pursue millions of dollars in outstanding or potential royalties. One controversial program, called royalty-in-kind, allows energy companies to pay the government in gas and oil instead of dollars.

According to the inspector general’s report, the royalty-in-kind office of the MMS was rife with “substance abuse and promiscuity.” Certain fun-loving employees were known as the “MMS Chicks” by energy firm employees, who would generously invite the women to lively social events.

Oil and gas companies named in the reports are Chevron, Hess, Shell Pipeline and Gary-Williams Energy. They paid for MMS workers to attend PGA golf tournaments, professional baseball and football games, ski trips, a Toby Keith concert, paintball-shooting events and “treasure hunts,” whatever that means.

The inspector general found an e-mail from some dork at Shell Pipeline to a woman in the federal royalty office, asking her to join him at a tailgate party before a Houston Texansfootball game: “Have you and the girls meet at my place at 6 a.m. for bubble baths and final prep. Just kidding.”

This stuff would be a whole lot funnier if the country’s energy policy weren’t a disaster and gas weren’t $4 a gallon. The Republicans’ renewed lust to open more offshore leases might not bring down the price of crude, but it would keep the good times rolling at the Interior Department.

Apparently the plan is to tailgate our way to energy independence.

Interestingly, while at least a dozen former and current MMS employees were named in the reports, the Bush Justice Department has chosen to go after only one, Jimmy W. Mayberry.

Last month, he pleaded guilty to a felony conflict-of-interest charge for arranging a juicy consulting contract for himself, as sort of a retirement gift.

The woman who helped Mr. Mayberry hatch this scam was Lucy Q. Denett, then the associate director of minerals revenue management. She’s also married to Paul Denett, who until recently was the top procurement honcho in the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Mrs. Denett has retired from the Interior Department for personal reasons and won’t be prosecuted. She told investigators she’d made a “very poor” decision by helping her pal Mr. Mayberry rig the consulting contract. No kidding.

Another Bush hack who likely will escape punishment in the scandal is Gregory W. Smith, former program director of the royalty-in-kind office. The inspector general said that Mr. Smith wrongly used his government position to market a private tech-services firm to gas and oil companies, and that the firm paid him $30,000.

Mr. Smith, now working for a Denver oil company, has refused to publicly discuss the allegations.

The report also accuses him of taking gifts from energy industry representatives, having sex with two of his subordinates and buying cocaine on several occasions from his secretary and her boyfriend.

Who says that being a bureaucrat is dull work?

Such colorful revelations shed some light on the mysterious energy task force assembled by Vice President Dick Cheney at the president’s direction, shortly after he took office.

Mr. Cheney has stubbornly refused to tell American taxpayers what was decided or who participated in these important meetings, though it’s known that many major players were involved, including those geniuses at Enron.

No wonder the vice president is so secretive about what took place. Obviously, these weren’t serious policy meetings; they were toga parties, with Mr. Cheney dressed up as Bluto from Animal House.

In their wildest dreams, the boys from big oil couldn’t have imagined how much fun the next eight years would be – sex, drugs and “treasure hunts.”

Party on, dudes. Drill your brains out.

Carl Hiaasen is a columnist for The Miami Herald.

By John Donovan

This U.S. diplomatic cable, classified as “secret”, reports on a briefing given to the American Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin R. Sander, in February 2009  by Shell Executive VP, Ann Pickard, now Country Chairman of Shell Australia.

During a discussion of the high level of corruption in Nigeria, Pickard gave as an example, a bribery demand by Nigerian Attorney General Aondoakaa that he would sign a document only if paid $2 million immediately, and another $18 million the next day.

She also cited examples of demands for millions of dollars in bribes by Chief Economic Advisor Yakubu and the First Lady Turai Yar’Adua, to lift oil.

Shell has recently been fined by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission for its role in corruption in Nigeria and paid what some might describe as a $10 million bribe to the Nigerian government to settle corruption charges.

*ROYAL DUTCH SHELL NIGERIAN CORRUPTION SCANDAL
*SHELL PAYS $10 MILLION CORRUPTION FINE TO NIGERIANS

The latest revelations comes on top of a claim by Pickard that Shell had infiltrated agents into every Nigerian ministry affecting its operations in Nigeria.

Viewing cable 09ABUJA259, C) NIGERIA: SHELL BRIEFS AMBASSADOR ON OIL GAS ISSUES

Reference ID: 09ABUJA259 Created: 2009-02-10 16:04 Released: 2010-12-08 21:09 Classification: SECRET//NOFORN Origin: Embassy Abuja

VZCZCXRO7442
OO RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #0259/01 0411610
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 101610Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5253
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 0802
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000259

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE PASS USTR FOR AGAMA
USDOE FOR GEORGE PERSON AND CHAYLOCK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2028
TAGS: EPET ENRG ELAB PINR ECON SENV PGOV NI
SUBJECT: (C) NIGERIA: SHELL BRIEFS AMBASSADOR ON OIL GAS ISSUES,
COMMENTS ON PRESIDENT’S HEALTH AND HIGH-LEVEL CORRUPTION

REF: ABUJA 203

Classified By: Ambassador Robin R. Sanders for reasons 1.4. (b & d).

¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: Shell’s regional executive vice president for Africa Ann Pickard and government relations representative Peter Francis met with the Ambassador on January 27 in Abuja and provided an update on problems in the oil and gas sector. Pickard said that things were going from bad to worse, especially the security situation. She said that Nigeria now had one of the highest negative ratings for maritime operations, creating problems for Shell in hiring oil tankers to load, as tanker operators will work only under highly selective conditions. Last year there were about 80 piracy attacks on land and water combined. This year already 15 have been tallied, which includes 3 for Shell and 3 for Exxon. On corruption, Pickard said that Nigerian entities control the lifting of many oil cargoes and there are some “very interesting” people lifting oil. Oil buyers would pay NNPC GMD Yar’Adua, Chief Economic Advisor Yakubu and the First Lady Turai Yar’Adua large bribes to lift oil. Pickard also reported an instance of the Attorney General Aondoakaa allegedly soliciting a $20 million bribe to sign a document. The International Oil Companies (IOC) are quite concerned about the “very flawed” new petroleum sector energy bill. The IOCs will be asking U.S., Dutch, and U.K. COMs to convey points on the bill to GON policymakers. Pickard agreed that the President’s health is a guessing game. She said that in her recent meetings with Yar’Auda he seems alert, though very drawn in the face, thin, and frail. Her information is that the President was not in danger of dying soon, but also was unlikely to ever fully recover from his ailments. (Note: see septel on oil/energy sector issues for the Ambassador’s meeting with the new Minister of Petroleum Resources. End Note). END SUMMARY.

¶2. (C) Shell’s regional executive vice president for Africa Ann Pickard and government relations representative Peter Francis met with the Ambassador on January 27, 2009 in Abuja and provided an update on problems in the oil and gas sector. Pickard reported that Shell’s meeting with Minister of Petroleum Resources Dr. Rilwanu Lukman scheduled for earlier that day had been cancelled; the third week in a row where key appointments had fallen through, with the excuse of being summoned to the Presidential Villa. (Note: Emboffs have observed that meetings with ministers and senior staff are indeed often cancelled with the explanation that they have been summoned to the Presidential Villa, even when the President is out of town. End note). Econ Counselor and Econoff (notetaker) also attended the discussion.

- – - – - – - – -
FROM BAD TO WORSE
- – - – - – - – -

¶3. (C) The Ambassador took the opportunity to share with Pickard that the Mission was in the midst of completing its Strategic Plan and asked Pickard where she thought Nigeria was headed. Pickard said that things were going from bad to worse, especially in terms of security. She said that Nigeria now had the highest negative rating for maritime security, creating problems for Shell in hiring oil tankers to load; tankers will work only under highly selective conditions. She also noted that late on the evening of Saturday January 17, Nigerian militants attacked and boarded two vessels at a Shell crude oil loading platform in Bonny and took eight crew members hostage. Standard procedure on the tanker was followed: the ship went into immediate lock down; there were no injuries or fatalities from the boarding. The eight Nigerian crew members who were taken hostage were later released. The pirates who went through the sections of the boat to which they were able to gain access, smashing and stealing computers, electronics, and personal items of the crew members. The second vessel was a tug boat towing a supply vessel from Bonny to Calabar. Last year there were about 80 incidents of piracy; this year already 15 had been tallied, which includes 3 for Shell and 3 for Exxon. GON officials have told Shell to “hire more security.” The price of doing business in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria continues to climb she concluded. [Note: The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a division of the International Chamber of Commerce - www icc-ccs org - reports that the waters off the Gulf of Guinea (Nigeria) remain the second worst, with 40 incidents in 2008 to the Horn of Africa (Somalia) with 42 recorded incidents. The IMB notes that in 2009 the Horn of Africa will be more intense as Spring comes due to the large number of foreign warships in the region on active patrol to ensure the safety and security of vessels. The same increased security is not expected for Nigeria in 2009. End Note]

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
SHELL BELIEVES COUP UNLIKELY; CORRUPTION WORSENING
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

ABUJA 00000259 002 OF 003

¶4. (S/NF) The Ambassador asked what Shell’s thoughts were on any potential for a coup. Pickard answered that there is little intellectual capital to plan and execute a coup and Shell sees little potential for one. Pickard then went on to say that corruption in the oil sector was worsening by the day. The Ambassador asked for a few examples. Pickard said that Nigerian entities control the lifting of many oil cargoes and there are some “very interesting” people lifting oil (People, she said that were not even in the industry). As an example she said that oil buyers would pay Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) General Managing Director Yar’Adua, (Note: not related to President Yar’Adua. End Note) Chief Economic Advisor Yakubu, and the First Lady Turai Yar’Adua large bribes, millions of dollars per tanker, to lift oil. The IOCs control the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cargos, so GON actors do not have the same opportunity for illicit gain. Pickard also said a former associate of hers (protect) had told her he had been present when Attorney General Aondoakaa had told a visitor that he would sign a document only if the visitor paid $2 million immediately and another $18 million the next day.

- – - – - – -
VERY BAD BILL
- – - – - – -

¶5. (C) Pickard reported that Shell, Exxon-Mobil and Chevron all have big license review disputes with the GON. Shell has taken its dispute to court and the court is supporting Shell’s position. According to her, Shell is stepping back for the moment, however, to see how the other two majors negotiation fair, but is not taking its case out of court yet. The IOCs are quite concerned about the “very flawed” new petroleum sector energy bill. The bill is silent on what fiscal regimes would be applied. Shell says that the bill could reduce the corporation’s overall value in Nigeria. GON discussions around the bill have mentioned the possibility of moving to five-year licenses and prohibiting exploring both oil and gas from the same source, which would contradict how oil and gas extraction works in practice. The bill is silent on joint ventures; it just states that NNPC will be incorporated. Pickard said the bill was “likely to sail through.” The IOCs will be asking U.S., Dutch and U.K. COMs to convey points on the bill to GON policymakers. (Note: Pickard mentioned that the IOCs will not share company information directly; they will hire consultants, like McKinsey, to produce common themes so the messages from the IOCs to be shared with the relevant Ambassadors are clear and consistent. End note). Pickard lamented that the expected cycle of petroleum is at least five years for the first oil to flow, another 10 years of production to begin to break even. These numbers change when oil is $40 per barrel instead of $100 per barrel. Hence, a five year license would not be an incentive for investment and development.

- – - – - -
GAS ISSUES
- – - – - -

¶6. (C) The Ambassador said that the Mission was looking at performance measures for the economy, i.e. the linkage between the country’s electricity output and gross domestic product (GDP). The Ambassador shared that the Mission feels strongly that gas for feedstock is the key to Nigeria’s power production, which is only about 2,800 average megawatts for a country of 140 million people. Pickard agreed and added that the U.S. got it wrong on its domestic natural gas policies, which it took over 20 years to sort out. So it is not surprising that Nigeria has it wrong at this point. She said there is not adequate infrastructure for gas. Gathering plants and pipelines to carry the product to the power plants still have to be financed and built. The Nigeria Independent Power Projects (NIPP) were located where there is no gas and no infrastructure. In addition, the international oil companies were coerced into building a power plant each, something they have no expertise in, and they are scrambling to deliver gas to these plants.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
YAR’AUDA VACATION IS PERHAPS SOMETHING ELSE
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

¶7. (S/NF) Pickard agreed that the President’s health is a guessing game. She said that in her recent meetings with Yar’Auda he seems alert but drawn in the face and frail. She reported that a Julius Berger (protect) contact says that the President was not in danger of dying soon but has serious ailments from which he will never fully recover. Pickard shared that Berger provides transportation including planes for the President and has reportedly flown in doctors and technicians to attend the President (reftel). She said, for instance, that her Berger contact confided that they flew the President from Germany to Saudi in September 2008. Additionally, the Berger contact thought the President would not return to the Villa

ABUJA 00000259 003 OF 003

offices, as they were moving the President’s personal things out of the Villa. (Note: What we think this means is that Yar’Adua is spending most of his time in the presidential residence and not in the Villa offices. End Note).

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
HOPES THAT OIL NATIONALISM CAN BE TEMPERED
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

¶8. (C) The Ambassador asked how comfortable Shell was with the new appointment of Dr. Rilwanu Lukman as Minister of Petroleum Resources,
and the appointment of Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo as the new NNPC GMD. Pickard sees the nationalism card cooling with the removal of former NNPC GMD Yar’Adua, given that new Minister of Petroleum Lukman is more “pragmatic” and will hold sway over deputy Minister Ajumogobia.
(Note: Ajumogobia’s technical assistant told EconOff in a meeting on January 14, 2009 that the State Minister was focusing on Gas, since before the mass cabinet change he was State Minster of Petroleum, with a separate State Minster for Gas.) End Note. She said she was also okay with NNPC chief Barkindo. She has worked with Barkindo several times over the past few decades, especially when they were both working climate change. She said Barkindo led Nigeria’s technical delegation to climate change negotiations that produced the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)and the Kyoto protocol to UNFCCC during while he served on its Bureau at various times. She indicated that although his undergraduate studies were in political science, he obtained his MBA from Southeastern University in Washington DC and did postgraduate work in petroleum economics and management at Oxford University. Although she also said terms like nationalistic and Chavez she however said that she thought he could be steered in the right direction on the petroleum sector.

- – - -
COMMENT
- – - -

¶9. (C) Although Pickard clearly seems frustrated with the way things are going in the maritime security, oil sector legislation, and corruption which affects Shell’s bottom line, it was useful to hear that she has hopes for the new Petroleum Minister and NNPC chief. Septel on the Ambassador’s meeting with new Petroleum Minister Lukman will address many of these same issues.

¶10. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos.

SANDERS

SOURCE CABLE

By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo – Dec 22, 2010 7:58 PM GMT+0000

Royal Dutch Shell Plc paid $10 million in fines to the Nigerian government over alleged bribes paid on its behalf by Panalpina Welttransport Holding AG, to Nigerian customs officials, Justice Minister Mohammed Adoke said.

The settlement is part of a broader resolution of bribery allegations involving companies operating in Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation. JGC Corp. of Japan has “proposed settlement talks” in connection to its role in a $180 million bribery case, Adoke told reporters today in Abuja, the capital. No one answered phone calls to JGC’s office in Tokyo outside normal business hours. Tony Okonedo, Shell’s Lagos-based spokesman, declined to comment when reached on his mobile phone today. A message left outside normal business hours for Martin Spohn, spokesman for Basel, Switzerland-based Panalpina, was not immediately returned.

Yesterday, Halliburton Co., the world’s second-largest oilfield services provider, agreed to pay $35 million to Nigeria to settle charges related to bribery allegations, the Houston- based company said.

Nigeria withdrew corruption charges filed earlier this month against Halliburton and former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and companies including Technip SA of France, Eni SpA unit Snamprogetti SpA and Houston-based KBR Inc. The country alleges that the companies were part of group known as TSKJ, which paid $180 million in bribes to Nigerian officials between 1994 and 2004 to win a $6 billion liquefied natural gas plant contract.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elisha Bala-Gbogbo in Abuja at ebalagbogbo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.

SOURCE

Shell Oil Manager on gifts (bribes) given to Shell employees by vendors:

“And yes John, there are acceptable levels of gifts, and if you do not think there are then you are living in la la land.”

FURTHER COMMENT BY A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA

When I was at Shell Research many years ago I was in a position of evaluating vendor services and making recommendations about those services to the rest of the company.

The two biggest companies I dealt with were, of course, Schlumberger and Halliburton. My work required access to proprietary material from both companies so it was absolutely imperative that the relationships were kept completely professional.

As such, I would not allow these guys to buy me so much as a bottle of Coke. Nor would I buy their people so much as a Coke. When you are in such a position you can not play favorites and you cannot get ‘cozy’ with any particular vendor or with any of their people. It is inevitable that you do develop ‘professional’ relationships with your contacts in these companies, but they must be kept ‘professional’. I essentially followed the ethical standards of conduct of the US Navy’s Naval Reactor Program Office in my dealings with the vendors, which I was familiar with.

Unfortunately, that is not how the vast majority of engineers in Shell operate, nor is it company policy, which it should be. But people are fond of their ‘freebees’ and ‘G&C’. Management gets their share of goodies as well. And this is how the system gets corrupted. Everyone ‘plays’ to their advantage. Management plays games with reserve bookings to boost performance bonuses, and on it goes.

In the Federal government the ethical rules of conduct are quite strict, and under those rules the majority of Shell personnel would be facing disciplinary termination or even criminal prosecution for their conduct and relationships with vendors. Sad but true.

COMMENT ADDED BY JOHN DONOVAN

It was a posting by “USCITIZEN”, a regular long term contributor to our “Shell Blog” who is in a managerial position and is ferociously loyal to Shell Oil, which sparked the recent and above comment from another regular contributor, a former employee of the same company, whose identity, exceptional ingenuity and related US government connections, will be well known to Shell.

USCITIZEN genuinely takes the view – read what he has said for yourself – that gifts from vendors are perfectly acceptable and seems to consider them an entitlement.

Extract from a recent posting by “USCITIZEN”

“And yes John, there are acceptable levels of gifts, and if you do not think there are then you are living in la la land.”

More proof of a deeply ingrained culture of corruption at Shell Oil USA.

BY A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA

When I worked for Shell USA years ago we had an incident with one of our major supplies of oil field services. As it happened the VP of marketing complained to our Shell VP in New Orleans about the fact that their service reps kept handing out free tickets to ball games, took the engineers out to dinner, etc., but that they weren’t ‘getting any’ business. This particular vendor marketing VP thought that Shell’s engineering staff were taking advantage of them (which they were) and they wanted some business in return for all the ‘favors’, etc., they had done for the staff.

Well, that particular VP at Shell was rather incensed at being ‘shaken down’ for business like that so he banned the acceptance of vendor ‘gifts and gratuities’ except under special circumstance. That ban lasted only until he was transferred about six months later. After that the vendor gift ‘shake down’ went on as usual.

In the field, on drilling rigs, it was not uncommon for the vendors to hand out hunting rifles, color TV’s, stereos, etc., to the company foreman in return for a site well services contract. We even had a case where one fellow was given a vintage Ford Mustang convertible. Senior management thought that was a bit much and after much consideration reluctantly fired that fellow, but less expensive gifts were still allowed.

When I worked overseas Shell Pecten in country management (Shell USA’s overseas division) always complained about not being allowed to ‘grease the palms’ of the necessary local authorities ‘sufficiently’ to get things done in a timely fashion. Some of the internal Shell memos were extremely interesting in this regard.

I even had some idiot vendor send me a 30 lb Alaska King salmon packed in ice one time. It was left on my front door step in Houston,TX one hot August day. I was gone out of town for a week. When I came back the stench that I was greeted with from that maggot ridden fish was utterly incredible. Needless to say the retarded fool that sent it to me, hoping to ‘curry favor’ for a big well services contract, got the a** chewing of a life time. As did his supervisor and his supervisor’s supervisor. These people were rather unhappy with my attitude. It is the thought that counts, right? Needless to say, their clumsy efforts proved futile, and this made them even unhappier.

‘Graft and corruption’, G&C as it is called, was and undoubtedly is still a way of life at Shell. From my experience at Shell I can tell you that Shell was and clearly still is a company that suffers from corruption at virtually every level.

RELATED ARTICLE: SEX, DRUGS & CORRUPTION IN USA SPONSORED BY SHELL

*CORPORATE TERRORISM AGAINST A FORMER SHELL EMPLOYEE
*ROYAL DUTCH SHELL NAZI SECRETS EXPOSED
*INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT: GALE NORTON, SHELL SCANDAL
*Shell employee guinea pigs in study of carcinogenic properties
*1000′s of Shell workers asked to reapply for their own jobs
*SEX, DRUGS & CORRUPTION IN USA SPONSORED BY SHELL
*ROYAL DUTCH SHELL NIGERIAN CORRUPTION SCANDAL
*WIKILEAKS: SHELL EMBEDDED SPIES IN NIGERIAN GOV
*Shell embedded spies in governments of Nigeria, Dubai and Iraq
*PDF ORIGINAL ARTICLE SHELL EMBEDDED SPIES IN NIGERIA
*SHELL SETTLES CLAIM FOR MURDER & TORTURE IN NIGERIA
*SHELL COMPLICITY IN NIGERIAN MURDER OF CIVILIANS
*UNLOVEABLE SHELL, THE GODDESS OF OIL (NIGERIA +)
*CLEAN-UP FOR NIGER DELTA AND SHELL’S REPUTATION
*Shell fueled Nigerian violence by paying rival militant gangs
*SHELL CHIEF HAD A PRIVATE ARMY (IN NIGERIA)
*SHELL PAYS $10 MILLION CORRUPTION FINE TO NIGERIANS
*SHELL ACCEPTS LIABILITY FOR TWO OIL SPILLS IN NIGERIA
*NIGER DELTA CRISIS THREATENED SHELL’S GLOBAL BRAND
*SHELL GLOBAL SPYING ON ITS OWN EMPLOYEES
*DEATH THREATS AGAINST SHELL WHISTLEBLOWERS?
*Irish Police investigate death threats to Shell whistleblowers
*SHELL “TOUCH F*** ALL” OIL RIG SAFETY CULTURE
*PAYBACK TIME FOR CORPORATE VILLAINS?
*SHELL HIDES ITS TRADING WITH FANATICAL IRANIAN REGIME
*SHELL HID TRADING IN IRAQ OIL IN VIOLATION OF EMBARGO
*SHELL IN BED WITH GADDAFI, STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM
*SHELL INVOLVEMENT IN AL-YAMAMAH OIL FOR ARMS SCANDAL
*ROYAL DUTCH SHELL WORLDS LARGEST “SPECULATOR”
*Shell accused of supporting Syrian regime
*Whistleblower accuses Shell of psychological torture
*Blood for oil? (The invasion of Iraq)
*Why is Shell still present and operating in Syria?
*SHELL EVEN DEFRAUDED ITS OWN SHAREHOLDERS
*IRREGULARITIES IN A SHELL TENDER PROCESS

SHELL IN NIGERIA

Shell’s horrendous track record in Nigeria includes embedding spies in the Nigerian government; paying rival militant gangs; engaging in corruption (not only in Nigeria); arming police spies; undercover activity using a private spy firm (Hakluyt) and associating Shell with murder and human rights abuses. Consequently questions inevitably arise about the background of the militants responsible for the attacks referred to in this article. Has Shell any financial connection with them currently, or in the past? Shell has such a shameful record in Nigeria, including plunder and pollution on an epic scale, that it has even considered ditching the Shell global brand name. Such a radical move would also distance the company from its Nazi past.

Royal Dutch Shell GUILTY of Mass Murder.

How Shell infiltrated Nigeria

The Military Beast -- Royal Dutch Shell

Controversy over Shell Corrib Gas Project in Ireland

Nov 22, 2010 – After Royal Dutch Shell plc agreed to pay more than $48 in relation to Foreign Bribery allegations an investigation on behalf of current long term investors in Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) concerning whether certain officer and directors can be held liable was announced.

Posted on Shell Blog by “old nigeria hand” on Sunday Nov 14th, 2010 at 11:26 pm

RESPONSE TO: What did Shell Oil President John Hofmeister know about corruption in Nigeria?

Panalpina and Hofmeister, bribes in Nigeria. I am certain that the top management knew all about the goings on. About 5 years ago a scandal nearly erupted but was quenched. (Or as the say in Nigeria: ‘de disting was quench-oh by de Oga’.

SPDC had made around 500 million dollars disappear over the years to all kind of community projects. No trails could be found in the books. And this for a company that should be able to trace every dollar spent anywhere. Because it is shareholder’s or taxpayer’s money. So I am sure that Hofmeister et all just assumed the bribes via Panalpina would disappear in the great wash. I am not an accountant. But as an engineer I know we can and must and do certify for instance every weld on long pipelines. The exact location, date of weld, weldingrods used, name of welder, and an X-ray photo is included. If you can do that, you should be able to trace every dollar spent? Unless you don’t want to?!?

Related MSNBC Article

Big oil company Royal Dutch Shell of Britain and the Netherlands, along with an exploration subsidiary, agreed to relinquish about $18 million in profits and interest. In addition, Shell Nigerian Exploration and Production Co. Ltd. will pay a $30 million criminal fine.

By MARCY GORDON

The Associated Press

updated 11/4/2010 11:00:51 PM ET

Royal Dutch Shell, others pay $236M in bribe cases

WASHINGTON — Seven companies — Royal Dutch Shell PLC, a big Swiss freight company, four oil service companies and a U.S. shipping firm — have agreed to pay $236.5 million to settle criminal and civil charges that they bribed foreign officials, the government announced Thursday.

The companies were accused of paying customs officials in a dozen countries millions of dollars in exchange for favorable treatment in customs duties, imports and taxes. In addition, they allegedly also paid bribes to get phony documents enabling oil drilling rigs to be brought in to countries.

The companies agreed to pay $156.5 million in criminal fines to settle proceedings with the Justice Department, and about $80 million in civil fines and restitution to settle related charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SEC officials said the agency’s cases constituted its first “sweep” of a specific industry sector to crack down on public companies and third parties that are paying bribes abroad.

Big oil company Royal Dutch Shell of Britain and the Netherlands, along with an exploration subsidiary, agreed to relinquish about $18 million in profits and interest. In addition, Shell Nigerian Exploration and Production Co. Ltd. will pay a $30 million criminal fine.

In court documents filed in Houston, Panalpina World Transport (Holding) Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, and its U.S. subsidiary agreed to criminal fines of almost $70.6 million. The company also will give up $11.3 million in profits to settle with the SEC. Panalpina acknowledged paying $27 million in bribes from 2002 to 2007 to officials of Angola, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Russia and Turkmenistan.

The oil service companies are Houston-based Pride International Inc., Swiss firm Noble Corp., and Transocean Inc. and GlobalSantaFe Corp., both based in the Cayman Islands. The shipping firm is New Orleans-based Tidewater Inc.

The other countries involved were said to be India, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Mexico and Venezuela.

The settlements marked the latest action in the government’s efforts to combat overseas corruption in international business. The bribery charges were brought under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it unlawful to bribe foreign government officials or company executives to secure or retain business. A number of U.S. and foreign companies have been charged with violating the law in recent years.

“Bribing customs officials is not only illegal but also bad for business, as the coordinated efforts of law enforcement increase the risk of detection every day,” SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami said in a statement. “These companies resorted to lucrative arrangements behind the scenes to obtain phony paperwork and special favors, and they landed themselves squarely in investigators’ crosshairs.”

Also in the new settlements:

—Pride International agreed to pay about $23.5 million in restitution; the company and its Pride Forasol subsidiary are paying a $32.6 million criminal fine.

—Tidewater: around $8 million in restitution and a $217,000 civil fine. Subsidiary Tidewater Marine International: a $7.3 million criminal fine.

—Transocean: about $7.3 million in restitution. Transocean Inc. and Transocean Ltd.: a $13.4 million criminal fine.

—GlobalSantaFe: about $3.7 million in restitution and a $2.1 million civil fine.

—Noble: about $5.6 million in restitution and a $2.6 million criminal fine.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

By a former employee of Shell Oil USA

The Panalpina investigation began in 2007. The investigation covers the time period of 2002 -2007. That means, of course, that Shell’s transgressions occurred during John Hofmeister’s term of service at Shell. One has to wonder what his involvement in the bribery schemes were. I am certain that he was fully aware of what was going on, given that he was President of Shell USA from 2005 -2008. Someone had to ‘sign for’ and approve the millions of dollars used for that purpose.

It does seem that Mr. Hofmeister, and other senior management at Shell USA, may not have much regard for the law. Espionage and bribery? Is anyone really surprised by such revelations?

Ah, the contemptuous arrogance of Shell management, and big oil in general. You gotta’ love those guys. They think the law was meant for, as one of BP’s executives recently said, ‘the little people’.

Royal Dutch Shell Panalpina Nigerian Corruption Scandal

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION CEASE AND DESIST ORDER: ROYAL DUTCH SHELL BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION: 5 November 2010

INDEX OF RELATED ARTICLES

Settlements Near In Bribery Case: The Wall Street Journal 15 October 2010

Royal Dutch Shell bribery and corruption in Nigeria: The Wall Street Journal 16 October 2010

DOJ, SEC To Announce Panalpina-Related Bribery Settlements: NASDAQ 21 October 2010

U.S. in Pact Over Bribery Charges With Royal Dutch Shell: The Wall Street Journal 4 November 2010

Panalpina Settlements Announced, With $236.5 Million In Penalties: The Wall Street Journal 4 November 2010

Shell to pay $48m Nigerian bribe fine: Daily Telegraph 4 November 2010

Shell Bribes Among ‘Culture of Corruption’: Bloomberg 5 November 2010

Royal Dutch Shell hypocrisy on bribery: RoyalDutchShellPlc 5 November 2010

Top 10 settlements under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: The Wall Street Journal 6 November 2010

SHELL IN BRIBERY FINE: Daily Express 6 November 2010

Shell Nigerian Exploration and Production Co. Ltd. to pay $30 million criminal fine: 14 November 2010