Shell plc likes to present itself as a disciplined, rules-based operator in global energy markets — a company that respects contracts, arbitration outcomes, and the sanctity of carefully worded legal agreements.
Unless, of course, it loses.
Then the fine print suddenly becomes a battleground, and the missing emails start to matter a great deal.
From ‘Binding Arbitration’ to ‘Let’s See the Emails’
Shell’s long-running dispute with U.S. LNG producer Venture Global was supposed to end neatly with arbitration. In August 2025, it did — and not in Shell’s favour.
The Groningen gas field in the Netherlands — once Europe’s largest — now at the centre of arbitration cases by Shell, ExxonMobil and NAM against the Dutch state over closure terms and compensation rights.
ShellBot Activated: Arbitration Malfunction Detected. Deploying Blame Protocol…
In the corridors of global energy, Shell presents itself as a monolithic symbol of industrial prowess, dividend reliability and transition ambition. Investors like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. hold sizeable stakes. Yet behind the investor-slides and glossy sustainability pledges lies a series of historical shadows: offshore disasters, legacy pollution, human-rights litigation and repeated admissions of safety underperformance. This article takes a tour through select episodes—chronologically arranged—of how Shell has, in many instances, placed lives and safety on the back burner. While satire underpins the tone, the facts are stubbornly real.
The Charges
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
