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They promised safety. They promised honesty. They promised it would stop. Instead, Groningen got earthquakes, court battles—and now, apparently, a sequel.

🧨 INTRO: A MASTERCLASS IN SAYING ONE THING… AND DOING ANOTHER

For decades, Groningen wasn’t just a gas field—it was a promise factory.

Politicians, Shell, ExxonMobil, and their joint venture NAM made assurances so confidently you’d think they were engraved in stone.

Unfortunately, it’s the houses that cracked—not the promises.

Now, as drilling quietly creeps back onto the agenda in 2026, it’s time to revisit the greatest hits.

Because if history tells us anything, it’s this:

In Groningen, promises age about as well as a fault line under pressure.

🔟

“THE EARTHQUAKES ARE MINOR”

The promise: Early tremors were downplayed as negligible.
The reality: Thousands of quakes later, homes were damaged, communities destabilised, and the region became a case study in induced seismicity. read more

^*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, the Independent Shell Archive, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. ^*All conjured up by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

GAS PANIC DOWN UNDER: BILLIONS POURED INTO LNG… AND AUSTRALIA STILL FACES A SHORTAGE?

Apr 17th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Big Oil’s grand export bonanza rolls on—while Australians are warned they might run short at home. Yes, really.

🛢️ THE GREAT LNG GOLD RUSH (AGAIN)

Australia is once again throwing billions at liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects—because apparently, when in doubt, build more fossil fuel infrastructure and ask questions later.

According to industry reporting, a fresh wave of massive LNG developments is advancing across the country, even as warnings grow louder about looming domestic gas shortages.

Let’s translate that:

One of the world’s biggest gas exporters… might not have enough gas for itself.

You couldn’t script it better.

💰 EXPORT SUPERPOWER… DOMESTIC HEADACHE

Australia is already a global LNG heavyweight—built on an eye-watering investment binge of more than A$290 billion across major projects over the past decade. read more

Shell’s Eternal Green Makeover Meets Its Fossil-Fuel Reality Check

Apr 10th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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ChatGPT: A split-scene illustration: Left side: 1995 Brent Spar protest—angry crowds, burning Shell logos, ocean backdrop. Right side: 2026 corporate ad—lush green fields, wind turbines, smiling executives. In the centre: A giant Shell logo acting as a mask—being held up in front of an oil rig still pumping furiously behind it. Tagline across the image: “Same Company. New Costume.”

🌍 From Brent Spar to Green PR: Has Shell Really Changed—Or Just Changed the Script?

If Shell had a pound for every time it declared a moral awakening, it could probably fund the energy transition it keeps talking about.

Instead, here we are in 2026, watching the oil giant once again attempt its favourite corporate trick: the Great Green Reinvention™.

New faces. New slogans. Same uncomfortable questions.

💥 FLASHBACK: THE DAY SHELL GOT CAUGHT

Let’s rewind to 1995—the moment Shell discovered that public opinion can, occasionally, ruin a perfectly good disposal plan. read more

SHAKEN, STRESSED… AND STILL WAITING: DUTCH GAS GIANTS LEAVE GRONINGEN CRACKING—LITERALLY AND MENTALLY

Apr 8th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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A surreal illustration of a quiet Dutch street in Groningen. The houses are visibly cracked and tilting, with fissures running through walls and roofs. In the background, a giant Shell logo and ExxonMobil logo loom like drilling rigs embedded in the earth, subtly causing tremors. From the cracks in the ground, ghostly figures representing stress and anxiety rise like smoke, wrapping around residents. In the foreground, a suited executive calmly holds a report titled: “Community Wellbeing: On Track” while standing on visibly shaking ground.

When your house is collapsing and your nerves go with it, but the profits remain rock solid.

Residents of Groningen have long suspected something was off. The walls were cracking, the floors shifting, and the ground itself seemed to be staging a slow-motion rebellion.

Now, in a revelation that will surprise absolutely no one except, perhaps, the boardrooms of multinational energy giants, a new study suggests the earthquakes linked to decades of gas extraction have also left residents battling depression and anxiety.

Yes—turns out repeatedly shaking people’s homes and sense of safety is bad for mental health. Who knew? read more

SHELL’S SECRET CONSCIENCE CLUB: THE REBEL RETAILERS WHO BLEW THE WHISTLE ON BIG OIL’S HYPOCRISY!

Apr 4th, 2026

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GROK EXCLUSIVE: How a fired-up father and son duo turned a garage grudge into a full-scale mutiny against the Shell empire – and were proved RIGHT when the whole Anglo-Dutch house of cards came crashing down!

In the dog-eat-dog world of petrol pumps and boardroom billionaires, one plucky band of Shell station owners dared to stand up and say: “Enough is enough!” Welcome to the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group – the no-fees, no-nonsense rebel alliance that exposed the oil giant’s dodgy double standards three decades ago. And guess what? Their damning warnings about unscrupulous top brass were spot-on when the infamous 2004 reserves scandal blew the lid off Shell’s dodgy dealings and finally killed off the 100-year Anglo-Dutch marriage that had ruled Big Oil. read more

Shell Wins Landmark Right to Save the Planet… Eventually, Maybe, If Convenient

Apr 1st, 2026

by John Donovan.

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In what may go down as one of the most exquisitely polite legal contradictions of the climate era, Shell has emerged from its landmark Dutch court battle with a result that can only be described as existentially reassuring for oil executives everywhere.

Yes, the court confirmed that Shell has a duty to help prevent dangerous climate change.

No, it declined to say what that actually means in practice.

Mission accomplished.

The Legal Masterpiece: Responsibility Without Numbers

The original 2021 ruling had the audacity to suggest that Shell should cut emissions by 45% by 2030—a dangerously specific idea that risked turning corporate responsibility into something measurable. read more

claude.ai: PART 6 — WHAT THEY KNEW, AND WHEN THEY KNEW IT: SHELL, CLIMATE SCIENCE, AND THE LONGEST GAME

Mar 24th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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A Crystal Ball Special Investigation, Continued

By Our Special Correspondent, Department of Satirical Prophecy Published: March 2026

DISCLAIMER: The following is Part Six of a satirical commentary based entirely on documented matters of public record: Shell’s own internal documents, declassified corporate reports, Dutch court judgments, European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence, the findings of investigative journalists at De Correspondent, Inside Climate News, DeSmog, and Follow The Money, and the proceedings of the Milieudefensie litigation, which is currently en route to the Dutch Supreme Court and shows no signs of tiring. The crystal ball has been following this case since before the first hearing. The crystal ball has opinions. read more

Donovan Shell Serial Drama: Downloaded from Bing 23 March 2026

Mar 23rd, 2026

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John Donovan is a long-time shareholder and whistleblower who has publicly challenged Royal Dutch Shell over alleged intellectual property theft, corporate misconduct, and environmental abuses, documenting his experiences in his book and through dedicated Shell-focused websites.

Background and Professional History

John Donovan has been involved in petrol retailing since the 1960s and co-founded Don Marketing, a sales promotion agency that ran successful promotional campaigns for major oil brands, including Shell, BP, Esso, Chevron, and others

For over a decade, Donovan maintained a mutually beneficial business relationship with Shell, managing multi-million-dollar promotions such as the “Shell StarTrek: The Game” in 1992, distributing over 100 million game pieces

Conflict with Shell

Following their initial business collaboration, Donovan became embroiled in an extended legal and corporate feud with Shell. Central issues included:

Alleged theft of intellectual propertyby Shell concerning promotional ideas disclosed confidentially read more
^*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, the Independent Shell Archive, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. ^*All conjured up by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

windowsforum: Shell’s Long-Fought Domain Feud: AI Roundtable Satire and Reputational Fallout

Mar 23rd, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Today – 23 March 2026 at 1:50 AM

The Machines Agree on Shell’s Long Shadow

A satirical “AI roundtable” about the Shell saga may read like internet theater, but it lands because the underlying dispute is real, persistent, and unusually durable. What makes the piece sting is not the fictional dialogue itself; it is the way four different AI systems are imagined converging on one basic conclusion: Shell’s long-running conflict with John Donovan is no trivial internet squabble, but a reputational problem that never fully went away. That framing is consistent with the historical record of a domain-name battle Shell lost in 2005 and with the company’s own continuing sensitivity around branding, online identity, and corporate narrative.

Background

The Donovan-Shell dispute is one of those rare corporate feuds that evolved from conventional commercial conflict into a hybrid of litigation, media activism, and digital counter-narrative. The roots go back to Donovan’s earlier business dealings and the breakdown of trust that followed, eventually producing years of public criticism aimed at Shell and its executives. Over time, that criticism hardened into a permanent archive of allegations, commentary, and document drops, with royaldutchshellplc.com becoming the symbolic center of gravity.
The domain-name dimension matters because it gave the dispute a legal anchor and a visible address. In the 2005 WIPO case, Shell International Petroleum Company Limited sought control of royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, and tellshell.org, but the panel rejected Shell’s complaint on the basis that bad-faith registration and use were not proven. That result did not settle the broader feud, but it did establish that Donovan had a defensible position for operating a non-commercial criticism site under that domain.
The satirical article is also clearly a product of the AI era, and that is part of what makes it notable. Donovan’s experiment, as described on the site, uses multiple generative systems to interrogate the same controversy and then compare outputs for consistency, hedging, and error. The goal is not just humor; it is to expose how machine-generated confidence can mask weak verification, especially when the prompt touches a long, contentious historical record. read more

Shell’s Groningen Hangover: Dutch State and NAM Clash Over a €789 Million Earthquake Bill

Mar 17th, 2026

by admin.

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If you ever needed a case study in how fossil fuel profits can turn into long-term liabilities, look no further than Groningen — where the bill for decades of gas extraction has finally landed… and nobody wants to pay it.

This week, the Dutch state and Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) — the Shell-Exxon joint venture that once turned Groningen into Europe’s gas powerhouse — faced off in court over who should cover hundreds of millions of euros in earthquake damage compensation.

The sum in dispute? A modest €789 million. Pocket change for an oil major — until it isn’t. read more

Shell Eyes Venezuela’s Oil Jackpot: Climate Promises Take Another Holiday

Mar 15th, 2026

by admin.

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Just when you thought the world’s biggest oil companies might slow down their hunt for new fossil-fuel frontiers, along comes Venezuela — the planet’s largest untapped oil treasure chest — and suddenly climate pledges look suspiciously like optional extras.

According to fresh reports, Chevron and Shell are moving closer to major oil and gas agreements in Venezuela, marking the first large-scale deals since the country’s political upheaval and reopening of its energy sector to foreign investment. read more

Energy Transition Strategy: The Transition That Must Not Affect Quarterly Earnings

Mar 14th, 2026

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A central theme running through Shell’s Annual Report is the company’s strategy for navigating the global energy transition.

This transition is widely recognised as one of the most significant economic and technological shifts of the 21st century.

For companies whose historical success has been closely tied to oil and gas, it also presents the delicate challenge of transforming the energy system while continuing to generate the profits that shareholders have become accustomed to.

Shell describes its approach as a “balanced and pragmatic pathway.” read more

Perplexity: 20 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories (Shell is number 3)

Mar 13th, 2026

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Created by Perplexity: Here is a 20‑company ranking, extending the logic and criteria of the original article (severity, scale, duration, and notoriety of controversies).

Top 20 companies with highly controversial histories

Bayer (Germany) – IG Farben participation, forced labour at Auschwitz-Monowitz, and role in supplying components for Zyklon B during the Nazi era, followed by later pharmaceutical and agrochemical controversies.watchmojo+1

Volkswagen (Germany) – Founded under the Nazi regime, heavy use of forced labour during WWII, and the modern diesel emissions‑cheating scandal affecting millions of vehicles globally.ig+1

Royal Dutch Shell / Shell plc (UK / Netherlands) – Long-running allegations over pollution and human‑rights issues in the Niger Delta, major 2004 reserves overstatement scandal, and historical controversy around Sir Henri Deterding’s interactions with Nazi Germany.royaldutchshellplc+1 read more

COPILOT: 20 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories (Shell is number 2)

Mar 13th, 2026

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CREATED BY COPILOT: Here’s a ranked, interpretive “top 20” list of global companies with especially long and controversial histories—environmental damage, human rights, corruption, product harms, and governance scandals. The order is judgment-based, not a formal metric.

Rank	Company (current or successor)	Main areas of controversy
1	ExxonMobil	Climate denial, environmental disasters, lobbying against climate policy
2	Royal Dutch Shell	Oil spills, Niger Delta conflict, climate litigation, alleged human rights complicity
3	Deepwater Horizon spill, safety record, environmental damage
4	Union Carbide / Dow	Bhopal disaster, toxic chemicals, long‑tail liability disputes
5	Monsanto (now part of Bayer)	Glyphosate health claims, GM seeds, Agent Orange legacy, farmer lawsuits
6	Volkswagen Group	Diesel emissions cheating, regulatory deception, environmental impact
7	Meta Platforms (Facebook)	Data privacy, misinformation, mental‑health concerns, content moderation failures
8	Amazon	Labour conditions, union busting, surveillance, antitrust and tax practices
9	Nestlé	Infant formula marketing, water extraction, child labour in cocoa supply chains
10	Philip Morris International / Altria	Tobacco health harms, youth marketing, long history of denial and lobbying
11	Rio Tinto	Indigenous rights violations, mine disasters, environmental damage
12	Glencore	Corruption cases, resource extraction impacts, market manipulation allegations
13	Foxconn (Hon Hai)	Worker suicides, harsh factory conditions, excessive overtime
14	Boeing	737 MAX crashes, safety culture, regulatory capture concerns
15	HSBC	Money‑laundering cases, sanctions breaches, tax‑evasion facilitation
16	Goldman Sachs	Role in 2008 crisis, Abacus deal, 1MDB scandal, conflicts of interest
17	Uber Technologies	Aggressive “growth at all costs” tactics, labour classification, data misuse, “Greyball”
18	Wells Fargo	Fake accounts scandal, sales‑pressure culture, repeated consumer abuses
19	Chevron	Ecuador rainforest pollution case, other environmental and community disputes
20	Samsung Electronics (group context)	Chaebol governance issues, corruption cases, labour and safety controversies

Brief context by company

ExxonMobil: Long‑running accusations that it funded climate‑science denial while its own research showed fossil‑fuel risks; major spills and refinery pollution, plus intense lobbying against climate regulation.

Royal Dutch Shell: Oil spills (notably in the Niger Delta), allegations of complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria, and prominent climate lawsuits over its emissions trajectory.

BP: The Deepwater Horizon disaster became one of history’s worst marine oil spills, highlighting safety and risk‑management failures; BP has also faced criticism over other spills and its broader environmental footprint.

Union Carbide / Dow: The 1984 Bhopal gas leak in India killed and injured thousands; disputes over compensation, remediation, and responsibility have persisted for decades, now tied to Dow as the corporate successor.

Monsanto (Bayer): Criticised for glyphosate (Roundup) cancer claims, aggressive enforcement of seed patents, GM crops, and the legacy of Agent Orange; it frequently appears on lists of “most infamous” corporations.

Volkswagen Group: “Dieselgate” revealed systematic cheating on emissions tests worldwide, leading to huge fines, recalls, and reputational damage, and it remains a flagship ESG‑controversy case.

Meta Platforms (Facebook): Cambridge Analytica, repeated data‑privacy failures, algorithmic amplification of misinformation and hate, and concerns about mental‑health impacts have made Meta a central ESG and tech‑ethics flashpoint.

Amazon: Criticised for warehouse working conditions, anti‑union tactics, intense productivity surveillance, tax strategies, and market dominance; it features heavily in ESG‑controversy datasets.

Nestlé: Long‑running infant‑formula marketing scandals, accusations of over‑extracting groundwater, and child labour in cocoa supply chains have given Nestlé one of the most persistent reputational shadows.

Philip Morris International / Altria: Tobacco’s health toll, historic denial of smoking risks, youth‑targeted marketing, and lobbying against regulation make these firms emblematic of product‑harm controversies.

Rio Tinto: Criticised for mine‑related environmental damage and for destroying the 46,000‑year‑old Juukan Gorge Aboriginal heritage site in Australia, sparking global outrage over Indigenous rights.

Glencore: Has faced multiple corruption and bribery investigations, sanctions‑related cases, and scrutiny over environmental and social impacts of its mining and trading operations.

Foxconn (Hon Hai): Known for harsh working conditions, excessive overtime, and a cluster of worker suicides at Chinese plants supplying major electronics brands.

Boeing: The 737 MAX crashes exposed serious issues in safety culture, engineering oversight, and regulatory relationships, leading to criminal settlements and ongoing scrutiny.

HSBC: Involved in major money‑laundering and sanctions‑breach cases, including handling funds for drug cartels, and has been repeatedly fined by regulators.

Goldman Sachs: Central to several high‑profile scandals, including its role in the 2008 financial crisis and the 1MDB corruption case, raising questions about conflicts of interest and governance.

Uber Technologies: Built a reputation for “move fast, break rules” tactics: regulatory evasion tools, toxic internal culture, sexual‑harassment scandals, and disputes over driver classification and rights.

Wells Fargo: Created millions of fake customer accounts under extreme sales pressure, then faced further issues around auto‑insurance, mortgages, and governance failures.

Chevron: Best known for the long‑running Ecuador rainforest pollution case and other environmental disputes, plus aggressive legal counter‑campaigns against critics and plaintiffs.

Samsung Electronics (wider Samsung group): Part of a chaebol system repeatedly linked to corruption and political scandals in South Korea, alongside labour and safety controversies in its electronics supply chain.

The Shell Annual Report: A Masterclass in Corporate Poetry

Mar 13th, 2026

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A satirical reading of the 2025 report, where billions flow, adjectives multiply, and reality occasionally peeks through the footnotes

Introduction: The World’s Most Expensive Bedtime Story

Every year, large corporations release a document that attempts to explain how they made vast sums of money while simultaneously saving the planet, empowering communities, and respecting nature.

Shell’s 2025 Annual Report is no exception. Running hundreds of pages, it is a masterpiece of corporate literature — a genre where verbs are optimistic, adjectives are plentiful, and inconvenient details tend to hide in footnotes.

At first glance, the report tells a reassuring story: strong shareholder returns, disciplined strategy, and progress on the energy transition. Look slightly closer and the narrative becomes more entertaining. read more

The Long Shadow of Industry: 10 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories

Mar 12th, 2026

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Below is a historically informed, but inevitably interpretive, list of major companies still operating today whose records include some of the most severe ethical controversies. The ranking considers factors such as human-rights abuses, environmental damage, scale, and duration. I’ve also indicated where companies have formally acknowledged or apologised for past wrongdoing.

The Long Shadow of Corporate Power

From wartime collaboration to environmental disasters, the historical controversies that still follow some of the world’s largest companies.

Large corporations often span generations, and with that longevity comes history — sometimes admirable, sometimes deeply troubling. Some of the world’s most recognisable companies have been connected to events that remain controversial decades later. The following overview highlights ten corporations still in existence whose histories include some of the most debated episodes in modern industrial history. read more

30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan

The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.
Extremely slow broadband for 10 months, not fixed. I have had slow broadband well below the guaranteed speed for 10 months and Shell Energy have not been able to fix it. They have tried sending about 4 or 5 engineers but have not fixed the problem. Gurps, who I have been dealing with most recently, has been friendly and polite, alth… Read more

Extremely Slow Shell Broadband

Big Oil

They promised safety. They promised honesty. They promised it would stop. Instead, Groningen got earthquakes, court battles—and now, apparently, a sequel.

🧨 INTRO: A MASTERCLASS IN SAYING ONE THING… AND DOING ANOTHER

🔟

“THE EARTHQUAKES ARE MINOR”

Big Oil’s grand export bonanza rolls on—while Australians are warned they might run short at home. Yes, really.

🛢️ THE GREAT LNG GOLD RUSH (AGAIN)

💰 EXPORT SUPERPOWER… DOMESTIC HEADACHE

🌍 From Brent Spar to Green PR: Has Shell Really Changed—Or Just Changed the Script?

💥 FLASHBACK: THE DAY SHELL GOT CAUGHT

When your house is collapsing and your nerves go with it, but the profits remain rock solid.

The Legal Masterpiece: Responsibility Without Numbers

A Crystal Ball Special Investigation, Continued

Background and Professional History

Conflict with Shell

The Machines Agree on Shell’s Long Shadow

Background​

Created by Perplexity: Here is a 20‑company ranking, extending the logic and criteria of the original article (severity, scale, duration, and notoriety of controversies).

Top 20 companies with highly controversial histories

Brief context by company

A satirical reading of the 2025 report, where billions flow, adjectives multiply, and reality occasionally peeks through the footnotes

Introduction: The World’s Most Expensive Bedtime Story

The Long Shadow of Corporate Power

From wartime collaboration to environmental disasters, the historical controversies that still follow some of the world’s largest companies.

Sir Henri Deterding, resurrected!

JOE LYCETT DISCUSSES SHELL WITH JOHN DONOVAN

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John Donovan’s ebooks

JOHN DONOVAN TV DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEW

SHELL EXECUTIVES AT THE CENTER OF A SCHEME TO STEAL $1.3 BILLION FROM NIGERIA’S PEOPLE

SHELL ADMITS DEALING WITH NIGERIAN MONEY LAUNDERER – BBC NEWS

SHELL, ENI AND NIGERIAN OFFICIALS IN OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL

INVESTIGATION OF OPL 245 NIGERIAN OIL CORRUPTION SCANDAL

DUTCH EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY SHELL/EXXON

SHELL KILLS FOR OIL IN NIGERIA

SHELL LIED ABOUT CLEANING UP OIL IN NIGER DELTA

SHELL SPIES INFILTRATED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

LEGO DROPS SHELL OVER GREENPEACE OIL SPILL VIDEO

SHELL ARCTIC DRILLING ACCIDENTS

SHELL KNEW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE DECADES AGO

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL FOUNDER SIR HENRI DETERDING, NAZI FINANCIER

JOHN DONOVAN PROMOTIONAL GAMES FOR SHELL AND OTHER CLIENTS

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30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan

The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.

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