Visit “Shell Spying, Corporate Intelligence and Security: Documentary Chronology” for even more information
ChatGPT: Countries where Shell has been associated with spying, intelligence gathering or covert security activity
A necessary distinction
Shell operates in a dangerous world. Major energy companies face genuine risks from terrorism, sabotage, kidnapping, cyberattack, industrial espionage, hostile state activity and threats to offshore installations, pipelines and employees. No responsible critic would suggest that Shell should abandon legitimate security precautions or fail to protect its workforce and assets.
The concern examined in this series is different. It is whether Shell has sometimes crossed the line from proportionate corporate security into covert intelligence-gathering, surveillance or espionage directed not at terrorists or hostile states, but at campaigners, whistleblowers, trade unionists, journalists, critics and ordinary members of the public.
Look who’s pulling out of yet another “green” project. Shell – that beacon of environmental virtue (LOL) – has just scrapped its plans for a hydrogen plant on Norway’s west coast. Why, you ask? Because apparently, there’s just not enough demand for “blue hydrogen.” Yes, the same Shell that’s been sucking oil out of the ground for over a century like a vampire at an all-you-can-drink blood buffet is now suddenly worried about market viability for clean energy. Color me shocked.
by John Donovan
