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Shell’s Groningen Hangover: Dutch State and NAM Clash Over a €789 Million Earthquake Bill

Mar 17th, 2026

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If you ever needed a case study in how fossil fuel profits can turn into long-term liabilities, look no further than Groningen — where the bill for decades of gas extraction has finally landed… and nobody wants to pay it.

This week, the Dutch state and Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) — the Shell-Exxon joint venture that once turned Groningen into Europe’s gas powerhouse — faced off in court over who should cover hundreds of millions of euros in earthquake damage compensation.

The sum in dispute? A modest €789 million. Pocket change for an oil major — until it isn’t. read more

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

Mar 13th, 2026

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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

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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.

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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

Failure Pays Well: Shell CEO Bags 60% Pay Rise as Profits Slide and the Planet Warms

Mar 12th, 2026

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In the strange universe of global oil capitalism — where gravity appears to work in reverse — Shell’s chief executive has just demonstrated the timeless corporate principle that less profit can still mean more pay.

According to Shell’s newly released annual report, CEO Wael Sawan’s remuneration surged by more than 60% to £13.8 million in 2025, up from £8.6 million the previous year.

The catch?

Shell’s profits fell sharply at the same time.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $18.5 billion for the year — down from $23.7 billion previously, a drop of roughly 22%. read more

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

Jan 26th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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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

BREAKING: Oil Companies, including Shell, Lobby White House on Venezuela — Because Why Not Take the Whole Planet?

Jan 21st, 2026

by John Donovan.

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In what can only be described as the most perfectly obvious development in the history of obvious developments, major U.S. oil interests have apparently decided that nothing says “tasteful business practice” like quietly leaning on the White House about Venezuela while the world watches.

Lobbying disclosures reveal that Chevron, Shell’s U.S. arm, PBF Energy, and Phillips 66 have all been energetically encouraging the U.S. government to reshape its Venezuela “strategy” — you know, amidst the recent regime change and mild international eyebrow-raising — specifically so they can cash in on that totally stable and functioning oil economy. read more

Shell and the Shaking Ground: How a Fossil Fuel Empire Helped Create Earthquakes, Trauma, and a Generation of Unsettled Lives

Nov 7th, 2025

by John Donovan.

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Once upon a time — and not very long ago — certain corporate and government voices insisted that earthquakes in places without natural fault lines simply couldn’t happen. The Netherlands was solid. Groningen was safe. The ground beneath families, schools, and lives was reliable. Except it turns out none of that was true — because some earthquakes can be manufactured, engineered, or to put it bluntly, provoked.

And the culprit was not tectonics.

It was extraction.

Extraction at scale.

Extraction for profit. read more

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

Oct 21st, 2025

by John Donovan.

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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

Shell Dodges Justice—Again: Groningen Quakes Leave Cracks in Homes, Trust, and the Law

Oct 8th, 2025

by John Donovan.

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Another Earthquake, Another Escape Clause

In a move that shocked precisely no one familiar with the Dutch gas saga, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced that NAM — the joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil — will not be prosecuted for creating “life-threatening danger” in the Groningen gas field, despite years of earthquakes, crumbling houses, and shattered nerves.

👉 Read the NL Times coverage

The OM admitted that NAM had “consciously accepted the risk” that drilling would cause earthquakes and endanger residents — but claimed that wasn’t enough to secure a criminal conviction. In plain English: Yes, they knew people could be hurt. No, that’s not a crime. Next question. read more

Pay the Quakes, Lock the Budget, Forget the Culprits?” — The Groningen Law that Lets Shell Breathe Easier

Oct 2nd, 2025

by John Donovan.

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NAM, of course, is the joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil that milked Groningen for decades.

The Dutch caretaker cabinet has pushed a new Groningen Law through to Parliament that promises faster payouts for quake-damaged homes — and a lighter legal load for the polluters who helped cause the mess. As NL Times reports: “The Caretaker Dutch cabinet has submitted the Groningen Law, which finalizes compensation for damages caused by gas extraction, to the Tweede Kamer, despite strong criticism from the Council of State.”

The bill would guarantee compensation up to €60,000 even without proof that gas extraction caused the damage — tidy for homeowners in a hurry, also tidy for corporate defendants who prefer fewer courtroom surprises. read more

Purple Pump, Black Ledger: Shell’s Charity PR Meets Its Dirty Past

Sep 12th, 2025

by admin.

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Shell — the greedy, ruthless, polluting oil giant and perennial sin stock — is back with its annual feel-good campaign: The Giving Pump. You fill up at a purple pump; money goes to local charities; everyone smiles for Instagram. Shell’s own press release beams: “The Giving Pump goes to show how small choices—like where you fuel up—can add up to meaningful change,” says Barbara Stoyko, SVP for Mobility & Convenience Americas. “The Giving Pump works so well because of our generous retailers. They are the ones selecting the charities benefitted by our purple pumps because they know the causes that matter most to the customers in their communities.” And St. Jude’s ALSAC chimes in: “We are grateful for our friends at Shell… Every small act of kindness… helps St. Jude advance scientific research and treatment…” Lovely words, quoted verbatim from Shell’s 9 Sept 2025 release. Read the release. read more

Equal misery, equal money: Groningen’s tenants can finally claim Shell-quake mental-health damages too

Sep 10th, 2025

by admin.

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Groningen’s long-suffering renters, resident kids, and unmarried partners have just been upgraded from second-class victims to full members of the Earthquake Club. The Mining Damage Institute Groningen (IMG) now treats non-homeowners the same as homeowners when awarding compensation for mental anguish caused by the man-made quakes from gas extraction. Or, as IMG itself put it: “The rationale behind this expansion is that non-homeowners can experience the same degree of suffering and grief as homeowners.” read more

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

Aug 8th, 2025

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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

Shell-BP Megamerger: When Greed Meets Greenwash in a Match Made in Hydrocarbon Hell

Jun 3rd, 2025

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When Shell CEO Wael Sawan responded to speculation about a mega-merger with BP, he said the bar for acquisitions was “very high.” Clearly, it’s not nearly as high as Shell’s tolerance for greenhouse gas emissions, human rights controversies, or sheer corporate arrogance.

Now, as rumours swirl about Shell swallowing up its once-proud British cousin, BP, we are once again reminded that in Big Oil, consolidation is just a polite word for “expanding your emissions footprint while doubling your marketing budget.” read more

Shell Games: Champagne Bonuses, Cracked Climates, and the BP Bait-and-Switch

May 18th, 2025

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In the latest episode of Oilopoly: Climate Be Damned, Shell—the planet-warming powerhouse formerly known as Royal Dutch, now just royally brazen—is facing a pesky little revolt. No, not from the millions affected by its carbon-spewing empire or the earthquake survivors of Groningen, but from its own shareholders, clutching their pearls at the audacity of an £8.6 million payday for CEO Wael Sawan.

Yes, Sawan—the man who makes eight figures while fending off climate lawsuits with one hand and greenwashing with the other—received a nearly £1 million raise last year. Apparently, polluting the planet, greenlighting LNG expansion, and flirting with a BP takeover is now a performance bonus category. 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

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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

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Brief context by company

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

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

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Another Earthquake, Another Escape Clause

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NAM, of course, is the joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil that milked Groningen for decades.

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