THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By James Herron
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON (Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) data containing the contact details of tens of thousands of employees, which the company said could compromise their personal safety, has been leaked to a blogger critical of the company, according to emails seen by Dow Jones Newswires.
The data, which includes mobile numbers and home postcodes of workers in dangerous locations like Port Harcourt, Nigeria, was leaked by a number of Shell staff to John Donovan, a blogger who is critical of the company and is a frequent recipient of leaks from within Shell.
Shell’s Niger Delta operations have been troubled by violence for several years. Attacks or sabotage on oil infrastructure in the region regularly disrupt production and employees are sometimes targeted.
Four expatriates working for a Shell Petroleum Development Co. contractor in Port Harcourt were kidnapped last month and later released unharmed. Two Nigerians were killed during the kidnapping.
“Some of the information is sensitive from the security point of view and in some cases personal safety could be compromised by its publication,” Shell’s Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Richard Wiseman wrote in an email to Donovan. Wiseman asked Donovan not to publish the information on his Web site.
Donovan told Dow Jones Newswires he hasn’t yet decided whether to publish the data in full, but said he takes Wiseman’s warnings about safety of Shell employees seriously.
According to another email seen by Dow Jones Newswires, the data was leaked by a group of Shell employees in the U.K., the U.S. and the Netherlands who believe the company is abusing the environment and human rights in Nigeria.
Shell wasn’t immediately able to comment.
Shell has recently finished a major restructuring program during which many employees had to re-apply for their own jobs and 5,000 people were made redundant. Shell Chief Executive Peter Voser said there will be another 1,000 job cuts this year aimed at cutting costs by $1 billion and improving profitability.
Blog Web site: http://royaldutchshellplc.com
-By James Herron, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9317; [email protected]
This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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.
