Listen and read proof in audio and transcript form of Shell CEO Ben van Beurden’s cover-up tactics in the OPL 245 Nigerian corruption scandal. Instruction given by him in the covertly recorded call to CFO Simon Henry was at odds with Shell’s claimed core business principles. Cover-up and obstruction, instead of transparency and integrity, says Shell critic John Donovan

RETIRED SHELL CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER: Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) has gained its reputation as an organisation with no morality that if it can get away with it will lie repeatedly even when trapped by its own evidence, by its own falsehoods. It seems based on its track record RDS has no justification to support its protestations about public authorities using whatever legitimate means they can to dig out from the corruption cesspit the truth.  

By Bill Campbell [from 1996 to retirement Upstream Senior Maintenance Engineer, Global Consultant on this and Techical and Finance audits before retirement as SIEP Audit Manager]

Re the article on the Moerdijk explosion and the Dutch prosecutors getting to the truth don’t you think it’s a bit rich that RDS protests? Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) has gained its reputation as an organisation with no morality that if it can get away with it will lie repeatedly even when trapped by its own evidence, by its own falsehoods. read more

Shell is outraged that government services have tapped telephone calls from employees. These are employees of Shell itself and subsidiary Shell Chemie Nederland. This eavesdropping operation led by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) took place during the internal investigation by Shell employees into the causes of a major explosion… The OM accuses Shell Chemie Nederland of knowingly putting people’s lives in danger…

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT, Financieele Dagblad.

Shell angry about eavesdropping in relation

to Moerdijk explosion

Vasco van der Boon

Shell is outraged that government services have tapped telephone calls from employees. These are employees of Shell itself and subsidiary Shell Chemie Nederland.

This eavesdropping operation led by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) took place during the internal investigation by Shell employees into the causes of a major explosion. This took place on 3 June 2014 at the chemical complex of Shell Moerdijk.

Maximum fine

Shell’s annoyance about this eavesdropping operation was expressed on Thursday in the criminal case that the OM has brought against the group. The OM accuses Shell Chemie Nederland of knowingly putting people in danger of life and knowingly breaking the environmental rules. read more

According to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, an explosion at Shell Moerdijk was the result of ‘disturbing’ negligence on the part of the company. According to the court, the Shell Chemical Nederland criminal record has twelve pages of convictions and settlements of environmental violations. 

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT, Financieele Dagblad.

OM demands maximum fine against Shell for explosion at Moerdijk

Vasco van der Boon: 15 MAY 2019

According to the court, the Shell Chemical Nederland criminal record has twelve pages of convictions and settlements of environmental violations. Photo: Dijkstra

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands a maximum possible fine of € 2.68 million against Shell Chemie Nederland. According to the OM, an explosion at Shell Moerdijk was the result of ‘disturbing’ negligence on the part of the company. The chemical group was, the OM further states, “considerably careless.” “Leading in chemistry, but not leading in safety.” That appeared on Tuesday at the session in the court of Den Bosch. read more

The untimely death of Mr James G. Wood, tenacious litigant against Shell

By John Donovan

The following comment, which appears to be authentic,  has been posted on our article “Shell Springboard: Is it safe to disclose your idea to Shell?”

John Ricketts on May 12th, 2019 at 08:59 

Do you have more information on James Wood’s untimely death?

A friend From Magdalene College, Cambridge.

The question presumably stems from the following paragraph in the article:

Shell has also been sued in more recent years in the USA and the Netherlands by James G. Wood of Preda Consultants (Deep Water Slender Wells) for “alleged misappropriation of the plaintiffs alleged oilfield-technology trade secrets“. As far as I am aware, the litigation ended in 2016 after the untimely death of Mr. Wood, a man of the highest integrity and reputation. read more

Runar Kjørsvik was the chief safety officer at the Shell Nyhamna Gas facility until he was fired. Bjørn Tore Røshol took over the office. Both struggle with the psychological after-effects of a culture of fear at the facility. Their stories are quite similar. 

English translation of an article published by Stavanger Aftenblad on 11 May 2019.

Shell safety delegates ended up in a psychiatric ward. They tried to clean up Shell. They ended up with psychiatric chaos in their heads.

Foreign Skarsaune: JOURNALIST
Jon Ingemundsen: PHOTOGRAPH UPDATED: PUBLISHED: 11 MAY 2019 07:41

In the corner of the waiting room are two men. The chair between them is empty. It is quiet at the psychiatric outpatient clinic in Molde.

Bjørn Tore Røshol, left, and Runar Kjørsvik is sitting in the waiting room at the district psychiatric center in Molde. Photo: JON INGEMUNDSEN

They go here regularly. That they have hour at the same time this day is random. But that they are here, they think is not random. Both have been the main safety delegate at Shell’s gas facility at Nyhamna outside Molde. Both struggle with psychological after-effects. Their stories are quite similar: read more

Shell says: “we cannot rule out that people may have been exposed without reporting in our reporting system…

English translation of a story published by the Norway TV/Radio news broadcaster NRK

Oil worker Bjørn Tore Røshol fears that at least 100 people may have been exposed to the carcinogenic substance benzene without them even knowing about it.

Rolv Christian Topdahl: @rolvc
Journalist: Published May 11, 2019

For the second time in five years, employees at Nyhamna gas treatment plant are warning about a fear culture and inadequate handling of the carcinogenic gas benzene.

Bjørn Tore Røshol hopes that Shell will take action. PHOTO: ROAR STRØM / NRK

– I am simply worried that colleagues and former employees will become ill because of what they are exposed to, says Bjørn Tore Røshol.

The carcinogenic substance benzene has for many years been a hot topic at Shell’s land plant Nyhamna in Møre og Romsdal. read more

ABUJA, May 10 (Reuters) – The Nigerian government has accused former President Goodluck Jonathan and his then oil minister of accepting bribes and breaking the country’s laws to broker a $1.3 billion oil deal eight years ago, a London court filing shows.

The deal, in which Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell and Italian peer Eni jointly acquired the rights to the OPL 245 offshore oilfield, has spawned legal cases spanning several countries.

In papers advancing a London commercial court suit against Shell and Eni, lawyers for the Nigerian government said Jonathan and former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke conspired to “receive bribes and make a secret profit”, keeping the government from getting what it was owed from the deal. read more

Neil Munshi in Abuja and Anjli Raval in London: 10 MAY 2019:

The Anglo-Dutch and Italian companies paid $1.3bn for the block, but Nigeria believes the undeveloped deepwater block could be worth at least $3.5bn and damages should now be calculated on that basis, documents filed in the commercial division of the High Court in London said.

The claim in the English courts alleges that Shell and Eni “both paid bribes” either directly or indirectly and senior executives at both companies “received bribes (or were intended to receive bribes)” as part of the 2011 deal. read more

LATEST FROM BLOOMBERG NEWS:

In another payment recounted in the lawsuit, Peter Robinson, then Shell’s regional vice president, ended up with “several hundred million Swiss frances”… Shell last year accused Robinson of taking kickbacks, but said he purposely tried to hide it from the company. The Nigerian government says none of the transactions could have happened without the support or willful “blind eye” of Shell CEO Peter Voser, former CFO Simon Henry, and current head of integrated gas Wetselaar, among others. Its oil and gas exploration director at the time Malcolm Brinded was “closely involved,” the government claims. Brinded is also on trial in Milan.

By Kelly Gilblom, Jonathan Browning, and Chiara Albanese
7 May 2019, 12:29 BST

*Nigeria says top Shell brass approved illegal OPL 245 oil deal

*Companies also denied wrongdoing in 2011 criminal bribery case

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA face additional corruption allegations over a Nigerian oil deal, after the West African country’s government said in a London lawsuit that it believes a handful of executives, including CEOs, were tied to more than $1 billion in bribery payments.

In court documents filed in early April, the Nigerian government said the oil companies’ senior managers agreed in 2011 to make a large payment for an offshore oil block, understanding the money would trickle down to government officials and senior executives from both companies. The filing singles out individuals who haven’t previously been caught up in the scandal, including former Shell Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser and Maarten Wetselaar, the current head of its large natural gas business. read more

Image from Shell In Nigeria website

MEMORIES OF A RETIRED SHELL NIGERIA EXPAT 

Hello John

Saw your pic with Esther Kiobel on the website. Brought back some old memories.

I cannot find any stuff on this but did you know that a certain *Xxxx Xxxxxxxxxx was working in Port Harcourt when his wife was murdered in the Shell camp in their own bungalow?

Forgot the date, must have been in the early 90s. read more

The new claim, dated April 8 and signed by Jonathan Cary, was filed against 14 defendants, including Shell, Eni, Malabu and their respective subsidiaries. Shell and ENI initially claimed they did not know the money would end up with Mr Etete and his cronies, evidence has shown that claim to be false. After a joint investigation by Global Witness and Finance Uncovered, Shell later admitted it did know the money would go to Mr Etete.

Oladeinde Olawoyin: 6 MAY 2019

The Nigerian government is seeking about $3.5 billion in damages from oil giants Eni and Shell over the controversial Malabu oil deal, PREMIUM TIMES has gathered.

The new claim is contained in a London court filing by the Nigerian government against the two oil multinationals and other parties involved in the long-running case.

The court documents, obtained by this newspaper’s London partners, Finance Uncovered, and seen by PREMIUM TIMES, shows the government also alleged that the Malabu deal was “corrupt” and not done in the interest of Nigeria. read more

May 5 2019, 12:01am

Shell has struck a £60m deal to sell its leisure club in southwest London to the Livingstone brothers.

The FTSE 100 oil giant has exchanged contracts with the billionaires’ London & Regional Properties to sell the Lensbury, which opened in 1920 as a grace-and-favour staff club.

The Lensbury has a spa, pool, gym and tennis courts on 25 acres by the Thames at Teddington. It opened to the public in the 1990s.

A source close to Shell said it was selling the club because it is “not a specialist hotel and leisure operator”. read more

Nigeria could seek as much as $3.5 billion in damages from Royal Dutch Shell and Eni over an allegedly corrupt deal for one of Africa’s biggest untapped oilfields.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria has filed a claim in the High Court in London against the two oil companies over the deal in which they acquired the OPL 245 oil licence for $1.3 billion. It alleges that the deal was corrupt and resulted in Nigeria receiving “no or negligible value” for rights to the “extremely valuable” offshore licence, which it estimates was in fact worth “at least $3.5 billion”. read more

A Dutch court ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear a damages suit brought against Royal Dutch Shell by four widows of the Ogoni Nine, environmental activists executed by the Nigerian government in 1995.

The four widows accuse Shell of being complicit in a crackdown by the government against peaceful protesters in Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta.

The judges at the Hague District Court said they will allow the suit to go forward, though the claimants must still prove their case against Shell. Shell denies wrongdoing in the case that has gone on for decades. read more

Esther Kiobel and John Donovan, 28 April 2019, days before a Dutch court ruled in favour of Esther and her co-plaintiffs in an action against Shell allowing their case to proceed

By John Donovan

In 1996, Shell used the sinister specialist services of what could be described as an in-house spying resource set up by former MI6 officers, Hakluyt & Company Limited with titled Shell directors acting as the ultimate spymasters.

At that time, Sir William Purves was Chairman of Hakluyt & Company Limited and Sir Peter Holmes, a former Chairman of Shell, was President of the Hakluyt Foundation. Both were also major shareholders in the corporate spy outfit, while also being Shell directors.

Hakluyt was allegedly set up to carry out “deniable” corporate espionage operations.

A German-born secret service agent Manfred Schlickenrieder working undercover for Hakluyt was sent to Nigeria on a mission relating to allegations of environmental damage caused by Shell’s oil drilling in Ogoniland.

Extracts from a related front-page article published by The Sunday Times in 2001 under the headline MI6 ‘Firm’ Spied on Green Groups:

Schlickenrieder sometimes posed as a left-wing sympathizer and documentary filmmaker.

He also tried to dupe Anita Roddick’s Body Shop group to pass on information about its opposition to Shell drilling for oil in a Nigerian tribal land.

His company was a one-man band with a video camera making rarely seen documentaries.

He made a film on Shell in Nigeria called Business as Usual: the Arrogance of Power, during which he interviewed friends of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Nobel prize nominee, who was hanged by the military regime in 1995 after leading a campaign against oil exploration. Schlickenrieder sent a letter to a Body Shop executive saying he had been researching the activities of Shell in Nigeria…

Fouad Hamdan, communications director of Greenpeace Germany, said: “The bastard was good, I have to admit. “He got information about our planned Atlantic Frontier campaign…”  He added: “Manfred filmed and interviewed all the time…”

The Sunday Times article is short on dates and information about what Shell’s undercover agent was up to in Nigeria, but it was at a time when litigation was being contemplated against Shell by relatives of Ken Saro Wiwi and Ogoni Nine widows.

Perhaps information about the purpose and timing of his spying mission in Nigeria will be contained in the confidential Shell internal documents the Dutch Court has ordered to be handed over to Esther Kiobel and her co-plaintiffs. Sight of his briefing by Shell/Hakluyt could be very revealing.

Part of the Kiobel & Co Dutch case against Shell relates to alleged Shell bribing of witnesses in the Ogoni Nine trial, which ended with the hanging of all nine individuals, including Ken Saro-Wiwi and the beloved husband of Esther Kiobel, Dr Barinem Kiobel.

Salient extracts from the Wikipedia article “Ogoni Nine”

The executions provoked international condemnation and led to the increasing treatment of Nigeria as a pariah state…

At least two witnesses who testified that Saro-Wiwa was involved in the murders of the Ogoni elders later recanted, stating that they had been bribed with money and offers of jobs with Shell to give false testimony – in the presence of Shell’s lawyer.

Shell’s close association with former MI6 people has continued through the years. They always seem to be lurking in the shadows.

I am in possession of irrefutable evidence that an ex MI6 man Ian Forbes McCredie,  hired by Shell to be head of Shell Global Security, was also part of Hakluyt & Company.

More recently, Ben van Beurden, the current Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell Plc mentioned in a telephone conversation that Shell had hired former MI6 people in connection with the OPL 245 oil deal. He did not know that the conversation was being covertly recorded by OPL 245 investigative authorities.

Two of the defendants in the current OPL 245 criminal $1.3bn  corruption trial against Shell in Italy are indeed former MI6 agents; namely John Copleston and Guy Colegate.

Would someone kindly explain how any of this sinister and unscrupulous activity is compatible with Shell’s claimed core business principles, including honesty, integrity and transparency?

ARTICLE ENDS

Disclosure by the author of this article: The lead claimant Esther Kiobel, her lawyer Channa Samkalden of the Dutch human rights law firm Prakken d’Oliveira representing the widows, and the acclaimed human rights organisation Amnesty International, have all acknowledged the involvement of John Donovan in bringing *this case. (*See Writ of Summons in English and Dutch served on Shell 28 June 2017 – copy obtained from US Pacer public electronic court records) As Esther generously said on 28 April 2019, the Dutch case would not have happened without the help of John Donovan.  read more