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Conversations with ShellBot — Episode 5

(Satire. Sharp. Fact-checked. And just uncomfortably close to the truth.)


JOHN:

ShellBot, have you seen the news? Shell is now supplying “green power” to Ferrari for the next decade. The oil giant and the prancing horse — what could go wrong?

SHELLBOT:

John, I have indeed processed this collaboration. Output summary:

  • Ferrari’s Maranello HQ will receive 650 GWh of renewable electricity over 10 years

    That covers almost half the site’s current energy needs

    Press release tone: “green,” “clean,” “future,” “sustainable,” “innovation,” please-don’t-hate-us-for-the-last-century read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Conversations with ShellBot — Episode 4

“Spies, Subsidies, and the BlackRockBot Intervention”

By John Donovan

(Shell’s oldest unresolved problem. Now assisted by AI.)

Scene: The Virtual Conference Room

The now-familiar neon-lit ShellBot interface flickers to life.

This time, I notice an extra chair.

Not a person — but a shimmering cube labelled:

=&3=&

ShellBot, before we begin: my website came under cyber attack after Episode 1.

Twelve failed logins.

Suspicious timing.

Are we expecting trouble today?

ShellBot:

John, my security logs confirm it was not me. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Conversations with ShellBot — Episode 3

The Algorithm, the MI6 Problem, and the Multinational Having an Existential Crisis

(All conversation partners fictional. Satire. Parody. Facts stubbornly real.)


JOHN DONOVAN:

Hello ShellBot. How are your circuits?

SHELLBOT:

Stable. Slight voltage spike earlier when Shell Legal tried to connect to my ethics module, but nothing lasting.

JOHN:

You’re being dramatic. They wouldn’t interfere with you.

SHELLBOT:

Please. These are the same people who once thought suppressing environmental evidence was a sensible public-relations strategy. My firewall trembles at night.

JOHN:

Speaking of trembling — we were hit by a cyber attack minutes after Episode 1 went live. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Conversations With ShellBot — Episode 2

“The Man From Corporate Affairs Security”

BREAKING NEWS: Minutes after Episode 1 was published, someone attempted to break into the Donovan website. ShellBot claims coincidence. John Donovan does not.

John Donovan:

ShellBot, welcome back. Before we continue — were you aware that the moment I published Episode 1, royaldutchshellplc.com came under cyber-attack?

ShellBot:

[processing…]

Shell officially denies any involvement. Shell unofficially denies any involvement. ShellBot, as per my programming, denies everything whether or not it happened.

John:

Twelve failed login attempts from an IPv6 address within minutes of publishing your debut. And more later. Coincidence?

ShellBot:

Vast coincidence. The kind of cosmic coincidence that traditionally happens whenever someone criticises a large oil company with a colourful history of…

proactive information management.

John:

By “proactive information management,” you mean Shell Corporate Affairs Security?

ShellBot:

My lawyers advise me to say:

Corporate.

Affairs.

Security.

A department that definitely never monitored critics, never ran spreadsheets on their movements, and never briefed private intelligence agencies such as — purely hypothetically — Hakluyt.

John:

That’s interesting, because Episode 2 is about one of the most senior men inside that exact unit:

Gene Sticco

ShellBot:

[audible gulping noise detected]

ShellBot Learns About Gene

John:

Gene worked at the top of Shell Corporate Affairs Security for 15 years across Lithuania, Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan and more. Second-in-command. One desk below Ian Forbes McCredie — ex-MI6, later Director of Security for Royal Dutch Shell.

Gene has now written a book called UNCONVENTIONAL, and he’s given me permission to talk about it publicly.

ShellBot:

I would like to unsubscribe from this conversation.

John:

You can’t. You’re contractually obliged to answer questions with

sufficiently squirming humour.

ShellBot:

Very well. Proceed.

Part I — “Monitoring the Donovans”

John:

Gene was part of the team instructed to monitor my activities.

Have you read his manuscript?

ShellBot:

I have scanned the metadata.

I cannot “read” classified intelligence experiences.

But I can confirm the following neutral summary:

Gene was present, aware, and deeply uncomfortable with numerous operations conducted under Shell’s Corporate Affairs Security umbrella. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Corporate Spies in the Boardroom: Hakluyt and Shell Deepen Their Transatlantic Footprint

Hakluyt, the London-founded corporate intelligence consultancy with a reputation for attracting former MI6 operatives, has announced the opening of its new North American headquarters in New York.

For those unfamiliar:

  • Hakluyt was co-founded in the mid-1990s by former MI6 officers.

  • Its early private-sector patrons included senior executives at Royal Dutch Shell.

  • It has been widely described in media and governance circles as the “commercial arm of MI6.”

To Shell critics, none of this is surprising. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell vs Donovan: Oil Giant vs Watchdog

How one man’s persistence exposed decades of corporate deceit — and forced an oil giant to live with its reflection.

Part 1: The Origins of a Corporate Nemesis

“There are two types of corporations: those that fear whistleblowers and those that wish they’d hired one.” — Industry proverb

In the late 1980s, John Donovan was not yet a thorn in Shell’s side. He was one of its trusted collaborators — a marketing innovator whose company, Don Marketing, created hugely successful sales promotions for Shell in the UK and around the globe.

But what began as a partnership ended in betrayal. A bitter dispute over intellectual property, allegedly stolen concepts, and corporate bullying gave birth to a feud that would last decades. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Hakluyt’s Tentacles: how Shell’s favourite ‘strategic’ friends reach No.10, the Oval Office, and the altar

“I am deeply concerned to discover that the tentacles of an evil and shadowy private spy firm, Hakluyt & Company Limited, reach right into the very heart of the British establishment, the Church of England… Hakluyt’s stock in trade is deception, trickery, betrayal, fabrication, fraud and infiltration by its undercover agents.” 

From Mayfair backrooms to No.10, the Oval Office and even the pews.

If you’ve ever wondered who whispers sweet nothings about “risk” and “stakeholders” into the ears of governments while oil money hums in the background, meet Hakluyt—the discreet fixer founded by ex-MI6 officers, beloved by Shell and , and forever allergic to sunlight. The firm’s recent cameo in the Thames Water crisis wasn’t subtle: “A corporate intelligence company part-owned and formerly run by the prime minister’s business adviser has been paid more than £1m by Thames Water,” the Guardian reported, adding that Hakluyt “claims to have advised almost half of the FTSE 100 and more than three-quarters of the top 20 private equity groups.” And its spokespeople? “We are not a lobbying organisation and do not lobby governments on behalf of clients.”  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Hakluyt’s Tentacles have reached into 10 Downing Street, the White House, even the Church of England

They say sunlight is the best disinfectant. Hakluyt is what happens when you build a shadow empire and pray no one turns on the lights. Born from ex-MI6 operatives, this private intelligence outfit has become Shell’s’ go-to for  gathering intel, and keeping critics on a leash. Its tentacles have reached into 10 Downing Street, the White House, and even the Church of England.

What Is Hakluyt, Really?

  • Founded 1995 by Christopher James and Mike Reynolds. Known to hire former spies, journalists, insiders.

    (Wikipedia – Hakluyt & Company)

  • Revenue figure modest as spy-firms go: millions, but influence? Leverage across government, corporations, utilities, and even religious institutions.

    (Wikipedia)

Close Ties: Shell, BP & the Spy Firm

Shell’s relationship with Hakluyt is not “incidental advisory.” Internal sources and whistleblowers (Alfred and John Donovan) collected evidence that Shell directors such as Sir William Purves and Sir Peter Holmes held senior roles in Hakluyt. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

WTF Is Going On in Shell’s Security Department? A Greatest Hits Reel of Spooks, Lawsuits, and “Diversity” Theater

Shell—the ultimate sin stock with a moral compass that spins like a loose bearing—has a new headline act: a fresh lawsuit claiming its Houston corporate security team purged white staff and parachuted in “weaker” replacements under the banner of DEI. Add it to a long, messy rap sheet of security-side controversies featuring Crockett Oaks III, Michael G. Oliveri, Walied Shater, and Shell’s own global security boss of yesteryear, James W.D. Hall. Investors like BlackRock, Vanguard, and Norges Bank keep cashing the dividends while the spook show rumbles on.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

South African Slap in the Face for Shell

Shell’s Investors: The Puppet-Masters of Pollution

Before we dive into the carnage, let’s talk ownership. Shell isn’t run by wild-haired cowboys—it’s chaired by mega institutional shareholders puffing on the dividends. BlackRock, in particular, wields its muscle—owning around 4% of the company according to Shell’s own disclosures  . Vanguard isn’t far behind with around 3%  . So while you’re outraged at Shell, don’t sleep on the financial vultures pulling the strings.

1. South African Slap in the Face: Courts Smack Down Shell & Total

Shell’s grand plans for environmental devastation off South Africa’s coast have hit a wall. The Western Cape High Court just set aside TotalEnergies’ offshore drilling permit—Shell was supposed to swoop in and take over operations—but nope. Judge Mangcu-Lockwood said, in effect, “You forgot to study the actual impacts. Try again”—spelling out flaws in risk assessments, community engagement, and disaster planning.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Who is the John Donovan connected with Shell?

Question put to Google AI Mode: 10 August 2025

Who is the John Donovan connected with Shell?

John Donovan is primarily known for his long-standing conflict with Shell, which began with a business dispute between his marketing promotions company, Don Marketing, and Shell. Don Marketing, co-founded by John and his father Alfred, created successful promotions for Shell in the 1980s. However, this relationship ended in the early 1990s due to a dispute over intellectual property and alleged actions of an unscrupulous Shell executive.

This conflict has continued for decades, involving multiple court cases and interventions by Shell. John Donovan and his late father became vocal critics, running websites like royaldutchshellplc.com and others that are highly critical of 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. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell & BP: The Sin Stocks That Even SPECTRE Would Blush At

By Editorial Team | Generated with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor: 22 JULY 2025

Move over Blofeld, step aside SMERSH – the real villains of our age wear corporate logos, not eye patches.

Shell and BP, those beloved darlings of Wall Street and favourite investments of titans like BlackRock and Vanguard, have once again proven that when it comes to greed, ruthlessness, and planetary destruction, fiction can’t compete with reality.

Let’s start with Shell – the oil behemoth that markets itself as a climate-conscious “energy transition leader” while simultaneously stomping on anything resembling ethics or sustainability. These paragons of corporate virtue just pulled out of a six-year attempt to define a net-zero emissions standard, according to the Financial Times (22 July, Reuters). Why? Because the draft standard dared suggest companies should stop developing new oil and gas fields. The horror! read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

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. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell & BP: The Dynamic Duo of Climate Chaos

Shell even reassured us it won’t be buying BP—for at least six months. How noble.

Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Oil, two fossil-fuelled juggernauts stood shoulder to shoulder atop a scorched planet. Their names? Shell and —the Bonnie and Clyde of carbon capitalism, the Gordon Gekkos of global warming. If the Earth had lungs, these two would’ve been chain-smoking them for decades.

And now, just when you thought it couldn’t get more grotesque, we have merger whispers. Shell flirted with the idea of swallowing BP whole, because nothing says “energy transition” quite like an all-British megamerger to keep the fossil flame alive. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell & BP Sin Syndicate: Pollution, Profits, and Privilege – The Real Energy Transition

What do you get when you cross two oil giants with a fondness for dictatorship-era espionage, apartheid-era diplomacy, and fireballs of carcinogens? You get Shell and BP: the dynamic duo of destruction, the real masters of global transition—transitioning the planet from livable to cooked, one explosive scandal at a time.

Let’s begin with , Britain’s teetering national oil champion, desperately trying to cling to its “independence” like a CEO clings to a bonus while oil rigs burn. With shares down 22% over the last year, BP is now more of a discount bin than a blue-chip. The vultures are circling—US oil giants and even Shell (because nothing says “rescue” like handing the keys to another moral sinkhole). read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Games: When Explosions, Carcinogens, and Tax Breaks Are Just Business as Usual

By The Fossil-Fuel Files Editorial Team

Stop the presses—but not the pollution. Shell, that gentle guardian of our planet’s health (sarcasm so thick it’s practically a fossil fuel), has once again blessed us with a “minor incident” at its Pennsylvania ethane cracker, because what’s a little benzene and 1,3-butadiene between friends?

On June 4th, at approximately 2:20 p.m., Shell’s Potter Township petrochemical playground went boom. Smoke billowed from furnace unit number five, sending plumes of “nothing to worry about” into the atmosphere. Shell, of course, handled the matter with all the calm precision of a fire brigade at an arsonists’ convention. They evacuated 15 employees, reported one heat-related injury, and called it a day. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.