Shell — the cuddly face of fossil fuel finesse. The benevolent, planet-loving oil titan that brought you a century of greenhouse gases and quarterly profits fatter than a deep-fried oil rig. But this time? The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) wasn’t buying their entitlement routine.
In what can only be described as an institutional eye-roll, FERC sided with Venture Global LNG Inc., ruling that the company is not obligated to serve Shell all non-public documents going forward. Translation: just because Shell’s used to throwing its corporate weight around doesn’t mean it gets VIP access to everything behind the curtain.
This all stems from Shell’s never-ending hissy fit over Calcasieu Pass — Venture Global’s LNG plant in Louisiana — where Shell is a paying customer. They demanded access to internal, non-public documentation because nothing says reasonable corporate conduct like shouting “transparency!” while investing billions in planet-charing energy.