Shell’s failed blundering attempt to kill my royaldutchshell.website

By John Donovan (last updated 5 Sept 2021)

Last week, a CYBERSECURITY INTELLIGENCE outfit acting for Shell issued a 5-day ultimatum on behalf of Shell to the company hosting my royaldutchshell.website.

I would not have had a clue about the ultimatum letter if the hosting company had not tipped me off about what was going on behind my back at Shell’s direction.

For 26 years, I have used the Internet as a medium to criticise and expose Shell’s unscrupulous dishonest activities, including, for example, the Shell securities fraud that ruined Shell’s reputation. read more

Michael Crothers (CNW Group/Shell Canada Limited)

By John Donovan

Printed below is a press release announcing the retirement of Michael Crothers as Shell Canada Country Chair and the appointment of his successor, Susannah Pierce.

In August 2013, The Observer newspaper and Guardian Online published an article “Strange tale of Shell’s pipeline battle, the Gardaí and £30,000 of booze”

On the instructions of Shell E&P Ireland, an Irish Company called OSSL distributed bribes to the Irish Police and other parties in an attempt to smooth the path of the highly controversial Corrib Gas Project in Ireland. read more

Directors of an Irish subcontractor, OSSL, testified under oath in an Irish court that OSSL distributed bribes on behalf of Shell, including over €30k in free alcohol to the Irish police. The purpose of the corruption was to smooth the path of the controversial Corrib Gas Project, which had attracted huge public protests in Ireland.

For more information read the Observer/Guardian article: “Strange tale of Shell’s pipeline battle, the Gardaí and £30,000 of booze.”

Published by John Donovan of royaldutchshellplc.com read more

Shell to Sea spokesperson Maura Harrington with Garda Officers

A Judicial Review of then Minister Alex White’s decision to grant consent to Shell, 29 December 2015, to operate the Corrib Gas pipeline begins in the High Court on Tuesday, 13 February. The hearing is scheduled to last for four days. Shell to Sea spokesperson Maura Harrington is the sole Applicant in the hearing and is representing herself as a lay litigant. The application is contested by the State as Respondents and Shell as Notice Party in the proceedings.

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’.

ENDS

http://www.shelltosea.com
http://www.facebook.com/shelltosea
http://twitter.com/#!/ShellToSea

The Shell to Sea Campaign has three main aims:
read more

News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Jan 31st, 2018 – For immediate release

Shell to Sea has today made its submission on Policing Reform to the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.[1]

To help in the quest on policing reform, Shell to Sea have come up with a list of don’ts, that if followed would improve policing in Ireland.

The Corrib Gas protests are the single largest source of Garda complaints that GSOC have had to deal with although no Garda has ever been held to account for their law-breaking and abuse of powers. read more

Listen to wire-tapped call implicating Ben van Beurden in OPL 245 corruption cover-up. 

By John Donovan

• Hear an admission by BvB that Shell had not been open with the U.S. Dept of Justice in regard to a related Shell Nigerian corruption scandal already subject to a 61 page Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
• Concern expressed by BvB over potential share-price sensitive fallout, rather than the obvious priority of being open with shareholders as pledged in Shell’s claimed business principles. 
• Express instruction from BvB to Simon Henry at the close of the call: “don’t volunteer any information that is not requested.” How can that be construed other than as potential obstruction of an investigation involving police and the other important authorities BvB mentions. Significantly, Simon Henry did not resist that unethical and perhaps criminal instruction. Even if material evidence was discovered internally at Shell, the unavoidable implication was that its existence should not be disclosed to the police. That order came from the very top. BvB has not made an apology or comment on his instruction. 
• Inexplicably, both BvB and Simon Henry chuckled at times during the discussion. Perhaps a case of Shell shock at the dawn raid carried out at Shell HQ earlier that day by an army of 60 investigators, which triggered the call?

Listen and read the proof in audio and transcript form confirming current Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden and then CFO colleague Simon Henry have both been infected with the deeply ingrained culture of cover-up adopted by successive Shell executive directors.

At the time of the incriminating wire-tapped telephone conversation in Feb 2016, a police dawn raid had just taken place at RDS HQ in The Hague searching for evidence in relation to the OPL 245 billion dollar Nigerian oil deal corruption scandal. read more

The Financial Times is reporting that “Ireland is facing a political crisis with opposition parties calling for the head of the deputy prime minister over an escalating policing scandal”. The deputy prime minister is Frances Fitzgerald, a person with whom I have corresponded on the same subject. Police (Gardai) corruption in Ireland. 

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. read more

Message for Ben van Beurden published today on our Shell Blog. Posted by “Minister for Shell Alcohol”

BVB …I know u visit this site regularly… Michiel Brandjes told me …Visit Sky News on the hour all day today and watch the Minister who covered for the corrupt cops in Mayo bring the government down ….as I told you she would ….apology any time soon …let us clear our name you know the drill ….OSSL

Message ends

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.  read more

Extracts from the ebook “John Donovan, Shell’s Nightmare” (now available on Amazon websites globally)

From pages 11 and 12.

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. read more

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. read more

“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.” read more

A different perspective from the above recent PR tour by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf of the construction site for the new US Shell Chemicals Cracker Plant is provided in a letter published by The Beaver County Times. See below. This is how controversy kicked off in Ireland when local people raised legitimate questions over the Corrib Gas Project and were treated with disdain by Shell. Disdain turned to jailing of protesters and Shell sponsored corruption to buy the support of the Irish police before Shell gave up and sold out its stake at a loss. The project was hopelessly over budget and ended up delayed by many years.  read more

Shell’s textbook lesson on how to lose $1bn on a Mayo gas gusher: Irish Independent i.e.: 16 July 2017 read more

By John Donovan

An article we published on 3rd July 2005 warned in relation to the Corrib Gas project in Ireland: “Do we spy another PR disaster on Shell’s horizon…”

I went on to warn:

..there appears to be all of the ingredients present for another Shell PR disaster…

At the 2005 Shell AGM, the then Chairman of Shell Transport and Trading Company Lord Oxburgh, was gung-ho about  jailing land owner opponents of the Corrib gas pipeline, who became known as the Rossport Five. read more

Shell unloads its stake in Corrib: The Times: 13 July 2017

Royal Dutch Shell has sold its stake in the contentious Corrib gas project off the Republic of Ireland to a Canadian pension fund for up to $1.23 billion. READ MORE

Shell’s Corrib exit leaves energy giants up to €2.5bn in the red: 13 July 2017

Energy groups behind the controversial Corrib gas field off the Mayo coast are as much €2.5 billion in the red on their investment, as Shell’s move to sell a stake to a Canadian state pension fund has left it with loss of up to €1 billion. READ MORE

Losses on Corrib near €2bn as Shell sells up: The Irish Times: 13 July 2017

It had been beset by more than a decade of delays and rows with protesters before production began. READ MORE read more

Shell is gone and good riddance…

News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – July 13th, 2017

It was announced yesterday that Shell is planning to sell its 45% stake of the Corrib Gas project to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

Shell to Sea today claimed that Shell caused considerable damage to all State institutions involved in the Corrib Gas project since their involvement began in 2002.

Some examples of the damage done to these State institutions:

• Two former Shell sub-contractors with OSSL, have sworn in court that they delivered £25,000 of alcohol in 2007 (and other amounts in previously) to Gardaí involved in policing Corrib Gas protests at the request of Shell.[1]
• When Bord Pleanala turned down the initial planning application for Bellanaboy refinery, leaked minutes of a meeting of Shell Managing Directors indicate that Shell’s response was to query “whether the group had sufficiently well placed contacts with the Irish government and regulators.” . Subsequently Shell met with Bertie Ahern in September 2003 and within a week the Chairman of Bord Pleanala met with representatives of the 3 companies involved in Corrib Gas. An Bord Pleanala granted the subsequent refinery application. [2]
• RTE were forced to issue an apology over a news report, after they attempted to create the impression that a recording of Gardaí joking about threatening to rape two women in their custody, had been “altered” or “tampered with” . Retired RTE producer Betty Purcell, who worked with RTE for 33 years has stated that it was her belief that Shell personnel appeared to have ‘automatic access’ to senior management in RTE. [3]
• Despite the Corrib protests being the biggest single cause for compaints to the Garda Ombudsman no Garda has ever been punished that is known about. This lack of results on Garda misbehaviour has resulted in Shell to Sea previously calling for the disbandment of GSOC inorder to setup a proper Garda watchdog. In 2007, then Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan also refused GSOC permission to do a “policies and practices” investigation into the policing of Corrib protests. [4]
• In 2005, when jailing the Rossport 5, President of the High Court Judge Joseph Finnegan stated about a breach of a Shell injuction allowing access to Rossport residents’ land, “if ignored then society breaks down. If you insist then I can impose imprisonment and fines, for example hundreds of thousands of euro per day. I have no hesitation in having farms sold. If I have to send every farmer to jail, I will because I have made an order”. In comparison a Shell breach of a court injunction forbidding them from entering land in 2009 is still being processed by the courts.[5]

Commenting on the proposed Shell sale of Corrib, Shell to Sea spokesperson Maura Harrington stated “Shell is gone and good riddance but Shell to Sea remains and will continue the fight to protect the natural resources of Ireland from any future planned plunder” read more