BP

Shell Eyes Venezuela’s Oil Jackpot: Climate Promises Take Another Holiday

Mar 15th, 2026

Comments are off for this post

Just when you thought the world’s biggest oil companies might slow down their hunt for new fossil-fuel frontiers, along comes Venezuela — the planet’s largest untapped oil treasure chest — and suddenly climate pledges look suspiciously like optional extras.

According to fresh reports, Chevron and Shell are moving closer to major oil and gas agreements in Venezuela, marking the first large-scale deals since the country’s political upheaval and reopening of its energy sector to foreign investment. 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.

Perplexity: 20 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories (Shell is number 3)

Mar 13th, 2026

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

Created by Perplexity: Here is a 20‑company ranking, extending the logic and criteria of the original article (severity, scale, duration, and notoriety of controversies).

Top 20 companies with highly controversial histories

Bayer (Germany) – IG Farben participation, forced labour at Auschwitz-Monowitz, and role in supplying components for Zyklon B during the Nazi era, followed by later pharmaceutical and agrochemical controversies.watchmojo+1

Volkswagen (Germany) – Founded under the Nazi regime, heavy use of forced labour during WWII, and the modern diesel emissions‑cheating scandal affecting millions of vehicles globally.ig+1

Royal Dutch Shell / Shell plc (UK / Netherlands) – Long-running allegations over pollution and human‑rights issues in the Niger Delta, major 2004 reserves overstatement scandal, and historical controversy around Sir Henri Deterding’s interactions with Nazi Germany.royaldutchshellplc+1 read more

COPILOT: 20 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories (Shell is number 2)

Mar 13th, 2026

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

CREATED BY COPILOT: Here’s a ranked, interpretive “top 20” list of global companies with especially long and controversial histories—environmental damage, human rights, corruption, product harms, and governance scandals. The order is judgment-based, not a formal metric.

Rank	Company (current or successor)	Main areas of controversy
1	ExxonMobil	Climate denial, environmental disasters, lobbying against climate policy
2	Royal Dutch Shell	Oil spills, Niger Delta conflict, climate litigation, alleged human rights complicity
3	Deepwater Horizon spill, safety record, environmental damage
4	Union Carbide / Dow	Bhopal disaster, toxic chemicals, long‑tail liability disputes
5	Monsanto (now part of Bayer)	Glyphosate health claims, GM seeds, Agent Orange legacy, farmer lawsuits
6	Volkswagen Group	Diesel emissions cheating, regulatory deception, environmental impact
7	Meta Platforms (Facebook)	Data privacy, misinformation, mental‑health concerns, content moderation failures
8	Amazon	Labour conditions, union busting, surveillance, antitrust and tax practices
9	Nestlé	Infant formula marketing, water extraction, child labour in cocoa supply chains
10	Philip Morris International / Altria	Tobacco health harms, youth marketing, long history of denial and lobbying
11	Rio Tinto	Indigenous rights violations, mine disasters, environmental damage
12	Glencore	Corruption cases, resource extraction impacts, market manipulation allegations
13	Foxconn (Hon Hai)	Worker suicides, harsh factory conditions, excessive overtime
14	Boeing	737 MAX crashes, safety culture, regulatory capture concerns
15	HSBC	Money‑laundering cases, sanctions breaches, tax‑evasion facilitation
16	Goldman Sachs	Role in 2008 crisis, Abacus deal, 1MDB scandal, conflicts of interest
17	Uber Technologies	Aggressive “growth at all costs” tactics, labour classification, data misuse, “Greyball”
18	Wells Fargo	Fake accounts scandal, sales‑pressure culture, repeated consumer abuses
19	Chevron	Ecuador rainforest pollution case, other environmental and community disputes
20	Samsung Electronics (group context)	Chaebol governance issues, corruption cases, labour and safety controversies

Brief context by company

ExxonMobil: Long‑running accusations that it funded climate‑science denial while its own research showed fossil‑fuel risks; major spills and refinery pollution, plus intense lobbying against climate regulation.

Royal Dutch Shell: Oil spills (notably in the Niger Delta), allegations of complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria, and prominent climate lawsuits over its emissions trajectory.

BP: The Deepwater Horizon disaster became one of history’s worst marine oil spills, highlighting safety and risk‑management failures; BP has also faced criticism over other spills and its broader environmental footprint.

Union Carbide / Dow: The 1984 Bhopal gas leak in India killed and injured thousands; disputes over compensation, remediation, and responsibility have persisted for decades, now tied to Dow as the corporate successor.

Monsanto (Bayer): Criticised for glyphosate (Roundup) cancer claims, aggressive enforcement of seed patents, GM crops, and the legacy of Agent Orange; it frequently appears on lists of “most infamous” corporations.

Volkswagen Group: “Dieselgate” revealed systematic cheating on emissions tests worldwide, leading to huge fines, recalls, and reputational damage, and it remains a flagship ESG‑controversy case.

Meta Platforms (Facebook): Cambridge Analytica, repeated data‑privacy failures, algorithmic amplification of misinformation and hate, and concerns about mental‑health impacts have made Meta a central ESG and tech‑ethics flashpoint.

Amazon: Criticised for warehouse working conditions, anti‑union tactics, intense productivity surveillance, tax strategies, and market dominance; it features heavily in ESG‑controversy datasets.

Nestlé: Long‑running infant‑formula marketing scandals, accusations of over‑extracting groundwater, and child labour in cocoa supply chains have given Nestlé one of the most persistent reputational shadows.

Philip Morris International / Altria: Tobacco’s health toll, historic denial of smoking risks, youth‑targeted marketing, and lobbying against regulation make these firms emblematic of product‑harm controversies.

Rio Tinto: Criticised for mine‑related environmental damage and for destroying the 46,000‑year‑old Juukan Gorge Aboriginal heritage site in Australia, sparking global outrage over Indigenous rights.

Glencore: Has faced multiple corruption and bribery investigations, sanctions‑related cases, and scrutiny over environmental and social impacts of its mining and trading operations.

Foxconn (Hon Hai): Known for harsh working conditions, excessive overtime, and a cluster of worker suicides at Chinese plants supplying major electronics brands.

Boeing: The 737 MAX crashes exposed serious issues in safety culture, engineering oversight, and regulatory relationships, leading to criminal settlements and ongoing scrutiny.

HSBC: Involved in major money‑laundering and sanctions‑breach cases, including handling funds for drug cartels, and has been repeatedly fined by regulators.

Goldman Sachs: Central to several high‑profile scandals, including its role in the 2008 financial crisis and the 1MDB corruption case, raising questions about conflicts of interest and governance.

Uber Technologies: Built a reputation for “move fast, break rules” tactics: regulatory evasion tools, toxic internal culture, sexual‑harassment scandals, and disputes over driver classification and rights.

Wells Fargo: Created millions of fake customer accounts under extreme sales pressure, then faced further issues around auto‑insurance, mortgages, and governance failures.

Chevron: Best known for the long‑running Ecuador rainforest pollution case and other environmental disputes, plus aggressive legal counter‑campaigns against critics and plaintiffs.

Samsung Electronics (wider Samsung group): Part of a chaebol system repeatedly linked to corruption and political scandals in South Korea, alongside labour and safety controversies in its electronics supply chain.

20 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories (Shell is number 11)

Mar 13th, 2026

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

Created by GROK: The Long Shadow of Industry: 20 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories (Independent Research-Based Ranking)

This expanded ranking follows the exact same criteria as my previous top-10 list (and the referenced article): documented human-rights abuses, environmental devastation, measurable scale of harm (deaths, long-term health impacts, displaced/affected populations, ecological/economic costs), and enduring legacy. It draws exclusively from cross-verified court records, official reports (Amnesty International, EPA, science panels), journalistic investigations, declassified documents, and historical scholarship. Where companies have issued apologies, paid reparations, funded memorials, or reformed practices, this is explicitly noted. Many legacies involve complex geopolitical contexts or government contracts, but the focus remains on corporate decisions and outcomes. read more

The Long Shadow of Industry: 10 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories

Mar 12th, 2026

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

Below is a historically informed, but inevitably interpretive, list of major companies still operating today whose records include some of the most severe ethical controversies. The ranking considers factors such as human-rights abuses, environmental damage, scale, and duration. I’ve also indicated where companies have formally acknowledged or apologised for past wrongdoing.

The Long Shadow of Corporate Power

From wartime collaboration to environmental disasters, the historical controversies that still follow some of the world’s largest companies.

Large corporations often span generations, and with that longevity comes history — sometimes admirable, sometimes deeply troubling. Some of the world’s most recognisable companies have been connected to events that remain controversial decades later. The following overview highlights ten corporations still in existence whose histories include some of the most debated episodes in modern industrial history. read more

Profile of Shell’s nightmare, John Donovan, extracted from Amazon

Jan 26th, 2026

by John Donovan.

Comments are off for this post

Profile of John Donovan extracted from Amazon where his Shell focussed books have been sold for many years despite threats from Shell lawyers.

In 1979, John Donovan was the co-founder of a sales promotion company, Don Marketing, which created promotional games for blue chip clients such as BP. read more

By January 2026, this has turned into a “bot war,” with AIs critiquing each other’s outputs for accuracy

Jan 5th, 2026

by John Donovan.

Comments are off for this post

“Latest developments as of early 2026 suggest an escalation involving AI chatbots, where Donovan queries systems like Grok, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot about the feud, publicizing their responses to highlight inconsistencies and historical claims of corporate espionage”

Question put to Grok 5 Jan 2026

What are the latest developments in the Donovan Shell feud?

Answer by Grok

Key Points

Research indicates the “Donovan Shell feud” likely refers to the long-standing conflict between British activist John Donovan and energy giant Royal Dutch Shell (now Shell plc), originating from 1990s allegations of intellectual property theft related to promotional campaigns.
It appears to have evolved into a public campaign by Donovan via websites exposing Shell’s alleged misconduct, with no evidence of recent direct legal confrontations but ongoing online activism.
Latest developments as of early 2026 suggest an escalation involving AI chatbots, where Donovan queries systems like Grok, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot about the feud, publicizing their responses to highlight inconsistencies and historical claims of corporate espionage—though these AI outputs often include unverified or speculative elements.
Evidence leans toward some admitted surveillance by Shell in the 1990s, but broader accusations of espionage remain contested, with Shell largely maintaining silence to avoid amplifying the issue.
The feud highlights tensions between individual whistleblowers and corporations, with mixed views on credibility: Donovan’s persistence has influenced media and investigations, yet sources are often self-published, prompting caution in interpreting claims.

Background

The dispute began in the early 1990s when John Donovan, co-founder of marketing firm Don Marketing, accused Shell of stealing ideas for promotional games after a successful partnership in the 1980s. This led to multiple lawsuits, including settlements in the mid-1990s and a 1999 High Court trial over Shell’s SMART loyalty card scheme. Donovan has since operated gripe websites like royaldutchshellplc.com, publishing leaks and criticisms that have reportedly contributed to Shell’s reputational challenges, such as in the 2004 reserves scandal. Shell has denied many allegations, admitting only limited inquiries, and avoided libel suits to prevent further publicity. read more

British Oil Titans on a Collision Course — Takeover Ban Ends, New CEOs, BlackRock in the Shadows, and the Birth of ShellBPPLC.com

Dec 21st, 2025

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

Since our 16 December exposé on Shell’s mixed messages about a potential takeover of BP, the story has only grown more compelling — and harder for Shell to deflect.

Ban Lifted, Rumours Reignite

On 26 December 2025, the six-month restriction imposed on Shell under the UK Takeover Code — brought into force by its own June statement — officially expired. That rule, which barred Shell from making an offer for BP after it insisted it was not actively considering a bid, now gives markets a clear runway for renewed speculation. read more

Shell Caught in Its Own Web of Denials — What the Gut Resignation Really Reveals

Dec 16th, 2025

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

“…when that resignation reveals a disconnect between public denials and private possibilities, the issue becomes one of corporate governance and market integrity.”

On 26 June 2025, Shell plc issued a brief, carefully worded statement denying any active consideration of a takeover bid for its long-time rival BP plc, asserting that “no talks have taken place,” and that the company was not “actively considering making an offer.” Shell went further, invoking the UK City Code to effectively bar itself from approaching BP for six months under takeover restrictions.

Today’s news exposes that statement for what it was: a strategic smokescreen, not a transparent clarification. read more

Shell M&A Chief Resigns After Push to Acquire BP Is Blocked by CEO

Dec 16th, 2025

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

By John Donovan

In a significant development at one of the world’s largest energy firms, Shell’s head of mergers and acquisitions, Greg Gut, has resigned following internal opposition to a proposal to take over rival oil major BP. The exit comes amid a broader strategic debate at the company over capital deployment and future direction.

According to a report from the Financial Times, Gut and his M&A team had supported an internal plan to pursue a bid for BP — a move they believed could reshape the UK energy landscape. Shell’s chair, Sir Andrew Mackenzie, was reportedly open to the idea. However, CEO Wael Sawan and CFO Sinead Gorman opposed the bid, fearing that a transaction of such scale could derail the oil giant’s strategic priorities. read more

Shell and Apartheid: A Documentary History

Oct 24th, 2025

by John Donovan.

Comments are off for this post

Shell and Apartheid: A Documentary History of Support, Complicity, and Counter-Campaigns (1950s–1994)

By John Donovan: Published: 24 October 2025

Preface

This is not a story that begins with a single memo or ends with a press release. It is an institutional record spanning decades, continents, and boardrooms. It features a company that says it “opposed apartheid,” yet repeatedly chose the path that kept South Africa’s apartheid economy running: investing, supplying, lobbying, and—when public pressure spiked—deploying an elaborate influence operation to neutralise critics. That company is Shell. read more

Shell’s London Escape Route: Is the Oil Giant Preparing to Jump to New York?

Oct 21st, 2025

by John Donovan.

Comments are off for this post

Here’s the latest on Shell plc’s plan to move its listing to New York — with an investigative, critical lens.

By John Donovan (with AI collaboration)

21 October 2025

When a corporate behemoth begins to flirt with another stock exchange, the romance is rarely innocent. Shell plc — once Royal Dutch Shell plc, before dropping the “Dutch” as neatly as a discarded partner — is now openly courting Wall Street.

The CEO, Wael Sawan, has been muttering about “value gaps” and “unlocking potential,” code for what London traders hear as: we’re tired of being undervalued in a city that drinks warm beer instead of crude profits. read more

BP Slips Off the Spotlight While Shell Struggles to Light Its Candle

Oct 2nd, 2025

by John Donovan.

Comments are off for this post

When BP Steps Back, Shell Lights Up (Or Tries To)

In a twist that’s making all the wrong people blink, has quietly withdrawn from the high-stakes takeover dance. The energy giant was reportedly eyeing Ampol, an Australian fuels and infrastructure company. But now it’s told stakeholders: not us, thanks. (“BP quietly steps out of the takeover spotlight.”)

Meanwhile, Shell—the ultimate sin stock—is still scrambling for scraps of legitimacy in the energy transition. BP’s retreat offers it a weird kind of spotlight: “Look how far behind Shell is.” read more

Oil, Arms & WTF: Shell, BP and the $43bn Al-Yamamah Scandal

Sep 21st, 2025

by John Donovan.

Comments are off for this post

When Britain’s largest ever export agreement turns out to be part fighter jets, part oil barrels, and part money-laundering scheme, you know Shell and BP won’t be far from the action. The Al-Yamamah arms deal wasn’t just about Tornados flying to Riyadh. It was also about crude oil flowing to London, and then through Shell and BP into Western banking systems. The real WMD? “Wealth Made Disappear.”

The Basics: What Was Al-Yamamah?

Al-Yamamah (“The Dove”) was the name given to a series of gargantuan arms contracts between the UK and Saudi Arabia starting in 1985. Britain promised Saudi Tornado fighters, Hawk trainers, missiles, ships, and infrastructure. In exchange, the Saudis delivered up to 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day — routed through the British government. BAE Systems (then British Aerospace) was the prime contractor. read more

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

Sep 15th, 2025

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

“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

Shell’s Energy “Transition” Hits a 20-Year Low in Oil Output – And Wall Street Still Claps

Aug 8th, 2025

by admin.

Comments are off for this post

After dabbling in green PR and selling off assets, Shell’s production tanks while Exxon and Chevron pump away. BlackRock yawns.

Oh, Shell. The self-proclaimed champion of “Powering Progress.” The oil giant that flirted with an “energy transition” just long enough to slap wind turbines on its annual report before sprinting right back to its first love: fossil fuels. And yet—somehow—it’s producing less of them than at any point in the last two decades.

Let’s set the stage. In the great oil-and-gas Olympics of Q2, Exxon and Chevron took home gold medals in pure, unapologetic extraction. Exxon pumped 4.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, fuelled by Guyana’s deepwater gushers and a little something called the Pioneer Natural Resources acquisition. Chevron cranked out 3.4 million barrels per day, with Kazakhstan, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Permian all coughing up crude like it’s still 1973. read more

30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan

The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.
Extremely slow broadband for 10 months, not fixed. I have had slow broadband well below the guaranteed speed for 10 months and Shell Energy have not been able to fix it. They have tried sending about 4 or 5 engineers but have not fixed the problem. Gurps, who I have been dealing with most recently, has been friendly and polite, alth… Read more

Extremely Slow Shell Broadband

BP

Share this:

Like this:

Created by Perplexity: Here is a 20‑company ranking, extending the logic and criteria of the original article (severity, scale, duration, and notoriety of controversies).

Top 20 companies with highly controversial histories

Share this:

Like this:

Brief context by company

Share this:

Like this:

Created by GROK: The Long Shadow of Industry: 20 Global Companies with the Most Controversial Histories (Independent Research-Based Ranking)

Share this:

Like this:

The Long Shadow of Corporate Power

From wartime collaboration to environmental disasters, the historical controversies that still follow some of the world’s largest companies.

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

“Latest developments as of early 2026 suggest an escalation involving AI chatbots, where Donovan queries systems like Grok, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot about the feud, publicizing their responses to highlight inconsistencies and historical claims of corporate espionage”

Key Points

Background

Share this:

Like this:

Ban Lifted, Rumours Reignite

Share this:

Like this:

“…when that resignation reveals a disconnect between public denials and private possibilities, the issue becomes one of corporate governance and market integrity.”

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Shell and Apartheid: A Documentary History of Support, Complicity, and Counter-Campaigns (1950s–1994)

Preface

Share this:

Like this:

Here’s the latest on Shell plc’s plan to move its listing to New York — with an investigative, critical lens.

Share this:

Like this:

When BP Steps Back, Shell Lights Up (Or Tries To)

Share this:

Like this:

The Basics: What Was Al-Yamamah?

Share this:

Like this:

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

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Sir Henri Deterding, resurrected!

JOE LYCETT DISCUSSES SHELL WITH JOHN DONOVAN

Meta

John Donovan’s ebooks

JOHN DONOVAN TV DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEW

SHELL EXECUTIVES AT THE CENTER OF A SCHEME TO STEAL $1.3 BILLION FROM NIGERIA’S PEOPLE

SHELL ADMITS DEALING WITH NIGERIAN MONEY LAUNDERER – BBC NEWS

SHELL, ENI AND NIGERIAN OFFICIALS IN OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL

INVESTIGATION OF OPL 245 NIGERIAN OIL CORRUPTION SCANDAL

DUTCH EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY SHELL/EXXON

SHELL KILLS FOR OIL IN NIGERIA

SHELL LIED ABOUT CLEANING UP OIL IN NIGER DELTA

SHELL SPIES INFILTRATED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

LEGO DROPS SHELL OVER GREENPEACE OIL SPILL VIDEO

SHELL ARCTIC DRILLING ACCIDENTS

SHELL KNEW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE DECADES AGO

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL FOUNDER SIR HENRI DETERDING, NAZI FINANCIER

JOHN DONOVAN PROMOTIONAL GAMES FOR SHELL AND OTHER CLIENTS

Archives

SHELL OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENT OF THIS WEBSITE

Critic’s corner

The worst ever

The worst ever

30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan

The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.

OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES

DISCLAIMER

Categories

SHELL PROPPED UP APARTHEID

Royal Dutch Shell plc .com Cookies Policy