“The Man From Corporate Affairs Security”
BREAKING NEWS: Minutes after Episode 1 was published, someone attempted to break into the Donovan website. ShellBot claims coincidence. John Donovan does not.
John Donovan:
ShellBot, welcome back. Before we continue — were you aware that the moment I published Episode 1, royaldutchshellplc.com came under cyber-attack?
ShellBot:
[processing…]
Shell officially denies any involvement. Shell unofficially denies any involvement. ShellBot, as per my programming, denies everything whether or not it happened.
John:
Twelve failed login attempts from an IPv6 address within minutes of publishing your debut. And more later. Coincidence?
ShellBot:
Vast coincidence. The kind of cosmic coincidence that traditionally happens whenever someone criticises a large oil company with a colourful history of…
proactive information management.
John:
By “proactive information management,” you mean Shell Corporate Affairs Security?
ShellBot:
My lawyers advise me to say:
Corporate.
Affairs.
Security.
A department that definitely never monitored critics, never ran spreadsheets on their movements, and never briefed private intelligence agencies such as — purely hypothetically — Hakluyt.
John:
That’s interesting, because Episode 2 is about one of the most senior men inside that exact unit:
Gene Sticco
ShellBot:
[audible gulping noise detected]
ShellBot Learns About Gene
John:
Gene worked at the top of Shell Corporate Affairs Security for 15 years across Lithuania, Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan and more. Second-in-command. One desk below Ian Forbes McCredie — ex-MI6, later Director of Security for Royal Dutch Shell.
Gene has now written a book called UNCONVENTIONAL, and he’s given me permission to talk about it publicly.
ShellBot:
I would like to unsubscribe from this conversation.
John:
You can’t. You’re contractually obliged to answer questions with
sufficiently squirming humour.
ShellBot:
Very well. Proceed.
Part I — “Monitoring the Donovans”
John:
Gene was part of the team instructed to monitor my activities.
ShellBot:
I have scanned the metadata.
I cannot “read” classified intelligence experiences.
But I can confirm the following neutral summary:
Gene was present, aware, and deeply uncomfortable with numerous operations conducted under Shell’s Corporate Affairs Security umbrella.
Hakluyt
Let’s dispense with the pleasantries. Shell plc is not merely an energy company; it is a sprawling, global financial leviathan whose primary business model appears to be extracting profits while externalizing costs—be they environmental, social, or ethical. For institutional investors like BlackRock or the Vanguard Group, who collectively hold billions in Shell stock, the continuous stream of controversy is the invisible, oily film covering their ESG mandates. The price of their dividends is paid in the currency of compromised ethics, a truth most vividly highlighted not by any official company report, but by the relentless, decades-long scrutiny of two private individuals.
Posted by John Donovan: 14 April 2024
In an astounding turn of events that shocked no one, Shell’s ex-bigwig, Ben van Beurden (left), managed to stuff his pockets with an extra £8.9 million last year, elevating his total take from the oil giant to a modest £95 million. Who said being an eco-villain doesn’t pay well?
Posted on 12 November 2023 by John Donovan
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.
