Blood, Greer & Broken Billions: How John Donovan Haunted Shell’s Sakhalin Fiasco

When Shell dreamed of Sakhalin, it imagined gleaming LNG plants, billions in profits, and Moscow toasting their engineering genius. Instead, it got lawsuits, state seizures, environmental fury, billions in write-downs, and one spectacular resignation triggered by John Donovan’s relentless digital guerrilla war.

Sakhalin-2 should have been Shell’s crown jewel. Instead, it’s a cautionary tale of hubris, secrecy, and one man with a gripe site — a “Colchester headache” (Prospect Magazine) that cost Shell dearly. WTF indeed.

The Grand Russian Gamble

Back in the early 1990s, Shell partnered in Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, betting on Russia’s far-flung island to deliver liquefied natural gas to Asia and beyond. The project became a logistical monster: frozen seas, migrating grey whales, endless pipelines. Costs ballooned from an initial $10 billion to more than $22 billion by 2005 (Johnson’s Russia List).

The Kremlin pounced. In 2006, Russia’s environmental watchdog accused Shell of “ecological violations” and threatened to shut it down (Business New Europe). The result? Shell was strong-armed into ceding control of Sakhalin-2 to Gazprom. Billions lost. Reputation battered.

Enter John Donovan, Shell’s Digital Nemesis

While Shell battled Moscow, Donovan’s website — royaldutchshellplc.com — amplified every blunder. As The Sunday Telegraph put it:

“Online revolutionaries like John Donovan are rewriting the rules of corporate accountability.”

(The Sunday Telegraph)

Shell’s own internal emails (obtained via Subject Access Requests) reveal executives fretting about Donovan’s reach:

“Shell’s reputation continues to be damaged by Donovan’s website.”

(Shell internal email, 25 June 2007)

Even Shell’s PR team admitted:

“We need to recognize that the Donovan site is attracting attention from journalists and NGOs.”

(Shell internal memo, 31 Aug 2007)

The Leak That Cost Shell Billions

Donovan wasn’t just a commentator. He was a conduit. In 2006, Shell insiders supplied him with internal emails and documents revealing the company had withheld information from Russian regulators about the true scale of Sakhalin’s environmental and financial risks.

Donovan passed these materials to Moscow. Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor (Russia’s environmental agency), confirmed publicly that the documents showed Shell’s failure to disclose crucial information.

“The documents demonstrated Shell had been withholding information from the Russian government about the scale of environmental damage at Sakhalin-2.”

(The Moscow Times, June 2007)

With that proof, the Kremlin had the smoking gun it needed. Russia turned up the pressure, Gazprom swooped in, and by December 2006 Shell was forced to surrender control — slashing its stake from 55% to 27.5%. Analysts estimate Shell lost billions in future revenues and sunk costs.

In short: Donovan’s website became the pipeline through which Shell’s own internal secrets flowed to the Russian government — and Shell paid for it in hard cash.

The Greer Affair: Old Blood and Guts Implodes

Shell thought it had a saviour in David Greer, parachuted in as deputy CEO of Sakhalin Energy. Instead, Greer became infamous for his “pep talk” email, plagiarised almost verbatim from U.S. WWII general George S. Patton:

“When you get up in the morning and put on your clothes, you are not getting dressed to have a cup of coffee. You are getting dressed for war.”

(The Moscow Times)

The email leaked. Cue global ridicule. Within weeks, Greer resigned “for personal reasons” (The Moscow Times).

Who amplified the leak? Donovan, of course. His website turned Greer’s pep talk into a corporate farce, even producing parody videos (YouTube). Shell’s “old blood and guts” moment became a global PR disaster.

Shell’s Reputation Management: Kill the Messenger

Shell didn’t just fume. It plotted. Internal documents show Shell considered “killing” negative stories in The Sunday Times (document). Others discuss shutting down Donovan’s website outright (19 June 2009 email).

Yet in a bizarre twist, Shell sometimes admitted Donovan was right. One 2007 email literally states:

“We are not disputing the Donovans’ right to speak out… they are entitled to their views.”

(Shell internal email, 20 March 2007)

So: destroy him in secret, acknowledge him in private, and hope no one notices. Spoiler: everyone noticed.

The Investor Angle

Shell’s biggest shareholders — BlackRock, Vanguard, sovereign wealth funds — love steady dividends. But Sakhalin delivered write-downs, chaos, and Gazprom’s boot on Shell’s neck. Donovan’s site made sure every stumble echoed in the press from The Guardian to Süddeutsche Zeitung.

For ESG-minded funds, Donovan became Exhibit A in Shell’s governance dysfunction: a one-man watchdog dragging a $200-billion company through the mud — with its own words, emails, and missteps.

WTF Shell?

The Sakhalin saga is remembered for four things:

1. Billions lost as Shell surrendered control to Russia.

2. The leak of Shell’s own emails to Moscow via John Donovan, confirmed by Oleg Mitvol.

3. Global embarrassment from the David Greer pep talk scandal.

4. John Donovan, the outsider who exposed Shell’s dirty laundry, and whose website Shell literally feared more than Greenpeace.

Shell wanted Sakhalin to be a showcase. Instead, it became a slow-motion train wreck, narrated by Donovan from Colchester

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.