Posts under ‘Bill Campbell’

John Donovan in 1999

Extracts from the ebook “John Donovan, Shell’s Nightmare” (now available on Amazon websites globally)

Extracts from pages 155 to 164 inclusive

We receive insider information about Shell from a number of different sources.

The first is from Shell itself.

Shell has supplied Shell internal documents and internal emails directly to me in compliance with a series of SAR applications.

The internal documents revealed that Shell secretly set up a counter-measures team and mounted a global spying operation in a determined, but unsuccessful bid to stop the flow of Shell insider information to me.

Another source is from disgruntled Shell employees who have supplied insider information and Shell internal documents and internal emails. read more

Posting by Bill Campbell, retired Shell HSE Group Auditor, on the article “Shell are in trouble. Deep trouble”  

RDS vs. Peter Robinson Esq as trouble looms

At the time I found it inexplicable that Shell launched it’s vitriolic attack against its ex employee and obedient servant Peter Robinson. With only weeks to go before the Trial in Italy WHY on earth would Shell undermine its own case at the upcoming trial by suggesting that Robinson was other than an upstanding member of society?

Well, it now appears kinda obvious, Mr Robinson it seems had gone outside the tent and has started urinating in, assisting the prosecution perhaps, if so deep trouble clearly looms. read more

Frankly, I don’t give a f*** about Shell’s lawyers. I already have Shell internal communications stating that Shell will never sue me because I have too much “internal laundry” on the unscrupulous oil giant.

A MESSAGE TO THE STREET FIGHTER, PETER ROBINSON: FROM JOHN DONOVAN

Hello Peter

You may have seen the Shell Blog post from HAN SOLO that I have published as an article: “Shell are in trouble. Deep trouble”.

The author quotes the wise saying: ‘keep your friends close, keep your enemies even closer’? There is another equally ancient proverb that may also apply: ‘My Enemy’s Enemy is My Friend’.

I know what its like to be betrayed and become the subject of sinister activity by Shell and its army of spooks and ruthless, unprincipled lawyers. You are probably beseiged by such activity at the moment. read more

By Kevin Keane: BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent:

26 April 2018

The Health and Safety Executive has written to all oil and gas operators expressing concern about the number of gas releases in the industry.

The regulator said some had come “perilously close to disaster” and that more needed to be done to tackle them.

The HSE said a “lack of leadership” was often to blame for leaks, and called for firms to review their processes.

Operators have until July to respond with a summary of their planned improvements.

The HSE has written to operators ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster. The platform exploded in July 1988, leaving 167 men dead. read more

I genuinely believe that Ben van Beurden is a decent man and appears to have a good heart, but his weakness in dealing with the army of internal rogue corrupt dictators and getting control of the HR mafia has already cost him his legacy.

MORE SHELL BLOG COMMENTS ABOUT THE BILL CAMPBELL ARTICLE: Stunned and outraged by Shell’s denouncement of Peter Robinson

Yet Another Concerned Employee
 
Behind the glossy facade of its brightly coloured filling stations and shiny reflective glass towers, Shell is truly a dark malevolent force. It is not only the Church of the poisoned mind, but also home to the parasitic mind which snatches thoughts from others and presents them as its own. Experience and being correct are not recognised, only ‘Process’. Many, through either bitter experience, incompetence or ignorance have learned to hide behind process and can no longer think for themselves. Merit is trodden under heel into the mud. Often one bad decision after another results in a predictable squandering of shareholders’ money, not by the millions or tens of millions of dollars, but by the hundreds of millions of dollars. Lessons learned are written down then forgotten as the machine moves forwards. This is rewarded by large bonuses. Reality plays little part in the daily running of the business, the public image of the ‘Brand’ must be protected at all cost. read more

Comment by retired Shell International HSE Group Auditor, Bill Campbell on The Times article: Shell executive Peter Robinson took bribe, oil giant suspects

Stunned and outraged 

I find the virulent condemnation of Peter Robinson in the OML 42 affair interesting in both the timing, what happened to innocent until proven otherwise, and the strength of the rebuke I understand communicated to thousands of employees down the line, stunned and outraged, pretty strong stuff. read more

By John Donovan

A lifeboat has fallen off the Shell Brent Alpha platform in the North Sea Brent field. See EnergyVoice.com article below: “Shell launches investigation after lifeboat plunges from platform”.

In March 2008, Shell made itself the object of derision when it was discovered that two lifeboats on the Brent Bravo platform in the Brent field were unseaworthy. The problem was similar in nature to the latest dangerous fiasco, involving faulty lifeboat clutches and how the lifeboats were secured on the platform.  read more

EMAIL SENT TODAY BY BILL CAMPBELL, RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL. RECIPIENTS INCLUDE TWO TOP PEOPLE AT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC. NO MENTION OF OPL 245. 

BEGINS:

Malcolm Brinded was appointed recently as President of the Energy Institute. The attachment covers a sworn deposition copied to a senior police officer at Grampian Police and the Scottish Justice Minister, and the Presiding Officer at the Scottish Parliament.  It is similar in tone and substance to a deposition made to the then Lord Justice General for Scotland in 2005.  This role is occupied by the most senior Judge within the Scottish legal system.

Suzanne Beard is the Head of Professional Affairs at the EI who monitors ethics and compliance at the Institute to ensure at all times members of the Institute uphold the good name of the Profession.  Sue has replied to my concerns that Malcolm has been open and honest about historic allegations made against him but I doubt very much if Malcolm has been as open and honest as he should have been. For clarity Beard should be made aware that Linda acts as counsel to the RDS Chairman Holliday. read more

EMAIL FROM BILL CAMPBELL RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT TO SUE BEARD, HEAD OF PROFESSIONAL AFFAIRS, ENERGY INSTITUTE. PUBLISHED HERE BY JOHN DONOVAN  WITHOUT BILL’S PERMISSION. NO REPLY THUS FAR.

From: William Campbell
Subject: Brinded steps down from role as Chairman of Shell Foundation
Date: 2 November 2017 at 21:02:51 GMT
To: [email protected]
Cc: John Donovan <[email protected]>

Dear Suzanne

Note that in relative terms the EI is recently formed.  Understand in your role as Head of Professional affairs you are interested in ethics, compliance with the law etc so it surprises me that you would appoint a serial lawbreaker Brinded as your President – but for the present could I simply ask in the public interest for clarification: read more

Comment by Bill Campbell (retired HSE Group Auditor of Shell International) on the article “Corruption charge looms for outgoing BHP director Malcolm Brinded” 

It was good news for those who care for Shell and it’s reputation when Brinded and his guard dog Ruddock were shown the door in 2012. Brinded had contaminated the boardrooms of Shell UK and RDS for 15 years with his toxic behaviour. Corruption of external parties also in the shape of the North Sea safety reguluator using his special relationship with the then Secretary of State for Scotland. Still wary of the demise of reputation during the reserves debacle it seems the Chairman and his counsel with the support of the non executives called time on Brinded sensing Shell was heading yet again into the scandal zone. read more

Comment by retired Shell International Group HSE Auditor Bill Campbell on the recent Energy Voice article:

Shell served improvement notice over gas leak blunder

If you are looking for a world class example of stupidity look no further than Shell and its incident on Barque.

We are living it appears in an age of stupidity. Academic papers give many reasons for this including use of technology, calculators, mobile phones etc and the dumbing down of debate through usage of the internet. Moronic behaviour is common even in those who lead us.

If you are looking for a world class example of stupidity look no further than Shell and its incident on Barque.

We have discussed leakage of hydrocarbons a lot recently, to reduce them to zero is the Industries greatest challenge and top priority. But here we have a significant leak of some 200 cubic metres of gas mainly methane caused it seems by stupidity, how else can you describe this, its like driving while texting, behaviour totally unexplainable to rational individuals. The ONLY reason we pressure test process vessels and pipework using water or inert gas AND prior to the introduction of hydrocarbons is to provide assurance that when the hydrocarbons are finally introduced there will be no leakage, and consequentially no risk to people. read more

Shell Brent Bravo disaster: “The installation manager and supervisors were working under a regime where production had to be maintained at all costs. Safety was a secondary issue almost totally ignored by the Managers in Aberdeen.”

John

You may wish to publish this as a follow up and contribution to recent inputs on your blog site.  It is also certainly in the NASA and Shell examples a spectacular illustration of how ineffective at such times the so called governance process was included the much heralded concept amongst a management team of shared collective responsibility.

Article By Retired Shell International HSE Group Auditor Bill Campbell: “Forget about the consequence, it won’t happen, will it?”

Piper Alpha on fire shortly after the second explosion

Dutchdude on September 2nd spoke about the acceptance of risk being a trend amongst staff who have not witnessed serious events themselves, and therefore assume it won’t happen. I am sure he has a point, as they say, you don’t know what you don’t know. So inexperience is a factor. read more

UPDATED WITH ARTICLE COMMENTS RECEIVED SINCE PUBLICATION, INCLUDING FROM BILL CAMPBELL

By John Donovan

It is getting on to 20 years since Shell safety expert Bill Campbell led an HSE audit team which exposed a “Touch Fuck All” culture in relation to maintenance and safety issues on Shell’s Brent Bravo platform. After two decades of promises by Shell to give safety the highest priority, Shell has just been ordered to shut down its North Sea Armada platform on similar grounds. This follows weeks after the issuance of a prohibition notice by HSE inspectors in relation to Brent Charlie. (See links below).  read more

By John Donovan

A report today by Seatrade Maritime News confirms that Shell’s massive FLNG facility Prelude has officially entered into Lloyd’s Register (LR) class. It also says that Prelude has arrived at its operating location in the Browse Basin, offshore northwest Australia (above) where it will be moored at a depth of 250m and will not be dry-docked for the first 25 years of its expected 50-year operational life. See their full article here from which the above extracts are taken. It lists the various parties involved in the huge project, including Lloyds Register. In December 2013, I published an article that should have set alarm bells ringing among all involved parties. Not one of them approached me seeking information. read more

After all is said and done who would build a hotel and a heliport, and a dock, besides or within 100 metres of a hazardous substances plant. It would simply not be allowed on land. This is what makes Prelude so risky.

Comment from Bill Campbell on the article:

Shell’s ill-fated $14bn gamble on Titanic Prelude FLNG Barge

FLNG

If FLNG has a future remains to be seen. It is under any measure an outstanding technical achievement. My only concern is the misplaced statements by RDS and Shell Australia on the risks. Doomcaster and I are in agreement, there is and always will be during the commissioning and steady state operation a risk of leakage so we can say the probability side of the risk equation is well understood. Whether it be human failure or otherwise leaks are difficult to avoid. The best database for leaks in the World is the homogeneous population of over 200 North Sea installations covered in HSE data which confirms in 11 years of operation that leakage frequency has a mean time between failures of circa 3 days. My problem is with the huge inventory and congested space is that Shell seriously downplays the potential consequence side of the risk equation. Post Piper Alpha and post Seveso there are two principal risk reducers, reduced inventory (fuel) and lots of space seperating modules from each other, from human habitation, control rooms, admin blocks, and from storage tanks. After all is said and done who would build a hotel and a heliport, and a dock, besides or within 100 metres of a hazardous substances plant. It would simply not be allowed on land. This is what makes Prelude so risky. read more

The Prelude, which is 488m long, arrived in Australia last month © PA

By John Donovan

Shell’s Prelude barge has been described as the biggest floating structure ever built and is said to be 12 times the size of the Titanic. It is a comparison that for obvious reasons Shell does not use, although others do. There have been far more dire warnings about the dangers attached to Prelude than were made about the Titanic’s maiden voyage before it tragically sunk. Most have come from a well-placed insider on the Prelude project and subsequently from Bill Campbell, the retired HSE Group Auditor of Shell International. read more