News and information on Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Royal Dutch Shell will set carbon emissions targets next year and link these to executive pay, reversing its chief executive’s opposition and following intense pressure from shareholders who want fossil fuel companies to take greater responsibility for their contribution to global warming. FULL FT ARTICLE
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 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.
Today I would like to bring to your attention just one of the many scandals rattling around in Shell’s corporate cupboard.
On 31 December 2015 there was an uncontrolled flaring event at the Corrib Gas installation which resulted in Shell being successfully prosecuted by the EPA.
This release is for information purposes only and Shell to Sea will not be making any further comment other than to quote from their press release following Minister White’s grant of consent where Ms Harrington is quoted as saying ‘The Judicial Review of Alex White’s decision should prove interesting’.
The Shell to Sea Campaign has three main aims:
January 30th, 2018The sites are included on the environmental watchdog’s National Priority Site (NPS) list, which is updated on a quarterly basis. Six of the sites account for more than half of all complaints received in 2017, the majority of which concerned odour, noise or dust.
SCREENSHOT FROM A RELATED VIDEO CLIP
Of particular concern to Shell, the author provides first-hand insight into Shell’s security and intelligence activities in Nigeria, Iraq, Iran, Ireland and other global hot spots and details how Shell worked with US, UK and Dutch Intelligence and military agencies to further their mutual agendas. The author also discusses Shell’s secret communications with MEND militants in Nigeria through intermediaries. By John Donovan
I suspect that Shell in particular, should be very concerned about a book in the pipeline called “CRUDE INTENTION”. I say this because the author is a former senior manager of Shell Global Security.
Unlike the MI6 “people” hired by Shell including Guy Colegate, John Copleston and Ian Forbes McCredie, and the FBI officials recruited for their government connections like former FBI Deputy Director Richard Garcia, the author is a career security & business professional in the oil & gas industry whose own principles and ethics often conflicted those of his spymaster bosses and coworkers; including the monitoring of our activities as part of a Shell global surveillance operation.
The article goes on to say: The prime minister faces a choice between allowing Ms Fitzgerald to be removed or leave, or continuing to support her and risking the collapse of deal with Fianna Fáil that underpins his minority government.
Calls for Fitzgerald’s resignation came after revelations she was aware of Gardai strategy to discredit Garda whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe.
“All this time, the Minister for Justice continued to state her full confidence in the Garda Commissioner who was responsible for this attempt to grievously undermine Sgt McCabe.
Comment by John Donovan
The above message relates to Shell sponsored corruption of the Irish police force in relation to the Corrib Gas project. The Minister referred to in the message is Ms Frances Fitzgerald, T.D. – currently Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland whose actions in relation to corruption in the Irish police looks like they may bring down the whole Irish government. Later today I will publish my correspondence on Irish police corruption with the minister.
It was at my instigation that the subject was first raised in the Irish Parliament.
Now, some of the financial cost to the Corrib Gas Partners, Shell Ireland, Statoil and Vermilion Energy from the odourless gas being pumped into the network can be revealed.Gordon Deegan: Irish Independent: Wednesday 1
Corrib Gas Partners lost out on estimated natural gas revenues of around €38m in the third quarter of this year as a result of odourless gas getting into the network and a scheduled downtime.
Production ceased at the Bellanaboy gas terminal in Co Mayo on September 9th for a scheduled downtime and a total of 31 days of production were lost.
This was as a result of odourless gas being pumped into the gas network in the west of Ireland after the plant was restarted temporarily.
Extracts from the ebook “John Donovan, Shell’s Nightmare” (now available on Amazon websites globally)Extract begins
My Shell insider sources have received threats, including alleged death threats, as reported by The Irish Times in April 2011: Gardaí investigate alleged death threats to Corrib whistleblowers
The last message I received from one Sakhalin2 source advised that they had received a credible serious threat. I never heard from that particular insider again.
A press release issued by Shell UK in March 1995 provides some idea of the degree of acrimony and the wide scope of our campaigning activities.
Barry O’Halloran: 14 Oct 2017
The Corrib natural gas field off the west coast lost €140 million last year, according to accounts filed by its operator, Shell E&P Ireland.
Global oil and gas giant, Royal Dutch Shell, is selling its 45 per cent stake in the Corrib operator to a Canadian pension fund for up to €1.08 billion. Accounts for Shell E&P Ireland show that it lost €140 million in 2016 as the cost of running Corrib exceeded the revenues that it earned. The figures show that the company’s sales were €182.2 million, but costs of €359.4 million and a near €10 million interest bill left it with losses of €187 million. A tax credit of €47 million reduced this to €140 million.
News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Oct 1st, 2017 – For immediate release
— Shell to Sea has cumulative knowledge of the Shell/Corrib project, and is capable and willing to put hard questions to CER and EPA. —
The latest fiasco in the Shell refinery at Bellanaboy resulted in as yet unspecified volumes of un-odourised gas entering the national gas grid and as yet unknown quantities of toxins released to land, sea and air in Erris, north Mayo. Shell to Sea has produced a list of specific questions for CER (recently renamed to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities) and EPA, the two statutory bodies charged with investigating this most recent lapse in Shell’s ‘global technical expertise’. [1, 2]
A week ago, the Irish Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan warned the corruption-ridden Irish police Force (the Gardaí) that he wants to see “all the skeletons out of all of the cupboards” in terms of Garda scandals and controversies. One such scandal is the “Strange tale of Shell’s pipeline battle, the Gardaí and £30,000 of booze.”
Shell has been a corporate sponsor of police corruption in Ireland aided and abetted by its ”Mr Fixit” company OSSL, who freely admit their involvement in distributing bribes on behalf of Shell to smooth the path of the controversial Corrib Gas Project. Despite the confession, Shell has thus far managed to escape due retribution.
(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) are working to remove unodourised gas that entered the network from the country’s Corrib gas field and has curbed output since last week, Shell said.
Due to a technical problem at the Shell-operated Bellanaboy Bridge gas terminal in Ireland, unodourised gas entered the network, forcing GNI to ask local customers to switch off their gas meters on Sept. 22-23, a Shell spokesperson said.
Unodourised gas cannot be easily detected as it cannot be smelt. Normally odourants are added before the gas reaches customers so people can detect gas leaks by scent. Undetected gas can lead to an explosion or fire.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER RIGHT: A still of the flare from a video by Rossport resident, Mary Corduff.
By Áine Ryan: 26 Sept 2017
COMPANIES selling ‘potentially dangerous energy products’ are obliged ‘to ensure that there is no risk to the customer’. That was according to Minister Michael Ring in the aftermath of news breaking last Thursday night about the fact that odourless gas from the Corrib refinery had entered the network for Galway and Mayo. The crisis, which involved a 36-hour flaring operation at the Bellanaboy refinery in order to push the odourless gas back out of the network, has since been resolved as two State inquiries continue into the potentially dangerous situation.
Lorna Siggins: 22 Sept 2017
Two State investigations are under way into the release of odourless gas into the natural gas supply in the west of Ireland after a “technical fault” at the Corrib gas refinery.
More than 9,000 customers in counties Galway and Mayo were advised to shut down supplies on Thursday until further notice for safety reasons, and the State’s national gas emergency plan was invoked.
Gas Networks Ireland said it had restored a safe supply to 60 per cent of those affected by Friday evening, mainly in Galway city and parts of the county.
“Shell has brought their worst practice in Nigeria into the beautiful Barony of Erris – how dare they and how dare this state allow Shell to poison a pristine environment and the health of future generations; this cannot be spun as a spurious health and safety concern – it’s incompetent and negligent; it is our Place and our People who suffer the consequences while unaccountable, faceless functionaries reap their pensions”News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Sept 22nd, 2017 – For immediate release
— Shell’s incompetence puts lives in danger all over Mayo and Galway. —
Following Shell’s latest fiasco of putting odourless gas into the Irish gas network, Shell to Sea has again highlighted the lack of regulation and monitoring of Shell in relation to the Corrib Gas project. [1,2]
Shell to Sea spokesperson Terence Conway stated “During construction of the Corrib project, Shell were a clear danger to lives in this area, but now it is clear that they are a danger to lives further afield also. We have no confidence in the state to regulate or control Shell.”
: I am not sure I want to know which one of our leaders is a child sex offender. I would like to know if management hired the guy aware of his past history?
: Is this another sensitive subject where we can we expect a memo from Donny Ching warning us not to discuss it with colleagues?
: Guess his hiring and promotion prove Shell is an equal opportunities employer.
"Equal opportunity means that all people will be treated equally or similarly and not disadvantaged by prejudices or bias. This means that the best person for a job or a promotion is the person who earns that position based on qualifications, experience and knowledge. Workplace diversity values everyone's differences."
It does make the workplace uncomfortable for everyone who has contact with him. On the other hand, he has to work somewhere or otherwise conviction would amount to a life sentence for repellent acts carried out 14 years ago.
: RECEIVED FROM A SHELL INSIDER SOURCE
"INTEGRITY OF LEADERSHIP" ...as a Shell staff member, I am always concerned about the integrity of the leadership team at any level. ...there is a recently promoted individual in a key leadership role. Staff are not happy working for this person as he is a registered sex offender since 2004 for aggravated sexual assault against a child. xxxxxxx website has his full profile including yearly pictures. All verifiable in the public domain. ...but for some reason management are turning a blind eye. It says a lot for the company! His conviction lists his full name as.............. You can confirm the Shell link via xxx. He works for Shell xxxxxx. Staff are appalled that he has now promoted in a key leadership role working with suppliers like xxxxxxx to improve the quality of services provided to Shell. Some suppliers are now also beginning to learn his history and quietly voicing surprise." (Some of the above information has been redacted by John Donovan. The name of the relevant individual in a Shell leadership role has been verified from court records and social media)
: Exshellman speaks of 'The BG merger for many was a final nail in the coffin, some of the hand picked people for the new club don't know their arse from their elbows.' This could not be more appropriate than for the Brasil Asset which is probably currently plotting its next fraud against Petrobras. These miscreants should be flushed out of the system, but are probably biding their time and counting their share options waiting for them to vest, and also waiting for their next bonus to be announced before considering jumping ship. They make little to no valid contribution to the Asset. Let's hope that their commutes are long and arduous, though most of them have probably weaselled a 'working from home' option, from where they do little work and can make endless cappuccinos at the shareholders expense!
: That well known Schlumberger ex-Chief with 'operations experience', Andrew Gould (Mr Corridor having seen fit to distance himself from the BG Group debacle) is now in the news as Chairman of a Houston based outfit called Sentinel, a blank-check company . The latter having struck lucky with a pipeline company called Strike in a $854MM deal. “If I take all my experience in the oilfield, I don’t think I see any other service segment which has been so outsourced as this one,” said Gould. Strike’s main focus will remain pipeline maintenance. The deal comes less than a year after Sentinel raised $345 million in an initial public offering. The company, which up until now had no assets, was set up as a so-called special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Gould is returning to public life after helping orchestrate the sale of the failed BG Group to Shell for $54 billion in 2016. Let's hope that there is a knighthood in it for him!
: The release of the Shell Brent PSMR is shocking testimony of the culture these pathetic incompetents administered without challenge. When Shell was generating huge revenue for the treasury, the regulator, even government ministers had their heads in the sand and a lack of accountability meant they could move on to spread their malignance. Finlayson took his “talents” to BG, another company ruined by pathetic incompetents with the same DNA.
Brinded joined Network Rail who appointed Mark Carne, another Shell/BG stray, described in one tabloid as the “bungling rail chief”. It’s ironic he now talks about (Rail Engineer 27.09.18) joining from Shell “part of an industry with a strong safety culture” and being motivated by big businesses, which are “safety-critical”, with more waffle about safety leadership and safety performance.
: Bill, now the full horror of your findings during the Expro audit have been made available via Johns’ web site I wonder what kind of reaction, if any, will be generated. In retrospect and with hindsight, publishing earlier might have sealed Brinded’s demise sooner and he would never have risen to an apparent level of “the untouchable”.
The Italians hopefully will ensure he will be disgraced never to be any where near a responsible position again.
: After the Shell BG merger completed in 2016 , a lot of really good people lost their jobs , it was handled terribly by the HR dept and the so called 'General Managers' culled some of the best experts they had ...in less than a year of the redundancies Shell were struggling and now with the lack of expertise...they have had to take in contractors to fill staff positions ..within a year of the redundancies ... they could be liable if people took this issue up.. Also Shell were looking at hiring back some old boy network ...who are now pensioners to come back in as managers to help out with the problems ..LOL . they have so much dead wood staff on their books and the company is ran like a club. I'm glad to be away from the farce that Shell became , the malaise started around about 2004 when they began to lose the plot. The BG merger for many was a final nail in the coffin, some of the hand picked people for the new club don't know their arse from their elbows. The only way Shell actually make profits is when the oil price goes high... when Brent is low they can't compete within their quartile or peer groups. I'll keep abreast here on the blog
: I’ve just come across an article "Tips & Insights: A World-class Combination" about the proposed combination of Royal Dutch Shell, one of the largest companies in the world and 'best known for its gasoline stations' and BG Group, a natural gas specialist.
The article centres on Sarah Franklin, (BG chief counsel, with a list of responsibilities, including health and safety after her name), who would be BG’s legal lead for integration planning.
Franklin has apparently added other governance matters, including human rights and whistleblowing investigations to her legal skill set. She set up BG’s first whistleblowing program.
If you are a Shell employee, be extremely cautious about the content of the two preceding paragraphs. If you have concerns, especially those with a safety connotation and you wish to engage with her……….beware.
: I listened to the then BG Group chief executive drool over the Petrobras ‘partnership’ at his award speech for GB Personality of the Year by the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in 2013 (https://youtu.be/pfknsxjT2Rw). He described many extraordinary moments during this partnership, a relationship that had flourished with ‘mutual trust and respect and super giant discoveries’, which was going from strength to strength. He was looking to a very long future with many more Eureka moments for BG and its partners in the years and decades to come. So why would they want to put such ‘jewel’ in the Shell crown and who was responsible for this? At that time did anyone envisage the fall from grace in the coming months and years? Since then there has been turmoil in both companies, what could possibly have gone wrong. Insiders will know the answer.
: Andrew Gould, Chairman of the disgraced BG Group, who allegedly was seeking a knighthood by joining the company has gone to ground. Given his contractor mind set coupled with his training as an accountant does not bode well for the industry. His LinkedIn profile shows that he is still Chairman of BG Group, as well as being a Board Member (Non Executive!) of Saudi Aramco. Given that Saudi Aramco are going to drop their IPO, this could well leave 'Mr Corridor' twiddling his thumbs and wondering how he can manoeuvre back into a position where he can achieve his ambition of being knighted.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
Comments RSS Feed