EMAIL BEING SENT THIS WEEKEND TO EVERY UK MP. 

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Hypocrisy

Justin Welby is in hot water again. He has criticised another controversial company, last time Wonga and this time the tax-shy Amazon. Both later embarrassingly revealed to be businesses in which the Church of England is an investor. 

BBC Newsnight aired a package on Friday 14 Sept drawing attention to the subject and the Church of England’s numerous questionable investments. In particular, its holdings in BP and Shell, both described as being toxic. 

I can speak with some authority in relation to the toxicity of Shell. read more

Outspoken articles about Shell up to end of 2016

For Jan 2017 onwards click here

Dan Etete turns on his accomplices Eni and Shell: 30 Dec 2016

Alarm Bells – Shell Pearl GTL gasifiers crippled?: 28 Dec 2016

Shell’s complicity in human rights abuses in the Niger Delta: 27 Dec 2016

ENI AND SHELL TO BE PROSECUTED OVER OPL 245 $1.1 BILLION CORRUPTION SCANDAL: 24 Dec 2016

A devastating blow for Shell in U.S. Federal Court: 23 Dec 2016

Explosive allegations around Shell and Eni’s OPL 245 deal: 23 Dec 2016

Obama’s April Fool’s Joke Approving Shell Arctic Drilling: 22 Dec 2016

RoyalDutchShellGroup.com for Shell Breaking News:21 Dec 2016

THE OPL 245 SCANDAL INVOLVING SHELL: 21 Dec 2016

Corruption of Police by Shell: 16 Dec 2016

Shell cost-cutting plan will undermine the welfare of its pensioners: 12 Dec 2016

Shell Canada President Michael Crothers says Canada should stick to its values: 29 Nov 2016

Pleased to assist Leigh Day in Suing Shell says John Donovan: 22 Nov 2016

21st Anniversary Commemoration of Ogoni Martyrs: 12 Nov 2016

LIVING IN TRUMPWORLD: 11 Nov 2016

The Uncensored History of the Shell Brent Oil and Gas Field: 9 Nov 2016

Award for deadly Corrib Gas Project: 8 Nov 2016

Irish Police, Shell, Corruption and Alcohol: 7 Nov 2016

No credibility in Shell Peak Oil Forecasts, says John Donovan: 3 Nov 2016

Hearing on Royal Dutch Shell: Committee Room 1, House of Commons Wednesday 2 November 2016: 1 Nov 2016

Lament for Royal Dutch Shell: 14 Oct 2016

CORRUPT IRISH POLICE FORCE: THE GARDA: 10 Oct 2016

Australian Government unconvinced about FLNG safety claims: 28 Sept 2016 read more

By John Donovan

I wonder if Paddy was thinking of Shell when he published this on this Facebook page?

The grotesquely high “compensation packages” of the Directors of the likes of HSBC as well as being morally repugnant are also bad for business. The rewards for making it to the top are so obscene that ladder climbers will do anything to make it. So every decision they take is driven by their own ambition and their need to kowtow to those who might appoint them to these golden jobs. This is a brake on creativity and innovation and on long-term thinking. read more

3 July 2014

By John Donovan

Interesting to note that my association with Royal Dutch Shell is so strong after a three decade relationship, that according to current information listed on zoom info (screenshot below), I am credited as being the founder, owner and Group Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Guess it was only a matter of time. I now await the appropriate fat cat financial package with a multi-million pension pot.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

zoominfo.com page 22 Sept 2015

Ben van Beurden was private assistant and adviser to Sir Philip Watts during the two years prior to the shock announcement of the reserves scandal in January 2004, which resulted in a firestorm of devastating news coverage that still reverberates today, 10 years later. This was during the period when false information was routinely given to investors about Shell’s claimed oil and gas reserves. As private assistant and adviser to Watts, Ben van Beurden must have known what was going on and must have been complicit in the cover-up? Is it impossible to find suitable Shell leadership candidates untainted by failure and scandal?

By John Donovan

The Observer newspaper has today made the valid point that “Van Beurden knows what failure looks like, as he was a personal assistant to former chairman Sir Philip Watts when Watts was axed over the reserves scandal of 2004.”

This startling fact has rightly been highlighted in a number of articles published since the appointment of Ben van Beurden as the new CEO of Royal Dutch Shell Plc was first announced.

Ben van Beurden was private assistant and adviser to Sir Philip Watts during the two years prior to the shock announcement of the reserves scandal in January 2004, which resulted in a firestorm of devastating news coverage that still reverberates today, 10 years later. read more

If only it was possible to resurrect Sir Henri Deterding at his best, the extraordinary Dutchman who built the Royal Dutch Shell Group. In his first couple of decades at Shell he was a brilliant decisive leader brimming with ambition, ideas and incredible determination. He would have acted to exploit BP’s self-inflicted misfortunes, whereas Van der Veer and Voser let the opportunity pass and instead took Shell down a disastrous path placing all bets on so-called elephant projects that turned out to be white elephants.

By John Donovan

In my view, the last Shell executive director/Chairman who had any gumption and plain commonsense was Sir John Jennings.

Since his time, long term Shell shareholders have witnessed a parade of hopelessly incompetent Royal Dutch Shell fat cat bosses.

The roll call of failed leaders includes Sir Philip Watts, Jeroen van der Veer and Peter Voser.

All three mired by disappointment and scandal.

Jorma Ollila has been non-executive Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell Plc for several years spanning the tenures of the last two failed CEO’s and has proven equally uninspiring and flawed. read more

At 55, Van Beurden, who replaced Peter Voser earlier this month, is a 30-year veteran at Shell where his career has mainly been focused on managing downstream businesses such as refining and chemicals. This week, as he announces full-year earnings, City analysts expect him to unveil details of a potential $15bn to $30bn (£9.1bn to £18.1bn) garage sale… Shell has a reputation for gluttony when it comes to tackling giant energy projects, betting billions of dollars on strategic investments aimed at building reserves and capturing future demand decades in advance. Those days may be over.

By Andrew Critchlow: 8:00PM GMT 25 Jan 2014

On the face of it, Royal Dutch Shell’s new chief executive, Ben van Beurden, and Bob Dudley, his counterpart at , are a world apart.

At 55, Van Beurden, who replaced Peter Voser earlier this month, is a 30-year veteran at Shell where his career has mainly been focused on managing downstream businesses such as refining and chemicals.

This week, as he announces full-year earnings, City analysts expect him to unveil details of a potential $15bn to $30bn (£9.1bn to £18.1bn) garage sale, signalling a new era of capital discipline and streamlining at the Anglo-Dutch supermajor. read more

Simon Henry was CFO when the ship was set on its disastrous course of over-promise and under-delivery, beset by project delays and cost overruns, resulting in the recent profits warning and the dramatic advice just issued by Zacks Investment Research that Royal Dutch Shell Plc is “a risky bet that ordinary investors should exit.” He has had a hand on the helm throughout the long voyage, during the Sakhalin2 debacle, the Corrib Gas Corruption scandal and more recently, Shell’s Arctic ambitions hitting the rocks. As I have previously pointed out, he also had a starring role in the reserves scandal and managed to evade the flak on that occasion as well. Just how many lives has this Shell fat cat got?

By John Donovan

The role of RDS Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry, in the instability that has overtaken Shell, thus far seems to have largely escaped scrutiny and blame?

He is the most senior remaining Royal Dutch Shell executive spanning the tenure of the last three top executives at Shell, Sir Philip Watts (dishonest bullying egomaniac), Jeroen van der Veer (dishonest and out of his depth) and Peter Voser (incompetent and ill-advised).

Simon Henry was CFO when the ship was set on its disastrous course of over-promise and under-delivery, bedeviled by project delays and cost overruns, resulting in the recent profits warning and the dramatic advice just issued by Zacks Investment Research that Royal Dutch Shell Plc is “a risky bet that ordinary investors should exit.” read more

Based on our insider information, we, and only we, raised the question of whether Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter Voser jumped ship or was pushed. I think we now have the answer that explains his unexpected early retirement under the cloak of a change of lifestyle. How do you know that Shell is run by clowns? The continued existence of this website over the last decade proves that this is the case. One miscalculation after the other. Just over 2 months ago, we raised the profits warning issue: “Why no profits warning from Shell?“

By John Donovan

Just over 2 months ago, we raised the profits warning issue: “Why no profits warning from Shell?“

I would now like to put a simple question to our visitors.

What news source has provided the most accurate assessment about Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the senior management?

Not the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Motley Fool or any other source. Certainly not shell.com.

The most accurate assessment and information has consistently emanated from this website. read more

Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves.

US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits.

Sir Philip Watts and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal), were among the Shell executives forced to resign.

MONTAGE OF MEDIA COVERAGE (CLICK LINK TO VIEW LARGE IMAGES OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLES)

SHELL RESERVES SECURITIES FRAUD UNFOLDS IN SIZZLING NEWS HEADLINES

Daily Telegraph: Shell drops ‘bombshell’ on reserves: 9 January 2004

The Times: How Shell blew a hole in a 100-year reputation: 10 January 2004

The West Australian: Investors howl for Shell’s blood: 12 January 2004

London Evening Standard: Shell bosses lied to the City: 19 April 2004

Houston Chronicle:‘Sick and tired about lying’ at Shell: 19 April 2004

Bloomberg: Shell Loses AAA Credit Rating: 19 April 2004

BBC News: Shell bosses ‘fooled the market’: 19 April 2004

The Guardian: Trail of emails reveals depths of deceit at the heart of Shell: 20 April 2004 read more

As for Commander Odum, he of the theatre of Operations, only a marine incident etc school he was doomed not by the grounding of the good ship Kulluk, but in the lie telling that followed.  It was not I fear just poor Lawrence of Alaska who suffered from this misadventure. 

COMMENT RECEIVED FROM BILL CAMPBELL, RETIRED HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL:

Dear John

It was not a surprise to me that Simon Henry was not in the running, the Head Shed watchers of this website would have realised that he carried heavy baggage from the reserves affair, also Shell does not appreciate the washing of its dirty linen in public, the stories for example from the lips of Simon that Pastor Phil (did he have an out of spacesuit experience when he passed through the heavenly layer on his way back to ground at Maastricht and was thus converted) was carrying a huge chip on his shoulder because he was not an Oxbridge man, who knows.  Henry, as the Bedouin are fond of saying say, was outside the tent pissing in, an unforgivable sin. read more

For years, the independent investigation by law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell showed, executives had exchanged emails about “lying” and “fooling the market”. The would-be whistleblower, Van de Vijver, wrote in December 2003 that a report on the real reserves position “needs to be destroyed”.

By Andrew Callus

LONDON | Wed May 29, 2013 7:31pm EDT

(Reuters) – A decade ago, Royal Dutch/Shell’s (RDSa.L) boss was fighting to close the gap between the truth about his company’s oil and gas reserves and the much larger figure in its accounts.

He lost the fight, and his job. Scandal engulfed one of the world’s biggest companies, exposing years of neglect.

Fast forward to May 2013, and the surprise news that chief executive Peter Voser will retire next year caused barely a ripple. Shell has recovered shareholder confidence. But while the risks may all be in the open now, they remain big. read more

The foot soldiers, of whom I was one in Shell, often took their leads from what they saw as ruthless and bad behaviour at the top – and, unsurprisingly, sometimes behaved badly themselves.

(Disgraced Shell Chairman Sir Philip Watts shown right)

Article by retired Royal Dutch Shell executive Paddy Briggs.

I received my first monthly pay check from a Shell company back in October 1964. It was for £200 and I was probably a bit overpaid in truth. I started work at seventeen so the not infrequent visits to pubs and wine bars with my new colleagues during those first couple of months before my 18th Birthday were on reflection a bit dodgy. The colleagues paid of course understanding that my lowly status as a dogsbody was matched by an appropriately low wage. They were jolly times and though everyone seemed to play hard, especially at long liquid lunches, they worked together quite effectively as well. The team that played together stayed together – and there was a high level of integrity around. At no point during my “induction” months did anyone read out rules to me – and if you had used the term “Mission Statement” people would have thought that you were a Jehovah’s Witness. The rules that mattered were mostly informal – the dress code was fairly tight – dark suits and ties de rigueur.  But the idea that you needed to be told what to do with some “code of behaviour” booklet would not have occurred. And if you were uncertain someone would put you right – the informal organisation was far more important than the formal. read more

With regard to your most obvious rivals, Simon Henry seems to be a very intelligent, competent executive, but comes with the baggage of his starring role in the reserves scandal. I published our verdict. Based on my strange experience of communicating with Marvin Odum via RDS Plc Company Secretary Michiel Brandjes, I reached the conclusion that Mr Odum is a creep. As the New York Times has correctly speculated, he carries “the stigma of the Alaska debacle.”

Email to Royal Dutch Shell Upstream International Director Andrew Brown

From: John Donovan <[email protected]>
Subject: THE RACE FOR VOSERS JOB
Date: 3 May 2013 09:54:33 GMT+01:00
To: [email protected]

Dear Mr Brown

As you may recall, we published a leaked email from you minutes after you sent it, the content of which, with my normal lack of tact, I described as drivel.

According to press reports you are a candidate in the race for Peter Vosers job, along with Simon Henry and Marvin Odum.

Perhaps I have read too many gossip columns, but I find the carefully constructed formulation of the resignation quote attributed to Mr Voser rather odd. read more

By John Donovan: As can be verified from page 81 of the Shell Form 20F 2004 filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission and a related Wall Street Journal article, Shell lent the fraudsters responsible for the reserves scandal $12 million to cover litigation costs. Almost a decade later, I have not seen any evidence that any of the money was ever repaid? Perhaps the Rev. Sir Philip Watts, or Simon Henry, the current Royal Dutch Shell CFO, who played a starring role in the scandal, can enlighten us?

Extract from Page 81

Over the year 2004, the Group advanced a total of $12,048,441 (certain amounts have been converted at the average £/$ exchange rate for 2004) for litigation costs for former Board members under these provisions.

Shell Lent Former Directors $12M For Legal Costs In 04

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES March 31, 2005

LONDON — Royal Dutch/Shell (RD,SC) said in a filing released Thursday it was in settlement talks on some of the class action litigation unleashed after it was forced to reclassify its oil reserves.

In a 20-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the oil giant said it was in talks with holders of various Shell Oil Company pension plans which had been launched in the U.S. under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. read more

Shell internal email correspondence irrefutably proves that Simon Henry was aware in March 2002 that “reserves bookings were made that should not have been made”. Walter van de Vijver, the “sick and tired” Chief Executive of Shell EP, gave the information directly to him. As can be seen in the email, Walter van de Vijver aggressively accused Mr Henry of setting targets that were near impossible to achieve. The question arises of whether Mr Henry was a culprit, an accomplice, or an innocent bystander.

By John Donovan

INTRODUCTION

We have published a series of articles about the starring role of Simon Henry in the Royal Dutch Shell reserves scandal.

Shell internal email correspondence irrefutably proves that Simon Henry was aware in March 2002 that “reserves bookings were made that should not have been made”. Walter van de Vijver, the “sick and tired” Chief Executive of Shell EP, gave the information directly to him. Walter van de Vijver accused Mr Henry of setting targets that were near impossible to achieve. read more