Posts Tagged ‘Tom Purves’

By Joe Blow

It was with some elation that I heard of Mr. Purves’ fall from grace with his superiors. In fact I popped the cork on a fine bottle of wine that I have been saving for just such an occasion.  As I sipped my wine and imagined what must have happened, many theories ran through my mind, “Did Botts suddenly grow a brain”, “Did Williams realize what an idiot Purves was”, “Did Voser finally listen to the people”.  Unfortunately for so many, this is a measure of justice, not the absolute Justice we deserve.

It is no secret to people who have read past comments posted on this blog, Tom Purves is rotten to the core. The destruction he has wreaked on the gulf coast is unimaginable.  It has been mentioned that Tom will see this move as a reward, that is a clear sign of the delusion that he lives in.  The remaining world can clearly see that Tom is being brushed aside so that he may be promptly blamed for the albatross known as “CEP”.  I find it quite comical myself. When Forrest managed CEP it was failing from lack of management, Tom will cause a complete 180 and bring his signature style of micromanagement to the project which should accelerate the projects failure.

The important message in these moves is clear.  Steve Rathweg is being sent in to restore some integrity in the VP role.  The key for Steve is to understand the damage Tom has done in his time, to recognize the remaining threat that Tom’s minions pose, and to figure a way to neutralize and re-engage the people of the gulf coast sites that have been so severely de-moralized.  Steve is a good guy and I expect that he is more than capable of fulfilling this tall order.

Related: Leaked Email from Shell VP Tom Purves reveals confidential Motiva Business Plans

It is apparent Mr. Purves… feels that his most valued contribution is to spend his time getting rid of people who are both smarter and more capable then him.

As most of you have seen the insider posting regarding the un-timely departure of Todd Monette from his Technology Manager role at Deer Park Refinery, the word “Perseverance” comes to mind.  It is amazing to this writer that a VP in the Down Stream Manufacturing sector of a large integrated oil company has had nothing better to do for the last year and a half then to sit on high and grind his petty axes.  Seriously, you would think he might be concerned with managing cost structures in refining, constructing a blue goose of a ill thought out refinery expansion that has no market value, or other things consistent with what these blow hards do to earn their colossal salaries.  It is apparent Mr. Purves is not concerned with these things, he feels that his most valued contribution is to spend his time getting rid of people who are both smarter and more capable then him.  As has been previously mentioned here, Mr. Purves does not value others opinions when they differ from his.  The sad thing in this latest revelation is that it begs to question where will Mr. Purves stop?  He has already disposed of most of the more notable people that Mr. Monette has sponsored in his time as a senior leader with Shell/Motiva, I wonder how many others will get caught in his cross hairs.  When you look at the additional departures of James Rhame, and **** ******* at Port Arthur that were carried out the same day it becomes even more surprising.  So lets talk about Mr. Rhame, James was believed by many to be heir apparent to Monette at Port Arthur, Apparently not even his flipping over to Purves’ side could save him.  **** ******* is even more of a shocker as he was reportedly very close to Mr. Purves, I guess Mr. Purves must have questioned his allegiance since by the end of the Monette reign at Port Arthur Mr. ******* was perceived as being tight with Monette.  If I was Forrest Lauher, Steve Sanders, or Jeff “the Funk” Funkouser, I would be concerned. Only so many people can pile into that king sized bed at the lake, and you never know who will be next when it comes to Mr. William T Purves!

Name and email address of author supplied to John Donovan

Greetings Folks,

Interesting developments regarding Thornal and Royer, Thanks for bringing them forward Golden Triangle Watchman, I had intended to but got rather busy of late.  Thornal was clearly an example of Purves rewarding his loyal subjects, Royer is a bit surprising.  You see folks Mr. Royer had intended or desired to work a few more years.  Of course, maybe the thought of being underling to the grossly incompetent and flagrantly arrogant Funk might have been to much for Leroy.  Or maybe Funk realized that Leroy was smarter than him and hence a threat.  Ordinarily I would feel sorry for Mr. Royer if it was not his desire to fade off in the sunset, however I don’t and I will tell you why.  Mr Royer is basically a pretty good guy with no guts, he didn’t have the stomach to stand up for his people in early 09 when 1.1 performers mysteriously from mid year review to end of year review became worthless pieces of crap.  As a leader you are duty bound to those below and above you, I dont fault Leroy for the way some people were treated in regards to their IPF, that was clearly above his head.  He did not however have to compromise his integrity and participate in slanderously fabricating untrue performance appraisals for these people.  I hope the shame I know you feel haunts you Leroy!

Lets have some fun, We all know more cuts are coming so lets start a round of speculation on who gets rewarded next.  1.  Larry Patterson  2.  Mr. Poulter  3.  Homer Torres

Regards,

“Jo Blow”

By John Donovan

Rumors posted earlier today confirmed

A leaked email dated 25 September 2009 sent on behalf of Tom Purves (Royal Dutch Shell Vice President Manufacturing US Gulf Coast and Motiva Vice President of Manufacturing), announces senior staff changes involving the Motiva Norco Refinery, the Shell Norco Chemicals Plant and the Motiva Convent Refinery.

Certain information has been removed to protect our insider source.

THE LEAKED SHELL/MOTIVA INTERNAL EMAIL

From: Deroche, Liz O MOTIVA-DMM/60
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 8:33 AM
Subject: Senior staff changes involving the Motiva Norco Refinery, the Shell Norco Chemicals Plant and the Motiva Convent Refinery

The following announcement is being forwarded on behalf of Tom Purves
***********************************************************************************

The following are senior staff changes involving the Motiva Norco Refinery, the Shell Norco Chemicals Plant and the Motiva Convent Refinery

Anne-Marie Ainsworth, General Manager Norco Refinery has decided to leave Motiva for other opportunities.  I want to thank Anne-Marie for the important contributions she has made to both Motiva and Shell.

Recently completed agreements by the owners, allow us to take the next steps in consolidating Motiva Norco Refinery and Shell Chemicals Plant under a single General Manager and leadership team structure.  Consequently I’ve asked, Hermie Bundick, currently serving as General Manager of the Norco Chemicals Plant to serve as the Interim General Manager of the Norco site – covering both refining and chemicals effective immediately.  A GM Norco Site job will be posted on Open Resourcing soon and announced once resourcing activities have been completed.

Please join me in thanking Hermie for his willingness to help Norco during this leadership and governance transition.

Additionally, Tony Pastor, Engineering and Maintenance Manager Norco Refinery will move to Motiva Convent as Production Manager replacing Roxan Kraft whose new appointment was announced earlier.  Given the leadership changes at Norco, the exact timing of Tony and Roxan’s transition will be taken under review and determined in the near future.

Given Tony’s move and agreements by the owners, we will also take steps to consolidate all of the engineering and projects and the maintenance and turnaround activities into two site leadership team roles.  In the near future a Manager Engineering and Projects role and a Manager Maintenance and Turnarounds role will be posted on Open Resourcing.  Engineering and Projects will have all hard side engineering and the project management function. Maintenance and Turnarounds will have all routine and special plant maintenance and the turnaround organization.

Please join me in thanking Tony for his many contributions to Norco and congratulating him on his new appointment.

Tom Purves
Vice President Manufacturing US Gulf Coast and Motiva Vice President of Manufacturing

For whatever reason inside me, something compels me to continue revisiting the post made by Uncle Tom

By John Donovan

The following is a self-explanatory email I sent earlier today to Robert (Bob) Pease, President & Chief Executive Officer of Motiva Enterprises LLC, which is jointly owned by a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco and Shell.

From the Motiva Website:

Formed in 1998, Motiva Enterprises LLC operates primarily in the eastern and southern United States. Its operations include nearly 7,700 Shell-branded gasoline stations, three refineries with a combined capacity of 740,000 barrels per day, and ownership interest in 41 refined product storage terminals with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 19.8 million barrels.

MY EMAIL TO MR BOB PEASE

Dear Mr Pease

I am writing to you in your capacity as President and Chief Executive of Motiva Enterprises LLC.

You may be aware of the fact that the website royaldutchshellplc.com is serving as a public platform for stakeholders in Shell/Motiva refineries who have made allegations against Mr Tom Purves, your Vice President for Downstream Manufacturing on The Gulf Coast.

Allegations of rampant cronyism and much worse have been made against Mr Purves and his alleged “henchman”, including Mr Jeff Funkhouser and Mr Forrest Lauher.

I have sent emails to Mr Purves and Mr Funkhouser offering them the right of reply, promising to publish on an unedited basis, any comments they wish to make. Thus far, the invitations have not been taken up, thereby leaving serious allegations unanswered. The lack of any denial will likely give credibility to the allegations.

I would respectfully suggest that you read my emails to these gentleman and the “Shell Blog” comments accessible on this link. A quick glance through the postings over recent months might be enlightening.

There are many similarities with the Sakhalin 2 project before it came to grief with the forced takeover by Gazprom, the Russian energy giant controlled by the Putin regime.  The so called “Kremlin attack dog”, Oleg Mitvol, publicly acknowledged the pivotal role we played in those events. Mitvol turned out to be a genuine campaigner for his ideals.

Many stakeholders in the Sakhalin 2 project, including concerned contractors and employees, contacted us and posted allegations on our website about improper practices, SEIC management generally, and in particular, the Deputy Chairman of SEIC, a Shell MD, Mr David Greer. He subsequently resigned as a direct result of an internal email from him which was leaked to us.  The main difference is that Mr Greer had many supporters posting comments in his defense. I cannot recall any contributor trying to defend Mr Purves.

I note that in the USA market Shell is in bed with another unsavory regime, this time the Saudi Royal family, who have already drawn Royal Dutch Shell into what has been described as the *Scandal Of The Century”.  We have posted declassified UK government documents revealing Shell’s money laundering role in the Al Yamamah/ BAE Systems “oil for arms” deal. The power of the Saudi regime is such, that it ordered UK PM Tony Blair to stop an investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office into the multibillion dollar corruption scandal on the grounds of national security. Blair did as he was told.

Returning to current events, it seems to me that if your company sticks by Mr Purves and his associates, then your company should provide legal support to protect their reputation and the reputation of Shell/Motiva.

In the interests of transparency, this email and any correspondence flowing from it, will be published in its entirety on our website.

Best Regards

John Donovan

shellmotiva.com

*Ironically a similar description was used in relation to the Royal Dutch Shell reserves securities fraud revealed in 2004.

cc.

Mr. Tom Purves, Shell/Motiva VP for Downstream Manufacturing on The Gulf Coast.

Mr. Michiel Brandjes, Company Secretary and General Counsel Corporate, Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Mr. Richard Wiseman, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Dear Mr Funkhouser

You may have seen the email I sent yesterday to Tom Purves inviting him to provide for unedited publication on our website, his response to the serious allegations leveled against him by contributors to our Shell Blog facility.

As you are probably aware, you have also been a target for some equally serious allegations.

Leaving to one side abusive comments and rumors, here is a list of some of the main allegations: -

1. You have helped to create a climate of fear by bullying Motivia employees, brandishing a knife on one occasion when allegedly threatening to gut employees like a fish.

2. You have been the subject of at least two DUI charges.

3. You treat employees who are not part of your inner circle with contempt.

4. You have been described as being unethical and corrupt.

5. You have been allegedly promoted and remain at the company solely because of a special relationship with Tom Purves, allegedly involving joint ownership of a property.

If this is all a work of fiction, please feel free to say so.

If you check with Shell lawyers, you will discover that you cannot count on Shell to intervene to protect the reputation of its senior managers and executives.

This may be because Shell is frightened what we might do in retaliation. As unlikely as this may seem, it is a fact gleaned from a legally privileged and Confidential Shell internal email released to us under the UK equivalent of freedom of information law.

Basically Shell set up a crisis reaction team to try to counter our activities.

Shell admits in the email that it is “on the back foot”… in “handling the Donovans”…

Extract:

Would one blanket statement response be more effective than several rebuttals? Should we be more forthright about the site and our views on it? What might happen (leafleting in the past)?

There was some macho content:

“…demonstration that we won’t tolerate the Donovan’s approach unchallenged any longer?”

However, since the email is over two years old, we assume fear of reprisal (Shell management did not like our leaflets being distributed outside their UK and Netherlands HQ offices every week day), won out over anger. Shell senior management continue to hide in their bunkers with hard hats on leaving others alone, unprotected, to receive incoming fire from postings on our website.

I would have thought that at the very least Shell/Motiva should offer to cover legal costs for Shell employees/managers/executives/officials to take action to protect their reputations if any wish to dispute published accusations.

Since no such support is apparently forthcoming, you may be well-advised to consider whether to take up our invitation of a right to reply whenever allegations are made against you on our website. If you do, your comments will, as promised, be published unedited. This offer applies to any Shell/Motiva employee whose integrity is impugned by any posting on our site.

Yours sincerely

John Donovan

It has been suggested by a knowledgeable source, that the Shell Blog posting below may have been made by Tom Purves, the Shell/Motiva Regional Vice President for Downstream Manufacturing on The Gulf Coast, sometimes referred to as “Uncle Tom” by a few contributors?