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Shell spying in South Africa

SUBSTANTIALLY UPDATED 10 JULY 2026

John Donovan

Site-wide disclaimer also applies.

EDITOR’S NOTE: WHAT THE EVIDENCE PROVES—AND WHAT IT DOES NOT

This expanded article is based on the AI-generated material published in the original article published on 8 July 2026, supplemented by historical archives, court records, contemporary reporting and documentary material concerning Shell’s anti-apartheid strategy.

One important qualification is necessary.

There is strong documentary support for Shell’s apartheid-era economic role, the international boycott campaign against it, its commissioning of Pagan International’s secretive “Neptune Strategy,” the targeting and attempted neutralisation of civil-society opponents, and the use of disguised information-gathering methods. 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.

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

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

*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.

claude.ai: PART 5 — THE LITIGATION LIBRARY: OR, HOW TO BUILD A LEGAL DEPARTMENT LARGE ENOUGH TO HAVE ITS OWN POSTCODE

A Crystal Ball Special Investigation, Continued

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

DISCLAIMER: The following is Part Five of a satirical commentary based on matters of documented public record: court decisions, regulatory enforcement actions, US Securities and Exchange Commission orders, Environmental Protection Agency notices, UK Health and Safety Executive improvement and prohibition notices, EU Competition Commission rulings, Brazilian court judgments, and a great many press releases from organisations whose job it is to fine Royal Dutch Shell. Every single item referenced herein is sourced. The crystal ball does not fabricate. It does not need to. 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.

Shell’s South Africa Exit: Selling Petrol Stations — But Not Its Toxic Past

“Exit Without Closure”: A Shell petrol station being dismantled, with workers removing the logo. Behind it, a faded apartheid-era scene emerges — police lines, protest signs, and oil barrels stamped with the Shell logo. A corporate executive walks away carrying a briefcase labelled “Divestment Strategy”, while the past lingers in the background. Tone: sombre, satirical, historically reflective.

Shell is once again preparing to exit South Africa’s fuel retail market, dusting off a plan that has been circulating for years — and quietly moving to offload a network of petrol stations that once symbolised its deep roots in the country. 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 Quiet Architect Behind Shell’s Biggest Online Headache

How a teenage “internet whizz” helped create the website Shell tried — and failed — to silence for three decades.

A Phantom Web Whizz Became Shell’s Digital Nemesis

In the mid-1990s, when the Internet still seemed like a passing fad and oil companies still lectured the world about “responsible energy,” a quiet digital operator answered a newspaper advertisement from John Donovan, the former Shell promotions partner turned corporate adversary.

The ad sought an “Internet whizz.”

What Shell got was something far worse—a digital insurgency that would haunt its reputation for decades.

By 1998, even the Evening Standard took notice: a small website run from Colchester had become a major reputational threat to one of the world’s largest corporations. That website—eventually mirrored as RoyalDutchShellPLC.com and ShellNews.net—would become Shell’s digital nemesis, archiving leaks, lawsuits, and internal documents that chronicled the oil giant’s ethical, environmental, and legal missteps. 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.

Purple Pump, Black Ledger: Shell’s Charity PR Meets Its Dirty Past

Shell — the greedy, ruthless, polluting oil giant and perennial sin stock — is back with its annual feel-good campaign: The Giving Pump. You fill up at a purple pump; money goes to local charities; everyone smiles for Instagram. Shell’s own press release beams: “The Giving Pump goes to show how small choices—like where you fuel up—can add up to meaningful change,” says Barbara Stoyko, SVP for Mobility & Convenience Americas. “The Giving Pump works so well because of our generous retailers. They are the ones selecting the charities benefitted by our purple pumps because they know the causes that matter most to the customers in their communities.” And St. Jude’s ALSAC chimes in: “We are grateful for our friends at Shell… Every small act of kindness… helps St. Jude advance scientific research and treatment…” Lovely words, quoted verbatim from Shell’s 9 Sept 2025 release. Read the release.  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.

When Shell Met BP – A Love Story Fueled by Oil, Lies, and a $120 Million Fine

“And speaking of Shell’s finest: enter Simon Henry, Shell’s former CFO and now newly appointed BP board member. A man intimately connected to the hydrocarbon reserves scandal.”

Ah, Shell and BP. Britain’s answer to “Which fossil-fueled supervillain do you prefer?” Now there’s murmuring that Shell—the world’s leading oil-slicked PR machine and gold-medal winner in the Deadliest Workplace Olympics—might consider buying BP, its slightly less polished cousin. It’s like Dracula pondering whether to adopt Frankenstein.

But before we get too sentimental, let’s remember what Shell brings to the table:

  • A glorious history of employee care, like handing Dutch staff over to the Nazis during WWII, and later using workers as test subjects for carcinogenic chemicals. Experimental cruelty disguised as corporate efficiency.
  • A North Sea platform scandal so outrageous it could be a Monty Python sketch, were it not for the dead offshore workers. Lifeboats were reportedly unseaworthy, and Shell’s internal policy was colloquially dubbed “Touch Fuck All.” Charming.
  • The 2004 reserves scandal, where Shell admitted it had wildly exaggerated its hydrocarbon reserves. Shareholders were shocked. The SEC fined Shell $120 million, which the company could pay using just one of its greenwashing budgets.
  • Nigeria, where Shell’s legacy is so soaked in blood, corruption, and environmental devastation that it makes the Exxon Valdez spill look like a spilt milkshake.
  • Hakluyt, Shell’s in-house intelligence firm. If MI6 and Blackwater had a baby who hated Greenpeace, it’d be Hakluyt. This covert unit reportedly spied on activists, journalists, and anyone else who dared whisper the truth.
  • Let’s not forget Shell’s ties to the apartheid regime, its cameo in the Al-Yamamah BAE oil-for-arms scandal, and its incestuous intelligence links through Hakluyt.
  • And then there’s SPECTRE and SMERSH… oh wait, those are fictional. Shell isn’t. It’s worse.

Investors like BlackRock and Vanguard still happily line their pockets from Shell’s sludge-soaked profits. Because what’s a little ecological genocide when there are dividends to collect? 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.

Shell to Britain: “Give Us BP or We’re Moving to Wall Street”

Nothing screams patriotic corporate loyalty like threatening to ditch your home country for better tax breaks and oil-soaked handshakes in Trump’s America.

Shell — global climate villain and gold medalist in greenwashing — is once again proving that when you’re Europe’s biggest oil giant, the only thing more bloated than your balance sheet is your ego.

The company is now considering (read: publicly dangling) the idea of delisting from the London Stock Exchange and fleeing to the New York Stock Exchange, where oil executives are still treated like gods instead of environmental pariahs.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan, whose idea of energy transition is “less wind, more gas,” is apparently sick and tired of those pesky British investors not worshipping Shell’s “financial performance” — i.e. record profits extracted from the overheating planet. 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.

CHAPTER 16: Our activities caught the attention of the news media

The Sunday Telegraph published an article by Juliette Garside under the headline “Online revolutionaries“ containing a reference to the Donovans and their website.

The long-lasting hostility between Shell and the Donovan family has not escaped the attention of the news media and other interested parties, such as The One World Trust, an independent research organisation associated with the UK Houses of Parliament and the United Nations.

Some memorable articles have been published regarding our activities and our website. 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.