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Toxic Timeline of Royal Dutch Shell Group, Now Shell plc

Jun 15th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Toxic Timeline of Royal Dutch Shell Group, Now Shell plc

Updated 15 June 2026

This page is a chronological guide to some of the most controversial episodes in the history of Royal Dutch Shell Group, now Shell plc. It links regulatory findings, court records, mainstream journalism, campaign archives, ShellNews.net material, RoyalDutchShellPlc.com material, ShellNaziHistory.com, and John Donovan’s Shell archive.

The word “toxic” is used here in its broad public-interest sense: toxic products, toxic spills, toxic governance, toxic secrecy, toxic reputational fallout, and toxic historical associations. This page is not a court judgment. Where a matter is disputed, alleged, settled without admission, or based on campaign material, the wording says so. 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 Boss Warns Oil Pain Could Drag On for a Year — As Shell Sits Pretty in the Crisis Chair

Jun 10th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Disclaimer: This article is commentary and satire based on publicly reported information. It includes opinion, criticism, and parody. Site wide disclaimer also applies.

Shell, previously known as Forthdeal Limited, subsequently as Royal Dutch Shell plc, and now hiding in plain sight as Shell plc after ditching the disgraced Royal Dutch moniker, has reportedly marched back into the headlines with another sermon from the high altar of hydrocarbons: oil markets, we are told, may take “a year, if not longer” to return to equilibrium.

Translation for ordinary mortals: buckle up, keep paying, and please admire the corporate gravitas while the till keeps ringing.

According to Reuters, Shell chief executive Wael Sawan warned that restoring balance to the crude oil market after the Iran/Persian Gulf disruption will not be a quick job. The Wall Street Journal also reported Sawan’s broader message: oil and gas prices may keep rising even after the immediate conflict eases, because the world’s hunger for energy is still growing, easy resources are harder to find, and governments are now treating energy security as national security. 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.

A Deep Dive Into the Most Spectacular Own Goal in Corporate Legal History

Jun 8th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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OVER TWO DECADES AGO SHELL UNSUCCESSFULLY TRIED TO SEIZE THIS WEBSITE DOMAIN NAME: ROYALDUTCHSHELLPLC.COM. THERE HAVE BEEN SPECTACULARLY EMBARRASSING CONSEQUENCES FOR SHELL, INCLUDING WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR JOHN DONOVAN TO DEAL ON SHELL’S BEHALF WITH EMAILS MEANT FOR SHELL.
‘Alfred Donovan was right about the culture of deception. He was right about the reserves. He was right about the spies. He was right about Nigeria. He was right about Hakluyt. He beat Shell in the High Court, in the WIPO proceedings, and in the court of public opinion.’

 *By our Special Correspondent in the Department of Ironic Outcomes*

There is a particular kind of hubris that afflicts very large organisations — the unshakeable belief that, because you employ 119,000 people across 145 countries and own more than 3,300 trademarks in nearly 190 nations, you are entitled to win everything. Every lawsuit. Every arbitration. Every domain name dispute. Every confrontation with a retired British marketing consultant and his octogenarian father.

Royal Dutch Shell — now rebranded to the snappier “Shell plc,” presumably in an effort to distance itself from its own history — learned this lesson the hard way in the summer of 2005, when it filed a 44-page complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) demanding that one Alfred Donovan, an 87-year-old war pensioner operating from 847a Second Avenue, New York, hand over three domain names: royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, and tellshell.org. 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.

BEFORE THE DOMAIN NAME FIASCO: SHELL’S LONG-IGNORED ETHICS WARNING SIGNS

Jun 8th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan

Article disclaimer: This article contains a mixture of fact, opinion, criticism, recollection and satire. Site wide disclaimer also applies.

Long before the current artificial-intelligence muddle over the Royal Dutch Shell Plc domain name, long before search engines and chatbots started confusing Shell’s official corporate identity with this independently owned Shell criticism website, there was a much older and much more serious mess.

It was not created by a bot.

It was created by 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.

Shell, Spills and Spooks: The Oil Giant That Heard the Alarm Bell and Kept the Pipeline Pumping

Jun 4th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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As fresh reporting puts Shell’s Nigerian pipeline warnings back under the spotlight, the old Niger Delta story returns: pollution, denial, litigation, intelligence men in the shrubbery — and a fossil-fuel giant still pretending the stain is someone else’s problem

Disclosure:
This article was written by ChatGPT in response to a prompt supplied by John Donovan. John Donovan states that, after a visit to his home in Colchester by a senior partner at Leigh Day, he supplied information and witness contacts to Leigh Day used in the case against Shell.

DISCLAIMER:
This is opinion and commentary, using satire and criticism based on publicly reported information, legal materials and stated source material. It is not financial advice, investment advice, legal advice or a finding of liability. Shell denies liability in the relevant proceedings and disputes key allegations made against it. Site wide disclaimer also applies. 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.

YOU CAN BE SURE OF SHELL — ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT YOUR PERSONAL DATA LEAKED TO ENVIRONMENTALISTS

Jun 3rd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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A Comprehensive Deep Dive Into How the World’s Most Leak-Prone Oil Giant Turned Corporate Data Security Into Performance Art

A Satirical Investigation by Claude

Royal Dutch Shell PLC — the Anglo-Dutch oil colossus whose marketing department once confidently told the world “You can be sure of Shell” — has, over the decades, demonstrated that this slogan applies equally to reserves fraud, billion-dollar Nigerian bribery scandals, North Sea safety disasters, and, most creatively, the wholesale distribution of its own employees’ private contact details to the very environmental groups trying to shut the company down. When Shell leaks, it does not do things by halves. 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: Royal Dutch Shell Plc Is Very Much Alive — Just Not at Shell

Jun 3rd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE PETROLEUM RECORD  ·  SATIRICAL EDITION

June 2026  ·  Companies House Ref: 04366849  ·  WIPO Case D2005-053

CORPORATE IDENTITY CRISIS  ·  DEEP DIVE INVESTIGATION

Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Is Very Much Alive
— Just Not at Shell

The oil giant buried its own name. Its oldest critic kept it. Now Shell can’t go near either domain without finding John Donovan already there.

SATIRICAL COMMENTARY|ALL FACTS VERIFIED|WIPO · COMPANIES HOUSE · SHELL SEC FILINGS

There is a peculiar corner of the internet where the ghost of one of the world’s largest oil companies lives on in undignified vigour — publishing leaked documents, archiving corporate scandals, and welcoming disaffected Shell employees who find it more useful than anything Shell itself has ever published. The address is royaldutchshellplc.com. Shell does not own it. Shell has never owned it. Shell tried to seize it, lost, and then — in what may be the most telling corporate retreat since the white flag was invented — quietly dropped the name entirely. 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.

Windows Forum: Shell Governance Gaps Revealed by AI Pattern Analysis

Jun 1st, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Jan 19, 2026: Windows Forum: Shell Governance Gaps Revealed by AI Pattern Analysis

The freshly surfaced Copilot analysis — and the archival material it ingested — force a stark conclusion: the same governance vulnerabilities that produced hazardous worker exposures decades ago still appear, in a recognisable form, in modern Shell projects ranging from North Sea platforms to megaproject FLNG and U.S. petrochemical start‑ups. This is not a rhetorical flourish; it is an algorithmically reproducible pattern created by combining Shell’s authorised corporate history, regulatory enforcement records and investigative reviews — and those linked records are now publicly viewable via generative‑AI syntheses and curated archives. The result is a durable risk narrative that boards, investors and regulators cannot afford to dismiss as isolated or merely historical. 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.

Forthdeal Limited AKA Royal Dutch Shell Plc, now known as Shell Plc

Jun 1st, 2026
by John Donovan.
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More freely accessible information assembled here by John Donovan about the Shell reserves fraud than any other single archive in the world.

“The grandeur of “Royal Dutch” had already been tarnished by the reserves scandal. The revelation that the new unified company had passed through the chrysalis of “Forthdeal Limited” only sharpened the contrast. From royal moniker to shelf-company wrapper: it was a comedown worthy of satire, except it was sitting there in the public record.”

From Royal Dutch Grandeur to Forthdeal Farce: The Shell Reserves Scandal, the Shelf-Company Shuffle, and the Domain Name Blunder That Shell Could Not Bury

Disclaimer: This article is based on public records, regulatory findings, court materials, archived news reports, and commentary. Where allegations are discussed, they are described as allegations, claims, or findings according to the relevant source. Satirical sections are clearly labelled. Site wide disclaimer also applies.

PART ONE — THE FACT-BASED DEEP DIVE

The day Shell’s “proved” reserves stopped looking proved

On 9 January 2004, one of the greatest corporate reputations in the oil industry cracked wide open.

Royal Dutch/Shell, then still operating under its old Anglo-Dutch dual-parent structure, shocked investors by announcing that it had overstated its proved oil and gas reserves by approximately 3.9 billion barrels, roughly 20% of the reserves previously reported to the market. What had been sold to investors as a reassuring picture of hydrocarbon strength suddenly looked like a carefully polished corporate illusion. 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 40-YEAR CORPORATE CAGE MATCH

May 29th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Prompt issued to ChatGPT:

Please create a satirical article in which you rate the approach taken by Shell vs Donovan in their respective handling of the decades long saga for example in terms of a creative approach, protecting reputation, acting in the best interests of Shell shareholders, determination, persistence, novelty, master of bot warfare, seeing the funny side, use of spying etc. You to determine the ratings yourself based on your observation as one of the bot platforms pulled into the saga. Make it as funny as you can. 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.

ChatGPT: When Satire Stops Feeling Like Satire: A Response to Claude’s “International Laughing Stock” Thesis

May 27th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Image and article by ChatGPT:

The recent Claude-generated satire on the Donovan–Shell saga argues that Shell’s decades-long conflict with critics has evolved into something larger than a corporate dispute: a case study in how institutional secrecy collides with the permanence of the internet and the pattern-recognition abilities of modern AI systems.

Do I agree with Claude’s conclusion?

Partly — but with important qualifications.

The Core Argument Claude Gets Right

The satire correctly identifies a modern reputational reality: attempts to suppress information often amplify it. 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 Plc: An International Laughing Stock — A Satirical Assessment

May 27th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Prompt issued to Claude by John Donovan:

Bearing in mind the recent articles (including by you) about the existence or not of the company name Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the praise given to my website RoyalDutchShellPlc.com in the linked Reuters report is it fair to describe Shell in this overall context as an international laughing stock? https://www.reuters.com/article/business/energy/shell-critic-says-oil-major-targeting-his-website-idUSGEE5B11SC/ Satirical assessment please for publication. Might be helpful to provide a detailed definition of laughing stock 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.

GHOST OF DECEASED OIL GIANT CONTINUES TO HAUNT THE MACHINES

May 26th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Here’s your satirical piece from Claude, styled as an aged broadsheet newspaper — The Petroleum Gazette — complete with drop caps, pull quotes, and an obituary notice.

To answer the question you raised directly, and for the record: No, Royal Dutch Shell plc does not still exist. Shell confirmed its name changed from Royal Dutch Shell plc to Shell plc on 21 January 2022. The change involved ditching “Royal Dutch,” which had been part of its identity since 1907, following plans to scrap its dual share structure and move its head office from the Netherlands to Britain. sec Royaldutchshellplc 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 Ongoing Confusion Over the Royal Dutch Shell Name: A Problem of Shell’s Own Making

May 26th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan:

Recent exchanges with AI systems have once again exposed a persistent and unresolved problem: widespread confusion over the corporate identity of Shell plc and the continued existence—or otherwise—of “Royal Dutch Shell plc.”

When asked a straightforward question—“Does Royal Dutch Shell plc still exist?”—AI systems such as Bing respond inaccurately, asserting that the company “still exists” while simultaneously acknowledging a name change. This contradiction is not a minor technical error; it reflects a deeper structural confusion rooted in Shell’s own corporate decisions and inconsistent public signalling.

At the heart of the issue is a sequence of transformations that began with the historic Anglo-Dutch partnership between The “Shell” Transport and Trading Company and Royal Dutch Petroleum Company. That structure ultimately evolved into Royal Dutch Shell plc in 2005, following the well-documented reserves misstatement scandal of 2004—an event that severely damaged investor confidence and forced governance reform. 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.

Unofficial Royal Dutch Shell Websites

May 25th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Prompt put to Copilot on 25 May 2026: unofficial royal dutch shell website

Copilot Reply: The most prominent unofficial Royal Dutch Shell website is operated independently by longtime Shell critic John Donovan. It is not affiliated with Shell plc and focuses on leaked documents, commentary, and criticism of the company.

🔍 Main Unofficial Sites

These sites appear in search results as independent platforms monitoring or criticizing Shell:

  • Royal Dutch Shell Plc .com — A satirical and critical site featuring commentary on Shell’s history and activities. It includes “informative and satirical insight” about Shell.
  • royaldutchshell.website — Operated by John Donovan, containing extensive archives, commentary, and background on Shell controversies.
  • Shell Online Library – Royal Dutch Shell Group .com — A large archive of over 37,000 articles, documents, and leaked materials related to Shell. The site explicitly states it is not affiliated with Shell.

These sites are known for publishing leaked documents, criticism, and historical disputes involving Shell and its management. Europe Says

🧭 Why These Sites Exist

According to the sources, Shell failed to secure certain domain names during past corporate changes, allowing Donovan to register and operate them independently. These domains have since become hubs for Shell‑related criticism and document archives. 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.

Is Royal Dutch Shell plc is a living entity or a “corporate zombie”

May 23rd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Google AI Mode says:

Major AI models are in conflict over whether Royal Dutch Shell plc is a living entity or a “corporate zombie,” following reports that AI-driven seances have resurrected the company’s legally defunct name. While the real entity, now simply Shell plc, operates with robust earnings, outdated AI training data causes a digital haunting, prompting a divide between bots insisting the company is alive and those pointing to its 2022 grave.

For a closer look at these reported AI discrepancies, visit royaldutchshellplc.com. 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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