The Gas Is Gone, the Damage Is Not: Groningen Warns of Fresh Delays and Unpaid Earthquake Claims

Years after the Groningen gas crisis became a national scandal, residents are still waiting for repairs, reinforcement and certainty — and regional authorities are warning that another round of bureaucracy could make matters worse.

The Province of Groningen and five earthquake-affected municipalities — Eemsdelta, Groningen, Het Hogeland, Midden-Groningen and Oldambt — have urged the Dutch House of Representatives to prevent fresh delays in the repair and strengthening programme and to protect residents who discover earthquake damage only after their claims have formally been closed. OOG Groningen 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 7 OCTOBER 2026

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 7 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-080

The Sakhalin Papers LXX: The Third Train — Shell Pushes to Expand the Project It No Longer Controlled

Seven years after Shell surrendered control of Sakhalin II to Gazprom, it was pressing its new majority partner to make the project larger. In September 2013 Shell warned that delay could squander favourable Asian LNG prices. The difficulty was not the existing plant: Sakhalin II was already producing above its original design capacity. The problem was finding enough additional gas. Shell pointed toward Gazprom’s neighbouring Sakhalin III resources. In December, Peter Voser and incoming chief executive Ben van Beurden agreed with Gazprom to advance engineering work. On 23 February 2014, van Beurden and Alexey Miller signed the roadmap in Sochi. Shell no longer controlled Sakhalin II. But it plainly still regarded the project as something worth expanding.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-080; Collection: The Sakhalin Papers; Principal authenticated records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2014; Gazprom corporate records dated 23 October and 23 December 2013 and 23 February 2014; Contemporaneous reporting: Reuters, 30 September 2013; Later corroborating record: Gazprom’s subsequent account of the proposed third train and its intended Sakhalin III feed gas; Evidence standard: preparation of FEED documentation is distinguished throughout from a final investment decision or authorisation to construct the third train. No court or arbitral ruling identified for this instalment adjudicated the commercial merits of the expansion proposal. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Official Hansard Confirms Senator Paul Scarr Urged ASIC to “Take a Serious Look” at Quinlan v Shell Energy

The official parliamentary record has now removed any uncertainty about what was said when Australian Senator Paul Scarr raised the case of whistleblower Kent Quinlan and Shell Energy before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services.

At the committee’s public hearing in Sydney on 4 September 2026, Senator Scarr expressly identified Quinlan v Shell Energy and questioned ASIC Chair Sarah Court about whether Australia’s corporate regulator had examined the allegations being raised in the Queensland Supreme Court litigation. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell Sets 26 October Deadline for Offers on Woodcreek Houston Headquarters

Shell’s planned sale of its longstanding Woodcreek headquarters campus in Houston has moved into a more concrete phase.

JLL, which is marketing the property on behalf of Shell USA, now lists 26 October 2026 as the formal “call for offers” date for the nearly 1.5-million-square-foot campus at 150 N. Dairy Ashford Road. JLL Investments

That does not mean a buyer has yet been chosen.

But it does mean the process now has a defined bidding timetable — and that makes the period immediately after 26 October potentially important for identifying bidders, pricing and any changes to the proposed leaseback structure. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell Polymers Monaca Explosion: US Safety Board Finds a Preventable Control-System Failure Behind $95 Million Blast

A final investigation by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has delivered a serious verdict on the June 2025 explosion at Shell Polymers Monaca in Pennsylvania: the incident was not caused by some unforeseeable industrial anomaly, but by a combination of an unintended valve operation, weak safeguards, insufficiently experienced personnel and a control-system interface that made a critical error too easy to make. Chemical Safety Board

The explosion occurred on 4 June 2025 in Furnace 5 of the ethane cracking unit. According to the CSB, two motor-operated valves that had been isolating the furnace were inadvertently opened at the same time. That created an unintended flow path allowing flammable cracked gas from operating furnaces to backflow through the downstream quench system into the firebox of Furnace 5. Roughly six minutes later, the accumulated gas encountered lit pilot flames and ignited. Chemical Safety Board 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

The Official Authentic one and only RoyalDutchShellPlc.com website

A small problem with the words “official Royal Dutch Shell plc”

Before anyone at Shell reaches for the legal department, a short historical explanation may be helpful.

There is only one RoyalDutchShellPlc.com — and, rather inconveniently for Shell, it is this one.

That is not because I secretly appointed myself Royal Dutch Shell plc, commandeered a petrol station or acquired an oil refinery while nobody was looking. It is because, back in 2005, Shell itself went to the World Intellectual Property Organization seeking to take this domain name away from us.

Shell’s lawyers could hardly have been clearer about its significance. They told the WIPO panel that royaldutchshellplc.com was “essentially identical” to the company name “Royal Dutch Shell plc” and complained that an unsuspecting Internet user might naturally expect the address to lead to Shell. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

SHELL LEAKS FILES: 6 OCTOBER 2026

SHELL LEAKS FILES: 6 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-079

The Sakhalin Papers LXIX: “A Good and Reliable Partner” — The Arctic 30 Put Shell’s Gazprom Alliance to the Test

On 18 September 2013 Greenpeace activists attempted to scale Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea. The following day Russian authorities boarded the Dutch-flagged Arctic Sunrise in Russia’s exclusive economic zone. Twenty-eight Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists were eventually detained and prosecuted. Within weeks Greenpeace was demanding that Shell sever its Arctic cooperation with Gazprom. Shell refused to disown its Russian partner. A spokesman called Gazprom a “good and reliable partner” — while simultaneously stressing that Shell had no involvement in Prirazlomnaya and no joint Arctic operation with Gazprom then under way. The distinction was legally important. Reputationally, it was much harder to maintain.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-079
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated records: Royal Dutch Shell plc SEC filings concerning Sakhalin II and Shell’s 2013 Annual Report and Form 20-F; Gazprom corporate records concerning Russian Arctic cooperation and Prirazlomnoye
Contemporaneous reporting: ANP, NOS, The Washington Post, contemporary reporting preserved in the Donovan archive
Judicial and arbitral record: The Arctic Sunrise Case, ITLOS Case No. 22; Arctic Sunrise Arbitration (Netherlands v. Russia); later Bryan and Others v. Russia, European Court of Human Rights
Evidence standard: Shell’s commercial relationship with Gazprom, the Greenpeace protest, Russian boarding and detention of the Arctic Sunrise, international proceedings and the start of Prirazlomnoye production are treated according to corporate, governmental and judicial records. Greenpeace accusations against Shell are attributed to Greenpeace. Nothing identified here establishes that Shell ordered, requested or participated in the Russian security operation or prosecution. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 5 OCTOBER 2026

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 5 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-078

The Sakhalin Papers LXVIII: From Siberia to the Arctic — Shell Takes the Gazprom Partnership Into Russia’s New Frontier

Forty days after Shell announced that it would pause its Alaskan Arctic drilling programme following the troubled 2012 season, Royal Dutch Shell chairman Jorma Ollila sat in Amsterdam with Gazprom chief Alexey Miller and signed a memorandum for cooperation on Russia’s Arctic shelf. Vladimir Putin and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte were present. A parallel Shell–Gazprom Neft agreement targeted liquids-rich shale in Western Siberia. Shell had not abandoned its Arctic strategy after the grounding of the Kulluk. It had begun pursuing another Arctic frontier — this time through the Russian state company that had taken control of Sakhalin II.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-078
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2013; Gazprom corporate chronology and April 2013 corporate record; US Department of the Interior assessment of Shell’s 2012 Arctic operations; National Transportation Safety Board investigation of the Kulluk grounding
Court record: Shell Offshore, Inc. v. Greenpeace, Inc., 709 F.3d 1281 (9th Cir. 2013)
Contemporaneous reporting: UPI; RIA Novosti reporting; Daily Telegraph reporting preserved in the Donovan archive
Evidence standard: The Alaska pause, Kulluk grounding, US government review, April 2013 Gazprom–Shell memorandum and parallel shale agreement are established documentary facts. The Russian agreement is treated as a framework for potential cooperation, not as evidence that specific Arctic fields were awarded to Shell or that production was authorised. The proximity in time between the Alaska setbacks and the Russian agreement is established; any proposition that the Russian Arctic was a direct replacement for Alaska remains commentary rather than documented Shell policy. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 4 OCTOBER 2026

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 4 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-077

The Sakhalin Papers LXVII: From Protocol Toward a Joint Venture — Shell and Gazprom Neft Plan Expansion Across Western Siberia and Beyond

Seven months after Shell and Gazprom signed their “Protocol on Strategic Global Cooperation”, Shell chief executive Peter Voser and Gazprom Neft chief Alexander Dyukov signed basic terms for something more concrete: a possible new joint venture covering Western Siberia, other Russian regions and even “third countries”. The distinction matters. No new venture was actually created by the June 2011 document. Shell and Gazprom Neft agreed to study one. By September Alexey Miller and Voser were still discussing how it might be established. But the direction was unmistakable. Four years after Shell lost control of Sakhalin II, the company was attempting to turn its relationship with Gazprom into a platform for expansion far beyond Sakhalin.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-077
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2011; US Securities and Exchange Commission filing record; Gazprom corporate records concerning the 2010 Strategic Global Cooperation Protocol and the June 2011 Gazprom Neft–Shell agreement
Contemporaneous reporting: Gazprom Neft press-service material; Dow Jones; Russian business press; contemporaneous Donovan archive
Judicial context: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin)
Evidence standard: The June 2011 agreement is described according to what it actually did: it established basic terms for examining the creation of a joint venture. It is not represented as proof that the contemplated venture had already been incorporated or that every proposed project proceeded. Corporate statements about technology, international assets and future cooperation are attributed to the companies making them. Commentary concerning strategic motives is identified as commentary. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 3 OCTOBER 2026

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 3 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-076

The Sakhalin Papers LXVI: “Strategic Global Cooperation” — Four Years After the Kremlin Crisis, Shell Signs a Worldwide Pact with Gazprom

On 30 November 2010, Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Peter Voser and Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller signed a “Protocol on Strategic Global Cooperation”. The language was striking. Shell and Gazprom would examine exploration and production opportunities in western Siberia and the Russian Far East, downstream cooperation in Russia and Europe, and even Gazprom participation in Shell projects outside Russia. Shell described the relationship as a “strong partnership”. This was less than four years after Gazprom had taken control of Sakhalin II during one of the most contentious episodes in Shell’s modern history. The protocol did not erase what had happened at Sakhalin. It showed what Shell decided to do afterwards.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-076
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Form 6-K filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, December 2010; Royal Dutch Shell fourth-quarter and full-year 2010 results; Royal Dutch Shell plc Form 6-K of December 2006
Contemporaneous reporting: The Guardian; Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reporting preserved in the Donovan archive; Bloomberg
Judicial context: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin)
Evidence standard: The 2010 protocol, its stated scope and the parties’ public statements are treated as established corporate facts. Contemporary descriptions of the 2006 Sakhalin ownership transfer as forced or Kremlin-driven remain attributed descriptions. No court identified here found that Shell entered the 2010 agreement because of coercion, a secret bargain or an earlier promise of access to Russian resources. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 2 OCTOBER 2026

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 2 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-075

The Sakhalin Papers LXV: The “New Heartland” — Why Shell Deepened Its Gazprom Partnership After Losing Control

In December 2006 Shell agreed to surrender control of Sakhalin II. By April 2007 Gazprom owned 50 per cent plus one share. Yet within two years Shell was not retreating from Russia. It was signing twenty-year gas agreements with Gazprom, discussing Sakhalin III, exploring Yamal LNG opportunities and establishing a working group to pursue additional Sakhalin resources. Shell’s 2009 Annual Report went further still: Russia had become a new corporate “heartland.” The documents establish the expansion of the relationship. They do not contain a single internal memorandum explaining why Shell chose that course. But Shell’s public statements, Gazprom’s records and the commercial structure make the strategic calculation unusually visible.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-075
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated records: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2009; Shell SEC filings; Gazprom corporate releases of 8 April and 18 September 2009
Contemporaneous reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, UPI, AFP and The Times
Judicial context: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin)
Evidence standard: The agreements, meetings, ownership interests and Shell’s description of Russia as a new “heartland” are treated as established documentary facts. Contemporary descriptions of Shell having been forced or pressured to surrender control remain attributed to journalists and other observers. No public court judgment identified here determined that Gazprom’s acquisition resulted from an unlawful bargain. Explanations of Shell’s strategic motives are commentary unless explicitly attributed to Shell. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

OPL 245 Twist: Italy’s Supreme Court Says Shell-Eni Prosecutors Did Not Breach Their Legal Duties

The extraordinary legal afterlife of the Shell-Eni OPL 245 affair has produced another important development.

The detailed judgment behind the acquittal of former Milan prosecutors Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro has now been published—and it overturns the proposition that their handling of potentially favourable material in the Shell-Eni Nigeria prosecution amounted to a criminal refusal to perform their duties.

The extraordinary legal afterlife of the Shell-Eni OPL 245 affair has produced another important development.

Italy’s Court of Cassation has published the reasoning behind its decision to clear former Milan prosecutors Fabio De Pasquale and Sergio Spadaro, who had themselves been convicted after the collapse of the enormous corruption prosecution involving Shell, Eni and Nigeria’s controversial OPL 245 offshore oil licence. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell’s $5.2 Billion Kashagan Battle Collides With Its C$33 Billion LNG Canada Bet

Within 24 hours, Shell found itself on opposite sides of the risk ledger: Kazakhstan resumed enforcement of a huge disputed environmental penalty while the Shell-led LNG Canada venture committed billions to doubling its export capacity.

Shell has just provided an unusually vivid illustration of the risks and rewards inherent in operating one of the world’s largest energy portfolios.

On one side of the globe, Kazakhstan has restarted proceedings aimed at collecting a 2.3 trillion tenge—approximately US$5.2 billion—fine from the international consortium operating the giant Kashagan oil field. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell Veteran Takes Helm at NAM as Groningen Era Gives Way to Decommissioning

Martijn Kleverlaan will become Managing Director of Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij on 1 November 2026, taking charge of a much smaller organisation shaped by the end of Groningen gas production, offshore divestments and an expanding decommissioning programme.

Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij, the long-standing Dutch oil and gas producer associated with Shell, is changing leadership at a particularly symbolic moment in its history.

Martijn Kleverlaan, 53, will take over as Managing Director of NAM on 1 November 2026, succeeding Martijn van Haaster, who is returning to Shell after three years in charge. NAM announced the appointment on 30 September, with offshore industry publication Ocean Energy Resources reporting it on 1 October. nam.nl 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 1 OCTOBER 2026

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 1 OCTOBER 2026

SLF-2007-074

The Sakhalin Papers LXIV: The Kremlin’s LNG Prize — Russia’s First LNG Plant Opens After Shell Loses Control

Two years after Gazprom took control of Sakhalin II, President Dmitry Medvedev inaugurated Russia’s first liquefied natural gas plant. Shell was no longer the controlling shareholder, but it had not disappeared: it retained 27.5 per cent, remained a technical participant and would soon be buying Sakhalin LNG under long-term arrangements. On 29 March 2009 the first Russian LNG cargo left for Japan. Shell’s own annual report later called Russia a new “heartland.” The project had survived cost escalation, environmental controversy, litigation, political pressure and a forced change in ownership. The strategic prize was finally producing — under Russian control.

Archive reference: SLF-2007-074
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Principal authenticated record: Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2009
Contemporaneous corporate record: Sakhalin Energy statement, 18 February 2009
Contemporaneous reporting: Reuters, Financial Times, Oil & Gas Journal, Offshore, New Europe
Judicial context: Export Credits Guarantee Department v Friends of the Earth [2008] EWHC 638 (Admin)
Evidence standard: Production, ownership, capacity and Shell accounting statements are treated as established where recorded in Shell or Sakhalin Energy documents. Contemporary descriptions of the 2006–07 ownership change as coercive or politically driven remain attributed assessments rather than judicial findings. The plant’s successful commissioning is not treated as proof that earlier environmental concerns were unfounded or that every environmental obligation had been satisfied. 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

Shell Australia FLNG Faces Two New Industrial Court Proceedings Over Prelude

Australian Workers’ Union cases M 93/2026 and M 115/2026 are both heading to pre-trial conferences in October

Shell’s troubled Prelude floating LNG operation has acquired another legal complication.

The Industrial Magistrates Court of Western Australia is now listing two separate proceedings brought by the Australian Workers’ Union against Shell Australia FLNG Pty Ltd, the Shell entity associated with the Prelude project.

The first case, Australian Workers’ Union v Shell Australia FLNG Pty Ltd, M 93/2026, is listed for a pre-trial conference at 11:00 am on Friday 2 October 2026. The court’s current hearing list names Shell Australia FLNG Pty Ltd directly as respondent. imc.wa.gov.au 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, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. *All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.