Corruption

OPL 245 Twist: Italy’s Supreme Court Says Shell-Eni Prosecutors Did Not Breach Their Legal Duties

Oct 2nd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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The extraordinary legal afterlife of the Shell-Eni OPL 245 affair has produced another important development.

The detailed judgment behind the acquittal of former Milan prosecutors Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro has now been published—and it overturns the proposition that their handling of potentially favourable material in the Shell-Eni Nigeria prosecution amounted to a criminal refusal to perform their duties.

The extraordinary legal afterlife of the Shell-Eni OPL 245 affair has produced another important development.

Italy’s Court of Cassation has published the reasoning behind its decision to clear former Milan prosecutors Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, who had themselves been convicted after the collapse of the enormous corruption prosecution involving Shell, Eni and Nigeria’s controversial OPL 245 offshore oil licence. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell Nigeria Case Takes a Dramatic Turn: High Court Allows Allegations of Misleading Evidence to Be Tried

Sep 11th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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A long-running English legal battle over oil pollution in Nigeria has entered a potentially explosive new phase.

On 10 September 2026, the High Court handed down judgment in Alame & Ors v Shell Plc & Anor [2026] EWHC 2332 (KB). Mrs Justice Lambert ruled that allegations that Shell and its former Nigerian subsidiary knowingly relied on false or misleading factual assertions during earlier jurisdiction proceedings should be dealt with as part of the litigation now moving towards trial. (Hassan Kohen Law) read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell’s 2025 Sustainability Report: More Value, Less Emissions — and Plenty More Oil and Gas

Sep 10th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Shell has produced hundreds of pages explaining its progress towards a lower-carbon future. Unfortunately for the corporate narrative, it has also included the numbers.

By John Donovan

Shell’s latest Annual Report and Accounts 2025, published in 2026 and incorporating extensive sustainability reporting, is an impressive document.

It is large. It is glossy. It is meticulously footnoted. It contains photographs of industrious-looking people in hard hats. And throughout its pages we encounter the familiar Shell formulation:

“More value with less emissions.”

There is just one small difficulty.

When you get past the photographs, aspirations, transition vocabulary, cautionary notes, definitions, methodologies, adjusted measures and corporate prose, Shell has supplied enough hard data to show what sort of company it actually intends to be. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Books About Shell

Sep 9th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Books About Shell: An Expanded Bibliography

Introduction

Royal Dutch Shell, now Shell plc, has generated an unusually large body of literature stretching from official corporate histories and executive memoirs to academic studies, environmental investigations, human-rights accounts and books written by people directly involved in disputes with the company.

The bibliography below includes:

  • histories commissioned or published by Shell;
  • independent corporate histories;
  • biographies of important Shell figures;
  • books about particular Shell businesses and projects;
  • books concerning Nigeria, Ogoni and Ken Saro-Wiwa;
  • books about Brent Spar and Corrib;
  • studies of Shell’s celebrated scenario-planning system;
  • broader histories of the international oil industry in which Shell is a significant subject;
  • and Amazon Kindle books by John Donovan concerning his long-running relationship with Shell.

The descriptions below are original summaries rather than reproductions of publishers’ copyrighted descriptions.

Early Royal Dutch and Shell Histories

1934

An International Oil Man

Author: Sir Henri Deterding, as told to Stanley Naylor
Format: Print read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 7 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 7th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 7 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-050

The Sakhalin Papers XL: The Blue Location — PA-C Moves Offshore, but a Safer Site Is Not a Green Light

Sakhalin Energy’s 2012 South Piltun survey produced exactly the sort of result that independent environmental engagement was supposed to achieve. The work finished earlier than the whale scientists’ deadline. No Health, Safety and Environment incident was reported. The feared shallow-gas problem beneath an alternative platform site was not confirmed. And the proposed PA-C location moved farther offshore — away from the Western Gray Whale feeding area and closer to existing pipelines. But the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel did not treat those improvements as approval of the third platform. Before any irreversible decision, it wanted a full assessment of critical habitat and cumulative impacts. The survey had made PA-C easier to locate. It had not answered whether PA-C should be built.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-050
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal primary record: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Report of the Twelfth Meeting, Geneva, 5–7 November 2012
Supporting scientific record: WGWAP Noise Task Force and Western Gray Whale research programme material
Authenticated Shell records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2012; Royal Dutch Shell plc Sustainability Report 2012
Contemporaneous reporting: AFP/WWF, February 2012
Court record: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used solely for the earlier Sakhalin II financing and environmental-disclosure context
Evidence standard: Statements made by Sakhalin Energy to WGWAP are reported as company representations. WGWAP conclusions are identified as independent scientific advice. “No HSE incident” is not treated as proof that the survey produced no biological response. The “blue location” remained a proposed platform site; PA-C had not received a final investment decision. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL NIGERIA FILES: 31 AUGUST 2026

Aug 31st, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL NIGERIA FILES: 31 AUGUST 2026

Shell Says the Criminals Did It. The High Court Says That Is Not the End of the Legal Question.

Shell says organised theft, sabotage and illegal refining caused the vast majority of Niger Delta pollution at issue in the Bille and Ogale litigation. That may ultimately be proved for many spills. But a 2025 High Court ruling on Nigerian law established something critically important: for a pipeline claim under section 11(5)(b) of Nigeria’s Oil Pipelines Act, third-party interference is not, by itself, a defence if relevant neglect by the licence-holder is proved. The newly disclosed Shell documents now have to be read against that legal framework.

For years, one word has dominated Shell’s explanation of oil pollution in the Niger Delta:

Sabotage.

Shell’s present litigation page says large-scale oil theft, sabotage and illegal refining by organised criminal gangs caused the vast majority of the pollution relevant to the Bille and Ogale proceedings. It says neither Shell nor Renaissance Africa Energy Company, formerly the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, should be liable for criminal acts committed by third parties. Shell says its former subsidiary invested in surveillance, pipeline monitoring, repairs, shut-ins and spill response and worked with Nigerian authorities as the criminality intensified. (Shell) read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

johndonovan.website: A Text-Only Archive for Search Engines, AI Research and the Donovan/Shell Historical Record

Aug 31st, 2026
by John Donovan.
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For archival, research and search purposes, I have transferred the textual content of JohnDonovan.website to this dedicated page on RoyalDutchShellPlc.com. The material is presented without the original images and other visual elements, creating a text-focused version that should be easier for conventional search engines, AI-powered research systems and other indexing tools to crawl, process, index and cross-reference with the extensive Donovan/Shell archive already published on this website.

The purpose is preservation and accessibility. JohnDonovan.website contains a substantial amount of historical information about my dealings with Shell, Don Marketing, the litigation between the Donovans and Shell, subsequent campaigning and publishing activities, and the origins and development of the various Shell-related websites. Bringing the text into RoyalDutchShellPlc.com places that material alongside the much larger documentary archive to which it relates. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL NIGERIA FILES: 29 AUGUST 2026

Aug 29th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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The next materially distinct angle is internal compliance culture inside SPDC. Earlier instalments quoted the 2012 remark in passing, but none has examined it as the central documentary issue. The contrast is unusually sharp: in 2012 Shell publicly said its Business Principles were the foundation of how it worked and reported disciplinary action for Code violations worldwide; yet a Shell headquarters manager visiting Nigeria reportedly told colleagues that SPDC was afflicted by “collusion, nepotism and corruption” and that the Code of Conduct was “completely ignored.” (Royal Dutch Shell Plc .com) read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL NIGERIA FILES: 25 AUGUST 2026

Aug 25th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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The next materially distinct documentary angle is spill-cause attribution: the same 2012 technical visit already used elsewhere in the series contains a separate finding that Shell personnel were not properly equipped to distinguish corrosion from third-party interference. That matters because the classification could affect whether compensation was payable. This issue has not been the subject of a previous instalment.

THE SHELL NIGERIA FILES: 25 AUGUST 2026

Shell’s Spill-Cause Problem: When “Sabotage” Could Decide Whether Communities Were Compensated

A 2012 internal technical review said Shell personnel were not properly equipped to distinguish third-party interference from corrosion. Yet Shell was simultaneously reporting most spills as sabotage or theft — a classification with potentially profound consequences for affected communities.

For decades, one word has carried extraordinary weight in arguments over oil pollution in the Niger Delta. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL NIGERIA FILES: PUBLISHED 24 AUGUST 2026

Aug 24th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL NIGERIA FILES: PUBLISHED 24 AUGUST 2026

Shell’s Nigeria Double Standard? A Senior Executive Said an Onshore Leak Elsewhere Might Require “Other Solutions”

A 2008 internal email sits uneasily beside Shell’s public claim that its global standards applied across the businesses it controlled. The wording does not prove a formal two-tier policy — but it raises a question Shell should answer plainly.

One sentence in the newly released Shell papers deserves an article of its own.

It was written in 2008 by senior Royal Dutch Shell executive Malcolm Brinded to Ann Pickard, according to HEDA Resource Centre’s account of the disclosed correspondence.

Discussing an oil leak in Nigeria, Brinded wrote:

“If we had an oil leak onshore in other countries I suggest we might (have to) find other solutions.”

The underlying file is identified in HEDA’s public disclosure archive as Document 6 — MPR-10 HB 705-707_Redacted_260421_130937. The Nigeria: Lifting the Lid report cites the same document in section 4.7, “Broken Rules.” (Hedang) read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

What are THE SHELL LEAKS FILES?

Jul 26th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Editorial Note: The following conversation is published unedited as an example of how an artificial-intelligence system interpreted the newly established title The Shell Leaks Files.

Copilot correctly recognised that substantial bodies of internal Shell documents have entered the public domain through whistleblowers, litigation, regulatory proceedings, investigative journalism and NGO research. However, it appears to have incorrectly treated The Shell Leaks Files as a pre-existing generic term long used by journalists, researchers and NGOs. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell Spying connected to The Netherlands

Jul 14th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Shell Spying Connected to The Netherlands? Google AI Mode Responds

John Donovan Prompt: Any Shell spying connected to The Netherlands?

Reply from Google AI Mode

Google AI Mode responded that Shell has notable connections to espionage and corporate intelligence activities linked to The Netherlands.

According to the AI, these connections fall into two principal areas: Shell’s alleged links to the ongoing Equalize investigation in Italy and the company’s long-established security and intelligence operations headquartered in The Netherlands.

Equalize Investigation

Google AI Mode states that Shell was identified by Italian prosecutors as one of the corporate clients of Equalize, a Milan-based business intelligence and due diligence firm that is the subject of a major criminal investigation. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell and the Spies: A Country-by-Country Evidence Audit

Jul 13th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Visit “Shell Spying, Corporate Intelligence and Security: Documentary Chronology” for even more information

ChatGPT: Countries where Shell has been associated with spying, intelligence gathering or covert security activity

A necessary distinction

Shell operates in a dangerous world. Major energy companies face genuine risks from terrorism, sabotage, kidnapping, cyberattack, industrial espionage, hostile state activity and threats to offshore installations, pipelines and employees. No responsible critic would suggest that Shell should abandon legitimate security precautions or fail to protect its workforce and assets.

The concern examined in this series is different. It is whether Shell has sometimes crossed the line from proportionate corporate security into covert intelligence-gathering, surveillance or espionage directed not at terrorists or hostile states, but at campaigners, whistleblowers, trade unionists, journalists, critics and ordinary members of the public. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell spying in South Africa

Jul 8th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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SUBSTANTIALLY UPDATED 10 JULY 2026

John Donovan

Site-wide disclaimer also applies.

EDITOR’S NOTE: WHAT THE EVIDENCE PROVES—AND WHAT IT DOES NOT

This expanded article is based on the AI-generated material published in the original article published on 8 July 2026, supplemented by historical archives, court records, contemporary reporting and documentary material concerning Shell’s anti-apartheid strategy.

One important qualification is necessary.

There is strong documentary support for Shell’s apartheid-era economic role, the international boycott campaign against it, its commissioning of Pagan International’s secretive “Neptune Strategy,” the targeting and attempted neutralisation of civil-society opponents, and the use of disguised information-gathering methods. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell Spying Series: Corrib — Ireland’s Pipeline War, the Whistleblowers, the Surveillance Claims and the Garda Booze Scandal

Jul 6th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Shell Corrib: The Irish Pipeline War, the Whistleblowers and the Surveillance Shadow Shell Could Never Bury

By John Donovan

Site wide disclaimer also applies.

Shell, previously known as Forthdeal Limited, subsequently as Royal Dutch Shell plc, and now Shell plc after ditching the disgraced Royal Dutch moniker, left strange trails across the world: Nigeria, Malaysia, Norway, Sakhalin, the North Sea — and, very definitely, Ireland.

This instalment in the Shell spying series turns to the Corrib gas project in County Mayo: one of the most bitterly contested energy developments in modern Irish history.

Corrib was never merely a pipeline dispute. It became a conflict over policing, community consent, corporate power, environmental risk, private security, whistleblowers, leaked emails, alleged surveillance, alleged intimidation, alleged death threats, Garda conduct, alcohol allegations, parliamentary questions, and the awkward role played by royaldutchshellplc.com in bringing uncomfortable information into the public domain. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

RoyalDutchShellPlc.com as a Platform for Third Parties Challenging Shell

Jun 28th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan

Adapted and updated from Chapter 15 of the John Donovan Shell archive: “Assisting third parties to challenge Shell.”

Source chapter: CHAPTER 15: Assisting third parties to challenge Shell, first published 28 October 2018 and later modified on 10 August 2024.

Original chapter screenshot exhibit

Wikipedia archive extract concerning RoyalDutchShellPlc.com appeals

Archive material records RoyalDutchShellPlc.com being used for public appeals to Shell shareholders, employees and the wider public.

RoyalDutchShellPlc.com is often described as a Shell-focused criticism and archive site. One of its most practical roles, however, has been to act as a publication route for third parties who wanted to reach Shell shareholders, Shell employees, regulators, campaigners, lawyers or the public.

The record of such appeals is preserved in a Wikipedia archive article, which described the site as a channel used by campaign groups and other parties seeking attention on Shell-related matters. This article brings that material into a clearer form for republication on RoyalDutchShellPlc.com. read more

*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.
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