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Shell to Sea Campaign

Irish Gas: Shell sells out and departs leaving a toxic legacy behind

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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Can Shell CEO Ben van Beurden Survive OPL 245?

Amazing that after that experience, his reaction was to opt for the same cover-up culture/mentality of Shell senior management which led to Watts being escorted from Shell Centre in London by security staff.

By John Donovan

Ben van Beurden had no involvement in the $1.3bn OPL 245 corruption scandal until after he became Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. He was not involved in the shady negotiations or the eventual deal.

Based on what he said in the surreptitiously recorded telephone conversation with his then-subordinate Simon Henry, the then Chief Executive of the company, he is, however, guilty of cover-up tactics and gross hypocrisy.

The intercepted call took place on the day that Shell’s Netherlands HQ was raided. The police spent hours searching his office and removed a folder of documents. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s Role in Irish Police Corruption Scandal

By John Donovan

In April 2013, I informed Alan Shatter, the then Irish Minister for Justice & Equality about widespread corrupt practices involving the Irish police. I received an emailed acknowledgement of the warnings from his then Private Secretary Damien Brennan.

Shortly thereafter Shatter was forced to resign after a state-commissioned report found that both the government and police had failed to properly address allegations of Irish police corruption.

Shell was a corporate sponsor of corruption in Ireland aided and abetted by its then”Mr Fixit” company OSSL, who to this day, freely admit their involvement in distributing bribes on behalf of Shell to smooth the path of the controversial Corrib Gas Project. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

€8.5 million Shell slush fund mishandled in Ireland

By John Donovan

The Irish edition of The Sunday Times has published an article reporting that an official audit by a local government auditor has criticised the basis on which a €8.5 million fund, provided by the benevolent energy giant Shell, was handled by Mayo County Council.

What is the appropriate description for such a huge sum lavished on a relatively tiny community in County Mayo? A bribe? A spectacularly generous gift? Hush money? Or compensation for being diddled out of their birthright? read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

UK police spied on us, protesters tell inquiry

Shell to Sea, an environmental protest group, claims it was infiltrated by a British officer between 2004 and 2006: MARK STEDMAN/PHOTOCALL IRELAND

By:  Ellen Coyne – The Times

A Mayo protest group that claims it was spied on by a British police officer has asked to be included in a UK inquiry into undercover practices.

Shell to Sea, an environmental activist group that protested against the Corrib gas pipeline, believes it was infiltrated by Mark Kennedy when he was in the Republic.

Mr Kennedy, who worked for the Metropolitan police under the cover name Mark Stone, is one of a number of officers being examined by the Pitchford Inquiry. Shell to Sea is calling for the inquiry to establish what relationship there was between gardai and the Metropolitan police. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Corruption of Police by Shell

Corruption of Police by Shell

Printed below is an extract from a current submission to The Pitchford Inquiry by the Shell to Sea organisation in Ireland. As can be seen, it very much involves Shell.

The Pitchford Inquiry is investigating undercover policing activities in England and Wales. Pressure is mounting to also cover the activities of undercover British police in Ireland.

EXTRACT FROM THE SUBMISSION

Corruption of Police by Shell

In March 2013 Shell to Sea  contacted a reporter in the London-based Observer newspaper regarding a series of allegations which had appeared consistently since September 2012 on a website co-founded by John Donovan and his late father Alfred, available at www.royaldutchshellplc.com. It took from March until publication on 11 August to research and legal-proof the article written by award-winning journalist Ed Vuillamy                            (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/18/ed-vulliamy-ryszard-kapuscinski-award) under the heading ‘Strange tale of Shell’s pipeline battle, the Gardaí and £30,000 of booze’. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/10/shell-pipeline-protests-county-mayo  While the reportage of alcohol provision to the police came as no surprise, we find the claim made by Mr Neil Rooney of OSSL as quoted below to be, indeed, sinister: read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Echo’s of the Shell to Sea Campaign in Ireland 

By Jared Stonesifer jstonesifer@timesonline.com: 8 Dec 2016

POTTER TWP. — A petition with more than 750 signatures was presented to the township supervisors Wednesday night concerning objections to several aspects of Shell Chemicals’ ethane cracker plant project.

The move came one week before the Potter supervisors are set to vote on Shell’s conditional use application for the $6 billion project. The supervisors must approve the 200-page document before Shell is authorized to start construction on the plant, although construction isn’t expected until the end of next year. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Macquarie eyes Irish gas giant

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By:  Danny Fortson – The Sunday Times

The Australian investment giant nicknamed the “vampire kangaroo” is hoping to sink its teeth into Ireland’s £3bn Corrib gas field.

Macquarie, one of the largest owners of British infrastructure, is understood to have approached Shell over a deal that could value the FTSE 100 giant’s 45% stake in the project at more than £1bn. It is unclear whether the Australians have tabled a formal bid.

Corrib started producing a year ago after years of delays and protests from fishermen, environmentalists and locals. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Corrib gas sales surpass €335m

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The Irish Police are said to be in the pocket of Shell

The Irish Police are said to be in the pocket of Shell

Gordon Deegan:Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Sales of more than €1.2m a day are being generated from gas flowing from the Corrib field off the Mayo coast, new figures show.

Production started on the field at the end of last year and for the first nine months of this year, the Corrib partners — including Shell, Statoil, and Canadian company Vermilion Energy — recorded estimated revenues of $360m (€335m) from the production of gas from the field.

A new report from Vermilion — which has an 18.5% stake in the project — show that it, alone, has generated sales of $66.42m from the first nine months of production. According to Vermilion production volumes on the project reached full capacity at the end of second quarter of this year. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Ten years since Garda baton charge on peaceful protestors

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The 10th of November 2006 was chosen by the Shell to Sea campaign as a suitable day of action as it marked the anniversary of the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni activists who opposed Shell in Nigeria.

In 2007, following the baton charge and other incidents in which people were injured, GSOC sought to do a “policies and practices” investigation into the policing of Shell/Corrib protests. However, the then Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan denied GSOC permission to carry out this investigation. As the 2010 Frontline report stated this created “the impression that the State does not want the Garda Síochána held properly to account over the policing of the Corrib dispute”. [2] read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Award for deadly Corrib Gas Project

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Protesters campaigning against the controversial Corrib Gas Project in Ireland: Photo courtesy of Shell to Sea.com

By John Donovan

It does seem odd that The Corrib Onshore Gas Pipeline has been voted Engineering Project of the Year at this years Engineers Ireland Awards.

I say this bearing in mind the news just months ago that two of the construction firms involved in the project face trial over a workplace death that occurred. See the Irish Times report below.

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Corrib companies charged over gas tunnel death

Two construction firms face trial over fatal workplace incident at Co Mayo project

Lorna Siggins: Wed, Jun 8, 2016 read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Irish Police, Shell, Corruption and Alcohol

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Regular visitors to this website will be aware of the admittance made by a Shell “Mr. Fixit” contractor on the Corrib Gas development in Ireland, that at Shell’s behest, they distributed bribes to smooth the path of the controversial project. On one occasion, €30,000 was splashed out on free booze for the Irish police (the Garda).

Interesting then to see a recent article published by The Irish Times, reporting  that a whistleblower – a serving police officer – has made bribery allegations implicating 50 Garda officers in a tale of corruption involving the pub trade. Cheers. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Locals disappointed at sanction on Shell for gas flaring

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Screen Shot 2016-09-06 at 11.15.18Shell to Sea says €1,000 fine equivalent to ‘65 seconds… of current Corrib sales revenue’

By Lorna Siggins

North Mayo residents living close to the Corrib gas refinery have expressed disappointment at the level of sanction imposed on Shell E&P Ireland over gas flaring last New Year’s Eve.

The multinational was fined €1,000 and ordered ordered to pay €15,000 in legal costs in relation to causing light and noise pollution from a gas flare during start-up testing at the Corrib gas terminal in Co Mayo on December 31st and January 1st.

The company pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court on Monday to breaching two parts of its industrial emissions licence, which had been awarded for project last year by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

65 seconds of Shell/Corrib sales will pay €1,000 flaring fine

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Screen Shot 2016-09-06 at 11.15.18News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Sept 6th, 2016 – For immediate release

— Shell fined EUR1,000 while making an estimated EUR240 million in Corrib sales so far this year —

Yesterday (5th September) at Dublin District Court, Shell were fined EUR1,000 after pleading guilty to causing light and noise pollution from gas flaring at Bellanaboy refinery last New Years Eve. The prosecution was brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following complaints from people living around the Bellanaboy refinery.[1] read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Companies charged with workplace breaches following Corrib gas death

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Edwin McGreal: Belmullet: 08 JUNE 2016

Two companies have been sent forward to the Circuit Criminal Court in Castlebar on charges following a workplace accident which resulted in the death of a man working on the Corrib gas tunnel in 2013.

Twenty-six year old Lars Wagner was killed, in September 2013, while he was working on the construction of a tunnel for the Corrib gas project.

Mr Wagner, a German native, was working on boring a tunnel to carry the project’s gas pipeline under Sruwaddacon Bay to the Corrib gas refinery at Bellenaboy. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell to Sea Spokesperson Jailed for E300 fine as Millions roll in for Corrib Gas

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News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – May 7th 2016 

Shell to Sea campaigner Maura Harrington was arrested in Belmullet on Friday afternoon and  jailed for 10 days in Mountjoy prison for the non-payment of a court fine of E300.

It is thought that the jailing relates to a 2012 protest attempting to block construction of the disputed development.

Ms. Harrington has continuously opposed the Corrib gas project due to health and safety concerns, environmental damage and the giveaway of Ireland’s natural resources to private corporations. [1]

The jailing comes on the same day as Vermillion Energy – who owns an 18.5% share in Corrib gas – released sales figures of $17million from Corrib from the first three months of 2016. [2] At this rate the Corrib partners – Shell, Statoil and Vermillion – stand to make sales of $7.35billion from Corrib over a 20 year field lifespan. [3] read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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