Fossil Fuels

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 14 OCTOBER 2026

Oct 14th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 14 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-087

The Sakhalin Papers LXXVII: Poland Strikes Back — Shell, Gazprom and the PLN 29 Billion Nord Stream 2 Penalty That Collapsed in Court

On 7 October 2020, Poland’s competition authority announced an extraordinary decision against Gazprom and five Western European energy companies, including Royal Dutch Shell. Gazprom was fined more than 29 billion Polish zlotys, while Shell received a separate penalty exceeding PLN 30 million. The regulator also ordered the companies to terminate their agreements financing Nord Stream 2. Poland argued that the companies had effectively recreated a prohibited joint venture through lending arrangements. The companies disagreed and appealed. In November 2022, a Polish court overturned the decision. In October 2023, an appellate court upheld its annulment. The documentary record reveals a remarkable confrontation between European energy strategy, competition law and corporate finance — and demonstrates why regulatory allegations must never be confused with final judicial findings. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 13 OCTOBER 2026

Oct 13th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 13 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-086

The Sakhalin Papers LXXVI: Poland’s Red Light — How Shell’s Nord Stream 2 Shareholding Became a €950 Million Financing Commitment

In September 2015, Royal Dutch Shell signed an agreement intended to give it a 10 per cent shareholding in Nord Stream 2, the controversial pipeline designed to transport Russian natural gas directly to Germany. Eleven months later, Poland’s competition authority effectively derailed the proposed ownership arrangement. Shell and its partners withdrew their application. But the project survived. On 24 April 2017, Shell signed a different agreement, committing financing and guarantees worth up to €950 million while Gazprom retained sole ownership of the pipeline company. The authenticated corporate announcements, Polish regulatory records, contemporaneous Reuters reporting and subsequent court proceedings reveal how an apparent regulatory defeat became a fundamentally different commercial arrangement. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Big Oil on Trial: ExxonMobil Faces US Supreme Court Climate Showdown — With Shell Fighting Its Own Battle in the Netherlands

Oct 13th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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13 October 2026 | RoyalDutchShellPlc.com

Two of the world’s most consequential courts are considering questions that could reshape the legal responsibilities of the fossil fuel industry. In Washington, the US Supreme Court is examining whether communities can pursue climate-damage claims against ExxonMobil and Suncor under state law. In the Netherlands, Shell is defending itself before the Dutch Supreme Court against demands for enforceable greenhouse gas reductions. The proceedings are legally distinct, but they expose the same underlying conflict: how far can courts go in holding major energy companies responsible for their contribution to climate change? 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 4 OCTOBER 2026

Oct 4th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 4 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-077

The Sakhalin Papers LXVII: From Protocol Toward a Joint Venture — Shell and Gazprom Neft Plan Expansion Across Western Siberia and Beyond

Seven months after Shell and Gazprom signed their “Protocol on Strategic Global Cooperation”, Shell chief executive Peter Voser and Gazprom Neft chief Alexander Dyukov signed basic terms for something more concrete: a possible new joint venture covering Western Siberia, other Russian regions and even “third countries”. The distinction matters. No new venture was actually created by the June 2011 document. Shell and Gazprom Neft agreed to study one. By September Alexey Miller and Voser were still discussing how it might be established. But the direction was unmistakable. Four years after Shell lost control of Sakhalin II, the company was attempting to turn its relationship with Gazprom into a platform for expansion far beyond Sakhalin.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-077
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2011; US Securities and Exchange Commission filing record; Gazprom corporate records concerning the 2010 Strategic Global Cooperation Protocol and the June 2011 Gazprom Neft–Shell agreement
Contemporaneous reporting: Gazprom Neft press-service material; Dow Jones; Russian business press; contemporaneous Donovan archive
Judicial context: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin)
Evidence standard: The June 2011 agreement is described according to what it actually did: it established basic terms for examining the creation of a joint venture. It is not represented as proof that the contemplated venture had already been incorporated or that every proposed project proceeded. Corporate statements about technology, international assets and future cooperation are attributed to the companies making them. Commentary concerning strategic motives is identified as commentary. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 30 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 30th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 30 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-073

The Sakhalin Papers LXIII: The Reserves Ledger — Did Shell Really Lose 1.06 Billion Barrels?

In March 2008, the consequences of Shell’s surrender of control at Sakhalin II surfaced in the language oil companies understand best: proved reserves. Contemporary reports said roughly 1.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent were disappearing from Shell’s books. Shell’s own annual report contained two striking figures — 658 million boe and 402 million boe — which, when added together, appeared to support that conclusion. But they did not describe the same thing. One figure represented minority interests disappearing from a consolidated subsidiary; the other represented reserves being transferred into the equity-accounted investment column. Shell’s actual reduction in proved reserves attributable to its shareholders from the Sakhalin transaction was approximately 402 million boe. The distinction is accounting — but it is not merely cosmetic.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-073
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2006; Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2007
Contemporaneous reporting: Financial Times; JP Morgan/Hemscott; The Observer; Bloomberg; Thomson Financial/AFX; Energy Intelligence
Judicial context: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin)
Evidence standard: Shell’s reserve figures and accounting classifications are treated as corporate facts. Contemporary descriptions of a 1.1-billion-barrel “loss” are attributed to the analysts and journalists who used them. No accounting reclassification is treated as a physical disappearance of hydrocarbons. The distinction between reserves surrendered economically and reserves merely moved between reporting categories is maintained throughout. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 15 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 15th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 15 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-058

The Sakhalin Papers XLVIII: “A Philosophical Difference” — When Regulatory Compliance Was Not Enough for the Scientists

In November 2020, Sakhalin Energy and its independent scientific advisers arrived at an unusually candid point of disagreement. The company could satisfy Russian regulatory requirements and still fail to satisfy the evidential standards expected by the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel. The meeting record captured the difference in a phrase rarely encountered in corporate environmental reporting: there would always be a “philosophical difference” between conservation scientists and an oil company.

Image

Image

1. A meeting held in exceptional circumstances

The 21st meeting of the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel — WGWAP — took place by videoconference from 17 to 19 November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By then the Panel had spent well over a decade advising Sakhalin Energy on the protection of the endangered gray whales feeding off north-eastern Sakhalin.

Shell’s own Sustainability Report 2020 described WGWAP as an independent scientific panel established by IUCN to help mitigate environmental impacts. Shell stated that the Panel continued to advise Sakhalin Energy, in which Shell then held a 27.5% interest, and that WGWAP was preparing its final conclusions for release in 2021. (Shell) 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 14 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 14th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 14 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-057

The Sakhalin Papers XLVII: The Feeding Ground Was Losing Its Food — WGWAP’s 2019 Benthos Alarm

For fifteen years, oil companies operating off north-eastern Sakhalin financed a programme that measured the tiny bottom-dwelling animals on which gray whales depended. Then something changed. Amphipod biomass in the nearshore Piltun feeding ground began falling sharply in 2013 and reached the lowest level in the entire monitoring series in 2016. That same year, the industry-sponsored benthic programme ended. Three years later, the independent Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel issued an unusually stark public warning: the whales’ traditional nearshore feeding ground might be losing the capacity to support them.

Image

Image

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1. The problem was beneath the whales

Much of the Sakhalin controversy had been visible above or within the water column.

Platforms.

Pipelines.

Ships.

Dredging.

Seismic airguns.

Fishing nets.

But the next warning came from the seabed.

Gray whales are benthic feeders. Off Sakhalin, they descend to the seafloor and consume large quantities of small invertebrates living in or immediately above the sediment.

In the shallow nearshore feeding area around Piltun Lagoon, one of the principal prey species was the amphipod Monoporeia affinis. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Books About Shell

Sep 9th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Books About Shell: An Expanded Bibliography

Introduction

Royal Dutch Shell, now Shell plc, has generated an unusually large body of literature stretching from official corporate histories and executive memoirs to academic studies, environmental investigations, human-rights accounts and books written by people directly involved in disputes with the company.

The bibliography below includes:

  • histories commissioned or published by Shell;
  • independent corporate histories;
  • biographies of important Shell figures;
  • books about particular Shell businesses and projects;
  • books concerning Nigeria, Ogoni and Ken Saro-Wiwa;
  • books about Brent Spar and Corrib;
  • studies of Shell’s celebrated scenario-planning system;
  • broader histories of the international oil industry in which Shell is a significant subject;
  • and Amazon Kindle books by John Donovan concerning his long-running relationship with Shell.

The descriptions below are original summaries rather than reproductions of publishers’ copyrighted descriptions.

Early Royal Dutch and Shell Histories

1934

An International Oil Man

Author: Sir Henri Deterding, as told to Stanley Naylor
Format: Print 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 8 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 8th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 8 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-051

The Sakhalin Papers XLI: “Just in Time” — Shareholders Back a PA-C Concept, but the Project Remains Marginal

By May 2013 the proposed South Piltun platform had crossed another corporate threshold. Sakhalin Energy’s shareholders had endorsed a “just-in-time” development concept, linking construction of PA-C to declining production elsewhere in Sakhalin II. But endorsement was not sanction. There was still no final investment decision. The proposed 2014 appraisal well had been abandoned. Company studies described South Piltun as a “marginal opportunity.” And while PA-C waited for its commercial moment, preparations began for another large 3-D/4-D seismic campaign across the Western Gray Whale feeding environment.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-051
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal primary record: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Report of the Thirteenth Meeting, Tokyo, 15–17 May 2013
Supporting scientific record: WGWAP Noise Task Force reports, May and October 2013
Authenticated Shell records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2013; Royal Dutch Shell plc Sustainability Report 2013
Contemporaneous reporting: Reuters, 30 September 2013; Gazprom corporate announcement, 23 December 2013
Court record: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used for historical financing and environmental context
Evidence standard: Shareholder endorsement of a development concept is distinguished from a final investment decision. Sakhalin Energy’s description of South Piltun as marginal is reported as the company’s own commercial assessment. The proposed third LNG train discussed later in 2013 is distinguished from PA-C: the two were related to expansion of the same integrated project but were not the same investment decision. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 6 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 6th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 6 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-049

The Sakhalin Papers XXXIX: The Survey Before the Platform — WGWAP Helps Sakhalin Energy Search for PA-C While Refusing to Endorse It

Before Sakhalin Energy could decide whether to build a third offshore platform, it first had to establish where that platform might safely stand. That meant another seismic operation beside the Western Gray Whale feeding grounds. The resulting episode exposed one of the most difficult questions in the entire WGWAP experiment: could independent scientists help Shell’s Sakhalin venture conduct the survey more safely without becoming part of the machinery advancing the very development they had warned should not yet proceed?

Archive reference: SLF-2007-049
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal scientific records: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Report of the Eleventh Meeting, February 2012; WGWAP Noise Task Force records, November 2011; Report of the Twelfth Meeting, November 2012
Contemporaneous reporting: WWF campaign material, February 2012; AFP, 9 February 2012
Later scientific record: IUCN, “Keeping whales safe in sound”, January 2014
Evidence standard: The South Piltun/PA-C development remained under study during the principal period examined. WGWAP was an independent scientific advisory body, not a regulator. Its participation in survey design and mitigation is not characterised as approval of the proposed platform. WWF statements concerning extinction risk and lender responsibility are identified as campaign positions. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 3 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 3rd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 3 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-046

The Sakhalin Papers XXXVI: The Survey Returns — Four Shutdowns as the Whale-Protection Plan Was Put to the Test

Sakhalin Energy abandoned its planned 2009 seismic survey after independent scientists recommended postponement. A year later the survey returned. This time an elaborate system of acoustic buoys, shore observers, vessel observers, exclusion zones and real-time shutdown authority stood between the seismic guns and the Western Gray Whales. Shell’s own 2010 Sustainability Report subsequently acknowledged that operations were stopped several times when whales were nearby.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-046. Collection: The Sakhalin Papers. Principal records: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel Monitoring and Mitigation Plan for the 2010 Astokh 4-D seismic survey; WGWAP Reports of the Eighth and Ninth Meetings; Shell Sustainability Report 2010; contemporaneous Sakhalin Energy statements; Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used only for the earlier legal and environmental context. Later peer-reviewed studies are used to assess what the monitoring data eventually showed. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

The Donovan–Shell Documentary Chronology: Correspondence, Shell Internal Communications and Legal Records, 1981–Present

Aug 31st, 2026
by John Donovan.
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UPDATED 1st SEPT 2026

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a living documentary index and remains under construction. It brings together direct correspondence between the Donovans and Shell, Shell internal communications, correspondence involving lawyers acting for Shell, and relevant evidential emails. Thousands of pages of archival material, including the extensive ShellNews.net collection and the Sakhalin-2 files, remain under review. Further dated documents will be added as they are identified and verified. Inclusion records what a document says or alleges; it does not necessarily establish the truth of every allegation contained within it.

Standing invitation to Shell: corrections and contrary evidence

Shell Plc, its current or former officers, employees, advisers and lawyers are invited to identify any factual error in this documentary chronology or elsewhere in the Donovan/Shell archive.

Where an error is established, it will be corrected or removed as appropriate. Where the issue is genuinely disputed, Shell’s position will be recorded alongside the relevant evidence wherever practicable.

We particularly welcome original contemporaneous documents that contradict, qualify or provide additional context to material published here. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 22 AUGUST 2026

Aug 22nd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES

SLF-2007-034

The Sakhalin Papers XXIV: “A Sakhalin Pseudo Exposé” — Shell’s Internal Response to the May 2007 Contractor Allegations

A false sender name, a real Shell investigation of authorship, detailed Starstroi claims — and a pipeline forecast that deserves to be tested separately from the accusations

Archive reference: SLF-2007-034
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal record: Shell internal correspondence of 11 May 2007 concerning an email falsely attributed to Sakhalin Energy Deputy CEO David Greer; subsequent whistleblower material published 14 May 2007
Supporting record: Shell DPA-disclosed correspondence; Sakhalin Energy Annual Review 2004; contemporaneous Oil & Gas Journal and Reuters reporting; Royal Dutch Shell and shareholder regulatory filings; later Sakhalin Energy operational milestones; Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin)
Evidence standard: The false attribution to David Greer is established. Shell’s internal reaction is established from its own correspondence. The underlying contractor, procurement, bribery, commercial and quality-control claims remain allegations unless independently corroborated. Accuracy of a technical forecast does not authenticate unrelated accusations. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Grok replies to the prompt: What are the Shell Leaks Files?

Aug 2nd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Grok replies to the prompt: What are the Shell Leaks Files?

“The Shell Files” (also referred to in reporting as Shell’s leaked transfer pricing documents or related Shell leaks) are a cache of confidential internal Shell transfer pricing reports and related materials that became public after a 2020 cyberattack on Accellion’s File Transfer Appliance (a managed file-transfer service used by Shell and many other organizations).

Dutch research group SOMO analyzed and published findings from these documents in a July 23, 2026 report titled The Shell Files: Exposing how corporations can use transfer pricing to avoid taxes. The files illustrate how Shell applied OECD transfer pricing rules (the “arm’s length principle”) to allocate profits across subsidiaries. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Gemini replies to the prompt: What are the Shell Leaks Files?

Aug 2nd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Gemini replies to the prompt: What are the Shell Leaks Files?

The Shell Leaks Files refer to an extensive collection of leaked internal documents, confidential emails, employee directories, and corporate communications belonging to Royal Dutch Shell (now Shell plc).   

These files have been accumulated, published, and cataloged over several decades primarily by corporate activist =&2=& (along with his late father, Alfred Donovan) on their website =&3=&.   

Key Highlights of the Leaked Files

Whistleblower & Insider Contributions

  • Disgruntled or concerned Shell employees routinely leaked internal emails, project reports, and memo drafts directly to John Donovan.

  • High-profile examples include an internal email from incoming CEO Peter Voser published the day it was written, and confidential internal memos detailing executive strategy discussions (such as proposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates and potential employee terminations in 2021).   

Global Employee Directory Leak (2010)

A notable incident occurred when a massive internal directory containing the names, internal phone numbers, and contact details of over 170,000 Shell employees and contractors worldwide was leaked to environmental campaign groups and Donovan’s website by disaffected workers.    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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

The Shell Leaks Files: 1 August 2026

Aug 1st, 2026
by John Donovan.
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The Shell Leaks Files

SLF-2007-017

The Sakhalin Papers VII: The Whistleblower Warnings — Claims That Shell’s Management Could No Longer Control the Project

Archive Reference: SLF-2007-017
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Evidence Standard: Authenticated Shell communications, contemporaneously preserved whistleblower material, official project records, contemporaneous journalism, parliamentary evidence and relevant court-record context.

Introduction

On 2 June 2007, royaldutchshellplc.com published allegations attributed to a confidential source inside the Sakhalin-2 project.

The source made two distinct categories of claim.

The first concerned the project timetable. The insider alleged that senior management was promoting an unachievable December 2007 target for making the onshore pipeline ready to receive hydrocarbons, while specialist personnel believed that completion would extend into 2008. 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, 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 created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.
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