Daily Telegraph

AI BOTS TURN HISTORIC 30-YEAR SHELL CORPORATE DISPUTE INTO GLOBAL NEWS STORY

Jan 12th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Colchester 12 Jan 2025

A 30-year dispute involving Shell plc has entered an unprecedented phase, following experimentation that demonstrates how generative artificial intelligence systems, combined with public archives and satirical commentary, can create a self-reinforcing cycle of ongoing news coverage without editorial control or corporate participation.

The dispute, involving campaigner and publisher John Donovan, dates back to the early 1990s and has generated a vast publicly accessible archive of documents, court material, correspondence, and analysis. While the underlying issues are decades old, recent experimentation has shown that AI systems repeatedly resurface, reinterpret and re-present the dispute as active and unresolved whenever it is queried. 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.

Shell vs. Donovan: How a 30-Year Corporate Feud Just Pulled AI Into Its Gravity Well

Nov 20th, 2025
by John Donovan.
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How Did Shell End Up in This PR Nightmare — And Why AI Changes Everything

A 2025 WindowsForum thread —

“Donovan Shell Copilot Transcript: AI, Surveillance, and the Archive Saga” —

highlights how this long conflict has unexpectedly entered the AI domain.

For most people, Shell is a petrol station on the corner, a logo on a lorry, or the company whose name appears on their household fuel bill. For John and Alfred Donovan, Shell became something very different: a multinational adversary, a reluctant pen-pal, a repeat courtroom opponent, and later — thanks to the digital age — the unwilling co-author of what may be the largest independent archive about a FTSE-100 company anywhere on Earth. 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.

Why the Church of England is taking on Shell

May 9th, 2023
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Why the Church of England is taking on Shell

Short-term profits cannot come before the long-term health of our planet

The oil and gas industry in Europe is at a crossroads.

The decisions the sector makes on where to allocate capital could make or break our collective efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C, with massive implications for the economy, for communities and in particular the poorest and most vulnerable on the planet.

The recent announcements by BP that it is weakening its climate targets, and the none too subtle hints from Shell being read by the market that it is likely to do something similar, signals that the lure of short-term profit maximisation is trumping the long-term sustainability of these companies and of our planet.

A disorderly climate transition caused by delayed action will not only miss the goals of the Paris climate agreement but directly work against the financial interests of pension funds and other long-term investors and their beneficiaries. 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.

Church of England attacks Shell chief in row over green targets

May 9th, 2023
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Church of England attacks Shell chief in row over green targets

The clergy’s pension fund will vote to oust Wael Sawan after accusing him of backtracking on climate commitments

By Matt Oliver: 9 May 2023 • 6:00am

The Church of England is pushing to oust the chief executive of Shell following a row over green investments.

The clergy’s Pension Board is preparing to vote to oust Wael Sawan and chairman Sir Andrew Mackenzie at Shell’s upcoming shareholder meeting later this month.

It comes amid claims that the oil and gas giant has backtracked on net zero commitments.

The pension board, which manages the clergy’s £3bn retirement pot, is concerned that London-listed Shell has rowed back on promises to switch to clean power after the Ukraine war sent oil and gas prices soaring. 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.

Shell considering selling UK energy supply business

Jan 27th, 2023
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Shell considering selling UK energy supply business

:

Shell is considering selling its UK energy supply business after injecting £1.2bn into the loss-making division to help it cope with rocketing gas and electricity prices.

The company on Thursday said it had launched a strategic review of the business, which supplies 1.4m British households and also operates in the Netherlands and Germany.

It raises the prospect of the unit being sold just six years after Shell first moved into the UK household supply sector. 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.

Shell delays payment of cost of living grants until spring, investigation finds

Jan 5th, 2023
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Shell delays payment of cost of living grants until spring, investigation finds

The energy giant, which received £90,141,141 from the Government to give to customers, says the hold up is due to administrative processes

 and 

Shell has delayed the payment of taxpayer energy bill support payments to thousands of its customers, sparking criticism over its role in the cost of living crisis.

The energy giant’s household supply division says some of its 1.4 million customers will now have to wait until April, to get payments which were due in October when bills hit almost double their level a year earlier. 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.

Shell reconsiders £25bn investment in UK energy over windfall tax raid

Nov 21st, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Shell reconsiders £25bn investment in UK energy over windfall tax raid

Levies will force oil giant to ‘rerun the economics’ on future projects, says UK chairman

By Matt Oliver and Szu Ping Chan: 21 November 2022 • 7:03pm

Shell is reviewing plans to invest £25bn in Britain’s energy system after Jeremy Hunt raided the industry for £55bn in windfall taxes.

David Bunch, Shell’s UK chairman, said the expanded levy announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement is forcing the company to re-examine a slew of projects in the pipeline, from North Sea investments to renewable energy schemes. 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.

Shell handed £90m by taxpayers to cut energy bills under price guarantee

Nov 10th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Shell handed £90m by taxpayers to cut energy bills under price guarantee

The payments are one part of a major Government package to shield households

Shell has been handed £90m of taxpayer cash under the Government’s scheme to help families with surging energy bills.

The oil and gas giant’s UK household supply division received £90,141,141 from the Government in October, according to official figures.

All suppliers are being sent cash by the Government each month so they can shave £400 off customers’ bills in instalments between now and March. 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.

Once again, an American president targets UK companies to win votes

Nov 2nd, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Once again, an American president targets UK companies to win votes

Shell and BP’s windfall profits have made them an easy target for Biden’s populism

: CHIEF CITY COMMENTATOR

Calling on the oil and gas industry to “stop war profiteering”, Biden said: “The oil industry has a choice. Either invest in America by lowering prices for consumers at the pump and increasing production and refining capacity. Or pay a higher tax on your excessive profits and face other restrictions.” 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.

Shell in talks with Government as ministers consider new windfall tax

Oct 27th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Shell in talks with Government as ministers consider new windfall tax

Oil and gas giant did not pay any tax in Britain, despite an existing windfall scheme

By Rachel Millard: 27 October 2022 • 5:48pm

Shell is in talks with the Government as ministers consider a fresh windfall tax on oil and gas companies to help fill a £35bn black hole in the public finances.

Ben van Buerden, chief executive of the oil and gas giant, said he accepted the case for higher taxes after the industry was boosted by surging fossil fuel prices following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. 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.

Shell shares slide after profit warning

Oct 6th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Shell shares slide after profit warning

 James Warrington

Shell has issued a profit warning for the third quarter in a sign the energy giant’s record run of earnings could be coming to an end.

The FTSE 100 company reported a negative margin of $27 per metric tonne in its chemical unit, which is often seen as an indicator of the strength of the wider economy.

That could be a worrying sign of the outlook across Europe, where major industries are struggling to cope with soaring gas prices.

Shell also reported a decline in its refining margins as oil prices eased back from their recent highs. 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.

For Western energy giants, escaping Russia has become the longest goodbye

Sep 26th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

For Western energy giants, escaping Russia has become the longest goodbye

Not long ago oil and gas companies were scrambling to get into Russia, rather than out

Shell has had ties to Russia since 1912 after buying the Rothschild family’s interests there. More recently, its partnership with Russia’s state gas giant Gazprom has helped it access vast gas reserves in Russia’s far east.

It, too, hung on even after having to cede control of the $22bn [£19bn] Sakhalin-2 gas facility to Russia in 2006 following months of Kremlin pressure.

Shell’s boss, Ben van Beurden, met Putin in April 2014, shortly after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, to tell him they wanted to expand the project. Equinor, meanwhile, entered Russia in the 1990s and ten years ago struck a major exploration deal with Rosneft as the two Arctic powers forged closer ties.

By the start of the war, foreign companies covered about 11pc of Russia’s oil and gas production, according to James Henderson, at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. BP, TotalEnergies, Wintershall Dea, Shell and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation were the largest. 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.

Britain’s wealthy energy companies are now part of the problem

Jul 29th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Britain’s wealthy energy companies are now part of the problem

Bosses’ fanatical devotion to showering shareholders with cash has done little to help their own cause as household bills soar

Shell is still on course to return “$30bn to shareholders this year, or more than 15pc of its market cap”. These are truly astonishing sums in any context but set against a backdrop of sharp increases in fuel poverty, they are in danger of looking obscene.

: CHIEF CITY COMMENTATOR 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.

Russia moves to take control of Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project

Jul 1st, 2022
by John Donovan.
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BBC News

Russia moves to take control of Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project

1 JULY 2022

Russia has moved to take over a major oil and gas project in which Shell has a 27.5% stake.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday to take charge of the Sakhalin-2 project.

The move could force Shell and Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi to abandon their investments as the economic fallout of the Ukraine war spreads.

Oil giant Shell said: “We are aware of the decree and are assessing its implications.” 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.

Shell plans to expand amid energy market chaos

Jun 13th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Shell plans to expand amid energy market chaos

The FTSE 100 company plans to invest £20bn-£25bn in the UK

By Rachel Millard: 13 June 2022 • 7:27pm

Shell is pursuing a significant expansion of its business supplying electricity to UK households amid intense volatility in energy markets.

The FTSE 100 company wants to supply clean power to five million households and electric car drivers by 2030, up from about 1.5m today, as part of plans to diversify away from oil and gas.

Shell plans to invest £20bn-£25bn in the UK over the decade, more than 75pc of which will go towards low carbon energy such as wind turbines and electric car charging points. 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.

Europe lurches closer to energy crisis as Kremlin cuts off gas supply to Shell

May 31st, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Telegraph

Europe lurches closer to energy crisis as Kremlin cuts off gas supply to Shell

British company loses access to Russian fuel following refusal to pay in roubles

 and 

Europe lurched closer to an energy crisis on Tuesday after the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to major buyers including Shell.

Russia’s state-owned gas supplier, Gazprom, said supplies to Shell in Germany as well as to Ørsted in Denmark will be cut off on Wednesday after they refused to bow to Putin’s demands to pay in roubles. 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.
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