Shell PLC

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 25 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 25th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 25 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-068

The Sakhalin Papers LVIII: The Audit After the Spill — What Shell’s Lenders Were Being Told About Sakhalin II

In December 2005, an independent lenders’ audit of Sakhalin II Phase I entered the documentary record. A later German parliamentary motion, citing the report by name, said that two-thirds of 90 matters examined produced negative results concerning compliance with environmental standards. A separate submission by WWF, Friends of the Earth and The Corner House said the same audit criticised management of oil-spill response equipment and found that materials used after the Cristoforo Colombo accident had not been replaced. The audit itself has not been located in the publicly accessible sources reviewed for this file. Those descriptions must therefore remain attributed. But Shell’s own 2005 Sustainability Report independently acknowledges another serious compliance problem: contractors had not always followed the agreed safeguards for environmentally sensitive river crossings, forcing Sakhalin Energy to halt its winter work programme, retrain contractors and tighten monitoring.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-068
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal audit cited in the record: 2005 Lenders Tier III HSE Audit for Phase One, RSK ENSR, December 2005
Authenticated corporate source: The Shell Sustainability Report 2005
Lender records: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Phase I project record and 2005 Annual Report
Contemporaneous reporting: The Observer, June 2005; Financial Times, December 2005
Parliamentary records: German Bundestag Drucksache 16/1668; UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee evidence
Judicial record: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin)
Evidence standard: The underlying RSK ENSR audit has not been located in the publicly available record examined here. Statements about its findings are therefore attributed to the organisations and parliamentarians who cited it. Shell and lender statements are identified as such. No court ruled on the findings of the December 2005 audit. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 21 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 21st, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 21 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-064

The Sakhalin Papers LIV: The Russian LNG Contract That Survived — Shell Announced Its Exit in 2022. Its 2025 Accounts Still List the Novatek Deal

In March 2022, Shell announced that it intended to withdraw from all Russian hydrocarbons, including LNG. Yet a long-term contract signed with Novatek in 2015 survived the withdrawal from Sakhalin, survived the disposal of Shell’s Russian retail business, and was still being reported by Shell in its 2025 Form 20-F, published in March 2026. Shell confirmed in 2023 that it was continuing to receive Yamal LNG cargoes under the agreement. The latest accounts confirm that the contract still exists — but do not establish whether Shell is still physically taking cargoes today. New European and British restrictions now place a significant regulatory deadline at the beginning of 2027.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-064
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated records: NOVATEK contract announcement, 4 June 2015; Shell Russia statements, February–March 2022; Shell Annual Reports 2022–2025; UK sanctions regulations and guidance; EU REPowerEU gas regulation
Contemporaneous reporting: Reuters, Interfax and Argus
Evidence standard: The existence of Shell’s long-term Novatek contract is established by Shell’s latest SEC filing. Continued physical receipt of Yamal LNG was confirmed by Shell in February 2023. No public evidence located for this instalment establishes that Shell continues taking individual Yamal cargoes in September 2026. Those are separate propositions and are treated separately below. 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.

Prelude Worker Injured After Machinery Energised During Manual Task — NOPSEMA Orders Shell to Fix Safety Controls

Sep 18th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Australia’s offshore regulator says a Prelude FLNG technician suffered hand fractures after turning gear moved unexpectedly during a manual engagement task. NOPSEMA found that Shell had not implemented effective engineering controls to prevent automatic operation and was relying too heavily on procedures, communication and worker actions to control hazardous energy.

Shell Australia has been issued with a new occupational health and safety improvement notice at Prelude FLNG after a worker suffered fracture injuries to the hand during the startup of a steam turbine generator. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 16 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 16th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 16 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-059

The Sakhalin Papers XLIX: “Unfinished Business” — Seventeen Years, 639 Recommendations and the End of the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel

In November 2021, the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel met for the last time. Its seventeen-year experiment in independent scientific oversight had changed pipelines, seismic-survey procedures, vessel management and corporate environmental practice. An independent evaluation concluded that it had materially reduced risks to the whales. Yet when the Panel closed, essential questions about prey, data access, cumulative impacts and long-term monitoring remained unresolved. Then Russia invaded Ukraine. Shell and Exxon began withdrawing. The institutional structure that had held companies, scientists, lenders, regulators and NGOs around the same table abruptly entered a different world.

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1. The final meeting

The Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel held its 22nd and final meeting at IUCN headquarters in Gland, Switzerland, in November 2021.

It was the end of an experiment begun in 2004, when an Independent Scientific Review Panel was convened to assess the potential effects of Sakhalin II Phase 2 on the gray whales feeding off north-eastern Sakhalin.

The later WGWAP arrangement was unusual.

Sakhalin Energy helped finance the process.

IUCN administered it.

Independent scientists produced the recommendations. 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 Spying, Corporate Intelligence and Security: Documentary Chronology

Sep 14th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Shell Spying, Corporate Intelligence and Security: Documentary Chronology

Four of the most important emails.

1. 24 June 1998 — Richard Wiseman admits the Shell connection to Christopher Phillips.
This moves the story beyond pure allegation.
Read the document

2. 9 July 1998 — Wiseman: “The activities of Mr Phillips have, of course, been admitted.”
A particularly clear contemporaneous formulation. (johndonovan.website)
Read the document

3. 21 March 2007 — Shell’s global monitoring email.
The strongest evidence that Shell later monitored global internal email and website traffic in an effort to identify sources communicating with Donovan. (shellnews.net)
Read the Shell internal email 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 13 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 13th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 13 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-056

The Sakhalin Papers XLVI: One in Five Bore the Scars — When Fishing Nets Became the Next Major Threat

The western gray whales feeding off Sakhalin were recovering. Their IUCN status would soon improve. But another danger was becoming impossible to ignore. In 2013, Sakhalin Energy personnel photographed mothers and calves within 100 metres of newly deployed salmon nets near Piltun Lagoon. By 2018, peer-reviewed research found evidence of fishing-gear injury on 28 of 150 photographed whales — 18.7 per cent. The same research classified coastal salmon set nets near Piltun as presenting a “very high” entanglement risk. The documentary record also contains an important complication: this was not an impact caused by Shell’s oil and gas operations. Sakhalin Energy helped identify and report the threat.

1. The recovery did not remove the danger

The previous instalment ended with an apparently contradictory picture.

The whales feeding off north-eastern Sakhalin were increasing in number. By 2018 the IUCN would move the western subpopulation from Critically Endangered to Endangered.

Yet recovery did not mean security.

A small population recovering from historical commercial whaling remained vulnerable to relatively few avoidable deaths — particularly deaths of reproductive females and calves.

And one of the next dangers to emerge was not an oil platform, seismic airgun or tanker. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES — 12 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 12th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES — 12 SEPTEMBER 2026

Archive reference: SLF-2007-055

The Sakhalin Papers XLV: From Critically Endangered to Endangered — What the Whale Recovery Did, and Did Not, Prove

By 2016, Shell could point to a genuinely encouraging development off Sakhalin: the western gray whales feeding near its giant oil and gas project were increasing in number. Shell’s own Sustainability Report recorded an estimated rise from 115 animals in 2004 to 174 in 2015. Independent conservation organisations reported the same trend. Two years later, the IUCN changed the western gray whale’s status from Critically Endangered to Endangered.

That was real progress. But the documentary record does not establish that Shell caused the recovery, that industrial disturbance had ceased to matter, or that the whales were safe. In fact, the independent scientific record becomes more complicated precisely at the point where the headline numbers begin to look most reassuring. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 10 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 10th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 10 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-053

The Sakhalin Papers XLIII: Twenty-One Days of Airguns — What Actually Happened During the 2015 Piltun-Astokh Survey

The argument over whether the 2015 seismic programme should take place ended when Exxon completed its Odoptu survey on 7 July. The following day Sakhalin Energy began firing. Twenty-one days later its Piltun-Astokh programme was complete. The company acquired all 36 planned lines, recorded more than 80,000 shot points and shut the source down five times for marine mammals. But almost half of the environmentally sensitive A-lines were acquired at night, acoustic equipment failed, the full complement of real-time monitoring buoys was not available, and much of the crucial pre-survey behavioural-monitoring period was consumed by training and troubleshooting. WGWAP ultimately concluded that the mitigation component had been implemented satisfactorily. It did not say the monitoring programme was flawless — or that the whales were unaffected.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-053
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal primary record: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Report of the Sixteenth Meeting, Moscow, 22–24 November 2015
Supporting primary records: Sakhalin Energy 2015 Monitoring and Mitigation Plan; company after-action material reviewed by WGWAP; IUCN Independent Observer report; WGWAP Noise Task Force material
Authenticated Shell record: Royal Dutch Shell plc Sustainability Report 2015
Contemporaneous reporting: Reuters, 23 July 2015; contemporary May 2015 reporting of the WGWAP seismic controversy
Court record: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used solely for the earlier Sakhalin II environmental and public-finance context
Evidence standard: Sakhalin Energy’s operational assessments are identified as company positions. WGWAP conclusions are identified as independent scientific findings or recommendations. Operational compliance is not treated as proof of absence of biological effect. Later peer-reviewed analyses are distinguished from what was known immediately after the 2015 survey. 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.

Books About Shell

Sep 9th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Books About Shell: An Expanded Bibliography

Introduction

Royal Dutch Shell, now Shell plc, has generated an unusually large body of literature stretching from official corporate histories and executive memoirs to academic studies, environmental investigations, human-rights accounts and books written by people directly involved in disputes with the company.

The bibliography below includes:

  • histories commissioned or published by Shell;
  • independent corporate histories;
  • biographies of important Shell figures;
  • books about particular Shell businesses and projects;
  • books concerning Nigeria, Ogoni and Ken Saro-Wiwa;
  • books about Brent Spar and Corrib;
  • studies of Shell’s celebrated scenario-planning system;
  • broader histories of the international oil industry in which Shell is a significant subject;
  • and Amazon Kindle books by John Donovan concerning his long-running relationship with Shell.

The descriptions below are original summaries rather than reproductions of publishers’ copyrighted descriptions.

Early Royal Dutch and Shell Histories

1934

An International Oil Man

Author: Sir Henri Deterding, as told to Stanley Naylor
Format: Print 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 9 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 9th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 9 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-052

The Sakhalin Papers XLII: The Airguns Return — How One 4-D Survey Became a Cumulative-Acoustic Crisis

Sakhalin Energy began planning its next Piltun-Astokh 4-D seismic survey as a reservoir-management exercise. By May 2015, the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel was confronting something much larger. Exxon Neftegas and Rosneft also intended major seismic programmes. The independent scientists warned that almost the entire nearshore feeding and nursery habitat could be exposed to industrial noise, questioned whether all the surveys should proceed in the same season, and ultimately issued a formal Statement of Concern. Sakhalin Energy did not accept postponement — but neither did it simply ignore the Panel. The documentary record shows negotiation, redesign, reduced source strength, coordination between companies, and a fundamental disagreement over how much cumulative disturbance was acceptable.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-052
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal primary records: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Report of the Fifteenth Meeting, 8–9 December 2014; WGWAP Statement of Concern, 8 May 2015
Supporting technical records: WGWAP Noise Task Force reports, 2013–2015; Sakhalin Energy response to WGWAP Statement, 23 May 2015
Authenticated Shell record: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2014
Contemporaneous public record: IUCN, Keeping whales safe in sound, 20 January 2014; Sakhalin Energy public response, May 2015
Court record: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used solely for the earlier Sakhalin II environmental and public-finance context
Evidence standard: WGWAP recommendations are identified as independent scientific advice, not regulatory orders. Sakhalin Energy’s technical and commercial explanations are identified as company positions. Exxon Neftegas and Rosneft were separate operators; nothing in the records examined establishes that Shell controlled their seismic programmes. Later scientific findings are distinguished from what was known before the 2015 surveys began. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 7 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 7th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 7 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-050

The Sakhalin Papers XL: The Blue Location — PA-C Moves Offshore, but a Safer Site Is Not a Green Light

Sakhalin Energy’s 2012 South Piltun survey produced exactly the sort of result that independent environmental engagement was supposed to achieve. The work finished earlier than the whale scientists’ deadline. No Health, Safety and Environment incident was reported. The feared shallow-gas problem beneath an alternative platform site was not confirmed. And the proposed PA-C location moved farther offshore — away from the Western Gray Whale feeding area and closer to existing pipelines. But the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel did not treat those improvements as approval of the third platform. Before any irreversible decision, it wanted a full assessment of critical habitat and cumulative impacts. The survey had made PA-C easier to locate. It had not answered whether PA-C should be built.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-050
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal primary record: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Report of the Twelfth Meeting, Geneva, 5–7 November 2012
Supporting scientific record: WGWAP Noise Task Force and Western Gray Whale research programme material
Authenticated Shell records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2012; Royal Dutch Shell plc Sustainability Report 2012
Contemporaneous reporting: AFP/WWF, February 2012
Court record: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used solely for the earlier Sakhalin II financing and environmental-disclosure context
Evidence standard: Statements made by Sakhalin Energy to WGWAP are reported as company representations. WGWAP conclusions are identified as independent scientific advice. “No HSE incident” is not treated as proof that the survey produced no biological response. The “blue location” remained a proposed platform site; PA-C had not received a final investment decision. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 6 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 6th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 6 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-049

The Sakhalin Papers XXXIX: The Survey Before the Platform — WGWAP Helps Sakhalin Energy Search for PA-C While Refusing to Endorse It

Before Sakhalin Energy could decide whether to build a third offshore platform, it first had to establish where that platform might safely stand. That meant another seismic operation beside the Western Gray Whale feeding grounds. The resulting episode exposed one of the most difficult questions in the entire WGWAP experiment: could independent scientists help Shell’s Sakhalin venture conduct the survey more safely without becoming part of the machinery advancing the very development they had warned should not yet proceed?

Archive reference: SLF-2007-049
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal scientific records: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Report of the Eleventh Meeting, February 2012; WGWAP Noise Task Force records, November 2011; Report of the Twelfth Meeting, November 2012
Contemporaneous reporting: WWF campaign material, February 2012; AFP, 9 February 2012
Later scientific record: IUCN, “Keeping whales safe in sound”, January 2014
Evidence standard: The South Piltun/PA-C development remained under study during the principal period examined. WGWAP was an independent scientific advisory body, not a regulator. Its participation in survey design and mitigation is not characterised as approval of the proposed platform. WWF statements concerning extinction risk and lender responsibility are identified as campaign positions. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 5 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 5th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 5 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-048

The Sakhalin Papers XXXVIII: The Third Platform — PA-C Arrives Before the Scientists Have Finished Assessing the Last Expansion

In December 2010, the independent scientists advising Sakhalin Energy expected the industrial pressure around the Western Gray Whale feeding grounds finally to ease. PA-B construction was over. The controversial Astokh seismic survey was complete. Instead, Sakhalin Energy disclosed plans for another major development: South Piltun and a possible third offshore platform, PA-C. The company said no final investment decision had been taken. WGWAP nevertheless issued an unusually explicit recommendation: construction should not begin until the effects of earlier noise disturbance were better understood and appropriate mitigation was in place.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-048
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal scientific records: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Reports of the Ninth Meeting, December 2010, and Tenth Meeting, May 2011
Authenticated Shell record: Royal Dutch Shell plc Sustainability Report 2010
Contemporaneous reporting: IUCN, 7 January 2011; Reuters, 18 January 2011; WWF/IFAW contemporary material
Court record: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used solely for the earlier Sakhalin II environmental and public-finance context
Evidence standard: The proposed PA-C platform was at a planning stage. No final investment decision had been taken at the period examined here. WGWAP was an independent scientific advisory panel, not a Russian licensing authority or court. NGO objections are identified as advocacy positions. Statements attributed to Sakhalin Energy are distinguished from WGWAP findings and later commentary. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 4 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 4th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 4 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-047

The Sakhalin Papers XXXVII: The Survey They Could Not Control — Rosneft, Twelve Governments and the Seismic Guns in the Whale Feeding Season

Sakhalin Energy’s own 2010 seismic survey had been postponed for a year, redesigned with independent scientists and subjected to real-time shutdown rules. Then another operator entered the same whale habitat. IUCN appealed to Vladimir Putin. The International Whaling Commission recommended postponement. A British-coordinated approach brought together twelve governments. Russia concluded that Rosneft’s own mitigation arrangements required no additional measures. The survey went ahead. Months later, the independent Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel examined acoustic records and found sound levels it considered capable of disturbing feeding whales — and inferred that parts of the feeding area may have experienced levels potentially capable of damaging hearing.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-047
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal scientific record: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, Report of the Ninth Meeting, Geneva, 3–6 December 2010
Principal government/scientific correspondence: WGWAP letter to Rinat Gizatulin, Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 19 April 2010; IUCN appeal to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, May 2010; International Whaling Commission 62nd Annual Meeting record, June 2010
Authenticated Shell record: Royal Dutch Shell plc Sustainability Report 2010
Contemporaneous reporting: The Guardian, 14 July 2010; AFP, 24 June 2010; WWF material issued 7 September 2010
Court record: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used here solely for the earlier Sakhalin II environmental and public-finance context
Evidence standard: Measured acoustic data are distinguished from inferred exposure levels. NGO observations concerning whale displacement are identified as preliminary allegations, not established causation. The Russian government’s regulatory position is recorded alongside the WGWAP assessment. No court ruling identified for this instalment determined that Rosneft’s 2010 survey was unlawful. 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 SHELL LEAKS FILES: 3 SEPTEMBER 2026

Sep 3rd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 3 SEPTEMBER 2026

SLF-2007-046

The Sakhalin Papers XXXVI: The Survey Returns — Four Shutdowns as the Whale-Protection Plan Was Put to the Test

Sakhalin Energy abandoned its planned 2009 seismic survey after independent scientists recommended postponement. A year later the survey returned. This time an elaborate system of acoustic buoys, shore observers, vessel observers, exclusion zones and real-time shutdown authority stood between the seismic guns and the Western Gray Whales. Shell’s own 2010 Sustainability Report subsequently acknowledged that operations were stopped several times when whales were nearby.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-046. Collection: The Sakhalin Papers. Principal records: Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel Monitoring and Mitigation Plan for the 2010 Astokh 4-D seismic survey; WGWAP Reports of the Eighth and Ninth Meetings; Shell Sustainability Report 2010; contemporaneous Sakhalin Energy statements; Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin), used only for the earlier legal and environmental context. Later peer-reviewed studies are used to assess what the monitoring data eventually showed. 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 Buys Into BP’s Conifer Prospect: Deepwater Rivals Team Up as Oil and Gas Growth Takes Priority

Sep 2nd, 2026
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan

Shell has taken another step deeper into the US Gulf, agreeing to acquire a 30% interest in BP’s Conifer exploration prospect, a high-pressure deepwater opportunity sitting close to BP’s developing Kaskida production hub.

Reuters reported on 2 September 2026 that Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, will acquire the interest while BP retains 70% and remains operator. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Shell’s own announcement confirms that Conifer lies in Keathley Canyon, around 250 miles southwest of New Orleans, and that the first exploration well is currently expected to be drilled in 2027. 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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