Hakluyt, Heywood & Shell: The Corporate Spy Novel Nobody Asked For

If you thought Shell’s sins stopped at oil spills and carbon doublespeak, think again. Enter Hakluyt & Co., the boutique spook shop founded by ex-MI6 officers. This article is about  Neil Heywood — a British businessman linked with Hakluyt who died in China under circumstances straight out of a John le Carré plot. WTF indeed.

The Shell–Hakluyt Bromance

Hakluyt doesn’t advertise on billboards. Its pitch is whispered in club lounges: discreet intelligence, political access, and bespoke “market insights.” Critics — most loudly John Donovan — have long accused Shell of being one of Hakluyt’s favourite corporate playmates. When Shell wants “strategic friends,” it doesn’t call McKinsey; it calls the ghosts of MI6.

The connection has been documented in detail for years. In fact, Donovan asked Shell’s General Counsel point-blank if Neil Heywood, via Hakluyt, had been working on Shell’s interests in China. Shell’s reply? Silence. And that silence still echoes louder than a Shell ad campaign. (source)

Who Was Neil Heywood?

Heywood wasn’t a household name until his mysterious death in Chongqing in November 2011. Official line? “Alcohol poisoning.” Reality? Poisoning, yes — but by cyanide slipped into his drink, according to the Chinese courts.

Heywood had deep ties with Bo Xilai, then a rising Communist Party star, and his wife, Gu Kailai. Those ties proved fatal: Gu was convicted of orchestrating Heywood’s murder, her assistant Zhang Xiaojun convicted too. Gu’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Zhang has since been released.

Was Heywood a spy? William Hague, then Britain’s Foreign Secretary, denied he was on the government payroll. But multiple reports suggest he fed information to MI6 from time to time. More concretely, he did consultancy work for Hakluyt. And where Hakluyt goes, Shell is never far behind. (Guardian, Wikipedia)

The WTF Factor

So here’s the question: did Neil Heywood’s Hakluyt gig ever overlap with Shell’s colossal appetite for Chinese energy deals?

We don’t know — and that’s the problem. Shell won’t deny it. Investors like BlackRock and Vanguard preach about ESG and corporate transparency, yet they stay schtum when Shell’s name pops up in the same breath as espionage, cover-ups, and murder trials. WTF?

When your “strategic friends” are ex-spies, and your name gets linked (even indirectly) to the most sensational political murder scandal in modern China, maybe it’s time to come clean. Or at least admit you’ve been playing a little too close to the edge of the chessboard.

Heywood’s Legacy, Shell’s Shadow

Heywood’s death toppled Bo Xilai’s political career and cracked open one of the biggest scandals in Chinese politics. For Shell, the fallout is murkier: it’s the stain of association. Even if no direct link to Heywood exists, Hakluyt’s tentacles keep brushing up against Shell’s slicked-back corporate image.

And let’s not forget: Shell is still the ultimate sin stock. Oil spills, climate denial, Nigerian lawsuits, and now whispers of spy-linked intrigue? You couldn’t make it up. Except Shell’s critics don’t have to — the facts are stubbornly real.

Disclaimer

Warning: satire ahead. The criticisms are pointed, the humour intentional, and the facts stubbornly real. Quotes are reproduced word-for-word from trusted sources. As for authorship — John Donovan and AI both claim credit, but the jury’s still out on who was really in charge.

 

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.