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Shell Oil Reserves Scandal

Shell’s Petrochemical Wonderland: Where Headaches and Noxious Fumes Are on the House!

…the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has received an avalanche of calls from other residents who are tired of headaches, choking fumes, and lights so bright they could signal aliens from space.

Posted by John Donovan: 7 Sept 2024

Shell is back at it again—this time, delighting the residents of Monaca, Pennsylvania, with the gift of “noxious odors” and toxic dust wafting in from their well-maintained petrochemical plant. Nothing says “neighborly” like a little ethane cracker plant next door, churning out ethylene for plastics, resins, and whatever else Shell can sell, all while making life hell for those within sniffing distance.

In a lawsuit filed by Flynn, a local resident, it seems Shell’s operation has turned the neighborhood into a dystopian nightmare of foul smells, migraine-inducing noise, and flaring lights that rival a Vegas casino—except, here, the jackpot is pollution. According to the amended 20-page complaint, Shell has been about as good at controlling emissions as they are at pretending to care about the environment. The suit claims that since the Monaca plant opened in 2019, it’s been a festival of failures, with Shell regularly releasing clouds of contaminant-laced gases into the air. Neighbors have had to suffer through “odiferous” smells so bad they make the garbage dump down the road smell like a lavender field. read more

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

Ask Sheldon: Which Shell shareholders have already sold their holdings in the polluting oil giant?

Screenshot

Sheldon

Hi! How can I help you?

Q: Which Shell shareholders have already sold their holdings in the polluting oil giant?

Sheldon’s Answer

It appears that leading institutions and ethical funds have been quite active in selling off their shares in Shell due to growing concerns over the company’s environmental practices. Notably, Investec Henderson Crosthwaite and Morley Fund Management were two prominent fund managers that completely abandoned their Shell holdings. Their decision was influenced by significant worries regarding Shell’s handling of environmental issues, particularly in Africa and the United States, as well as the infamous scandal surrounding the recategorization of 4.47 billion barrels of reserves. read more

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

20th Anniversary of one of Shell’s biggest scandals

2004: The oil giant was heavily fined for overstating its reserves in a securities fraud. Shell chairman Sir Philip Watts was forced to resign. He was escorted in disgrace from the Shell Centre by Security guards. He became a very rich vicar. 

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READABLE VERSION

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

Chaos within the operations team of Shell Pensions Trustees office

Lightning never strikes Twice?

Always a pleasure to see Tim Morrison, now a Shell retiree, leading from the in front in the 2023 Shell Pensions video. Tim was Shell Group Controller – an oxymoron? – during the Reserves scandal in 2004 – 2005. Surviving that, he now Chairs the Shell Pension Trust, based in London.

Other contributors have shared views on how badly the Shell Pension Trust is managed and how poorly Shell has treated its pensioners during the recent period of excess inflation at the time of concurrent excess profits. What current employees and recent retirees may also want to know is the chaos within the operations team of Pensions Trustees office during the last few years. read more

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

Another departing Shell leader seeking redemption?

Another departing Shell leader seeking redemption?

By John Donovan

Departing Shell Plc CEO Ben van Beurden seems to be seeking redemption in his closing period with the energy giant.

THE GRONINGEN SCANDAL

BvB now admits that Shell should have pulled out of the controversial earthquake-blighted Groningen project operated by NAM – a Shell-Exxon joint venture company.

According to Reuters: “A damning report in 2015 from the independent Dutch Safety Board had accused the government and the field’s operators of ignoring the threat of earthquakes linked to the field for years.” 

As regular visitors to this website know, we have been drawing attention to the Groningen scandal for many years. Thousands of properties have been damaged. As a consequence, Dutch prosecutors are pursuing litigation against NAM. Tens of thousands of Groningen residents are eligible for compensation for earthquake damage. read more

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

MORE INFORMATION THAN ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET ABOUT THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RESERVES SCANDAL

ACCESS TO MORE INFORMATION THAN ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET ABOUT THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RESERVES SCANDAL / FRAUD

By John Donovan

Royal Dutch Shell Group Chairman Sir Philip Watts, was forced to resign as a result of the fraudulent over-statement of claimed hydrocarbon reserves.

Sir Philip subsequently became a very rich vicar, after a payoff package from Shell worth nearly $20 million to buy his silence.

Link to a John Donovan file containing extensive news coverage.

THE ROYAL DUTCH SHELL RESERVES FRAUD UNFOLDS IN NEWS HEADLINES

Daily Telegraph: Shell drops ‘bombshell’ on reserves: 9 January 2004
The Times: How Shell blew a hole in a 100-year reputation: 10 January 2004
The West Australian: Investors howl for Shell’s blood: 12 January 2004
London Evening Standard: Shell bosses lied to the City: 19 April 2004
(Former executives, led by ex-chairman Sir Philip Watts, admitted they had repeatedly lied to investors about the true level of Shell’s oil and gas reserves.)
Houston Chronicle: ‘Sick and tired about lying’ at Shell: 19 April 2004
Bloomberg: Shell Loses AAA Credit Rating: 19 April 2004
Shell bosses ‘fooled the market’: 19 April 2004
The Guardian: Trail of emails reveals depths of deceit at the heart of Shell: 20 April 2004
The Guardian: Shell admits it misled investors: 20 April 2004
The Independent: Lies, cover-ups, fat cats and an oil giant in crisis: 20 April 2004
The Scotsman: Shell admits reserve ‘lies’: 20 April 2004
The Scotsman: Shell implodes as e-mails provide damning evidence: 20 April 2004
The Times: Deceitful Shell ‘needs ten years’ to rebuild exploration business: 20 April 2004
Financial Times: Observer Column: Shell-shocked: Corporate slogans consigned to the dustbin of history no. 94: “You can be sure of Shell.”: 20 April 2004
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Dutch/Shell Group exec was ‘sick and tired’ of lying: 20 April 2004
Daily Telegraph: Memos expose Shell’s years of lying: 8 May 2004
The Scotsman: Shell’s reputation left in tatters: 21 April 2004
TheStarOnline: Shell report exposes lies, CFO sacked: 21 April 2004
Daily Telegraph: Shell suffers second cut to credit rating: 21 April 2004
Daily Telegraph: Sacked Shell boss ‘escorted from HQ’: 22 April 2004
The Times: A very British kind of scandal: why Shell is no Enron: 23 April 2004
Daily Telegraph: Shell’s lies over reserves spark FSA investigation: 24 April 2004
Times: “Shell is a disreputable company in need of a strong injection of ethics”: 25 April 2004 ”
(“An Audience with Sir Phillip Watts”)
The Mail On Sunday: Shell’s top bosses named in £8 billion lawsuit after being spared the sack: 25 April 2004
Daily Mail: Shell attacked from all sides: 26 April 2004
(OIL giant Shell urgently needs to embark on a damage limitation offensive with investors before regulatory probes and lawsuits send the crisis spiralling out of control.)
Daily Telegraph: Shell gives Watts a £1m golden farewell: 23 May 2004
Daily Telegraph: Shell slices still more off proven reserves: 25 May 2004
Daily Telegraph: Watts’ pension pot tops £10m: 28 May 2004
fin24: Shell directors under fire: 20 June 2004
Extract: “The report came just a day after Dutch paper NRC Handelsblad quoted a former executive of one of the oil group’s subsidiaries as saying half of the company’s 400 most senior managers were aware of the problem.”
London Evening Standard: Shell ‘has lied for 10 years’: 26 June 2004
Sadistic sacking of a Royal Dutch Shell whistleblower: 27 October 2010
Shell Closes Book on 2004 Reserves Scandal as Claims Deadline Passes: 5 November 2010 read more

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

SIR PHILIP WATTS: A BROKEN SHELL

By John Donovan

Royal Dutch Shell Group Chairman Sir Philip Watts, was forced to resign as a result of the fraudulent over-statement of claimed hydrocarbon reserves.

Sir Philip subsequently became a very rich vicar, after a payoff package from Shell worth nearly $20 million to buy his silence.

Link to a John Donovan file containing extensive news coverage.

RELATED COURT DOCS

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

Reuters: Shell’s oil and gas reserve life drops for sixth year in a row

GRAPHIC-Shell’s oil and gas reserve life drops for sixth year in a row

Reuters – UK Focus:

* Shell’s reserve life drops below 8 years

* Investors have shifted focus away from reserves to profits

By Ron Bousso

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – The number of years of production left in Royal Dutch Shell’s oil and gas reserves fell for the sixth year in a row in 2019 to below eight.

But there was little reaction from investors to the steady decline in what was once considered a key metric for gauging the strength of the world’s major oil and gas companies.

There is a growing perception the world holds enough oil and gas to meet demand many times over, especially against the backdrop of a gradual shift away from fossil fuels because of concerns about climate change. https://reut.rs/2GBtBvC read more

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

Shell Prelude FLNG: Not bad for an evil company ……!

From An old EP hand.

Despite the many mistakes and poor management in Shell in the mid 90s leading up to the reserves scandal in 2004,  a truly dark period in the leadership of Shell, we are still proud of some huge projects as shown in the clips.

Perhaps of use for your site. And as you so often point out, the majority of the Shell staff are decent hardworking people doing a good job. The fact that management went off the rails starting with Herkstroter and culminating in the reserves scandal which was an inevitable conclusion of the Phil Watts regime does not diminish the efforts of the engineering by the staff. Even Shell got it sometimes wrong to appoint the right leaders! read more

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

Second Wave of International Institutional Investor Lawsuits Accusing Danske Bank of Fraud and Money Laundering Filed by Grant & Eisenhofer

G&E also directed litigation against Royal Dutch Shell which led to a $400 million investor settlement in 2007, the largest securities fraud settlement in Europe at the time.

NEWS PROVIDED BY: Grant & Eisenhofer P.A: Oct 21, 2019, 12:00 ET

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Oct. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — A second wave of lawsuits has been filed by an international coalition of institutional investors in the ongoing financial fraud case against Danske Bank A/S.

The new investor suits were brought by leading U.S. shareholder law firms Grant & Eisenhofer P.A.

G&E also directed litigation against Royal Dutch Shell which led to a $400 million investor settlement in 2007, the largest securities fraud settlement in Europe at the time. read more

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

Call for a Public Inquiry into Shell offshore deaths

Malcolm Brinded, standing trial for Corruption in Italy over Nigerian OPL 245 oil deal, a key figure in many Shell scandals, including the tragic deaths on Brent Bravo.

EMAIL TO ALL MP’s: ON 1st OCT, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL CEO BEN VAN BEURDEN HAD ADVANCE SIGHT OF THE TOXIC FACTS SET OUT HEREIN. NO LEGAL ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN TO STOP YOU SEEING THIS. 

Although I am not one of your constituents, I hope you agree that the safety of UK offshore workers is a matter of importance to ALL MP’s. Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake. Please at least glance through the information below, which includes my name and address. 

SHELL NORTH SEA PLATFORM WORKER DEATHS DESERVING A FULLY INFORMED PUBLIC INQUIRY

Just how bad does has a company have to be before the Church of England withdraws investment on ethical grounds?

You may have seen the email I recently sent to over around 1,000 parliamentarians, including senior clergy and the former Scottish Energy Minister Baroness Liddell, who, as you will see, has a Shell connection. The email was about the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Church of England’s significant investment in Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Many thanks for all the responses received.

I would like to bring to your attention just one of the many scandals rattling around in Shell’s corporate cupboard. read more

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SHELL IGNORED REPEATED ALARM BELLS ABOUT MALCOLM BRINDED, AS HAS THE ENERGY INSTITUTE

Brinded’s reaction to the devastating findings and recommendations of the Campbell led review was to shoot the messenger, namely, Bill Campbell. Brinded chose to ignore the stunning findings by the audit team and the recommendations made by its leader Mr. Campbell in relation to the Asset Manager. Instead, Brinded supported the mentally unhinged “foaming at the mouth” Asset Manager who was able to return to his tyrannical TFA regime shortly thereafter, despite his instability. Compared with him, Captain Bligh was a sweetie. The inevitable fatal outcome accurately foretold in the review, resulted from the ruthless, unprincipled criminal decision by Brinded to put production before safety. Astonishing stuff bearing in mind that the Asset Manager repeatedly blamed “his master” Brinded, who he colourfully described as a “bastard”

SHELL HAD ADVANCE SIGHT OF THIS ARTICLE AND ATTACHMENT, AND THEREFORE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION TO PREVENT PUBLICATION. THE SAME APPLIES TO BARONESS HELEN LIDDELL 

LINK: THE PLATFORM SAFETY MANAGEMENT “STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL” REVIEW NOTES IN WHICH ALL OF THE INFORMATION BELOW, AND MUCH MORE, CAN BE SEEN IN JAW-DROPPING CONTEXT

By John Donovan

In November last year the brother of Keith Moncrieff, one of two workers who in 2003 tragically died in an accident on the Shell Brent Bravo North Sea oil platform, sent a heart-rending letter to Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chairman Charles Holliday.

He pleaded for help in bringing “these evil men to justice” – a reference to the Shell executives and officials he now knows were responsible for what the Scottish courts determined were “avoidable deaths“.  As far as I am aware, no reply was forthcoming. Not even the courtesy of an acknowledgment. (UPDATED 3 Oct 2018 PM: IN FACT MR HOLLIDAY DID REPLY AND DID OFFER HIS CONDOLENCES – SEE THE BOLD BLUE TEXT FURTHER DOWN) read more

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

Shell Wages Legal Fight Over Web Domain Name royaldutchshellplc.com

Shell critic John Donovan

…in a spectacular blunder, Shell neglected to register what was the top-level domain name for the new company. Shell lawyers discovered, no doubt to their consternation and horror, that their most enduring critic had beaten them to the registration of royaldutchshellplc.com

Extracts from the ebook “John Donovan, Shell’s Nightmare” (now available on Amazon websites globally)

Extracts from pages 149 & 150

In 2004, a huge scandal engulfed the Royal Dutch Shell Group after it fraudulently over-stated its claimed oil and gas reserves – the most important factor in determining the value of an oil company.

As a direct consequence, the Anglo-Dutch arms of the Royal Dutch Shell Group – Shell Transport and Trading Company Plc and Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, were forced to merge into a single new company: Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

However, in a spectacular blunder, Shell neglected to register what was the top-level domain name for the new company. Shell lawyers discovered, no doubt to their consternation and horror, that their most enduring critic had beaten them to the registration of royaldutchshellplc.com. read more

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

Corrupt bunch of liars and cheats at Shell

John Donovan 1984

By John Donovan

My company Don Marketing supplied the spectacularly successful Shell Make Money game that ran on Shell forecourts during 1984/5 in a number of countries, including the UK. 

Years later, Shell deliberately ignored the signed confirmation of agreement below while surreptitiously producing a subsequent flawed Shell Make Money without our knowledge or consent. 

Shell executives blatantly lied about what was going on but was forced to settle the matter after Don Marketing issued a High Court Writ. read more

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

Shell are in trouble. Deep trouble.

Peter Robinson’s dossier on Shell Nigerian corruption?

FROM A POSTING ON OUR SHELL BLOG – IS THE AUTHOR THE “STREET FIGHTER” PETER ROBINSON?

Dear John,

I believe Shell are in trouble. Deep trouble. Not only has this OPL OML debacle seen the back of some of its most senior execs, Brinded, Voser, Henry etc but now we can expect to see a Pandora’s Box being opened by Peter Robinson. I expect fireworks. The company is very quick when it comes to deploying its resources to bully and shut up it’s external critics or shamelessly pay off those that dare to challenge them. However, in Robinson they are going in to battle with a street fighter who will fight dirty and go down fighting given the alternative is to spend years behind bars. Robinson is a very shrewd business man and will have records of all the corrupt practices that the company was part of, the processes being flouted and the management who were turning a blind eye. I’ve been to Nigeria a few times on business and am always left dumbfounded by how many dodgy things take place in the offices and are part of everyday life. Robinson spent years there and will have an extensive dossier. I think its too late now for Shell to be able to stop the likes of Robinson opening their mouths, with the use of money. Having made an enemy of him points again to seriously incompetent senior advisors within the company. Had no-one heard of ‘keep your friends close, keep your enemies even closer’? It will be a very slippery slope. Van Beurden should use a part of his obscene salary it invest in a good tin hat. I would also advise him to have a good summer clear out of all those who have been advising him on the matter, and of those who failed to stop this from becoming an issue as big, if not bigger, than the infamous reserves scandal. read more

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

Champagne bottles to be uncorked at Shell HQ

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad

Shell is hoisting arch-rival ExxonMobil in the neck

Bert van Dijk • Entrepreneurship: 

A few more weeks and the champagne bottles can be uncorked at Shell headquarters. Then the British-Dutch oil and gas multinational for the first time in decades again greater in terms of market value than arch-rival ExxonMobil. At least, if the current price development at both companies continues at the current rate.

Where Exxon has had to deal with setbacks that have affected production, results and returns in recent years, investors are actually charmed by Shell’s growing cash flow, his lucrative oil and gas projects in the deep sea near the US and Brazil, the big financial discipline and cost savings. Important also: an announced share repurchase of $ 25 billion in the period up to the end of 2020. read more

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