Shell Blog
This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website,
johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com,
are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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Introducing... Shelldon!
John Donovan’s ebooks
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.
SHELL OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENT OF THIS WEBSITE
Critic’s corner
OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission website etc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our non-profit websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner
DISCLAIMER
This is not a Shell website. The nature of this platform should be evident from the content presented here and on our related Shell-focused websites, including shellnazihistory.com. For more details, please refer to the Disclaimer link at the top of this page. Shell does not endorse or approve of this website.
Our platform operates as a non-commercial, advert-free, and subscription-free space. We do not solicit or accept donations and aim to provide information to our readers free of charge. The Shell logo image with white text used on this website is in the public domain due to expired copyright and anonymous authorship. It can be found on WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. Use this link for Shell’s own website.
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SHELL PROPPED UP APARTHEID
ARTICLE: U.S. unions urge boycott of Shell to fight apartheid: 19 Jan 1986
ARTICLE: Shell, South Africa and Apartheid: 16 Oct 2012
ARTICLE: Shell propped up racist apartheid regime in South Africa: 24 Nov 2012
ARTICLE: The Neptune Strategy:Shell, propped up Apartheid in South Africa: 26 Nov 2012
ARTICLE: Shell accused of benefiting from South African apartheid-era land law: 21 March 2013
ARTICLE: THE CAMPAIGN TO END APARTHEID: 12 Dec 2013
RELEVANT PAGES FROM "A HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL, VOLUME 3, PUBLISHED IN 2007. PREPARED BY SHELL'S PAID HISTORIANS. DEALS WITH SHELL'S SUPPORT FOR APARTHEID
SHELL TOXIC BRANDS
I ordered shell energy broadband on nov 2. I was promised connection the following week. They initiated the direct debit. I called the following week and was told router would arrive on 13 and service would go live on 17. No further email or communication until 20 when I was told service would start on 30th. Spent 10 minutes waiting on phone line and spoke to a polite assistant who was absolutely useless in solving my problem. Avoid this unprofessional and chaotic outfit. Their service is appalling.
Date of experience: 20 November 2023
If you have 30 minutes to waste on Saturday morning telephone Shell Energy call centre regarding stopping incessant calls from them asking me if I want a smart meter, which I have told them repeatedly I DO NOT WANT A SMART METER. Shell might be one of the world largest company but their call centre response time leaves a lot to be desired
Date of experience: 18 November 2023
Avoid this company
I signed a contract for the broadband at home . I had to wait 18 days to have the appointment to install the service . They will come on Tuesday and I received I text today ( Sunday ) that they need to do a hole in wall to instal internet and I need the Landlord permission . They should have given me this information before not at the last minute ! I called the customer service and the agent has been rude…. Waste of time . Horrible customer service .
Date of experience: 19 November 2023
Ridiculously poor customer service. Just got passed around many different call centres in South Africa. Struggled to understand some representatives & still have not resolved my issue. Have taken over 3 months to come back to me with a response to my email! My issue is still remains unresolved.
Date of experience: 16 November 2023
It would appear that it is not only…
It would appear that it is not only Shell’s back office which is not exactly up-to-scratch.
My original review was removed but I see now that {despite it being flagged up as removed} it is visible again. I responded to the e-mail advising its removal and the reason therefore, pointing out that the alleged breach of TP conditions was in fact part of a response I had received from Shell. To date I have apparently hit yet another brick wall – no response to my offer to edit out all the totally irrelevant promotional material.
Date of experience: 17 November 2023
Poor customer service, constant conflicting information given in regards to go live date with none still given 8 days on. False promises of managerial call back within 48hrs that don’t happen.
Date of experience: 20 November 2023
My experience has been consistently marred by frequent network disconnections. While the service initially showed promise with a few days of stable connectivity, the recurring interruptions have been incredibly frustrating.
The unreliable network has significantly impacted my ability to work from home and conduct daily activities seamlessly. Despite reaching out to customer support, the issue persists, and the lack of a reliable connection has been a major inconvenience.
Date of experience: 20 November 2023
Firstly they have been overcharging and when trying to get a refund they have message on their website stating
we are not giving refunds at the moment
further information on their website states they are selling their energy business to Octopus
What has got to do with me??
Secondly there contact systems is terrible, when I did eventually get through their auto response and onto live chat after 12 minutes they cut me off, so back on for a total of over an hour got through again got a name only to be put back into a queue
their customer service is totally unacceptable and still no refund yet I am over £1000 in credit
Date of experience: 06 November 2023
This has to be the most incompetent bunch of customer service reps I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. 11 days of constant calling being passed back and forth between home move and customer service as nobody was capable of closing my account and nobody could be bothered. Only person worth any salt in that company was Tom from Home move, he manually closed my account and issued my final bill, he took time to sort everything out unlike everyone else with a South African accent who just fobbed me off and passed me to another dept. I will never ever have an account with Shell ever again.
Date of experience: 03 November 2023
I think these reviews have been written by shell employees.
This internet company is the worst company ever. Since oct 14 the internet started going off. We rang 6 times to be told it was outside then inside and we were at one point liars. Poor poor internet since weve had it ie constant internet problems. Now it goes off for hours on for minutes and off again and they even sent an engineer out and he didn’t have a clue. Please stay away from shell broadband. It’s awful
Date of experience: 14 October 2023
I would never recommend. Beware of phantom charges, check your credit ratings monthly as they will mark you as not paying despite if you do. This company should not be allowed to trade ever. If you enjoy being over charged and dealing with call center’s that do not understand English then you are in the right place. Please save yourself and choose any other supplier
Date of experience: 05 July 2023
Had to ask for a return bag for my router about 4 times when I closed my account. Eventually received it and returned the router, only to be emailed by them now, saying they haven’t received it and I have been charged. They seemed determined to make that charge, by hook or by crook, from the get go. Funny how most of these five star reviews include employee names. Avoid these scamming thieves.
Date of experience: 07 November 2023
Totally shocking customer services. They billed me wrongly. Sent me an email confirming this. I phoned customer service to ask about my over payments. I was on the phone over 1hr trying to get them to understand my situation they didn’t seem to know what they were doing. Kept contradicting himself I asked to speak to a manager he didn’t seem to want to do that and said the credit would be in my account in a few days. The credit didn’t appear so I phoned them again explaining over an hr again. They promised that credit will go through to my account. A week later I’m still waiting so I emailed them asking when my credit will be in my account they mailed back saying they will start the refund that day. So many broken promises and misguided customer services. Non existent customer support. I’m not surprised they are coming out of the broadband sector they are totally shocking
Date of experience: 25 October 2023
Terrible customer service. I moved home in August and have been trying for nearly 2 months to register as the new customer and set up my bills. I have been treated like a fraudster, told they need proof I now live in the property and despite providing still couldn’t get my account set up and then bills mounting as unable to just pay my bill. Loads of phone calls later I got nowhere and moved to another supplier, no issues in setting up my account with other company and I would never ever use shell energy again. Disgusting
Date of experience: 02 November 2023
SHELL ENERGY NOT GUARANTEED
We were told this would be ideal to cut costs and give the same benefits to the broadband.
The installation day 1/11/23 came and went nothing was set up. Numerous calls and emails led to the runaround and still today 2/11/23 still no internet. We have been told to contact the technical department? For a new customer ??? No engineer to be sent, still awaiting a call back from Oliver for yesterday? Would not tell us the cooling off period ! No date known for when the internet will be LIVE! DO NOT SIGN UP FOR BROADBAND with Shell Energy. No compensation offered ! They do not deliver as promised. They do not sort out their mistakes. They closed the complaint without resolving it. They are unprofessional and unreliable. Very disappointed and now without internet seeking another provider.
Date of experience: 01 November 2023
Broadband is not their specialty and the service on full fibre is completely awful . Sadly the back up and customer care is full of empty promises and let downs . I was expecting 100mb but I’m struggling to get 2mb with constant buffering. I should have stayed with my previous supplier but I have learned the hard way ,
Date of experience: 01 November 2023
Only been a customer for a week or two and what a nightmare. The customer service are extremely unhelpful.
There was a problem with installing our WiFi, we have called and tried the online chat and no one can provide an answer and they just palm us off to someone else. The online chat person was very blunt and then just stopped replying. We have been left with no internet and no timeframe on when this will be resolved, when I need it to work. Very unhappy with the services so far.
Date of experience: 30 October 2023
I have been a customer for a while and the customer service agents are rude and don’t listen in particular Kelly, who was shouting at me. I am 84 years old. This is the most shocking experience I have ever experienced.
I have read the reply below by Shell but am taking the matter further to Ofcom.
Date of experience: 31 October 2023
Website states minimum 1mbps I am receiving zero Mbps and they still want to charge me £102 to cancel as a new customer. They are blaming having 4 devices as reason for having zero speed. Keep away from this company service is not a word known to them
Date of experience: 17 October 2023
the worst 18months of hell with these people please do not ever go with shell just choose anything else. deplorable service I’m so happy it’s over this month I would advice everyone to stay clear of these people.
Date of experience: 01 November 2023
Connection dropping loading issues!! I’ve been with Shell broadband since…
I’ve been with Shell broadband since q6th October in this time it keeps dropping connection Alexa powering off constantly firestick buffering constantly / loading slowly supposed to take ten days when I spoke to advisor for the service to settle….. its been 14 days and its worse than ever. I’ve done everything reset it moved the box plugged it in to main socket and advisor reset it at her end I’m so disappointed with this service and this is suppose to be superfast broadband?????…..Donna
Date of experience: 16 October 2023
To whom it may concern,
Can I inquire for help here?
Thank you!
REPLY:We are not Shell but own and operate independent non-profit websites focused on Shell.
Contact information for Shell can be found on their website: https://www.shell.co.uk/about-us/contact-us.html
For all queries related to Shell Energy Phone: 0330 094 5800 or visit website: https://www.shellenergy.co.uk
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Switched to Shells Broadband from Talk…
Switched to Shells Broadband from Talk Talk. Connection speed has dropped on switch to them, down to 15mbps from 37 meaning we can barely watch anything without buffering. I have emailed and got a response that is super generic and threatens charges too! They didn’t answer all of my questions and want me to use a screwdriver to take my fairly new Dual Socket to bits!! Wish i never switched what a nightmare….. [JG 6637761]
Date of experience: 30 October 2023
Connection dropping loading issues!! I’ve been with Shell broadband since…
I’ve been with Shell broadband since q6th October in this time it keeps dropping connection Alexa powering off constantly firestick buffering constantly / loading slowly supposed to take ten days when I spoke to advisor for the service to settle….. its been 14 days and its worse than ever. I’ve done everything reset it moved the box plugged it in to main socket and advisor reset it at her end I’m so disappointed with this service and this is suppose to be superfast broadband?????…..Donna
Date of experience: 16 October 2023
Complaint unresolved – vulnerable customer
With regards to my ongoing complaint still outstanding from September 22nd. I have received NO promised call back last week from the complaints team. I am therefore escalating my complaint from this point forwards to a team manager. I will, under NO account be discussing this complaint with anyone else less senior.
I have no broadband this morning.
Shell, you have me marked down as a vulnerable customer.
November 22nd this complaint goes to Ofcom.
I expect a call back today.
Date of experience: 26 October 2023
Has to be the WORST broadband I have…
After midnight when I’m in bed it is lucky if my broadband will work upstairs and considering the bedroom is right on top of the router that makes it absurd.
Also my broadband disconnects itself from my SkyQ box multiple times a day which now ruins the enjoyment of chilling and watching sky or netflix/disney ect.
I just wish I could get out of this broadband without penalty because its the worst broadband I’ve had in 30 years and I’m even going as far back as aol in the 90s/2000s.. even AOL beats shell tenfold.
I would advise anybody interested in Shell for broadband to look elsewhere, diabolical really is an understatement and the fact I have been unable to walk since May makes this even worse for me as moving around having to try and restart devices to connect it up again.. well its ridiculous
Date of experience: 28 October 2023
Terrible service. Chasing me for £2 after final bill been paid and cannot be paid via dd so having to physically make payment for such tiny amount. Very dissatisfied costumer here.
Date of experience: 28 October 2023
ABYSMAL DO NOT USE
Where do I bleeding start?
No one at this company knows what they are doing. A sh1te show from start to finish honestly I wish I never heard of them. Their customer service agents have brains of Dory the fish from finding Nemo. Not one promise they say they are going to fulfil actually happens. They close complaints without resolving them they constantly harass you via telephone.terrrible broad band service
Date of experience: 25 October 2023
Thieves, not trust worthy company
My Account was nearly £1000 in credit. They sent an email explaining that they will be taking £739 direct debit???. They then explained that it will be £542???. My Bill was £300. After all that they took £739. My Account is in credit by £1300. Shell is refusing to credit me with my money and they are refusing to deal with my complaint. They are also charging me above the set cap by OFGEM. They do not make enough profit !!! So they have to steal from its customers, brilliant. Of course I am changing supplier and making a formal complaint to the regulator
Date of experience: 27 October 2023
Mistake after mistake and still owes me money overcharged to this day
The lack of professionalism from this company and its chatbot management is bottomless.
– I cancelled my broadband subscription 5 months ago and although they successfully stopped the connection on time, they keep on charging me the service to this day.
– I have lost hours sending emails and talking to their employees on the phone. Most of the time the emails are answered by chatbots and even when you raise a complaint, they close it without dealing with it. Some of their employees are incredibly rude and hang up on you. Others are helpful but unfortunately somehow, their accounts service does not follow the complaint and 5 months down the line they still owe me £72 which they seemed to have no intention of refunding although they recognise they owe me. They would still charge me £50 month for a non existent service if I did not stop the direct debit.
– They kept on threatening me for months for a broadband they certainly stopped when I asked them to do so. I formally emailed them on 26th May to cancel my broadband. Subsequently, I returned their router.
– Even with the proof of this cancellation email, they only registered the cancellation as happening in September after me finally speaking to an adviser. Alas, they still kept on invoicing me. Raised another complaint 2 weeks ago and their employee gave me a paltry £20 of compensation for all the stress and time lost dealing with their incompetence. To this day, they have not refunded me a single penny. I dread to think how much mishandling and stealing they must achieve if customers are incapacitated or elderly.
Date of experience: 29 October 2023
Broadband. Dont bother.
I received an email to say my new broadband service will be going live on November 5th. In the email it quoted the wrong telephone number. Tried to speak to somebody last night at 17:15. The chat should end at 21:00 but it ended at 17:00. Couldnt find a telephone number. Went on the chat this morning and was told I would have to wait till the service then I would have to change my telephone number. I said I shounldnt have to go through this. If this is the case cancel my contract. So they gave me a number. After going around in circles pressing various number I found Retentions. But I didnt because I was hold for 30 minutes and gave up.
Date of experience: 26 October 2023
After 85 minutes on the phone being pushed from pillar to post, an agent from the original department who also said previously it was nothing to do with them it was finally sorted. The agent who sorted it was called miah. She was very good but couldn’t say anything good about the others. They clearly need retraining on how to do their jobs. My thoughts, stay clear of this company unless you want a huge bill from them and a huge phone bill trying to sort things. Recommendations um……. None really. Had a mail straight after closing my complaint before anyone called me as requested. Again another shoddy company. !!!!!!
Date of experience: 20 October 2023
Doesn’t even deserve 1 star
Doesn’t even deserve 1star. !!
Engineer due to come Wednesday, it’s now Friday…received this text but engineer hasn’t been at all!! Try phoning via my mobile and they keeps saying ‘oh can’t hear you’ and then hang up ::
Hello, Shell Broadband here. We called today to check up on phone line. Kindly let us know if further assistance is required. Contact us on 0330 094 5801 to speak to a member of our team.
Date of experience: 20 October 2023
Received my bill this morning for…VAT shambles.
Received my bill this morning for broadband and telephone, I do not accept is that I have been charged VAT at 20% on top of my bill where as my contract states that the VAT is included in my bill. The advisor also stated that I have to pay VAT on top of my paper bill cost . I told the advisor I wanted to raise it as a FORMAL complaint to which he did , then he closed it stating that he would send it on to the relevant team basically as my feedback. I am fuming , I cannot wait for my contract to be up early next year to change provider. This is not the 1st time they have added VAT on top of my bill and I have had to telephone them about it . 1 star is too good for them. Luckily for me I had got my contract details on my PC as he could not find it at 1st. I had to say to him the day I renewed my contract. The advisor was not helpful at all in my opinion.
Date of experience: 23 October 2023
No help from Customer service poor/ Stay away from Shell Broadband
No help or support to change payment date. The only outcome from Shell was I can’t change dates or amend billing which is negative language. Just message for potential customer is stay away from Shell Broadband due to poor customer and below average broadband speed.
Date of experience: 16 October 2023
Huge company with zero customer service
Despite paying our account on time every month we have been repeatedly referred to debt collectors. This has led to endless hours on the phone calling up to get us removed from the debt collector list. We have since moved to Octopus Energy but are still receiving calls from their debt collectors. Avoid at all costs. A huge company with zero customer service and if something goes wrong you will spend a lot of time trying to make it right and probably be unsucessful.
Date of experience: 16 October 2023
Terrible!!
Got to be the worlds worst company i pay more than what i spend on my gas and electric yet its never good enough for these greedy people i physically cannot give what i havent got and now making out i havent stuck to my payment plan when iv been paying more than what i use a month absolute joke man!! If you want the 20p that i have to my name for the next 2 weeks feel free to have it!!
Date of experience: 18 October 2023
We have requested a new connection and…
We have requested a new connection and then try to contact Customer care more than 100 time send call back request via email etc neither we have received any call back.
We decided not to go ahead.
If this is the service’s standard we don’t want to trap for Lea they contract.
Date of experience: 04 October 2023
Will not refund credit balance once account is closed
I have spent a month writing emails just asking for the credit balance on my closing account to be repaid but nothing. One reply saying they can only refund by cheque not back to the account they have been helping themselves to excessive direct debits from. Sent them details for the cheque to be posted but heard nothing since. They just ignore emails. Will never use Shell Energy again. Will keep trying to get my money back though.
Date of experience: 16 October 2023
Telephone/Broadband migration chaos
Absolute chaos-
– 16 days late migrating my landline over from Plusnet
– Failed 4 times to get me a proposed slot from openreach for me to stay in for the repair. If you go for the “Fibre” (ie FTTC/VDSL) offering you apparently get your broadband and landline via TalkTalk, who have a high complaint rate (according to Ofcom)
– Helpdesk wasn’t at all familiar with my type of openreach master socket
– Billing is errored- my first bill on the website didn’t agree with the pdf version downloaded from the same website
– Took three attempts to get sensible compensation; initially they offered nothing, then only a little and then finally the amount in their own documentation
PS Do ask for compensation when things go wrong. I got £8 per day plus £25 for each cancelled openreach appointment. If they don’t play along wait 2 months or get a “deadlock letter” and then go to the ombudsman and they will sort it out quickly.
Date of experience: 22 September 2023
Unsatisfactory complaint
Had a dispute over a bill for an empty property. After a large number of calls and emails, made a formal complaint which took months to deal with and a very unsatisfactory explanation/outcome. I understand Octopus energy will be taking over soon, otherwise I would swap to another provider.
Date of experience: 16 October 2023
Don’t use them for broadband.. Counting the days until I can switch. The customer service was terrible when I was left without internet for a week and in my tiny house I cannot get WiFi in the next room. Honestly there are other providers for a similar price with faster broadband, don’t consider Shell
Date of experience: 12 October 2023
Avoid – had an ongoing complaint for over 2 years that was upheld (they kept sending my details to debt collection agencies incorrectly). Was harassed the whole time and eventually only given £150 compensation with no guarantee it won’t happen again. Noted they made £39bn profit this year so I will be leaving as I can’t morally give them any more of my money
Date of experience: 12 October 2023
I applied for broadband early in september, given a start date at the end of the month. 2 failed engineer visits. Pushed back three times and still not set up a month later.
Just pushed me back with no explaination today, another week. They’re not even trying.
Date of experience: 12 October 2023
Shi… internet, Shi… service.
I have internet just few hours a day after long time on phone call with technicians. Check this check that, at my home is everything good but they keep telling me what problem at my property.
Can’t cancel because cooling period is ended befor it comes life. Not happy, and so angry.
I don’t care what you gonna write under keep your apologies for yourself you everyone not competent and lying on every step…
Date of experience: 05 October 2023
Not our problem, it was our computer what done it.
I recently complained that over a year after I had ceased to be a customer of Shell Energy, I received a email from company, in which the consequences of not having a Direct Debit in place were explained in some detail. The reply I received explained that this was an automatic process. Apparently, it is perfectly permissible to cause former customers sleepless nights, a great deal of anxiety, and ruined mental health, provided that this was all done by a computer. The fact that computers enact policies detailed by humans is apparently not an consideration.
Date of experience: 10 October 2023
You have taken payment for my bill out of my credit, also you have taken £275 by direct debit as well, so I have been charged twice for my bill. I spoke to an advisor at Shell and she said she would send me a revised bill, which I received today and now my credit has been lowered again, so that is now three times you have taken money from me. I call that robbery. If this is not sorted, I am going to Offgem and trading standards.
Date of experience: 11 October 2023
Shell Energy broadband is the only ISP that failed within 5 days after going live. Don’t count on them if you need to work from home unless you don’t need internet connection at all.
Date of experience: 10 October 2023
Crooks, and in breach of Ofgem guidance
Asked for a refund six months ago, I was declined despite having over £1200 in credit I let it slide as I couldn’t be bothered with the battle. Now I have moved suppliers they are constantly delaying my refund stating waiting for the final bill details (smart meter they have my readings daily) the final bill was raised two weeks ago and still no refund, being told anywhere up to 10 weeks for my refund! Disgusting and doesn’t follow Ofgem guidance.
Date of experience: 10 October 2023
Shell broadband is terrible… engineer knocked out my connection with a drill and didn’t finish the work…. left concrete all over my doorstep and didn’t clean up and now have no Internet for next 2 weeks…. avoid these amateur clowns at all costs please. broke connection got in his van and left with out informing me about damage and no connection. Unprofessional!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date of experience: 06 October 2023
Shell Energy Superfast Fibre Plus awful…Very Slow
Shell Energy Broadband Superfast Fibre Plus state estimated speed range is 23-53Mbps whereas in reality it has never been over 14Mbps at anytime.
There is nothing wrong with my equipment I am using and I am using an Ethernet connection only and the internet speeds are terrible.
When contacting the company they are not interested.
I understand that OCTOPUS ENERGY are about to take over Shell Energy Broadband, I recommend you stay well clear of these providers and look elsewhere.
Date of experience: 07 October 2023
No support at all. I was sent a modem/router I didn’t ask for or expect. This new router is much less secure than my existing one. The person I first spoke to on the phone didn’t even know what MAC filtering was! The people I was passed on to weren’t really familiar with the device I’d been sent. What information they did ultimaterly give me was incorrect. In the end I found and forwarded to them correct information that showed the device didn’t support MAC filtering. I’m now left with the old modem/router because they can’t offer me a device that supports MAC filtering.
Date of experience: 04 October 2023
They just don’t answer the phone. Always huge call wait times with no indication of when/if they will answer. Basic stuff. I can’t get my account set up since I moved in. I’ll be sure to move to someone with better service standards.
Date of experience: 07 October 2023
Yet again I find myself complaining about Shell broadband poor customer service.
My broadband has been down for the past 2 weeks and despite 4/5 calls the advisers I spoke with seem pretty content to either fob you off or outright lie. I was told my line was fixed when it hadn’t been. Very reluctant to organise an engineer so after some insisting I managed to get an engineer out today. Unfortunately he was unable to fix despite several visits to the exchange, I just hope someone will pull their finger out and follow this through…? 2 weeks of no broadband isn’t good and nobody seems to have prioritised this? Due to medical reasons I work from home. Shell you have me recorded as a vulnerable customer please follow through on your obligations…
Date of experience: 04 October 2023
Absolutely the worst energy company I’ve ever had!!! They never sort anything out. I’ve been with them only a month and recieved over a dozen nuisance calls already! Have now had to black their number! So glad they are bring brought out! Would not recommend!
Date of experience: 07 October 2023
I wonder how many vouchers or compensations they have given away to earn 5 stars.
, their broadband never works….. so, what are they good at? Shame
Date of experience: 03 October 2023
Terrible dishonest customer service and company
I moved into an empty property, and was charged over £1200 for gas & electricity. There is no boiler, no cooker, no hot water, not even electric sockets. I asked for their engineer to take photos of the empty property, but they refused to accept this evidence.
They obstructed that I move to more reputable energy company that I have been with for many years. They refused all reasonable evidence, and has been proper bullies. It is shambolic that this company are allowed to trade.
Date of experience: 03 October 2023
Received letter stating engineer would be out between 1-6pm no one turned up, not even a call,to my mobile. Called customer services to find out when engineer would be out and was told I didn’t need one and was connected. I said I was 89yrs and couldn’t get down to switches and didn’t know how to connect to WiFi, they hung up on me. Called again for complaints to let them know how I was treated and would be expecting the £25 credit which states on their website you receive for engineer not showing up, she hung up on me again!Date of experience: 03 October 2023
This company are appalling. They come out as the cheapest on comparison sites but beware they then up their charges to an extortionate amount once you are with them.
They wanted us to pay over £500 a month for a 2 person household. They also made us pay over £1000 stating we were in debit on our account despite paying a really high monthly direct debit.
We are now with another company, pay less than half of the amount that shell charged us and are already in £600 credit after 4 months.
Date of experience: 16 August 2023
Bullying vulnerable old people is pretty low, and that is what they are doing. Message sent saying more than doubling their direct debit when they have never been in debit and we have to keep getting the overpayments back by wasting our time on the telephone to them. We keep putting in complaints which presumably go into the bin.
In any other part of life just taking more money than you are due would either be theft or fraud. What makes them think they are above the law and decency? Arrogance and corporate targets for deposit amounts, and they are probably getting 5% on your overpayments, means their profits swell and anyone who is on a profit related bonus gets a bit more at your cost.
If you think about it, if Shell Energy have 1m customers, and they each have at least £500 overpayments in SE’s deposit account then SE are raking in almost £2.1m per month in interest.
They should be made to pay customers 5% on any money they hold over £100 to discourage them ripping everyone off and defrauding vulnerable old people.
Date of experience: 29 September 2023
I am going to sue them.Destroyed my credit history, overcharged me and never paid it back, keep harassing me to pay.T
Date of experience: 02 October 2023
2 Oct 2023 broadband down again, ring shell, tell them my password they then tell. Me to enter,,, low and behold it’s up and running again. fault team saying nothing wrong, as well as passing me to different departments.
Date of experience: 02 October 2023
The installer who came to install the smart meter for me was very rude. First of all, he was late – he arrived at 5.20 pm. He raised his voice to me (I warned him 2-3 times not to shout at me). He wanted to see the radiator controller. When I said that there was no problem, but he had to change his shoe covers, he was wearing them outside – it was raining and he was walking on the ground — HE SAID IT WAS NOT A PALACE AND HE WENT AWAY. He also threatened me that he would disconnect my gas. I also did not receive a home monitor that would control my gas consumption. I also didn’t sign the completion of work for him – the signature I gave him before starting work, he said that he couldn’t start doing anything without it… That’s not the way to do it. It’s a showcase of your company, which isn’t very pretty.
Date of experience: 02 October 2023
Fixed price came to an end. Payment is going from £153 to £243 despite the spot gas price being historically low.
They offered a fixed rate tariff, takes the price down to £226, the catch? I must take a Smart Energy meter that I don’t want and have never wanted, and have declined SMS who have phoned me easily 15 to 20 times since I’ve been with Shell Energy.
I’ve told them every time to stop phoning me, I don’t want a smart meter, but still they do it. Albeit I haven’t had a call for a few months, maybe they’ve stopped. I don’t know. But not before telling them over and over again to stop phoning me.
I also used to get nagged regularly with text messages to book a Smart Meter despite never wanting one and making that clear from the first time they asked.
Now shell is giving me a high price, with a tiny discount if I accept a smart meter.
I started my switch to Octopus energy today. £217 a month, albeit a variable rate, so the Corrupt Neo Marxist government can treat me and everyone else like an ATM machine to fund the hotels for illegals, and the Ukraine war that had nothing to do with us.
This after they put 28+ energy companies out of business by pretending to care about people with a Price Cap, now the greedy corrupt energy companies have no incentive to compete against each other, since the corrupt Marxist government killed off almost all free market competition.
Date of experience: 03 October 2023
I have been attempting to get a refund on my large credit balance for the last three Days. What a Joke! the online method doesn’t work despite way to many attempts. Then transfers me to the online chat bot LOL. I would get more sense from a Indian call centre keeps bouncing me back to the online refund method. I did try phoning yesterday 27/09 but after approximately 50 mins of waiting I gave up! Bet SHELL would be straight onto me if I CANCELLED MY DIRECT DEBIT!!!
Date of experience: 28 September 2023
The worst broadband company I had dealt with. The terribly unreliable connection, drops off all the time causing issues at work since I work from home. Contacted customer service maybe 10 times but nothing resolved. After a year of struggling , I decided to terminate the contract 6 months earlier and pay the penalty. I will never ever work with this company…
Date of experience: 29 September 2023
Constantly harassed and Passing my personal details to a private company for a smart metre. Avoid!!. Left me with no alternative but to find a new energy supplier due to the constant phone calls and texts.
Date of experience: 29 September 2023
I have just called to ask if I can lower my payments from 1st October due to the change of energy prices. The lady on the other end of the phone (South African accent) said ‘don’t you think you should call back on the 1st October?’ in such a
tone. I was gobsmacked! Whoever this lady is, she really needs to learn some customer service skills if she answers phones for a living. I told her I’d call back to speak to someone helpful.
Date of experience: 27 September 2023
I moved into a new house, and pretty much straight away I was getting called from a debt collection company, sometimes multiple times a day.
After a few weeks of constant calls I set up a direct debit and paid anything I owed to Shell. I asked for the calls from the debt company to stop. They didn’t.
Eventually it did die down. However one month, after paying my direct debit, there was £20 still left to pay.
I wasn’t aware of this and hadn’t received any email asking me to pay. Instead I started getting calls from the debt collection company over £20 I owed, which had been on my account for about a week, and which I wasn’t even notified about.
It’s basically become harassment which is completely underserved. Even when I was on holiday I was getting constant calls.
I think it’s a ridiculous way to treat customers and I will be switching energy provider as soon as I can. I’ve compared the energy rates and they aren’t even that good.
My advice to anyone thinking of going with Shell Energy would be to avoid and go elsewhere.
Date of experience: 29 September 2023
I have never encountered such terrible customer service.
I am the landlord for the property in question. My previous tenants vacated the property without notice on 21 July 2023, however they notified Shell energy that they left on 10 July 2023. I am now receiving bills at my property for the period 10 July 2023 onwards. I cannot be held liable for paying my tenants bills. They switched to Shell Energy themselves. Any debt that they have, Shell is responsible for chasing up with them, not me!
I have provided the first tenancy agreement, final tenancy agreement, dated photos of gas and electric meter and dated CCTV footage of the tenants relative dropping off the keys at my property explaining that they had moved out of the property and gone to Romania, on 21 July 2023. How is this not sufficient evidence? This is absolutely unbelievable!
I spent 3 hours this morning trying to resolve this mess, and the issue still remains. I was transferred 4 times from person to person. Then I was told systems were down and to contact you via live chat. I was then told by live chat that this query cannot be resolved via live chat after and hour. I have sent about 6 emails now.
Can someone with clear English please contact me to resolve this as soon as possible. I am sick to death of trying to chase this up. I will be seeking legal advise if this isn’t sorted out swiftly.
Date of experience: 29 September 2023
where do i start!, had three phone calls then hang up when i answer, when i phone back get through to at least five people who just want me to have smart meters thats all the know, must be on a commision, all i wanted was a gas meter finaly got through to someone who seemed to know what they were talking about. said i needed an mprn number needed to phone 08000294285 which turned out to be uk electric, just spent another half an hour listning to a music backround sent through another three people, to set up an account for gas, got through to a nice gentleman who told me i need an mprn number, he told me it will be on the meter when fitted at least he never gave me a phone number.no i dont want your smart meters. Had to edit got another phone call hung up when i answered as usual left a message said i need to set up an account or i wont get meter, spoke to a nice lady who put me straight though to sales? spoke to david who is putting me through to sales more crappy music still waiting. I should go on ebay buy a meter and stick it in myself lol. just spoke to a very nice lady who sorted it all out for me, make her head of training.
Date of experience: 27 September 2023
Not impressed with customer service advisors on the phone or by email. They have been
They just keep repeating themselves. I asked to speak to someone else and was put on hold then the same person came back on the phone with no explanation to why she didn’t pass me to someone else and continued to repeat the same phrases and still couldn’t give a straight answer to any of my questions. All just reading from a script. Date of experience: 25 September 2023
Shell So So Poor
After a prolonged shambles dealing with this company, I’m glad I’ve switched over to another provider.
An e-mail received on the 6th September 2023 stated that my refund, would in my account within 10 working days. I called today to chase up the the 1st person that took the call took my details, I told her the issue, then the phone went dead. I completed the aftercall telephone questionnaire regarding the level of service, extremely poor. The 2nd person advised me this would be done within the next 48 hours. And his step away attitude wasn’t particularly helpful. Personally I believe this is a disgusting level of customer care, and I would like to know which person is responsible, because this is why I’d never recommend Shell to anyone.
If shell do contact me please e-mail
Date of experience: 22 September 2023
Just awful. They can’t justify all of the extra charges they slap on, despite hours and hours of conversations and basically just say tough, pay it.
Had an agreed payment plan with them and then they just took the whole amount in one go.
Disgusting company. Avoid at all costs.
Oh and the reply below basically just says they’ll try to contact you within 48hrs. It’s just all a pr stunt. Actual business is rotten to the core.
Date of experience: 21 September 2023
Shell energy are woefully inept at proving a proper service
I can’t give 0 stars or I would, I can’t pay my energy prepay bills no matter how I try. No paypoint cards supplied in nearly 2 months & the shell energy App doesen’t work, it takes my money & it disappear’s into the ether until my bank returns it 10 days later. The most woefully poor service I’ve had from any company in 35 years. Date of experience: 19 September 2023
Broadband installed but wont work on PC have spent over 2 hours on 2 occasions with tech support. Charming and polite however!!
Problem not resolved
Date of experience: 19 September 2023
Biggest bullies and scammers I’ve ever come across. They tried to bully me into paying a massive bill when we moved into our new home, I refused and asked them to review…I had to go as far as processing 3 x complaints. However, in the meantime they kept sending threatening letters, they reported against my credit file and
and adjusted the actual figure from when I moved into the house…which was massively different. All the while, refusing to correct my credit file and a couple of weeks later (before I even had the new and adjusted bill) they processed missed payments against my file. We’re now taking it legal against them
Date of experience: 16 March 2023
SOOOO shocking, customer service useless and very unhelpful. Kept loosing connection and used all my data up as phone kept leaving the WIFI. They offer a cooling off period of 2 weeks but that 2 weeks is the start up process so its too late once you realise how useless it is. For a global brand we have a very Micky mouse service. We have wasted hours and hours trying to get this sorted and the saga still continues.
Date of experience: 16 September 2023
Will never go with this company again. Absolute nightmare and utterly horrid people to deal with. Funny how all their positive 5* reviews mention a specific agent’s name. Not sure I have seen more obviously fake reviews in my life – they can’t even get that right. Rates are not competitive. No response to complaints, endless errors even for the most basic of tasks, said no account with given number despite having forwarded them the Shell email confirming account no, data leaks – and all this within just a few days of dealing with them. I could not have switched out faster. Octopus Energy = so far amazing! Know what they’re doing and do not drain energy and time from its customers.
Date of experience: 14 September 2023
It is Your mistake/fault if you use this company
Avoid shell energy at all cost
It will be your fault if you join shell energy.
Honestly, If I will have to stop using the Internet at all I will not use Shell energy, and I would rather die from cold or go out and collect wood and come home to use it for cooking or to make my house warm/ heating it than to use shell energy .
They are the worst ever company I have ever dealt with : they are all about money collection nothing more.
Join them and you will pay the price and I assure you will not have time to regret it.
Be careful and stay safe.
Date of experience: 29 July 2023
Please use any other service other than shell. I promise you they are not worth it. They refuse to fix issues, hang up on customers when they don’t know how to answer basic questions, the relentlessly call you 5+ times a day once you file a complaint. I’ve never hated a service more. Please leave me alone Shell, you are the worst company and frankly, I cannot wait to get out of my contract with you. I am considering eating the fee just so I never have to speak with this nagging service again. Oh and also, the internet sucks and always disconnects.
Date of experience: 08 September 2023
Honestly, I don’t even know what to write about Shell’s customer service… it’s simply the worst customer service I’ve ever encountered.
I’ve been trying for weeks to open an account for myself because I need to pay the gas bill that wasn’t transferred with the energy company that I choose due to an error. Additionally, my landlord has also been in contact (complaint 207169181), and after hours of calls and several email exchanges, despite providing all the necessary documents, they haven’t provided the minimum level of service. This demonstrates a lack of respect for the customer and honesty as well. They even called my landlord, falsely claiming I hadn’t submitted the requested documents, despite having proof that I sent them via email. My last call was on Wednesday, and they assured me that everything was ready and that they would get back to me the same day… but so far, I’ve heard nothing! How can one trust such a dishonest and disorganized company? I’m still waiting for my account to be ready so I can pay the bill. Enquiry 20724804
Date of experience: 31 August 2023
I’m not sure where to start, today they refused to refund a £600 credit balance and cut me off when I challeged this. If you are thinking of using them please do yourself a favour and dont. They are completely lacking customer service, common sense, and the tech to do the job. Their attitude in a fuel crisis created by greedy companies like them is a disgrace
Date of experience: 12 September 2023
I was a broadband customer and they cut us off our service on 6th September by mistake, but when I phoned up to try and cancel this they basically told me a pack of lies about cancellation. I made a complaint and they believed the call handler not me. There customer service is appalling no apologies and no chance of rectifying their errors and so they cut you, if you complain they give you nothing but grief.
Date of experience: 06 September 2023
Got an email today (Sunday) to submit my gas meter reading that is located on an exterior wall. The entire casing came away and can’t be replaced. Both meter and electrical cables exposed and thunder and lightening storm due in one hour. Helpline told me to go to B&Q to buy a replacement casing!!!, or phone again tomorrow if my house hasn’t burnt down presumably.
If you think a casing is needed then I am going to take your advice and assume that it is not decorative.
Just packing an overnight bag and alerting my adjacent neighbours.
Of course I won’t be, but how idiotic is your Helpline response. Unfortunately, it is also a public experience of Shell plc.
On a serious note for you mid level managers, you need to review your weekend support even though you have sold the business on.
Date of experience: 10 September 2023
Absolutely dreadful. In laws, who are in their 80’s have to keep telling Shell Energy not to raise their payments. They are constantly in credit and we have to regularly waste time getting Shell Energy to repay their credit that Shell hold and get interest on. I think it is a total stitch up and She’ll Energy are taking advantage of vulnerable people for material gain.
There is NO excuse for this behaviour, which is repeated again and again. DO NOT TRUST: Date of experience: 08 September 2023
Called regarding my elderly and unwell grandmother’s account (named on the account). We switched her supply on 29th of August. Between Shell and BT the account hadn’t been closed. (Both on openreach network so was assured I wouldn’t need to do anything) called to query her bill she received, a month in advance and was told we would need to cancel as it hadn’t been. She was finally well enough to speak today and the 30 days cancellation starts today and another bill being issued in October. She hasn’t had the landline service supplied by Shell since 29th August but still needs to pay for 2 months! Its absolutely ridiculous. Considering the line rental etc is almost 3 times as much as BT!!! Absolute disgrace.
5764390
Date of experience: 05 September 2023
My mother is 97 and is terminally ill with advanced dementia and my father is 94. Their phone was cut off with no warning at all. When I discovered this I contacted Shell and got the most appalling service!!! They could give no real reason why the phone was disconnected. Promises were made to reconnect but this never happened. When I called back their response was a total disgrace and I then call again to complain only for the the customer service person to put the phone down on me. AVOID THIS COMPANY
Date of experience: 08 September 2023
Bad WIFI, Honestly never used WIFI so bad in my life, was use to getting 300MB/S down to 50? it just feels so slow and the TV was lagging, couldn’t stream movies or play games without packet loss. Talked to customer support but the guy on the phone didn’t seem interested either, tbh just sounded like he was fed up of his job, doesn’t surprise me. Had to switch Provider this is unbearable.
Date of experience: 04 September 2023
Worst service.Cheap and most ridiculous service ever. Start date of service was 1st September 2023 and its 4th today still no internet. Customer service was sending an engineer today and no engineer showed up. My partner had to loose his day of work due to no WiFi and couldn’t go to the office as we were told that engineer was suppose to show up and resolve issue. I know it is the cheapest service but its very horrible. Neither their technical team nor customer service was able to help and we still have no internet. They do not provide service on weekends either so that’s another issue.
Most Awful experience.
Date of experience: 04 September 2023
Ah Shell Energy… We meet again!
We closed our Shell Energy account two years ago with a final meter reading on a rented flat. But despite this communication we periodically receive messages from them demanding random sums of money, including the time they attempted to take £2000 from a direct debit we had not closed. I have spent many hours on the phone to customer services people in remote locations, none of whom can give me a straight answer on what it is they think we owe or why they think we owe it. I have sent meter readings and communications from our old landlords to demonstrate we no longer live there. I have even received communications to say the matter has been resolved. But still Shell Energy keep coming back and asking for random sums of money. This time they have referred it to a collection agency.
I implore you to avoid this company. They are a disgraceful, disorganized disaster.
Date of experience: 04 September 2023
If you are thinking of getting your broadband from Shell don’t bother the supplied router is terrible.
Constant WiFi drops
WiFi signal is poor I get better signal from my neighbours house which has to travel further & through more walls!
Really annoying flashing lights which never stop as they show data transfer is happening (why you would need this I don’t know!)
Customer service are quite prompt to reply but the same issue always returns after they supposedly fix it.
Glad my contract is now up for renewal so I can leave this company
Date of experience: 01 September 2023
Not sure if this is the right place to bring this up but….. I joined Shell broadband around six months ago… started out very well, all was has advertised… then the speeds started dropping off, then kept going off intermittently, it’s definitely a lot worse than the previous supplier. Unfortunately I still have 12 months left on my contract, I will not be renewing and cannot recommend this provider.
Date of experience: 31 August 2023
Terrible experience. I had broadband with Shell Energy and overnight my bill doubled! No warnings, or options to pre-empt this. Customer service was also poor, and connection of poor quality. I strongly recommend going with another provider. AVOID AT ALL COST.
Date of experience: 30 August 2023
This company in my experience are unbelievable.
They have used incorrect meter reads (opening and closing) in my billing then aggressively pursue overstated balances without correcting their mistakes. They never read correspondence/emails …. even from their own colleagues…. Their South African call centre attempt to bully customers like me into accepting smart meters despite me telling them the phone signal in my area does not support this tech…. AVOID
Date of experience: 29 August 2023
Customer and complaint handling absolutely appalling. They closed a complaint without agreement. They are not prepared to reopen.
I would not recommend Shell Energy.
They do not want to take responsibility.
I will be escalating this to the Ombudsman.
Doing without broadband for a number of weeks and fobbing us off to contact other companies is nothing short of amateur and irresponsible – especially where our daughter could not access the internet with Extremely Important Prelim exams coming up!!
worst provider, go for anyone else
Been living in London for 12 years, shell is the worst broadband provider I’ve experienced.
Besides the fact their internet cuts for 15-30 minutes (sometimes 2 hours) at a time, it’s extremely slow. I work from home and forget about being on camera and talking on calls. No one can hear you and it’s BAD.
Pret’s public internet is better. So is my 4G.
But okay, we can say that maybe my area has bad internet. I’ve been calling their customer service since May (3 months ago). Their tactic is keep delaying and providing BS solutions with “this should fix it!” Without it fixing anything.
Their customer service could care any less and they don’t want to fix any issue. Instead, they procrastinate as much as they can.
Very manipulative.
Also, our internet is 8Mbs instead of 11 and they still won’t let us out of our contract even though my sister is a lawyer and she had to send the law for them to shut up.
Possibly the most badly managed, incompetent, greedy electricity supplier ever! Aside from taking roughly £500 per month off me, sometimes £750 per month, it took me 18 months and over 100 emails to get them to fit an E7 meter that worked and then take accurate readings from it. I then had to involve the Ombudsman to get them to refund to me the excess money they had taken – over £4k! Because they have a rule that every complaint must be resolved in a month, every time an advisor got to the point of trying to get me an E7 meter, they were changed and I had to start over again. Every time an advisor recommended a refund they were vetoed. When I finally escaped they sent me the balance of my account by cheque just so they could hang onto my money for another week. Cowboys and crooks (imho).
Date of experience: 27 August 2023
Run away from them! I called to ask about an inexplicably high consumption. My consumption was recalculated according to my historical consumption, and my meter reader changed. After changing it, a Customer Resolution Advisor emailed me, “I am sorry for the misinformation from the agent” “The removed meter may be faulty, please understand we cannot confirm if the meter is faulty since it has already been removed”, and they charged me again the previous consumption. It is like dealing with a scammer.
Date of experience: 25 August 2023
This is my 3rd complaint just in hope I…
This is my 3rd complaint just in hope I can save people from going through similar issue. These people make billions but their service is worse than my council (one of the poorest in UK). They will drag a simple request into a months long complaint. Simple message is please go with any other provider apart from these people unless you are looking for liars, people who never take ownership of cases or even want a resolution. They like to levy anything on customers to even chasing other organisations on their behalf or bringing your own gas engineer. Nice one Shell!
Date of experience: 23 August 2023
I’ve had to make a number of complaints regarding the transfer of my account from pureplanet.
Smart meters don’t connect unless replaced and then to try and sort out a call back has been extremely frustrating when they don’t follow up on agreed actions.
Extremely poor given the profits that share holds still get.
Date of experience: 23 August 2023
Question, did the person who reported the incident do so anonymously? If not the comment about not reporting beforehand is correct. However if it was anonymous, was this because they were afraid to speak up beforehand?
Reading the Aussie regulator report it would seem that the on board management, OIM down, and the actual workers themselves proceeded to do the work in contradiction of the permit to work conditions of adequate isolation. How ever we do not know what mitigating safeguards had been put in place following a risk assessment which would allow such a task to proceed safely. So long as two barriers were in place and no other work anywhere on that system was allowed then it should not be a problem.
An interesting question from this “reported” incident. Why did the person who reported this “incident” not make it known before the job started?????? Shel’s problem seems to be the lines of communication by the onboard team and not onshore management who must be tearing their hair out.
Trying to get through to a human was fraught. I am 80yrs old and only just computer literate. Trying to pay my broadband account via internet transfers me to my gas and electric account.
I started at 8.00am and finally being virtually in tears I got connected to Servonia, who helped me to set up a direct debit and arranged for me to get my bill paid. I am eternally grateful to Servonia.
Date of experience: 22 August 2023
Very poor company. The customer service is abysmal. I have outstanding issue raised to the ombudsman.
Trying to get hold of anyone who can resolve the issue is close to zero.
I would not recommend them in any capacity and concerns or issues are not dealt with in a timely manor.
I have never used trust pilot for a negative review and as such, this is my only and probably last.
Please use competitors, avoid at all costs.
Date of experience: 22 August 2023
Beware of these crooks. I received the broadband August 17th it was supposed to activate on August 18th and didn’t, so I called Shell Energy to discuss this with them. I was told to wait until the August 19th to see if it turns on and if not to call them. Ended up calling them August 19th to be told that they need to send an engineer out to sort the problem and I’ll have to wait until August 23rd which I declined. I cancelled my broadband straight away and sent back the broadband. Today I received a bill of £11.13 so I called to see what the bill was for just to be told that because they sent me the broadband I have to pay for the delivery cost ???? what a rubbish crucked company you are
Date of experience: 22 August 2023
absolute liars, after pure planet went bust i got put with this pile of useless cretins. after 4 months i finally heard from them and bills had quadrupled from the previous 4 years and even after fitting solar they still stayed the same, yet they say 40kwh per day is uk average funny how i only used 11kwh with pure planet. Ombudsman here i come
Date of experience: 17 August 2023
I had a very bad experience with Shell. I lost my home and could not afford to pay my debit. I contacted Shell and explained my situation, but they did not offer any assistance or sympathy. They ruined my credit score by defaulting me without trying to reach me, even though they had my email and phone number. I felt ignored and betrayed by them. As soon as I clear my debit, I will stop using Shell forever. I am very unhappy with their service.
Date of experience: 17 August 2023
Shameful that you can’t just pay what you owe
We are not allowed the basic service rights of just paying what we owe every month. Instead we are forced to have a credit balance month after month because of repeatedly and deliberately erroneous Shell calculations. They earn big money in interest on our continued month on month credit balances, if it wasn’t for us constantly lowering our monthly payments we would be over £600 in credit at this point instead of £265 in credit. Shameful that you can’t just pay what you owe.
Date of experience: 16 August 2023
Diabolical company, avoid at all costs! My bill for 2 months was in excess of £3000 , a ridiculous anount that they estimated back in January. Since then, 8 months in, i am struggling to get this solved, every new handler has the wrong info and i have to start again, in the meantime they blackmarked our credit score and destroyed all our plans , we were unable to remortgage our house or purchase anything!! 8 months is, we are in the same boat and no sense of urgency for them to solve this despite them destroying our lives!!
Date of experience: 17 August 2023
Cancelled my broadband within 14 days as service on the area was poor. Received a final bill of £37 and then a revised one at £26. Rang to pay the £26 and was told I had money coming back to me and therefore didn’t need to pay anything. I then received a call informing I owe them £26, I asked for a bill to be sent out and I receive a bill of £37. Spoke to an extremely rude and arrogant advisor who wasn’t helpful at all and cut me off and refused to put me though to a manger someone who maybe experienced enough to workout the final bill for me. They take their call centre out of the UK to countries where it is cheaper and this is reflected in the inadequate customer service we receive.
Date of experience: 18 August 2023
I am an ex post office customer and transferred to Shell with no construction
From the point of transferred and previous I’ve had no phone service ,
Open reach repair a fault in the local village but my efforts to to inform Shell that high wind had caused the phone line to break away from property.
Which I put a portable tower and replaced one screw to retain the cable ,
Shell insist that I must be there during the week ,
I explained to Shell, I leave early in morning and not back until after 6 pm ,
There reply was ,get a neighbour to be there ,
I know them to wave at ,but do not have dialog with any of them ,
I’m aware that open reach work Saturdays, I’ve asked the local technicians,
Date of experience: 18 August 2023
Harassing
Returned broadband equipment after cancelling rubbish shell broadband. Yet shell harassing me to pay £35 charge as apparently router not received!
Date of experience: 15 August 2023
Glad I’m finally leaving. I have to say, for the most part Shell’s Twitter team were the only bearable part of this company. This all changed today. I made contact with the Twitter team to let them know I couldn’t afford to make the payment due to a job change. I agreed to make a manual payment and up the payment to reflect this and clear any arrears quickly. They then took the payment plus the manual payment, and told me straight off I couldn’t have a refund although this was agreed. I then raised a complaint and lo and behold, 10 minutes later it was closed without any investigation and further lies from the agent who said I’d be contacted by phone in 3 working days. It’s laughable. I’ve gone to Octopus instead as I can’t deal with anymore incompetence from a company I actually once had an ounce of respect for.
Date of experience: 14 August 2023
Within a 6 minute call, I was passed around 4 different agents – no clue what department handles my issue !
Within a 6 minute call, I was put on hold and passed around 4 different departments, back and forth… Nobody seemed to have a clue who I should speak to? First they sent me to Customer Services care then somehow I got put onto a department for Triage or something (clearly not the right person and she was like I’ll have to pass you back to Customer Services and then I believe I got put on Accounts and then back to Customer Services?? What a joke, what a waste of time, what a waste of my breath explaining my issue 3 times to 3 different agents. I just hung up after the 3rd pass around and I’m trying to resolve my issue via email instead!
Let’s hope my email doesn’t get forwarded 3 times to 3 different advisors (fingers crossed).
Date of experience: 10 August 2023
Wouldnt use again – Avoid Customer Service is useless
Wouldnt use again, both for Gas, Electric and broadband – would rather pay more. Gas and Electric I didnt have much to choose as my provider went bust, but they certain pressed you for extra payments when your in credit on your gas/Electric. Broadband a direct debt was in place, but they never took any money for 5 months, and didnt contact me and as my 18 months was due to expire, turned my landline off so would potentially lose my landline number – All together USELESS – AVOID – I’ve now joined another ISP, but wont have any internet for 3 weeks until my new ISP takes over, Yet I have Paid until the end of August – Thats 3 weeks paid, and no internet
Date of experience: 11 August 2023
Absolute rubbish mishandled my home move then threatened debt collectors for bill I’d paid 2 weeks earlier. AVOID
Date of experience: 11 August 2023
I was trying to help my friend move his broadband account via Uswitch. The Shell website wouldn’t allow me to do this so I phoned their customer services. The person I spoke to said the Shell deal I had selected wasn’t available at that address. He said that Uswitch should not have offered that deal. When I asked why the service wasn’t availabe he just told me (I’m paraphrasing here) it wasn’t and that’s that. I said I’m trying to understand why it wasn’t available but he just then became rude. He told me that he knew his job, and got quite shouty. He wanted to offer me the cheaper deal. I actually had to tell him to calm down !!! As a result I told him I was not now going to place an order with Shell because of his attitude. Clearly his attitude doesn’t fill me with confidence about any future needs for support with them.
Date of experience: 10 August 2023
Absolutely horrible customer experience
Line was meant to be online well over a week now however after calling multiple times saying the router has not arrived I was told not too worry, that it will arrive within a day of going live however no one placed the delivery for the router until I called on the day it was meant to go live. Then after the connections failed I called out multiple times and they assured me an engineer will come and confirm times with me however I never got a call back. Once I called back they said they didnt send an engineer and forced me to redo all the steps that I had previously done for the 4th time with their specialist. Then once they sent an engineer who couldn’t fix the issue I was promised another engineer would come and that they would call. Which again did not happen. AVOID!!
Date of experience: 03 August 2023
raising this complaint here so you can save your self especially if you have an elderly mother/ father:
They dont keep to their word. All the agents love to throw around cases like its pass the parcel. By the time you finish dealing with these people you will have a degree in boilers because they really make you do your own due diligence as their agents arent trained properly.
Please avoid these people, they will send you to a call centre in South Africa where no one cares. Guess who will be left crying? You and your elderly mother while they pay premium to Shareholders. Nice one Shell, 10 years with you and this is the service you uphold.
Date of experience: 09 August 2023
Customer service: I would have more chance of finding hens teeth than reaching the feed in tariff department of shell energy. Their customer service has been the worst I have experienced. I have rang the telephone number over 50 times and due to unforseen circumstances you can get through???? Joke. I will believe it when I hear from someone
Date of experience: 08 August 2023
Customer service so poor and nothing actually being done although I got responses from the reviews from Trustpilot ….they been chasing but nothing actually received from shell energy team.
No wonder the google reviews are so poor on their site .
I am today making an official complaint on their website and will keep this updates on here as to whether they can resolve the issue and raise the refund due .
Update 09/08/23
No contact yet after official complaint went in three days ago ..automated email said they would response in 48 working hours ..assume that means five days so will wait before another update .
Date of experience: 06 August 2023
Avoid
Based off of our experience with Shell I am shocked to see their average trust pilot score this high.
Our experience has been absolutely dreadful. We have had to go through the ombudsman to get our case resolved. Taking 9 months stuck on a premium tariff due to a broken meter – paying ~48p a day standing charge for this with little to no contact and when they do come and visit and asses they turn up with the wrong equipment.
Trying to change over providers at the moment. But unable to. As Shell haven’t switched our tariff info over on the national database. Still waiting for a response 5 days later.
Date of experience: 02 August 2023
Broadband is not active for 2 weeks past its activation date. I am unable make and receive any calls either.
Customer services is very poor and staff have no clue what someone else in the company agreed.
Don’t deliver on professional commitments to send engineer and fix issues timely.
Avoiddddddddddd this company
Date of experience: 03 August 2023
Avoid this company
I switched energy providers in June 2022.
Paid my final bill that summer.
In 2023 August Shell passed me to debt collection agency requesting for money to be paid
Went to my shell account – balance is £0
So now Shell is claimining I owe them for transition period
Not willing to reduce amount
Avoid this company for all means if you dont want to get unexpected bills 14 months later!!!
They really are useless little or no customer service. If you do get to talk to someone they haven’t got a clue how to solve things. Never been happy since first signing. I never thought I would admit this but they make TalkTalk seem good. I am now fighting against the cost of 39 po7nd because I haven’t returned it. Once again they are lying saying they sent out a self addressed envelope for the return of the modem. Must have got lost in the post.Also my contract ended 8th January it is now 24th and they only just let know. As a company they are devious untrustworthy and morally corrupt. They DO NOT deserve even 1 customer
29th July 2020 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd (Co. Reg. No.12776446) was incorporated with one ordinary share of £1 issued to Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP (Co. Reg. No. OC430905) for a consideration of £1
23rd December 2020 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd issued 290 shares of £1 each to Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP in return for 290 shares of NSV Energy Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 06220464) representing a 100% interest in that entity. Following the transaction, Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP became the parent company of Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd. On the date of issue, the shares of NSV Energy Ltd were valued at $479.9 million resulting in the recognition of an investment of $479.9 million.
On 1st November 2021, Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd declared a dividend of $36.4 million. Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd entered into an agreement with its now subsidiary NSV Energy Ltd to pay the dividends directly to its parent’s ultimate shareholders.
For the period ended 31st December 2021 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd recorded a profit of $36.4 million arising from a dividend declared by its subsidiary in November 2021.
Dividends of $36.4 million ($125,245.7 per share) were declared by Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd for the period ended 31st December 2021.
Companies House records show for Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP under ‘People’ the following:
Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd (Co. Reg No.12154073)
Mecuria Asset Holdings (Hong-Kong) Ltd A Private Ltd Company
Mercuria Holdings (UK) Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 123718128)
Companies House Records show that Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP is the ‘Designated Member’ and only ‘Designated Member’ for each of the above three companies. There is a ‘circularity’ here that does not seem correct. Where did the dividend go?
Tailwind Investments Ltd Annual Report and Financial Statements period ended 31st December 2021 indicates Page 16 7.
Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP itself a 51% subsidiary of Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 12154073) . Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd is also the ultimate parent company and ultimate controlling party which prepares consolidated financial statements.
Companies House Records show under ‘Appointments’ for Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd that Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP is the ‘Active LLP Designated Member’.
Where did the $36.4 million dividend go?
Thanks to Wrath for the clarification.
I recall a lot of competent and committed people at BG Group, I also recall a toxic culture among those aspiring to climb the leadership “greasy pole” at all costs. If Mr Gould’s disparaging comments were not aimed at the latter group, it’s no surprise the meeting ended on a low note. These are the people that set targets, but if they can’t perceive how to deliver, someone (not them) has to be held to account.
Seems like the pressure was being felt regarding Queensland Curtis LNG and the toxic ‘blame culture’ was in full-swing. I understood the cost overrun on this project was in the region of £3.3bn, which is surprising as their General Counsel at the time had written the highly regarded book ‘Project Finance’. It must have been left behind in TVP in preference for “back-end loading”.
In response to Bogus Group’s enquiry.
The reference to Contractors being given ‘equal’ status to Employees refers to a speech given by Andrew Gould, then Executive Chairman of BG Group, at a Townhall meeting in the BG cafeteria in the Hutton Building, Thames Valley Business Park, in Q4 2014.
At that Townhall meeting Mr Gould, during his speech to the assembled staff, made many references to ‘you’ (meaning BG Group Staff) failing to meet targets. (A Freudian slip, perhaps, given his ambition for a knighthood?). Eventually, a senior staff member in the audience corrected Mr Gould and said that he (the senior staff member) would feel happier if Mr Gould used the pronoun ‘we’ instead of ‘you’, at which point Mr Gould accepted the criticism and corrected himself. During that speech, Mr Gould also said that it was vital that BG Group meet their targets, especially first export of QC LNG coalbed methane to LNG, by year end. In order to achieve this he said that BG Group Contractors would have ‘equal’ status to BG Group Employees i.e. ‘all hands to the pumps’. That meeting was recorded.
Shell makes $70bn BG offer (oedigital.com)
It was at the end of that meeting, that Sami Iskander, then Chief Operating Officer, stood up and to whoever would listen as they ‘fled’ the cafeteria with their ears burning made the statement that BG Group, the previous year (?) had spent £200MM assuring work which later cost the company £2Bn because it was wrong.
Would like to hear more on the thread of these interesting comments.
Contractors were not always on ‘equal status’, particularly when it came to safety. In the BG Group 2010 annual report, Chapman’s statement that contractor safety would be a particular focus in 2011, seemed to infer that contractor performance was the issue, however, BG Group were ultimately responsible for those at the worksites, including contractors. In 2012, his “deep regret” of the unacceptable safety performance deterioration in 2011, would appear to indicate the “particular focus” was misconceived.
Andrew Gould, former Executive Chairman of the failed BG Group, whose motives were questionable, would be well reminded that putting contractors on equal status as company employees in order to meet ‘stretch’ targets is in direct conflict with the ‘Constitutions’ of the various ‘Bodies Corporate’, despite alignment through ‘bridging’ documents.
Technical safety across the board has suffered a similar mindset… “as long as it doesn’t blow-up on my watch, it’s <>.” the new SEAM organization has made it abundantly clear, that safety has to be in “balance with business drivers of production and affordability.” When it eventually goes boom, it will be blamed on TSE not the folks who are sweeping the concerns under the rug. the new emperors have no clothes!
Subsurface Technical Staff at Shell who previously worked for BG Group would be well advised to remember that reserves should not be booked on subjective technical workflows and furthermore that both the technical workflows used in calculating reserves and their results should be reproducible by the Auditors. The BG philosophy of ‘it’s alright as long as the oil and/or gas is flowing out of the ground and we don’t know where it is coming from’ is irresponsible, short sighted and to the detriment of Shell’s shareholders. This attitude should be dropped pronto!
Internet down 3 times for a day at a time. Reported it never had any contact back or reason given. Useless company out at end of contract.
https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/exclusive-shell-has-quietly-closed-down-all-its-hydrogen-filling-stations-in-the-uk/2-1-1335049
RE: Nigerian oil export terminal had theft line into sea for 9 years
Sometimes I think I have seen it all and then this comes along
Nigeria is simply doomed with all the corruption.
Take it from me, this is a major operation to fix. So the top brass must have been involved. Half or more of the population is scratching a living in miserable circumstances, there is no more rule of law and these gangsters lay a pipeline from a terminal and steal oil.
Simply beyond what I can imagine.
They cut off my 87 year old moms phone. This isn’t just a phone for people of that age its and essential lifeline.
After spending an hour on hold I eventually got through to the customer service department. They said a bill hadn’t been sent because of billing issues. That’s why it wasn’t paid.
So, I settled the bill over the phone.
The following day the service was resumed and a demand for the money paid over the phone was sent to her house.
How incompetent are these people.
I spent another hour on hold. No reply to the call at all this time.
No response to my emailed complaint.
Obviously I now have to find another provider.
But a lot of stress for my mother.
DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE.
They are the worst of the worst.
Date of experience: 10 September 2022
Zero stars I have no written or verbal contract with shell energy . the same goes for the British government who cannot sell or pass a contract to any utility company that did not exist on my part , I will not be intimidated or threatened or money demanded by fraudulent acts , ie fraud by misrepresentation, fraud by misdirection, and fraud by abuse of position or power read the law shell even the government can’t force me I have no contract remove your meters I will starve and freeze before I pay you a penny I paid them nearly 2, 200 quid to get rid they now say I owe them 2,518 they add on not take off I have no contract with you , you are breaking the law bye
Been on hold for over an hour now.
No idea what the customer service is like because I can’t get through to anyone.
Why did you take over Post Office Broadband customers as you clearly don’t have enough staff to cope?
Uncaring, horrible, hassling, profiteering bunch.
I’m 80 with bipolar disorder
I am an 80 year old with multiple health issues and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
These people at shell energy are disgusting.
I’ve been unable to log into my account for months. I live in a one bedroom flat and they are taking £250 per month from me, that’s before the increases in October. Despite contacting them, I still can’t log into my account. I’ve now been told my (not so) smart meter can’t be reached and I have to provide monthly meter readings, when I can barely get down stairs from my flat to the meter because of mobility issues.
Worse than that, when I put my email address in to change my password and access the account, I was suddenly logged into an account in the name of Mr Knox, at an address I don’t know, who they claim owes them £4,800 and hasn’t made a payment in months. It’s neither my name nor address.
This isn’t my account, but it has my personal email address registered against it. Despite advising them of this, I received the standard ‘we are receiving a high volume of messages’ garbage. They have since emailed me another bill for the imaginary Mr Knox.
They are hassling me by sending me someone elses bills and bringing me to the verge of a mental breakdown. According to my son, £250, which they have taken from my bank EVERY month, is way too much for a one bedroom flat too, but I have no idea what I have used because my email logs me into another account in another area.
IF THEY DON’T SORT THIS OUT, I’M GOING TO HAVE A MENTAL BREAKDOWN. ASK MY DOCTOR.
Uncaring, horrible, hassling, profiteering bunch.
Useless broadband and company,40 minutes on hold on phone about my internet dropping all the time,told openreach would come on the Monday, NOTHING no call message or openreach. Sent email wanting to know how long I’ve left on contract as I want to leave them and get another provider NOTHING. I hate ringing up having to wait almost 40 minutes on hold only to talk to someone who don’t have any idea what they talking about.
SHELL’S NOTICE TO VACATE NIGERIA OVER UNENDING OIL THEFT: NOT GOOD FOR THE NATION
The rampant oil theft that is forcing Shell out of the Niger Delta, indeed out of Nigeria is one critical embarrassment that has overwhelmed a Federal Government that has failed in all sectors of the country.
The petroleum sector remains the only sector footing the entire bills of the country, yet attention is not being given to protecting it from ceaseless sabotage.
Against law-abiding citizens engaged in legitimate peaceful protests, trigger-happy security operatives will swing into action to crush any peaceful protest.
The common man is driving his car on the road, Police will act to intimidate him, with all manner of contorted allegations and threats, to extort him.
But then assign security operatives to check oil theft, they get so connected in no time and begin to aid and abet the oil theft they are mobilised at an outrageous cost to the nation. So, the Military and Nigeria Security & Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) are as much connected to oil theft as the oil theft is connected to the host communities’ leaders, oil company workers and contractors responsible for welding/clamping/clean-up/remediation contracts induced by vandalism.
They vandalise pipes and valves to steal crude oil and condensate and the more these occur the more contracts are awarded for repairs/clamping of pipelines and clean-up/remediation activities. So, a lot of people are connected to oil theft beyond those who sell and buy the stolen condensate and crude oil.
The fight against oil theft has become a lost battle as they sabotage with a huge economic toll on the commonwealth will continue to thrive, hence Shell has decided to quit her Niger Delta operations to concentrate on the ‘deep sea offshore’ of the Niger Delta that illegal bunkering syndicates can’t access easily.
In other shades of oil theft, you have DPR staff that are supposed to keep records of production and volume exported also involved in under declaration of figures. A lot is happening behind the scene at the points of exports, in the terminals.
Even among key stakeholders like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministry of Petroleum Resources, NNPC and Accountant General of the Federation, it’s an annual drama of conflicting figures when they are subjected to probe and accountability on the revenue generated from oil, condensate and gas, given a particular time frame.
Again, the violent youths, also known as restive youths, created by Niger-Delta politicians are also there to disrupt the operations of Shell (SPDC) and other oil companies. Because politicians are not accessible immediately after they win elections and can only engage a few as personal aides thereafter, the rest are going about wreaking havoc on oil companies which they look up to as alternative governments.
What’s more, politicians and Public officeholders in the Niger Delta are only interested in the monthly allocations from Abuja from which they allocate outrageous portions into security votes that are never accounted for, contracts are inflated to syphon kickbacks into private vaults.
All of these stakeholders’ knaveries are making onshore operations so unattractive to Shell and other International Oil Companies(IOCs). And it’s not a good one if they have to leave.
By Zik Gbemre
July 13, 2022
Shell Energy Retail wants to increase customers by over 300% by 2030, however there’s no mention about the level of satisfaction that will entail.
https://www.shell.co.uk/media/speeches-and-articles.html
David Bunch aims to more than treble Shell Retail Energy customers by 2030, but no mention about current customer satisfaction.
https://www.shell.co.uk/media/speeches-and-articles.html
I recently moved from a home where I was a Shell Energy customer, to a home that is also supplied by Shell Energy. After 5+ calls and emails promising me my account and most importantly, my tariff, would be carried over, they have failed to do so and they are now ignoring my emails. Their customer service is absolutely diabolical.
Firstly i have no problem with the broadband quality and general customer service but i have just had a horrendous experience trying to cancel my contract in favour of virgin. i made it very very very clear i just wanted to cancel but the bloke insisted endlessly on try to persuade me otherwise to the point where i was getting proper stressed out. i won’t ever go back to Shell
Where do I start … AGAIN! Just received ANOTHER message from you regarding my account! Advising me to contact debt management company!. I am, as I keep TRYING to tell you, I’m on Universal Credit but, at the moment I’ve been sanctioned until the end of July, and also have a hardship fund payment of £*** which I have to pay back until next February! I have no money for all my usual bills off-line this one, so maybe YOU can tell me how I’m supposed to pay this bill with no money! I can’t even afford to buy food to last me a month. I have NO MONEY! If Green Star Energy I ad sorted out this problem in the 1st place, I wouldn’t be in this mess! Unfortunately I don’t have a money tree in my garden, not do I have a money making machine. I’m as poor as a church mouse! I haven’t had enough money for 3 years now!
Is anyone else having problems with this company?
I’ll say no more!
Was with the Post Office broadband until Shell took over.
Was emailed to activate my account which I did , WiFi went off.
Called several times was kept waiting for someone to answer, must now total 4 hours +.
Eventually Ayisha answered must be a fault on the line from the exchange. Then router not recognised! Engineer appointment was made for 31/5/22 — 8am till 1 pm
No show.
Rang again why no show..Naeem says I’ll transfw you to the technical team ..was cut off.
Emailed customer help, reply line is ok , reset your router with a pin, check your wires are fully in the plug.
Pat, said she will contact outreach either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Meanwhile I’m without WiFi?
What’s occurring Shell?
The Offshore Alliance and the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) have both served Shell with formal notice that industrial action will commence on the Prelude FLNG facility on 10 June.
I’ve had an utter nightmare with Shell. After I inherited my fathers house in Jan they have been nothing but trouble.
I called them within a week of the house being put in my name and told them I do not live near the house and to put the account in my name and send any bills to my address. I made it very clear that I would be paying any bills, was happy to do so, and where to send them. Fast forward to early April, we visit the house to find bill after bill addressed “to the occupier”.
Again I got in touch right away and told them the NEED to put the account in my name as I won’t be visiting the house again as it was set to sell at the end of April. I spoke to a representative who said “No worries, just call us when the house sells and we will settle the account”. I did just that and paid them. However I’ve checked my credit score and have multiple negatives which are now preventing me getting a mortgage. As if dealing with the death of a parent isn’t difficult enough Shell have now prevented me getting a mortgage for the next 7 years!!
Awful customer service that won’t talk about your complaint. I have never come across such an evasive company before. Can’t wait to change provider!
Smart meter fitted which fail to register and Shell just estimate bills which overcharge me and in this time of crisis I can do without the grief. The app is useless and keeps failing and you have to log in through the website. Good you may think but no, get regular massages advising data like account information is unavailable. Ofgen transfered me to this company last year when the company I was with went south, maybe they need to look at the suppliers and see if they can indeed look after customers or if they are just profiteering from the energy crisis. I would never recommend them to anybody and cant wait for the day that I can transfer to another supplier.
App is rubbish. Never loads the actual usage. Fails to upload details from my smart meter – gas and electricity. Never shows statements. Deleted and reinstalled the app. No joy. Very poor. My smart meter mini display is fab – app rubbish
Worst Company EverI used to be with Post Office broadband, had the unfortunate situation to be sold to Shell, mucked up everything about swapping over, meant to have caller Id for personal reasons did not happen, another muck up cannot get through to customer lack of service had to cancel DD to hopefully get resolution but will impact my credit rating, do not use this company awful.
Thank you for your reply but I am not prepared to wait the usual 50 minutes to try to get through to your customer line, sure it helps your profits.
I have to work to pay my bills and calling during work hours is not appropriate, to prove your excellent customer service, tongue in cheek sort my caller Id within 24 hours lol, also guarantee no interruption in service and my credit rating won’t be impacted I might change my mind
Even more bad service
After leaving a previous negative review about how bad shell energy is Shell replied asking for my account number so that they could investigate..so l did provide it however l haven’t heard a thing from them. This was a number of months ago and yet again another example of how poor Shell is. Absolutely shocking service.
Bereavement rip off
Shell Broadband charged me £108 to cancel when my mum died because the account was in my name. Then they kept adding more charges even though their email said no extra fees would be added. 1hr 32mins to cancel the service & passed to 4 different departments – it was as if no one had ever been bereaved before. Then no reply to my email via their online help, followed by over 1 hr on their online chat. I would avoid Shell Broadband.
Stay away!!!!
So after 7 months I still haven’t got my account sorted with shell, I have rang so many times to try and get it sorted and just get fobbed off every time!! Finally got a settlement figure off them of £900 odd and said I will contact another energy company to get swapped over, check our account today and my settlement figure has gone from £900 to now £1900 with in a week!!!
Iv asked to speak to a manager a number of time and get told they are in a meeting they will call you back, guess what not once have they rang me back!!
How they government allow companies like this to treat there customers they way iv been treated is a joke.
Do not sign up with these clowns you will regret it I promise, iv had nothing but sleepless night over the last month worrying about the price increase and they clearly don’t give a dam about how this is effecting me.
Is it to much to ask for a company to do the right thing and get an issue resolved as soon as possible not 7 month down the line, although this still isn’t sorted
Words cannot describe how bad their “service” is!
Have spent nearly 3 hours today trying to get an overpayment issue resolved. Long waiting times (30 to 40 mins) then have spoken to 4 different people who have 1. cut me off, 2. put me on to another person who knows nothing about what I have just spent 10 minutes discussing, 3. put me on hold while reading the file (gave up waiting after 30 mins) and 4. said he would put me through to the right person within 3 minutes but didn’t. I despair!
This firm run by a complete incompetent have 0 customer care
Jodie Eaton hides like a frightened mouse behind automated phone lines that ur on forever so she doesn’t have to be held for her mass company incompetence another grossly overpaid corporate Head miss charging customers. Contact me if you got the guts Jodie
Awful Customer Service
Took them over three months to correct an error in my bill. Ignored my emails throughout and only corrected it after many phone calls. I’m now trying to get a refund from them in the form of a cheque. They keep sending the cheque to the wrong address despite my phoning them up 4 times and giving them the right address. Genuinely the worst company I’ve ever dealt with in terms of customer service. What makes it worse is I never chose to use them and was transferred to them after Green Energy collapsed. Will never use them again once I receive my refund.
Hate Shell
Not only are they ripping me off with illegal energy price rises covered up by accounting for them as near doubling of the standing charge. But they are now antagonizing me further with pathetic customer service. I can download my latest bill but its corrupted so I can’t read it. So I have to contact customer services. Firstly I tried the online chat and was connected to an idiot bot then left hanging for ages and gave up and decided to call. Their phone system must have been designed by a moron who wants to antagonize me as much as possible with menu after menu after menu before not connecting me to a human but leaving just hanging on until I finally gave up. Why don’t Shell try spending some of their obscene earnings on looking after their customers?
I have just tried emailing them from their website, its another total disaster area where it blocks my trying to send an email by forcing me to pick a totally unconnected topic from a drop down menu, which then starts me off on another totally unconnected route. Morons!!!!
Avoid.
Passed to shell energy from pure planet. Didn’t transfer over credit, unhelpful call centre staff, horrible call centre waiting times blamed on covid but obviously understaffed.
price cap.
If I could give minus 5 stars i really would. I didnt ask to join shell energy, sadly i was transferred over from green energy. The new rate for electricity set by ofgem is 28p
per kwh, shell have decided for what ever reason to charge me 31.5 pence per KWH. Goodbye Shell energy.
Absolutely hopeless
Was moved to Shell energy kept getting estimated bills despite assurances that they could read my meters even complaints team misled me by saying we can read both your meters, then another overestimated bill today. When I called them was told can’t read your meter. This has been going on for ages. Appalling service
gave shell a reading on 27/0-4/22, still…
gave shell a reading on 27/0-4/22, still have not recived a bill, tried to contact them cant get through, a complete waste of time,
With all this negative sentiment about Shell I was just wondering how this page is sustained. I presume it is backed financially by groups like Greenpeace etc or some other radical anti fossil fuel group. Must take a full time job to do all this.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Shell first complained about our use of online activities by my late father and me in March 1995 No other party has ever funded any of our websites. We have never solicited or accepted donations. There are no subscription charges. The only income is from advertising which does not cover costs. Shell is welcome to sue for libel if it ever believes it has grounds to do so. So far the libel actions have always been by us against Shell and settled by Shell in our favour. Shell also settled four high court claims we brought for breach of contract and breach of confidence. Those are some of the claims mentioned in Shell’s rabid press release which led to the first libel action.
AVOID SHELL AT ALL COSTS!!!
You don’t deserve any stars, as a previous Post office customer for my landline, which has since been taken over by shell energy, you have cut my mum off who is 73 year old for no reason. numerous phone calls haven’t resolved the issue, nobody know what they are doing, GET MY MUMS PHONE LINE BACK you bunch of XXXX!!!
Useless.
Fitted a smart meter that doesn’t work. No timeline for a fix, no communications about the issue. No update on my bills. Direct Debit still sat at pre price cap increase level.
If you can avoid this shower then please do.
Use another provider
Got moved to these cowboys as previous supplier went bust! Just transferred to another supplier as Shell Energy over doubled my DD and installed smart meters that don’t work! Their customer service is nothing better than useless, brain dead morons reading from a script who don’t want to know or listen. Obviously these big companies pay back handers to regulators to get away with what they do!
Absolute thieves, be warned!
Very poor!
Their app is a completely useless. Everytime I try to log on, I have to give my email and password then reply to my email so I can log on. I hate having to go into my account because it is so much hassle.
I only receive emails to submit my readings. My bills are never emailed to me. I have to go through the whole rigmarole above so I can see my bills.
I had been “advised” to increase my direct debit. I decided not to because
I would end up over paying. After a month, I was no longer ” advised” but told I had no choice that my direct debit would be increasing.
Why on earth should my money be sat in their accounts when my account is in the black! They wouldn’t be so quick to refund my money if I over pay them.
I genuinely wish I could switch to a new supplier but unfortunately, all the good suppliers don’t want to take more customers. Funnily enough Shell Energy will. That speaks volumes.
The quicker I find a decent supplier to switch to, the better !!!
DOUBLED my monthly DD for no reason
They put my direct debit up from £80 to £166 despite being in credit. Online I could not change it to less then £130…. When I called I was told my projected spend was £81 a month….
If they charge more for not having a DD set up and just paying what you owe monthly…. they should refund any overpayment you make every month. Why should money I need for food be sitting in Shell energy’s Bank account?????
Unfortunate Green energy went under. I cannot WAIT to leave Shell.
Terrible company
My parents were forced to go to shell energy after they bought out the post office phone company. She was not billed for 3 months then when she tried to contact them she didn’t get through for 3 days after being hung up on. Today she got through then was told by some vindictive over important receptionist that she would have to be put through to another department. But who has over an hour to waste waiting for someone to pick up. This company is a joke and I will find them another wifi/phone service they make billions of pounds profit yearly but still try to don’t the ever day person out of money. Totally corrupt self-centred company and I advise all those considering this dictatorship to reconsider
Prelude resumes production and LNG shipments. Hopefully safely and incident free.
Deplorable Customer Service
I had no choice to move to Shell when my previous supplier went bust.
1) Despite having NO MARKETING elected on my account since the start, I’ve been bombarded with Smart Meter cold calls this week from them (number verified online as Shell Energy). Their excuse was that the previous supplier (who I had ‘no marketing’ with and who never contacted me in the FIVE YEARS I was with them) did not tell them I did not want marketing!? Utter *£$%&*!/.
2) I gave both my meter readings ON TIME last month however, they ignored them and used their own highly inflated estimated bills significantly overcharging me.
Their Customer Service is a joke and don’t expect any intelligent adviser to help you. Martin Lewis is endorsing staying up with your provider but how can anyone stay put when you have to deal with garbage like this and these clowns? Ofgem complaint is now in.
Worst Ever!
Switched to shell in earlier in the year. Never heard anything until about June that I received a £30 cheque bribe in the post to apologise for the delay. When services eventually started I got my bill and paid. In September 2021 I called because it was becoming an inconvenience to send my gas meter reading due to location on meter only to be told I was meant to send my electric meter screenshot. I responded how was I meant to know if this has not been communicated to me? Or how has this been communicated to me? The agent hung up and I called back and the second agent apologised after I asked same questions. She apologised because no one has bothered to email or send a letter through the post. That’s how a complaint process went on FOREVER! A contact from shell energy MONIKA, was the one dealing with this and on a day I tried to log on she said my account is been updated and I can’t log on so I should not make payment either u til the investigation is over. As at January investigation was still ongoing and even involved OFGEN who is also NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE! She’ll put a late payment marking on my credit file while the investigation was still ongoing despite Monika telling me not to make payment and OFGEN suggested a £75 bribe to shell to credit my account. I am worth more than £75 and it will not remove the late payment markings so I turned it down.
I have asked for Shell to remove this and I will make your FULL payment the same day this is off my records otherwise let’s go to court
I WILL ADVICE THE WORLD SHELL ENERGY IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE
I moved into my new home I gave them my…
I moved into my new home I gave them my readings for gas and electric and I waited to get a bill.
Weeks went by and still no bill then around the 7th week my neighbours said that bills had been going to there home with there address and only Owner Occupier one letter That’s why I didn’t get bill
Also there was a letter from debt collectors MIL Collections I called them and he warned me to pay !!
How can I pay a bill not in my address and not in my name ? He said you better !!! Then 5 days later I had a call from citizens Advice but it wasn’t it was the debt collectors trying to get my name and details .I had to call citizens advice and the police !
There’s a lot more shell has done but to much to write please be careful !!!
It is now in the hands of my solicitor
Thank god I recorded all calls and kept all letters and emails
Today they offered me £20.00 compensation Lol
I’m looking forward to seeing them in court
I thought shell energy had sorted…
I thought shell energy had sorted everything out and realized that I don’t get energy from them.today I have received an email thanking me for altering my energy payments that I apparently asked for them to do in 2018.just to clarify what part of I HAvE NEVER HAD ENERGY FROM SHELL.just what is going on in your organisation!
Dreadful service from Shell energy
Signed up for smart meters and an in home display so I can see where my energy is being used – 5 weeks later my in home display still isn’t working. Called them multiple times with no resolution – as long as they can receive the readings they don’t care about anything else. Dreadful experience
No stars!!!
No stars!!!
Had to give 1 star but really Shell Energy are not good enough for that.
The communication has been awful since joining. When I joined they never told me my direct debit amount until the last minute and that was only because I kept on at them. I was put with Shell after my energy supplier went bust.
My April direct debit is due in 3 weeks. I still have no idea how much I am going to have to pay, so no idea how much I have to leave in the bank. Surely it’s not too much to ask seeing as I was told a couple of weeks ago by Customer Services that they were getting in touch with people about their new charges…… awful company
The worst service I have ever received
The worst services I have ever had the misfortune to receive. On Thursday 24th March my internet was upgrade to fibre with no warning. This meant the rooter was not compatible. 3 hours on the phone to be told that a new rooter could not be dispatched for at least 24 hours. When it did turn up it was exactly the same as the old one. Another 2 hours on the phone to be told an updated one had been dispatched on Wednesday 30th with a 24 to 48 hour delivery. Rang against Saturday 2nd to be told it would definitely arrive. Today is Monday 4th April and still nothing. My husband has lost business and earnings whilst i have and incurred travel costs due to complete incompetence
Exasperated with their incompetence
I am not angry, just disappointed that Shell Energy are nigh on useless at dealing with enquiries. I’m exhausted and exasperated repeating myself to them and they still have not resolved my issue. I really wish I could change suppliers.
Home move, yea right
I’ve move into a new flat supplied by Shell I’ve called twice a day everyday for 2 weeks trying to get my account opened and give my opening readings but I get “Due to an unforseen circumstance we can’t take your call”. Their chat doesn’t have the authority to open an account and they also can’t explain why I can’t get through on the phone or provide me with an alternate number to call. My 3 emails have gone ignored as well.
Shell Energy are Uselesss
Here we are, 3 days since the tariff changes and my new smart reader is still calculating to old tariff data.
The app is also dysfunctional.
Shell Energy seem incapable of doing anything correctly.
Worst utility company i have ever used by far.
I will be so glad when the situation calms down so i can leave the useless organisation that i would not have chosen in the first place
Comment posted about Shell Energy on Trustpilot
We’ll be with you soon
So soon that it took 50 mins this morning to show me the courtesy of answering the phone. Why should I waste my weekend so you can profiteer from not having enough call centre staff? Poor service – avoid.
The dumbest smart meters
I had my “smart” meters fitted on 2nd Feb and now it’s April and they are not smart. My IHD still shows that the gas is disconnected. I can see that the meters send information to shell but it is always behind meaning that your usage cannot be adjusted. My emails of complaint go unanswered. I have not had a bill issued since 9th January so have no definite idea of my energy costs. I just want smart meters to give me up to date and accurate information. The only communication from Shell is about increasing my DD. I want a bill before doing this please.
TRUSTPILOT REVIEW OF SHELL ENERGY
New week, more s**t. Incompetence is all Shell know!
Week commencing 28th March update: New week, same old s**t show from the Shell minions. Another harassing contradictory email making my life hell (please refer to previous reviews for insight and back story).
Just stop with the contradictory useless harassing emails, the situation should be resolved – however, as stated in the review I left last week, you have once again proven my point….
New week, different minion and we are back to square one!! ****Bangs head on brick wall!
Again, Shell Customer Service person that will be scheduled to reply here….do not reply to this review either – see all previous reviews as to why.
Week commencing: 21st March update: Most useless incompetent a**eholes work here. I have ongoing escalated complaints due to the staff incompetence.
I’ve had to calculate on no less than 5 occasions my own bill and then explain to these a**eholes how to do their job.
You find common ground and agreement with them, then the next again week some other incompetent f**kwit changes it all – may as well talk to a brick wall.
FOR ANYONE READING, NEVER CONSIDER SHELL FOR ENERGY IF YOU CAN! THEY PROFIT ON MAKING YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL.
And to the Shell “customer service” rep scheduled to respond to the online reviews – don’t bother replying to this review offering to sort the problem and save face. It’s all Bulls**t!!
I know, I’ve experienced 4 years of your incompetence which has rapidly deteriorated more so since March 2021. And so the saga continues….
Trustpilot review of Shell Energy:
Appalling customer service, 20 minutes waiting for someone not to answer on multiple occasions, appalling voicebot, trustpilot reviews for broadband not available and trustpilot for shell hidden well down the Google search results, all looks and feels corrupt and inept, impossible to leave them.
Trustpilot Review of Shell Energy:
I have just waited for more than two hours via the chat on the website to talk to an agent.
Started as no 68 in the queue and then I got down to number two but clearing not staff manning the chat and the reduction was people just dropping off. If you don’t have staff on the chat it should be turned off.
Two hours of my time wasted and still no resolution.
Comment about Shell Energy posted on Trustpilot:
She’ll have just taken over my mums home phone from the Post office. I have tried contacting them on 3 occasions lasting 1 and half hour each and still didn’t get to speak to anyone. Sorry but I’m now in process of moving it to someone who cares about customer service. Take my advice stay well clear.
Mbanandi Muyangana comment about Shell Energy
One of the worst experiences I had in my life. I would never recommend deaing with this company. Day light robbers.
To Bill Campbell: Bill, we are living in 2022 no longer in the 1990ies when you did your audits. Stop bemoaning the fact that you did not a career at Shell and hence cannot sell stock with a good profit now. Tempi passati.
Note young Ben made £4m last week selling shares, not bad is it?
Do you think he is worried? Maybe Prelude will be seen as a dud, a misplaced adventure. Doubt it, but when the CEO sells shares makes you think, does it not?
Compliments to Bogus Group
How the wheel turns
In the 90s and up to 2004 carrying on Audits on Woodside Energy offshore installations on behalf of SIEP I was made aware that Woodside along with other operators held the then Regulator in low regard. They were not enough of them, underfunded and considered not competent and also because of this did not have the authority and respect of the Industry.
A forward looking COO of Woodside had the revolutionary idea of involving Regulators in his Audit process and requested I also discuss my findings etc with them. Now the old Regulatory organisation has been redesigned with more resources, a wider brief, and much more support it appears from state and national government.
Bogus Group has made both a succinct but most meaningful contribution.
If as covered on their blog the operator is considered Not Yet Competent to understand his own operational risks by a rejuvenated, well resourced, self confident, and authoritative Regulator, and that finding seems to be accepted by Shell Australia, then we begin to understand better how the events of 2nd December developed
Bill Campbell.
When the regulator determines that an operator does not have sufficient understanding of the risks of the Prelude facility power systems, including failure of mechanisms, interdependencies, and recovery, alarm bells should be ringing.
Read: Prelude FLNG Remains Shut In Until Shell Makes It Safe For Work
Following yet another Prelude safety issue, I wonder if ‘mortification’ is in Rob Jager’s’ vocabulary, after his legacy idiotic statements (August’19 blog). Or does he just develop amnesia as he moves through the executive revolving door to his next role, where he can continue to utter Hans Christian Andersen like proclamations.
https://www.offshore-energy.biz/shell-is-to-keep-prelude-flng-closed-until-safe/
All I want for Christmas is…..some revenue! More Prelude woes amid even more safety concerns.
As a very concerned South African citizen I wish to point out that Shell is supposed to respect people and have ethics.
You are going against the wishes of many South African citizens with this proposed exploration.
Citizens have stood together and have brought two court cases against Shell, the first one was not successful and we are awaiting the decision on the second case.
We appeal to Shell HO to take notice of our concerns and cease with this exploration.
I think this site is loosing its purpose. The next batch of Shell reorg has removed most of the people who would be willing to post comments. Shell is just lost – thinking its green when its about 0.5% green…
I really like my local Shell Gas Station, they have always been very helpful, so I am sad that we can no longer go there.
Our family will be BOYCOTTING SHELL in the USA to STOP Seismic Testing on the South African Coast to protect Marine Life.
Selection of Comments posted on the Telegraph article Future of North Sea oil in doubt as Shell pulls the plug on Cambo
John Atkins
The oil will not go anywhere. Leave it there until Britain has a generation of inhabitants that appreciate it. Meanwhile the present numpty generation can cope with windmill energy and 51’N solar.
David Tallboys
Fortunately the Japanese have seen sense and are encouraging new oil and gas projects:
Government officials have been quietly urging trading houses, refiners and utilities to slow down their move away from fossil fuels, and even encouraging new investments in oil-and-gas projects.
Robin Beckett
Shell won’t care too much, they have exploration and new developments going on worldwide, as do the other big oil and gas companies. Gas/petrol was $2.76 a gallon in Texas yesterday, that’s 15c down on earlier in the week.
colin whyte
Am I missing something here? Wasn’t Scotland’s financial state based on oil/gas receipts during their last independence referendum? I’m to suspect that Krankie now realises independence is a no go so is doing her utmost to trash the Nation. Nice to be able to turn down a thousand jobs as well.
R Morley
Unless we have zero requirement for oil and gas we have two options:
1) Exploit UK national resources and extract it ourselves
2) Pay another country and import it.
It is astonishing/depressing that UK Plc is having its energy policy dictated by a group of juvenile eco extremists.
Stuart Robertson
Few of these green eco nuts were alive or old enough to remember when in the early 1970’s when OPEC put our economy into a tailspin and we started to explore for our own resources. Now thanks to meaningless virtue signally we are about to become even more dependent on foreign powers to keep us warm and our way of life alive. I say meaningless because industry is already working towards transition from fossil fuels but it can’t happen by tomorrow afternoon and meanwhile our friends in Russia and Mid East will be rubbing their hands in glee at our naivety.
Len RMaC
Green activism is a cancer that will erode this country’s competitiveness and our standards of living. Somehow, it needs cutting out before it’s damage has gone too far.
graeme scott
We don’t develop national resources, we don’t develop our infrastructure to cope , we import resources from Qatar and yet we have shale gas in North Yorkshire that will meet our needs for 50 years
John Condon
The ecowarriors use ICE cars possibly Diesel. They probably have gas central heating and ovens. It’s OK according to them to import coal, oil and gas to power these – but we must stop producing fossil fuels ourselves?!?!?! They seem oblivious to the additional transportation costs associated with importation.. They seem oblivious to the strategic risk of trusting Putin and OPEC to maintain supplies and prices. They have essentially put the cart before the horse. FIRST STOP IMPORTS and when coal, oil and gas are no longer needed for fuel and raw materials such as plastic THEN STOP INDIGENOUS SUPPLIES. This is so obvious how come they can’t see it?!?!?!
Clitherow Kid
It will go ahead but with lower public profile investors. Recent projects have seen a slew of equity partners with unrecognised names. The wider picture though is the message it sends to the highly skilled and well paid UK workers in the sector. They represent the jobs that we need to retain, and could be deployed in the urgently needed new nuclear plant developments. Instead it looks like a lot will be relocating to the middle east to be replaced here with what? More Deliveroo cyclists?.
Ogden Nash
Could somebody at the DT please commission a simple piece of research and write an article to show the requirements for electricity should the Government plans come into being – namely that all cars and all domestic heating is converted over to electric. So something like ….. No’ of cars is the UK x average mileage x no’ of KWh per mile = total KWh required for transport. ( you could even make it optimistic and assume everyone converts to a Nissan Leaf – no more Chelsea Tractors ) Then a similar calculation for homes … No’ of homes x average KWh used per year = Total KWh.
Add these together and divide by one of the outputs of a major Nuclear rector, This will show how many more reactors we would need to supply these crazy ideas.
Small selection of comments from this Telegraph articleKathryn Jones
Let me correct that headline for you.”victory for Nicola Sturgeon, Saudi Arabia and Russia as Shell walks away…” Fixed it for you.
J Thomas
Oh no! We are going to have to send more charity payments to Scotland under the Barnett formula! Additionally, if no one drills for gas and oil two things will happen. Many of us will freeze to death and the price of oil and gas will zoom upwards to include what I call G.T.T. The Greta Thunberg Tax!
Kelland Hutchence
Well done Shell! At least the oil and gas will still be there to be exploited when all this fake climate crisis is revealed for what it really is.
Ian Mclaren
If that’s a victory? I’d hate to see what one of her defeats looks like.
Dale Carmichael
I think we going to massively regret this.
The eco loons don’t care about the decent people this decision will effect.
James Hammett
These people are ridiculous. We are still going to use oil and all its by-products. This makes no positive difference to the country’s carbon output, it just means a little more of it will be from burning oil from other countries’ oil fields when we could have been drilling our own.
Scot Way
In 2014 gas and oil were the bedrock of an independent Scotland’s financial future. Her new stance is mere posturing and destructive towards future jobs and industry. Wind power ain’t gonna cut it. She’s like rudderless ship being tossed about at sea during a storm.
Echo Fish
Reply to Scot Way – view message
Especially if the plan is to sell the energy to the “hated” English. She may well find England finds other independent energy sources.
Steve Graham
It seems that the Scottish economy or jobs dont matter any more to Sturgeon’s SNP. While the UK push for a Zero Carbon economy, China are burning everything they can find the push their economy forwards. Mini countries like Scotland need to stop virtue signaling their Green smugness and realise their input is so minute that they are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
Andrew Pierce
Your headline describes this as “a victory”! How the hell can this be described as a victory? Anything which reduces our own self-sufficiency, and leaves us more reliant on importing a vital resource from countries who’s leaders seek to destroy us can only be described as a monumental own-goal!
Jiminy Cricket
Sturgeon only ‘opposed’ Cambo on the 16th November 2021. Before that she sat on the fence and blamed Boris. Then during Cop26 she realised her mistake and opposed it. Boris is the winner here – he knew that this would be an ‘own goal’ for Sturgeon and the SNP, now in league with the Scottish Green Party who also oppose the Scottish fishing industry. 10000 jobs lost to Scotland and much more. Environmental issues marooned in the in-tray for the Scottish Government- while power cables are still not fixed and people in Scotland are freezing. If that’s a win for Sturgeon I’d like to see her Financial Plan for her Independence Referendum.
Comments from BBC News Article 15 Nov 2021: Shell plans to move headquarters to the UK
rl: 10:52 15 Nov
If this had been the other way around, this article would have featured prominently in the main news page, rather than under the “Business” section. This is why people question the BBC’s impartiality..
(P.S. I voted remain)
No2EU: 10:54 15 Nov
to rl”
If this had been the other way around, this article would have featured prominently in the main news page, rather than under the “Business” section.This is why people question the BBC’s impartiality..(P.S. I voted remain)
”
No2EU replied: And Brexit would be blamed.
Smile dont shout: 10:57 15 Nov
Can’t imagine what prompted this move:
“Earlier this year, a court in the Netherlands ruled that by 2030 Shell must cut its CO2 emissions by 45% compared to 2019 levels.” This only applies to the Netherlands
greenbird10 11:01 15 Nov
to Smile dont shout
”
Can’t imagine what prompted this move:”Earlier this year, a court in the Netherlands ruled that by 2030 Shell must cut its CO2 emissions by 45% compared to 2019 levels.”This only applies to the Netherlands
”
greenbird10 replied:
Think that’s all the article needed to say to explain the move.
U17881151: 10:48 15 Nov
The truth is corporations are concerned about EU bureaucratic interference.
We saw with AstraZenica that the EU will block trade if they believe it gives them an advantage.
Google and other tech companies are increasingly being fined billions to fund EU wages and pensions.
The EU is a bit anti business.
It would be better to just focus on trade and creating friendly partnerships.
Arcangel: 10:56 15 Nov
to U17881151
”
The truth is corporations are concerned about EU bureaucratic interference. We saw with AstraZenica that the EU will block trade if they believe it gives them an advantage. Google and other tech companies are increasingly being fined billions to fund EU wages and pensions. The EU is a bit anti business. It would be better to just focus on trade and creating friendly partnerships.
”
Arcangel replied:
Agreed, but tbh I would rather we were stricter on companies like Shell given they are responsible for a large amount of the worlds pollution
Shell turns its back on Royal Dutch heritage after climate ruling and dividend tax
Shell’s jumping ship to the UK bids farewell to over 130 years of association with the Dutch monarchy
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/11/15/turns-back-royal-dutch-heritage-climate-ruling-dividend-tax/
Joe Lycett should talk to his friend Jimmy Carr about Shell. Jimmy worked in Shell marketing dept during the 1990s at Shell Mex House in the Strand.
All I can say is that I worked on the Rigs onshore and offshore with almost every major oil company in the world. And by far Shell was the best. The most Professional, Safest and I should add treated all the workers the best.
The worst BP.
Link for Shell Job Applications:
https://www.shell.com/careers.html
Shell Fraud and Scam Alert
https://www.shell.com/fraud-and-scam-alert.html
ABOUT TIME! With the continued number of offshore cases, deaths in the office, and impacts on production, it’s a simple business decision. Expect a number of offshore folks will complain mightily, but not too different than the complaints for implementation of the life saving rules, flame retardant clothing, drug testing, etc…
I am sure that the Shell big bosses today had a lot to process with respect to the vaccine requirements. Offshore GOM, about half of the Shell staff based offshore have not “self declared” their vaccination status, while over 95% of the office based staff have. The operations teams have openly commented about the “risk” that people will leave if Shell or USCG required vaccinations for offshore work. On the other side of the coin, shutting in production for a few days on a TLP due to lack of healthy control room operators would suggest that we can afford to find people who will take the shot. There are so many skilled production operators that have lost employment in the last three years… just up the pay and fill the vacancies! Come on Shell do the right thing and make the vaccine a requirement – the safety of the staff has always been stated as the highest value. Any claim that this is a diversity and inclusiveness issue is a completely false narrative. Its like comparing it to respect people who choose to drive without a seatbelt, work at heights without fall protection, or don’t wash their hands after using the toilet!
Self explanatory:
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-weighs-jab-or-job-policy-employees-document-2021-09-09/
the 11 refined products terminals.
5 in the northeast most likely to be acquired by Buckeye partners, and the remaining 6 by Motiva. Before the end of the year!
https://www.rigzone.com/news/tellurian_and_shell_finalize_10year_lng_deal-2-aug-2021-166089-article/?utm_campaign=WEEKLY_2021_08_06&utm_source=GLOBAL_ENG&utm_medium=EM_NW_F5
“Shell welcomed to Driftwood Project”, this brings together some old acquaintances and invertebrates.
Well, if you are going to steal my name… I will change it to the other Penn Chem nickname. I remember some of the folks over their running through lots of potential names for “Penn Chem” – PCP, Beaver Cracker , Monaca Cracker, Moon Cracker, Moon Chemical, Franklin, etc. Really its just one of the biggest failures in BvB’s many. (BG, Brazil, Prelude, LNG, etc.) next he will continue to sell the crown jewels for costume jewelry prices. At least the old dirty oil business is generating enough cash to keep the company standing with such terrible management decision making.
The recent allegations highlight that the inspectors in charge of assuring safety and environmental protection on large pipeline projects are usually paid by the pipeline builders themselves. Critics say that creates a conflict of interest, but pipeline industry officials compare the practice to quality control in other areas of manufacturing.
“The system isn’t set up to ensure experienced and accountable inspections,” said Shannon Smith of the FracTracker Alliance, a Pennsylvania-based energy watchdog group that has monitored Shell’s project.
You can be SURE of HELL, sorry missed an ‘s’ SHELL
Unfortunately I was persuaded to switch to Shell Energy Broadband after a conversation with a staffer of USwitch, supposedly because download speeds were a little faster than PlusNet.
But what a bad decision! Upload speeds are truly terrible, and the download speeds struggle to get up to what they publicise. Its an indictment of USwitch advice that they failed to point out how much upload speeds can vary between providers and that you can be trading DOWN to a worse service.
Oh and I didn’t even mention that the router they provided has disabled ‘itself’ off wireless twice already, the system having to be ‘reset’ at great inconvenience.
Do the sane thing – don’t be tempted as I was to choose this provider.
ok… it looks like Malaysia is next on the chopping block. piece by piece…
Rather than fixing the problem, Shell ordered the whistleblowers off the project and the contractor fired the two inspectors. The couple’s allegations are contained in their whistleblower complaint filed with the Labor Department.
“We did our jobs, and we were harassed, abused, ridiculed, and humiliated. They said they’d been repeatedly warned they’d be “run off” if they kept pressing safety concerns.
If you want to be ripped off go to Shell Energy. I live in a one bed flat and they charged me £291 for 1 months electricity and sent me out a wrong bill for £1500 when it was only £800. Yes stress!
Oh i forgot i raised a complaint on 29th July of which no one got back to me so I called today to be offered £30 and 6 sorrys of so sorry mistakes happen.
The only saving grace was that the customer service rep was very good.
Either way Stay Away from Shell Energy!
Prelude to Disaster.
More Shell HSSE whitewash:
https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/asia/337828/sleep-deprived-workers-at-shells-prelude-flng-make-official-complaint/
It is no surprise to read about the pipeline inspectors findings. Penn Chem has a checkered past with respect to negative findings in assurance and audit activities. Just dig into the earth works, water conduits, foundations, blasting damage, pressure vessel quality, etc. They have run off so many safety professional (and quality inspectors) until they found those who wouldn’t rock the boat and let the contractors “get on with it”. Not to mention the number who found opportunities elsewhere. Those left, are mostly happy to look the other way and collect the paycheck. All to make single use PE… BvB talks about the environment and safety. Can he walk it? Reshape demonstrates the strong commitment to eliminate independent S&E assurance activities, now that is a learner mindset twist on “inherent” safety!
Two former pipeline inspectors say they were fired for reporting hazards on a volatile liquids pipeline to Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s massive new petrochemical plant northwest of Pittsburgh.
The inspectors, Frank Chamberlin and Susan D’Layne Carite, said they warned Shell managers and even federal regulators in 2019 that the anti-corrosion coating was defective on the company’s Falcon pipeline. That could increase the threat of corrosion, a leading cause of pipeline ruptures.
https://www.eenews.net/articles/whistleblowers-say-bad-seeds-undermine-pipeline-safety/
Does anyone have the list of Shell assets for sale this week? After the rumors of Aera / Permian, maybe Norco, Penn Chem, GOM, … Whats next?
Hilarious, if they weren’t serious:
https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/07/its-time-to-nationalize-shell-private-oil-companies-are-no-longer-fit-for-purpose
If they are not careful they will kill the goose that lays the golden egg:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/26/business/shell-court-case-climate-change/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2021-05-26T14%3A14%3A04&utm_term=link
The beginning of the end:
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-shareholders-overwhelmingly-support-energy-transition-plan-2021-05-18/
Response to a message posted by Sarah M. Please contact us via email address: generalenquiries@shellnews.net
More ex-BG Group Assets bite the dust. See:
https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/africa/ep-africa/320845/shell-tunisia-miskar-hasdrubal/
A miscarriage of justice?
https://realmedia.press/jury-acquits-shell-window-smashers/
It’s all in the ground Simon!
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/shell-exxon-look-to-profit-from-capturing-customers-carbon-emissions-11618824602
ON HOW TO REVAMP NIGERIA’S UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM OIL & GAS SECTOR
With recent reports that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a whopping $1.5 billion to rehabilitate the epileptic Port Harcourt refinery, I consider it a national tragedy and a shame of a nation that Nigeria, despite its over fifty decades of oil and gas exploration and production activities, has been exporting its hugely produced crude oil and natural gas at commercial quantity, and then import ‘refined petroleum products’ at higher costs to satisfy domestic demands. The said move, according to the government, is to ensure that the obsolete Port-Harcourt refinery, which last benefitted from a Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) work in 2000, comes back to life, while also supposedly contributing to the development of Nigeria’s oil sector.
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
https://ndpc-zik.org/publications/on-who-to-revamp-nigeria-upstream-and-downstream-oil-and-gas-sector
COMPLETE COMMENTS
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shell-To-Tie-Executive-Bonus-Pays-With-Energy-Transition-Goals.amp.html
https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/310420/shell-looking-options-new-aberdeen-headquarters/
“Under the Hammer”, again!https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tunisia-oil/tunisia-faces-exodus-of-western-oil-giants-idUSKBN2BI1XF
Serica finally kicks-off development on Columbus, years after BG ‘kicked them in the teeth’.
https://www.upstreamonline.com/field-development/serica-energy-kicks-off-development-drilling-at-north-sea-field/2-1-982427
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/48093/Shell-to-develop-Phase-9B-of-WDDM-within-2-months
I have mentioned before how the contaminated produced water from Shell’s Western Delta Deep Marine gas fields, acquired during the takeover of BG Group, used to be tankered and dumped in the desert.Khaled Gad, Shell’s Onshore and Offshore Asset Manager in Egypt, should be able to answer the question as to what now happens to the produced water from Shell’s assets in Egypt.
Selling off parts of the BG millstone. See:
https://www.upstreamonline.com/lng/shell-completes-2-5bn-australian-lng-asset-sale/2-1-980042
Further to Bogus Group’s post, very little at BG Group was proven. The majority of their work was of low integrity and dissolved at the slightest scrutiny. This was to be expected with a ‘do as I say, not do as I do’ Line Management.
https://trinidadexpress.com/business/local/shell-takes-biggest-hit/article_ca33aea4-73d5-11eb-8a6e-ff41b564d669.html
It’s surely been proven that BG proven reserves were not actually proven and that Shell did inherit a ‘pig in the poke’. The statement “Our preference is to deal with these arrangements, not in a clandestine way but there is a deeper confidentiality to it. We have these arrangements all over the world. We need to ensure that we maintain a degree of confidentiality but what I will confirm is that hundreds of millions of US dollars converts to billions of TT dollars and we have confirmed that Trinidad will benefit to billions,”beggars belief.
It is not clear why the once upon a time VP Developments, Brazil is now VP Subsurface Excellence, given that the Brazil Asset under her stewardship spent at least five years down a giant rabbit hole using a corrupt workflow that resulted in a significant overbooking of reserves.
On this day in 2016 the fate of BG Group, an Internet Cafe and Cappuccino Lifestyle company was sealed. See:
https://www.shell.com/about-us/what-we-do/combining-shell-and-bg-a-simpler-and-more-profitable-company.html
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/28/35bn-shell-takeover-approved-bg-shareholders
https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/12/nigeria-communities-can-bring-claims-against-shell-uk-supreme-court-rules
John,
Re:Links between Samuel Iskander and corruption
Dave Freeman currently Chief Operating Officer at privately owned Tailwind Energy and previously Upstream Technical Director (COO Office) at BG Group should be able to answer your question.
REPLY BY JOHN:
Many thanks, I will pass that information on to the investigative contact.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF AN INVESTIGATIVE CONTACT:
Newly former Shell executive Sami Iskander has been appointed CEO to London-traded energy company Petrofac, which is facing corruption allegations in Italy and from the U.K.’s SFO. The question is whether Iskander, who was one of only four executives from British Gas retained by Shell when the two merged in 2015, brings any baggage with him?
Why Mr. Iskander and not someone else? Conversely, why would he want to join such an embattled company? Are there any indications that his time at BG or Shell was less than spotless in terms of possible corruption, to include cover-ups or just looking the other way? Does he have any hidden ties with Petrofac or its outgoing CEO Ayman Asfari?
In general, what kind of a reputation does this man have in the London energy business community?
Further to Bogus Group’s post below, see:
https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2021/feb/02/sir-simon-robey-the-accidental-banker-adding-george-osborne-to-the-fold
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9211393/George-Osborne-lands-new-job-quits-roles-Evening-Standard-BlackRock.html
The revolving door is still in motion. Links to Robey Warshaw, BG Group advisor on Shell deal, links to the “Notting Hill Set”, links to politicians, links to the authoress of “The Gatekeeper”, links to Brunswick, Shell/BG Group PR company, links to BlackRock….and others.
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2021/1/29/dutch-court-orders-shell-to-pay-nigerian-farmers-over-oil-spills
The long overdue structural reorganisation at Shell is rapidly approaching. No better place to start than within the Brazil Asset which has been propped-up for over ten years now by the same BG Group sycophants who have a proven track record of overbooking reserves on the basis of flawed functionall approved technical workflows. These individuals are still clinging desperately to their positions five years after the takeover of BG Group by Shell. Can it be that Shell cannot afford to move them on lest their poor work and lies be revealed? Get rid of them, truth and transparency are now required if not demanded in the Brasil Asset!
More BG Group (Shell) executive ‘turmoil’. Just love the “stepping down with immediate effect for personal reasons” euphemism.
330 job cuts in Aberdeen, with the new rhetoric by a Shell ‘spokesperson’, “this intends to ensure we are set up to thrive throughout the energy transition and be a simpler organisation”.
https://www.upstreamonline.com/exploration/330-job-cuts-oil-giant-shell-lays-out-losses-to-uk-team/2-1-942991
Shell has not revealed the cost of Prelude but analysts estimate the price tag has ballooned to as much as A$17bn ($13bn). The Anglo-Dutch company reported $9bn in impairment charges on its Australian gas assets in the second and third quarters of 2020.
https://www.ft.com/content/6ba54787-6d21-48d2-93b2-273cdcf48455
The recent invasion of the US Capitol puts Trump’s visit to Shell’s Chemical plant in Pennsylvania in August 2019 in a completely different perspective. It’s now appropriate to state that Shell has provided a political platform and support in kind to POTUS. Supporting political activities, providing facilities for political rallies and bribing a senior government official are a violation of Shell’s own business principles and Code of Conduct. Various individuals have lodged complaints with the Shell global helpline alleging improper business conduct involving the RDS Chairman, the US Country Chair, US government relations and others. These have all been dismissed as “reporters expressing a political view”. Shell should re-open the case and seek appropriate consequence management against those involved. But I suspect the perpetrators are the so-called untouchables to whom the business principles and code of conduct are not applicable. Shame on the Head of BID for not having the guts to take this further.
In reply to Peter Voser.
REPLY FROM JOHN DONOVAN
If you have any evidence to support your allegations, please email it to me via the email address on our Contact Us page and I will give Shell the opportunity to comment before publishing it all.
Looking forward to your February “Strategic”’utterances.
Also look forward to the announcement about your successors as CEO and Chair.
A classic case of way too cosy non executive and executive branches.
Time to move on from your nonsense! Especially for your employees.
Shell site seized in Nigeria over unpaid damages.
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-12-23/shell-oil-site-seized-by-nigerian-state-over-unpaid-damages
Shell to write-down assets.
https://www.offshore-energy.biz/shell-to-write-down-oil-and-gas-assets-value-by-as-much-as-4-5-billion/
Well “Fletcher” (aka “Escaped from C16Atraz”?) I no longer work in Shell but enjoy their lovely pension. So your crude comment fails to impress. As for Shell and its shareholders having made money from oil & gas I have absolutely now problems. Perhaps you and the likes of “Greta Thunderbirds are go” would prefer that we all lived in caves wearing loin cloths (made of course from animals that have died naturally) and walked everywhere?
LondonLad – you come across as a real Ben van Beurden panty sniffer. You don’t happen to work in their spin machine by any chance?
Oh and don’t forget where Shell and the shareholders have made their money. (clue – it’s black and gooey and highly combustible)
Well “Escaped from C16Atraz” you have got your facts wrong. United are 5th with a game in hand – that’s hardly mid-table is it! I bet my friend MUSaint will feel equally annoyed. Saying that “Shell doesn’t care at all about climate change” is also an incorrect statement, akin to some of the waffle that Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion and even David Attenborough make. I do however agree that it is a shame that more redundancies are on the way but in this Covid environment which company is free of this staffing issue (some of the UK supermarkets perhaps)? As a shareholder I am glad that the senior management is bottom line driven.
There are many parallels to be drawn between Shell and the one unbeatable Manchester United. Both are now mid table. Weak manager, senior players who are arrogant and only play for money, and have got rid of their most hard working players. Shell better get used to mediocrity. It doesn’t care at all about climate change but Van Beurden will no doubt continue to sell more of the crown jewels to greenwash its reputation like the loony who heads BP.
https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/30/shell-in-court-over-claims-it-hampered-fossil-fuels-phase-out
If Prelude is planning to complete a swivel swap out or repair, it is at least 3 months of work. But that is for a typical NS FPSO, the massive Prelude unit is one of a kind. And no spares were manufactured with 2 production paths. (Operating one at temporary high rates could be done.) Based on the news reports it sounds like both production swivels have failed or have leakage into the secondary containment system. Possibly due to the delays in operation? But this is just one piece of the puzzle. Putting the entire upstream processing facility, gas conditioning, liquefaction, storage and export on one site is just asking for problems. You can not comply with NFPA 59A separation distances…
Prelude again
Wonder if the Shell Australia Chairman is still pleased with the “progress being made”.
Being pleased with mediocre performance is not the Shell I used to work for.
Bill
https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/271096/petrofac-new-ceo-asfari-retire/
The revolving door continues to spin, BG Group / Shell ‘executive’ demonstrates cronyism is alive and flourishing. Yes, this was the COO that believed corporate projects could be controlled under (what was eventually validated to be flawed) the Value Assurance process, while he sampled corporate hospitality and champagne at Wimbledon.
More on Shell’s fumblings:
https://seekingalpha.com/amp/article/4378196-royal-dutch-shell-energy-transition-woes
Looking at the senior executive org charts revealed last week, seems there is not a lot of “Reshape” at that level… Looks like the worker bees will be sacrificed again…
Looks like Stacey Orlandi never stays long enough in one job for very long. I suppose long enough to be seen and then off to the next one. I wonder what she left behind for others to clear up? Neither did Walter or Malcolm and see where that got us.
The point I find difficult to swallow is her role as Refinery Manager. After two years in procurement in an office somewhere she spends a year as a production Manager and then become THE refinery manager of the Cherry Point Refinery, capable of refining 250k barrels a day plus converting Diesel from biomass etc, a large and complex plant.
Perhaps I guess she was one of a number of under-managers or if not perhaps she can convert water into wine.
Anyway, we shall see.
Bogus Group, hopefully the Executives will be ‘executed’ and we will be saying ‘goodbye’ to these worthless, low integrity, sociopaths to whom probity is alien.
Does the statement “It is very painful to know that you will end up saying goodbye to quite a few good people. I know I, and many others in Shell, will be saying goodbye to people we know well and really like and who have great loyalty to the company” mean that executives will be saying goodbye to good people, or good people will be saying goodbye to executives?
https://www.shell.com/media/speeches-and-articles/articles-by-date/can-shell-transform-yes-and-we-will.html
More on Shell’s proposed Upstream cost cutting.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Shell-May-Cut-Upstream-Oil-Operations-By-40.amp.html
Perhaps time to clear out the Brazil Asset?
https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN26C0GI
USA USA USA. BG Group was an Internet Cafe and Cappuccino Lifestyle company that could not get its ducks lined up in a row for the simple reason that it didn’t know what a duck is. In consequence, its goose was cooked.
@Bonus Group… Is it dirty… air and water emissions? health and safety conditions? government permissions? facilitating commissions? facility decommissions? corruption suspicions? sycophant ambitions? accounting omissions?
that is all i have to say with respect to this petition…
(please read it to the beat of Lizzo for the full effect…)
‘Hiding behind NOVs for the dirty projects in Brazil and others.’ Quote USA USA USA. For ‘dirty projects in Brazil’ read ‘dirty tricks in Brazil’. This was the worst managed asset in BG Group, lurching from one lie to another and led by sociopaths.
On the subject of dirty projects and hiding behind NOVs, BG Group’s Western Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) gas fields in the Nile Delta used to produce 22,000+ BBL/Day of contaminated water which was tankered into the desert and dumped. How are Shell now disposing of that water now? It should be of interest to Greenpeace and to shareholders.
It is very clear to most who understand how Shell operates, that it will try to be all things to all locations. We see it clearly in the greenwashing in the EU. The race for Arctic drilling, this time in Russia. Clean natural gas, like Prelude and Crux – only no one comments on the CO2 content of these fields that is vented into the atmosphere. Hiding behind NOVs for the dirty projects in Brazil and others. Hiding behind “contractors” and “suppliers” to avoid reporting fatal accidents on the books (like Pakistan / China / Singapore Nigeria / etc.) . It just one big PR exercise. the culture is make money at any cost… The petition is just more deception, any response will be simple lip service and highlighting how well the company listens to stake holders, while it continues to focus on just make money…
petition. What a load of hot air and psycho-babble! You must have raised global temperatures by at least a couple of degrees through your post alone, not to mention the amount of Carbon Dioxide you have exhaled over your lifetime. But then because you are most likely Dutch, you think that just because Shell is listed as Royal Dutch Shell plc it is a Dutch company. Well it is not, it is a British Company listed on the UK Stock Exchange!
Are you aware that Shell is not the oil and gas producing company on the planet contributing to carbon emissions? See:
https://www.oilandgasiq.com/strategy-management-and-information/articles/oil-and-gas-companies
Your faith in Shell as the sole company to lead the way in the development of Renewables is remarkable. On the one hand you criticise them for polluting the atmosphere through Carbon Dioxide emissions, but on the other hand you think that they should lead the way through energy transition at the expense of their shareholders and investors.
The degree of ingratitude and hypocrisy expressed towards hydrocarbon producing companies such as Shell by so called Climate Change Activists, wearing synthetic fabrics, taking trains, planes and automobiles while living in centrally heated accommodation, is appalling. You do realise that without those companies you might not have survived birth, because your parents would have been living in a damp cave rubbing two sticks together while wearing animal skins? Like it or not hydrocarbons have enabled society to develop to where it is today and are a fundamental part of society. Hydrocarbons are not going away until they run out and they will become a lot more expensive before then.
Regardless of whether or not you believe in Climate Change and man’s contribution towards it, we all should be both seeking, and developing alternative forms of energy before the oil and gas run out and we return to living in caves. We should also be seeking to control all emissions and pollution, not just Carbon Dioxide. Those are the important points, not Climate Change. The Geological fossil record is littered with examples of past climate change. What next? Do we stop Continental Drift and Polar Wandering? Absurd.
That’s the trouble with these climate fanatics, they produce so much hot air they themselves heat up the planet. So many words when far less will suffice – people start falling asleep “petition” and don’t bother reading any key points. Shell and others are trying to respond to the issue and are key to the debate and the future targets. It’s not just left wing loonies that will solve this problem. By the way “petition” it’s been bloody cold here in the UK recently and this summer has not been a good one – a little bit more warmth is welcome as far as I’m concerned.
TO: Shell
Take real steps to ending climate change, and commit not to send lobbyists to the UN climate talks in Paris this year.
https://actions.sumofus.org/a/shell-dont-go-to-cop-paris
Tell Shell to take real action against climate change and not go to COP Paris
In a surprising turn of events, Shell’s board of executives has officially endorsed a SumOfUs-backed resolution committing the company to take action against climate change.
Still, Shell is lobbying UN representatives to block any kind of real climate solutions in the run-up to the UN climate talks in Paris this year.
We can’t let Shell’s stated commitment to fight climate change be mere greenwashing. If Shell’s executives are really serious about tackling climate change, then they have to stop meddling with the climate talks. And with Shell responding to our pressure for the first time, we’re in a real position to force them to act.
Ask Shell to stop blocking real climate change solutions at this year’s UN climate talks!
The UN negotiations are no place for fossil fuel lobbyists — they are where global leaders, scientists and activists meet annually and decide on real climate action. Last year’s talks in Peru collapsed in part because big polluters like Shell lobbied the UN climate committee and blocked resolutions simply because they affected their profit margins.
The stakes are very high at this year’s talks in Paris. World leaders could finally reach a climate deal that reduces carbon emissions across countries and industries, so fossil fuel companies should not be allowed to obstruct the talks. Nevertheless, big polluters have asked the UN climate committee for even more delegates and a much bigger say in the talks.
If Shell’s executives are real about climate change then it should stop meddling with UN climate negotiations.
Sign the petition asking Shell to take real steps to tackle climate change – pledge to keep your lobbyists away from the UN climate talks in Paris!
This shareholder resolution was partly brought by SumOfUs members who also hold shares in Shell. It commits Shell to reduce emissions, invest in renewable energy and remove bonus systems that promote climate-harming activities. This is an opportunity to pressure Shell to stop blocking real climate solutions and help save the planet.
It’s easy to see this as a cynical PR move by Shell — and it is that. But it also represents real, concrete commitments that Shell wouldn’t have made without being under pressure. It’s a small first step, but it’s real progress.
That’s why this is an opportunity to pressure Shell to do more. If we keep working, we can stop Shell from blocking real climate solutions and get the company out of official UN climate negotiations.
Big polluters like Shell offer lavish dinners, hold separate breakaway meetings with world leaders and negotiators, and host industry-sponsored pavilions during negotiations. All these tactics are designed to stop the UN climate committee from reaching a deal that puts the planet before profit.
We need real climate change solutions, and we need them now. 2014 was the hottest year on record, there is already serious water scarcity in the Global South and by the end of the century the earth is expected to warm by 4 or 5 degrees. Each degree is another death sentence for animals, ecosystems and our survival.
Now that Shell’s board claims to support real climate action, we have a unique opportunity to ensure that Shell sticks to its word and doesn’t send its army of lobbyists to meddle with the UN climate talks.
Tell Shell to get serious about its climate commitment and stay out of the Paris talks!
*********
For more information:
Shell’s letter to shareholders supporting special resolution on climate change, January 25th 2015.
The Climate Talks Find an Enemy at COP20: The Fossil Fuel Industry, Huffington Post, December 11 2014.
Sign the petition
TO: Shell
Take real steps to ending climate change, and commit not to send lobbyists to the UN climate talks in Paris this year.
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interesting but also for me very depressing. My sole concern re Prelude from the start was not that it technically would fail to adequately produce with an eventual return on huge capital invested, after all Shell has a well-deserved record of being technically ahead of the game re LNG process design, my concern was that in risk terms it was much more risky a project with regards to health and safety of employees than the overegged statements made during its early development by folks who were either incompetent to understand offshore installations residual risks or were purposefully misleading propagandists re the true risk levels.
Anyway, perhaps your definition of the project as a White Elephant will bear out, It would be difficult to wager otherwise, but I still have a diminishing hope that it will live up to its potential, but when………………………..?
From an Operations view point this recent extended stoppage must represent a world record for the restart of a hydrocarbon producing facility of any type after a power failure.
Details remain sparse as to the root cause of the total power outage. As this included the emergency power supplies from all sources begs the question were all these systems recovery interlocks “live tested”. In my experience there is always a great deal of reluctance to initiate a live shut down test with all overrides or inhibits of certain sections being prohibited. This is the only way to ensure all the sequential safety systems function as design and will expose any flaws or unexpected issues to be highlighted.
More on Prelude:
https://www.boilingcold.com.au/inpex-slashes-value-of-prelude-lng-by-a-third/amp/
Royal Dutch Shell plc Results Q2 2020:
https://seekingalpha.com/amp/article/4362597-royal-dutch-shell-plc-2020-q2-results-earnings-call-presentation
Shell reports $18bn loss:
https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/30/shell-reports-18bn-financial-loss-amid-covid-19-collapse-in-global-oil-and-gas-prices
Jail sentences recommended for top Shell executives. See:
https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/22/prosecutors-seek-jail-terms-shell-eni-executives-nigeria-oil-deal
Beware for the current scam going around that is called Shell Alumni Network , its basically a load of old NL employees looking to fund their retirement with promises of green lands and pastures. The ‘Core Team’ is Dutch, the ‘Supervisory Board is Dutch ‘ the advisory panel is made up of maily NL employees, very little diversty despite claiming and using COVID as an excuse for non diversity ! Oh and on top of all that charges 99 Euros a year for the priviledge of listening to van der veer. I don’t know how they get away with using the Shell name unless of course they asked permssion from……yes you got it, The Hague. So roll up roll up, help bolster the NL retired staff pensions ! Oh and before you ask, its modus operandi is for profit thinly veiled in their ‘charter’. It will be interesting to see who gets paid if they publish acocunts. I had enough experience of over regulation and excessive control by the Royal Dutch part of Shell in my career to know a trap when I see it.
Prelude to disaster?
See:
https://oilprice-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Shells-Big-Bet-On-Floating-LNG-May-Be-A-Flop.amp.html
US Citizen:
I think that AR is Anca Rusu. See:
https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2017/06/19/shell-project-manager-says-cracker-plant-will.html
USA USA USA – who is AR?
In a recent town hall, the current project director of the Pennsylvania tax dodge, suggested the construction was 60% complete? WTF? At least he is not to blame, he was saddled with the errors and over promises of AR, who landed a holding position as “VP HSE”, doing “TFA”, prior to a new position that seems also completely invented … and purposefulessness. Can’t we just move helpless & hopeless leaders out of the organization? Unless another senior leader is worried about his role in yet another profitless folly? Memories of prelude seem to come to mind as others have suggested. Or as someone else recently implied, at what point does the king’s new suit seem invisible to more than just the seamstress?
Geert Vermeulen (Ethics & Compliance Officer) posted an article on Linkedin about the Shell OPL 45 debacle and all that surrounds it.
This was a response to the article by Adam Bennett:
Geert, very easy to pass judgments without knowing full facts and in hindsight. Having previously led the business integrity department at Shell I can tell you things in Nigeria are never that clear cut. One thing I remain certain of is the moral compass of shells leadership.
Can’t be the same moral compass most of us are certain of.
Shell restructuring.
See:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/may/27/shell-restructuring-redundancies
No better place to start than in Shell’s Brazil Asset starting with the BG ‘Job for Life’ sycophants who have been associated with this asset for more than ten years. Start at the top with the Front End Development and Integrated Reservoir Modelling Manager and work down to the Technical Team Leads comprising sniggering Simons. Invite them all to a meeting entitled ‘Wrap-up’, make them an ‘Offer Without Prejudice’ and then constructively dismiss them by discussing their poor performance! A disgraceful asset, corrupt to the core!
About Dear Rob, he is hardly departing in a blaze of glory, his mission it seems is very much unaccomplished as he departs the scene.
Who will take over the poisoned chalice and get the show on the road?
In what seems a relatively short time Prelude has gone from being the expected Real Madrid of the engineering project world to a sort of Accrington Stanley, maybe being a bit unfair on the latter.
Guess the worst of times was the export of human excrement in paper bags from the installation when the lights went out and nothing on it worked ……..
“And 8% to 12% currently we don’t even make in our upstream business” BvB… That performance includes the huge over runs on Corrib, Penn Chem, Prelude, multiple other LNG projects, Alaska Fiasco, and many other (not to mention OPL 245). It is such an embarrassing comparison to ExxonMobil in projects like Liza, which is highly likely to exceed returns Shell is chasing as a utility. Brasil (or Mexico) have the capacity to deliver similar returns to Liza, if there was leadership and strategy for a long term development. What makes BvB so sure that Shell’s management and culture can exceed the returns of the existing players in the “new energies” this time? Maybe the job cuts should start at the top… and not the middle where there is some remaining talent left…
A recent comment posted here reminded me of an email I received some years ago. It is printed in italics below with one sentence deleted.
If you want some more dirt on Shell Oil, you need to go to the Inspector General’s Office, Defense Security Services, US Dept. of Defense. In 2006 DSS initiated a counter-intelligence operation and Shell USA was implicated as the primary ‘culprit’. The FBI had declined to take the case because they could not get an investigation through the US Attorney Generals office (Alberto Gonzalez) without fear of reprisal. The Houston office of DCIS (the law enforcement arm of the DoD IG’s office) had also tried to initiate an investigation but it was outside their purview.
Shell had been attempting to gain unlawful access to technical material that had been classified by the Navy Dept., Office of Naval Research in 2001. This material was the IP of a former employee. Shell was apparently trying to ‘muscle’ their way into gaining ownership of the IP material. This material was classified under DoE/DoD nuclear weapons classification authorities.
Do not contact me for further information. I will not respond. The above (alleged) conduct by Shell constitutes a capital crime under US law and there are no statutes of limitations regarding this conduct, for the company or the Shell officials involved. Because of the highly classified nature of the material Shell attempted (unsuccessfully) to gain access to the matter could well trigger a ‘diplomatic’ incident, and Shell plays ‘rough’.
I sent the information to the then top lawyer at Shell, who declined to comment. I contacted a senior official at a US Intelligence Agency. He confirmed that Shell was under investigation. I do not know the outcome, though I can guess.
Shell has friends within the US government to whom it turns for intelligence information.
I have Shell internal emails confirming this.
For Mr.Bogus Group: I am a Shell pensioner and I can say we all know that the company is not what it used to be. Its future is not bright and the problem is bad management. When I left the company years ago I chatted with some VP’s and they all said the company was not what it used to be and wasn’t fun to work for any longer. They also said they would be doing what I was doing if they were 20 years younger. I leave Shell to its inevitable fate.
USA USA USA, in response to your points. Why was the assurance process broken? – because incompetent managers and executives didn’t understand that implementing an effective work process was more than a Power Point presentation.
Why did bullies just tick the box? – because nobody had the courage to challenge them, lest it impeded their prospects to further their own aims.
Why did they ignore anyone asking difficult questions? – because imperious managers and executives regarded those who challenged as nonconformists, who threatened their craving for dominance.
Penn Chem is pure folly. Wasn’t the business case tax incentives, using waste products from fracking, being close to customers, good neighbor cleaning up toxic waste, never mind the cost or the risks. But now the only reason to finish is for the tax advantages, and then sell it while the PE price remains low, in the hope that someone thinks they are getting a deal. Demonstration that the first mover risks can outweigh the opportunity… kind of like prelude, or being a power utility, or us wind 15 years ago … the assurance process is completely broken – bullies just tick the box, while ignoring anyone who asks difficult questions. Maybe we can get another TRUMP visit, and more chants of “USA USA USA”?
More news of BG diaspora.
At the Annual General Meeting of Hurricane Energy plc held on 3rd of June, Ms Beverley Smith was elected as a Director of the Company with 99.85% of the votes in favour, 0.15% votes against.
Having previous experience as a VP and overseeing a hasty retreat from Algeria at the now defunct BG Group, will doubtless be valuable when exploring rock bottom and/or fractured basement on the Atlantic Margin!
Would this be the same managers and geologists that made the competent business development and exploration decision to develop the Knarr Field? A venture that failed to meet its potential, both in terms of daily production and field life. In fact, I recall the UK based BG Group General Manager for Europe was a geologist.
Useless degree????.
‘Also it is not possible to be a competent geologist in the oil and gas business without having a very good background education in both sedimentation and stratigraphy. Both topics go hand in hand. Furthermore, managers at both the middle level and senior level need to be well versed in this subject area in order to make competent business development and exploration decisions.’
These would be the same ‘job for life’, middle to senior level managers and competent geologists who at BG Group, for example, assured work at a cost of £200MM which later cost the company £2Bn because it was wrong (according to the Chief Operating Officer at the time), and also spent more than five years working in an asset following corrupt workflows?
From your post on this Blog, I see that your time at a ‘reputable university’ was well spent in learning how to be exuberant with punctuation.
That is all I have to say on the topic. Cheers!
I was reading your blog today and saw a reference to ‘sedimentology’ being a ‘useless degree’. I do not believe any reputable university offers such a degree. Sedimentology is a sub-discipline within the field of geology. Reputable universities do offer degrees in geology. It is possible to specialize in sedimentology I suppose, but you need to be enrolled in a geology program to do so. I know, I am a geologist, among other things.
Also it is not possible to be a competent geologist in the oil and gas business without having a very good background education in both sedimentation and stratigraphy. Both topics go hand in hand.
Furthermore, managers at both the middle level and senior level need to be well versed in this subject area in order to make competent business development and exploration decisions.
That is all I have to say on the topic. Cheers.
USA USA USA Hardly surprising is it. The company is overrun by sycophantic, grossly over paid, sniggering middle managers with numerous degrees in sedimentology, or some subject as equally useless, with little to no technical ability or technical background, who are dependent upon technical staff who likewise have little, to no, practical experience and who have only ever seen a rig laid up in the Firth of Forth in photographs, or when they went for a jolly with their wives for an outing one day. They spend their time documenting ‘Lessons Learned’ on fancy spreadsheets which are then filed in some obtuse filing system and they never learn the damn lessons!
Missed opportunities is not as bad as the botched opportunities. RDS has always claimed that there is limited capital and resources to exploit every opportunity. We all agree. But the fact that so many recent projects have failed to deliver production promises, that is more clearly a lack of management and leadership. Prelude? Penn Chem? Olympus? and the many others that have not delivered on schedule, cost or production. Then there are the projects that move forward with little to no assurance of these vital front end loading to verify that the promise is realistic. It is just more of the same – Bloat / Cut / Reorg and repeat…
Exploration. One more for the pot!
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2004/jan/20/india.oilandpetrol
Here’s a list of missed company-maker plays by Shell since 2000. The record of exploration performance is woeful and many of the responsible are still in leadership roles. Give up and turn to wind and solar indeed…
Figures are total play discovered and recoverable, at 100% basis;
2001 – Mauritania-Senegal – 10 Billion BOE recoverable
2003 – US Gulf of Mexico Paleogene – 3 Billion BOE recoverable
2006 – Santos Pre-Salt – 45 Billion BOE recoverable
2010 – Campos Pre-Salt – 2 Billion BOE recoverable
2010 – Mozambique Rovuma – 23 Billion BOE recoverable
2011 – Angola Pre-Salt – 4 Billion BOE recoverable
2015 – Egypt Zohr – 3 Billion BOE recoverable
2016 – Guyana – 10 Billion BOE recoverable
TOTAL MISSED BY SHELL SINCE 2000 = 100 Billion BOE recoverable!
Or perhaps arrests and incarceration’s to follow?
Per my previous reference to ‘moose pasture’, see:
https://www.shell.com/media/news-and-media-releases/2020/shell-sells-us-appalachia-assets-to-national-fuel.html
Perhaps, more sales to follow?
The detail of the previous post reveals
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/the-second-british-invasion-how-royal-cronies-and-the-gas-debacle-took-australia-for-billions/
More examples of toxic leadership. Another continent same consequence.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/covert-19-government-stacks-covid-commission-with-oil-and-gas-mates-cosy-deals-follow/
Bogus Group, thank you for sharing the link. It sounds all too familiar, redolent of both BG Group and also the Shell reserves recategorisation debacle of the early 2000s. During any teleconference with BG’s offices in Houston what were conspicuous by their absence were employees, vast acres of empty desks in the background in a highly expensive building. It would be interesting to know how Shell have covered-up the financial consequences of BG’s mismanagement e.g. hectares of moose pasture acquired for shale gas development that never happened. There was good reason why BG Group delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and that was because their global reserves would never have withstood scrutiny under SEC rules. One wonders what the auditors were doing?
Perhaps, Helge Lund was not Andrew Gould’s ‘Fall Guy’ after all and that he was complicit and therefore deserves little sympathy?
In 2007, Statoil (now Equinor) under Helge Lund, drives expansion to ‘a higher gear’. In 2014 he moves to BG Group, in 2015 he prepares BG Group for Shell takeover. This article reveals a toxic mix of murky dealings, ineptitude, mammoth salaries and bonuses and extravagant lifestyles (sound familiar?). The revolving door of organisational failure continues to spin. https://www.newsinenglish.no/2020/05/11/scandal-losses-in-us-haunt-equinor/
Hi John, looks like the Dutch Power Company Eneco helps a former Shell exec up the escalator. It is surprising to me that an IG heavy hitter thinks there are better opportunities elsewhere.
https://renews.biz/59793/eneco-appoints-new-ceo/
When your company general counsel authors a book “Practical Project Finance” on tendering, negotiation, financial structuring and management of infrastructure and energy projects, maybe the COO thought that corporate projects would run themselves, while he sampled corporate hospitality and champagne at Wimbledon.
Oh yes! and we have the Value Assurance process, but why worry about that when you can apply ‘back’- end loading.
It cannot be said with enough venom that BG Group worked hard at bringing its own demise. £200MM spent on assuring work which later cost the company £2Bn because it was wrong according to its Chief Operating Officer. The much cherished and poorly led Brasil asset with its ‘Sniggering Simons’ was the worst, forever propping up its parasitic position with lies, half truths and deeply flawed technical work flows. Now is a good time to remember that those people responsible for past errors in BG are now with Shell and are still fumbling their way around this asset. Time for them to move on!
Bogus Group I think that you are cutting too much slack for Mr Mr Gould.
People like Andrew Gould are perceived to have executive and leadership qualities, so was this slipshod, or an oversight?
Or is there another reason, is BG ‘Group’ really defunct? As a trading entity yes. Organisational weakness, the risk to the company and their shareholders was acknowledged and evasive action had to be taken.
Are there still outstanding issues that need to be resolved? This would not be in Shell’s remit, even though it involves some of the legal team inherited by them.
Mr Gould, clearly an avid reader of this Blog, has now amended his profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn to show that he is no longer a Board member of Saudi Aramco, but is now a Board member at Occidental Petroleum. Sadly, however, like most of his BG Group counterparts he did not check his profile thoroughly enough, because it shows that he is still (May 2012 – Present) Chairman of BG Group, a defunct oil and gas company.
linkedin.com/in/andrew-gould-8a54b239
Memories of inaccuracies and half truths at BG Group.
Aramco welcomes Mark Weinberger to its Board of Directors
Yet, Mr Gould still has Chairman of BG Group and Board Member of Saudi Aramco shown on his LinkedIn profile.
linkedin.com/in/andrew-gould-8a54b239
Ex Shell Nigeria finance director, ex BG Group CFO and current Centrica CFO’s rise up the ‘escalator to stardom’ continues as he assumes role of interim chief executive. Worth keeping this company pursuits on the radar and its affiliation with other companies. One of who’s chief executive travelled the same escalator.
https://theenergyst.com/ian-conn-exits-centrica-woe-corona/
Shell Brasil Announces Agreement with Ecopetrol
Source Press Release
Company Royal Dutch Shell, Ecopetrol
Tags Asset Deals, Deals, Upstream Activities
Story Focus Deals
Date October 21, 2019
Negotiation involves sale of 30% interest in the the Gato do Mato project
Shell Brasil Petroleo Ltda. (“Shell Brasil”) announces it has entered into an agreement with Ecopetrol for the sale of 30% interest in the the Gato do Mato project, a pre-salt gas-condensate discovery that covers two contiguous blocks: BM-S-54 and Sul de Gato do Mato.
Shell Brasil retains a 50% interest in Gato do Mato and continues as operator of both blocks, with consortium partners Ecopetrol (30%) and Total (20%).
“Shell Brasil has an exciting deep water portfolio with operated and non-operated positions that we are exploring, appraising, and developing. This transaction allows Shell Brasil to further optimize the portfolio. We look forward to progressing activities in the Gato do Mato blocks with our partners,” said Shell Brasil Country Chair André Araujo.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
Let’s hope that the regulators don’t discover what Shell’s Brazil Unitization Team have been up to. The same group of ‘Shakespeare’s Monkeys’, previously employed by BG Group, have been working on the Brazil Asset for over ten years led by the same Front End Development and Integrated Reservoir Modelling Manager (who had been laughingly promoted to VP Developments to boost their status for the takeover by Shell).
They have woven a considerable web of lies and deceit, and by playing games and politics with Petrobras have failed to do any serious technical work on this Asset. After all as long as there is significant production, who gives a hoot about where it comes from!
Seriously though, it is about time the whole group were disbanded from their cozy ‘ring fenced’ workspace and introduced to the outside world.
Shareholders might wish to ask why these particular employees receive ‘special’ treatment and are isolated from the dreadful flexible workspace other employees have to endure.
Shell Energy customer score
Shell Utility came 29th out of 35 energy companies rated by 7,355 members of the public in the annual Which? energy supplier satisfaction survey – the biggest of its kind.
Customers may not be aware of the discrete business segments in the Shell company or that Shell Energy is a distinct entity. From the numerous responses, they just see a company incapable of dealing with problems, which leads to excessive frustration.
Maybe the solution is a single point contact for specific issues. As Sarah Franklin (ex BG Group chief counsel) noted in a previous publication that emotional intelligence was pivotal to success, maybe she could advise on how to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict, with Shell customers.
Or is she too busy with complex safety and environmental issues on Prelude?
A date worth forgetting?
How incompetence is rewarded.
Monday 15th February 2016
RECOMMENDED CASH AND SHARE OFFER FOR BG GROUP PLC BY ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC Feb 15, 2016 Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”) is pleased to announce that the Scheme has become effective and that the entire issued ordinary share capital of BG Group plc (“BG”) is now owned by Shell. This follows the Court’s sanction of the Scheme at a hearing held on February 11, 2016 and the delivery of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies today, February 15, 2016.
Are Rob Jager’s idiotic statements (August’19 blog #52) coming back to trouble him?
Another article in the Western Australian (23.05.19), “Shell Veteran, states the project is not driven by milestones or schedules, but by safety”, where Jager wants to methodically take his team through identifying and managing the risks towards Shell’s goal of zero incidents. However, this would appear to be in conflict with the CFO Jessica Uhl expectations of first cargo by the end of June of that year.
The article also notes he was a director of Air New Zealand and chaired its safety committee. The ex BG Group chief executive who also salivated his commitment to safety during his tenure, is now non-executive with Rolls Royce and chairman of the ethics and safety committee. Issues with poor durability of components in Rolls Royce Trent engines for Boeing 787 are now apparent and more recently the regulator has recently issued a Safety Order, for what would appear to be a separate issue.
Senior managers and executives may understand the commercial aspects of their business, but when found lacking in the technical aspects, they should be called to account, before they pass through the revolving door of opportunity and move on. Previous warning signs are conveniently forgotten, is this acceptable?
Prelude to disaster?
https://www.oedigital.com/news/475328-prelude-flng-shut-down
Rumour has it is that the problems are due to malfunctioning valves that are being replaced hence the intrusive entry into plant, a very unusual and unwelcome occurrence it seems causing the operators to make short cuts, begs the question If shortcuts are being taken elsewhere? if this type of behaviour is prevalent and not discouraged in one area it can be contagious, no idea what valves and where in the process but likely to be a factor in the under performance of the plant reference design outputs.
Having worked on LNG facilities and having seen the devastation of one going wrong, concerns posted on this blog about the risks posed with Prelude FLNG, were perfectly justified.
But ‘as one would expect’, Shell would have considered and accounted for these risks! How else could they justify “Goal Zero ambition is to achieve no harm and no leaks across all of our operations”? However, ‘as some would know’, when costs are escalating , talk is cheap.
Recent concerns raised by the Australian regulator that Shell has not ensured “best practice” for its isolation procedures on Prelude FLNG, must raise warning signs. But how can these concerns be warranted? In 2014 an article alluded to the role of Shell lawyers in collaboration with all aspects of the project, including safety regulation.
If you believe the media, the acquisition of BG Group lawyers should enhance this type of collaboration. One such article centred on the responsibilities of Sarah Franklin (BG chief counsel), which included health and safety, who has inherited a new team that focuses on complex safety and environmental issues. There can be no more complex safety and environmental asset in the Shell portfolio than Prelude FLNG, yet there would appear to be a deficiency in a fundamental work control system, their isolation procedures.
The article also noted her other skill sets, such as setting up BG’s first whistleblowing programme. Other’s will attest that this programme was unquestionably fallacious.
As noted in a previous blog if you are a Shell employee with concerns, especially those with a safety connotation and you wish to engage with her………. beware.
Shell plans to divest assets worth $10Bn by 2021 and is reportedly looking to exit the Abadi Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Indonesia, which could raise between $1Bn and $1.6Bn
And the trough gets deeper…..
Sound Energy, the Moroccan focused upstream gas company, announces, further to the Company’s announcement of 20 January 2020, that the Company has today issued 5,805,555 new ordinary shares in the Company (the “New Ordinary Shares”) to Brian Mitchener, the Company’s Exploration Director, at an effective issue price of 1.86 pence per New Ordinary Share in connection with the termination of his employment contract.
As previously announced on 20 January 2020, Mr. Mitchener will step down from the Board with effect from 31 March 2020.
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Reply to Pearlene Bohannon:
Please contact us via email generalenquiries@shellnews.net
And sadly yet more news of BG Group diaspora.
A Sound move:
Sound Energy, the Moroccan focused upstream gas company, announces that, as part of its planned preparations for the forthcoming potential partial divestment of Eastern Morocco portfolio, Brian Mitchener, Exploration Director of the Company will step down from the Board with effect from 31 March 2020.
At the Board’s request, and to enable the Company to conserve cash balances, Mr. Mitchener has agreed to accept new ordinary shares in the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) in settlement of termination of his employment contract. As a result, the Company expects to issue new Ordinary Shares, at the then prevailing price per Ordinary Share, with an aggregate market value of £107,983 on or around 25 January 2020 (the “Settlement Shares”) and a further announcement will be made in this regard, as appropriate, in due course.
In addition, the Company announces that a total of 863,682 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) previously awarded to Mr. Mitchener will now vest in full on 31 March 2020, ahead of the original date of vesting of the RSUs, announced on 26 April 2018, of 1 January 2021.
Theo, I have ceased posting your comments because they do not belong here. You should set up your own blog so that you are free to cover wide-ranging subjects rather than being restricted to discussions relevant to Shell or this website. Best wishes. John
More news of BG diaspora.
Ms Beverley Smith
https://ir.q4europe.com/Solutionsstaging/Hurricane2018tf/3942/newsArticle.aspx?storyid=14551557
Memories of a catastrophic foray into Algeria, followed by a costly and hasty retreat.
Theo, if it is your intention to kill off this supposedly Shell focussed forum by boring everyone to death with nonsensical ramblings, which have little relevance to Shell, then you are succeeding. Shell is not even mentioned.
Good morning young lad in London!
You are very right in the here and now!
Everybody wants back to nature, everybody wants therefore to cut back on emissions, but nobody wants to walk!
So in the here and now the whole world is indeed saying with the freedom of speech and the freedom to read Theo Benschop, we, the about 7 Billion simple descendants of the first human beings not being a monkey would love in the history of mankind on the by Coca Coca sponsored falling star so-called planet Earth without a plan B to know what you’ve been smoking and/or drinking, because it really has made your postings somewhat unreadable.
Slow down, think and re-read what your have typed, then others may be able to understand what you are trying to say Google in the light of the free sun on this beautiful brand new day peacefully in the historic crisis in the Trias Politica with the freedom of speech and the freedom to read on the digital internet full with inspiring anti-war quotes full with ancient and modern wisdom and full with inspiring anti-cyber war quotes full of inspiring ancient and modern wisdom in the name of about 7 Billion simple descendants of the first human beings not being a monkey
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Rise and shine! Watch out the bugs don’t bite blind world leaders on the falling by Coca Cola sponsored star so-called planet Earth without plan B!
The blind world leaders have in the historic crisis in the Trias Politica in the history of mankind the right to know Who is Free Immediately beloved Brother Julian Assange?
Who is listen to beloved sister Rep. Ilhan Omar?
Who is listen to Greta How dare you? How dare you? How dare you? Thunberg?.
PS in the history of mankind on the by Coca Cola sponsored falling star so-called planet Earth without a plan B is it by the way interesting to know that Earth is not a tiny star, but instaed of this a so-called planet.
So I’m answering everybody I’m smoking Look out! Authenthic Dutch Holland Blue. Roken is dodelijk – Stop nu!
Tabaksrook bevat meer dan 70 stoffen die kanker veroorzaken! Je had er nooit aan deze giftige troep moeten beginnen, dummy!
Stop nu met deze giftige troep! Blijf U alstublieft leven voor Uw naaste familie en Uw naaste vrienden.
Wilt U alstublieft nu stoppen?
Wilt U altublieft even kijken op http://www.ikstopnu.nl.
Of wilt U alstublieft even de stoplijn 0800-1995 gratis bellen?
Hartelijk dank voor uw medewerking!
Well “Theo Benschop” I would love to know what you’ve been smoking and/or drinking – it really has made your postings somewhat unreadable. Slow down, think and re-read what your have typed, then others may be able to understand what you are trying to say. Who is this Greta Thunderberg’s-R-Go?? As many have said before me she should finish her schooling off rather than playing truant. She might learn some other facts about climate change. For example rather than trying to preach to the converted she should attempt to persuade the likes of China, Russia, India and Indonesia to cut back on emissions. Even the likes of Shell are trying to help but of course most on this forum have their heads where the sun doesn’t shine when recognizing this fact. Oh, by the way Earth is not a tiny star it is a planet.
PS
We, the about 7 Billion smart responsible owners of the tiny star so-called planet Earth without a smart plan B and beloved sister Greta Thunberg have after 40 year smart responsible discussion about the climate all the smart desired responsible knowledge about how to solve a in a smart responsible way a so-called problem with the climate on our tiny star so-called planet Earth without a smart plan B for which tiny star we are after all just until the end of times responsible.
We and beloved sister Greta Thunberg are standing in the here and now in the vanities of the vanities where there will be nothing new under the free sun that is making the boring rounds around the free sun for the question is there a so called problem?
Would you be so kind and smart to answer this question either with a responsible yes or no?
If you have answered no, so-called problem solved, thank you very much for your smart responsible cooperation!
If you have answered yes, the so-called problem is than not solved.
In that smart case would you be so kind and smart to answer this responsible question either with yes or no?
I am a smart responsible owner of the tiny star so-called planet Earth without a smart plan B. I think the who smart responsible discussion is just hysteric responsible nonsense, so just stay until the end of times with the smart plan A. Yes or no?
If you have answered yes, so-called problem solved, thank you very much for your smart responsible cooperation!
If you have answered no, so-called problem not solved.
Would you be so kind and smart to answer this responsible question either with yes or no?
I am a smart responsible owner of the tiny star so-called planet Earth without a smart plan B. I am in the here and now willing to solve a so-called problem, like beloved sister Greta Thunberg. I choose for smart responsible plan B. Next case!
Thank you very much for your smart responsible cooperation!
Good morning young lad in London!
Young lad in London, I have to tell you with the freedom of speech that I in the here and now thought that I had in an earlier stadium in the history of mankind replied to your reaction.
So this means that I do this for the second time as 1+1=2. Let I start with good news: there is in the history of mankind not such a thing as a so-called problem for the simple reason it just in the history of mankind doesn’t exist. I could have started also with Happy Xmas, War is over. If for instance young men in London in the United Divided BREXIT want it.
But I didn’t as you can read with the freedom to read. Furthermore I bring under your attention that it is in the history of mankind not allowed to talk falsely about your beloved neighbours.
Hereby I repeat black on white “I know for sure that a former director has maybe in the context of the subject literally had said: everybody knows that the smart people at the oil companies have a plan B.
So it will be a problem if the government is not giving the start moment for the smart plans B.
So if you want to solve this simple problem: all what the government has to do is fix the price of the Black Gold
– sorry, I mean the oil, or petrol for the cars, as everybody wants beautiful nature, but nobody wants to walk, which is a good thing for the shareholders –
at a level nobody will notice. Maybe add something to the price. But there you have the money to pay for the transition to a more sustainable energy.
So actually what everybody wants in the agreements in Paris.
Also I know for sure that beloved sister Rep. Ilham Omar was perfectly right in her conclusion that a few guilty criminals did something to create the chaos of nine eleven, so not the rest of the Universe.
So that about 7 Billion simple descendants of the first human beings not being a monkey are supporting her for keep on being the one and only first president of all sovereign or not sovereign United Nations.
BG Alumni……. normally your post wouldn’t warrant a response from me, however I’m curious to know, what was the idea that was fostered?
The website is intertwined since Shell’s acquisition of BG Group, and having worked for both companies, I feel compelled to post my comments, as others should be made aware of the traits of some of their “colleagues”.
I don’t know why you’d state the website is becoming ‘bitter and twisted’, my posts are factual, and having knowledge of the workings of BG Group, there is no reason to doubt that Bonus Group’s posts are not equally factual.
I had the pleasure of working with a lot of committed people in both companies, mostly with good intent, but there were others with contrasting agendas, some bordering on sinister. Unfortunately, many of the good ones either left or were pushed, as they were seen as a threat to the lackey’s, intent in moving up the corporate ladder at all costs, emboldened by the toxic corporate culture.
Some issues must be highlighted. For example, the Brent ‘TFA policy’, fatalities in a Brent Bravo utility shaft, a further fatality 2-years later in the same utility shaft and BG Group’s 20 plus fatalities in a ten-year period. Many of the causal factors can be attributed to the same management enablers, but because they were shielded by company lawyers, there was no accountability. If anyone should be branded ‘bitter and twisted’ it’s the lawyers. Is this what Michael Coates meant when he said one of his biggest internal challenges was his in-house legal team?
It’s crucial to have people with the courage to express an opinion as opposed to those who turn a blind eye to failings. I could hazard a guess at what camp you’d be in.
BG Alumni. Ha, ha! Your post is a typical example of the quality of BG Group work. Can’t read what they have written, can’t check what they have written, can’t type and if you don’t know, then lie. Bonus Group’s posts are about the dismally poor standards at BG Group and their consequences. Sure, everyone liked being employed by BG Group, because they were well paid and didn’t have to do any serious work. It was a case of ‘passing the parcel’ by email when you couldn’t do the work required. All to the shareholders’ detriment. I suggest that you go back to your cappuccino. Or is it a latte?
It’s about time Bonus Group and Bogus Group moved on. This website is repaidly becoming all baout the bitter and twisted.I can’t imagine how that idea was fostered.
For a further example of outstanding performance by BG Group Alumni, London Lad need look no further than Sound Energy where the share price has plummeted from £0.935 in February 2017 to £0.0335 December this year. This remarkable performance, however, does not detract from the Directors’ and the Senior Managers’ whopping salaries and bonuses. One can barely hear oneself think above the slurping and grunting at the trough.
Interesting news article. “Network Rail are well into devolving and restructuring the organisation so that all activities and roles are closer to passengers in order to drive up train performance”. In 2018, many UK train commuters had a tough time with timetable schedules, journeys that didn’t leave or arrive on-time and delays due to major projects.
Could this revival be attributed to the previous chief executive and one of the former Shell and BG Group ‘chosen few’, stepping down from his role?
To put London Lad’s rather naive comments into context. In the final days before the Executive Chairman, Andrew Gould ‘pulled the plug’ on the whole shooting match, at a Town Hall Meeting, the Chief Operating Officer, Sami Iskander, stood up and announced, to anyone who could be bothered to listen, that the company had spent £200MM assuring work which later cost them £2Bn because it was wrong. An absolutely, stellar performance. The people responsible for this are now deeply embedded within Shell’s matrix organisation. An excellent result for the shareholders. Perhaps, a Bridge too Far?
London Lad, Good to hear from you. I hope that you enjoyed your recent trip to Aberdeen. Having also been employed by Shell, I consider myself fortunate that I was not one of the ‘Chosen Few’. The ‘Chosen Few’ are the most corrupt of the corrupt and will fit in well with your ilk. In respect of the slur about my performance, BG were involved in what can only be described as a stupendous multi-billion dollar technical fraud against Petrobras based upon a corrupt workflow which was both Functionally Approved through their Assurance Team and signed-off by the relevant Discipline Functional Head. They refused to correct their workflow and that resulted in a technical fraud. They tried to make me complicit in this fraud, but I refused. That is called integrity, something which I have no doubt that you know little of. You clearly relish brushing shoulders with fraudsters and liars.
I can only assume from the continuous moaning from “Bonus Group” that he/she was not one of the “chosen few” from the BG group and hence the vindictiveness. Poor performance = limited or no job opportunities which applies to both Shell and ex-BG staff. As a share holder I wouldn’t want it differently.
Further to Bogus Group’s post of Thursday 21st November. BG Group the failed Internet Cafe, cappucino and Belgian chocolate lifestyle company had an established reputation for: constructive dismissal, lack of transparency and corrupt ‘do as I say, not as I do’ line management. The acceptance of the ‘Chosen Few’ from BG by Shell into its upper echelons can only lead to further corruption. After all what was on the BG Portal in terms of Company Policy was of course also law, or at least that is what they would have you believe. As employers they were a complete disgrace and the company a complete shambles from top to bottom. Visitors to this site can look forward to more revelations of incompetence in due course as they unfold.
I was lured by the Michael Coates (Associate General Counsel at Shell) interview by Lawyer Monthly, and the question……. what is the most challenging aspect of your job and how do you overcome this? His response “There are a number of interesting challenges but I will share one internal challenge, the management of our in-house legal team”
The acquisition of BG Group and the infiltration of “the chosen few” from that company’s in-house legal team, may have bestowed a challenge he could never have imagined.
Well “Theo” when you say that “I know for sure the following” followed by a former director said “Black Gold we are digging up” then I think perhaps you are making this up. Most directors of an oil company (even including Shell) would not use the word “digging”! “Drilling” or “producing” yes but certainly not “digging” – exception being the muppets in the HR departments perhaps. In addition your last two sentences are irrelevant to the usual attacks on Shell and are somewhat waffle and insulting to most readers here. You clearly have a problem. I await the onslaught!!
There are normally two sides to every story, but Mike Curless’ version of his termination employment under the pretext of the takeover of BG reorganisation could hold some credence. However, if there was a fair and transparent succession strategy, Sarah Franklin’s self-promotion, see previous post and article, https://www.accdocket.com/articles/tips-and-insights-a-world-class-combination.cfm must have made her a good candidate for one of the “vacant” roles within the Shell legal team. Time will tell if the relevant due diligence was done on Ms Franklin, considering her escapades with a previous company.
I know for sure the following. A former director of Royal Dutch Shell had said: it is a simple problem with the Black Gold that we are digging up and selling. All what the government has to do is fix the price of the Black Gold at a level nobody will notice. Maybe add something. But there you have the money to pay for the transition to a more sustainable energy. So actually what everybody wants in the agreements in Paris.
Also I know for sure that beloved sister Rep. Ilham Omar was perfectly right in her conclusion that a few guilty criminals did something to create the chaos of nine eleven, so not the rest of the world.
So that about 7 Billion simple descendants of the first human beings not being a monkey are supporting her for keep on being the one and only first president of all sovereign or not sovereign United Nations.
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Caution needed over false almost hysterical claims about current Brent Structures
It was a long time ago but as London Lad highlights in his blog post the onshore disposal of Brent Spar Greenpeace apologised formally to Shell for its claims during that period of intense scrutiny and public interest that the Spar could not be disposed of at sea because it held over 5000 tons of crude oil when in fact it was found to have contained 100 tons of oily sludge much of which was inert silt.
We currently see the emergence again of false and highly emotive claims about what remains in the Brent structures despite Shell and independent published reports being available with assessments of what remains in the cells. These assessments indicate that the environmental impact of leaving these structures in situ is negligible compared to the safety risks to personnel involved in the attempted removal and disposal on land.
Bill
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/greenpeaces-brent-spar-apology-1599647.html
The next round of Nigerian “engagements” are well and truly happening now. Bonga SW/A has been a great tool for regulators and others to return to the potential contractors for additional assistance to progress the project.
It might just fly in 2020, and get on stream 20 years after the initial project.
This will be a real money maker to everyone that can participate (staff, EPC contractors, fabricators, installers, regulators, etc.) just not the nation that continues to suffer.
Hello LondonLad.
Good to see that you still visit. Hope you are well. Glad you have felt sufficiently motivated to post a comment again, the first one since 2013 if I recall correctly.
Under your former alias as MUsaint and your current alias LondonLad we have argued extensively about Shell’s track record in Nigeria.
I know you speak with authority given your own years in a senior position with Shell in Nigeria.
Suffice it to say that Shell has already paid out over £15 million in compensation to some relatives of the Ogoni 9 and millions more in fines relating to Shell corruption in Nigeria.
The posting of articles and other evidence dating back to those days have emerged from the current Dutch litigation against Shell brought by Esther Kiobel and two other Ogoni 9 widows who have yet to be compensated for the loss of their beloved husbands. Most of the archived articles supplied to me via Amnesty International have never been posted online. There are more to follow.
I note your mention of Greenpeace, the unfortunate subject of undercover activity by Shell’s cherished MI6 hires via Hakluyt & Company. No doubt that situation continues.
RELATED INFORMATION
Shell to pay $48m Nigerian bribe fine: Daily Telegraph 4 November 2010
Extract
These companies, including Shell, admitted they “approved of or condoned the payment of bribes on their behalf in Nigeria and falsely recorded the bribe payments made on their behalf as legitimate business expenses in their corporate books, records and accounts”.
SHELL IN BRIBERY FINE: Daily Express 6 November 2010
Extract
Shell must pay a $30million “criminal penalty” over charges it paid $2million to a sub-contractor “with the knowledge that some or all of the money” would be used to bribe Nigerian officials to allow equipment into the country without paying duty. Shell, which has not admitted guilt, must pay a further $18million to repay profits and interests.
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Cease and Desist Order: Shell Corruption in Nigeria
Shell pays out $15.5m over Saro-Wiwa killing: The Guardian: 9 June 2009
Hi London Lad great to have you back!
How was Mykonos? A bit chilly at this time of year?
How much residual oil is left in the legs of Brent Bravo?
See:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-50040803
https://phys.org/news/2019-10-germany-crisis-shell-north-sea.html
Oh, and while I’m on my soapbox why don’t those idiots at Greenpeace learn from their mistakes? Now claiming that various Shell North Sea production platforms contain this and that amount of crude should trigger someone in the German Government to question their numbers. Greenpeace were completely wrong with their figures quoted for Brent Spar.
Jeeeez Mr.D you really are scraping the barrel. Articles from the “Tempo” dating from 1996 with still unproven (so one might assume false) claims about corruption in Ogoniland. Have to say that it’s still clear that Nigerians remain convinced that the best way to extort money is by attacking Shell (SPDC/SNEPCO) rather than the real culprits which still remain as the State Government, DPR, NAPIMS etc. etc.
https://www.accdocket.com/articles/tips-and-insights-a-world-class-combination.cfm
Sarah Franklin, Shell’s Associate General Counsel for Safety & Environment and her new team still don’t appear to have a focus on “complex safety matters”. As noted in the article, she would still appear to be “getting her Shell sea legs” despite being in the role for nearly 3 years.
Yesterday’s announcement that the HSE had issued Shell with an Improvement Notice for failing to ensure that the Temporary Refuge on the Gannet Alpha Installation was capable of remaining effective in an emergency, must question the validity of Shell’s focus on safety. TR compliance is not complex, it’s a fundamental prerequisite for the safety of the installation’s personnel in the event of an emergency, anything less is tantamount to dereliction.
If they can’t get basic safety requirement’s right, what chance have they with something more complex. Word of advice to Shell, employ more technically competent people who disclose and address safety concerns and fewer lawyers who suppress them.
National Theatre to end Shell funding
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49936748
The most profitable downstream site, we are losing good leader after leader, and we can’t figure out why? Maybe having mangers that say people get paid too much and don’t work hard enough and driving morale into the tank is the problem? When you actively devalue people, what do you expect? Now you throw a 5% raise at us? Really? What a disaster!
Further to my post about how seriously Rob Jager takes his role as VP Prelude, his profile on LinkedIn shows him as being a Non Executive Director for Air New Zealand above being a Shell VP for Prelude. He is clearly a high flyer. Do Air New Zealand do Airmiles?
Shell, Eni Relax After Major Investigation Comes Up Empty
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shell-Eni-Relax-After-Major-Investigation-Comes-Up-Empty.html
Oliver, regarding your message, please contact me via john@shellnews.net
Rumor on the street is the Shell Vito project is over a year behind schedule, AND Shell plans to double down and award Whale to the same contractors in the coming weeks.
Must be some serious love going on between the Singaporeans and Shell decision makers….
To uscitizen,
BRAZIL:
‘PS – Shell is investing 2 billion a year into Brazil and already paying off’. Assuming $2Bn (you did not quote currency), that would just about cover Shell’s share of the costs of replicants, operating expenses and of course managers’ BONUSES!
$2Bn would represent approximately 10% of Shell’s income in 2018.
https://reports.shell.com/annual-report/2018/consolidated-financial-statements/statement-of-cash-flows.php
FPSO unit cost: our initial case ($91bn total capex) assumed a cost of $2.5 billion for each of 13 FPSO units. However, our research shows a wide range of possibilities for this cost depending on the vessel configuration; plus the fact that Brazilian shipyards should get better at building them so the cost could reduce over time. Also the project might choose to lease rather than buy the FPSOs outright, which could improve economics for the consortium depending on the lease terms.
http://openoil.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/OO_br_Libra_narrative_1.0_161104.pdf
To uscitizen,
BG GROUP ASSETS SOLD BY SHELL SUBSEQUENT TO TAKEOVER:
Petrobras and Total announced that they have finalized a decisive milestone in the realization of their Strategic Alliance, signed in March 2017, with the completion of the following transactions: Transfer from Petrobras to Total of 22.5% of the rights of the Iara area, which comprises the Sururu, Berbigão and Oeste de Atapu fields in Block BM-S-11A in the Santos Basin pre-salt, operated by Petrobras (42.5%) alongside Shell (25%) and Petrogal (10%). The consideration for the above transactions amounts to US$1.95 billion, including closing adjustments. This amount does not include US$ 400 million that can be triggered by Petrobras to carry a part of its investment share in the Iara development fields and contingent payments.
http://www.petrobras.com.br/en/news/petrobras-and-total-complete-the-transfer-of-rights-in-the-lapa-and-iara-concessions-as-part-of-their-strategic-alliance.htm
Royal Dutch Shell is nearing the sale of a large part of its North Sea oil and gas assets to private equity-backed Chrysaor for $3 billion, banking sources said, marking a milestone in its drive to reduce debt after buying BG Group.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shell-m-a-northsea/shell-set-to-sell-3-billion-north-sea-assets-to-chrysaor-idUSKBN15B14M
Including this week’s US$750 million sale of an offshore shallow water gas field in Thailand.
https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2018/1/shell-has-sold-us27-billion-assets-acquiring-bg-group-charts/
The deal covers Shell’s interests in the fields Buzzard, Beryl, Bressay, Elgin-Franklin, J-Block, the Greater Armada cluster, Everest, Lomond and Erskine, and a 10% stake in Schiehallion. Shell also announced on Tuesday that it had sold its stake in a Thai gas field for $900m to a subsidiary of the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/31/shell-sells-north-sea-oil-gas-fields-chrysaor-linda-cook
TOTAL: $5.7Bn = 21% of $27Bn
To uscitizen:
OVERPAID:
Shell offered BG Group Shareholders a premium of approximately 52% to the 90 trading day volume weighted average price of 890.4pence per BG Share on 7 April 2015
https://www.shell.com/investors/financial-reporting/pre-combination-bg-group-publications/recommended-cash-and-share-offer-for-bg-group-plc-by-royal-dutch-shell-plc/_jcr_content/par/textimage_931903780.stream/1447807511882/98173e46e15c9a96a2e68397b2b75093c96c3720/offer-announcement-royaldutchshellplc-bggroupplc.pdf
Since agreeing the largest single upstream-centric deal of the past 10 years to purchase BG Group in April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell has been selling assets all over the world to rationalize its portfolio.
https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2018/1/shell-has-sold-us27-billion-assets-acquiring-bg-group-charts/
Bonus group, Contradict myself – lol. Poor guy – like I said do your own research – tell us what you find, you will look like the irrational uneducated poster you are. PS – Shell is investing 2 billion a year into Brazil and already paying off. Do you ever look anything up?
To US Citizen. Thank you for your post of September 9th 2019 20:12. Congratulations on also being an avid reader of this blog. You are correct in my post of June 26th 2019 23:05 I did say that ‘..Shell had a ‘fire sale’ of a plethora of BG ‘dross’ assets in order to raise $30Bn to disguise the amount by which they had overpaid for BG Group.’ More correctly, Shell had a ‘fire sale’ including a plethora of BG ‘dross’ assets in order to raise $30Bn to disguise the amount by which they had overpaid for BG Group. This does not detract from the fact that Shell did have a ‘fire sale’ in order to raise $30Bn. By my estimation Shell over paid for BG Group by about 30%. The Christmas boxes were very large, but the presents were very small. You contradict yourself when you say that you will not do my homework for me, but then tell me that the split of the $30Bn assets sold was 80:20 Shell:BG. Is that correct? If so, thank you that just goes to show how worthless those BG assets were, but then that is what you can expect from a Cappuccino and Belgian chocolate lifestyle company. Any comments about what the Brazil Asset are up to these days?
To Bonus Group – the large percentage of assets sold by Shell were non BG assets. I will not do your homework for you, but the split is 80/20. A great example of why you do not take what this sites protagonists post as good information. But go ahead, say I am wrong and also posting garbage, do your research and tell me the number of BG asset sales vs the 30 billion Shell raised thru asset sales.
MESSAGE FROM JOHN FOR THE ATTENTION OF BOGUS GROUP. I have received the information you kindly sent and have replied by encrypted email.
I might write in more detail but I find it rather ironic that it was this website that was telling the world 6 or so years ago that this installation did not have risk levels as low as claimed and one of the principal risk drivers was the compact nature of a hazardous substances plant with not enough space to swing a cat in. Unless you are not aware I wrote to Shell Australia at the time giving them data from 8 existing or planned onshore LNG plants which varied from 80 to 100 hectares or on average 20 to 22 times the footprint of Prelude, could they tell me as a stakeholder with shares in the Company how they arrived at their ridiculously low number but can guess I assume that a reasonable explanatory reply was not forthcoming, as sure as eggs are eggs if this plant is currently having problems or if it has problems or major accident events in future it will be due to the force fitting a complex plant, with risk levels much above which they have published, on a postage stamp of a footprint.
God willing they will never live to regret their fraudulent overly optimistic claims, risk is based on reality not wishful thinking.
Bill
UPDATED SAT 24 AUG 22.00.
John, here’s the link, can you access from here? https://www.upstreamonline.com/live/1836861/shell-learns-from-prelude-challenges
REPLY FROM JOHN:
Thanks. Problem is that it’s behind a paywall and despite it being a great publication for the oil industry, none of us retired folk wants to invest in a subscription.
FURTHER REPLY FROM JOHN
I have received the further Prelude information you have kindly provided and have replied by encripted email.
Further to Bogus Group’s post yesterday. I am absolutely appalled that a Senior Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc should spout so much nonsense concerning the Prelude installation. The statement is redolent of Malcolm Brinded and his ‘Touch F*ck All’ policy, which led to the deaths of Keith Moncrieff and Sean McCue on Brent Bravo on 11th September 2003. What is boring is the continuous misleading spin and blather from the top of this company and their lackadaisical approach to safety. ‘Chronic Unease’ is a well known expression in the Oil and Gas Industry, and that state of mind is far from boring or routine. In fact nothing is either boring or routine in Oil and Gas operations. Rob Jager moved last year to the post of VP Prelude after spending thirteen years as Country Chair and VP for Shell New Zealand/Shell Taranaki, after Shell announced the sale of its New Zealand interests in March 2018. Jager clearly previously has spent too much time being ‘laid back’ in the fantasy land of Lord of the Rings, marvelling at New Zealand’s scenery and wondering who will be entertaining him for his next luxury seafood dinner accompanied by a glass of chilled expensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
PLEASE SEE REPLY FROM JOHN WHICH FOLLOWS THE COMMENT FROM BOGUS GROUP
More on Prelude article in Upstream.
I’m stunned by what can only be described as idiotic statements. Nothing like the utopia of self-aggrandisement without verification. What is Jagers’ level of technical and operational capabilities? I recall similar rhetoric from BG Group charlatans, with the “best in class” mentality and use of the most overstated expression ever to be used outside the education sector, all aimed at pleasing their taskmasters.
Ramp-up of Prelude and what Jager hopes will be decades of “uneventful” and “boring” operation.
“This will be a state where little or nothing happens. We have few if any alarms, no surprises and where things are running like clock work and we are effectively in autopilot,” he said.
“We will know when we have succeeded in this ambition because Prelude will be recognised as the most boring asset in Shell global portfolio our people will refer to it as the safest and most desirable place to work, and when the rest of the industry is knocking on our door to find out how we have achieved such a best in class outcome, especially for a facility as complex and unique as Prelude.”
REPLY FROM JOHN
Hello, I would be grateful if you could send me a copy of the article via john@shellnews.net using an anonymous email address. I would pass it on to retired Shell EP experts for their assessment.
Shell may claim to be not responsible for the contractors’ instruction to staff to attend the meeting or loose pay, however, contractors working for Shell have a contractual obligation to comply with Shell’s General Business Principles and its Code of Conduct. Facilitating political rallying and coercing staff would certainly go against that.
Disappointing to see these principles are pushed aside when it comes to US politics.
I would be interested to know the content of the article just published by Upstream Online about the Prelude FLNG problems?
Upstream Online: Shell learns from Prelude challenges
Shell is currently in the process of ramping up its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas development off Western Australia, but the ambitious project …
What I do know is that Prelude is still having difficulties in with the processed volumes of any of the three streams of product, LNG, LPG and condensate.
I have been monitoring the Marine Traffic web site with Prelude as the target. The offtake tankers, LNG or condensate, can be seen hanging around but at a greater distance from Prelude making it not as easy to keep track of as in previous occasions. The latest LNG tanker, Symphonic Breeze, has been nearby for nearly a week waiting for its nominated cargo. The demurrage costs must be quite high by now as the “notice of readiness” will have been tabled on arrival.
The pressure on the Prelude Operational Staff must be intense and unrelenting, so much for a plug and play project that Brinded made so much noise about.
After reading in the news that workers in our Pennsylvania plant wore FORCED
to sit and listen to trump you can count on me PASSING EVERY SHELL station I see. (Comment received via email)
Is the payment of workers by Shell to attend a Trump rally appropriate?
How does Shell justify it?
Is Shell going to pay workers to attend opposition rallies for balance?
What’s next payment for attending Bolsonaro rallies? (Received via email)
Saw news on Shell’s practice of coercing union employees into attending a campaign rally with Trump. I used to fill up with Shell gasoline. Will no longer purchase anything from Shell or anything that is in anyway obviously associated with Royal Dutch Shell (Posted comment was received by email)
Bonus Group has previously mentioned John de Lange, once upon a time VP Well Engineering and Operations BG Brasil, last heard of kicking his heels in Chad as VP Operations for Glencore E&P (Canada) Inc before he fell foul of jackals and going to ground. This very wealthy man by his own admission now finds himself literally in hot water, or more precisely as a director of Geothermie Groep Nederland B.V. This is probably the best outcome for the oil and gas industry as his competency and motives were questionable at best.
John, thanks for posting the article on the Trump visit to Penn Chem. Most insiders don’t think Shell will really want that kind of connection to Trump. But if he asks to come with the EPA administrator and DOE Minister, what can you do, but say yes? Saying no would have resulted in a backlash for sure. Makes it difficult to stay politically neutral.
Shell still wants to play both sides on the US agenda, and win regardless of the outcome. This is more troubling for many, as it shows the messaging in EU is low carbon future, in the USA its drill baby drill. It makes your point on culture, that some still seem to doubt.
it was very interesting to see Shell host President Trump at Penn Chem for Energy Speech that turned into a campaign rally.
More interesting that he seemed to take credit for making it happen.
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/08/13/donald-trump-in-beaver-county/
Scroll down to the middle and you can watch the full hour speech.
Hello, I am interested in purchasing royaldutchshellplc.com Are you interested?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
I would have taken your question more seriously if you had contacted me privately via email rather than via a public forum.
What makes you think that anyone is interested in Shell’s business dealings with the Germans several decades ago?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Shell’s historians must have thought someone would be interested or they would not have included dozens of pages filled with supporting evidence in “A History of Royal Dutch Shell” Volumes 1 & 2 published in 2007. Understandably, they spun the evidence in favour of their paying client, Shell. Another indication of interest is the many thousands of visitors to our new sister website shellnazihistory.com. Likewise, 17,918 blocked malicious login attempts on the new site with 1,696 blocked spam comments (by Akismet). All stats as of today, 13 July 2019. In addition to the public interest, clearly, there is evil intent towards the website. Wonder who that might be?
In answer to uscitizen’s post proclaiming the wonders of the acquisition of BG Group by Shell, it should be remembered that Shell had a ‘fire sale’ of a plethora of BG ‘dross’ assets in order to raise $30Bn to disguise the amount by which they had overpaid for BG Group. Sooner or later there must be another reserves recategorisation. The Brasil Asset is a prime candidate for this given that it is still staffed by ex-BG sycophants propping up the illusion. As highlighted by Bogus Group, it would seem that Knarr is the latest posthumous failure of BG Group. They were always over stating the value to the shareholders.
In 2015 this prospect was given a production life of “at least 10 years”Did Shell expect such an early exit, or was this another BG Group recoverable miscalculation?https://www.upstreamonline.com/hardcopy/1805800/shell-to-pull-plug-at-knarr
Shell, the world’s second-largest listed oil and gas company after Exxon, cut costs heavily following its 2016 acquisition of BG Group for $53 billion and the 2014 oil crash.
Despite a slow and bumpy recovery in oil prices, it reported the largest profit among its peers last year and a jump in revenue from previous years.
Shell said its free cash flow – cash available for dividends and share buybacks – was set to rise to around $35 billion per year by 2025 based on a Brent crude oil price of $60 per barrel.
That compares with $28-33 billion in free cash flow it expects to deliver by the end of next year. Brent is currently trading just under $61 per barrel.
Shell, the world’s biggest dividend payer at $16 billion in 2018, expects to increase its dividend payouts to shareholders once it completes the $25 billion share buyback by the end of 2020 that it promised following the BG acquisition.
Shell last increased its quarterly dividend in the first quarter of 2014 to $0.47 per share.
All of the folks bashing Shell for the BG merger, I think we can now say this has been a very good financial move. Shell has overtaken Exxon and Integrated Gas is a big reason why. I am sure there are examples where some good people got pushed out, and I hate to hear that. However, lets not pull the wool over folks eyes and say this business decision was not sound.
Further to yesterday’s post.
Sound Energy plc
(“Sound Energy” or the “Company”)
Director/PDMR Shareholding
Sound Energy, the Moroccan focused upstream gas company, announces that it has been notified that Brian Mitchener, Executive Director, has today purchased 150,000 ordinary shares in the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) at a price of 12.04 pence per Ordinary Share. As a result of this purchase, Mr Mitchener is interested in 150,000 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.0142% of the Company’s issued ordinary share capital.
UnSound Energy?
Readers may wonder why the darling of the AIM Market is now preparing itself for a sale of its Eastern Morocco acreage.
Perhaps, the answer may be found in the Annual Report 2018 available to download as a .PDF from the Sound Energy Website:
Page 49
Loss of Office and Change of Control Provisions
In the event of a change of control of the Company, the CEO, CFO and Exploration Director have the option to give notice and receive a lump sum equivalent to 18 months’ salary for the CEO, 12 months’ salary for the CFO and 8 months’ salary for the Exploration Director.All of the Company’s current share plans contain provisions relating to a change of control.
On a change of control, outstanding awards would normally vest and become exercisable, subject to the satisfaction of any performance conditions at that time.
Page 50
Summary Of Actual Remuneration (including Benefits in Kind and Performance Awards) Of Directors
Executive Directors
James Parsons £995,000
Brian Mitchener £323,000 (RSU Awards No. of Shares 862,682, Granted 26.04.18 Settlement date 01.01.21)
JJ Traynor £168,000 (RSU Awards No. of Shares 961,194, Granted 26.04.18 Settlement Date 01.01.21)
It should be remembered that Brian Mitchener is of the failed BG Group stable. It would seem that Bonus Group habits are hard to let g0!
I concur with Bonus Group recollection of the tin pot, lacklustre, parvenu outfit. There was no place in BG Group for experienced professionals if they didn’t possess the sycophant tendencies required to stoke the egos of those deluded by corporate grandeur.
Large remuneration packages were not uncommon then too, the chief executive received circa £13mm (published) in bonuses throughout his 12 year tenure. During that period there were 26 fatalities, roughly £500k for each. That was more than distasteful.
Today is the anniversary date of the agreement on terms of the takeover of BG Group (a tin pot, lacklustre, parvenu outfit) by Royal Dutch Shell plc in 2015. In consequence of BG Group’s consistent failures to meet targets and the engineered predatory takeover by Royal Dutch Shell plc the careers and professional lives of many experienced Geoscientists and Engineers were brutally butchered, terminated, and cast aside like so much offal, so it is rather distasteful to see the size of Ben van Beurden’s remuneration package being flaunted in the press by Royal Dutch Shell plc.
It seems to be impossible right now to get any chance of landing a job inside Shell these days. Everytime people apply for jobs unless they have high potential or a diversity point they get rejections. I got told recently that the hiring manager was looking for someone with high potential. Don’t these people realise that they also need QUALIFIED people to actually do the work. Ridiculous but it almost getting to age discrimination these days. Rant over.
SHELL CANADA
…they are wanting to sell their Alberta operations….. because there is no money left in it…they have syphoned it all off…..
https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/shell-seeks-sale-of-canadian-refinery-to-focus-on-lng-project
in Caroline Alberta they had a massive sour gas leak on March 23 2003. It was in the local paper….Caroline Alberta or Sundre Alberta. (Sundre roundup)
I think also on 2010-2011 they had multiple explosions at their Caroline facility supposedly an employee during an explosion at the south compressor station had to be airlifted to hospital and was seriously injured.
The aer/ govt shut it down. it was closed for 6 months and half of the plant was decommissioned when it restarted.
That must have cost them millions of dollars…..there should be government records of this stuff….
THE ROYAL MINT HAVE RELEASED A NEW 50p COIN TO COMMEMORATE THE BREXIT DEAL
John,
PRELUDE
The description of the fairleads causing the mooring ropes to chafe to such an extent is almost so ridiculous to render ex-seafarer speechless. The fitting of nylon liners inside the fairleads is something new for me but the idea behind it would may be to reduce the friction of the mooring lines when running through the fairlead thus reduce any temperature potential in a zone 2 area. Fixing one potential risk appears to have created another one of greater risk potential. I am not sure how the nylon liners in the fairleads would have such sharp edges to chafe the mooring lines on their own and perhaps there may have been something else to which the journalist has missed out. The reported leakage of LNG in the manifold area from a flange should not have happened but the liquid transfer areas are all bunded in low-temperature materials and provided with a constant supply of running water during cargo handling activities. Power outages during start-up operations and ongoing are nothing new and others can be expected, hopefully not very often as the restart of such a complicated process system takes a long time and much effort. The problem with firewater deluge over the LNG storage tanks reported is of considerable concern but the journalist does not mention if this was during the period when systems were being tested prior to the introduction of LNG or after. If before then this section of the report is just journalistic license and of no consequence whatsoever. The other issues as reported can be considered minor during the preparation phase before the introduction of hydrocarbons in any form but definitely of concern if these incidents were after the introduction of hydrocarbons. I wish the people who are experiencing the startup of such a complicated and complex plant every success. Take the time that is needed to be successful by being safe, good luck.
Irish Backstop Update
According to a Sunday Times article two days ago, “Ireland continues to dodge difficult questions about how it will protect the single market and also maintain an open border under a no-deal.”
The Express published an article this evening under the headline “IRELAND BREXIT ULTIMATUM: EU to enforce hard border or KICK DUBLIN OUT of single market.“
EXTRACT
IRELAND has been warned it faces the difficult choice between implementing a hard border or being forced out of the EU’s single market in an unprecedented move to protect the bloc from a no-deal Brexit.
Dublin will be forced to make the tough choice if Britain quits the EU without a deal, according to a number of senior EU figures.
The European Commission sparked fury from Ireland after declaring Dublin would have to implement a hard border in the event of a no-deal Brexit. After significant protests from, which involved a heated debate between Leo Varadkar and Jean-Claude Juncker, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, suggested “operational solutions” would have to be found in order to prevent a hardening of the border.
But now high-ranking MEPs have hardened their position, insisting the single market must not be compromised even to maintain peace on the island of Ireland.
Elmar Brok, a German MEP with close ties to Angela Merkel, insisted that if Ireland failed to police its own borders the EU would have to take its own protectionist action.
“We would have to set up a customs border with Ireland,” the German said.
He also warned that if Brussels didn’t make the demands then “we will soon have American chlorine chicken in the EU”.
BvB has been quoted in many articles following the outcome of the Brexit vote as expressing negativity about Brexit and the effect it could have on RDS. This can be confirmed by running a Google search on “Ben van Beurden Brexit”. The articles today in the Scottish press and Upstreamonline are but the latest publishing his views on the subject. Despite all of the negativity, my own view is that a satisfactory Brexit deal without the backstop will be done. If not, the EU and Ireland will be an international laughing stock when they create a hard border soon after Brexit, the outcome they were supposedly trying to avoid. That development would provide a better example of the consequences of deranged Irish logic than any infantile Paddy joke I can recall. The stupidity of certain Irish politicians is poisoning previously improved relations between the UK and Ireland, which is a great pity.
All of the ingredients will be there for a return to violence in the event of the UK being forced into a no deal by Ireland. The current impasse is down to Ireland which may well come to regret its hostility towards the UK. How many of the 17 million Brits who voted for Brexit will wish to holiday in Ireland now?
I find it fascinating how so many brainwashed Shell slaves are quick to criticise Mr Donovan for the work he is doing. It is surely his decision and prerogative to do whatever he wants with his own time? Just like you and I choose to work for a slimy, corrupt, evil, fascist, environment destroying company. The only difference is that I actually admit to being a whore that’s sold my soul for money!
As for your defence of Brinded, I find it laughable. That man was an abnoxious individual who was acting more like an SS officer than a senior executive.
Keep up the good work John. Warm wishes and my heartfelt thanks to for keeping us all informed of Shell’s true nature.
REPLY BY JOHN
While I am grateful for the kind words, I do not know of any grounds to support your comment that Shell is a fascist company. With regard to Mr Brinded, despite my many negative comments about him over the years, comparing him with an SS officer is wrong.
Mr Donovan if it is your twisted objective to poison the Internet for the Shell brand you, unfortunately, seem to be succeeding. Searching for any subject connected with Shell inevitably seems to generate negative news reports, negative information and anti-Shell images, all apparently originated by you. Your allegations about Shell’s alleged Nazi history seem to be spreading across the Internet like a virus. Your Shell-branded counterfeit websites seem to be multiplying almost by the day. I am losing count of them all. This situation is bad for all stakeholders including employees, shareholders and pensioners. I also object to the personal attacks on Shell people, for example on Malcolm Brinded who has never been found guilty of any wrongdoing. Don’t you have any scruples? I am also concerned for your mental health and your bank balance. Is a third party also hostile to Shell funding your pervasive and malicious online activities? What’s the betting that my comments will not appear on your supposedly uncensored Shell Blog? I am also mystified why Shell has not taken action to protect its reputation?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Shell has been complaining about my online activities since March 1995 and on occasion has taken legal action, including a three-week high court trial in 1999. There is no possible defamation if what is stated is true.
The most recent proceedings were in 2005 via the World Intellectual Property Organisation. Shell unsuccessfully attempted to seize some of our Shell related domain names including royaldutchshellplc.com and royaldutchshellgroup.com.
All of the litigation cost Shell tons of wasted money in legal fees and attracted negative publicity.
Shell lost every case.
We have sued Shell twice for defamation. Shell settled both cases.
A covert attempt by Shell to close down hosting for our websites failed.
More recently, RDS Company Secretary/Main board member Michel Brandjes threatened legal action over my book about Shell’s Nazi history. His emailed threats turned out to be nothing but bluster. Shell will never take legal action on the topic as it would draw attention to the most toxic subject relating to any existing major multinational in the world.
I will continue to publish true facts about Shell and where appropriate corrupt senior management involved in scandals such as the Shell SMART rigged contract tender, the Brent Bravo deaths, the reserves fraud and OPL 245. Mr Brinded has involvement in all four scandals.
ON THE SUBJECT OF BRINDED:
He has such a strange brain, could outthink most people in Shell but rather than concentrate on doing good things for Shell and developing people he became the ultimate micromanager and surrounded himself with sycophants. Until the 2nd half of the eighties he was OK and the driving force of the highly successful SLIM technology. I believe this was what launched his big career. Thereafter he became moody and unpleasant for people who dared to question him or make good suggestions to him. Probably quite insecure and status conscious. Never understood this. He just took himself too seriously.
Donovan has already said suggested he won’t name the individual. He is more determined to go after Brinded with whom he has a personal issue. As Veritas suggests there is something deeper there which makes this whole issue inconsistent in his refusing to name the guilty individual.
John Donovan, you are such a hypocrite. You claim you don’t want the convicted pedophile’s family to suffer, but you keep dragging Brinded’s family through mud. You should be consistent in your actions. The only thing consistent about you is how you continue to live off of some overblown ‘offense’ your father experienced decades ago. You claim to be an open wound to Shell. The only open wound I see is the one in your damaged psyche that you continue to nurse.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Happy Christmas to you too.
P.S. It was actually my experience, with my late father kindly giving me his support. BTW, I don’t think Mr Brinded will be pleased that you keep bringing his name up.
So its OK to go after Brinded who hasn’t been convicted and to name and shame him for alleged financial wrongdoings and there are pictures of him and his family on the web but you draw the line at naming a CONVICTED individual. Mmmmm
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
I have been warning Shell about Malcolm Brindeds’ lack of scruples for nearly two decades. He gave his full backing to the Shell exec who rigged the SMART loyalty scheme contract tender. He has been a key player in a number of other Shell scandals. The related SMART litigation that Shell settled. The Brent Bravo deaths. The reserves securities fraud. His dealings with the despot Muammar Gaddafi on behalf of Shell. And currently, his starring role in the OPL 245 corruption scandal. Mr Brinded is free to sue me for defamation if he disputes what I am saying about him. I have a huge amount of evidence to support what I say. I know a lot about him. I have been coincidentally reading documents about his misdeeds for several days that I will publish in the New Year. More revelations about just how ruthless he is.
“The name of the relevant individual in a Shell leadership role has been verified from court records and social media)”
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Because having seen the Shell leader in question in a photograph with his family, I have reservations about naming him some 14 years after the offences took place. Why should his family suffer?
I concur with Bonus’s comment’s. Unfortunately these “turkeys’ can’t comprehend their deficiencies and actualy believe they are something special. A throwback of the rampant deviant executive culture at the time, which fostered them.
Christmas is coming,
The goose is getting fat,
Please, put a penny in the ex BG employee’s hat!
Rumour has it that the turkeys in the Brasil Asset, having contributed little to nothing to the asset over the past year, are now rubbing their hands with glee in anticipation of their annual bonuses. Hopefully, there will be another round of cost cutting in the New Year and they will be out on the street!
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.”
Apparently, with Shell HR this applies even if convicted of aggravated child sex offences on multiple counts with an appearance on the Sex Offenders Register.
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.
Is it a praiseworthy policy or an act of folly to hire and promote such individuals? Or an act of negligence if HR pleads ignorance of his past criminal history? The latter seems unlikely bearing in mind that his past is common knowledge among colleagues and apparently, even suppliers.
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.
Will someone ever be able to “drain the British swamp” of these conceited executives who disingenuously hide behind the “safety and good old business principle banners”, to further their greed and lust for power at whatever cost.
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.
Sad to think the MF will be drawing several million £ pounds a year in pension rights as well as the vast number of Shell shares he was allocated as a direct result of his dictatorial years of apparent criminal behaviour. Just one of people who turned Shell from a well respected Company who treated Staff as a precious asset to be nurtured rather than be coerced and then dumped at the first opportunity.
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.
In the article she explains that emotional intelligence was pivotal to success. I find this strange, as emotional intelligence wasn’t an attribute in BG Group. Could this be integration jargon?
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.
She has inherited a new team that focuses on complex safety and environmental issues. As noted in the article, in Shell Legal, many lawyers advise on safety and environmental matters but it didn’t have a global core of experts.
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’m sure other revelations will eventually surface.
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.
It looks like Prelude has 19 helicopter fights per week. All of them are routed to the “Posh Arcaida” which is an accommodation vessel with up to 750 beds on board.
An article I read dated 17th March indicated that more than 17,500 people had been moved by helicopter since arrival.
Currently CHC Helicopters are scheduling up to 19 flights a week. That may equate to about 360 each way or a total of around 750 people. I think this may indicate the potential panic at the “slow startup”. I wonder what the contractual LNG delivery dates were to be and if any cargos have had to have been bought by Shell on the open market.
Link to the helicopter operators web site
Andrey Golubel. It’s an oil painting, what would you expect?
There’s a bit of pattern here. Corruption seems to be running through the veins of Shell. We see in all these recent tax articles how they seem to be snuggled up in bed with the Dutch Government. Will anything come of this? Of course not silly. It has been going on for years. There is even a department called Government Relations which is staffed by – yes you guessed it – former government employees. Where was Van Beurden a few days ago, for three whole days? The very secretive Bilderberg meeting in Turin (Guardian article by Charlie Skelton can be found on this website), along with many of the worlds elite businessmen and politicians, AND the Dutch king. The outcomes of the meeting were not something I saw on any of the Shell internal or external communication messaging. Funny that, seeing how they always share even the most mundane van Beurden news. So will Shell be brought to account for its actions in OPL? I somehow doubt it. But there is some hope. Will the real Slim Robinson please stand up.
For centuries “The Mocking of Samson” was thought to be a copy of a famous Dutch painting. Then a Shell microscope made a remarkable discovery.
This gets interesting….Enron links to Dynegi, links to accounting scandal, custodial sentences, links to BG Group, links to Non Exec Directors in BG Group, more links to Dynegi ‘strays’ on the BG Exec committee!!! Interested parties may want to dig deeper.
Biggest Fraud in History. I object! BG Group was clearly the biggest fraud in recent oil and gas industry history after Enron. The company had over-inflated its reserves on little substance and fact, and the auditors were either gullible or complicit. BG had been lucky with production, but the Geoscience supporting the production was usually fabricated. What they didn’t understand they speculated about or made-up. The Board bid the shareholders up the cobblers, Project Berkshire in the Brasil Asset was a classic example of this deceit – the Emperor’s new clothes. Their undoing was not that they had lied to the shareholders, but that they actually believed their own lies and flawed integrity. Their assurance process was corrupt and their cappucino and pepper plant culture led to them failing to meet targets. Ultimately, they managed to get away with it by selling-out to Shell after a protracted period of alignment, who turned around the toxic purchase by spewing-out most of BG’s worthless assets, Caveat Emptor!
Lawyers for the many parties involved will be reading these series of postings with great interest as will the Italian Prosecutors.
UPDATE 6 JUNE 2018: Overnight developments:
After putting “A Mole” in direct contact with one of the key investigative organisations in relation to the OPL 245 corruption scandal, this anonymous source has now supplied them with more information relating to the OML 30 Nigerian oil deal involving Shell/Heritage Oil and Guy Colegate.
I am also in contact with a person who appears to be a key player in the OPL 245 scandal. I await promised documents from this insider source to whom I have also guaranteed anonymity.
Dear John,
I believe Shell are in trouble. Deep trouble. Not only has this OPL OML debacle seen the back of some of its most senior execs, Brinded, Voser, Henry etc but now we can expect to see a Pandora’s Box being opened by Peter Robinson. I expect fireworks. The company is very quick when it comes to deploying its resources to bully and shut up it’s external critics or shamelessly pay off those that dare to challenge them. However, in Robinson they are going in to battle with a street fighter who will fight dirty and go down fighting given the alternative is to spend years behind bars. Robinson is a very shrewd business man and will have records of all the corrupt practices that the company was part of, the processes being flouted and the management who were turning a blind eye. I’ve been to Nigeria a few times on business and am always left dumbfounded by how many dodgy things take place in the offices and are part of everyday life. Robinson spent years there and will have an extensive dossier. I think its too late now for Shell to be able to stop the likes of Robinson opening their mouths, with the use of money. Having made an enemy of him points again to seriously incompetent senior advisors within the company. Had no-one heard of ‘keep your friends close, keep your enemies even closer’? It will be a very slippery slope. Van Beurden should use a part of his obscene salary it invest in a good tin hat. I would also advise him to have a good summer clear out of all those who have been advising him on the matter, and of those who failed to stop this from becoming an issue as big, if not bigger, than the infamous reserves scandal.
Re. The message from “a mole” – TB looks like Tony Buckingham, the founder of Heritage before it got sold to Qatar… https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/heritage-oil-founder-sells-to-qatari-sheikh-in-1bn-deal-9309140.html
Yet another appears to have failed outside the cossetted Shell and BG echelons. The chief executive of Network Rail increasingly irked shareholders and commuters alike with a legacy of delays, cancellations and general disruption to services and will now take “early retirement” from the role. However with the praises of his chairman and the Transport Secretary ringing in his ears, I’m sure another revolving door will beckon.
LondonLad, well I am surprised, I had you down as an Arsenal, not Man U fan. However, you are probably right about B v B, anyone who can pull a rabbit out of the hat after swallowing BG Group’s toxic assets and them jettisoning them like the faecal pellet from an owl deserves some credibility.
People complaining about van Beurden’s pay of £7.9 million should have nothing to worry about (he’s probably well worth this). Just think about Manchester United fans having to watch Alexis Sanchez being paid over £31 million (£600,000 per week) and providing performances that do not justify such sums.
Carillion in the news again for greed, corruption, rotten corporate culture etc. Shell EVP (ex) Ceri Powell was a Director. Is she fit for a senior job in Shell ??
There could be trouble ahead!
On 15th January 2018 Total took over Operatorship (22.5%) of Berbigao, Sururu and Atapu West (previously Iara West, Iara Central and Iara East respectively) Pre-Salt oil Fields in the Entorno de Iara (Block BM-S-11A) area in the Santos Basin. Shell acquired its interest (25%) in Iara through its acquisition of BG Group.
Production in Iara was expected to start in 2018 through the 150,000 barrel per day capacity P-68 FPSO in Berbigão-Sururu fields, which would have been followed by a second FPSO in 2019 in the Atapu field.
Upstream reports that first oil from Petrobras’/Total’s pre-salt Berbigao field in the Santos basin could be delayed to next year due to slower than expected integration work with the Berbigao FPSO, P-68.
This in contrast to the report from Royal Dutch Shell plc.com March 19th 2018, wherein Ben van Beurden is quoted:
quote
‘And growth will continue in 2018 as we expect three more FPSOs to start up. We have P-67 coming on Lula North. We have P-68 in Berbigao. We have P-69 in Lula Extreme South. And altogether, that represents over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day peak production capacity, all Shell share.’
end quote
But, no doubt, the Executive bonuses will still be paid regardless!
Touching to see how LondonLad seeks millenial reassurance from Line Management in the form of Mr D. One wonders if he does the same at work?
Please note that the previous comments by “LondonLad” have not come from me – Mr.D might be able to confirm this with the IP address. Presumably written by one of the fanatic anti-Shell nutters that troll this website.
Warning from John Donovan: I would like to repeat a warning I have mentioned before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by contributors such as Bill Campbell, who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using aliases, such as “Outsider” (sadly now deceased) and MUSaint/LondonLad, have built up reputations here over several years for the integrity of their postings on this website. It seems that someone has mischievous intent in making a posting under a false flag.
Hi Jose, I wondered if you would like to meet? From your comments, I think we both work in the Brasil Asset, but I am not sure. I think we have a lot in common. How about we meet next week in Nando’s, 45 Bank Street at 12.00 on Tuesday next week? You’ll recognise me from the size of my package.
Methinks, I hit a bullseye. As I wrote: a bunch of losers with their snouts in the salary and bonus troughs, but don’t have the helicopter quality to see the good side of Shell. Pretty sad, really.
Enough of London Lad and Jose (one and the same?) they are probably migrants from BG looking to make a name for themselves, but not realising that they are already castrated by a poor CEP and PIR.
On the subject of BG what are Shell doing with the over 20,000 BBLs per day of contaminated produced water from the Western Delta Deep Marine Fields? BG used to tanker this into the desert and dump it. Their feeble attempts to dispose of it in another fashion fell short. Perhaps, Greenpeace should investigate this outrage?
Then of course there was BG’s Brasil Asset, a disgrace at the best of times, starved of information by Petrobras, but that didn’t stop them from making things up and gingerly playing barbed games with Petrobras at the instigation of the Asset Manager. These sad, technically lacking, individuals are now at Shell and having to perpetuate their BG untruths, they are ring fenced like lepers in Bank Street so that nobody can spot their lies. This slack Asset needs a thoroughly good shake up, starting from the top down. Petrobras will breathe a sigh of relief when they are replaced.
BG was well known for constructively dismissing those who refused to support their lies, venomous whispers about ‘poor performance’ and offers were made ‘made without prejudice’. The Industry is well rid of them and their ilk, rotten to the core.
To LondonLad and Jose Valente. If it’s ok with you both I would like to continue to post my views on this website. I hope by doing so you won’t accuse me of being ungrateful or of being a bad performer. Because being a good performer at Shell is what I spend all my nights dreaming about.
Anyway, back to ruthless Shell shenanigans. It’s a well known fact that Shell monitors its employees social media activity. You would be a fool to think otherwise. Our Norwegian colleague Runar has not revealed anything new. You sell any rights to privacy and rights to hold the moral high ground when you sign the sHell contract. Helplines set up by HR are all bogus and are never anonymous. HR will always join up the dots and it will be linked to you. Disgruntled staff are leaking information externally all the time. Being free to speak your mind comes up in the joke that is the Shell Sheeple Survey every year as an issue. And every year managers mark the cards of anyone that is brave enough to speak out against management or issues. Fear rules.
HR are ignoring internal frustration and instead have made it a priority to get more women into senior positions, regardless of competence and experience levels, and ignoring what’s good for the company’s profitability. Common sense has gone out of the window and it is no longer a fair place to work. Unless this changes soon, I may consider getting the snip and growing some breasts like LondonLad did to further my career and increase my chances of being able to “Make It”.
Happy 60th Birthday Ben Van Beurden.
London Lad & Jose. Clearly sociopaths who are keen to make a name for themselves within Shell and trolling sites like this to build a bigger picture on what empathetic employees actually feel because they miss this part in their own sad personalities; believing that Shell is the only company to work for and that it actually means something if you ‘make it’. Get a life. As for the people who open up on here, keep opening up.
London Lad & Jose
What makes me laugh about you pair of clowns is that you are critical of the value of this website and insult those who use it as a channel to air their views, YET you visit it
on a regular basis and seem to know quite a lot about it in terms of the topics and the posters etc!!! That makes you quite the illogical hypocrites, don’t you think? What’s ironic is that the logic you both apply (if you are indeed different people) is
the same as those of most of the staff that make it to senior positions, and users of this website despize. Well done and good luck in your careers.
LondonLad and Jose Valente. It sounds to me as if you two sociopathic Metrosexuals should get together over a cappucino or two to talk about your bonuses and then adjourn to a sauna where you can hold hands, ease some of the office tensions and frustrations, and compare the size of your egos.
Been saying the same thing for a several years now Jose. They didn’t make it at (or in one case with) Shell or were given early retirement because of poor performance. The combination of such persons, Greenpeace liars, Irish moaners and corrupt Nigerians trying to make money off the back of Shell make this site quite a laugh at times.
To concerned employee et al: it is amazing how much crap people can write on this blog. I can only presume these are a bunch of losers, that did not make it at Shell. Frustrated, desillusioned – but still with their snouts in the Shell trough, slurping away their salaries AND bonuses. Have at least the guts to leave Shell.
Bill & Concerned Employee,
The business integrity problems have always been dormant under the surface (since the last integrity crisis at least) and despite the efforts to improve its public image, the problems were bound to keep returning like a bout of gonorrhoea. I wasn’t really surprised when I read the horrendous internal company note blaming Robinson. Shell has form. It seems only yesterday when the Shell turrets turned towards Bill Campbell when he exposed Brinded, Bayliss et al for supporting and encouraging a narcissistic cavalier culture towards safety.
Despite all the internal BS to deflect blame and external PR campaign to falsely portray that Shell as caring deeply for the environment and business integrity, internally staff are fully aware that management are only interested in profits, and that staff should be grateful for their jobs and speak out at their own peril.
I suspect that the only regret the EC privately have is that their generals were incompetent enough to get caught out with respect to OPL, but unfortunately Robinson is a gift for them and does make a rather convenient scapegoat. In a Shell world where for the majority of my colleagues its all about bonuses, promotions and job survival, I can understand (but in no way condone) why colleagues are more prepared to cross the integrity line. And if caught they will get a slapped wrist over a coffee meeting and no-one other than (the unashamedly corrupt) HR will know (only to raise it up against you when needed).
I genuinely believe that Ben van Beurden is a decent man and appears to have a good heart, but his weakness in dealing with the army of internal rogue corrupt dictators and getting control of the HR mafia has already cost him his legacy.
OPL is causing a lot of additional stress and gloomy faces in the office corridors and alarming gossip around the coffee machines. Thankfully we have our incompetent lawyers, unscrupulous finance staff, dishonourable HR, shameless spin doctors and ineffective (un)ethics and compliance colleagues at hand to make the OPL problem disappear. Or maybe not.
Behind the glossy facade of its brightly coloured filling stations and shiny reflective glass towers, Shell is truly a dark malevolent force. It is not only the Church of the poisoned mind, but also home to the parasitic mind which snatches thoughts from others and presents them as its own. Experience and being correct are not recognised, only ‘Process’. Many, through either bitter experience, incompetence or ignorance have learned to hide behind process and can no longer think for themselves. Merit is trodden under heel into the mud. Often one bad decision after another results in a predictable squandering of shareholders’ money, not by the millions or tens of millions of dollars, but by the hundreds of millions of dollars. Lessons learned are written down then forgotten as the machine moves forwards. This is rewarded by large bonuses. Reality plays little part in the daily running of the business, the public image of the ‘Brand’ must be protected at all cost.
I share your sentiments wholeheartedly Bill. The company has been caught with its pants down, with senior staff most likely involved in kickbacks. How could this have got through the numerous assurance including Integrity teams, Auditors etc who all form part of the checks and balances to ensure this is easily picked up (particularly in Nigeria). Either the company is full of incompetence, or there has been a blind eye turned to such corruption. I say (a lot of) both. The amounts of money involved is not loose change. I say this problem is endemic in many of the hardship countries we do business in. Shell is dark, corrupt and dirty and I am beginning to question if I am working for a far more sinister company than I originally thought. And this is playing on my mind.
A Goodfriday CRUXIFIXCTION …took place to day in Mayo …4 Irish Shell booze cops and a Mayo Co Co officer heard from OSSL that that the oil giant Shell has unambiguously stated that ” bribery and corruption ” does take place in their orginisation …the Mayo police and county council gentlemens ” who me ” stance is not looking to good now …this is not small ” potatoes ” one guy demanded and got 280k Euro spent on his house …watch this space .
TotallyHackedOff. To pick-up on your comment, most large Oil and Gas corporations comprise two main elements, to use a nautical analogy: the Leadership Team (The Flotsam: debris in the water that was not deliberately thrown overboard) and the Technical Staff (The Jetsam: debris that was deliberately thrown overboard). The Flotsam can usually also be found in a septic tank!
BG Group was run on processes parallel to those of Shell. There were Shell ‘plants’ in the Management Team to ensure that there could be a seamless takeover; it was insidious. BG spent the three years before the takeover bid was announced aligning themselves with Shell. After all if things were to go ‘tits-up’ and you were the CEO who had come from Shell in the first place, you would want an escape plan to protect your reputation and the shareholders.
Further to Bogus Group’s post on 14th December concerning Neil McCulloch’s departure from Enquest, it has not taken long for him to land a plum job as Technical and HSE Director at Spirit Energy where Chris Cox, late of BG is CEO. The storm clouds are beginning to gather as fast as the nepotism allows. Chris is rapidly building on his mandate to develop Spirit Energy (previously Centrica’s oil and gas assets, now rebranded) to a level where it can be assimilated by Shell, as the third of the companies spun-off by the British Gas privatisation in the ’80s and long stalked by Shell.
Further to my post on this blog, 28 August’17, there may be some interest an an article in yesterday’s Upstream “Trial set for clash of LNG players”.
Shell – as I am sure with many global super majors- is heavy with narcissists at all levels. Lots of people like Trump rollicking around- get in their way and you’re a gonner! See you later Rexy baby!
In reply to Bonus Group and Another Concerned Employee- its clear reading from your posts that Shell and BG shared many business cultural similarities making the tie-up an obvious one. I know of a few Shell employees who resigned, joined BG and are now back at Shell again- it stinks of a plant/trojan horse ending! It is well known that Shell has an ‘inner circle’ and if you find yourself outside that as many of the technical folk do, you don’t stand a chance. Its all a bit wink, wink nudge, nudge. I even remember one manager (now a VP of something) telling me how I needed to ‘read between the lines’ which made me think it was all a load of bollocks and how the politically adept arse kissers rose through the ranks blissfully unaware of how their actions impacted their colleagues. The alpha men and women were all the same- keen to get ahead at anyones expense and doing secret backroom deals. Its one ginormous playground and the bullies will win as they are keeping the other bullies in place.
‘Another Concerned Employee’talks about Shell’s ‘scooby-doo’ business priciples, BG’s were just as opaque. If you asked someone in HR about policy you would be deflected to ‘The Portal’ and left to fend for yourself. Often the policies conflicted with each other and had no foundation in law. This was reflected in the hypocritical management ‘do as I say, not as I do’ policy.
The closest experience most of BG Senior Management had of oil rigs and platforms was reading about them in comic books. The Brasil Asset was a complete shambles with its ‘Simple Simon’ approach to geoscience and cappuccino lifestyle. Unfortunately, most of these overpaid sociopaths migrated to Shell and are waiting, mouth’s open for their next bonus. Shell must be trying hard to find ways to cover up grotesque errors in reserves booked by this Asset. Hopefully, Shell’s assurance process is better than BG’s with its £2Bn failure.
Carillion, for whom the bell tolls! Remarkable that a Shell Executive should have a finger in this pie with its aggressive auditing practices. More ‘pulling the wool’ over the shareholder’s eyes. Were the auditors asleep at the wheel when this was happening? There should be a full investigation, and those responsible made accountable. Perhaps, sunny Brunei is a safe haven? I wonder what the extradition treaties between the UK and Brunei are?
Shell HR finds it easy to overlook its fake scooby doo business principles whenever it suits them. A number of staff implicit in OPL and the spin doctors trying desperately to cover up the crisis are still on payroll. It won’t surprise anyone that Ceri was one of Brinded’s loyal lapdogs during his dictatorship. Also no surprise she landed such a sweet job in Brunei.
Not sure if you know but..
Cerie Powell – ex EVP exploration now MD Brunei Shell Petroleum was a non exec director of Carillion (now in liquidation). She resigned once she was demoted to Brunei in 2016 (?) but given the news around the legacy issues involving Carillion, should she really hold a senior position in Shell Group ?
It is understandable that a niche now exists in the market for a company similar to BG Group, but for Neptune Energy to set its aim at emulating and becoming like BG is nothing short of horrifying. Why anyone should wish to recreate the inept management, twisted HR policies and rancid technical half truths of BG Group in order to deceive the shareholders is beyond comprehension. If they do, then the Serious Fraud Office should be on the alert. Sammy ‘two pools’, whose past remit included selling Enterprise Oil to Shell, rather than ENI is made of sterner stuff. That said, his nuclear ambitions did fall somewhat short of those of Kim Yong Un. Let’s wish Neptune Energy a long, scandal free future and greater integrity than bungling BG with its House of Cards and flamboyant ineptitude.
Following the acquisition of Engie the Financial Times headline “Neptune Energy sets aim on being the next BG Group” may have sent a chill through some. To think there could possibly be a rise from the ashes is an alarming prospect
However there was some comfort in the company chairman statement “We have the opportunity to take the time to get it right”.
Hopefully this means their Ethics and Compliance foundation will actually be more than just another policy open to distortion by misconduct.
Is the New York City case against Oil Companies justifiable or just hot air?
Many, if not all prestigious US scientific journals estimate largest source of air pollution in US is caused by vehicle emissions. Current estimates that US has some 260 million automobiles and 11 million trucks. It is the daily emissions from these vehicles that are the cause of scientific concern. But anybody visiting Florida, and following a construction truck, will be familiar with black smoke in copious amounts emitting from the vertical exhaust pipe, sometimes it’s so bad it can restrict your vision but Florida is not the only state of the US that does not require emission control, there are many more, monitoring for example (like a UK vehicle MOT) is not legally required or carried out.
So perhaps De Blasio should start suing these delinquent states.
In any case, I find the whole matter ludicrous in a country, where their President claims that human activity is not related in any way to global warming and appoints a head of EPA who is also so inclined (a man described by NY Times as an arsonist in the Fire Station) so why does Shell et all not call as witnesses in their defence the current EPA Director, or otherwise why does De Blasio not start by suing those states that allow millions of vehicles to pollute the atmosphere daily.
Bill
Further to my last post on this blog. Sound Energy have now arranged a slap-up bean feast for their shareholders to be held on 15th February at Grace Hall, Leadenhall Street, London. Drinks at Carriages afterwards. Dress is formal so don’t expect too energetic a food fight. Attendees must pay for their own tickets! All will be revealed about the new Coro strategy. You may recall that Sound shareholders will receive Coro shares as a result of the divestment of Sound’s Italian assets. The question is whether Sound shareholders will end up in the soup.
There are rumblings in the ether about Rockhopper Exploration plc having failed to perform Due Diligence with integrity in respect of their purchase of the Italian focused company Mediterranean Oil and Gas (MOG) in 2014, and in particular MOG’s asset, the Ombrina Mare oil field.
Following the decision in February 2016 by the Ministry of Economic Development not to award the company a production concession covering the Ombrina Mare field, the company has considered its legal options with regard to obtaining damages and compensation from the Republic of Italy for breaching the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
Could this have anything to do with the sudden and unexpected departure of Rockhopper’s Chief Operating Officer, one ‘Good Time’ Fiona MacAuley? Fiona, a Chartered Geologist, started her career with Mobil North Sea Limited in 1985 and has subsequently held key roles in a number of leading oil and gas firms across large mid and small cap E&Ps including BG and Hess.
Fiona is now Chief Executive Officer of Echo Energy plc where Stephen Whyte (also ex BG) is a Non-Executive Director, previously having been Chairman of Sound Energy. Fiona will also become a Non-Executive Director of Saffron Energy plc. It is proposed that Saffron acquires Sound Energy’s portfolio of Italian interests and permits through the acquisition by Saffron of Sound Energy Holdings Italy Limited (SEHIL). SEHIL holds all of Sound Energy’s Italian oil and gas interests through its own wholly owned subsidiary, Apennine Energy SpA (APN). It is proposed that Saffron will be renamed Coro Energy plc.
This is yet another ‘reverse takeover’ by the Sound Energy/Echo Energy Team. The share options for the directors are raining on them like confetti. Could there be bonuses in store for the Directors of this association of companies where the paint is never allowed to dry?
Plenty of ‘smoke and mirrors’ and wool being pulled over the shareholders’ eyes in this can of worms.
No doubt Chevron and partner Serica Energy will have their legal and commercial teams in action. Production on the partner owned Erskine platform has been shut down due to a blockage in the Chrysaor operated Lomond – Everest pipeline export route. Chrysaor purchased the assets from Shell who in turn inherited from BG Group.
Déjà vu springs to mind, as the Chevron partnership’s revenue was affected two years ago, due to a blockage in the same pipeline when BG Group was the operator.
The well-touted “lessons learned” jargon, will no doubt be on the lips of these companies executives as they scurry to apportion blame.
In a previous post Bonus Group stated “BG shrapnel has fragmented in the direction of Tailwind Energy”
This appears to be a similar story as other BG shrapnel (both operations and legal) moved to Chrysaor via the Shell route.
I’m sure the Chrysaor mob will feel comfortable dealing with the legal and commercial issues experienced with BG Group (later Shell), as it will be the same rhetoric for the causal factors. However Chevron and Serica may want to dig a bit deeper into the previous incident, to see how BG Group dealt with this, the transparency of reporting and who was made accountable.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it may well turn out not to be a penguin!
BG shrapnel has fragmented in the direction of Tailwind Energy (aka Tailspin Energy!). Much hot air from after-burn can be expected from this company – mercurial bunch. In December they announced the acquisition of Shell Expro’s interests in Triton Cluster, located in the UK Central North Sea 190km east of Aberdeen. Their stated intention is to further develop the asset. Probably through a three pronged approach: bonus, bonus and more bonus! Will Triton turn-out to be a flounder?
End of ammunition supply!
Not sure what the ammunition comment means, are you being positive or negative. If Shell keep supplying the ammo well this website is under no obligation not to use it surely. We would all like the ammo to dry up. It would be pleasant to see the most corrupt organisation in Europe turn the corner, and for example demonstrate daily openness,honesty and integrity instead of serial lies. When I say it’s a corrupt organisation I do not infer this characteristic on the worker bees, but it is clearly corrupt from the top to the top, that is in its boardroom, including the non-executives who tend to know what goes on but sit on their hands, anything for an easy life. Highly paid window dressing.
Mr Donovan, Shell seems to have provided you with a huge amount of ammunition over the years. Is there any end in sight?
Hello website, can I suggest that if the Dutch and Itailian Prosecution services are not aware of the Shell /police authority “happenings” in Eire, that they should be and quickly.
Mr D I make the reference of a link with police heroin dealing inquiry on this fact Athlone police station ( Heroin hub ) was the chosen destination for the balance of the Shell alcohol consignment on the instruction of Garda Sub Aqua SUPREMO Liam Grimes so that’s drugs and alcohol meeting in the same police station “of all the police stations in all the world you had to walk into mine “…is there a ” link. “Time will tell …we recognise that 99 out of 100 Irish police personnel are amongst the finest in Europe….however ….
As previously advised on this Shell Info site …NEW MINISTER FOR INVESTIGATION OF POLICE CORRUPTION Links HEROIN DEALING COPS with SHELL ATHLONE ALCOHOL STORY …full investigation to follow ( see Irish Times under Minister Flanagan Drug dealing in Police Force )
Comment by John Donovan
Can you please state the exact headline of the relevant article as I have been unable to find any such story in the Irish Times?
Further comment by John Donovan
Apparently the article in question – Flanagan open to inquiry over claims gardai colluded with drug gang – was published by RTE, not the Irish Times. I cannot see the claimed reference to Shell or the alcohol story.
Having worked for BG, the ‘bad penny’ will be well versed in unpalatable culture, he conveys he’s the “accountable person” for Glencore operations. Could this be a buffer for the chairman, better known for his nocuous statement following the Deepwater Horizon tragedy ‘I’d like my life back’? The chairman is a member of the health and safety committee?
The committee reviews every fatal incident with the senior management of the department and asset affected, and circulates any relevant lessons across the Group.
The rhetoric sounds all too familiar, statements about ‘loss of life being unacceptable’ and ‘transforming behaviour at all levels” seem worlds away from the reality of 16 fatalities in 2016.
Another BG ‘bad penny’ that has turned up is John de Lange who is now Head of Operations at Glencore (PetroChad) which is probably the best place for him. Having left Shell in 2007 where he was Chief Well Engineering, this Shell itinerant fumbled his way through two roles at BG, Head of Well Engineering BG Group and VP Well Engineering and Operations BG Brazil. A ‘very wealthy man’ by his own words he must be enjoying the high life in n’Djamena where the dust never settles.
Further to Bogus Group’s post, it is interesting to see how BG diaspora have spread like anthrax throughout the UK Oil and Gas Industry withering everything they touch. In respect of Spirit Energy, it should not be forgotten that Centrica E&P was the third of the companies spawned by privatisation of British Gas in the 1980s. The other two companies, Enterprise Oil and BG Group, have already fallen to Shell. Consequently, Spirit Energy is the ‘Holy Ghost’ in the Trinity. Will merging with Bayerngas Norway and changing it’s name from Centrica E&P to Spirit Energy disguise Shell’s long term strategy of taking over all of the British Gas spin offs? Indeed, is it Chris Cox’s mandate to prepare the company for take over in 5 to ten years time? What neater way than for Shell to segue from the UKCS to Norway? The bonuses will be large!
Two thought provoking events occurred recently.
The first was the exit of Neil McCulloch, Enquest COO “by mutual agreement”, reported by Alys Key (City A.M). Ms Key also reports on white-collar crime.
The second was the Scotsman article hailing the launch of a new exploration and production business, Spirit Energy, a venture combining Centrica E&P and Bayerngas Norge. The chief executive of Oil & Gas UK also welcomed the arrival of the new operator to “the basin” proclaiming the need for “a diversity of companies with fresh ideas and innovative thinking”.
Spirit Energy chief executive Chris Cox commented on the opportunities “right across the region to maximise combined assets and build the portfolio”.
It may be a new player, but the rhetoric is the same, as is the leadership.
Cox “stepped down” from the executive committee of BG Group November 2014, prior to moving to Centrica a few months later.
Both he and McCulloch served as asset managers with BG Group (UK Upstream), before the acquisition by Shell.
after reading so many behavioral issue with Shell and having worked for them more than once just staggers me . I am glad to see Shellnews.net reporting them so eloquently. After being totally left for dead after a massive NORM exposure when working for AFPC in Syria in 2000 they have never been made accountable for destrroying my life. based of those horrific events I hope that karma comes back to them
Robin- sorry to hear of your dealings with Shell. I too had considered reporting an issue to the ‘tell shell’ line but was put off by outsiders who had said that whistleblowing never ends well for the whistleblower. And I guess their advice was right. However it made no difference to me as I lost my job anyway and now with hindsight I wished I’d had reported it just so as to get the bloody bean counters and Human Remains department to do some work for a change. Anyway, if they treated you like that, your better off out of Shell. You sound like you are more upstanding then them and actually have principles. Dust yourself off and get back on that wagon. Forget about for Shell although I am sure it feels pretty raw right now. Time will make it better.
I was interested to read the Sunday Times article yesterday headlined “Brexit, dirty tricks and an international game of I spy.” It identifies former Monaco spymaster Robert Eringer as the most likely person to be the unidentified author of an 88 page intelligence report about the Russian links (including Gazprom) of a billionaire backer of a Brexit think tank. Robert Eringer is a former FBI counter-intelligence agent and later an associate of Clair George, the retired Deputy Director of Operations of the CIA. Does not mention Eringers’ past relationship with a KGB Chairman. In more recent times Eringer has worked under cover of being an investigative journalist and book author sometimes writing about Shell. Ask Mr Donovan.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Yes, this is the same Robert Eringer – the author of a book and American newspaper article about this website and my unusual relationship with Shell. One of many spooks with whom I have come into contact over the years in this regard, some working for Shell Corporate Security outfits such as CAS, some investigating Shell’s nefarious activities.
The former BG operating model suppressed challenge and fostered a breeding ground for sycophant’s, whose main role was to communicate only good news for the corporate image. The need for flatterers’ far outweighed the need for competency. Bonus Group noted one of the traits of the Asset Leadership Team (ALT)……….Lacklustre, the other two were Apathetic and Technically-inept. An unstable and hazardous combination. The bad news for Shell is that there are more of these BG “migrants” still in on their books.
Good news and Bad news! The good news is that Shell have got rid of five BG sycophantic Asset Managers and one more. The bad news is that they were parcelled off to Chrysaor in Aberdeen where they have now formed a BG club, similar to The Riot Club. We can look forward to more lacklustre performance from these five as they lurch from one untruth to another with no technical foundation and plausible Geoscience, as per the former BG operating model. Chrysaor is in for a rocky road with these five at the helm. Expensive times ahead for Chrysaor as technical disasters unfold.
Hi Ben van Beurden ..MINISTER FOR CORRUPT ALCOHOL COPS SUPPLIED BY SHELL …..is now history ..WE WILL CONCENTRATE OUR EFFORTS ON YOUR BEHALF ON HER REPLACEMNT MINISTER FLANNIGAN ….BEST REGARDS await apology …OSSL
If US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and Europe want to sell crude oil at 20 dollars per barrel then please do develop oil and gas wells, refineries in Iran and Iraq. I guarantee you what ever money Iraq and Iran gets from selling oil and gas would directly go to fund Iranian Missiles, which are increasing at the rate of 10 missiles per day. Money would be used to fund terrorists Hamas and Hezbollah. It would also help Iran develop long range missiles to target and threaten your country, just like how North Korea does. One thing you know for clear is Iran and Iraq, after Saddam Hussein, have become conjoined twins, because of shia ideology. So if you want to be targeted by Iranian missiles plus ruin your economies by selling crude oil at 20 dollars per barrel, then invest in Iraq and Iranian oil and gas fields. Choice is yours.
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
So much for Shell caring about the environment. Looks like they will be part of the consortium that destroys Bolivia’s ecological beauty. There is no limit to what this dirty money grabbing hypocrite will do.
i read a lot in paradise papers about scandal about shell companies. why are you not reporting it – i would be interested in hearing more about the devil shell and its companies.
Viele Grusse, Ruediger
In response to Bogus Group’s recent post, the worst asset for sycophancy was BG’s Brasil asset. It is clear that Shell have retained most of the BG sycophants in order not to disrupt continuity and external perceptions of this asset. However, there may yet be some surprises in store, hopefully, including some serious staff cuts. It is about time honesty and integrity were employed in this asset. Bring on the staff cuts, starting with management!
Understanding the culture of BG Group, swallowing up Chapman’s fiefdom of cronyism and sycophants by Shell, to protect the interests of employees and investors would have been easy. The difficult part would be how to regurgitate the malignance that had been fostered and eroded the foundations of a great company
While previous articles have reported on the vast sums being “extracted” from the energy sector, spare a thought for those apparently at the other end of the scale, as the oil and gas industry may be going through a bigger downturn than first thought. Following a Freedom of Information request by a national newspaper, the chief executive of the OGA has apparently been supplementing his £335k salary, with expense claims for a bag of crisps 98p, a drink 99p, a chocolate bar £1.55 and a packet of nuts £1.65.
All Mayo Corrib corruption correspondence to BVB and others ….is now being dealt with by Shells ALEXANDER JACKSON …who is he ? …anybody know ..thanks
No corruption? What planet are you from? A number of the Executive Committee have already run away from the company, and Shell have been caught out telling lie after lie and then having to own up when evidence has been produced. Global Witness have done a sterling job. The deluded Shell stooges that come on here defending the company make me chuckle!
I believe that there is no corruption until I see those that are alleging corruption report to the right authorities than lamenting in the media because you were fired.
Mark Machin of CPPIB (answerable to shareholders) …is aware of outstanding corruption allegations involving Mayo Co Co and Irish Police. Shell blaming Roadbridge and rogue Shell employee. Head of legal at Shell Julia Busby confirmed corruption in the presence of the Shell CEO ..what will CPPIB do ..pull out?
With regards your current coverage a Mayo council officer based near site of Corrib gassing near tragedy had a fortune spent on his house by Shell disguised as Roadbridge the cash was spent for no operational reason purely as a favour WHO IS ENFORCING SAFETY LOCALLY Condon and Haynes of Mayo Co Co fully aware …MASSIVE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Try under Minister and all skeletons in all cupboards‘ in Irish Independent Newspaper & various other news outlets
Where can I find the claimed announcement by Flanagan about Police corruption in connection with Shell or Corrib? Or is someone just making it up? No such information found on a Google search?
At last …new Minister for Justice in Ireland Charles Flanagan has today announced that police corruption and cover up of same including Shell Mayo activities with senior officers will be fully investigated…or to quote the Minister ” all skeletons in all cupboards will be exposed “….we will see .
Former Shell CEO to lead Houston’s recovery from Harvey
Presumably he is setting himself for a run at the mayorship by attempting to rebuild Houston. I pity the Houstonians because his organisation skills in UA were legendary !!
In response to Bogus Group’s post about the Petrobras scandal, BG Group were not to be outdone in this respect with their Brasil Asset playing ‘Games’ against Petrobras’ ‘Bad Boys’! There is a rumour going around that one of BG’s Brasil technical workflows had an error that worked substantially in BG’s favour. Entirely believable, given BG’s technical incompetence.
How much money did Shell waste in its attempts to get its grubby hands on Iraqi oil? They also have blood on their hands as they were licking their lips when the prospect of dropping cluster bombs on Iraqis was a very real prospect. It looks like Brazil and Iran are the new flavors of the month. Let the ass kissing begin. And if that fails, send in the yanks.
In a surprise move the Corrupt lady Commisioner who covered for Shells alcohol recipient cops in Mayo is to be replaced by Sir Bernard Hogan Howe a British Knight of the Realm policing Ireland ?# SHELL CORRIB CORRUPTION FULLY EXPOSED
More interesting links on this scandal.
Upstream (5 June 2008) article on Petrobras chief executive and BG executive comment on “how much gas there is”. The article links to Alexander Gas & Oil (8 February 2010) on “who’s who” in the deal. One of who was subject of an article in “Debtwire” (29 August 2016), the other was noted in an article on this blog, (28 August 2017 at 16.40).
Shell MoU with Petrobras and their partnership to share experience on cost efficiency and use of technology.
Déjà vu springs to mind (Daily Telegraph 01 March 2012) on BG Group finance of $1.8bn from Brazilian Development Bank to fund interests offshore Brazil (was this the same interests that Chapman demanded his cohorts in Brazil disclose over estimated reserves?).
Daily Telegraph 14 May 2013 also noted Chris Finlayson rhetoric to “keep up the pace with huge discoveries” and focusing on “value over volume”, leaving the company “lean and agile”.
We know the story behind Petrobras corruption; did this other “great company and their great leaders” come into the equation?
It took a little longer than anticipated but now the Irish Police Commisioner who aided the Shell police alcohol cover up has tonight gone having failed to silence OSSL …next up is CS Gannon for whom Shell CEO demanded statement falsification following the CS abhorrent threats to “drive the people of Erris into the sea “…
Energy Voice lands another “exclusive”, in The Hague this time. Yet another good news story in the making, no doubt portraying a “warm cosy feeling” in the industry. I wonder if EV would ever run an exclusive on some of the less welcome news that executives don’t want to hear. I think not, this would mean biting the hand that feeds them.
Armada typifies the slack ‘cappuccino’ lifestyle idiots that BG Group had working for them. No integrity and just looking for the next bonus hand-out. Remember Keith Moncrieff and Sean McCue!
Dear Armada, your statement “it is only…” shows a serious flaw in current safety thinking. This increased acceptance and normalisation of risk is a trend amongst staff who have not witnessed serious events themselves, and therefore assume it won’t happen. The only outcome of this normalisation can only be a devastating event, big enough to reset thinking.
I find it fascinating how so called Shell experts who visit this website (not mentioning any names, Armada) can so nonchalantly dismiss safety critical risks/factors as being overstated. I hope that these people are not in technical or HSE type roles. Its these type of company cronies who were falsely handing out permits to work like sweets or allowing for corners to be cut if it meant money being saved and bigger bonuses during my time working on Shearwater. At that time there were auditors like Bill. Now we get wet behind the ear financial auditors who come round with giant spreadsheets. It does not surprise me at all that we are getting these Safety Notices. I only hope that the cost reductions and subsequent corner cutting doesn’t end up in lives being lost.
Only on the flare stack!!!!
“Blowdown and Pressure Relief” is a safety critical system and as such had a BG Performance Standard (Ref: PSB-80). The Functionality Criteria for the Written Scheme of Examination states, “Thermal radiation from ignited vent or flare tip to be less than 4.7Kw/m2 (1,500BTU/ft2) at manned areas and helidecks”.
Any breach of the flare system could have released huge volumes of gas (from an emergency blowdown) well before it reached the flare tip. Very much an explosion risk.
I love the way you make a very tenuous link to Malcolm Brinded when the Armada platform had one flare pipe corrosion issue. Aramda was of course a BG platform until recently and thus out of reach of Brinded. The ‘explosion risk’ is being vastly overstated as this was only on the flare stack and not on safety critical equipment.
REPLY BY JOHN
The same cannot be said about his past connection to Shell Brent platforms including Brent Charlie.
Recent revelations of Prohibition Notice on Shell (ex BG) Armada and Improvement Notices on Shell (ex BG) Lomond, served by the HSE are alarming. In 2012 similar concerns were put to Oil & Gas UK and the HSE, but for some reason they were disregarded by both organisations.
BG was the parasitic flea on the back of Petrobras’ elephant. BG’s Brasil Asset was not their smartest, with shoes, trainers, confidential company and personal documents, and open handbags littering the open plan office in Drake Building. Run with a lack of probity, some got off scot-free, some were not as rock solid as their name might suggest and others were enough to give you the collywobbles, and all that along with a ragtag assortment of refugees from Syria and Iran.
Another Energy Voice “exclusive” (February 17) with Martin Houston, on how he had no regrets about “turning down” the CEO role with BG Group. I’m surprised EV didn’t validate this claim, as a FT article (2013) noted he’d “lost out” on a race for the top job to Chris Finlayson. Upstream also published an article (2013) on how he left BG Group “with immediate effect” having been overlooked for the CEO role. Houston is now embroiled in a lawsuit with Cheniere Energy, for defaulting on a US$46 million loan, paid to a company wholly owned by him. See LNG Boil-off.
I note Malcolm Brinded has given his first interview (Energy Voice 28 August) since becoming president of the Energy Institute in July.
It’s not the first time Energy Voice has landed an “exclusive” with someone of a conceited disposition.
More on the Shell – BG executive merry-go-round. It was announced (May’17) that Chris O’Shea, Chief Financial Officer Smith’s Group was “stepping down with immediate effect, to pursue a career outside the group”, he is now on gardening leave.
In 2012 he also stepped down from his role as CFO with BG Group, during a period of turmoil within the executive committee. Prior to joining them in 2006 he was Finance Director for Shell in Nigeria.
So Shell has been caught with its pants down again, telling blatant lies, this time about the cleanliness of gas. All so that it can improve its clean credentials and make even more $$$. Can we believe anything they tell us? Where would we be without the likes of Friends of the Earth who bring Shell to task. Where does it say we are allowed to lie and mislead in our business principles? This is a great message from the leaders to the worker bees “Do as we say, not as we do”. Im sure the paid Shell apologists will come on here and tell us we shouldnt pick on Shell and they are a caring company and we should be greatful for working for them and that John Donovan is to blame.
A media article has revealed that Shell is already suffering from the legacy of BG Group negligence in maintaining safety critical equipment. The HSE have issued an improvement notice for failing to install gas detection equipment on the Lomond Platform, despite recommendations from two separate studies. A second improvement notice was issued for failing to test a High Integrity Protection System (HIPS) since 2014, despite the associated Performance Standard requirement to test annually. It could be assumed that Finlayson encouraged the infamous Brent TFA during his tenure at the helm of BG to maximise production volumes (an obsession with executives), at the expense of safety system testing. That assumption would not be entirely accurate, the same culture was evident in BG Group long before. Previous failures of a HIPS testing regime had been exposed at another BG operational location, yet despite this no one was held accountable. Maybe if they had been the ‘management team’ in question would not have been implanted in Aberdeen in 2012.
SEE: Shell gets two Lomond warnings from HSE
This Lower Forever strategy is something that has so obviously been dreamt up by HR and the bean counters so that the company can justify all the savage cost cutting and job culling. I find the company tactics revolting. Anyone with half a brain cell in the oil world knows that its only a matter of time before oil starts to motor upwards.
Shell shuts Pernis plant until mid August after fire and leak
See above article:
The second leak, a story in itself, but also what leaked, (HF) hydrogen fluoride is a very dangerous gas when it reacts with the atmosphere, also very harmful to health, look it up. Article does not say what volumes involved but the closure of this super sized plant is a big deal commercially apart from reputation issues.
As much as I like some of Bill Campbell’s articles this latest one is just going a bit too far. there are so many variables which will change the prognosis here that its almost impossible to predict the leakage potential of Prelude. The major ones are location and hydrocarbon profile. I wonder what Bill Campbell would advocate as a solution? It almost appears as if he wants to be in a position to say “I told you so” and not in a supportive mode of “this is what you could do”. The safety cases for Prelude do of course look at spill scenarios and remediation is the key, none of us at Shell is naive enough to believe in the 100% carbon loss free situation but common sense, good engineering and good training will do a lot to combat what Bill sees as the inevitable. armchair criticism at its best.
Reading Bill’s comments has inspired me to chime in. Ruthless cost cutting is leading to such HSE incidents. The sacking of skilled and experienced staff is taking place all over the place. The risk level is being seen as acceptable where there is heavy cost injection required to be on the safe side. Nobody dares question this due to the HR assassins that are currently patrolling the corridors looking for their next victims.
You have to laugh when you read these documents which HR have produced. It must have been written by someone with verbal diarrhea. Expressions like “Focusing capability from both an organisational and locational design perspective to drive productivity, ideation and promote Agile ways of working” show just how far these people are away from the rest of us at the coal face. Some of the invented words (ideation) are superb ! I guess this is all to protect the jobs in HR as someone has to translate this BS into what happens in the real world. It appears we have regressed into the bad old days of buzzword bingo, how many buzzwords can we put into one document. Sigh.
I am grateful for the information I read in the New York Times as being in the US we are far from whats happening in the American hating HQ. Such job culling decisions are made behind the scenes without just cause or any consultation and then we are told about it when all the decisions are already made. As for this being stolen property, I would love to see Shell try to take John Donovan to the courts again. I’m sure he and his attorney are licking their lips at such a (butt kicking) prospect.
REPLY BY JOHN
Sorry, no prospect of Shell suing me. I have a Shell internal communication stating that they decided long ago that any legal action against me is ruled out. Too much “internal laundry” that they do not want revealed in open court. So I have a free hand to say and publish whatever I want about Shell without fear of retribution. Always sticking to the truth, but perhaps prone to exaggeration as “Cash All Gone” suggests in the nicest possible way.
The “leaked” document is not so dramatic as you make it seem – every Shell employee can freely access it, including all the to-be org charts. Everyone should already have had a 1-on-1 conversation with their line manager on whether their job is at risk or not. So Shell is actually very transparently approaching this. On the VP musical chairs – numbers quoted are 50% of VPs would have to leave, and GM level even more. So the cull really cuts right through it…
How do we know that the Shell document referred to in the Reuters article is not fake? If genuine, and therefore stolen property, why would Shell allow you to publish any of the content?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Shell was given the opportunity days ago by myself and more recently by Reuters to take issue with the authenticity of the 88 page document. I supplied extracts and offered BvB sight of the whole document in a security sanitised form. Shell had the option to ask me not to publish (I have accommodated high level requests from Shell previously when grounds were provided) or could have sought an injunction. Shell knew it was authentic and kindly provided comment for Reuters to use in their article.
PS Cadfael, why do you assume I am a man?
Cadfael, clearly you’re living in the past. It sounds like you are one of those folks who expect you have a job for life. The staff numbers especially in the Head Offices have always been bloated and a legacy of high oil prices. Ben and his management team have taken what most sensible boards would have done. Look, for example, at the costs in Deepwater which have been reduced by over 50% by prudent management and getting rid of the ‘good old boy’ network. I agree it is not nice for people to lose their jobs, thankfully a lot of the losses have been with the older guys who ran laughing all the way to the bank leaving some of us in good positions. Yes I will look over my back but Shell isn’t the only company in the world and people need to realize that protection of jobs comes at a cost. As for Ben looking “an aging, sorry, tired figure”, I have never heard so much rubbish. I saw him two days ago and your statement could not be further from the truth. Sad false news I’m afraid.
Please have a bit of heart, or have you been too brainwashed that you cant tell right form wrong anymore? Its definitely not good news when profits are put ahead of peoples livelihoods. Tell the hordes of great colleagues who have lost their jobs as a result of the heartless cost cutting drive in order to make more profits that its *good news*. As for van Beurden, he looks an aging, sorry, tired figure as the job seems to have really taken its toll on him. And Mr Good News, before you get too comfortable keep watching over your shoulder, it could very well be you that receives the “good news” next.
It’s about time we had some good news and comments on this blog.
Congratulations to Ben and his team for delivering an outstanding quarters results. Dividends covered by cashflow and debt/equity reduction is all good news for sure and one in the eye for all those analysts (hoping) who predicted a dividend cut and probably sold the shares short.
Now cue the haters with their comments. Have at it boys.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
I suspect that many will share view my view that Ben van Beurden is the best leader Shell has had for a very long time. He had the guts to gamble on the BG Group takeover. Says his next car will be electric which is an interesting comment for an oil company CEO to say. Many legacy problems left at Shell for him to tackle. That is about as much positive comment about Shell that I can muster at this time. Hope it will do.
I feel sorry for that young lady who is making claims against shell oil. Here across the US discrimination is common place in shell locations. its part of normal life. It is just always swept under the carpet unless if there is physical contact involved or a guy they want to fire already. i have lots of examples of this happening. i one day hope i can say more but at the moment i have kids to feed and i don’t want shell to track me down! yes shame on me i know.
The Nigerian state pretends not to know the truth about the pains of the Ogoni people and the discrimination against the minorities of the Niger Delta whose resources have funded our federal budgets and supports our predominantly poor states which cannot survive without federal subventions.
Shell and Nigeria has consciously and completely destroyed the Niger Delta and particularly Ogoniland. Today, one Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) is shamelessly making moves to re-enter Ogoniland for oil. It is ridiculous to imagine that despite repeated warnings and a rejection of this pest-like company, the NPDC continuous its corrupt traits for which it is widely known and want to get the Ogoni oil through the back-door.
The NPDC is Nigeria’s oil drilling company, it epitomizes the true attitude of the Nigerian state towards the Ogoni people. Shamelessly and callously looking at the face of a dying population and telling them “we will kill you and take your oil”. And as usual, Nigeria will certainly be willing to provide its security forces to shoot and kill any resistance just as they have always done.
It is quite disturbing to see our country not bother about its mighty army showing its strength against a small and peaceful struggle like that of the Ogoni while the government offers amnesty to Niger Delta civilians who managed to gain access to arms and will perpetually look for negotiators with the Boko Haram insurgents. I see it as a national shame to send our well trained army against a peaceful and civil protest.
All Nigeria care about is the Ogoni oil. They want it at all cost and will kill for it like we saw in 1995 with the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 others. For over 50 years, they have shown this brutal attitude towards the oil producing Niger Delta and that attitude has not changed.
On Sunday, July 16, 2017, I was in Biara in Gokana local government area where reports of pipe laying activities had surfaced. One Kagbara (full name withheld) came with the complaint. We confirmed the massive land grading in parts of Biara in Gokana local government area. In Nigeria, I see a government that should promote human dignity, care and protect becoming so oppressive acting in utter disregard to the sensitivities of its own people.
But Nigeria, Shell or the NPDC can be sure that Ogoni will not surrender to this harassment and intimidation. We will all match down to the oil fields to protest this unending abuse and disregard for our rejection of all forms of oil production in Ogoniland for now.
Unfortunately, our leaders do not seem to bother about our dignity and the need to protect the integrity of our armed forces. They continue to abuse and ridicule our soldiers.
As the struggle for a better society continues, the current moves regarding the un-permitted invasion of parts of Ogoniland should be seen as an invitation for the people to fight for what belongs to them. As a people, we cannot be silent in the face of this affront.
Shell and her ally, the NPDC are at it again and let it be known that another round of bloodshed is about to take place in Ogoniland because as a people, we are bound to say “NO” to any form of oil production activity in Ogoniland.
The writer, Fegalo Nsuke is the Publicity Secretary of The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) He wrote from Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Under the Hood of Shell’s $100 Million Loyalty Program
several years ago, shell made the mistake of disbanding their trucking fleet, and leasing the retail locations to wholesalers, who now control the rents, and the price of the fuel the dealers pay. the wholesalers purchase the fuel from shell, and resell it to the dealers, adding on a few cents profit, plus a charge to have a carrier deliver it to the station. this leaves the shell dealers unable to compete with the other area stations. in my local area, the shell station is charging 38 cents more per gallon for regular, self service cash, and up to 60 cents more for credit, while 3 other major brand stations are the same price (38 cents less) for cash or credit! 3 or 5 cents a gallon is not a big deal, but 38 cents has sent many long time loyal customers defecting to the competition.
So Shell is due to get €830m upfront for selling its Corrib stake holding. Any further payment is dependent on exceeding production targets and also partly on gas prices. Not the outcome Shell would have wished but the best obtainable after it has long worn out its welcome.
I am surprised that Shell is still able to operate the way it does despite OPL 245, illegal cover up of oil spills, spectacular uturn on the arctic, animal testing, being the cause of earthquakes in Groningen, spying by Shell Security and Government teams, screwing over its pensioners and many many more disgraceful actions. bad management and refusal to listen to staff concerns is whats destroying the company. The company has lost its way and its morals and what it used to stand for.
I commend you on your article Shell Money Laundering for Saudi Arabia
As the NGO Global Witness pointed out earlier this year in relation to the OPL 245 corruption scandal, nobody should be above the law, even the mighty Royal Dutch Shell enterprise.
Global Witness and The Corner House have campaigned and exposed the corruption around the OPL 245 deal for several years. In 2011, Shell and Eni paid $1.1 billion to Malabu Oil and Gas, a front company secretly owned by a former Nigerian oil minister. Prosecutors have alleged that over US$500m went to “fronts for [former] President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria”. This crooked deal deprived Nigeria’s people of a sum worth 80% of its 2015 healthcare budget. Shell and Eni have always denied that they knew the money would go to Malabu, but documents seen by Global Witness show that the companies constructed the deal knowing that the money would flow ultimately to Etete’s company.
With regards to the matter raised by Jazmin Anderson, it may indeed be a scam – see FRAUD AND SCAM ALERT on the Shell.com website. It should be easy to verify whether any documents purported to be Shell documents are authentic or fake. If fake, then the scam should immediately be reported to the appropriate police authority.
Sounds like a classic 419 scam to me !!
To Mr. John Donovan:
Thank you, Mr. Donovan, for the kind attention. I will provide and email you the details of my husband’s ordeal. I also tried to reach Shell Global Hotline but I am not sure if they even entertain such circumstance especially coming from an ordinary person like myself.
I am grateful for this opportunity to obtain all the help, referral, and assistance I could get.
Sincerely, I remain.
Message to “Jazmin Anderson”
We published your appeal for information concerning “Patrick Blinks”.
You have followed this up with various allegations in a further posting submitted for publication.
Before we proceed further, please provide a detailed account of the background to this story, ideally in chronological order and with supporting evidence.
We would then put the allegations directly to Shell CEO Mr Ben van Burden so that Shell has the opportunity to investigate and respond if it wishes to do so.
Any further publication by us will depend on the information you supply and any response by Shell. Please send to john@shellnews.net
Hello All,
I have read some of the blogs here from former employees of Shell and I would like to ask if you know someone by the name of “Patrick Blinks”. He is a Purchasing Officer / Contractor with Shell and currently has a project in the Gulf of Mexico (in a rig called “Taiwan Ocean”).
My husband is the Project Manager and he and his workers have been there for five months now. The project is done. Although there were some issues with the pipes being damaged, my husband’s team were able to extract barrels of crude oil. Right now, the problem is, “Patrick Blinks” would like to get his workers paid BEFORE letting my husband and his team to leave. This is not possible at all since they don’t have any access to any bank. My husband asked Mr. Blinks to let him go to his bank so he could get some money out and Mr. Blinks don’t want to do that and does not even answer phone calls or emails.
I have been searching for “Patrick Blinks” so I could speak to him either in person or by phone and to let my husband leave the Gulf for health reasons.
If any one of you, by any chance, who knows this person or know someone who may be associated with him, please inform me right away. I have limited communication with my husband and I am helping them to get out of the Gulf. Moreso, since there was contract signed, Shell and its legal department cannot assist.
Thank you all for your time and effort and with sincere gratitude for your help…
Role of a hapless Ann Pickard in OPL 245
Many people heaved a sigh of relief when she left Shell. She was the result of the positive discrimination process.
Malcolm Brinded, number 2 in the Shell hierarchy, sanctioned corrupt practices, deceit, theft and other illegal action involving a conspiracy of Shell managers.
FAO “the Real Shell” I’m not sure what you mean, my post was not an attack it was a factual statement about safety performance under Visser which Boumann got terribly wrong.
As a soon to be Shell pensioner I too take my hat off to Paddy Briggs. Well done.
Hello all, I am new to this site..
i have been following a company called Ossl on another forum , they were a contractor to shell E&P Ireland Limited on the Corrib project,
I also remember the investigation re.. The Garda (Irish police) and alcohol supplied to them by Ossl on SHELL’s instructions … ( which found no alcohol— i can only think they drank it alll)
Now that the Irish police force seems to been coming apart thread by thread over the past few months , surely a proper investigation would be required to get to the bottom of this whisky barrel of corruption and collusion .. I think its in the interest of the Irish people and to stop these large Multinationals puppeteering our Government… Ossl have never veered or indeed backed down from their allegations and one can only think that it happened .. there is also many other parts to the dismissal from the project ..including not changing a statement to GSOC to protect a Supt. Joe Gannon ..I think these guys need RTE slot to get the proper story heard …
MAKE IRELAND GREAT AGAIN
Thank you for the kind remarks friends. Much appreciated. Paddy
Wildly generous to themselves and uncaring to pensioners. Says it all about Shell top.
Paddy Briggs did brilliantly at the AGM. Cornered the board of directors with a cleverly framed question that put BvB and his colleagues in a very bad light. He provided a classic example of taking care of the few not the many. A few horrendously over-paid people at the top of Shell compared with the welfare of 29,000 elderly Shell pensioners, many just managing to scrape by.
Agree with the last point by The real Shell- my take is that employees take on a cult status and are actually proud of it (this is sad by the way, but understandable as they all want to feel some sort of safety in numbers; group think springs to mind, and it smacks of some massive level of insecurity in these individuals). Management loves this too as they breed staunch supporters at the lower levels, protecting them from anyone who wishes to stand up against something they see which is not right. Same old shit, different company.
This is exactly what Shell does to staff who dare speak out against them. They discredit them and intimidate. Ladies and Gentleman you can see in full sight Shell using this forum to attack anyone who has an alternative view to their own. I hope they are compensating you enough Annoyed and Hello Haterz. You have well and truly sold your souls to the van Beurden.
Just a quick question Hans Bouman, you said that Koos Visser improved HSE but the data doesn’t support that at all. The two major lagging indicators suggest there was very little improvement under Visa but the number of audit findings increased highlighting a love for bureaucracy and not getting into the hearts and minds. It wasn’t till about three years after Koos left that we saw real improvements.
The latest posting on executives remuneration was based on an article by a City A.M. journalist who reports on the Industrials sector.
She also “keeps an eye on the Vice and Leisure industries, including booze, gambling and more”.
This executive compensation package seems akin to the latter, where good old business principles are dependent on the spin of a roulette wheel.
As a dutchman and having worked in the upstream of Shell, I take exception at the false and devious statement of ‘annoyed’. I know Bill Campbell was a very good auditor and not a ‘miereneuker’. He did expose systemic weaknesses during his audits rather than amplifying unimportant findings in order to reach a minimum number of findings as preached by the then head of HSE Koos Visser. (As the head of such an outfit one often has to take more extreme views in order to get the message across and Koos managed to irritate a great many directors in Shell but he did improved the standard of HSE with his often dogmatic stance!) His team of auditors largely consisted of true professionals.
Bill, himself a top professional from the maintenance sector, always put the finger on the sore spot and the good thing is he did not back down under pressure. And when you expose a systemic weakness the pain is immediately felt at the very top. And then things start to happen, either the problem is fixed or more devious actions of self preservation commence. These ALWAYS are detrimental to some minions. Many auditors back down in such a situation.
I assume that the annoyed dutchman never has put his finger on a weak spot important enough to be invited for an interview with the CEO of Shell. And believe me, this only happens if there is a real issue…
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Many thanks for your posting. Please note that Bill Campbell has replied to the comment in question. See “Annoyed” below.
It’s about time Bill Campbell stops commenting, especially about stuff he knows little (aka nothing) about. He was a useless auditor at Shell (us Dutch called him a mierenneuker) and is a useless contributor now.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Readers might give more credence to your attack on Bill Campbell if it was not done hiding behind an alias. Something Bill and I never do. No attempt to discuss the issues. Just a blanket condemnation. Thus, not only rude, also lazy.
REPLY BY BILL CAMPBELL
I was such a poor auditor that I was asked back to carry out audits for SIEP after I retired but anyway you are entitled to your cowardly opinion.
I comment often in frustration that Shell does not appear to learn from its past experiences. It is not hard to understand the latest claims by the Head of Legal, here is someone who declares publicly to investors etc that we RDS had no visibility, no knowledge or understanding that monies in the deal would go to individuals but on 10 April this year RDS said they did, they knew up to Director level. Only forced into this admission by the surfacing of the emails called stupid and unhelpful by Simon Henry, what else is there to know, it’s not complicated.
On that we are totally in agreement! The difference between Voser and BvB in indeed like night and day. Not that far off the quiet life myself and its reassuring to see some of the terrible EVP’s and VP’s displaced so i can share in your glass half full hopes. What I fear is that there is now an entrenched culture that is detrimental to progress and i believe that will be very hard to shake, not to mention the animosity between the Shell and BG staff over the ‘packages’. I think that will end up costing the company dearly when it boils over, but we shall see.
Well Regular Browser I guess we just have to agree to disagree. I am probably labelled an optimist by my staff and most likely because I only have a few years left to go. I do however see.a step change in the management from Vosser to BvB. Its like a light has been turned on and the failings of the past CEO’s have been absorbed and gradually things are changing for the better. For me the glass is half full and maybe one day it will even be brimming over !
I am not sure Donovan would necessarily disagree – there were shysters then and there are shysters now, that at least has been consistent. As I mentioned in my reply, the accountability existed in a different framework and are not equitable I should also point out that Shell and companies like it were not peddling one set of principles while living another.
Deaths are a bit of a red herring, industry across the board has got a lot safer due to regulation and interventions after some painful lessons learned – if you think that this has anything to do with anyone at Shell you are seriously deluded. One only needs to take a walk around the buildings and sites where management flouts their own rules and even calls up people on mentioning it. The often lamented ‘hold the handrail’ policy has been broken on numerous occasions by SEC members and when over anxious staff have pointed this out to the the SEC members they are treated with contempt – this is a prime example of “do as I say and not as I do” and is categoric of the double standards that management hold themselves to compared to the general population, particularly when the latter is adding the value for shareholders.
As for Nigeria we are still polluting there and doing great damage on a daily basis, yes there is more transparency but there has been no movement or desire on the company’s part to address any of the issues which are going on there and which management have been advised time and time again. I lose count of the amount of work groups and think tanks that report perfectly actionable plans to the SEC but due to financial expediency are ignored.
I have no problem with BvB as an individual, he is a smart guy and did a great job in Downstream and was a much more palatable choice than Brinded or anyone else for the top job. Like I said I also had great hopes that this would be the guy that broke the poor leadership mould but after a positive start he has gone into the same tired and failed policies that all of his predecessors fell into. Can he turn it around? Maybe, but after the contempt he showed for the OPL245 raids I doubt it.
One thing we are definitely aligned on and agree on is how much leaner the company is. Technical competence has been gutted from the organisation and all the sycophants have been promoted beyond their capability. it has gone back to the bad old days of who you know rather than what you know and the company will reap what it sows. I will be the first to admit that there was some “dead wood” that needed cutting, even so the callous disregard with which people were treated was absolutely disgraceful. Families coming home from expat assignments to find a letter telling them they were fired, competent senior people ‘retired’ to make way for the diversity pick, bullies promoting bullies and BG plants being elevated beyond the incompetence they showed in their own organisation. A cursory walk around any of the main offices shows you how well this has turned out with a toxic and uncollegiate atmosphere. This stands in stark contrast to what I referred to as the ‘halcyon days’. That was a time to be proud to work for this great company, now they have now EVP different from any other two-bit operation. Those of us who want the company to succeed look around at what has been done and shake our heads and if you read the comments closely on here you will see that while most of us have gripes it is because we have a love for the company and want it to reach its potential, not be frittered away on a whim.
As for the gold plating that still goes on, where there is any spending at all. The problem with cutting corners here is that you pay for it later. Talk to the clever folks who cut corners on Bonga FPSO and have now screwed up the wells, or the clever managers over at Sakhalin who abandoned the WFRM plan and for which the recovery will never be what was promised, or better still the clever commercial managers who purchased acreage in the Eagleford with no eagle ford (not to mention the $40billion that was poured into that particular black hole). It is this that we remaining technical people with integrity want challenge to, not because we have any particular axe to grind, or did not get promoted (some of us are happy doing solid technical work), but rather we desire to do the right thing and deliver for our shareholders.
As for BG, if you read other posters here the concern is not that it was a poor choice but rather it was overpaid. BG was not all it promised to be and this deal had a very long burn on it and was probably the only deal Shell could do to remain competitive. As for the integration, we will see, Enterprise was also a smooth acquisition and has hung a number of albatross around the company’s neck. Ultimately the BG deal was the acceptance by management that they had failed in their ability to grow the company organically through poor leadership on the Upstream side over many years. Much of the acreage that Shell paid billions more than it needed to was looked over by Shell time and time again and management opted to ignore the recommendations of technical people in favour of playing financial games or dabbling in business that Shell could never hope to master – all under the auspices of doing things on the cheap.
I welcome the optimistic counterpoint that you bring to the table, for sure it livens up the discussion and gives readers a chance to see a different side of the company, although on most points it is clear that we will have to agree to disagree. As I have mentioned in my contributions in the past (well before the time of BvB) at its heart the company is a great company, full of many talented, capable people who have done some wonderful things over a century. On the flip side it is ruled by a generally incompetent, vacuous, short sighted, group think management team that does not welcome any dissenting opinion (despite the rhetorics) and is not open to the fact that the world is changing and business as usual won’t cut it. For as long as these people continue to prosper in positions of power throughout the company and promote more of the same type of people the company will always underperform and this particular site will always have a pool of people who get just frustrated enough to shine a light on the dark corners that the same management team try and keep in the dark.
Thank you Regular Browser for your interpretation of the Halcyon Days but I am sure that the owner of this site would totally and categorically disagree with you, especially as in the days you refer to there was very little public accountability. These were the days when the Donovan’s were take for a ride, when all people could do was protest outside Shell Mex house before the days of the wild internet when people like you and I could debate in open forum. So I respectfully have to disagree these were halcyon days. They may have appeared to be all singing all dancing fun days but there was far less accountability in those days, we killed more than 20 people a year with little public outcry, we polluted wildly in Nigeria without the visibility and true we were led by technical professionals. Ben’s degree is in chemical engineering not financial planning or anything similar so I presume you will allow him that accolade. I do agree though we have had some shockers in the past including Vosser who was a pure bean counter. As for what Ben has done I think you only have to look around the company to see how much leaner we are now, the days of hundreds of men building things to way above any known standards and gold plating projects has long gone. The GHG numbers continue to tumble, our incident frequency rate continues at an all time low, our process safety incidents also near an all time low. You may scoff and say things are covered up but you can’t hide body bags or Tier 1 incidents. You say the industry was leading this progress again I disagree Shell was out there as a leader, we invented the Golden Rules now seen throughout industry, we pioneered Tier 1 and Tier 2 reporting metrics and used them to drive performance and Goal Zero was ground-breaking in its day. They are out there for all to see.
Ben’s greatest achievement will of course always be the acquisition and amalgamation of BG, this has been a relatively smooth transition with very little disruption to normal business and blending nicely into our new age gas portfolio. I hope we can revisit this debate in a couple of years time when I hope you will (even grudgingly) agree BvB is doing a pretty good job.
The Halcyon Days were when this great company was led by technical professionals instead of bean counters. I can talk about many things such as the early North Sea discoveries, the first steps towards GTL, the days when there was a hum of excitement around O75 and Shell Centre, the exciting innovations coming out of Kessler Park and Bellaire. Yes, there were problems in those days too but the system was different and the company was not pushing its credentials through a set of business principles that it does not adhere too. This led into the era of fundamental mistakes starting in the late 80’s-early 90’s which is when I start to have a problem with the how the company conducts itself and for which I blame the purge of technically competent people in favour of the sycophants. From that point on we have the Nigerian problems (although I would argue they began before this and concur they were badly managed from the beginning), the hollowing out of technical capability, the selling off of parts of the business which made a difference, the reserves crisis all the way through to the Brinded, Van der Veer and Voser era. After what I thought was a promising start and a fresh approach BvB seems to have decided to tread this well worn route.
Don’t fool yourself on the deaths and goal zero, yes it is tragic when anyone loses their life as part of work for Shell however I can tell you if half as much time was spent in prevention and education than in covering up and deciding how to classify ‘incidents’ goal zero would be a much more effective tool by now. That said it should be praised that the HSSE function has made a significant dent in major incidents such as deaths over the last decade or so. Much of this has come off the back of greater scrutiny and learnings from incidents such as piper Alpha so it is not an island in itself and I would argue the industry is generally safer not just Shell – although we see the consequences when these things are ignored.
You are right that many of the transgressions come to light due to greater scrutiny and the internet is a great enabler of this. I would counter that these are choices made by management and the SEC though as time and again the Shell People Survey tells them what is wrong and they choose to ignore it because it is inconvenient. That is why this site exists as there is no other outlet to vent frustration when the SEC does not listen. The general population of Shell is much more ethical and wants a much better company than the SEC do, yet nothing changes and things only seem to get worse. Walk around any of the main buildings and you see this in peoples actions and faces. The atmosphere in C16 is toxic, as with Bank Street, Woodcreek and Shell Centre and this was the case long before the current crash in prices and the BG merger.
As a counterpoint perhaps you can provide us with some of the ‘wins’ of BvB or examples of celebration for the company over the last few years, it would make a difference to celebrate success for sure.
TWITTER alive in Dublin for Shell double whammy MAYO BRIBES AND MISSING STATEMENT ABOUT COP CORRUPTION will sink both Commissioner and Justice Minister if honest cops have their way …nice one SHELL .
Regular Browser, I too welcome debate and glad you also despise the trolling. I do however disagree with your concept of the Halcyon days, are you referring to the period when we killed more than 20 people a year but made massive profits, perhaps you can enlighten us. What were the ‘halcyon years” ? In my opinion the ‘spin’ is just a result of faster, more rapid communications like the internet and other electronic means. In past years this forum would not have even been possible and so handling of the negative viewpoints will always require some spin to undo the ‘anti-spin’. I’m glad you re prepared to give BvB some credit, who knows perhaps in 20 years time he will be a super hero !
More tidbits. For those who said the Port Arthur refinery was a bad project. In the past 3 years the plant has been first quartile on income and a leader in reliability. The most profitable Shell refinery and now Saudi has it. Hmmmm
To all of the folks who derided Shell for firing Todd Monette, he has been sacked again by Lyondell for the same reasons, ethics violations!
Trolls is not name calling merely pointing out a particular type of action. I think you will find that downstream does not post the largest profits – perhaps you should look further than one year. Downstream should be making a profit when upstream is down as feedstock is lower – the advantages of vertical integration. Yes the fundamentals are not straightforward but there is a clear linkage as the refineries and chemical plants use crude derived feedstock aside from Pearl and some of the others. I think it is a bit of a leap to assume that natural gas is going up all evidence points to a world awash in both natural gas and LNG – the analysts and people whose job it is to forecast these things do not share your rosy picture. I of course welcome debate and I agree some of what BvB has done is to be commended on other things he has fallen short, just like any other company. What I don’t agree on is the spin and the mismanagement that falls at his door from a great deal of unspectacular sycophants. As regular watchers of the company will note it has substantially underperformed compared to its halcyon days and while that is not all to do with BvB and the SEC those people play out the same failed policies and strategies and learn nothing from the wealth of data that being around for over a hundred years provides. This is what I rail against as well as nepotism, sycophancy and ineptitude. If you have read my posts you see that I am fair and reasonable and credit where credit is due. Like many posters on this blog however we get tired of “do as I say, not as I do” approaches and the same violations of ethics over and over again. There is a lot to celebrate as well as to criticise and perhaps you can have a role as countenance here to pointing out all these positives beyond the financials so that people can draw their own conclusion. I am sure Donovan, I and others would welcome the opportunity.
Regular Browser, before calling people names like trolls perhaps you should look at your own posts ! Downstream nearly always produces the largest profits in Shell, but if you too look closely you will see the turnaround in Upstream from a 1.4B loss in 2016 to a 540 Million profit in 2017, also the rise in natural gas which will only continue as dependancy on gas increases. The downstream increases are not directly linked to crude oil prices as you incorrectly state its more complicated than that. I was suggesting that instead of people being so critical of the current management they should perhaps give them a break and see what a great job Ben and the SEC is doing.
We applaud the ” booze vendor” whistleblowing not a good move in Ireland, the Commissioner has days to go and that’s a good thing. Other culprits remain in the shadows but not for long hopefully.
With regards to 1995 BG take over plans, a proposal was indeed put to the Boards of ST&T and RDS, but they rejected the plan as at the time BG still had retail gas activities and the Boards didn’t want to buy those. What they could have decided instead was to buy BG and spin off the gas retail business, which BG did itself not long afterwards!
Perhaps you should look again at the results Hello Haterz all of the profit has been in the Downstream which is to be expected in a low price environment where raw materials are low. The Upstream earnings are abysmal considering the deal was predicated on buying plum BG assets. The results have also come off the back of stripping the combined company of assets and staff so we will see how sustainable they are moving forward, especially when the balance sheet cannot be massaged by creative accounting and when there are reserve write downs and asset repricing based on BG Groups poor cost control and project management. M&A can only be judged over the long term not in one quarters results so I would be cautious about gloating too soon. I hope that you are proved correct and over the long term the hefty price tag was worth it but make no mistake the jury is still out and thats even without accounting for all of the troubles in the courts the company is facing. Contrary to your trolling I would also say that most people on this site desire the company to succeed and only ask that the company live up to its own principles which would ensure long term profitability, BP showed what happened when you put short term gain ahead of sustainability.
No need for an apology BonusGroup, glad to see others dragging the skeletons from the closet. Unfortunately many of Chapman’s “disciples” have evaded the accountability noose (so far) and continue to contribute little to industry. Even the remuneration committee’s ethics were questionable as they acted with impunity by awarding obscene annual bonuses to executives, despite multiple fatalities at operational locations. Life may have been a continuous garden party for some, sadly others were not so lucky.
Chapman sits on the board of Rolls-Royce, ironically chairman of the Safety and Ethics committee.
Hi Hello Haterz, it was predestined that Shell would buy BG Group. That is why Frank Chapman set-up BG Group like a mini-Shell, copying processes and ensuring asset fit between the two companies. Who would you have sold BG Group to when you retired? This did not happen over night it took years of manouevering. It was not of BvB’s making, all he did was fire the starting pistol for the process to begin.
The results just in show how wrong the press and common opinion was. The acquisition of BG was a perfect match for the Shell Portfolio and BvB plan for the post merger company change is reaping rewards as RDS profits settle back into the ‘normal’ levels. The dividend is once more not under threat. I wonder what the haters will go back to moving about now? #benrocks
My sincerest apologies to BogusGroup for having inadvertantly hijacked his/her monicker through a typographical error. At least on this occasion there is accountability, but not learnt at BG Group.
Project leader Deasy it’s time for the “mistakes were made on Corrib “speech. Not all cops fell for your trinkets for the natives corruption but all cops are paying a price. Think on it .
I posted articles on 16th & 17th April. I did not post the articles 28th April (BonusGroup) and 3rd May @15.23 (BogusGroup). While I wholeheartedly agree with the content of both of these articles, I can’t take credit for them.
BG Group was founded on very little credible geoscience. Frank Chapman’s precious ‘treasures’. Technically inept staff promoted to heady heights as a reward for longevity, loyalty and willingness to play corrupt corporate games. Probity was a word never heard in the corridors of the pavilions of Thames Valley Park. As long as there was production and accompanying revenue stream it didn’t matter if they understood where it came from or not. Life was a continuous garden party on a ‘Knight to be remembered’!
The article about carcinogens in drinking water reminds me of the ‘drins’ scandal of so many years ago. The more things change the more they stay the same, i.e., a wolf in sheep’s clothing is still a wolf.
Then there was the BG Townhall meeting late in 2014 when the COO, Sami Iskander stood up and said the the company had spent £200MM assuring projects which later cost the company £2BN because the assurance process was flawed and broken. Too many lunches at the Bull in Sonning and 10k runs on the Thames towpath!
John, re the Cable/Brinded letter you have got the wrong end of the stick. It was HM Govt who created the role of ‘contact minister’ and not just for Shell; other ministers handled other big companies. So describing this role as an underhand attempt by Shell to gain influence is ‘spin’ on your part and factually wrong.
REPLY BY JOHN
Hello Factman. Fairpoint.
Nonetheless, it was entirely inappropriate for a former high-level Shell official to act as contact minister for Shell. See this article – Vince Cable – Minister for Shell.
Also, related article from which these extracts are taken:
“These revelations once again show the shocking amount of access that Shell has to government ministers. Shell are not only one of the world’s most environmentally damaging companies but, as Platform’s research shows, their continual payments to armed militant groups in the Niger Delta has had a serious negative impact on human rights.”
Cable worked as Shell’s Chief Economist from 1995 to 1997, a period in which the company allegedly paid and supported the Nigerian military to commit international crimes. In 1995 the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders of the southern Nigerian Ogoni ethnic group were executed by the Sani Abacha military government. In 2011, relatives of the assassinated Ogoni 9, as they became known, began legal proceedings against Shell resulting in an out-of-court settlement [3] in which Shell paid the victims’ families $15.5m, rather then face a New York Federal court.
Vince Cable has remained quiet about his time at Shell and denies any knowledge of the company’s alleged links to the assassinations. Last month, the oil watchdog Platform revealed [4] how Shell’s funding of armed militant groups in Nigeria has continued in recent years. In 2009, during the height of insurgency in the region, Shell paid $65m to government forces and a further $75m in “other” unexplained security costs.
I guess what we have all realised is that Shell and BG (as with most other big, ancient blue chips) hire based on personality traits- alpha males and females , in the vain hope that they create healthy competition and motivation amongst the lower job groups who aspire to lead bigger teams with more control (power). What has happened however as witnessed in the current downturn is the malingering presence of alpha’s who cling on to their jobs whilst the collaborative team players doing the grunt work are let go. Can’t blame them too much as we all wish to survive but what it does is erode integrity and authenticity- behavioural traits, codes of conduct and company value can only but be destroyed with this sort of crappy culture. Anyone who has been let go from Shell- trust me, it’ll be the best thing that’s happened to you.
BogusGroup talks of Shell ‘pets’. BG had it’s own, particularly in its Brasil Asset where some were gingerly sucking their way-up the rigid, masculine corporate pole. Others were more coprolite than corporate.
RDS – What a snakepit. And it keeps on getting worse. I am surprised they can recruit decent people. Lord knows they can’t keep them.
To Bill Campbell…your last post Bill the instructions regarding police alcohol and local ” love bombing ” came from the top CEO level the word ” corruption ” was only introduced by Shells BID DEPT in Den Haag to scare OSSL into silence …the police alcohol is just the tip of the VAN BEURDEN ICEBERG .
Cannot see why a prosecution could not go ahead and be successful, it appears abundantly clear from the correspondence that handouts to certain individuals would be required to secure a deal and many senior officers in the RDS organisation were aware of this and were complicit indirectly or directly. Their defence may be well that’s what it takes to operate with Nigeria but that is not a pertinent defence in international law and dare I state the obvious that this behaviour is a million miles from the intent of those wonderfully worded but completely ignored business principles that all in RDS from Chairman to office boy are supposed to hold as sacrosanct. My experience after many years especially as a Auditor for the then SIEP and then RDS is that compliance with the aforestated principles diminishes exponentially the nearer you get to the Boardroom. Time will tell.
Bill
Finlayson was clearly a Shell plant, who was supposed to oversee the sale of BG Group to Shell. There was a pseudo competition as to who would be the next CEO after Frank Chapman, but it was clear from the outset that it could only ever be Finlayson. However, he got too comfortable in the role, had a falling-out with Andrew Gould and left in a huff, probably because he did not want to sell to Shell. This left Gould holding the baby when the share price was rock bottom. One might ask one’s self why did Shell not pounce when Gould was Executive Chairman? He desperately needed a CEO to oversee the sale to Shell,and he eventually set-up Helge Lunde as his ‘fall guy’ as the whole house of cards was rapidly falling down. Even demanding that Helge start with BG Group earlier than planned. The whole scenario was transparent from the outset. And what of Andrew Gould? Is it not rather odd that the previous Chairman and CEO of Schlumberger should end-up as Chairman of a tin pot outfit like BG Group? Or, perhaps, he thought that by working for a British plc he might be in with a chance of a Knighthood? And what better way of getting a Knighthood than by selling a failing company and, thereby, achieving shareholder value.He knew where BG Group was in its life cycle and also when Frank Chapman was due to retire. With the limited truths upon which BG had built its foundations, it was a safe bet that the illusion would fail sooner or later.
I had to smile when I read the comments about this worthless piece of HR BS. Every year the same answers come back about speed of decision making, working environment (the chicken cubes) and effectiveness of management communication. Each year we, the long suffering staff, are told this is not stuff we can affect and to concentrate on trivial items lower down the list. That piece of HR BS should be laid to rest and senior management made to read this site to see what the real issues are.
Regular browser………….I concur with your response, my comment was from an ex BG (purged) employee perspective. A number of senior executives ‘left’ BG under the facade of re-structuring, some slithered through the revolving door of unaccountability to join other organisations, while some slipped the net to join Shell. You’re correct about the former Shell pets, I was aware of the TFA culture in Brent but gave Chris Finlayson the benefit of the doubt when he joined BG group. However having dealt with him first hand on organisational failings and deficiencies in safety management, the causal factors for fatalities and serious injuries in BG operations, his intransigence in dealing with the issue showed his true colours. Hopefully he is still on someone’s culpability radar.
In all my years i havent ever seen such reckless decisions, bullying, incompetence and nepotism. We have Shell People Survey which confirm this every year but management always blame it on restructuring. At least we have the RDS blog to tell us the truth! This is all very exciting! What next? Wouldnt surprise me to hear revelations that HR are secretly waterboarding managers who are caught using Shell’s code of conduct.
Don’t be so sure bogus group the key players and wasters are all still there along with their sycophants. Plus a lot of BG managers were former Shell pets too. The more things change the more they stay the same. Only folk who could make a difference tend to get purged so the inept status quo is maintained. One can only hope that there is a severe clear out if guilt is proven in the OPL245 case really every manager JG1 and above should go, trouble is the ‘stars’ have been hand picked by the rotten management for greatness so the carousel continues.
A positive about the Shell/BG deal was there was an element of ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the management team and their sycophants. A negative is there are still some left, hiding under their stones.
You must not know Bruce. He has a very foul mouth and curses quite a bit in business settings. I find it ironic he is accusing another organization of being useless recognizing he comes from one of the most useless organizations in Shell
Wot, corruption in Nigeria? Cannot be. I never see de disting! Dey be hones people. Shame on de Oyibo (=white man) for making de nigerian people look bad. De most hones people in de world.
I am shocked that Bruce Culpepper would use the F word at work, he always seems such a gentle person 😉
Who in their right mind would want to work for such a vile company? Allegations of corruption, serial polluters and ill treatment of their staff. Sounds like a Bangalore call centre would be a more fun place to work. Well done to that boy Crockett for standing up for himself.
Re Corrib I was stationed in Mayo for a short time, there was a lot of us drafted in to deal with and monitor protestors at various locations including the main terminal.. its wasn’t enjoyable work… i feel that Shell used and abused us to get their gas.. and what deals they done with the government to get the deal they did is a total abomination .. the local people were treated like criminals ..
Corrib vendor trashed for cover up looking very believable now. Police now banned photos of Corrib brutality against locals… yes u could not make it up.
BG Group were no better!
Shock! Horror! OMG in modern parlance. Bribes were paid in Nigeria, really. I would never have seen that coming. Almost as bad as the fantastic revelation that Shell HR force fitted female and POC candidates for senior positions interviews. It was common practice.
I am utterly disgusted and ashamed of the hypocritical company I work for. The shell business principles are officially dead. RIP
Welcome to the Zeke/Ogoni/Nigeria complaint site
I suspect a lot of folks are getting fed up with the hijacking of this site by Nigerian activists who continually make false claims against Shell rather than pursue their own government. I guess Shell is the easy target. Most of the spills in Ogoniland have been created by the Nigerian folks drilling into pipelines and trying to steal oil and yet this is passed off onto Shell in an attempt to extort money from the corporate world. I wonder where that money would go to in any case. Continual lengthy sermons are getting boring.
The expected cleanup of Ogoniland may save the land but many may never recover from the terminal diseases pervading Ogoniland and increasingly killing our people. Shell’s lies and irresponsibility has left an irreparable damage on the health on thousands in Ogoniland necessitating an urgent need for a health audit.
We are getting more revelation about Shell’s wickedness in Ogoniland. German Geologist hired by Shell, Kay Holtzmann, has recently revealed Shell concealed data on the level of environmental contamination of Ogoniland. Shell’s immediate response suggest that Holtzmann’s revelations did not require emergency measures. The company is largely irresponsible and will rather wish all Ogonis die.
I call this an Armageddon. It is a shame that Shell tried to conceal atrocities against the Ogoni people for over 50 years and will not get any punishment from the Nigerian state outside a meager $1billion dollar clean up funding. recommended by UNEP. Livelihoods have been destroyed and none will be compensated, Shell and the Nigerian government continue to launder their image with a lazy-loaded clean-up programme after many have died from heavy pollution and many currently suffer from terminal illnesses. Shell should have been ashamed of her actions in Ogoni and act quickly to address this mess.
The neglect of a people who have contributed over $50 billion dollars to the Nigerian economy, a small minority whose current input to the Nigerian economy still exceeds those of 20 Nigerian states put together. A people callously neglected because of their small size, the poorest of Nigeria’s poor and yet they live on a richly endowed land whose benefit they never feel is definitely a sad tale to tell about a state in the twenty-first century.
Ogoni is faced with ultimate death. Grappling to survive in an environment that can no longer sustain families, decreasing agricultural output, increasing insecurity and recourse to stealing to survive, and even more shameful is the conscienceless attempt by Nigeria’s drilling company, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, to resume oil production in the area.
The story of the Ogoni should not be told about any civilized society. Nigeria’s failure to resolve the Ogoni problem especially as related to our environment and right to self-determination signals a failure on the part of our country’s leadership to build a united and progressive Nigeria.
The world must continue to be made aware of the story of the Ogoni, a small minority that had been exploited to death by Shell.
We will continue to prick the conscience of the world and highlight the injustices perpetrated against the Ogoni people until they are addressed. We will not let Shell hide her crimes against the Ogoni people nor shall we be persuaded by political manoeuvres which do not address our concerns for a safe environment and our right to self-determination.
About the Author: Fegalo Nsuke is Publicity Secretary of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP), He wrote from Bori, Ogoniland.
There is definitely a stench of discontent in the office where I work. Everyone I know has one eye on a new job and have accepted that
shell is no longer the great employer it once was. The crown jewels are being sold to fund BG deal and pay dividends. Staff are being treated atrociously, unless you are prepared to brown nose and turn a blind eye to the deplorable and corrupt behaviour of the prison guards (EVP’s and VP’s). It surprises me not that HR management like Mr Darcy are reading this. John you got any jobs going?
Wikipedia “Mr. Darcy is a proud and arrogant man to whom those are lower classes than him. He thinks he is better than them in rank and connections so he does not wish to interact with them”. Someone has a chip on their shoulder! Come join the real people instead of living in the clouds…oh but hang on, you’ve been at Shell for so long you forgot how the rest of the world lives. Time to bring yourself down to earth and recognise what is really important to people. Keep the blog going John. Its gives us an avenue straight to the top.
@Corrib Shell Police Corruption – If they ran for the hills I would question whether they had integrity at all. It is very easy to be a ‘fair weather friend’ you only truly know people have integrity when they stand up for what is right. Sadly Shell never cleaned up the whole Corrib fiasco post takeover of Enterprise and continues to pay the price today. As I pointed out the same corrupt management sycophants are put in charge of trouble projects as they will toe the party line instead of actually fixing the problems. You only get promoted to JG2 and above these days if you actually leave your moral compass and own mind at the door each day.
To the last post Contributor when the s**t hit the fan here in Mayo Shell men of supposed integrity ran for the hills. It was shocking and somewhat disgusting what happened to former allies.
Well it is refreshing that there is tacit acknowledgement of the ‘culture of fear’ not just in Norway but more broadly in the company. Although Shell does indeed welcome ‘alternative viewpoints’ to do so is a career ending decision. This is supported by numerous Shell People Surveys over many years where this has been raised as an issue time and again. Management ‘listen’ but the status quo remains. Like all large corporations Shell is not interested in anything which disrupts the existing power structures and fiefdoms – though there are some places where the culture is a little more open. Those who do choose to speak out either get sanctioned via their IPS or CEP and are marginalised, while the sycophants and nepotists rise to the top to ingrain the culture. This has been particularly apparent since the merger with BG and the message is Shell folk should be grateful that they have a job and should put up and shut up. Rocking the boat on HSE, the pay freeze, filling of jobs with unqualified graduates or brown losers etc. Management have succeeded over a number of years in taking a once great company and turning it into a mediocre shadow of its former self characterised by mismanagement and poor strategic choices. This is a great shame as there are a lot of dedicated and talented employees across the company, though they do not stand a chance in a culture that does not reward competence but sycophancy.
That made me smile John. I certainly don’t wish to crowd out other contributors.
Have a good day.
John you know the shell machine is hurting when they desperately ask you to stop what youre doing! Spare a thought for us prisoners who have these people as our masters and have to jump on command (or face HR death squad). OPL 245 details, Mayo, and the appalling management actions in Norway have been hidden from us. Thanks for keeping us informed! Good health to you sir. You have many appreciative admirers.
John,
Looking back at the same period of time over the last three years (1 January to 15 March) there were 60 postings in 2015, 45 in 2016 And 14 this year. Clearly a downward trend.
You’re insinuation that anyone who challenges this site must be a Shell management lackey exposes a degree of paranoia.
I’m in the industry – an industry that has served many and driven the wealth and well being of nations. You yourself have done well from it.
Have a good weekend.
RESPONSE BY JOHN
Thanks for your comments. Good of you to create this sudden surge but seems rather counter-productive to your suggestion that it should be closed based on the lack of use. if you really think that, why do you continue to visit such a supposedly boring forum on a regular basis, as you self-evidently do? Hence my suspicion about your background and the integrity of your postings. We are used to regular DoS attacks and other covert activity (including by Shell). 891,714 blocked malicious login attempts and 1,015,968 spam comments at the last count. Some people do not like what we are doing, yet keep returning, as you do. Your postings remind me of comments made long ago by Musaint and LondonLad who happened to be one and the same. A former senior Shell executive. Do the aliases seem familiar? If your objection is just the Shell Blog, then visit royaldutchshellgroup.com which does not have one. The way this is going, I am anticipating a complaint from Zik that you are hogging the forum.
Mr. D’Arcy, I fully agree with you. I find I am visiting this site less and less due to lack of content. Plus Zeke has “hi-jacked” the comments section and uses it as his personal “soapbox”
RESPONSE BY JOHN DONOVAN
How fortunate then that you are free to do as you wish. The website and the blog will remain as they have for over a decade, the leading source of Shell insider information for the mainstream news media and for all parties interested in Shell.
Has this blog curled up and died? Why is it still nailed to its perch?
14 posts so far this year – same old tired, worn out complaints. Even Paddy Briggs has given up.
Come on Mr Donovan, Do the decent thing. Time to say goodbye?
RESPONSE BY JOHN DONOVAN
Over 3,500 comments posted overall, over 2,800 on the Shell Blog. Why do you want me to close down this free speech forum available to Shell employees and other parties interested in Shell? It costs nothing and no one is compelled to look at it or post comments on it. Since you obviously don’t like it that on its own is a good reason to keep it. Do you by any chance have a connection with Shell management, which has tried very hard to close down this website?
Our BVB in European stand with EU partner Ireland in maintaining the silence that binds the cover up of Shell Corporate Corruption with Irish police. Justice Peter Charleton opens a public inquiry next week in Dublin Castle. He has total power to act as he sees fit. POLICE CORRUPTION BY A MULTINATIONAL IS A SERIOUS OFFENCE IN EU… including Ireland.
Go to Twitter@ osslsafety if those guys are not in jail by now it tells you all you need to know about bent cops in Ireland
We need a ZIK filter please John.
NIGERIA OIL SECTOR LOSES N200BN TO PRODUCTION DISRUPTION – IF ONLY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WOULD LISTEN AND DO THE NEEDFUL
It was recently reported that Nigeria has lost over N200 billion in the last 11 months due to the force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) as a result of the vandalism of the 48-inch Forcados export line in 2016. But the truth of the matter is that this issue regarding the disruption of oil production can be tackled and addressed appropriately if the Federal Government and the relevant authorities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are ‘genuinely interested’ in addressing it in the first place. Rather than ‘playing politics’ with such matters.
The NNPC put the monthly loss to the damaged pipeline, which was shut down February last year at N20 billion monthly. But like we said, the issues that have led to these oil production disruptions are obvious, however, the Federal Government and its Oil Corporation – NNPC, are busy beating around the bush, playing politics with these issues and dilly-dallying with the whole problem. The truth of the matter is that both the Federal Government and the Nigerian lawmakers, including the relevant authorities of the NNPC; know exactly what and what to do to put an end to all these disruptions of oil production in the Niger Delta region, as well as other issues adversely affecting the host communities’ stakeholders.
It is an established fact that the issues bothering the Niger Delta region are well known globally and by all, and as such, the solutions to these issues, which have been “long proffered” and how to resolve them for ‘sustainable growth’, is all that is required and expected of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari to address/implement/execute with all sincerity of purpose. And not all these, for instance, so called fact-finding visits and dilly-dallying by the Presidency to score cheap political points and make it look like they are doing something to address the Niger Delta situation. What other ‘facts’ are they looking for with these visits? What exactly are they looking for when all the issues are there for all to see.
When we still have the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) hanging in the corridors of the National Assembly for close to a decade without being passed/signed into law, and even the reported, attempted removal of the strategic 10% Host Community Development Fund as enshrined in the PIB document; the Government and the lawmakers should not be surprised when these things are happening in the region. Besides, how would oil and gas host communities’ locals and stakeholders ‘trust’ and ‘believe’ regarding its ‘plans and intentions’ for the region’s development when such sensitive bills like the PIB are used to play politics?
The Nigerian Governments (both States and Federal), should realize that since they have failed, and still failing in its statutory roles to address all the issues daily adversely affecting the oil and gas host communities’ locals and stakeholders, the people have shifted their attention and have decided to hold the Oil and Gas companies responsible for what they see wrong in their communities, so as to attract the Governments’ attention.
The Oil and Gas companies on the other hand (which includes both IOCs and Indigenous Oil and Gas companies), should wise up and overwhelmingly carry the community people along and make them ‘benefit more’ from the oil and gas exploration and production activities in the region. The Oil and Gas Companies, including the Federal Government should realize that no matter the ‘heavy presence’ of the military in the region, “they still need the cooperation and active participation of the host communities’ locals. They should bear this in mind and probably change some of their policies and operation-practices in favour of the host communities’ people. The Oil and Gas company policies that work in Europe and US may not work here in the Niger Delta region; hence they should adopt policies that are friendly and accommodating to the host community locals and elites. Since the Federal Government is not doing enough to ‘sustain peace’ in the Niger Delta region, then the Oil and Gas companies if they should remain in business, then they should carry the interest of the people in all they do. They should not use force or coercion to try to drive their business because this will be counterproductive, as has been seen in the past.
The Federal Government, the lawmakers and the Oil and Gas Companies should realize that these oil and gas host communities’ people in the region have given their farmlands for oil and gas production. Most of them have even had their rivers (meant for fishing business) polluted and damaged for good due to oil and gas exploration and production activities. So, in order to ‘buy peace’ and keep it sustainable, they need to “change their policies, style of approach and manners of doing things”, to favour the ‘overall interests’ of the oil and gas host community locals. The Oil and Gas companies operating in the region should take and treat the host communities’ people as ‘real stakeholders’ that ought to be carried along in their operations and not just ‘stakeholders on paper’.
All our farmlands, rivers and creeks have been rendered ‘unprofitable’ and ‘environmentally hazardous’ due to the over five decades of oil and gas exploration and production in the Niger Delta region. So, the Federal Government and relevant authorities need to put themselves in our shoes to fully understand what we are saying here. For instance, by removing the said 10% Host Community Development Fund from the PIB, what then does the host communities locals in the region have to hold on to as benefits, to atone for their sufferings from the extractive industry all these years? These and many more are some of the issues that Government needs to start looking into.
Sale of Sarnia refinery neither confirmed nor denied by insiders.
Shell Canada Sarnia refinery is being sold off to SUNCOR in 2017 as part of asset fire sale. Suncor sources confirm that final sale details are being finalised for announcement in Q2-2017.
Shells Cop protecting Shell booze Cops ..has just plumbed the depths to aid vilification of an honest man ..check Irish press and be prepared to be disgusted Mr Van Beurden
distance yourself from this filth .
Top Lady Cop aware of Shell statement falsification demands to save a CS called Gannon today moved closer to the door “abhorrent abuse of honest coppers” cited. She also failed to address the Shell police alcohol despite another CS confirming the alcohol as factual. Watch this space.
Other funds that did not go to the council direct distributed by Roadbridge and others with a “wink and a nod” for cooperation. 770 thousand euro spent on one woman’s house currently valued at 200 thousand – explain that Shell?
Just read that Shell wants to sell the share in the DUC (Dansk Underground Consortium for ca 1 billion dollars.)
It was a well kept secret that the DUC had a marvellous tax deal in Denmark, in the past Shell Denmark was often the number 3 or 4 cash earner for the group due to this tax deal. Only the NAM with the huge gasfields made far more money. (Norway was a lot harder on the oil companies and kept most of the proceeds themselves.)
Not sure whether the tax system has changed the last few years.
And if they can get a lot of money for it, it is a good time to leave the ship there, Maersk has little ideas how to go about milking the licence that was renewed a few years ago. They had mentally accepted the licence would come to an end when the old man Maersk McKinney Moller fixed an extension with the government. He died soon afterwards…
Shell block honest testimony in Dublin Court yesterday relating to senior Policeman on who’s behalf Shell executed a corrupt act (not the unresolved alcohol supplies)..much much deeper and very damaging for Shell according to A L Goodbody.
You are totally right Bill. Brinded may not have benefited directly but the real question is whether he and other managers were mercilessly cracking the whip and conveniently turning a blind eye. It is time that management are made accountable for their actions and to not allow them to ruthlessly pass responsibility to the foot soldiers.
OPL245
The latest blog on this website asks if there is any evidence that Brinded benefited personally from his role in the alleged fraudulent deal?
This we assume will come out in the wash if this affair ever gets to trial. He certainly would have indirectly benefitted if the 240 odd oil blocs increased the reserves significantly because this would have been one of his principal goals as Upstream Director now doubt contributing to bonus rewards etc.
But whether he benifited personally or not is not the key issue at this stage but rather whether he was aware that the monies paid over by Eni and Shell were being directed, all or in part, to the private bank accounts of corrupt officials, and if so he, if this can be established by legal process, would be an accessory to such corruption.
Bill
Is there any evidence that Malcolm benefited personally from his role in the OPL 245 deal?
Pearl’s gasifiers are crippled because of water-side corrosion on the syngas effluent cooler (SEC) tubes. The shells of all of Pearl’s SECs will have to be cut apart so the tubes can be replaced. Somebody made a massive design error.
What is this about food items and magazines? Nothing better and more important to worry about? Life must be great.
Can someone tell me when Shell turned into a lovable attention seeking charity by using potential dividends (for shareholders like me) to pay 100k + to charity. Next we will be told that OPL dirty $$ was a charitable donation to needy Nigerian ministers. I’m not a Scrooge but I hate this despicable way of trying to fool the public into liking it. Be more like Exon! We don’t get porn mags at US gas stations. I wouldnt be surprised if Trump forces Shell to sell em here too.
Ummmm…..can someone explain to me why Shell service stations in Netherlands and UK are selling hardcore porn mags? Tsk tsk tsk. Shame on you Shell! Clear hypocrisy in the face of D&I- Shell doesn’t give a toss. Merry Christmas everyone.
If asked Mr Donovan will confirm we had no hand in your current posting on Shell police corruption on the Corrib project …I would like however to correct a mistake, it was not a “Shell Manager” who demanded the falsification of an honest statement ..it was a Shell CEO called Terry Nolan who called in person on that “black day” accompanied by his senior local liaison officer John Cronin …another man who has lost his tongue causing much pain to former allies ….time to reflect Mr Cronin. #uknowthetruth
Interesting comment published in the Daily Mail today Friday, by City Editor Alex Brummer under the heading: “Shell game”: “EXTRAVAGANT praise by Shell chairman Charles Holliday for departing finance director Simon Henry only fuels suspicion the Anglo-Dutch oil major is not revealing all.”
You should be ashamed of your thinly veiled racist comments but we agree mankind never ceases to amaze me either.
All seems a bit coincidental. A fortnight ago Henry cashed in Shell shares to the tune of over £1 million quid perhaps taking advantage of insider knowledge over the OPEC deal? Did that play have any bearing on his unexpected premature departure?
Yes, lots of very knowledgeable and experienced people are being replaced by high potential, inexperienced “talent”. There has never been a more aggressive cull and many long term employees are leaving with a bitter taste in their mouths, wondering what happened to Shell’s core value of “respect for people”. Very sad times.
It reminds me of the ‘poh-boy’ shrimp sandwich in New Orleans. A colleague once told me I had to try at least one during my life. So we went from Shell Centre#1 to one of many lunchrooms in the various basements some blocks away. About 6-8 hugely fat black girls were frying up the shrimps. I got a plate with a full french loaf split open and I assume a kilo of fried garlic shrimps on top. I believe there was a leaf of lettuce too. Plus a pint of Coke. It tasted delicious but I managed less than half, still about 5000 calories… Had constipation for three days! There were hugely fat americans who ate two of these things per day. Mankind never ceases to impress me.
Can this be true? Kapsalon, the world’s most unhealthy concoction of some 6,000 calories is on the fast food menu at Shell HQ? Kapsalon is a Dutch food item consisting of fries, topped with döner or shawarma meat, grilled with a layer of Gouda cheese until melted and then subsequently covered with a layer of dressed salad greens. (Description from Wikipedia) Basically french fries with everything unhealthy you can imagine piled on top of it. Said to taste fine after an evening hard drinking….
Shell fired 5000 workers recently but kept government relations manager of Syria in Dubai without any tasks. Paid her salary and nobody know why!!!
She must have good connections somewhere!!!
Recently,she was promoted the title of government relations manager of Iran. She doesn’t know anything about Iran let alone its government. BUT she got the job!!!
An obvious case of breach of so called Shell General Business Principals and nepotism!!!
It is amazing that these “difficult choices” are all falling at the door of the lowest paid employees of Shell and yet the vastly inefficient and “fat” middle and upper level management just seems to keep on expanding. With such low activity levels due to the transition away from oil and gas, low oil price and smaller geographic focus of Shell one would have thought that these highly paid meeting organisers would face the chop rather than the people doing actual work. It is sad to say but it seems BvB has truly lost the plot after such a promising start and now tries to dig himself out of his own hubris after so many poor choices prime of which is the overpaying for BG.
Dear John,
I see you have already noted Engineers Ireland (EI) ‘gong to selves’ for what you rightly call ‘the deadly Corrib Gas Project’ (Shell to Sea remember the unnecessary death of Lars Wagner RIP, although EI appear to have wilfully forgotten it); it’s not surprising you consider it odd but I’m afraid that continues to be how things are done in Ireland – incompetence gets the gong, integrity gets the boot.
All the best, from Maura Harrington, Shell to Sea.
I was wondering what happened to the peak oil predictions of RDS and the collection of genius boffins Shell had working the problem. They have all apparently gone by the wayside, been retired, or met with some similar fate. Let’s here it for Shell’s crystal ball predictions by the best in the industry !!! Not.
Van Beurden’s announcement yesterday did not mention anything on the thousands of staff who are leaving the company this year. A small thanks would have been nice for those folks, of whom many have worked 20 to 30 years for Shell. I would recommend Shell senior leaders to have a close look who are leaving the business. I have to agree with Daniel, I don’t see any powerpoint wizards leaving, just the ones with clear technical oil business competence.
I have an interesting factoid that your readers might be interested in reading. In 1980 proven US oil reserves were at about 37 billion blls. Today, depending upon who you reference, they are somewhere between 35 billion and 240 billion bbls thanks to the oil shale boom. However, during the time period 1980 – 2016 over 110 billion bbls of oil were produced in the US from various basin, both onshore and offshore. What is my point ? My point is that we are not ‘running out of oil’ by any stretch of the imagination.
A second Irish Police Commissioner next week faces the very real possibility of dismissal because of her inability to control corruption in her force (documented daily here). She has chosen to remain stum on the demands of Shell CEO Terry Nolan to vendor to falsify a freely given statement pertaining to a criminal act in which a senior cop and Nolan played key rolls. Silly Woman?
Its best to let go experienced technical staff. After all, its the manager with power point that add all the “value”. When oil price recovers Shell is going to be very exposed with a lack of expertise. They will have both slices of bread (Upper Management & Junior Staff) but meat, very very sad.
Peter Vosser must be wondering what happened to his Transition 2009 plans. Shell now has more SEG category staff (nearly 170) for 13 lines of business. This compares to just over 100 post transition 2009. The ratio of SEG to junior staff has got out of control with these highly paid executives pulling in nearly $150 million per annum surely now is the time to start pruning the top of the tree. I’m surprised Ben has let this top heavy organisation continue. I wonder who were making the decisions about which staff to let go, could it have been the SEG group?
@billcampbell
Sorry Bill but LTIF and TRCF are things of the past. We have moved on from those long time ago. Those were probably correct in your day but times change and we now use more meaningful indicators for both process and personal safety. These include leading indicators as well as lagging indicators. The TRCF and LTIF are still used for comparison purposes with other industry participants but they remain only a small part of performance measurement.
When I first went to work for Shell many centuries ago ONE SHELL was the tallest building in Houston and Shell was a respected company. My,my, how things have changed. Shell’s retreat to the burbs is very symbolic.
@Bill Campbell. I applaud your bravery to stand up to the Shell bullies. I can’t recall anyone having the principles and courage to stand up to the bullies in that disgustingly rancid place. Where are all the people that stood for something? Now staff are treated like numbers (cattle) with the constant threat of the sack hanging over them. Guantanamo C16 has even announced that it will start charging inmates to use the gym facilities. Our prison comrades in Houston have had their cells taken away from them and condemned to home incarceration. Someone mentioned core values. I fear a ban on using those words is not far away. RDS RIP
So, its true. Camp Culpepper will now house the majority of the 3,500 staff from downtown. Thankfully the escape committee has been working on tunnels and a plan which involves “working from home”. Its going to be brutal, we will no longer have desks but will be dynamically sharing space. This whole treatment of staff is getting more like farm fed chickens every day. What on earth happened to the “respect” part of our core values.
RELATED ARTICLE: Shell safety chief urges industry not to get bogged down in KPIs.
Safety KPIs (re various comments on your website)
It is interesting that during the utter collapse of safety standards on the Brent field (TFA et al) they were able to demonstrate ‘improvement’ in safety by the misuse of the worst kPI known to man, that is lost time incident frequency.
I am reminded of the world of Deepwater Horizon prior to the incident. Transoceanic staff were patting each other on the back at the time of the explosion for their sustained good performance re safety represented by the metrics of this KPI. This despite the installation being flooded with gas on several occasions in the months prior to the incident, the fact that the medieval gas sensing system did not and could not take executive action, that the drill crew had never trained for a blowout type incident despite the previous drill kicks, and when it happened on the fateful day rather than maintaining well flow via the appropriate surge diverted sent it fatally to the mud treatment skid. Also that just before all hell broke loose that during the back flowing of the well and displacing the mud with water no one was monitoring the mud returns, a cardinal sin in the Drillers 101 course.
Here was an installation of inadequate design where none of the learnings from Piper A were ever considered worth incorporating but Transocean sold this installation and its own ‘world class services’ on the basis of a discredited KPI which if honestly recorded measures occupational risk levels at the shop floor at best but says nothing at all about the societal risks of all those persons living on the installation due to its intrinsic design shortcomings of the vessel and the incompetence of its crews, their supervisors and onshore management
Bill Campbell
Dutchdude I agree completely. And it should come as no surprise that this van Beelen talked some common sense. I worked with his father and the stupidities by the drilling community in Alaska would simply not have occurred when he was head of Drilling! Shell appears to follow the rest of the society that has decided to get all professionals bogged down in filling in metrics rather than doing their job. Only to allow the great many apparatchicks to write pompous reports and demand more monitoring! In the past society followed Shell, times have changed.
Recently in the corridors I heard one of those younger high flyers make a statement that the SVS is a great idea by Shell HR, to get rid of all deadwood and losers in the company. Very sad indeed, as I see this person as one of the KPI-tigers in the company. Never a solution just numbers and pictures…..BTW Excellent speech about KPIs, glad to see some senior Shell folks still know what the business is about.
The Saudi’s are in a race to expand their non-oil related asset base in order to prepare for the day when the majority of their income will come from investments other than oil. Their reserves are depleting and their population is increasing and they need to do as the Kuwaiti’s did years ago, invest in the economies of the Western Democracies to insure a stable long term income long after their oil depletes.
Read the article about safety ‘KPI’s’. Once again the mindless bureaucratic drones have taken over. It is a make work business to keep the trolls employed.
Trying to find out about TA plans of Shell Pernis for this autumn, does anybody know if they are going to shut FCC or any of their CDUs any time soon?
Someone just referred to Shell as a ‘snakepit’. It has been that way for decades, and it gets progressively worse as time passes.
John
I’m curious as to why there is so little in the press outside Nigeria on the subject of OPL 245.
I’m told that the OPL 245 issues are the biggest single concern within Shell in financial terms, and probably reputational terms, and have been for a couple of years. Corrib is not even close.
LondonLad how can you honestly make a comparison between badly treated staff and Greenpeace? And have you not checked how much dirty pollution by way of CO2 an oil company is responsible for? Or all the oil spills? Where the hell is the empathy? Good grief I’m relieved to be out of that snake pit. No doubt another HR or PR (or is it CX) person will write a reply protecting their masters!
Well “going out smoothly” it is indeed a “dirty job” at the coal face – it is also very dangerous. So I assume you are someone who has zero knowledge of the oil industry or its products?!?! Do you drive a car? do you ride a bicycle? do you fly to other countries? do you live in a house? do you own a pair of shoes? etc. etc. All of these and many many more things from our daily lives rely on the oil industry and their products. It is dick-heads like you and Greenpeace who have virtually no idea about the oil industry. Why even John Donovan made a fortune out of working with the oil industry until he fell out with Shell. Oh it’s great to be back and being able to comment on some idiot comments.
you guys are all crazy. its just a dirty job with a dirty company. Make your money and move on… treat them like they treat you – what have you done for me lately.
Academics have been stating over the last 30 years about the need to change careers 3 times in your lifetime. With respect to Oil, this is potentially twice. 1988 and 2014. Staff are pretty much the same as contractors these days; difference being that contractors carry most of the workload.
Read the article about energy storage revolution. This will drive a stake in the heart of the US coal industry, except for certain used and export, and it will drive natural gas prices into the ground. It will also prove a boon to hybrid vehicle technology, which will help cap the demand for liquid hydrocarbons for motor fuel. Looks like the days of expensive oil maybe gone forever.
Amused Non Expat – A bit surprised at your rationale. Because you perceive expats to be overpayed, it is ok for Shell HR to impose a new HYPOtax? Get the wording, this is not a tax, it does not go to a government, will not go to funds to build schools, housing, healthcare. No this hypotax goes to Shell general funds (who knows to pay the high dividends). I have been on both local and expat side, and agree Shell has been a good employer as a whole, I just have issues with unscrupulous HR staff who trod decency so easily. I know numerous staff who have been send to a location with certain promises, only to find out the reality is much less. If you work in HR, please do some self reflection on who in Shell actually earns your sandwich for you…
Sadly I do agree with Shareholder, that it appears this time around the smart people are cashing in on Shell, signs all around that the ship is aiming for big rocks.
To Amused non expat- am thinking you might know how much the redundancy payments are in cash terms to be able to comment….are you in HR? (probably has a high CEP and a Shell tattoo somewhere on your behind). Last time I checked, this is a forum for people to speak openly about ALL and ANY issues relating to Shell, whining or otherwise. Consider it cathartic for people to get it off their chest, and be included in conversation that creates a bit of camarardarie, lest it happen in the corridors of Shell.
Not gloating at all, nor envious so nothing to let go. Just pointing out reality which appears to have been overlooked by some folks. To the best of my knowledge I cannot recall anyone committing suicide over a redundancy but I may be wrong.
To amused non expat.. Envy of your fellow expats will eat away at you. Let it go. And i advise you to not gloat at those about to lose their jobs (expat or not). People have been known to commit suicide over such life changing moments. A bit of dignity please.
“Expat Staff” were you so innocent as to believe Shell promised you job for life. If Shell has really given you promises in contractual terms then you re very lucky. I did disagree however that you would have been better off as a contractor, whose life and work is always at the will of the employing company and can be changed at a moments notice. Expats were immune from that exposure and you should be grateful for that. As for Shell only having the “people who can’t cut it in the real life” to imply that is a totally ridiculous statement and belittles the many of us left. I would suggest it is the expat who doesn’t know what the ‘real life’ is all about and is just finding out.
I have worked for shell in over 12 international posting over my time. At present i am on garden leave waiting for the redundancy paper work, and have been told that i will not have any real option of securing a position in my home country. When i left on expat conditions some 27 years ago, there were lots of promises, and even more conditions expressed in contracts / agreements. One central theme to this is that the company would have my back and ensure that i would have a job when i came home. Part of the carrot associated with the sacrifice. Now, its just a numbers game. Tax equalization agreements in my contracts covered taxes while in overseas locations. I agree that the current approach could be considered fair and just, but not when the terms and conditions and HR staff always stated i would always have a job at home after my many years of service in remote locations. Anyone who worked in Nigeria, Oman, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, China for long periods of time much of it away from friends and family will understand. We have been shafted. It would have been better to be a contractor for hire over this period, as they have had been able to just walk away from assignments, work for Exxon or BP for a stint and come back to packages often better than staff. With the expectation that staff will be protected, contractors are just hire and fire. Heaven forbid you or a family member get sick… How many cancer deaths have left the families with extremely difficult repatriation, and much smaller sums than promised? I for one will now go back to being a contractor, lots of our suppliers and service companies will be paying top money when the pendulum swings, and shell will have only the people who can not cut in the real world left.
I find it amusing that we have highly (over) paid Expats now whining about having to pay tax on what will be considerable redundancy payments. This whole entitlement/greed attitude is one of the problems which has got Shell into this overstaffing situation. Just remember that a lot of the redundancy payments are WELL in excess of statutory minimums and are ex gratis payments and can be taken away at a moments notice. This whole expat ‘entitlement’ attitude is sickening and people should look in the mirror sometimes. Most of you have had a good ride on the gravy train but the train is about to hit the buffers. Time to step off and walk away.
Concerned about unscrupulous HR careerists being (again)in charge of the current downsizing operation. Do they understand (or do they care) when they are cutting too deep into the framework of technical expertise and loyalty that used to be the foundation of The Company and the envy of its competitors ? Do they really know for sure that the oil price will stay low for longer ? I sense that a lot of staff have had enough and are following the lead of Mr Van Burden (5.3mln EU salary + 9.7mln performance shares in 2015) and are now preoccupied filling their own bank accounts with as much voluntary severance pay as possible before the whole thing collapses. Sad story.
I am so sad to hear of the crappy treatment of former colleagues. So much for the Shell People Survey or safety culture. It looks like Shell’s greed has risen to the surface. I am relieved to have retired early. You Can Be Sure of Shell (screwing over their staff). Shame on you Shell. Looks like this rabble of attack dog lawyers, HR and their masters make Phil Watts look like a saint!!!!!
Former Shell: Most of my career with Shell I have worked in countries where no income tax is paid. Midway my career Shell introduced the hypotax. They claim this is for equal treatment. Well, had I worked in the Netherlands I would have build my AOW, I would have participated in tax free saving schemes, free house loans (try to get a mortgage as expat), etc. This equal treatment argument by Shell is just another way of getting half back of a bonus, reward, severance scheme, etc. Nothing fair about it. If you still work for Shell have a look at all the suddenly changed policies under HR (june/July), the world is changing. HR is charged, it seems, with getting rid of staff the most cheap way. Many expats are half the cost of regular Dutch staff to get rid off. Sad indeed. Who still looks at competence these days……
Count me in guys! I’ve also been treated disgracefully.
It’s times like this I wish we had a union to speak to. I’ve been given a date, told ive not options but to take the package and forget about the two decades i’ve devoted to the company. What happened to People Values? I don’t mind too much about leaving but being treated like dirt wasn’t part of the Employee Value Proposition. HR @ Shell are the biggest whores of all. No emotions. No principles, a bit like the hired guns of the wild west.
To Totallyhackedoff:
If you are looking for a good law firm to take a legitimate case pro-bono you might try the law firm of Mayer Brown. They have a London office. It is a good law firm and they do a fair amount of pro-bono work, but you need to have a good case.
On the whole Expat pay-offs and tax thing – pretty sure that with a few examples (UAE) etc, what’s now happening is that the tax bill that Shell has to pay when it makes the severance payment to the employee is just recovered by Shell.
Until then, basically what happened if you were made redundant in a host country, you could (in some cases) get payment tax free. Indeed, many many people were helped to move to those countries for “half an hour” before the decision was made. The reality is that there is still real money going through payroll, and so tax is really payable (with the exception of tax free countries) and Shell used to pay that for staff.
I kind of get why they don’t want to do this anymore…
John Donovan- do you know any lawyers who are willing to do any pro-bono work for the issues we are all raising here regarding taxes, dodgy reorganisations, unethical practices? Do get the feeling that Shell has shown its Achilles heel and needs to be exploited whilst the issues at stake are fresh and forefront of affected employees.
Do note that you can appoint your own tax representative to file your tax returns rather than Deloitte, making Shell chase you for payments rather than the otherway around. It’s a risk to do this of course, but possession is always 9/10ths of the law as they say Take a look at the tax policy….
Surely there MUST be something we can do about this? Aside from thieving of government taxes, I heard that the reorg in Rijswijk had hit a wall after a group of Employees got it halted on grounds of it not following the established process. Can anyone who is in that group extend the investigation so as to cover all Shell companies and JV’s in the Netherlands? I’m sure they would love to hear some of the stories that have been flying around! Somebody ought to be having a field day regarding the legality of this reorg- it defies belief. I feel sorry for the people who will be left working for this monster. GET OUT however, whenever you can. There is life outside Shell by the way 🙂
Police Alcohol and Extraordinary gifting on Corrib. Michiel Brandjes gave OSSL tea and buns and a hearty congratulations on achieving a one on one resolution meeting with BVB …still waiting for the meeting …men of integrity?
Cesar …the pimps don’t pay the whores (so I’m told) but BVB and Brandjes throw the false arm of resolution round the victim before slipping the Micky in …and doing the dirty deed ..some decent Shell and soon to be ex Shell disgusted by Shells actions here.
Amen to that Regular Browser. I’ve seen very decent and talented colleagues being treated like ladies of the night ie first the deplorable act against them and then being paid off at the end of it by the HR pimps. I hate to say it but the show is about to come to an end for this arrogant dinosaur. It’s one thing that they bully people like you Mr Donovan, but when they turn on their own staff, these are sure signs of the beginning of the end.
Unfortunately Dutchdude both the UK and Dutch governments are so deep in the pocket of Shell that nothing would happen. It would take extraordinary publicity and public pressure to get anyone to pay attention and given that these payoffs even with the tax theft are out of the realm of possibility for most of the populace there is likely to be little sympathy. It is not the first time and won’t be the last that ‘creative’ HR types have found ways to screw the worker out of monies. They have done it with ‘Local’ terms for people who are clearly expats, LNN terms, the Dutch 30% ruling, Expat assignments for home country staff, mandatory offshore banking for a number of territories and assignments and the list goes on. Even Deloitte is culpable in the way it prepares tax returns to benefit Shell. My personal view is that although sad the ones that can get out with any kind of payment are probably better off outside of what is clearly becoming a sinking behemoth that will realise too late the value that many of those it is shedding bring to the company – all of whom have largely been sacrificed on the vanity project that is the overpriced BG acquisition and the reluctance to accept that the days of high oil price (at least stable and sustained) are over.
A few weeks ago there were some posts about Shell pocketing the tax relief of those taking the severance package. I had expected a bit more comments on this? Is the principle of tax not that it goes to the government? Since when do we allow companies to impose their own tax? Apart from the unfairness to the employees who worked for this and made sacrifices, it feels incorrect and arrogant. Tax should go to the government and tax relief to the person who is entitled to it. It should not be allowed to be taken away by unscrupulous HR staff. If there is a reader here who works for the government tax department please raise this with your employer (UK, Holland, …). I bet that each severance employee rather pays tax to his government than to Shell.
BVB please note three top irish bankers sent to jail today for corporate corruption, will the unfinished business of Shells CEO Nolan demanding lies and statement falsification to obstruct justice put policemen in jail as well?
BvB is definitely not an idiot. He should though stay away from gambling after making a spectacularly bad bet on BG. The consequences of his ill-fated gamble caused distress to the many thousands who have paid for the bad bet with their jobs. BvB will still earn millions despite his miscalculation over the controversial deal. Further proof that he is not an idiot.
Peter Robins, do you actually work for Shell or just looking from the outside as some of your facts are so wrong its laughable. As for calling BvB a “dutch idiot” you could not be further from the truth. BvB is far from an idiot, he is managing one of the worlds largest companies in a period of low oil prices whilst balancing a mega takeover. In my opinion, and many others opinions, he is doing a great job considering.
I got a kick out of the photo with the Shell oil logo giving the world the middle finger. Someone has a sense of humor.
Re. The “suspicious drowning” – there is absolutely no cover up. This incident is very regularly referred to by senior management in global talks to staff at the same level of detail as other serious incidents that happen. I think someone is trying to see conspiracy where there is none…
Salute North Sea workers and support fully their strike against the repressive Shell management’s discrimination in deciding the job cut target and distribution of severance pay benefit. Teach these leaders a lesson.
Peter Robins – severance formulae are based on years of service and it certainly does vary by country – but “minimum 3 years salary” is simply not true. Having got that wrong, the rest of what you say loses credibility. Get the facts straight, please.
Read the article about RDS looking for gravity waves. Shell should look into the joint NASA/DoD/BAE project called ‘Greenglow’. It too was focused on the hunt for gravity waves.
Shell not only greedy but discriminate racially between Asian and European works with respect to severance pay. When in Netherlands it is offered minimum 3 years salary, in Asia it is only a months pay per year of service. Since in Asia Shell has started business in some countries only a decade ago, this severance pay comes only a few months salary for staffs of those countries.
Time has come Shell should start cut jobs from top which is not done till date. By cutting a few lower rank jobs company will not benefit as saving will not be substantial. Only if EC, EC-1, EC-2 jobs are cut as well as the pay and benefit of remaining members of these bodies are cut substantial amount can be saved. But since this will involve the pay of the CEO, he will never agree with this and continue his drive from bottom. Even as racial overtures, highly paid expats are not being touched only local employees are being targeted in Asia where severance package is also poor compared with Europe.
ALSO COMMENT ON THE ARTICLE: SHELL NORTH SEA STRIKE: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
This was inevitable after discrimination and rigid attitude of Shell management of only targeting lower rank staffs and their benefits without touching senior staffs. Discrimination between region to region in severance pay is making staffs boil and other staffs will also go to strike after North sea.
Ah! RDS is stealing from its laid off employees. How nice. That is so much how RDS operates. What an ethical crew. What a great company to work for. Let’s have a bid cheer for RDS. What? All I hear is raspberries. Oh, my.
The leaked confidential Shell PowerPoints Presentation covering severance pay can be viewed in its entirety via this link: http://royaldutchshellplc.com/2016/07/07/greedy-shell-takes-redundant-employees-tax-breaks/
As if its not bad enough to endure the indignity of being made redundant after many years as a loyal employee – human sacrifice for the sake of the ill-fated BG Group takeover – Shell top is is now intent of robbing us of tax breaks. How low can you get? Totally unscrupulous.
The respect I once had for BvB has completely evaporated after this disgusting machination on tax breaks meant for innocent victims of his power play for BG Group. A disgrace.
Peter Robins it somewhat diminishes your argument to refer to BvB as a ‘Dutch idiot’. Whilst you and I might agree on the fallacy of some of the choices made he is not an idiot and is responding on the counsel of his EC. We might also agree on the unfairness in relation to the packages being offered but like it or not Shell like anyone else is a business it does not exist to be charitable. Part of the reason the Dutch terms are so generous is due to the lobbying of the staff unions – something which could also be done in other locations if there was the energy and commitment to do so. I would point out that many locations are being offered much more than what the law requires which, for all its faults, is a credit to the company as it is going beyond what its legal requirements are. I would also point out the axe is falling disproportionately to the BG employees, so whilst anyone losing their job is a tragedy (particularly in this environment) some people are feeling more pain than others. The unfortunate fact is that the majority of the EC and higher management are wedded to a world of higher rents which oil and gas affords them. The business is not structured culturally to accept the much lower returns that other avenues offer. It is regrettable that the company does not have the vision to see past short term operating goals but the blame there also lies with the institutional shareholders whose indifference contributes to the impasse. The BG deal, whilst hideously overpriced, is the right strategy in the very near term to shore up that high rent behaviour but I will agree that over the long term it will seem like a less sensible decision.
van Beurden is a Dutch idiot who knows nothing outside fossil fuel when the need of the hour if renewable. Five years down the line, the decision of van Beurden to take over BG will be considered as blunder by his predecessors like he is doing now. Job cuts due to company’s benefit is understandable. But hi is ot doing it in company’s interest, then why no top level EC, EC-1 jobs have been cut? Why expats are not losing jobs inspite of non-productive and costly. It is Dutch bluffing to investors in the name of BG integration, taking benefit for their own countrymen of 3 years salary for every Dutch retiring whereas offering a few months pay for other countries.
Shell job cuts till now are only cosmetic one targeting only lower rank low cost employees leaving the higher rank high cost non-productive expats and job group A, B and 1 ranks. The powerful EC and EC-1, EC-2 rank employees is done their best to retain their jobs untouched and made fool the investors through job cut numbers without divulging the exact saving due to these cuts. But in 2009 transition the situation was different under stewardship of then CEO Peter Voser. He ensured to cut jobs from higher rank targeting the costly employees of costly countries and ring fenced cheap country staffs. But this Shell management is too busy to save their own jobs than thinking of company benefit. This management also doing racial discrimination in paying severance package among employees of Europe and Asia. Let us see how long these management can save their jobs through such corrupt exercise.
Shell is always a company doing discrimination although they write “an equal opportunity company” as their policy. The recent example of such discrimination is their severance package offer for their Netherlands staffs and Indian staffs. Governed by strict Govt. rule, presence of staff council and CEO is a Dutchman Shell has declared severance package for their Dutch staffs with three years pay, although the pay package Dutch staffs receive among highest in the world. But the same company has offering one month salary for each completed year of service for Shell’s Indian permanent staffs taking advantage of corrupt Govt., no staff council and native staffs at receiving end of this discrimination. Shell has history of more than 100 years of such discrimination and racism in this modern world although their management team bit the drum of equality, inclusiveness and fair treatment. Join our drive to denounce such hegemony by an international company of civilized world.
Comment on the article: Royal Dutch Shell Set to sink?
With poor management, rampant corruption and racism this is inevitable within short time. The situation of low crude price is being handled by Shell management shabbily. They are trying to show the shareholders action by cutting jobs in thousands, but actually the job cuts are not being done without any rational or transparent manner to reduce cost and enhance efficiency. When costly expat employees are being retained due to their skin colour, cheap and efficient local employees are being targeted. With such poor management the fate of the company is known to world.
The oil and share price are both rising. I’m hoping that this doesnt stop the company from getting rid of the poor performers and half of the US workforce (who are busy sitting around moaning about the Hague).
The more things change the more they stay the same. Back in the ‘bad old days’ RDS was in bed with Hitler and his gang of goons. Now RDS has decided to get in bed with Putin and his gang of goons. At least RDS management is consistent in its policy of who it will deal with in the ‘foreign’ markets.
Affected Shell employees going to challenge job cut decision to Indian court.
The 250 odd employees of Shell India who received letters from management saying their position is affected have decided to challenge Shell in Indian court against the letter issued to them. As per them it is illegal in India to cut job because of less work.
(COMMENT ALSO POSTED ON TWO RELATED ARTICLES)
In the late 1950’s world oil consumption was just shy of about 20 million bbl/day. Today we consume close to 90 million bbl/day. Anyone want to guess why we have a CO2 induced climate change problem ???
Relieved, with so much emphasis put on self serving careerist moves and ensuring their high CEP there is no time for forward planning or thinking. Part of managements problem is it has a very short memory and has been corrupted by ‘group think’. The model for progression does not allow for dissenting views – something not unique to Shell amongst big oil. As a result any semblance of commercial savvy is lost on folks who are only interested in making an impact in the 2-4 years before they get rewarded for sycophancy. It does an enormous amount of discredit to the competent and smart people working to make the company better but they certainly do not have the management and executives they deserve. Personally I see it as a direct consequence of the choices and ‘advice’ that was embraced from the 90’s onwards, BvB would do well to sweep the deck if he wants to cut the fat but we know that will never happen so the great con continues, a shame really.
Has anyone in Shell management ever heard the old adage ‘buy low and sell high’? Shell plans to dump assets at a time when the price it will get for those assets will be quite low. So much for management foresight.
Grotemol, Yes, you’re right. It has been Shell’s global; policy to go Open Plan with offices only for SEGs for the last 10 years or so. So finally the US staff are falling in line. I don’t like Open Plan but I dislike exceptions even more
Boardroom Blunder is a massive miscalculation on Shells part. CEO who demanded the lies to save a top cops bacon departed as the youngest retiree from a Shell Directorship ever. Cover up continues but is fast unraveling for both the Police Commissioner (coat on shakey nail) and Shell
Latest talk around WCK is that we will all be ‘hot desking’ when the two downtown and NOLA offices close. Bruce and his SEG buddies will be fine sitting in their 400 sq. ft office while the rest of us have to hot desk a 30 sq.ft cube. No wonder so many of us work from home. How can we attract the bright young stars if all you offer them is half a desk if they get to work early?
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My Shell friends, despair not. Ye who have little faith. The real job cuts are to come. This is the calm before the storm and then the HR mafia will target the pay heavy workers. But dont expect the HR net to catch the rubbish workers. They always slip thru the net due to friends in the right places (and long tongues). Sack the lot of them Benny van Beurden and watch the shareprice rise as fast as a butt kissers CEP. Oh happy days 🙁
The job cuts in Shell India means only for lower rank staffs. All JG-2 and above staffs or the expats are not touched. It is cosmetic with respect to cost reduction as local staffs are the cheapest among all other regions and country. In India there is no protection from their corrupt Govt. nor there is any social security. India base country staffs are cheapest among whole Shell with respect to salary and benefit thanks to low Indian Rupee exchange rate with dollar. Still only 10% of lower rank local staffs have been targeted without touching the high cost expats or JG2 and above. This shows Shell’s dishonesty and insincerity to cut cost. In face for India it is naked racism is being followed for job cut.
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Unlike 2009 transition when down sizing was done in transparent manner first targeting the expat and higher salaries employees, this time lower rank staffs are targeted first when EC, EC-1, EC-2 staffs was untouched. The reason given of BG integration or lower for longer oil price is a fake eye wash. Why EC, EC-1 managers salary and benefit is not cut before going for job cut?
Forget the hogwash about renewables, my guess is that the dividend is definitely going to get cut.
The cat is now out of the bag !! Renewable energy sources mean the end to BIG OIL. Well, almost the end. That is Shell’s judgement. Forgive me if I don’t weep crocodile tears. Apparently RDS finds climate warming, and its consequences the only acceptable option. I mean, what would the world do without BIG OIL and the corruption it breeds ???
Paul Goodfellow is a pure genius. I mean who else could come up with this brilliant strategy !!
“We need to reduce our cost base, improve production efficiency and have an organization that best fits our combined portfolio and business plans, ” Mr. Goodfellow said.
How much is he paid?
Incompetent American managers (Houston based) such as J. Ledbetter, L. Hayes, B. Stoyko are in the process of destroying Shell Canada.
…….and “relieved” we never learn. Our news boss, Culpepper, is the ex head of HR in the USA who has already shown his ineptitude by spending large amounts of money on putting workers into cubes which most of us hate. Everyone now tries to “work from home” !!
Relieved: spot on! When he arrived in SIEP he told us that Shell had the best resourcing system in the world. And he was right. Next thing he did was to destroy that model completely by importing a bunch of no-good americans (there also are some very good americans…), pushed the remuneration of the top to extreme levels and then was parked as ‘president’ in the USA. He loves travelling in style and surrounding himself with sycophants. Plenty of those in the US of A, the land of the ‘free’ and the weasels. He left a ‘Me First, screw the rest’ attitude throughout and the results speak for themselves. He reminded me most of the evangelist Billy Graham, with the difference that Hofmeister was a complete windbag claiming to be an Amish. An insult to the Amish!
Read the article on Hofmeister. The man is a self-promoting weasel/slime ball. And he clearly doesn’t understand the oil industry very well. But then he did not grow up in the oil industry. Before his stint at Shell USA he was a Human Resources professional in the aerospace industry. He should have stayed there.
The Dutch have always been protected by their ‘Staff Council’ which is a trade union by any other name. The staff hide behind this and have been immune to cuts and redundancy despite being grossly over staffed with high job group people. This will hopefully come home to roost soon as they start to fight amongst themselves to make the savings in the centre as there is nothing else left. Those of us left count ourselves lucky we still have a job but the workload just went up 5 fold !!
Oh yes, that article by Prabhat Sakhya is probably one of the best examples of lazy journalism I have seen for a long time. His prediction of the demise of Shell and BP is laughable as it is based on just two consecutive periods when the oil prices has floundered. Of course it does come from the aptly named Motley Fool.
We all know what kind of management RDS has. This is no secret and RDS employees live with this fact everyday. So, in light of this knowledge does anyone serious expect RDS management to be ‘fair’ and ‘generous’ when it comes to disposing of excess staff ??? Come on people. Staff is a disposable asset to be managed in the most profitable manner possible. All RDS employees are expendable, it is simply a matter of who goes first.
Frustratedatshell
And your point being?
NL staff get much more employment protection than UK staff, hence UK staff get laid off first. It would be interesting to see the figures from the 2010 cull of which nationalities suffered most.
Don’t worry, it will all be in Bangalore soon – then God help us.
Interested to know if any current Shell employees have picked up on the unfair approach to the current reorganisation. Management in Netherlands are seeking RFA’s and operating to a different timeline to the UK and Australia, with Australia being able to steam ahead with their reorg plans as they do not have the same constraints. So much so, that impacted employees are being asked to second guess whether they need to apply for jobs in their base countries or to stick tight and see out the brutal and unfair approach to reducing staff numbers in their current host countries. What gets me is the fact that Shell talks about being a global organisation yet works very much to a local agenda- presumably because of the various employment laws which are stronger in the westernised world contrasting with the slacker legislation in others which make it cheaper in the long run to fire staff. I wonder how long it took the bean counters to work that one out?
Shell gave up its Arctic leases in the late 1980’s because of the lack of economic viability of the hydrocarbons the discovered in that early drilling program. Well, management changed and guess what? Someone sold new senior management a bill of goods and here Shell is once again, i.e., at the same place as it was in the late 1980’s. Anyone want to try this a third time around ? Maybe spending another $7+ billion will prove to be the charm.
In 2007 we were informed we had to pay back 128 million out of our pension because the UA 488 out of Edmonton lost it on a bad investment but when you do the math and run the numbers it doesn’t make sense. Every member, travel card and permit sacrifice their pension for 4 years to pay it back and from what I been told were still paying back their loss to date.I talk to retired members and soon to retire member that are still waiting on their pension and a total of their funds.If they don’t have our pension and spent it we want them to pay the tax on it.
Say in 2007
20,000 members working full time
$24,000 a year for each member
Turns into $480,000,000 a year.
And that’s just half of your members.
Where did all the money go? And that’s 20000 men and they had what 70000 men working in 2007.Your union had Suncor, Syncrude, Albion, Scottsford, Kearl, Firebag, cnrl, Dow Chemical, and Petro. So where did 1,680,000,000 go?
Our working dues is 128$ x 70,0000 men x 12 = $107,520,00. Now what did your union do with everyone’s money and that goes for your members money? How can they loose government-regulated pension and if they spent it, shouldn’t they pay taxes on it bc it tax-free money they spent.
10 percent of that is a lot of tax money.
To Regular Browser:
I have a friend who owns a 2008 Toyota Prius that gets about 65 miles to the gallon on the highway when driven at slightly less than 65 mph. It averages about 45 mpg. I have driven the darned thing and this ain’t no bull. These cars cost less the $25K now. You do the math. I am not impressed by Shell’s new vehicle.
come now Relieved, for once Mr Donovan should be praising Shell for philanthropy. It is very clear that almost everyone on Earth would prefer to walk than to get into that glorified Fisher Price car. I find it ludicrous that with all the brainpower in Amsterdam and Rijswijk focussed on such a product the best they could come up with was, as you put it the glorified Smart Car (with a fisher price paint job) that still for some flabbergasting reason runs on Petrol despite the fact that there is no city on Earth pushing for this type of car that is not anything other than electric. Shell is in total denial about the disruptions it is facing, I think the axe should be swung higher up the food chain than the poor folks in The Hague, Rijswijk, Reading, London, Aberdeen, Houston, Calgary and Perth who are currently facing an uncertain future.
I find Shell’s ‘bug eyed’ creation interesting but most probably doomed to failure. Battery technology is advancing so fast now that Shell’s glorified version of the of the ‘Smart’ car is probably to face a similar fate.
Really? That was a pure rant against the Nigerian government from what I can tell. Could we persuade you to be shorter or give us a link to your blog? Did you mention Shell at all?
ON GAS DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA – WHAT PRESIDENT BUHARI NEEDS TO DO
With the prevailing harsh economic realities facing the Nigerian economy due to the free fall of oil price in the global market, which has practically affected every sector of the country, there is need for more attention to be diverted to the development of other energy sources to revitalize the energy industry. This is where the development of Nigeria’s abundant natural gas reserves comes into play. Unfortunately, not much has been witnessed in this direction in terms of developing it to what it should be.
As an environmentally friendly and efficient “energy source”, natural gas is today considered the cleanest-burning conventional fuel, producing lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions than heavier hydrocarbon fuels such as coal and crude oil. Natural gas fuels power stations for electricity supply, heats buildings and is used as a raw material in many consumer products, such as those made of traditional plastics. But despite its importance, the Nigerian Government over the years has not been given natural gas development in the country the rightful attention it deserves. With a proven reserve of more than 260 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Nigeria’s gas reserve is triple the nation’s crude oil resources as at 2013. Hitherto, Associated Gas encountered during the normal course of oil production has been largely ‘flared’. Nigeria is reputed to be the largest gas-flaring country in the world. By not fully harnessing its gas resources, Nigeria loses an estimated 18.2 million U.S. dollars daily according to some reports.
It is in the light of these, obviously unfavorable prevailing circumstances in the industry that we strongly believe there is need for the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to first have some caliber of people who have the relevant expertise, proven integrity and credibility in ‘the development of gas’, and they should be strategically placed in sensitive government positions in the Presidency, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources to support the ongoing good efforts of the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC. The truth is that, for the President Buhari government to turn around the Gas industry, “it would depend on the caliber of people who will be working with the government”, their credibility would be what would be working for them. To this end, the Federal Government should make use of ‘technocrats’, especially those that have been active (or retired), in Multinational Oil and Gas Companies like Shell (SPDC), to deliver as many of their programmes in the industry as possible. They promised to put in these basic criteria on how they are going to operate and they would expect everybody who is working for them to operate in a transparent, ethical manner.
The truth is that there are indeed ‘exceptional experts’ within the organized private sector whom the present government needs to bring on board to turn things around in the nation’s Gas development objectives. The Federal Government as led by President Buhari cannot do it alone. As we have observed with Alhaji Abdulahi Bukar, an expert in Oil and Gas facilities development, who, after retirement, joined what was then called Goge Joint Venture with Frontier 1, which is one of the marginal Oil Fields from the marginal Oil forum from 2003. And with his Team, they have commenced looking at the development of Fuko Marginal Oil Field in Akwa Ibom State, which everybody thought it was Oil but it turned out to be Gas. That was the key seed that started the 7 Energy Frontier Joint Venture partnerships, which is producing gas, the Aku Gas Pipelines that are all over the South East, Nigeria, with approximately 227kms of Pipelines. The Uquo Gas processing Plant and Gas Sale Contract is said to serve five customers, the main customer being the Ibom and Calabar IPP Generation Stations belonging to NDPHC, as well as Unichem Cement Factory of Lafarge, and Notore Fertilizer Plant in Rivers State. The Uquo Gas Field will help to generate an additional 1000MW of Power supply for Nigeria by the end of 2015, helping to increase Nigeria’s grid Power Generation by more than 20%. The project has been hailed as a success story of the FGN’s marginal Field Programme by Federal and State Governments.
We believe that for any elected Government, just like we have in Nigeria at the Federal level, there are two things to note. That Government has to take care of the majority that elected them into office, but they also have to take care of the minority, who may not have agreed with them, but they are still part and parcel of the country and we believe their needs must be addressed. We also believe this Government under President Buhari has the wherewithal, vision and resolve to actually address ‘knotty issues’ on Power Generation, on Gas supply; not only for Power Generation but also for industrial use, on the liquid/fuel issues that have been bedeviling this country for the last 20 to 30 years, and also to see to our reawakening of values, discipline; to make sure we become our brothers’ keepers in order to create an environment that would allow a large number of Nigerians currently unemployed to be brought back into the economy in productive employment and delivery.
Agreed that the nation’s Oil and Gas industry is very vast and there are so many areas and issues that are begging for attention to be addressed, but we strongly advise that, having assembled a formidable force of technocrats as experts in Gas Development within and around the Presidency, the next line of action is for the Government to sit with these ‘experts’ and together; agree on what exactly is achievable within the shortest possible time limit, as well as long term goals.
As rightly noted by Alhaji Engr. Bukar, “we have suffered major deterioration in the energy sector for a number of years. There are some highlights, but then if you notice, there has been an appreciable lack of investments in exploration and operations, so our reserves are going down.” So there is need for these experts in Gas Development so appointed by the Presidency, to set the targets that we should address as a nation. They should call all the key investors, that is, the key stakeholders and make sure that the message is understood and their confidence is restored and then, they should establish a new platform as to how they can work together with these investors/stakeholders and also ensure that; not only do they agree with the people who are going to be the key players, but they also agree with all other stakeholders at various levels in the country, including those at the host community levels. This is to ensure that everybody understands that there is something in it for them, and you need to be able to address the various issues in a multi-faceted way.
Still in this direction, Alhaji Engr, Bukar noted that “a lot is happening in terms of what everybody can see along the roads, now let me take you a little back into history. People forget that the President was the Minister of Petroleum in Nigeria when the Kaduna and Warri Refineries were built, and all these Depots, including the Atlas Cove were built. He was there as Minister when the product delivery pipelines, including the Gas line from Ode to Ajaokuta were built. In 1984, when he became Head of State, it was under him that Bonny LNG was revived. So you are talking to someone who is relatively conversant with the energy industry and I believe it will not be difficult to convince him on what needs to be done, how it can be put in place and how it can be measured.” He also strongly advised that “You need to mobilize huge amount of resources in terms of Nigerian manpower and investment money both from inside Nigeria and from outside Nigeria. So you need to give a clear transparent system that would allow that money to move, you need to have credible and bankable projects. You can address the gas and the Gas infrastructure to bridge Nigeria’s needs for Power supply by allowing access to reserves, by allowing bankable Power Projects and by allowing bankable Power infrastructure to be put in place for the length of those projects which would allow people to work painlessly, without too much headache.”
When asked how can Nigeria under the present government address the problem of power supply in the country? Alhaji Engr. Bukar stated in his words that “Nigeria now generates between 4,000 and 5,000 megawatts of electricity and it is actually a great shame. I don’t know if you remember the late Bola Ige who was the first minister of power in Obasanjo’s cabinet. Bola Ige was very obsessed with getting it right, but in the 3rd quarter of 1999, there was a power system collapse. So he said by March 2001, he would be able to repair everything and get power supply back to 4,000 megawatts. By the grace of God, he did it. Yes he did, you can go back and see the advert on March 2001, telling you that we have now achieved our target, let’s plan the way forward. Regrettably, he was no longer there to articulate and move on the plans. So new actors came and they moved from where he left and started putting in power stations that were created. Unfortunately, we got bogged down in what I call lack of the institution that I have mentioned, lack of clarity and all those things I mentioned earlier.
“Yes we talked about building power stations, but when we started to dictate where the gas would come from, that became a problem. Because we are not funding the JVs who are supposed to deliver the gas for what they are asking, we were never able to deliver the gas correctly at the right time to meet demands for the power stations and other industrial needs. So when we had built the power stations, we suddenly realized that we did not have enough gas supply to feed it, we also suddenly realized that we did not have the transmission system on the ground to take power out of that generating station to the public and we put in a lot of money and others and because of dislocation, dare I say some unethical practices, they were never delivered according to agreed plans. So that lack of consequence management caused great harm and actually led to corruption. A lot of people took money and never delivered anything, it is true. So what we should do is that whenever we are building the next set of power plants, we should carefully plan to address all the needs and make sure that resources are not only budgeted, but they are allocated to cover what would bring those systems into production in time. Nigeria is going to grow from 5,000 megawatts now to 40,000 megawatts.”
Bukar’s counsel to President Buhari on how to constitute his cabinet and his advice for Nigerians concerning their involvement in the administration is that: “the President has got an extremely huge and onerous responsibility. The 174 million Nigerians expect a very huge amount of efforts and change from him and he requires the services of able, competent Nigerians to deliver that as well as the understanding, cooperation and patience of the populace to understand what is going on in order to ensure that he delivers his dream to the people. The people need to recognize that you cannot make all the changes everybody wants with the flip of a switch. It takes time, it takes efforts, and it takes constant invigoration for people to understand. Yes, this is what you said you would do and this is what you are doing. Anything that is outside it, we should come back to the true path we have set for ourselves. People would have to also realize that those who are there now are Nigerians. So my advice is that Buhari should put in place people who have wisdom and conviction; they should be technocrats who can deliver things on the field and can run the processes efficiently, ethically and in a balanced manner, making sure that we have got an all-inclusive environment for all Nigerians to feel that the government represents them and is delivering on their behalf. This is a very crucial point.”
Nigeria’s gas flaring re-emphasizes the aphorism that “we are rich in energy resources but poor in energy supply.” The Associated Gas Re-Injection Act was made as an Act to compel every company producing oil and gas in Nigeria to submit preliminary programmes for gas re-injection and detailed plans for implementation of gas re-injection. It made it illegal after January 1, 1984 to flare gas without the permission of the Minister of Petroleum. The targets to stop gas flares have since then moved from 1984 to 2008 and 2011. But gas is still being flared up to date. Quoting Mr. Emeka Okwuosa, Group Managing Director Oilserv Ltd, Nigeria flares about 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas a day (bcf/d), which could fuel about 7000MW of efficient thermal electric power, over 1,400 agro-processing facilities, 350 textile plants, 70 fertilizer plants with opportunities for creating over one million jobs. This amount of gas flare represents 12.5 per cent of all global flared gas.
Seriously, these figures and estimates of what Nigeria is loosing as a result of the gas being flared daily and not utilized, is more than enough to make any purpose-driven government to promptly take proactive steps to reverse and address the situation in the interest of the Nigerian common citizenry.
In a recent publication by Techno Oil in their “Going Green Revolution”, it was noted that Nigeria with a population of over 160 million only consumes 0.5kg per capita; Ghana with a population of 24.34 million consumes 3.0kg per capita; Cameroon with a population of 20.55 million consumes 1.9kg per capita; South Africa with a population of 53.3million consumes 5.5kg per capita and Morocco with a population of 33.24 million consumes 44.4kg per capita. We can imagine the disparity. No wonder relevant stakeholders within and outside the country has often referred to Nigeria as “the gassy country with no gas”. This is hinged on the obvious; that Nigeria is funding below her weight in the domestic gas market.
In 2014, Nigeria lost about $1billion as oil companies operating in the country flared a large proportion of the gas produced from January to September 2014. According to data from the NNPC, about 295 billion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas was flared in the nine-month period. International Oil Companies (IOCs) and indigenous players burnt a total of 43.7billion scf in January, 50.1 billion scf in February and 38.3 billion scf in March. In April, 22.3 billion scf of gas was flared; 19.7 billion scf in May and 23 billion scf was wasted in June. In July, 29.1 billion scf was flared; 39.1 billion scf in August; 29.5 billion in September; and 44.37 billion in November. According to the NNPC’s Monthly Petroleum Information, in December 2014, Nigeria lost $133.716 million, which is about N26.743 billion to gas flaring, as oil and gas companies in the country flared 20.11 per cent of their total gas production. Specifically, companies produced 221.634 billion scf of gas, utilised 183.78 billion scf and flared 44.573 billion scf.
The Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) put the average price of gas at $3 per unit of 1,000 scf, translating, to $133.716 million for 44.573 billion scf flared, and $551.346 million for 183.783 billion scf utilised. If 1.2 billion scf flared per day (According to Mr. Emeka) has the potential to generate up to 7000MW of electricity, the aggregate gas flared in 2014; about 376.41billion scf can translate into 21.97GW, in addition to its inputs in agro processing, textile plants, fertiliser plants, and the number of jobs created from the multiplier effect. Despite the penalties, oil and gas operators have continued to flare gas and regulators seem to have looked away. While there is need to interrogate the positions of penalty payments considering the joint venture/ arrangements, there is also the need to revisit the issues of gas pricing and availability of gas infrastructure; else the question will be the relative cheapness to flare gas than monetise gas. To this end, efforts should be made to harmonize and reconcile domestic gas pricing across markets in Nigeria while seeking ways to attract and sustain foreign investments and funding for gas infrastructure especially for the improvement of gas to power in Nigeria.
Though, Nigeria is the second largest producer of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in Africa, and the sixth largest producer in the world with over 3million metric tons annually. However, current per capita consumption of the gas in Nigeria is about 0.8kg/annum. This is the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa; lower than those of Nigeria’s West Africa neighbours who do not produce the product. Annual LPG consumption in Nigeria in 2010, was put at 120,000MT, whereas, in Lagos alone, there is a potential market for 1,000,000MT annually. Yet, stakeholders in the industry are daily crying shortage of gas supply for domestic, industrial and power generation usage. How can we be crying shortage of what the country has in abundance in reserve? The problem squarely lies with the country not giving gas development and utilization the rightful attention it needs.
The International Energy Agency predicts that the demand for natural gas will grow by approximately 44 percent through 2035. Perhaps, this explains why International Oil Companies (IOCs) like Shell are investing more in natural gas as they are divesting from their crude oil assets in Nigeria and other countries. This also explains Shell’s huge gas investments in Russia, for example the Shell Sakhalin Natural Gas Plant in Russia is one of the world leading gas projects. Shell also has the largest Gas-To-Liquids Plant in the world in Ras Laffan Industrial City, 80km North of Doha, Qatar. Apart from producing diesel, petrol, and kerosene, the Plant produces base oils for top-tier lubricants, which is a chemical feedstock called naphtha used in making plastics and normal paraffin; also used in making detergents.
The Federal Government of Nigeria can, for instance, replicate all of this and even more in the country if strategic natural gas development projects like the New Utorogu Gas Plant (aka Utorogu NAG 2 Project) in Ughelli South LGA, Delta State, as well as the Utorogu NAG-2 Condensate Tank Farm, are given the needed attention. There is need for instance, for the Federal Government to make this gas development projects a “top priority” by giving them the needed funding and attention. The New Utorogu Gas Plant, which is currently being handled by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) after Shell (SPDC) Divestment in Delta State, seriously needs all the funding it can get from the Federal Government so that NPDC and its contractor MAKON Engineering & Technical Services Ltd can finish the project strong, as well as the said Condensate Tank Farm.
The importance of Gas development cannot be overemphasized. As environmentally friendly and efficient energy source, natural gas is lighter than air, colorless, odorless and tasteless. For this reason, odorant is added to the gas to make it noticeable and objectionable for safety reasons. Natural gas can be compressed and, therefore, transmitted in large quantities through relatively small pipe diameters when under high pressure. Nigeria cannot afford to continue flaring gas and complain about inadequate gas supply; whereas the country is blessed with abundant gas reserve/deposits that are begging to be developed and utilized, hence, the need for the Federal Government and industry investors to adequately fund the operations of the NPDC and its gas development activities in Utorogu areas of OML 34.
Aside export purposes, Natural Gas can also be used to satisfy the following in Nigeria: Domestic Gas demands since natural gas dispensed from a simple stovetop can generate heat in excess of 2000°F (1093°C) making it a powerful domestic cooking and heating fuel; produce Hydrogen, which is a primary feedstock for the chemical industry and an important commodity (hydrogen agent) for oil refineries, and the fuel source in hydrogen vehicles; natural gas can be used for transportation, including Aviation fuel, as compressed natural gas is a cleaner alternative to other automobile fuels such as petrol and diesel; Natural gas is a major feedstock for theproduction of ammonia, via the Haber process, for use in fertilizer production; and most importantly, Natural gas is a major source of electricity generation through the use of gas turbines and steam turbines. Most grid peaking Power Plants and some off-grid engine-generators use natural gas. Natural gas burns more cleanly than other Hydrocarbon fuels, such as oil and coal, and produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy released. Natural gas is also used in the manufacture of fabrics, glass, steel, plastics, paint, and other products. We can imagine the enormous employment opportunities available in this sector if given the proper attention.
With all of this at the back of our mind, we can therefore understand the need for the Federal Government to focus more attention towards gas development in the country. As a matter of fact, with appropriate funding, the above stated gas projects in Utorogu OML 34 and others across the country can ‘energize’ the whole of Nigeria if given the needed attention. Utorogu can become Nigeria’s “energy source centre” that can provide all the nation’s gas supply demands and for export purposes.
Without a doubt, special attention should be given and sustained in the Oil and Gas sector (which is still Nigeria’s mainstay), and the Joint Venture (JV) funding. There is a need for President Buhari to greatly improve on this, particularly in the area of Gas Development and Production. This is the surest and quickest way to redeem us from the present ‘economic hardship’ we are facing in the country. The Presidency just has to keep ‘servicing’ the Oil and Gas sector for things to ‘normalize.’ The funding of the JV has to be made a priority to develop gas as Nigeria has a lot of gas potentials. But let us bear in mind that the increase in the production of crude oil means there will be an increase in the production of Associated Gas (AG) as well. As we know, crude oil comes with gas, hence it is called Associated Gas. The gas is actually in two forms: Associated Gas (AG), which is either dissolved in and is involuntarily produced with oil, or lying on top of oil in a combined oil and gas reservoir. The other is Non-Associated Gas (NAG), which comes from reservoirs containing gas only. But increase in the production of NAG, means there will be increase in the production of Condensate. On the average, about 1000 standard cubic feet (scf) of gas is produced in Nigeria with every barrel of oil. Therefore, with oil production of some 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), for instance, about 2.2 billion scf of AG is produced every day. The question has been how Nigeria should utilize the AG currently being flared.
On gas flaring, there were some major efforts by IOCs like Shell (SPDC) to reduce gas flaring in the country to the barest minimum, as you cannot really eliminate gas flaring completely. Some of these options for Associated Gas utilization as planned by Shell, for instance include the Re-Injection into reservoirs, fuel for industries, fuel for power generation, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicular and other uses, Extraction and bottling of LPG constituents for commercial consumption, Feedstock for Industry, Liquefied Natural Gas for export, etc. In fact, part of the concrete efforts made by Shell (SPDC) in this regard was to initiate the present Utorogu Gas Plant Phase 2 (aka Utorogu NAG 2) Project in OML 34, Delta State, which is meant to gather AG from the surrounding oil fields to address the gas being flared around the said areas. But that gas Project, which is near completion and has been taken over by NPDC/NNPC after Shell Divestment in Delta State, is today being neglected and suffering due to lack of funding by the Federal Government and other JV partners. One would have thought that such a sensitive gas project like the Utorogu NAG 2 Project would be made a priority by the relevant stakeholders as part of efforts to address this problem. But that remains to be seen.
This is why many like us believe that the Federal Government has not been sincere in addressing this problem of gas flaring/gathering and the development of gas in the country because of politics and vested interests, which has made the continued existence of the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) as a complete bottleneck in addressing these problems. How can the country continue to have a gas company that does not produce gas, but is only good at Piping, Metering and Marketing the gas produced by others like Shell (SPDC), Chevron, Texaco, Mobil, Seplat, and Nigeria’s NPDC, etc. In other words, the NGC is just there as a ‘middleman’ waiting for gas produced by others to distribute. This makes the NGC’s existence in the industry ‘irrelevant and needless’, hence, the NGC should be done away with. It simply does not make sense. In fact, one is forced to ask what the NGC is doing as a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in the development of natural gas in the country. We can see that the NGC, as a subsidiary of the NNPC, obviously constitutes as a bottleneck to the nation’s aspirations of utilizing its abundant gas resources for the Power sector and industrialization sector. Despite their inactiveness in gas development and transportation, the same crops of leaders in the NGC are still allowed to remain for several decades now.
On several occasion, we have advocated for the complete scrapping of the NGC and the liberalization of the gas sector to allow investors to come in. The Federal Government must completely scrap the NGC in order to improve in the development of gas and its utilization in the country. The NGC can be done away with because they are just a Marketing Company that sells the gas produced by IOCs and the NPDC. There is need for the Federal Government to allow IOCs and other oil and gas companies producing the gas to sell same directly to the end users. NGC does not play any role in the production of the natural gas produced in the country. The IOCs and JV partners have the capacity and capability to build gas infrastructures for this purpose.
Experts in the industry have revealed that some of the impediments to Gas development in Nigeria include the: Inadequate Gas Supply Infrastructure; inappropriate/unrealistic pricing of gas, especially for domestic use; Absence of institutional and regulatory framework; Low level of industrialization and inadequate consumptive capacities. And for these to the addressed, there is need for the government to create an enabling environment for investment in the gas sector; ensure a comprehensive, integrated power-gas approach; development of gas infrastructure; ensure appropriate regulatory framework and energy market reforms.
The crux of the matter is that there is need for the government to put in more effort and focus in the development of natural gas for domestic and export purposes. For instance, the seeming low level of utilization of cooking gas across the nation can be effectively addressed with the formulation of a policy by the Federal Government that will serve as road map for the next five years. According to the Managing Director of Nipco, Venkataraman Venkatapathy, he noted some few years ago that the forward path which will dovetail into effective promotion of LPG as veritable substitute to kerosene as household cooking fuel can save the Federal Government foreign exchange to the tune of 245billion naira ($1.25bn). He maintained that with the abundant natural gas resources in the country the nation should become one of the highest users of LPGs as cooking fuel with all its attendant benefits.
Conclusively, for the way forward, we believe it is expedient for the Federal Government to “liberalize the natural gas sector” just the same way it has done with the crude oil sector. In other words, apart from the already existing Joint Venture (JV) partners the Federal Government has with IOCs like Shell (SPDC), Chevron-Texaco, Mobil, Agip etc, they should ‘open up’ the gas sector with investor-friendly policies agreements and conducive environment for interested private investors in the Organized Private Sector to come in to harness, develop and distribute gas for the country’s domestic demands and for export purposes. Foreign and indigenous private companies should be given ‘free hand’ and necessary operating license under required Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) signed with the Federal Government for the development and proper utilization of the country’s abundant natural gas resource. This should be done the same way the Federal Government has a PSC signed agreement with the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) in the crude oil sector. So that the investors in the gas sector, will have the leverage to harness, develop and distribute gas for both Power utilization and industries in terms that will benefit them and all-and-sundry.
It is high time the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari takes concrete steps in the gas sector that would promote gas utilization in Nigeria as a cheaper, more reliable and cleaner fuel alternative and feedstock. A complete overhaul of relevant policies, and most especially the NNPC and its subsidiary-NGC, is eminent if we are to achieve this vision where natural gas will overtake liquid fuel as the fuel of “first choice” for Nigeria’s Power utilization and industries. There is need for the President Buhari administration to take the bull by the horn and make things happen for the benefit of all as regards the country’s abundant gas reserves. We ask that the right things should be done.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
I find comments about the gas industry’s competitiveness relative to coal interesting giving all the major coal companies in the US are in bankruptcy or approaching bankruptcy because of their inability to compete with coal. Even large exports to China aren’t going to pull these companies out of their financial difficulties.
Let us all call the LNG processing prototype what it really is – a ‘mega-barge’. And a very dangerous mega-barge.
With regard to the Siemens, RD Shell, et al, corruption article – I do believe the old saying ‘Birds of a feather flock together’. Is quite applicable in this case. Are any of us really surprised at all of this ???
Chief,
It is pay cheque, not pay check.
Brun ? You mean burn.
The word is Posse
Mole – big deal. Come into the real world son. You clearly don’t understand the size of Royal Dutch Shell.
This is an Anglo Dutch Company, you should respect its roots and heritage, it is not North American.
The blind….leading the blind at RDS these days.
It is unfortunate that Royal Dutch Shell is now led by TEAM “B”. All the good folks have been pushed aside.
Shell Canada has lost all control and decision powers to the incompetent folks in Houston. Houston is led by a POSSY of folks like LE HAYES and LEBETTER that are no more than incompetent managers looking to collect a PAY CHECK. In the meantime they slash and brun smart CANADIAN employees and move jobs to incompetent USA staff that just happen to be their friends and former Military supporters. What a Shame!!!!
Shell is closing the Calgary Lube&Grease plant in 2016. More layoffs in Canada.
Shell the target of a corruption probe? NO! Say it is not so! What is this world coming to! Santa Claus is dead. Oh! The inhumanity of it all!
Contrary to what today’s newspaper reports might suggest, Shell wasn’t “dragged” into the long-running OPL 245 scandal – Shell was involved in orchestrating it from the very start. Since expenditure at this level must have required the approval of the EC it will be interesting to see whether Shell will let us know which members of the EC were responsible for approving the scam.
Shell Canada is in final talks with potential suitors for its Retail Gas Stations. Sources say that 7/11 will pickup Ontario sites while Couche-Tard gets the rest of Canada.
Relaxed: there are not many unconventional fields that are “profitable” at $50-$60/bbl, and most unconventional wells need to be redrilled every 1-2 years. Deep water wells are expected to produce far longer without intervention, and are generally very profitable at $50 – provided only that the host governments don’t get too greedy. So the GoM will survive at low oïl prices, whereas Brazil and Angola might not.
Would like to add to the good post from relieved. I feel going forward that the biggest technical obstacle limiting the high side of oil prices may well be oil fracking. At $50 or$60 a barrel huge state sized fields are profitable in the U S with huge reserves. It’s hard for me to understand how long term prices can break thru that ceiling when hundreds of rigs then show up and start flooding the market a few months later. It really makes me wonder if deep water, especial offshore Brazil, projects aren’t really going to be hurt with limited long term prices and only short term upsides.
Presumably Shell and Inpex were hoping to offload the Prelude vessel onto the Indonesians. The announcement of the indefinite delay to the Browse FLNG development was apparently delayed until Shell and Inpex were sure that the Indonesians would not take the Prelude vessel… I wonder if there are any other unsuspecting countries who would be interested in buying an unfinished prototype “cyclone proof” FLNG barge. Madagascar? Egypt? Nigeria? Israel? Namibia? There’s no shortage of stranded gas out there.
I almost don’t care what the latest rise in the price of oil may be. The industry is beginning to face the inevitable consequences of the advance in new technologies and those are inevitably going to have a very large impact on the long term future of the oil industry. Hybrid vehicle sales are continuing to climb even when gasoline sells below $2/gallon US. We have not yet reached the time when oil and coal are no longer the economic kings that fuel our economies, but we are getting there, and at a rapidly increasing pace.
Talking up the market is obviously a cheap strategy. But it is also a dangerous one that could potentially backfire on Russia and OPEC if it doesn t lead to actual changes in supply.
Seem a lot of people have “inside” views. Well from the outside it looks like Marvin was moved on. The Hague got control back and Upstream Americas (as was) is confined to the history books. I would expect to see more job losses in the rest of Shell now as the BG merger takes hold with more and more central management from the Dutch staff who are all high performers of course.
Your posts are far too long to read especially in the column format. Please give us the shorter version and you may get more support.
Not surprising. And the fact that they moved oil sands into downstream packages up that business nicely.
ON NIGERIA OIL WORKERS SHUT DOWN OF NNPC OVER ‘UNBUNDLING’ – NOT IN THE INTEREST OF THE NIGERIAN COMMON MASSES
We strongly condemn the recent shut down of all offices and facilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), by its oil workers, in protest of the recent splitting/restructuring of the nation’s oil company into Seven Independent Units by the Federal Government. If the restructuring of the NNPC into several units is intended by the Federal Government to make it more effective, efficient and to drastically reduce the bureaucratic bottlenecks evident in the NNPC as the independent units will be made to ‘manage their own resources and workforce’, then we do not see anything wrong with this. Hence, we do not see the reason for the so called shut down of operations by its workers.
Firstly, let us correct the impression already created by the media that what the Federal Government has done is an “unbundling of the NNPC into different parts”, which many (especially NNPC) has thought might adversely affect/reduce the workforce. But what we believe the Federal Government has done is a “restructuring” of the NNPC to make it more functional, effective and efficient in their services. There is a difference between the two terms ‘unbundling’ and ‘restructuring’.
This was also highlighted by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and GMD NNPC, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, when he announced the restructuring of the NNPC into seven independent units, namely Upstream, Downstream, Gas & Power Marketing, Refineries and Ventures, Corporate Planning & Services and Finance and Accounts. Each of the Units would be headed by Chief Executive Officers, namely Bello Rabiu for Upstream; Henry Ikem-Onih (Downstream); Saudu Mohammed (Gas & Power Marketing); Anibor Kragha (Refineries); while Babatunde Adeniran would be in charge of Ventures. The CEO in charge of Finance & Services would be Ishiaka Abdulrazaq, while the Executive Head, Corporate Services will be Isa Inuwa.
On the workers’ obvious fears, the Minister clearly said the exercise has “zero sum in terms of job loss. The principle of restructuring approved by the President is that nobody losses work. I do not have everyone gets busy, unless for reasons of bad staff performance and fraud. There is no mass attempt to let people go.”
He said the decision to embark on the ‘restructuring’ followed an analysis of the number of staff, which revealed that the corporation was overstaffed, and therefore the need for them to be meaningfully engaged. The only way to realize that objective, the Minister said, was to create jobs for everybody in the system to enable him has something doing. In his words: “We don’t want people coming to the office to read newspapers. We want everybody to get busy and earn money. If we do that we will realize that there would be adequate staff to man the different units, and that we don’t really have the problem of over-staff after all.”
With this understanding, it is plainly seen that what the Federal Government want is to do in the NNPC with this restructuring, is to make more effective, proactive, efficient and functional. So we do not understand why there appears to be so much discontent amongst workers of the oil corporation.
As far as we are concerned, all those kicking against the restructuring of the NNPC as planned by the Federal Government, are doing so for their own selfish interests and not in the interests of the plebeians (common masses) and the Nigerian economy. This includes the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), who are the two major unions in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. For PENGASSAN, they have argued that the union was not carried along in the decision to split the company. While for NUPENG, they said the union would not accept the decision without knowing how the manpower that would operate in the restructured units would be managed. We believe these are flimsy excuses used by these unions to justify their strike action. With the explanations given by the Presidency about its plans for engaging in the said NNPC restructuring in the first place, any sane industry player in sector should back the government efforts and not make things worse with a strike action. Also, must these unions use strike actions to communicate their grievances towards the government? What happens to a round table dialogue/discussion or other corporate means to address issues?
The nation’s oil and gas sector is already heated-up and under pressure for a while now over the downward trend of oil price, depleting foreign reserves and pressure on the Naira; why should the NNPC workers make things worse with their ill-advise strike action? If they really mean well for the nation’s economy, then they would realize what the Presidency is trying to achieve with its planned restructuring and they would give the President the needed support.But like we said, it is obvious that some few persons in the circles of country’s oil company are ‘massively benefitting/gaining’ from the status quo and the NNPC as an “umbrella corporation” where Executive decisions are tied to some individuals. Hence, these set of people are using the NNPC workers to frustrate the plans of the President who is trying to address the loopholes in the industry. This group of persons and the said NNPC workers that are currently on strike are obviously ‘anti-people’ and ‘anti-government well-intended objectives’. We strongly condemn their industrial actions, which is not in the interest of the nation’s economy but for their selfish gain.We therefore urge that they promptly call off their strike and support the good intentions of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Shell Canada is working with a third party to sell all downstream assets in 2017 (Retail, Terminals, Refineries)
Relieved – the senior manager retirement age is still 60 in Shell, so that is not why Odum left. It was a long time coming for him now, however I would think he struck a rather nice deal for himself and receives his full pension when leaving the company. Shell usually does that with top brass who are nearing retirement age.
Relieved – have you read the reports? They state he is 57. So I think your theory is flawed. If you look at the facts of his tenure then he should have been brought to task years ago. Maybe his links to the White House kept him in power but the Americas were out of control with their spending.
You could argue that Relieved were he not 57. No, Marvin FINALLY got called out for his incompetence. His presiding over the disasters in the Arctic and in the $40 billion shale misadventure finally caught up with him as all those who took the fall earlier had gone and BvB finally saw him as the liability he was. That was why he was ‘moved’ into the departure lounge position in the first place. I cannot think of a single executive offhand who willingly got off the gravy train before their time regardless of what Corporates press writers spin. The interesting thing will be to see how many of his equally culpable lieutenants (particularly in commercial) follow him to the exit as the BG merger progresses.
It is my guess that Marvin Odum is retiring because he has reached a mandatory retirement age for senior managers. When I worked for Shell that age was 60, although the board could extend the retirement age under special circumstances. As far as I can tell Marvin is retiring because the corporate rules say he must retire, not because he was ‘booted’ out.
At last, a CEO that has the balls and guts to make decisions.
Looks like US is going to get a long overdue shake up and clean out under AB.
Should have been sacked after the Kulluk incident. Wasted billions of dollars and should be hauled before the shareholders to explain where the money went. Apart from sponsoring sporting events in the US. of course !
Marvin has finally “left Shell”. The result of this is that The Hague finally gets to control the Americas operations under Andy Brown, something it has been trying to do ever since Voser gave it away.
Strange move to put a farmer from Alabama in as Country Chair, he has a hard act to follow with Marvin and Hoffmeister both were polished and impressive in public. Bruce is more like the Borat version, just hope he polishes those cowboy boots.
Shell are seeking a clear picture from the old guard on Corrib regarding the OSSL claims of police alcohol. For their part senior police are now asking serious questions of the remaining named policemen (guards) implicated in the alcohol accusations. More to follow.
RDS is looking at selling off Canadian downstream assets (retail, distribution terminals) in order to fund the BG takeover cash crunch. A secret group is currently working on this initiative and expect more news by end of Q2.
It’s not lost here in Mayo that Media got plied with booze by Shell but we are to believe that policemen and policewoman braving the wind, rain and freezing conditions on land and at sea ( Liam Grimes ) got no under the counter benefits for their efforts.
WE KNOW THEY DID.
Texvette, Marvin may have been closed down but it didn’t stop him wasting millions on the 2017 Superbowl, presumably he will have a ticket in exchange for the millions while his ex staff will be serving him cold beers. I just don’t get it, UA is short of money and we waste money on a super rich sport.
Looks like Marvin Odum was stripped of key responsibilities and placed in a lame Role. Ironically he will have to clean up the messes he left in Alaska and Unconventionals. A bit of Karma, but he should no longer be on the payroll after all his major mistakes.
The merger of Shell T&T and Royal Dutch in 2004 resulted in a major loss to the UK exchequer, as the taxes previously paid by Shell T&T went to the Dutch government instead. Presumably the taxes previously paid by BG will now go to the Dutch government too?
The sale of US natural gas to Europe is all about sticking it the eye of Mr. Putin. Putin has had a bad habit of using gas supplies to extort the EU into giving him what he wants. However, this exportation of US gas will not last forever and the EU needs to get off the dead rear ends and develop their own resources.
I have worked for Shell for more that 10 years and have always defended our business principles even in Nigeria where it is tough not to submit to temptation to move things along easier. The Shell Business principles have always been a cornerstone of the principles by which we work and now we find Ben and his cohorts have not paid any Corporation tax in the UK. Simon Henry, as a British citizen you must be ashamed if this is just slightly true, if not get the lawyers to issue statements and put the Sunday Times in its place.
SHELL CANADA employees are being forced to take a pay cut and shed vacation days while colleges in the USA keep on rolling with no change. Once again CANADIAN employees are treated like second class slaves by the USA masters. It is about time that Shell CANADA separate from the USA and chart its own destiny. Shell USA are a bunch of racist pigs!
London Lad ….Corrib has had five CEOs …that signed letters as Managing Director. The man sacked on January 1st who vilified OSSL in a need for cover up of alcohol gifting to the Irish police was a Director: his name is John Egan.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Two contrasting views on Corrib Gas published by your paper makes interesting reading:
Corrib gas a ‘template’ for ‘how not to undertake a development’
British engineers’ group say more democratic approach could have avoided cost overruns.
and
Brendan Cafferky’s opinion of the Corrib Gas Project – “This project is, in my opinion, an example of how to protect the environment” is the expression of his decade long unstinting support of Shell.
The Pro Gas Mayo group has three or four members, none of them living in the vicinity to the terminal or gas pipeline which may explain why safety issues did not arise for them. Mr. Cafferty seems not to be aware that Corrib Gas Partners can sell their share of gas to whomever they wish but not the Irish Nation. Once Corrib gas is pumped into the Bord Gais gas network it can be sold by way of sale, gas swap and virtual trading – even outside of Ireland. Just because the terminal is in Ireland does not guarantee security of gas supply to Irish customers. It’s a free market.
Mr. Cafferty is not very good on Norwegian history.
Norway’s policies on oil and gas were decided at a time when Norway was told that the nation will never be an oil and gas rich nation, luckily for the Norwegian people they decided to stay in control of their resources just in case. That was in the early 70th and by now they can afford to reduce royalties and tax.
Unfortunately, the Irish decision makers decided in the late 1990 to change fiscal terms and hand all Irish natural resources to the industry, lock, stock and barrel. Time will tell how much Ireland will have lost.
I rather agree with the British Engineers – Corrib Gas is a story of how not to undertake a development. If it is left to Mr. Cafferty = I guess he would do it all again, in the same way.
Regards,
Monica
I have no doubt “Corrib CEO’s” that there has been (at least) three Shell Corrib CEO’s. However, they are not MD’s of Shell (i.e. not Shell Group MD’s which I got the distinct impression that Siggins was possibly attempting to infer). As far as I remember from my days in Shell and MD was not a CEO. Bottom line remains that thankfully for the vast majority of local (and no doubt national) folk the project has gone ahead for the benefit of all.
The real reason behind the Shell-BG merger is that it is cheaper for Shell to go exploring for oil and gas on Wall Street than it is to explore in the ‘natural world’. Witness the Alaska debacle. In the long run this merger may prove to be quite profitable. Time will tell.
Lorna Siggins is accurate three CEOs on Shell Corrib announced in print “mistakes were made on Corrib” Pyle (Rip), Nolan, and Crothers. Corrib has had five CEOs. A statement in itself, London Lad.
Me thinks that Lorna Siggins of the Oirish Times needs to name the actual “several Shell managing directors who have acknowledged mistakes” over the Corrib project. I didn’t think Shell had that many Group Managing Directors!! It remains the case that it is the few NIMBY’s who did not want this project to go ahead for the benefit of the country who continue to cause trouble. Just look at the picture posted on this website – far less than 50 people seem to be demonstrating about the project. These people need to get into the real world for the sake of their children and grandchildren. Maybe they want to run the country on potato fuel as the green alternative?
Corrib was acquired by Shell as a result of Shell’s takeover of Enterprise Oil. Many of the problems which have been documented on this site highlight the shortcomings inherited from Enterprise. Hopefully the integration of BG’s assets into Shell will be more successful.
January 29, 2016 UPDATE
Forces, whom I believed aligned with lawbreaker, SHELL, and the Supreme Court of the Philippines whose inaction to prosecute and/or discipline SHELL , Te, Lapitan et al, evidently proved to be their protector, were successful in their effort to stop me from posting to my personal blog by invoking violation of User Content and Conduct Policy. Though this restriction could give a major debacle in my effort to expose SHELL and the SCP symbiotic relationship, this incident in fact gave me a major victory in the sense that my campaign had yielded a remarkable psychological advantage. It got my needed media attention. I hope the Supreme Court move quick not to lock me up but to institute the much needed reform to effectively rid out inefficiency, incompetence, gross inexcusable negligence and corruption in the judiciary and the whole government machinery that the Filipino people dreamed of in a long time.
Shell Oil must cut all Contractors from WIPRO, ACCENTURE AND IBM since these contractors are all under performers and these Wipro, Accenture and IBM Contractors are not having relevant experience but they bring all freshers/ Zero experienced people to work on IT projects and claim huge hourly rate that is equal to be paid for highly experienced people. These WIPRO, ACCENTURE AND IBM companies including its PMO staff must be fired immediately to save future investments on business improvements. The work/task that can be completed in one day will be completed in 10 days by these Contractors since they get paid for all these days and Looks like Shell Oil is paying for under performed employees that needs to be paid for highly performed employees. Shell must have job cuts with immediate affect by giving Pink slips to all Contractors of Wipro, IBM and Accenture including all PMO Staff.
As one of the many let go by Shell in the recent cull in November I was not impressed by the way senior leaders clung to their jobs. This is now going to get even worse in my opinion as Shell announces more job losses. Even the inmates will be turning on each other as there is nobody left in the asylum and yet strangely the senior leaders still remain in place. The same senior leaders who got us into this mess seem to think they are the best to get Shell out of it. Good luck boys, its great watching from the outside for a change. Oh yes and don’t expect New Orleans to survive as Andy Brown’s boys come to town.
Wow I am once again in agreement with my old mucker “Relieved”. This low oil price is yet another blip in the oscillation of oil price. In R.T. this basically still shows a gentle increase as shown in numerous websites : http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/Historical_Oil_Prices_Table.asp
I am sure that these sort of charts have been used by the various “planners” of RDS for the BG bid. Mind you, when working for RDS I never really trusted some of the scenarios used by these Central Office “boffins”. As far as I am concerned the purchase of BG remains a good deal. Exxon next purchase for Mr. van B??!!
RE:Drum Major – Whilst crazy days may indeed be ahead of us this whiplash (and it will be a whiplash) in the price of oil is not good for anyone. The shakeout will prove to be interesting.
Strange that Shell pulls out of a ADNOC gasproject but continues with the BG deal (if the shareholders allow it). Project costs must be at an all time low now and over 30 years this should be a good deal with the same arguments as used for the BG deal! More gas, more reserves, growing market, prices will increase, shift towards gas, etc etc.
And with Prelude coming along, I worry that in this depressed market there will be tremendous costcutting. This is always good as long as it does not involve cutting corners. But who can guarantee this??
The pressure on the top of Shell must be significant judging from their forced smiles!
So Relieved, whilst not as useful an empty steel oil drum is worth as much as a full one. Crazy days ahead, oil shares should be sold now.
RE:Steel barrel price ? The current list price for 55 gallon steel drums appears to be around US$60. Steel is not cheap anymore. Try the web for better listings.
John Donovan, perhaps readers in the know could tell us how much does a steel barrel for oil cost and at what point will the barrel be worth more than the oil? My guess is 12 or 13 US dollars. Thanks for your great site.
To Old EP Hand: Yes, conventional oil and gas will be here for a good long time. It is a matter of economics.
It’s curious that, according to press reports, global production of oil is increasing to record levels, and the surplus is being stored offshore in increasing numbers of tankers. The price can supposedly only go down. It is strange to hear first hand reports from the field that suggest the opposite: production supposedly collapsing due to a lack of well maintenance and field development. Oil price rises may be much nearer than some of the traders are assuming…
Hello Relieved,
Just check out this presentation on Ted talks.
https://www.ted.com/talks/david_mackay_a_reality_check_on_renewables?
The green maffia is trying to scare everyone into paying more taxes so they can have more green conferences in nice places and pontificate.
But these facts stand in the way so they are being ignored by this same mafia, most liberal media and other fast talking moviestars or politicians. Oil and gas is precious and we should not squander it. But it will be around for a considerable time!
The number of hydbrid gasoline/electric vehicles in the US is expanding dramatically.This is happening simply because of economics – its pays to buy one of these vehicles even when the retail price of gasoline is at US2.00/gal or less. Mileage improvements for passenger vehicles are dramatic, depending upon make and model, but are on the order of 80%. For heavy commercial vehicle it is on the order of 50%. So, not only does the oil industry face a glut of supply it faces the advance of technology that is radically improving consumption efficiency. That translates into lower demand or, in the near term, declining demand for crude. I don’t know as if I would trust Shell crystal ball regarding the increase in crude prices. It will increase, no doubt, but the rate and the degree of increase may not be what Shell wishes it to be.
The author of this comment is Fegalo Nsuke, publicity Secretary of The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
The situation in Ogoni is very pathetic. Pain, anger, frustration, sicknesses, malnutrition and poverty are dominant with no signs of relief. The memories of state-sponsored persecution live with us and successive governments continue to prosecute the agenda of hatred against the Ogoni.
The people have been underestimated, considered to be small and weak and adjudged incapable of any negative impact on the economy. This contemplation has empowered our tormentors to unleash the most inhuman treatment on the Ogoni.
In a supposed federation of 36 states, the Ogoni do not have a state of their own. The right to self-determination enjoyed by the majority ethnic groups in Nigeria is denied the Ogoni. The revenue generated from Ogoni, is more those of 20 states in Nigeria, yet the Ogoni, a distinct people with unique language and culture are not allowed to determine their future in their own state. Ogoni is not cared for, denied every thing enjoyed by the majority ethnic groups in Nigeria and subjected to the most inhuman conditions that assure them of no future. Death is for Nigeria, the sure end of the Ogoni.
In seeking to reclaim their rights, Ogoni leaders in 1990 came up with a historic document, The Ogoni Bill of Rights, which spells out their demands on the Nigerian federation. Nigeria did nothing to address the issues and a series of protests from the Ogoni were to follow.
The protests were targeted at Shell’s racist business practices in Ogoni. Shell’s usual response was to invite the Nigerian security forces whose ruthlessness left the Ogoni with an unending pain. Thousands killed, women raped, children killed and abused, thousands imprisoned and living conditions only get worse. Ogonis had been’ battered by a government that should have protected them. The climax was the November 10, 1995 hanging of nine of our leaders including Dr. Barinem Kiobel, Rev. John Kpuinen, Ken Saro-Wia and 6 others.
Convicted by their conscience, the Nigerian government ordered an environmental audit of Ogoniland and on August 4, 2011, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) released the audit report on Ogoni environment.
The UNEP report represented the first major success for the Ogoni as a scientific study by an independent body justifying the complaints of environmental damage leveled against The Shell Petroleum Company. Shell had operated in Ogoni for over 50 years and left nothing other than a completely devastated land. The U.N report said the pollution of Ogoniland would take 30 years to cleanup. Prior to this report, Shell had persistently claimed innocence of any wrongdoing in Ogoni.
Over four years later, the Nigerian government is yet to implement the report. The non-implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoniland points the fact that the Nigerian government is indeed committed to the systematic destruction of Ogoni. The government has taken over 30billion dollars worth of oil between 1958 and 1990 and have left oil spills to damage the area without any positive response.
The 30 day ultimatum issued by The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) on January 4, 2016 in Bori, calling for urgent action to implement the Ogoni environmental audit report or face series of mass action has come at the right time. MOSOP has spoken the minds of the Ogoni people. A people with no other alternative but to march against genocide and confront a seemingly insensitive Nigerian government. Ogonis cannot wait to see everyone die before they move to save and secure their future. We have a responsibility to stop the genocide!
With two refineries, two seaports and two power plants in Ogoniland, I am sure the government cannot risk an “occupy campaign” from Ogoni. Ogonis will consider occupying the oil and gas free zone, seaports and refineries endlessly until we are heard. We will come out with our foodstuffs, cloths and take over these territories to force the Nigerian government to act now.
The time to act is now. The Nigerian government has to address the Ogoni problem, beginning with the cleanup of the environment.
Author: Fegalo Nsuke is publicity Secretary of The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
JANUARY 7, 2016 UPDATE_SHELL Follow the Law or get out….
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (SHELL) greed and unlawful endeavor extend even to the point of robbing employee retirement pay by circumventing the Retirement Pay Law. I have called the attention of the Supreme Court of the Philippines through Atty. Theodore Te, the PIO Chief, since September 2015 about this matter, but up to this time January 2016, the good PIO Chief refused to give my complaint against SHELL due course. I even tweeted the honorables CJ Sereno and Justice Leonen about my plight that SHELL ROBBED MY RETIREMENT PAY but after a couple of days their tweeter accounts disappeared and as I feel it, both justices gone into hiding, perhaps to deny knowledge of my predicament and consequently, escape blame for their inaction. With these experiences dealing with SHELL and the Supreme Court I have reasons to believe that SHELL will not be bold enough to disregard the law without the protectors in the Supreme Court and this protection, of course is not free. However, these “honorable” people though have learned to transfer shame from their faces to the soles of their feet, could not withstand the mounting pressure for reform from the enlightened citizenry.
COMMENT IN RESPONSE TO ARTICLE: “Chris Blackhurst: Shell and BG’s £47 billion merger could really pay dividends”
Yes, Lloyd’s amalgamated with HBOS to produce one big bad bank. And so why did the Lloyd’s shareholders vote it through by 90%? Well maybe it was because the majority were also HBOS shareholders, much like this case where many institutions hold both Shell and BG shares. Do you really think they’ll vote NO and risk a collapse in the BG share price and resignation of the Shell BOD? You think Shell won’t be tempted to cut the dividend if the deal collapses and oil stays this low? Are the media so incapable of joined up thinking? Exxon would just love a NO vote, in fact they’re probably IMO, sponsoring a lot of the negative media stories over the past 12 months.
Ben’s luck could be about to change with a flare-up in the middle east rather than in Ireland. The oil price will soon react if Saudi-Iran hostilities spiral.
Bad luck in offshore Alaska. Dry well after Ben van Beurden approved another ill-fated attempt at Arctic drilling.
Misfortune in the Dutch courts with a precedent-setting decision that Shell can be sued in the Netherlands for alleged pollution and human rights claims arising in other countries. In the case in question, Nigeria. Was the unexpected decision a consequence of Ben firing Shell’s top lawyer Peter Rees two years ago? The court decision could cost Shell many billions.
More bad luck with the collapse in oil prices after Ben made a takeover bid for BG Group.
Would he have made today the deal he offered last April with the oil price factored in at $67 per barrel? I think we all know the answer.
Why is he not attempting to renegotiate?
Boldest Shell leader for many years but dogged by miscalculation and misfortune.
RDS sees its long term future as primarily a gas company. That has been clear for some time. It sees a ‘big’ future for gas in its corporate crystal ball and in that context the BG deal makes some long term sense. Time will tell.
Saw the article entitled ‘Your Company is Evil’. Well, that is a matter of perception. However, there is no question that Shell’s management is totally amoral. And that goes for most mega-corporations. Get used to it.
Say Relieved, what tax is applied to petrol (gasoline to you over the pond) compared to Coca Cola?? My view has always been that the US does NOT tax fuel (gas/petrol) enough compared to most modern societies. HOWEVER, as a person who does not believe in the crap that the likes of Greenpeace et. al. pontificate about long may the Yanks lower tax on fuel!! Happy Christmas to all.
If anyone is interested, retail gasoline prices throughout most of the U.S. are now below US$2.00 per gallon. Instead of a merger with BG, maybe Shell should consider a hostile takeover of the Coca Cola Company. The retail price of Coke is around US$4.00 per gallon.
December 19, 2015 UPDATE
My close family relative who now lives in my home address in the Philippines reported to me that at least on four occasions this past month of November 2015 men coming to interview them guised as LPG inspectors, census surveyors or my old friends and asking questions seemingly far beyond they supposed to be asking like personal information about the members of my family and place where they can be found and about myself…when I will be coming back home. My close relative felt something is not going right. As SHELL being portrayed from several of John Donovan’s article like the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa, it is not far that what happened to Ken Saro-Wiwa, could be done best in the Philippines given the culture of impunity they enjoyed, as I experienced and being observed, under the protection of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
December 14, 2015 UPDATE
Up to this time the Supreme Court of the Philippines PIO Chief, refused to respond on my inquiries and worse I feared that my messages are not reaching Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. So I searched for her tweeter account and I found it together with another, for Associate Justice Marvin Leonen tweeter account , where I tweeted them both my article “SHELL ROBBED EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PAY”, a couple of days ago. But now that I am about to tweet them again, I could not find their tweeter accounts anymore. I have a suspicion that both Supreme Court Justices hides to avoid answering complaint against SHELL and the PIO Chief.
Say “Bogey Boy” did Mike Napier (never heard of him but I assume he is / was your boss / ex-boss) fire you and that is therefore your main gripe? You are correct about Shell wanting to make money – surely all companies want to do this (and are required to do this by their shareholders)? That said, all companies must adhere to the law of the land in doing so. Global warming? …. too much time spent on this subject, seems to be an easy excuse by government representatives, show-biz people and media reporters to go on a jolly trip around the world to pontificate and burn up the planet by flying there!!
RDS is looking to exit the downstream markets in Canada, Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa, and Germany
I cant wait to see what rubbish shell say about climate change now. Shell appear like a lost lost sheep. The dull rancid stale corpse VP Mike Napier of communications will order more lies to make it look like shell stand for something. they only care about making the dollar. Most of the worker know this too. Shell is abomination. Comment ends. Photo of Mike Napier immediately below.
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation misappropriated my retirement pay for their obligation for the payment of separation pay. This is against the Retirement Pay Law in the Philippines. Now that I am retired I started claiming my retirement pay from Shell but Shell refused to honor the company’s obligation under the law. I filed petition to the Philippine Supreme Court but the high ranking personnel, the PiO Chief is delaying and/or preventing the petition due course.
Any hope of knocking US shale production out of the global markets long term is futile. While there may some short term success, that oil isn’t going anywhere and as soon as oil prices recover so will shale oil production. The one effect excess production will have is to bankrupt the Russians, which probably is not a bad thing.
If you don’t want that sort of excitement on this blog Outsider then don’t post it. Clearly a serious accident but nothing to do with Shell in this instance.
There we go, as soon as I post about those NIMBY Oorish over Corrib we get the blog going. So Donovan 4 (yes four!!) initiated a legal challenge against Shell – just goes to show what the sensible folk of Mayo want from a project that will bring money and jobs to the area. However, the likes of the Harrington’s appear to be stuck in the 19th century.
For those craving more excitement on this site, see: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35016461
I for one would prefer to have less excitement. 30+ fatalities, 30+ families bereaved.
Have to agree “Cowboy” – it’s for that reason I sometimes put some end-of-the-week postings to stir some input!! So here goes …. (1) Has all this Corrib NIBY (not in my back yard) stuff stopped progress in Ireland? – same sort of people that you see objecting to bombing ISIL etc. (2) the RDS buying of BG has gone ahead despite all the gloom merchants, (3) what about my old mucker in Malaysia who tried to take SSB/SSPC to court? Jeez, and we are still 3rd in the Premiership!!
Site is getting stale and boring. Anything new. Seems only a bunch of losers are commenting here.
Lorraine Mitchelmore is really leaving because Shell is disgusted with MARVIN’s strategy to gut Shell CANADA. Shell CANADA is now but a mere shadow of the strong company it was prior to the RDS takeover. RDS has systematically dismantled and reduced Shell CANADA to a small player in Canada to the point where it has dropped to number 3 or number 4 in Canada. This is a JOKE and will only get worse as MARVIN and the other global clowns prepare to further weaken and destroy Shell CANADA. That is the true story.
You can add Pickard to your list of Marvin rejects, he is rapidly running out of people to blame ! In the last 4 years the senior leaders ‘discarded’ by Marvin has been awesome. Someone should buy him a mirror .
And again Shell Moerdijk failed to start up due to a fire in the compressor room. The guestion is how long will the delay be this time?
I suspect the Saudis have multiple objectives in mind by keeping up their production, not the least of which is to stick it to the Russians. By boosting production in the early to mid-1980’s and causing a collapse in the price of oil the Kingdom effectively bankrupted the old Soviet Empire which doomed to to collapse. The Saudis are no friend of Putin or his cronies.
Marvin has now fired Shell Canada country chair (Lorraine Mitchelmore). Once again the Americans are messing things up here in Canada!
The articles about the BG takeover are focussed on the short term prices of oïl and gas, but the oïl and gas development projects that Shell and BG undertake have a time horizon of 20 years or more.
While the analysts and journalists are focussed on quarterly results, the companies that they analyse are looking a little further into the future. There is no question that the prices of oïl and gas will rise again as the current lack of investment causes production to fall, whilst demand is steadily rising. Whether it is in six months or two years nobody can tell.
Any major upstream development investment decision made within an oil company is based on the net present value (NPV) of a project, even when the cash flow of the project may be negative for several years after approval. On this basis, even the most pessimistic current estimates of future oil and gas prices will result in a positive NPV for the BG deal.
What terrible lazy journalism by Neilan. In claiming Shell shares have “tumbled” whereas in fact they only went down by 2%. Thats hardly a ‘tumble’ in anyones eyes. It sounded like it was a shock to her that Shell made a loss. Where has she been the last 9 months? What will her next article be? “Germany Invades Poland”
Carmon Creek, Alaska, Eagle Ford ….. Would someone PLEASE tell me something Marvin has done right? If Ben keeps him on, his new title should be CFO (cluster f**k officer).
maybe somebody should tell the BIDNESS article has the BP logo on it not the BG one. Ifpeople wish to write such stuff v it makes one wonder how informed they really are?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN:
Yes, it was a Bidness.com howler that I should have noticed. Now rectified.
The Saudis have chosen Poland for a reason. With Poland’s total oil imports a bit above 24 million tons per year, with 20 million tons coming from Russia, this is a historic opportunity to not only shake off its energy dependence from Russia, but also to become an major Saudi oil hub in Europe.
Poland’s Northern Port in Gdansk can receive up to 35 million tons of oil per year with a possibility to increase this capacity by at least 25%, i.e. to some 44 to 45 million tons per year, what leaves some 20 million tons per year of excess capacity.
As the most recent reports state, the Saudis extended an offer to Poland to co-finance the construction of oil storage facilities and pipelines redirecting the oil to the Baltic States, Ukraine and the Visegrad Group member states. This alone would reduce Russia’s oil exports to Europe by a whopping 13%, thus reducing its annual export revenue by $12 billion (at $30 per barrel) to close to $20 billion (at $50 per barrel).
Poland, of course, will be more than happy to throw as much sand into the Russian financial gears as possible, since it’s the main driving force behind the creation of the European energy union and stripping Russia of its all monopoly pricing power on the EU energy markets. Germany and France, as well as the Scandinavians will likely comply.
INTERESTING ARTICLES
Petroleum News: Burger delivers: MMS reappraises Chukchi well; may be largest hydrocarbon find on Alaska OCS
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE: Summary of Economic Study of the Burger Gas Discovery, Chukchi Shelf, Northwest Alaska
From these two articles it is clear that the big problem for Shell was the lack of oil and the now low prices for both gas and oil. This prospect contains a huge amount of gas and gas condensate but it is not economic to develop at current commodity prices. Shell’s hope (if it ever existed) of finding oil was probably futile wishful thinking and doomed from the outset. If this prospect were located onshore it would probably be economic to develop, even if the gas were re-injected and only the condensate was produced. This field falls into the category of a ‘super giant’ field.
Given all that is and was known about this prospect, it would appear someone at Shell really goofed in deciding to commit the kind of financial resources that were committed to this project. From an economic standpoint this was a very high risk project from the beginning.
The big problem for Shell is that the accumulation is mostly gas and gas condensate, with little or no oil. Given current gas prices in the US and the low price of oil there is simply no way that Shell could make development of this prospect pay off, no mattter what the politicians in Alaska might claim.
Read the post about Sullivan’s comments. He is a classic political hack who is completely ignorant of basic econimics. It Shell had found significant volumes of oil (and not gas) then they would be planning to move forward. The bottom line is always the bottom line.
LondonLad and Dononvan, you are correct – there are credible articles linked on the website. This one article was so misleading and so wrong that I had to react to it.
Oct 11,2015 – Sullivan Reacts to Shell Arctic OCS Announcement
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) released the following statement after Shell’s announcement that it is abandoning its Arctic drilling program, citing high costs and the “challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment.”
Senator Sullivan said: “Shell’s announcement is being cheered by environmental groups, but it’s a very sad day for Alaska and for working Alaskans and Americans across the country. From the beginning, through unprecedented regulatory hurdles and delays, the Obama administration and its environmental allies have created the conditions for Shell to abandon its Arctic drilling program. And they succeeded. Shell spent seven years and $7 billion trying to drill a single well in America’s Arctic, where hundreds of exploratory wells have been successfully drilled. Under such circumstances it would be extremely difficult for any company to move forward.
“Now, countless jobs will be lost, American’s energy security will be diminished, and the Arctic environment will be degraded with the least environmentally responsible countries leading development. Make no mistake: Countries like Russia and China will continue to develop the Arctic’s natural resources, but will do so with little regard for the environment.
“The Obama administration hit the trifecta: killing jobs, undermining energy security, and degrading the environment. Now more than ever we must work to create an efficient, timely and certain regulatory regime for the United States that helps create jobs, energy, and infrastructure, and promotes partnership with the private sector to grow the economy. As Alaskans, we must start weighing each and every regulatory and policy decision as if our economic future depends on it – because it does.”
Just love the recent article on The Nigerian Alison-Madueke by Sahara Reporters in which, quote “ …… southern government officials and leaders try to outdo each other when it comes to corruption”. If true, how come this greedy corrupt bitch could afford such expensive property in London (and elsewhere) based on her Nigerian ministerial salary plus her Shell pension!! It is a cancerous problem in Nigeria and TO A DEGREE in SPDC / SNEPCO / NLNG etc. Seen it and heard about it first hand whilst working there.
The Arctic fiasco seems to suggest that incompetence extends all the way from the operations people back to the explorationists themselves… Lawrence was sacrificed to shield Odum last time, but the number of “dry” holes that have been drilled over the past few years appears to be considerably in excess of the industry average… I wonder if Odum has the connections to save himself now?
I hardly think that Greenpeace “news sources” can be deemed as reliable. They are very well known for their manipulation of numbers / statistics etc. Others, such as the Guardian newspaper and the BBC are so left wing biased that even Jeremy Corbyn must wonder at their reliability 😉 But adding to Tom Prudential (surname close to reality??) I totally agree about the SOCPF twaddle mentioned in this sites bullshit advertisement, as I mentioned before. However, Tom I have to agree with Donovan for once that not all articles / commentaries on this website are unreliable / untrustworthy.
Well, Shell’s abrupt departure from the Arctic is rather puzzling given all their bravado about the potential of the Burger prospect. While they have said very little about the drilling results, from what has been said I would guess they got bit by a reservoir quality/ development issue, i.e, poor reservoir development and not enough oil to justify going ahead with what would obviously have been a very expensive, technically and politically challenging project. There is never a ‘sure thing’ in the exploration business and maybe those YoYo’s in Houston have learned a valuable lesson – Don’t bet the farm on a ‘sure thing’. Given Shell’s expenditure on this project someone clearly oversold the potential to upper level management. And upper level management wasn’t savvy enough technically to see through the smoke and mirrors (Peter Vosser, et al). If Shell is going to be an ‘upstream company’ then the bean counters cannot be the ones who run the operation.
The article about Shell pension being underfunded is totally incorrect. They may be talking about a small subset of the Shell pensioners, but the US and Dutch funds are overfunded. Geez, cant trust anything on this site.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
A sweeping and obviously unfair condemnation bearing in mind that the vast majority of articles published here are from the most respected news sources in the world. Are you referring to this article or a related comment posted on the Shell Blog?
The justification (such as it is) for the payment of obscene remuneration to Shell’s head honchos (24.2m Euros to the CEO last year) is that we buy wisdom, competence and knowledge. When they blow 9bn Euros in The Arctic in this way the whole pack of cards collapses. van Beurden should go and return his bonuses immediately. Don’t hold your breath.
It must have been an interesting conversation between Ben and Marvin. “What do you mean there is no oil? You wasted 7 billion? Oh dear another nail in Marvins coffin.
Pretty much correct Relieved it is all about $$$ (or in “our” case £££). RDS is correct to adhere to most (yes most) of the shareholders who require a healthy return on capital employed together with a good dividend. Sure there are objections from NIMBEY’s and Greenpeace etc. but at the end of the day we have to advance society and at the moment this cannot be done with renewables.
We MUST (?) drill in the Arctic because Shell missed out on the huge oil shale bonanza in the lower 48. North Dakota now produces 1.2 million barrels of sweet crude a day and is going to do so for a long time to come. That is almost 1/2 billion barrels of oil a year. And that oil isn’t going anywhere even if the Saudi’s manage to depress oil prices and shale oil production for a few years. Estimates for oil reserves in the Wiliston basin of North Dakotan, Montana and Alberta are on the order of 40 billion barrels recoverable out of somewhere around 1 trillion barrels of oil in place. There is no other country in the world that offers the profit potential that the Alaskan offshore offers. That is why Shell MUST drill in the Arctic. It is about $$$ for Shell, not about the long term need for oil. And Shell would no doubt want to export Alaskan oil to obtain the higher international price. So, the notion that drilling in Alaska is about American oil independence is a fraud as well. Shell’s only motivation is $$$. The bottom line here is the bottom line.
Strange to say the least. According to the latest Shell Overseas Contributory Pension Fund newsletter it states the following : Value of the fund is £3.83 billion with a funding level of 102%, with an overall investment return of 7.2%. There is also a comment from the Actuary stating “The recently introduced Contribution Reserve Account will help to provide security for members’ benefits while reducing the risk of over-funding in the long term”. This would appear to show that the (advert) commentary by Lisa Smith of iExpats is way off the mark in terms of her stated numbers for SOCPF and her “fear factor” is merely there to promote business?
Aaagh glad to be back in Blighty and able to regularly read some of the nonsense written about Shell / Corrib. Well Maura Harrington I for one will NOT be signing such a petition. Thus far Shell has NOT been found guilty of anything (apart from trying to advance the lives of Irish people). You NIMBEY’s need to wake up and smell the coffee. This project is NOT of global significance (and hardly national I would suspect) – apart from this biased website and the likes of the left-wing Guardian newspaper I have NOT seen this project mentioned. I would suggest that you need to accept that nations progress with some sacrifices and with the benefit for their children and grandchildren. Stone Age thinking does not work in the modern world.
NAM earthquake topic.
Mr Spong is one of Netherlands top earning lawyers, and with no doubt his team will make a nice dime out of this one. I may sound biased, but the compensation that NAM has been paying for many has been generous and quite significant for the houses at stake. A court also ruled that people living here need to be further compensated for loss of value of house. Even if no damage has been suffered! I live outside this range and my house has lost at least 30% value the past 8 years! As for Mr Spong, better read up on your terminology or else your case will be dismissed quite quickly. The drilling is doing no damage nor is it putting people’s lives at risk.
Good to see in today’s Myanmar Times newspaper that She’ll plans to start seismic in all 3 of their deep water blocks in October. With a commitment of 1.2 billion U.S. dollars let’s hope there is are a number of economic discoveries to be made for Shell and Myanmar.
Hopefully the “masters” of NAM are also stuck with bill for earthquakes allegedly caused by the Groningen field gas production DSM are as guilty (or innocent ) as NAM their contractor.
The new Upstream Americas HSE org charts have been released without many surprises. More managers less staff while the safety performance under the current VP HSE has been slowly getting worse and still the worst in Shell. Will the last workers in Shell to leave show the managers how to turn the lights off?
Hello Relieved, who says we should go back to large scale indisciminate use of insecticides? Dogmatic opposition to DDT meant NO DDT at all. By using knowledge and applying DDT minimally and where one gets the biggest bang for the buck is something else.
Similar for the use of the most safe and clean power generation, greenpeace remains dead set against all use of nuclear power. This alone has a high chance of creating a power shortage in the world in about a generation from now since nuclear power is IMHO an inevitable in between phase between today and the future of completely sustainable energy supply, predominantly solar power.
And please don’t start mentioning Chernobyl and read up on the facts. Terrible disaster but the nuclear bombs set off in the 50s and 60s in the atmosphere created a very well-documented fall-out that was the equivalent of 2 Chernobyls per week for a year. And the world has only improved since then…
I am never surprised by hard core oil and chemical industry types. Why don’t we bring back all those banned pesticides because the clearly ‘save lives’, not to mention enrich those who manufacture them. You would be amazed and the number of genetic deformities that show up in wildlife in the Brazos River Valley in Texas that are directly attributable to the heavy and widespread use of herbicides and pesticides. These people have failed to learn the lesson of nature that little birdies know by instinct, and that is: ‘It is fatal to sh*t in your own nest.’
LondonLad, well said. Completely agree. You did not mention it but is was in the link you supplied. Greenpeace is responsible for millions of malaria deaths due to their dogmatic opposition of DDT. This is very well documented. I dare not take the word murderers in my mouth…
They are a professional marketing organisation that terrorises many companies, governments and individuals into doing the wrong thing. There is no accountability. And in the netherlands it is a stepping stone for making political careers after the photogenetic attraction of young activists wears off. In another generation from now it will become clear they have been responsible for forcing governments and companies into destroying wealth and creating hunger as well as energy shortages.
By that time they (and the politicians with a greenpeace background) will explain in the media that they have been misunderstood, misinterpreted and with the knowledge of today ‘we might have done things slightly differently’. Perhaps a small ‘sorry’. They, as few others, know the strength of manipulating the large number of ‘useful idiots’ in our society, thereby raking in a lot of money.
Found the following on Greenpeace and their usual dubious antics (much more on them in the article at :
https://www.activistfacts.com/organizations/131-greenpeace/
Greenpeace is the largest environmental organization in the world, with an international membership of over 3 million and offices in over 40 countries. Forbes magazine once described it as “a skillfully managed business” with full command of “the tools of direct mail and image manipulation — and tactics that would bring instant condemnation if practiced by a for-profit corporation.” But Greenpeace has escaped public censure by hiding behind the mask of its “non-profit” status and its U.S. tax exemption. In other countries, however, Greenpeace has not been as lucky: Both Canada and New Zealand have revoked the organization’s non-profit status, noting that the group’s overly politicized agenda no longer has any “public benefit.”
Greenpeace was originally the brainchild of the radical “Don’t Make a Wave Committee,” a group of American draft-dodgers who fled to Vancouver in 1969 and, supported by money from anti-war Quaker organizations, got into the business of forcibly blocking American nuclear tests. Over the years the group has loudly made its feelings known on a variety of issues (nuclear testing, whaling, and global warming, for instance), and its Amsterdam-based activist moguls pull the strings on what is estimated to be a $360 million global empire.
In the United States, however, Greenpeace is a relatively modest activist group, spending about $10 million per year. And the lion’s share of that budget in recent years has gone to outrageous attempts to smear agricultural biotech products, consumer electronics, and the logging and fishing industries.
• Greenpeace campaigns against all forms of energy production except for wind and solar. Unfortunately, a whopping 98 percent of the world’s energy supply comes from sources other than wind and solar, This is not likely to change anytime soon due to the cost, both in dollars and in raw materials, required to produce wind turbines and photovoltaic arrays.
• Greenpeace claims to be dedicated to saving the whales. They are happy to exploit the emotional impact of the slaughter of these noble creatures to raise funds and recruit members, but less interested in acting to end the practice of whaling worldwide. In principle, Greenpeace is not even opposed to whaling.
• Greenpeace is against the use of numerous chemical substances including, but not limited to, elemental chlorine, one of the building blocks of life on our planet. Considering that chlorine is responsible for providing much of the world with clean drinking water, and the Earth’s population with some 85 percent of all pharmaceuticals and vitamins, this hard-line stance is must be considered both uninformed and inhumane.
• Greenpeace is unwavering in its conviction that the “unforeseen” health and environmental consequences of planting genetically engineered crops that can grow in hostile environments will forever outweigh any potential humanitarian benefits. While they mount protests aimed at ripping these mutant “Frankenfoods” from the soil and the supermarket shelves, impoverished populations around the globe suffer from the preventable pandemic of malnutrition.
• Greenpeace remains bent on destroying aquaculture industry while they continue to raise alarm about the status of wild fish stocks. Using the apocalyptic image of oceans picked clean of all aquatic organisms, Greenpeace keeps raking in the donations while battling against an industry that is already taking great pains to ensure its sustainability.
Instead of working hand-in-hand with business owners to forge a path towards a sustainable future like other less myopic environmental organizations, Greenpeace’s dogmatic adherence to the precautionary principle causes them to overlook the fatal flaws inherent in their own radical policies.
I have received a couple of formal emails today from OSSL complaining about the comments made by the person claiming to be Jerry Fletcher from Mayo.
This is the content of their second request today:
STARTS
Mr Donovan,
May we respectfully request that recent postings on you website that relate to OSSL in the matters of taxation, lies, corruption and false invoicing, in our business transactions with
Shell E&P Ireland be remove from the site.
We at OSSL refute completely all aspects of these postings attributed to a “Jerry Fletcher,” and trust you will act immediately to comply with our request.
Thank you,
OSSL.
ENDS
With regards to taxation, I am not sure if that is a reference to VAT on the invoice OSSL issued to Shell requesting payment for alcohol OSSL distributed to the Irish Police on behalf of Shell, or to some other taxation matters.
As to corruption, OSSL has admitted distributing gifts to various parties on behalf of Shell including the free alcohol to the cops. All designed to smooth the path of the controversial Corrib Gas project in Ireland.
Have to agree with Jerry that OSSL has not produced any financial transaction records to support their various claims. OSSL says that the reason is because Shell insisted on being given all such information so that no trace was left of the corruption scheme.
As to false invoicing, I assume that this is what OSSL has described in hundreds of emails as disguised invoices passed through Roadbridge, a main contractor.
The alcohol was transported across the Irish border by OSSL. What was that all about?
Where was it purchased?
One thing for sure. OSSL directors cannot be described as angels.
They had the goods on Shell and decided to blow the whistle.
I described their actions as blackmail against Shell, but no one seemed bothered.
I reported that matter to the Irish Police but no action was taken.
The bombardment of OSSL emails against Shell has continued for years.
OSSL advised me that the Irish police are engaged in a criminal investigation against them over alleged harassment, presumably by email. Do not know the status of the case.
There is an excellent chance that Hilary Clinton will be elected President during the next election cycle. This does not bode well for Shell or any of the other majors seeking to exploit the offshore US Arctic oil reserves. While Shell may indeed prove up the reserves in their Burger prospect, getting the permits to produce and build pipelines is another matter. Count on long legal battles.
Forgot to mention, it is Mr. Jerry Fletcher a Mayo resident. As for the guards, have some balls and arrest the OSSL Directors.
COMMENT BY JOHN DONOVAN:
Jerry, you and I are now in total agreement. The Irish police have ample legitimate grounds on which to take action against OSSL for an array of offences. It does not make sense why they have not done so unless they know that action would open a can of worms.
THIS POSTING BY JERRY FLETCHER SUSPENDED.
Mr Jerry Fletcher, you are invited to supply me within 14 days verifiable evidence to support your serious allegations against OSSL, which OSSL insist are unfounded and defamatory. Please also supply your Mayo address including postcode. Your address will not be published. Please send required information to john@shellnews.net. Your posting is suspended until the expiration of the 14 day period, when in the light of any information supplied by you, I will decide whether to repost your comments.Contact me on the same email address if you want copies of the relevant postings.
John Donovan for royaldutchshellplc.com: 25 August 2015
Mr or Mrs Jerry , you are wrong on all fronts, senior
Counsel states that the veracity of Ossls delivery of factual honest evidence on the top police man’s demands for statement falsification by OSSL and the delivery of alcohol by Shell gave “enormous weight” in the unanimous acquittal of Shells pipeline neighbours. On the matter of evidence, you would do well to follow @osslsafety on Twitter and Facebook and watch the police and Shell being completely hampered by the truth.
REPLY TO JERRY THE TROLL: You clearly have no knowledge about the educational background of Maura Harrington, or you would not accuse her of being stupid. Maura is far from being stupid. As for your allegation that OSSL directors lied in court if that is the case why have the Irish authorities not taken action against them for perjury? As for corruption, OSSL directors freely admit to distributing bribes on behalf of their then client, Shell EP Ireland. I named the recipients years ago, including senior Irish police officers. No one sued me for defamation.
THIS POSTING BY JERRY FLETCHER SUSPENDED.
Mr Jerry Fletcher, you are invited to supply me within 14 days verifiable evidence to support your serious allegations against OSSL, which OSSL insist are unfounded and defamatory. Please also supply your Mayo address including postcode. Your address will not be published. Please send required information to john@shellnews.net. Your posting is suspended until the expiration of the 14 day period, when in the light of any information supplied by you, I will decide whether to repost your comments. Contact me on the same email address if you want copies of the relevant postings.
John Donovan for royaldutchshellplc.com: 25 August 2015
About a week ago, Shell’s Deer Park refinery had a massive release of almost 200 tonnes of liquid butadiene. This material is similar in nature to the chemicals released at the BP Texas City refinery in 2005 (killing 15 and injuring over 170). The amount of material released was so great; the cloud passed through the refinery and was detected by ambient air monitors over 10 miles away. Why haven’t people heard about this?
Big thanks for all your work, love the site. Thought you might be interested in this: http://chukchiwatch.blogspot.com/2015/08/drilling-in-chukchi-sea-is-shallow-safer.html
geruchtenmolen you are correct in your assumptions except some functional areas will lose 40% and not before time. Costs up 60% and FTE’s up 40% under Hollowed. That’s a lot of Aggies he brought in ! The old boy network if finally crumbling. I winder when the Ice Queen will take over Marvin’s role?
Subject: Hero to zero…. how Shell crush once willing allies …no voice ..until now.
Who were OSSL? Is anybody listening in Shell?
On Christmas Eve 2007 ….Shell telephoned Neil Rooney he was at home for the Christmas holiday …Shell informed Rooney that a lady near Shells landfall site had a visit from Shell that morning the visitor a Shell local liaison officer learned that the lady’s television was broken.
Shell requested of Rooney that he act immediately to rectify the broken television.
Rooney got into his car drove five hours via Enniskillen where he purchased a new model television and drove to the lady’s house in Glengad.
Rooney fitted ..tuned in ..and demonstrated the television to the obviously delighted lady.
For good measure (given it was Christmas ) he also gave the lady a box of biscuits and a bottle of brandy.
The lady requested that he remove the old television which he did ,he then drove five hours back to his home in Northern Ireland.
On the second of August 2012 in a room in Dublin two Shell people, one Head of Legal and one CEO, were asked by Rooney for a simple recommendation on paper that he had served the Shell Corrib project well ……..his request was refused.
Mr Paul Walsh of Shell was signatory to and distributor of a document stating that Neil Rooney is a convicted criminal ……..the document is a falsehood designed to discredit Rooney and OSSL.
If you are Shell and reading this …..it’s a factual account and corroboration is available but who cares?
Somebody cares but we haven’t found them yet …..for AGM 2016…
OSSL
Looks like Ann Pickard is ready for a role in Game of Thrones
21 days to cap a well ?
Shell Corrib residents told in court last week that they have THIRTY SECONDS
to evacuate their homes in event of a rupture of the Corrib Pipe ( 4 occurrences in the last year ) I ask your readers is this enough time ?
Looks like your latest picture Mr. D of Ann Pickard appears to show she’s picked up a few pounds since I last saw her!! 😉
Why is it Muara Harrington that my defence (but not always) of Shell is seen as being an internet Troll? It would appear to me that this term is used too often by people such as yourself because your case against Shell has NOT withstood the courts. Having worked for 30 years with Shell I can see many faults with the company but FAR more positives. Fact is that NIMBY’s such as yourself have a problem with progress and will come up with all sorts of nonsense to attempt to support your objections. Perhaps it is you that is an anti-Shell Troll? As I have stated in an earlier posting the likes of Greenpeace are prime examples of this (aka Brent Spa). FACT is nothing has been proven in court against Shell. I suggest O’harrington that you attempt to get into the 20th century and advance your society better.
12-21 days to cap a oil well blowout ??? Hmmm. And where would a good deal of that oil find a resting place given the prevailing ocean currents ?? How about the NE coast of the US. I think Shell might want to rethink their plan. Making a mess of the NE US coast would most probably cost them Alaska.
Interesting – but not unusual for a troll – London Lad has gone silent on ‘Booze for Cops’ since the two OSSL men gave their sworn testimony at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court. The sworn testimony stated that Shell DID provide booze to cops and, equally deadly, a police superintendent DID state his intention to use a digger to ‘drive the f****** into the sea’.
I would be of the, admittedly layperson’s view, that, in the absence of recourse to legal redress by either Shell or its vassal Irish government, the sworn testimony of these men – now a matter of public record – can be taken as FACT.
For Shell, its vassal Irish state, its apologist trolls such as London Lad, it’s put up or shut up time …
So reality is beginning to sink in to the folks in Upstream Americas.
A massively bloated organization has is finally making some cuts, although by my account it is probably half of what it needs to be.
In addition to some Shell staff reductions in the 15-30% range, they announced the closing of the Pittsburgh office (about time!).
Maybe Shell will finally wise up and close down the New Orleans office as well.
For those, like myself, who are forever fed up with the lies that are stated by Greenpeace, NIMBY’s and other denier’s (aka The Guardian) I suggest they see some truths by reading an article in today’s Sunday Telegraph (2nd August) by Christopher Booker entitled “The real ‘deniers’ here are the warmists” (page 22).
Mr D, RPS Shells leading Protect Team on Corrib, inform Shell that all “crossing land agreements” used near the terminal are invalid because “agreements plus” we’re used to satisfy some landowners and not others. The people on the basic package of compensation want answers. Shell are viewing the situation as deeply damaging and are seeking answers from the Corrib team and RPS, coupled to the police corruption confirmed in court here last week this is potentially a project stopper.
RDS needs to stop and review how large military organizations have dealt with guerrilla wars. I think they will find that such wars a very expensive and rarely won, regardless of the assets that a well equipped military organization has at its disposal. Shell is facing a guerrilla war with the environmental movement in Alaska and elsewhere, and they are not doing well. It is costing them a great deal of lost time and money. They are also loosing the PR battle.
REGARDING YOUR ARTICLE: Here’s How Shell Can Restart Its Tar Sands Projects In Canada:
This is the way Shell would re-start the project of Carmen Creek Oil Sands Project.
Shell is engaging two engineering companies to competitively bid against each other to lower the capital cost. Lowering cost will include tactics of reducing safety and health & safety safeguarding provisions.
The Shell project organization and engineering organizations within the company are in charge of lowering SAFETY standards, and are rewarded to take short cuts, to get the project going.
ARTICLE: Following Explosion, Shell Moerdijk Criticised by Dutch Safety Board
A bit surprised at the constant reference to security, I think in the UK we are all aware of what security means, Do no understand why the reference to the failure to follow procedures etc, unawareness of potential for chemicals reacting into explosive mixture to be failures in health and safety rather than our common understanding of security, it may just be a language thing, maybe London Lad and Relieved may clarify.
ARTICLE: Shell awards contracts for its $40bn Browse project
If I were Technip (Browse etc) who quote their expertise in leading FLNG since inception I would be a little more muted after all this plane (live and operational FLNG offshore installation) has not yet left the Tarmac.
Yesterday in a court-room in Mayo, the state and Shell, and a highly regarded Judge heard clear confirmation of collusion between the police and Shell CEO Terry Nolan in matters of a criminal nature regarding statement falsification and corrupt gifting to the police by Shell. The state prosecutor responded to the submission by asking two questions of OSSL. Did you see the Celtic game last night? And do you watch Gaelic football? No other response to the testimony was made by Shell or the state or the police.
Here we are again on a Friday night and looking back on some of the blog comments I notice that “Alan Poole” has NOT lived up to his promise as yet!! Quote : “I will be revealing truths about people I’ve worked for and with” – It appears that you are slower than two mating tortoises in posting your promises.
Update to last posting. Two questions asked by Shell. How long have we known this? …..since 2009. Any witnesses? to Nolans visit / demands to lie? Yes. 4 witnesses all available to you .
To Corrib Watcher, I was the only Shell witness at the Pollathomish Police Beatings. I gave an exacting account of Gannons actions and words. I was visited by the CEO of Shell in person and instructed to change my account of what happened. When I refused I assume that the CEO decided it would be best if there was no witness rather than an honest one… my statement has never been found by police, Shell or GSOC, in perverted move to protect Gannon …Shell CEO Nolan cost himself his job, but not before Shell assured me I would never work in the Oil &Gas industry again.
Jeeeeez Corrib Watcher, I have absolutely no idea what you are trying to say – is it my English Tea that is blurring my vision or is it your Irish Nimby Alcohol that is making your postings unreadable?!?! Ease off on the free Shell booze then post your comment.
John, lessons to be learned for all on Corrib; just one question from me… Why was the only non protester present when SUPERINTENDANT GANNON declared I will drive these ####### into the sea at Polothomish Pier incident (see youtube video) not asked for his clear precise and honest account of Gannons actions on that “black day” for Irish policing, why?
Well Wayne you’ve still not answered my question as to why you think that Shell has not been prosecuted for all these booze / OSSL accusations. Is it perhaps all the local Oirish Nimby’s who don’t want progress at any cost viz Corrib?
There is public outrage when the US government spends $9million a day fighting ISIS. I bet Ben is furious Upstream America is losing similar amount per day. Meanwhile Bruce celebrates by announcing what a success his $700 million office block is. It may be for you Bruce sitting up there on the 12th floor, try living on the 6th floor where there are 150 men sharing one restroom. Life in the cubes is terrible that’s why so many people walk around campus !
Mr. Rooney – Any guess as to why I use the pen name ‘Relieved’. I enjoy bathroom humor on occasion as well.
Hi London Lad, you have my name and you use for attempt at humour; you on the other hand hide your identity – akin to writing on the toilet door – says it all really.
Begosh & Begorrah OSSL & Rooney (keep to your daytime job of football) you still try and convince the world that Shell is sooooo wrong – so why is it that the legal courts say otherwise?? And, as I have said so many times on this blog, this global warming issue that the greenies always attempt to raise – why is it so bloody cold here in Blighty at the start of June??
Toxic waste and silent CEO … It’s now up to Shell to show beyond doubt that OSSL had toxic waste and not police alcohol in the van ..BVB you have been misled …where did the toxic waste lie originate ?
Mr Donovan …may we request that this Question is asked of BVB on your Shell Blog.
We asked him at the AGM but he did not answer.
Mr van Beurden if OSSL are indeed telling the truth that they were never involved in the dumping of toxic waste as per a document “distributed” by Shell ….and Shell know the document is false ,….then how does he feel about it being used to discredit the key witness in the Shell police alcohol claims made by OSSL?
Shell Ireland know the document is false there was no toxic waste ..there was alcohol.
An answer please Mr Van Beurden …you have the proof in your hand.
OSSL
I noticed the comment by Shell leadership that the world ‘desperately’ needed Arctic oil. Hmmm. The total consumption of crude these days approaches 30 billion bbls annually. With total Arctic oil reserves estimated to be around 90 billion bbls, that means there is roughly three (3) years worth of consumption to be had in the Arctic, with about one third to be found in US waters. A whopping three (3) years, and one (1) years worth of consumption respectively. It seems to me that US Arctic oil is needed by Shell far more than the world needs it.
I have read the blog for a number of years and have become increasingly irritated by the negative postings. I have now retired from Shell after 32 years service, including the North Sea, Kazakhstan, Abu Dhabi. I will be making further postings revealing a few home truths about some of the people I have worked with and for, in these various locations.
The revelation that the Omani gov’t was/is spying on Shell should not come as any big shock. The revelation that Shell has its agents imbedded in foreign governmental agencies should also come as no big shock. It is the nature of the international oil business, and just a cost of doing business internationally. It is also common knowledge that RDS regularly spies on its own employees. There is nothing new here.
…..Senior Irish Police officer Superintendent Gannon informs OSSL that the demand for lies about his actions against the people of Erris whilst assisting Shell to progress the Corrib Gas Development …is a matter between them (OSSL) and Shell …remarkably the Superintendent claims he had no knowledge of the resulting “demand for lies” by Shell following the Pollathomais Pier incident recorded on U Tube, the demand was delivered personally by a Shell CEO claiming to be acting on Gannons behalf …… the plot thickens …..OSSL
Obama is a boob. He wouldn’t know a good ‘standard’ if it bit him in the backside. And neither would DoI. The USG is managed by fools and charlatans.
Relieved: Unfortunately the rigs now in use are OLDER than the rigs that were previously deployed. The Polar Pioneer is from 1985 while the Noble Discoverer is the same vessel, built in the early 1960’s as a log carrier, that was used previously.
I find RDS’s ‘new’ drilling rig for the Alaskan Arctic to be a considerable improvement over their past choices. It is also probably a far more expensive rig to lease. However, if RDS had made this choice years ago, instead of running with its fleet of aging rust buckets they might have completed a well or two and probably would not be facing the opposition they have today. Shell has shown that its management is notorious for making bad decisions that in turn produce serious liabilities. Maybe they have gained a little wisdom, but don’t count on it. Odum is still running the show.
Some of the other stuff in the FT article about Shell BG is really interesting. Such as who will bear the brunt of job cuts.
QUOTE
And Chris Wheaton, fund manager at Allianz Global Investors, plays down the idea that it will be BG staff who will bear the brunt of the cuts. He argues Mr van Beurden “has identified the Shell culture needs changing, that you can’t just have a bunch of really clever people sitting round a table in a room talking about stuff”.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be nimbler, act like you’re smaller. This will inject a whole new set of DNA into Shell,” he says.
UNQUOTE
Happy birthday with the domain name! And may your site be a pebble is the shoes of the high and mighty in Shell for many years to come!
Oil price fixing conspiracy by BIG OIL, including RDS ??? Say it is not so !!! RDS is a good corporate citizen. We know this because their propoganda organs tell us so. My, My, My. This must be a conspiracy on the part of evil, greedy governments and incompetent bureaucrats.
McKinsey are allegedly making solid progress in Upstream Americas according to ‘inside sources’ with reports of up to 30% surplus in some areas. Meanwhile HR are trying to persuade people there are no packages coming while quietly offering their own staff hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation to leave early. I wish I worked for Bruce !
John, Shell / Garda alcohol story, quite amazing the cops are harassing the vendor with threats of imprisonment just ahead of the AGM, the dogs in the street know what happened here Shell are bully boys and they do use the cops like puppets it’s actually quite frightening.
ABRUPT EXIT OF SHELL TREASURER ANDY LONGDEN
I believe that high profile gaps in Andy’s broad scope of his roles & responsibilities (R&R), 12 years in the same role, (too long for a senior executive), loss of key sponsor(s), and the perceived need for a game changer that
delivers on Ben’s strategy, new operational approach, and heavier (Treasury, M&A, Pensions, and governance) Finance footprint, might have been key in his departure.
Also, remember that Andy and Ben Van Burden come from very different backgrounds. Ben is a Shell homegrown senior leader (with 30+ years), while Andy is an experienced hire. Common knowledge is that the retention history for experienced hires senior leaders is poor at Shell. Why? My understanding is that because Shell is a relationship company, many experienced hires are unable to adequately fit in and build the mentor/sponsor /other relationships that are critical for success in the company.
As to high profile gaps in Andy’s scope of R&R, any could have been used as a justification for a change such as:
1) Pension costs ($2 billion increase in pension funding is projected for 2015 (see Shell Annual report note 17 – Retirement benefits), Also, there was noise around Shell realizing over $600 million USD in pension losses in the highly publicized Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, uncovered in 2008,
2) UAU M&A and billions in write downs,
3). Ongoing governance issues, (flawed decisions and/or absence of appropriate actions or interventions because of management tension to achieve targets, inadequate oversight/asset integrity),
4).Other Treasury activities, (such as financial performance, cash management, investor relations, sub-optimum share based compensation delivery schemes, poor
capital discipline, to name a few.)
So will Total play the White Knight to assist BP in avoiding a hostile takeover? Total are also a potential takeover target, so they may have good reason to help BP out.
John,
Thanks for the advice you posted for those who may be considering bringing suit against Shell. It was quite interesting. I am certain potential litigants will find it informative and helpful.
According to figures published on this site, Shell replaced just 26% of the reserves that it produced in 2014. The Groningen field represents a significant fraction of Shell’s remaining reserves. If Groningen production is halted to reduce the risk of earthquakes, the impact on Shell’s remaining reserves will be significant.
Very bold of Ben van Beurden. Most courageous Shell leader for many a year. Still many pitfalls, as can be seen in some of the most recent articles about the BG takeover. Not least the fluctuating oil price. Good luck to him.
Now that BG is off the table the question is who will pick up BP ??? It won’t be RDS but it could be Exxon/Esso.
Shell have bought BG for GBP47bn
Interesting that former MD of SPDC and Country Chair Mutui Summonu now has an advisory with a company that purchased assets from SPDC.
Just read the article about why we should care about the Pemex oil production platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. It would be instructive to recall that befores BP’s recent problems the largest oil spill to occur in the Gulf was the Shell Oil production platform disaster at Bay Marchand Oil field in 1970, and about which you published an article. That disaster occurred as a result of sloppy engineering and work practices. The sloppiness resulted from Shell management’s efforts to cut costs and maximize production. This sort of this could easily happen in the Arctic as well given Shell’s past and current ‘TFA’ attitude toward platform safety, etc.
EXTRACT FROM EMAIL SENT BY DESMOND KANE OF OSSL TO PAUL GOODFELLOW OF SHELL ON 4 APRIL 2015.
Mr Goodfellow …..a senior engineer in your employ sent me in a vehicle to meet with a senior police officer from the sub Aqua division of the Irish police.
My task was to hand over Christmas Alcohol to be shared with the police operatives who had assisted Shell at sea in Mayo in progressing the Corrib Project.
What I’ve just written is a fact ….however I’m challenged by Mr van Beurden whom I met on this matter last May to bring him further evidence of this claim …both your man and the policeman have failed to confirm ( or so I’m told ) their arrangement on that day making it difficult but not impossible for me to satisfy Mr Van Beurden.
Can you help ?…….I have no problem with what Shell instructed me to do on that day I do however have a massive problem with the obscene subsequent cover up by Shell and the police.
Regards
Desmond Kane
There is no shortage of gas fields offshore Australia, but there are very few customers willing to pay the price of Australian LNG. Delaying exploration of the Browse basin would seem to be perfectly logical in the current environment. Gorgon was discovered in 1981, but in the absence of customers, development did not start until 2009, and first production was at the end of 2014.
POSTING BY “THE CHRONICLE”
Wonderful town hall from Marvin yesterday telling us how we must all look for cost savings and ask ourselves what we have saved in the last two weeks. He then got into his private 24/7 limo and headed off to the airport to board his private jet! I wonder if that is included in the multi million travel budget?
Dear Mr Donovan,
It would appear you are not aware that the Minister and the Police Commissioner together with past and present CEOs of Shell Ireland are stifling the passing of the key information that proves beyond a doubt that the alcohol was sent by Shell and received by named police officers.
At a five hour meeting in a Dublin hotel requested by the Irish Police Superintendent Thomas Murphy demanded that OSSL furnish him with the following information …..
………who instructed a Garda called Liam Grimes to meet with the OSSL vehicle on the by pass in Athlone to offload the alcohol?
………OSSL’s participation at the meeting was instructed by Connor Byrne senior manager on the Corrib Project but OSSL did not have any part in ensuring that Liam Grimes would be on the bypass to accept Shells alcohol.
In order to satisfy Superintendant Murphy OSSL set about obtaining this key piece of information several dozen requests were made in writing to Shell …the Commissioner ..and the Minister given that it was a police/Shell arrangement both those parties must have the ability to access the answer.
Both Shell and the police have refused to release the answer demanded by Superintendent Murphy .
OSSL also wrote to Liam Grimes via the Minister and Commissioner but he has refused to respond also.
Murphy was very clear on this matter ” get this answer ” he stated and you get the required proof.
Unfortunately we were unable to break the silence .
Best regards,
OSSL
POSTING BY OSSL
Shell Corrib teams actions towards OSSL and makes them palatable at AGM with offers….of meetings with the vendor ……meetings that never materialise.
….ample proof of what OSSL are claiming exists but OSSL’s offer of a transparent “walk through”….of the facts is declined by senior Shell people who could act to protect Shell integrity if there was a willingness to do so.
The Irish police …Shells partners in alcohol gifting in 2007 and especially Chief Superintendent John Gilligan think that the code of silence will prevail in dismissing OSSL ‘s factual account of the alcohol deliveries made by Shell.
The “obscene to palatable “actions of Jacinta Healy who demanded (and got) tennis courts at her home part paid by Shell …then denied their existence when questioned by a Shell CEO…despite photographic evidence …..is a further endorsement of this abhorrent treatment of a small willing ally of Shells who fulfilled Shells instruction to the letter in satisfying local demands for covert gifting.
How did Jacinta convince Shell there were no tennis courts built at her home ?….when she stands in the queue at the local Spar shop with the men who built the courts and the people who change the nets …because she claimed the original nets were poor quality …..what does she tell them?
How do Shell.. Police and ..local landowners when in receipt of what they know to be the truth sit so comfortably with each other?
Perhaps this years AGM will bring some answers .
OSSL
(BOX CAN BE DRAGGED TO READ ALL OF THE ABOVE TEXT)
POSTING BY NEIL ROONEY OF OSSL
Shell party tonight marking the completion of Corrib. The stink of unfinished local matters will be all that’s left when they exit the area ,not a single Corrib Shell man or woman could look OSSL in the eye and explain their despicable actions in the treatment of decent people.
John, You do have a good sense of humor. Cheers.
Happy St. Patty’s day to one and all.
FROM “RELIEVED”
$17 million, really? The stock price is at a 5 year low and redundancies are around the corner. I hope you sleep well at night, Ben.
If BvB manages to put an end to activities such as those inspired by his predecessor Watts (above), the unconventionals debacle, and OPL 245 he will have earned his salary many times over
Bribery, extortion, intimidation by Shell
What is this latest news ?? Bribery, extortion, intimidation by Shell and its hireling goons ??? Please say it is not so. My Oh My, what is this world coming to ??? SOP on the part of Shell, regardless of their PR campaigns claiming otherwise.
LOOKS LIKE MARVIN ODUM (ABOVE) FINALLY WOKE UP
Looks like Marvin finally woke up and is appointing a non American to cut down his massive overhead. Malcolm Mayes, the ex Exxon Ozzie is well placed to see through the plan to cut $1B off the budget.Two strong ego’s advising Marvin now in Culpepper and Mayes, wonder who will ‘win’?
OGONI OIL AND GAS STRATEGY – THE WAY FORWARD
With regards to the much reported Ogoni crises and the recent ‘re-awakening’ of the possibility this crises by the Shell/Belema Oil Ltd deceptive plot concerning the Divestment of Ogoni oil fields, we consider it necessary to reiterate previous stands and make this clarion to all well-meaning Niger Deltan.
Let us all work together to save Ogoni from economic slavery. Let Ogoni people take control and remain stooges to other people. We should support and work with a company owned by, or with significant interest by Ogoni people. If there is none, form a Hydrocarbon Prospecting and Management Company to be the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to present for the oil block divestment bid. This is the best option for Ogoni, to ensure the following minimum expectations are delivered.
READ FULL POSTING BY ZIK GBEMRE HERE
The contrast between the media attention given to Petrobras’ corruption scandals and those of Shell and ENI in Nigeria is curious. Perhaps Shell and ENI have better PR departments? Or perhaps it’s simply that corruption involving Shell, ENI and Nigerian politicians is not considered newsworthy?
RE: SHELL CONFIRMS OIL LEAK FROM UNDERWATER FACILITY IN BAYELSA STATE
With the recent confirmation by Shell of an underwater leak/discharging of crude into Ogboinbiri River in Bayelsa State, which was first reported over a month ago (23/01/2015), we find it really appalling that Shell is often in the habit of dragging its feet in addressing reported oil/condensate spills in its operation areas in the Niger Delta region.
We condemn Shell for dragging and dilly-dallying too long to act on addressing the said spill which started gradually until it spread across the stated River in Bayelsa State. Why should Shell wait until there was so much noise and outcry from the locals and stakeholders before the company decided to act? Why Should Shell toil with the life-sustenance of its host community locals in their bid to sustain oil and gas exploration and production in the Niger Delta region? They sit in their cozy air-conditioned offices enjoying themselves while the locals that bear the brunt of the extractive industry are left to wallow in pain and misery? Would it have taken anything for Shell (SPDC) to address the said spill immediately it was first reported? Obviously not! Then why wait for things to go really bad before acting?
The said River in Bayelsa State is the ‘major’ economic life-line of the host community locals, both in drinking, domestic use and fishing.
But now, it has been grossly polluted by the said oil leak from the underwater facility operated by Shell (SPDC). This is rather unfortunate and highly condemnable.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
Well said Londonlad, completely agree. Nigerians seem to have forgotten their vicious civil war. With the Biafra war already 43 years behind us, it means that probably 75% of the population (or more) was born after this terrible episode. Another civil war could happen overnight again. And the fittest and most vicious will win and kill the weaker ones.
I usually agree with your views except when you start to be disrespectful towards John Donovan. You and I most likely have been colleagues and you have to admit that the great transformation from the mid 90s onwards has wiped out the ‘old’ Shell that was more or less a decent company outperforming all the others in the period 1975-1995. And John merely likes to point out that the senior management is very often not walking their talk! Rattling the Shell cage is a good thing, it keeps those inside on their toes. And you know as well as I do that gorillas breed gorillas and with the introduction of people with the wrong attitude (me first, screw the rest and all packaged in wonderful words) the gorillas have taken over. Because of Watts and his cronies Shell (EP) missed the chance to correct itself after the Overpromise/Underdelivery presentation in 1999. Thank god I still see some decent and very clever moving up so there is a glimmer of hope. But the transformation back to a decent company will be extremely difficult.
Say Zik what do you think about the latest atrocities committed by those Nigerian animals calling themselves “Boko Haram”? Oh no, of course, they won’t provide you and your Delta thieves with any money will they. Be warned Zik, you and your greedy little compatriots will come completely undone unless you face up to your problems in the NE of Nigeria. Shell and all your attempts to bleed SPDC dry will come to nought if these Islamic nutters come to power in Nigeria. Stop trying to stuff your Swiss bank accounts with money and try and stop this band of killers from destroying your country.
Question for you Donovan – were you in bed with Shell (i.e. selling your game at the Shell petrol stations to make personal profit, and of course nothing wrong with that) during the time of the apartheid in South Africa?
REPLY BY JOHN
If we had been asked to supply our services to Shell in South Africa during the Apartheid era, I guess we would have tried to find out more about what was going on. The truth is that the situation never arose. 35 years later I cannot recall if we even knew about the involvement of Shell. It only became apparent to me after obtaining “A History of Royal Dutch Shell” published in 2007 and a book published in 2012, “Secret Manoeuvres in the Dark: Corporate and Police Spying on Activists.” As to adding one of your comments to an article, just request that at the time and it will be done. As you know, you also have a standing invitation to supply Shell related articles for publication on an unedited basis. Regarding Zik, I will find a way to accommodate his contributions without taking up excessive space on this forum.
Agree that most of the bloggers on this site are ex-Shell staff with a gripe or have worked for / with them then felt screwed by them so start a complaint column / website. Zik is no different. Donovan at least allows people the chance to minge & whinge but I certainly would suggest a little “box” somewhere on this site where Zik’s very lengthy stories can be parked for those who have difficulty sleeping. Not much of a defence from me I’m afraid, but, I thought my response to those moronic green students from Stockholm (bleating on about climate change) would have been stuck below their “pleeing” article and not in the blog. No influence over the editor of this site I’m afraid.
Looking at Zik’s long winded story, he sounds like an ex Shell disgruntled staff groaning and morning. Wonder what he has done when he was in Shell services.
John – Zik has a right to his views and expressing them on your site. However, in my opinion, your site is being “hijacked” by Zik. I find I am visiting the site much less since it has become Zik’s Personal Forum.
John, can you please give this Zik another platform? He hogs your Shell Blog with all his verbal diarrhea. And remember this is Nigerian diarrhea, very powerful stuff. Methinks he downs 4 bottles of STAR before fouling up your blog. Even the Londonlad got infected. Him done gone bush-oh. Eeh, his headengine gone crazy and he now also put de verbal diarrhea in de blog-oh. But he make more sense.
RE: NEW SHELL MD IN NIGERIA
According to the subject report, the assumption that Nigerian Politicians are “honest and straightforward” is absolutely false. If they were, Nigeria with its ‘enormous oil and gas wealth’ would have become the “Dubia Of Africa” like we have in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). And like the Nigerian Politicians, the person of Mr. Osagie Okunbor, who has resumed as the new MD/Country of Shell (SPDC). Mr. Osagie Okunbor, is the exact opposite of such words like “honesty, integrity and straightforwardness”; hence we do not see him as the right replacement to take over the ‘good works’ left behind by Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu in Shell Companies in Nigeria.
The above report has claimed that Mr. Osagie Okunbor worked very hard and attained different levels of leadership positions in Shell (SPDC), but this is baseless because we know that it was the Edo State connections in Shell (SPDC) that projected Mr. Osagie Okunbor to the position of the VP Human Resources which he was occupying before this recent appointment as MD/Country Chair. He did not attain to that position on merit or hard work, as they are trying to make us believe.
The Mr. Osagie Okunbor we know, is an “Edo State tribalist bigot” who does not have what it takes to be MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC) Nigeria neither can he project Shell and its operations in Nigeria in good light. The Mr. Osagie Okunbor we know cannot manage/relate with host community stakeholders in the volatile Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
There is an element of ‘god-fatherism’ playing out in the selection/appointment of Mr. Osagie Okunbor as MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC). From what we can deduce, it is obvious that Mr. Osagie Okunbor was projected for the position of Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair for ‘selfish’ interests of a cabal in the Shell system. Out of the three past Nigerian MD and Country Chair of Shell (SPDC), two of them are from Edo State. Whereas, there are other ethnic groups like the Isokos, Ogonis, Urhobos, Ijaws, Itsekiris etc that are from the ‘core Niger Delta States. What happens to these other ethnic groups? Are there no qualified Nigerians outside Edo State that can fit in far better as MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC).
To put it bluntly, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, like most Nigerian Politicians, does not have the “leadership qualities” to even be considered for the position of the MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC) Nigeria. He does not have the capacity to carry relevant stakeholders along or manage Shell (SPDC) operations in Nigeria. He was only put there to serve the interest of a cabal. This is no exaggeration, but we are stating the bitter truth and the undeniable fact as we see it.
Zik Gbemre,JP.
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
No.28, Opi Street Ugboroke Layout, Effurun-Warri,
P.O. Box 2254, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2348026428271
+2348061524210
+2348052106013
Website: http://www.ndpc-zik.org
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
RE OGONI PEOPLE REJECT BELEMA OIL, EXPRESS FEAR OF STATE REPRESSION
We express our support to the enlarged Congress of the MOSOP Kingdom Coordinators and Chapter Leaders Forum that recently overwhelmingly rejected the takeover of Ogoni oilfields in the Niger Delta by Belema oil Ltd. This is hinged on the fact that Shell is said to be the one behind the Belema Oil Ltd Company that is currently instigating some Ogoni locals and Chiefs against the educated class, elites and Opinion Leaders of Ogoni land.
We are highly disappointed with, not only the Nigerian Government for not giving this issue the attention it deserves, but also Shell as an oil giant that has decided to sponsor Belema Oil Ltd to resurrect and instigate crises in Ogoni land. Shell has, through Belema Oil Ltd, fraudulently collected signatories as consent from selected Ogoni locals and Chiefs after inducing them with money and cow gifts, just to have their way in Ogoni oil fields. And like we said, this is typical of Shell’s style of operating in everywhere they are, especially in this part of the world; where they always project “Profit first before and above the lives and wellbeing of the locals that own the resources.”
Shell and Belema Oil Ltd should have known that the money and cow gifts given to selected Ogoni Chiefs and locals (for the oil giant to have their way in Ogoni land), will ONLY POSTPONE THE EVIL DAY.
Shell’s ‘thirst for drilling oil and gas’ in Ogoni land without the implementation of the UN recommendations on Ogoni land Clean Up and other issues, has completely blinded the oil giant to have warranted their choice of using an oil company (Belema Oil Ltd) that has no known track record to operate the Ogoni oil fields. And we are still finding it hard to understand what Shell (SPDC) will gain as a company if Ogoni land starts to ‘burn again’ with crises that would lead to the loss of lives, particularly the lives of the Ogoni elites and educated class and Opinion Leaders. What will Shell gain if human blood starts to flow again in Ogoni land just for ‘selfish interest of Shell and Belema Oil Ltd?
The same things we witnessed in the past that led to the death of Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others is gradually but steadily playing out in Ogoni land again with this “Shell/Belema Oil Ltd deceptive plot.”
Similar to what we have been hammering on for the past few weeks on this same issue, “the MOSOP chapter leaders noted that resuming any kind of activities at the Ogoni oilfields without resolving the issues of state creation for the Ogoni people as a distinct group within the Nigerian state, a proper clean-up of Ogoniland, and adequate compensation for the destruction of the environment will lead to another era of state repression and human rights violations in Ogoniland.” As reported in the link: http://www.ogoninews.com/ogoni/297-ogoni-people-reject-belema-oil-express-fear-of-state-repression.
The crux of the matter is this: ENOUGH OF THE SHELL-INSTIAGTED CRISES IN OGONI LAND THAT LEADS TO BLOODSHED OF INNOCENT OGONI PEOPLE.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
No.28, Opi Street Ugboroke Layout, Effurun-Warri,
P.O. Box 2254, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2348026428271
+2348061524210
+2348052106013
Website: http://www.ndpc-zik.org
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Both Londonlad and the students of Stockholm International School might find it useful to read Bjørn Lomborg’s books on both climate change and misuse of statistics.
Plea to idiot Stokholm students – wake up and smell the coffee (see attached). That said, why doesn’t Zik use some of the hot air he produces to heat peoples homes in the winter. Attached from a recent daily Telegraph.
The fiddling with temperature data is the biggest science scandal ever
When future generations look back on the global-warming scare of the past 30 years, nothing will shock them more than the extent to which the official temperature records – on which the entire panic ultimately rested – were systematically “adjusted” to show the Earth as having warmed much more than the actual data justified.
Two weeks ago, under the headline “How we are being tricked by flawed data on global warming”, I wrote about Paul Homewood, who, on his Notalotofpeopleknowthat blog, had checked the published temperature graphs for three weather stations in Paraguay against the temperatures that had originally been recorded. In each instance, the actual trend of 60 years of data had been dramatically reversed, so that a cooling trend was changed to one that showed a marked warming.
This was only the latest of many examples of a practice long recognised by expert observers around the world – one that raises an ever larger question mark over the entire official surface-temperature record.
Following my last article, Homewood checked a swathe of other South American weather stations around the original three. In each case he found the same suspicious one-way “adjustments”. First these were made by the US government’s Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN). They were then amplified by two of the main official surface records, the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (Giss) and the National Climate Data Center (NCDC), which use the warming trends to estimate temperatures across the vast regions of the Earth where no measurements are taken. Yet these are the very records on which scientists and politicians rely for their belief in “global warming”.
Homewood has now turned his attention to the weather stations across much of the Arctic, between Canada (51 degrees W) and the heart of Siberia (87 degrees E). Again, in nearly every case, the same one-way adjustments have been made, to show warming up to 1 degree C or more higher than was indicated by the data that was actually recorded. This has surprised no one more than Traust Jonsson, who was long in charge of climate research for the Iceland met office (and with whom Homewood has been in touch). Jonsson was amazed to see how the new version completely “disappears” Iceland’s “sea ice years” around 1970, when a period of extreme cooling almost devastated his country’s economy.
One of the first examples of these “adjustments” was exposed in 2007 by the statistician Steve McIntyre, when he discovered a paper published in 1987 by James Hansen, the scientist (later turned fanatical climate activist) who for many years ran Giss. Hansen’s original graph showed temperatures in the Arctic as having been much higher around 1940 than at any time since. But as Homewood reveals in his blog post, “Temperature adjustments transform Arctic history”, Giss has turned this upside down. Arctic temperatures from that time have been lowered so much that that they are now dwarfed by those of the past 20 years.
Homewood’s interest in the Arctic is partly because the “vanishing” of its polar ice (and the polar bears) has become such a poster-child for those trying to persuade us that we are threatened by runaway warming. But he chose that particular stretch of the Arctic because it is where ice is affected by warmer water brought in by cyclical shifts in a major Atlantic current – this last peaked at just the time 75 years ago when Arctic ice retreated even further than it has done recently. The ice-melt is not caused by rising global temperatures at all.
Of much more serious significance, however, is the way this wholesale manipulation of the official temperature record – for reasons GHCN and Giss have never plausibly explained – has become the real elephant in the room of the greatest and most costly scare the world has known. This really does begin to look like one of the greatest scientific scandals of all time.
By Christopher Booker, Daily Telegraph, 9th February 2015
SHELL IS AT IT AGAIN INSTIGATING CRISES IN OGONI
We are still finding it hard to understand what Shell (SPDC) will gain as a company if Ogoni land in the Niger Delta starts to ‘burn again’ with crises that would lead to the loss of lives, particularly the lives of the Ogoni elites and educated class. The same thing we witnessed in the past that led to the death of Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others is gradually but steadily playing out in Ogoni land again with this “Shell/Belema Oil Ltd deceptive plot.”
Shell is said to be the one behind the Belema Oil Ltd Company that is currently instigating some Ogoni locals and Chiefs against the educated class and elites of Ogoni land. They have even gone to the extent of blackmailing and arm-twisting the Ogoni elites just to have their way in Ogoni land.
As far as we and many other relevant stakeholders in the Niger Delta region are concerned, this ‘Shell/Belema Oil Ltd business’ in Ogoni land is a complete fraud shrouded in secrecy and deception. If it is not, why is Shell through Belema Oil Ltd tactfully avoiding the Ogoni educated class and elites that have better understanding of the Ogoni Issue in the divestment of Ogoni oil fields? Why put the lives of these Ogoni elites on the line by making them be at loggerheads with their brothers and sisters they have succeeded in buying off? They fraudulently collected signatories from selected Ogoni locals and Chiefs after inducing them with money and cow gifts, just to have their way in Ogoni oil fields.
Perhaps, this is typical of Shell in everywhere they operate, especially in this part of the world; where they always project “Profit first before and above the lives and wellbeing of those concerned.”
Let it be known to all that the OGONI ISSUE HAS REMAINED UNRESOLVED. Shell has not played its part in the addressing all the atrocities and environmental degradation they have committed in Ogoni land. We simply cannot understand why Shell has not complied and completed the recommendations in the UN Report in addressing the Ogoni crises before they decided to divest Ogoni oil fields? Why all the haste? Why all the clandestine activities with Belema Oil Ltd in Ogoni land? Why is Shell fond of ‘using the backdoor’ to pursue and actualize their ‘profit-oriented’ objectives in their E&P activities, especially in this part of the world? When will this stop?
Shell seriously needs to ‘retrace’ its steps and holistically and transparently carry every Ogoni (both the educated class, elites and locals) along in whatever they want to do in Ogoni land; either through Belema Oil Ltd or any other oil company for that matter. Like we noted before, IF THIS IS NOT DONE, THE OIL BLOCK MAY BE SOLD, BUT IT WILL NOT BE OPERATED. The Ogoni people want to participate as ‘Partners’ in whatever Shell wants to do in their land. They want ‘full Inclusiveness in operations of the oil block’ and proper Engagements carried out across all social strata of the nation. Anything short of this will be futile and counterproductive.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
No.28, Opi Street Ugboroke Layout, Effurun-Warri,
P.O. Box 2254, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2348026428271
+2348061524210
+2348052106013
Website: http://www.ndpc-zik.org
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
ON SHELL’S ALLEGED DECEPTION IN OGONI – WHY THE HASTE IN THE DIVESTMENT OF OGONI OIL FIELDS?
With more (investigated) revelations coming in as regards the subject matter, we are greatly appalled to find out that it is actually true that Shell (SPDC) is said to be the main brain behind the push for Belema Oil Ltd to buy over and operate the Ogoni oil fields. That means in the midst of all the ‘noise and controversies’ being made as a result of this, Belema Oil Ltd is just a ‘front’ of Shell (SPDC) put in place by the oil giant to protect its interests in Niger Delta of Ogoni land in Nigeria which have been shut down for over 22 years following the mass protest by the people and civil disturbance in the area (which led to the murder of human rights activist Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others), occasioned by the total neglect and injustice on the people by the Nigerian government and the Shell Petroleum Development Company-SPDC.
As had reported in our past write ups, Shell is said to have sold its oil blocks in Ogoni land to Belema Oil Ltd, and drilling is set to commence as the company has reached agreement with some community chiefs who are said to being used to collate signatures endorsing the sale of the oil and gas in Ogoniland. Some top Shell officials are believed to, not only have strong links with the company, but are also the ones behind every of its moves in Ogoni land.
As we speak, Shell (SPDC) is using its usual deceptive strategy of “divide and rule” in Ogoni Land to actualize its objectives. At the moment, Shell is said to be the one behind Belema Oil Ltd that is buying and delivering cows and ‘gifts’ to selected locals and community Chiefs/leaders in Ogoni land. And in doing this, Shell is cleverly trying to boycott and bypass the educated class, elites and opinion leaders of Ogoni. In fact, right now, Shell is said to be using Belema Oil Ltd to instigate some of the Ogoni locals and Chiefs against the Ogoni elites – teaming them as “city-based” elites of Ogoni indigenes.
Shell seems to have forgotten that without the ‘active’ inputs, participation, contribution and being-carried-along of the Ogoni elites, educated class and opinion leaders, no oil company will succeed in operating any Ogoni oil field. Why should Shell want to bypass these educated (elites) relevant stakeholders of Ogoni people? Have they forgotten that it was the same educated class and elites like Ken Saro-wiwa that brought the ‘Ogoni Issue and Crises’ to lime light and international attention? So why boycott them with this deceptive strategy using Belema Oil Ltd as a front?
As we noted in one of our last write up, community sources revealed that that some Ogoni community leaders were recently flown to Lagos to hold secret meetings on the oil block sale and may have been compromised after which they received documents with which to collect signatures from the Ogoni people as consent to the sale of Ogoni Oil.
The same strategy they have been known for using in different parts of the Niger Delta region to cheat and defraud the locals from having ‘ample opportunities’ to become “partners” in owing and benefitting from their God-given resources, that is exactly what Shell is repeating again in Ogoni land.
For an oil company that has no known track record and history of operating any oil fields, one begins to wonder why Shell, with its enormous global repute in oil and gas E&P, should decide to use Belema Oil Ltd to operate in the very sensitive Ogoni land. More so, why all the haste in the divestment of the oil fields in Ogoni land without first addressing the accumulated years of environmental degradation and pressing issues affecting the Ogoni people. Why the hurry? It is obvious that those concerned are too much in hurry to divest the said oil bloc without first addressing the problems of the Ogoni host community or even carry all relevant stakeholders along in the entire process. It is as if the oil company, Belema Oil Ltd, is being forced down the throat of the Ogoni people.
Like we repeatedly said before, the elites and educated class and opinion leaders of Ogoni have detailed a breakdown of what they expect to drive any agreements to herald resumption of oil and gas activities in Ogoni. And we strongly believe that whichever oil company that wants to partake in the Shell Divestment in Ogoni OML 11, such company must carry these group of persons along.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
No.28, Opi Street Ugboroke Layout, Effurun-Warri,
P.O. Box 2254, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2348026428271
+2348061524210
+2348052106013
Website: http://www.ndpc-zik.org
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
A DETAILED FOLLOW-UP ON THE ALLEGED SHELL DECEPTION IN OGONI
The above subject matter has in the past few days, generated quite a storm as more details regarding the issue raised have started flooding in from different concerned stakeholders who completely agreed with us that indeed, there is a deception in the whole game plan. As regards this issue, many have noted, it is a calculated conspiracy to deny Ogoni people their rights to participation in E&P activities and access to means to end the many years of economic deprivation. The truth of the matter is that there are some greedy political powers behind this, and it is the trademark of the corruption in the industry. It is doubtful if any true Ogoni person will just sit and allow a single company with no track record or corporate structure to take over oil fields without addressing pertinent issues that resulted from the many years of crises.
Every social group is free to express their views, and so the Ogoni Chiefs and youths have indicated what they want. But there are other social groups who show more concern for Ogoni problems and have better understanding of the complex issues. Their voices and views will also be heard.
To this end, below here is a (sourced) detailed breakdown of what the elites and educated class and opinion leaders expect to drive any agreements to herald resumption of oil and gas activities in Ogoni. Also below here is a list of promises by the said Belema Oil Ltd. And looking at it carefully, it does not take an Einstein to see that they are all UNACHIEVABLE; BUT JUST A WISH LIST AIMED AT DECEIVING POOR AND ILL-INFORMED MEMBERS OF THE HOST COMMUNITIES (LOCALS).
POSITION OF OGONI LEADERSHIP FORUM ON PROPOSED DIVESTMENT OF OIL FIELDS IN OGONI (OML 11) BY SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
The Ogoni Leadership Forum is made of senior Ogoni indigenes, elites and opinion leaders with diverse experience spanning business, engineering, politics, law, academics and corporate leadership. The group has met severally on issues concerning the sociopolitical and economic development of Ogoni, and has shown interest in the proposed divestment of Shell (SPDC) from OML 11. Their primary goal is protection of Ogoni interest and ensuring that the best deal is structured for sustainable economic development of Ogoni people, and protection of the environment. The Forum has held meetings with Shell and prospective investor interested in purchasing the 45% JV divestible equity in OML 11, and is open to meet with others with similar interests that affect development of the hydrocarbon resources within Ogoni, so that they can guide the decision making process and advise Ogoni nation appropriately.
The following were presented as minimum expectations, or terms and conditions to be considered to secure the support of Ogoni:
1. Engagement of all the major community social groups and organizations (Chiefs, Youths, Women, Elites, MOSOP, KAGOTE, etc) is necessary to secure the Social License (LTO) to guarantee freedom to operate on completion of the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA).
2. Investor to make an unequivocal commitment to support and work with all stakeholders, to ensure full implementation of the UNEP report.
3. Accept the model of PARTNERSHIP for Ogoni in a Joint Venture arrangement, giving equity stake of at least 20% in the operating company. This partnership is to be formed through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), a company with significant ownership by Ogoni people as investors. They will be listed on the CAC documents and hold the equity as Trustees on behalf of Ogoni.
4. The profit sharing model is not acceptable, as declaration of profits is subjective and is at the discretion of the operator who has the sole right. In such situations, operators will deduct operating expenses, taxes and royalties, interest on borrowed money, and declare what cannot be verified or audited. The communities end up with nothing.
5. Ogoni to be represented by their nominees on the board of the operating company or the company that takes over from Shell.
6. The top management of the company to have members from Ogoni in key positions of decision making.
7. In line with Nigerian Content Act of 2010, Ogoni people should be given first preference in contracts to be awarded. This is the sure way to spread the dividends and ensure spread of wealth across Ogoni.
8. Qualified youths and skilled persons from Ogoni to be fully employed. Those who desire work but lack the skills should be given the training to develop their skills and competences to improve their level of capabilities to function effectively in the oil industry. In addition to this, run a scholarship scheme targeted at development of management level and senior professional personnel from Ogoni.
9. Establish the main operational office with decision making authority within an Ogoni oil producing community, or preferably in Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoni.
10. Follow-up successful exploration and production with establishment of gas based and petrochemical industries for employment and wealth generation; and IPP for power generation to stimulate growth of SMEs. The Ogoni environment is precious and sacred, and must be protected. Consequently, only companies with sound Technical capability, financial strength and good operating track record should be supported and given the social license. Our goal is to end poverty and economic slavery in Ogoni. This is possible if we participate fully in the business of oil and gas exploration, development and production of Ogoni oil fields.
It is imperative for the Ogoni people to just remain calm and ask questions. No need for the Ogoni people to rush into agreements that will impoverish and enslave them for decades to come. Shell should be encouraged to pursue the divestment process in a ‘transparent manner’ as a respected professional corporate organization. Due process should be followed and Ogoni people carried along to avoid future problems, and not some ‘selected’ Ogoni leaders who might not have the entire mandate of the people to go into such an agreement.
More so, there are many other qualified companies out there who have shown interest and they should be welcome to discuss with Ogoni people openly. The best investor will sail through, and will be welcome by the entire Ogoni people. IF THIS IS NOT DONE, THE OIL BLOCK MAY BE SOLD, BUT IT WILL NOT BE OPERATED. No one should take Ogoni people for a ride. Ogoni people want their fair share of the bread directly (Partnership, Inclusiveness, Engagement), and not through SURROGATES. Ogoni people want to participate as Partners, they want full Inclusiveness in operations of the block and proper Engagements carried out across all social strata of the nation.
On the promises made by the Belema Oil Ltd, a concerned stakeholder asked: “Does Belema oil claim to have resources to achieve the list of promises in this document? What an excellent deception for the ignorant. These intentions are fake. People who parade themselves like this can only thrive in a lawless environment.” Below is the document.
THE BELEMAOIL PRODUCING MODEL
Belema oil shall create an industrial hub in Ogoniland through setting up of the following ventures as a strategic human capacity development and strong regional empowerment medium.
1. Setting up Belema oil Producing asset in such a manner that will create technical/non technical labour employment, high/low risk contracting and support services where Ogonis will participate through partnership with competent ventures.
2. Setting up of Belema Refinery that will refine various petroleum products and services to create employment and supply services to better the people.
3. Petrochemical Limited as major employment spinner to create over 500 employment window and empowerment as a result of the chain.
4. Build a cryogenic gas plant and processing of gas for flared gas reduction and environmental pollution.
5. Methanol plant set up and production of other associated gases for commercialization and wealth creation for both communities and company.
6. Building of automobile industry.
7. Building of personnel base and game village for recreation.
8. Building of Belema Training Centre.
9. Setting up of Belema Technology University.
10. Award of scholarship to all indigent sons and daughters of Ogoniland that wants to acquire western education at home and overseas.
11. Provide support to widows, the aged, orphans, less privileged and physically challenged in Ogoniland as key economic players and contributors.
12. Support light and light-medium scale businesses with training and financial aide to grow better and be able to compete and create more wealth.
13. Assist by encouraging Ogoni’s companies interested in specialized type of work to partner with competent organizations and jointly go into such specialities as to build capacity and immediate wealth creation.
14. Set up community business offices in safe and most conducive part in order to bring Belema to us and us to Belema.
15. Belema will be an agent of multi-motional wealth creation for us, the people of the land and shall be available to hold one-on-one strategy meeting to better improve all oil bearing communities, covering OML 11 communities, e.t.c.
From the above, we can see that even the Belema Oil Ltd did not follow the ‘Position’ of the Ogoni leaders as regards any company that wants to partake in the Shell Divestment of OML 11 in Ogoni land. Though, Belama Oil Ltd listed so many things, which we know they will never be able to put in place, it is worthy to note that “no time frame” or realistic projections were given by the company to assure the Ogoni people that all the ‘promises’ made will see the light of day. The said ‘promises’ are just good on paper without any time frame. For being the principal actor in all of this, Shell will be held responsible of any lapses or hiccups that might emanate from the whole thing with Belema Oil Ltd. Like we said before, this ‘Ogoni story’ and how it is being handled by Shell, has the propensity to ‘resurrect’ the Ogoni crises, and Shell will be blamed for everything.
From the look of things, it is obvious that Shell, Belema Oil Ltd and those relevant stakeholders were too much in hurry to divest the said oil bloc without first addressing the problems of the Ogoni host communities or even carry the locals of the communities along in the entire divestment process. It is as if the oil company, Belema Oil Ltd, is being forced down the throat of the Ogoni people. But whatever the case may be, we strongly believe that whichever oil company that wants to partake in the Shell Divestment in Ogoni OML 11, such company must follow and adhere to ALL the positions stated above by the Ogoni Leadership Forum. Anything short of this should be seen as fraud, and rejected.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
No 28, Opi Street Ugboroke Layout,Effurun-warri,
P.O. Box 2254, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2348026428271
+2348061524210
+2348052106013
Website: http://www.ndpc-zik.org
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
A FOLLOW-UP ON THE ALLEGED SHELL DECEPTION IN OGONI
We consider it necessary to categorically state here that the essence of our earlier write up on the subject issue was to draw the attention of relevant stakeholders in Shell and for them not to take this ‘Ogoni story’ (as reported here: http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/shell-belema-oil-deal-affront-ogoni-struggle-%E2%80%93-erafoen), for granted but give it the necessary attention. This is because the said story was exactly some of the circumstances that had led to the infamous Ogoni Crises which led to the death of the “Ogoni 9” and greatly affected the global image of Shell.
The said ‘Ogoni story’ are not speculations as others might want us to believe, but they are facts. Relevant stakeholders would agree that “there is no smoke without fire” and for situations like this one, there is always an ‘element of truth’. More so, Shell does not know it all, hence, concerned stakeholders like us will always raise a ‘red flag’ when we see things trying to repeat itself. That is why we are asking that Shell should not downplay this issue like they always do with many similar issues and try to justify their every action.
What we expected Shell to do as regarding the subject story was investigate, ask relevant questions and make amends where necessary. For instance, is there a company by the name Belewa Oil Ltd? If there is, what is their relationship with Shell and the Ogoni people? If there was an alleged signed pact between some leaders of the Ogoni community and the said company with Shell, does the community leaders concerned have ‘the complete mandate’ of its people to do so? Even the community leaders that were alleged that their signatories were collected concerning the deal; the question is do they have the complete mandate of the Ogoni people?
These and many more are the questions. This is important because, considering the fact that community leadership changes from time to time, the said oil company and Shell might be dealing with the ‘wrong set of community persons’. Again, it was this sort of ‘confusion’ that contributed greatly to the Ogoni crises that led to the death of human rights activist Ken Saro-wiwa and the eight others. More so, how can Shell be divesting a place where it has problems that have not been resolved with the host community? The fact that Shell did this in their Western Operations in the Niger Delta and ran to the East, also in the Niger Delta, that does not mean it will also work in Ogoni, where more environmental atrocities have been committed by the oil giant.
The cross of the matter is that Shell is not sincere in holistically addressing the Ogoni Issue, otherwise, the above Ogoni story will not have come up in the first place. Let us reiterate here that the above Ogoni story and how it is being handled by Shell, has the propensity to ‘resurrect’ the Ogoni crises.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition(NDPC)
No.28, Opi Street Ugboroke Layout, Effurun-Warri,
P.O. Box 2254, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2348026428271
+2348061524210
+2348052106013
Website: http://www.ndpc-zik.org
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
An Exxon acquisition of BP would leave it in virtual control of Alaska’s North Slope and leave Shell in the precarious position of having to pay high transport fares for use of the Trans-Alaska pipeline.
I have not posted a comment by Zik Gbemre submitted for the Shell Blog under the headline “A LOOK AT PRAYER-SEEKING POLITICIANS AND NIGERIAN PASTORS” because it is about Nigerian political and church matters, not about Shell.
ANOTHER ALLEGED DECEPTION – SHELL IS AT IT AGAIN IN OGONI
Despite the fact there are strong indications that full oil production activities will soon resume in the Niger Delta Ogoni land in Nigeria after being shut down for over 22 years following the mass protest by the people and civil disturbance in the area (which led to the murder of human rights activist Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others), occasioned by the total neglect and injustice on the people by the Nigerian government and the Shell Petroleum Development Company-SPDC (the operators of the oil fields), it appears all is not yet well with the way Shell is handling the situations regarding the Ogoni dilemma.
Our attention was drawn to a recent development in which the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has raised alarm following reports that Shell may be attempting to thwart the recommended cleanup of Ogoniland through a deal with a local company called Belema Oil Ltd.
Shell is said to have sold its oil blocks in Ogoniland to Belema oil Ltd, and drilling is set to commence as the company has reached agreement with some community chiefs who are said to be being used to collate signatures endorsing the sale of the oil in Ogoniland. Some top Shell officials are believed to have strong links with the company.
Community sources revealed that that some Ogoni community leaders were recently flown to Lagos to hold secret meetings on the oil block sale and may have been compromised after which they received documents with which to collect signatures from the Ogoni people as consent to the sale of Ogoni Oil.
ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Godwin Uyi Ojo said: “This is another deception coming from the stable of Shell. This divisive experiment is a serious affront on the peaceful Ogoni struggle for environmental justice and targeted at causing confusion so as to create a window of escape for Shell to evade its responsibilities in the clean-up of Ogoniland. We totally oppose this. Belema Oil is Shell’s new ploy to betray the Ogoni cause. It is intended to stymie the communities’ collective bargaining power. We align with Movement for Solidarity for the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and other Ogoni groups that believe that only an Ogoni Congress can speak for the people who are yet to fully recover from the years of untold hardship visited on them by Shell and the federal government of Nigeria”.
The crux of the matter is that Shell must be held accountable and responsible for the decades of its environmental degradation and human rights abuses in Ogoni and the entire Niger Delta. Aside the need to halt this backdoor deal, there is also the need for Shell officials that are said to have a stake in Belema Oil Ltd to be investigated so as to determine how much they have done to frustrate the implementation of the UNEP report through their Shell-run oil company that “seeks to put potential profit first before people and the environment.” The Nigerian Government and relevant authorities should not fold their hands and allow this perceived ‘deception’ said to being perpetrated by Shell to go on.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition(NDPC)
No.28, Opi Street Ugboroke Layout, Effurun-Warri,
P.O. Box 2254, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Tel: +2348026428271
+2348061524210
+2348052106013
Website: http://www.ndpc-zik.org
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Lot of talk in the US that Goodfellow’s job in the UK is just a temporary and he will returning to The States in 12-18 months time. Good God! What job would the EC be foolish enough to give him? Most bets are Deepwater EVP but some folks think he could be replacing Marvin! Either one should cause a significant drop in share price (eventually — when a debacle like the reserves crisis happens, and it will).
John,
Congratulations on your PR victory. You have done a good thing although I do believe you have made a new enemy. Oh, well. The Crow Indians of Montana say that a warrior’s greatness is determined by the greatness of his enemies. It is just an old American Indian saying. You have a great many admirers as well. Again, congratulations.
John, you forgot to mention Justin Welby, the head honcho of the anglican church! Here from wikipedia: Welby worked for 11 years in the oil industry, five of them for the French oil company Elf Aquitaine based in Paris. In 1984 he became treasurer of the oil exploration group Enterprise Oil PLC in London, where he was mainly concerned with West African and North Sea oil projects. He retired from his executive position in 1989 and said that he sensed a calling from God to be ordained. He has worked for ELF (not the most honest company in the world) and was handling the treasury for Enterprise. He must have seen so many bad things he is now repenting I assume? When will we see lord Browne ordained?
John, you seem to have a knack for spoiling Shell’s grand plans. Ruined the celebrations when you stole the domain name of the about to be unified company, cost Shell its majority stake in Sakhalin and have now tarnished the announcement of our North Sea platform decommissioning project by undermining confidence in Allseas judgement and sentiment towards that equally hapless ship, before it has even started work for Shell. Probably like many other regulars thought you were going well over the top publishing one article after another but your determination paid off. I doubt anyone who has anything to do with the vessel will ever forget that it was christened with a Nazi name.
Every seaman knows that changing a ship’s name brings bad luck. Especially if you do not purge all the references to the former name. Not even Pieter Schelte can stay on any documents. However Allseas with their admiration for the Nazi Pieter Schelte Heerema has chosen to rename their Nazi ship into Pioneering Spirit. Which is still a reference to the evil SS-man and even retains the P and S of Pieter Schelte. No sane minded seaman will take the risk to sail on this ship. Evil reigns there. Beware of the bad spirits!
Reserves should fall with the oil price – the amount of technically (and economically) recoverable oil from a given field depends on how much a company is willing to pay to extract it. And that will be a function of the price of oil at the time the oil is expected to be produced…
Great job. We picked up the story from your amazing website. It was only days ago that Shell was claiming the name had nothing to do with them.
STV ARTICLE 3 FEBRUARY HEADLINED Energy giant criticised over ship named after Nazi war criminal
QUOTE
“Shell has awarded a contract to Excalibur Marine Contractors, part of the Allseas Group, to provide for the lift and transportation to shore of the topsides of the Brent Alpha, Bravo and Delta. Shell cannot comment on the name of the vessel, which is entirely a matter for Allseas.”
UNQUOTE
Shell soon changed its tune and piled pressure on Allseas to cave in.
Really impressed. Shows what can be achieved when someone is fearless and relentless. Noticed that Shell kept insisting that the name was a matter for Allseas until the heat got too hot to handle. I signed your petition and congratulate you on the outcome.
John,
Well done, your tenacious reporting on the name of the Heerema vessel has paid off. It came quicker than I thought, but they obviously weghed the pros and cons and decided to chuck it in. I am telling you that Edward Heerema will be very angry. People like that hate to lose. And he may forgive you for now, he will never forget you so be careful!
Great stuff, chapeau!
People should recall that the Swiss were Nazi Germany’s largest arms supplier during WWII. They were supposedly neutral, but in fact collaborated extensively to keep their ‘neutrality’ and independence intact. Let us also not forget about all that Jewish money stashed in Swiss banks that has ‘disappeared’ somehow. It should not surprise anyone that it is a Swiss company that has created this public relations disaster. The Swiss have always looked the other way at deviant behavior so long as there was money to be made.
I have a proposal for renaming the ‘Pieter Schelte’ that should not offend anyone. Why not call it the ‘Simon Wiesenthal’ ??? Wiesenthal is well known for bringing wayward Nazi war criminals to justice. Does anyone have any objections ?? It is just an idea, but a good deal better than naming it after a Nazi war criminal.
Interesting speculation regarding a takeover, especially since BP publish their own 4Q and annual report tomorrow
During the past three years the OPL 245 story was revealed in court hearings in London, was investigated by the Italian police, resulted in the arrest of members of ENI’s senior management and in spite of the enormous sums involved, nobody seems to bear any responsibility. The losers in all this are clearly the shareholders of Shell and ENI. What happened to the fiduciary duties of directors, such as those required by the Companies Act (2006)? Or does an internal army of 1000 lawyers mean that Shell and its directors are above the law?
My guess is that the acreage set aside in the Arctic Ocean is of little interest for oil and gas companies and will therefore have little impact on Big Oil’s exploration plans for that area.
So we are within 24 hours of RDS results and only a few more for CVX and XOM. I have not seen any comments about book losses on fields due to low oil prices. Do analysts understand basic book keeping and mark to market? We’ll find out on Thursday, I guess
It appears that Shell will be alone in operating offshore Alaska. In the absence of the economies of scale that would have been provided by the presence of other operators in the region, Shell will now have to pay 100% of the costs of the required infrastructure. In conjunction with a $45 oil price, and an understanding of the realities of operating in the region, I suspect that the economics of the Alaskan adventure are now looking rather poor. Time for a $6 billion write off?
This Nazi fellow whose name graces this largest of all ships fled to S. America to eventually become an immensely wealthy shipping magnate. I am curious. Where did this dude get his investment capital from ?? Pilfered Nazi gold (i.e., Jewish gold) ?? He apparently fled with a bundle of cash. I am certain that an unemployed ex-Waffen SS officer with a bad reputation would not get anywhere without ‘friends’ and ‘contacts’ from the old world. Can anyone elucidate ??
John, I see that you are up to your old shenanigans again, i.e., embarrassing disclosures. Well done.
Outsider: Total probably is not mentioned because they already were severely cash-strapped before the oil price plunched and they are selling asets to fund their Yamal LNG project in Russia. Due to the sanctions that venture can’t get exterenal funding anymore so the shareholders (Total 20% besides the Russians and Chinese) will have to largely cough up the 20+ billion USD for it. So I doubt they are in a position to take-over. Besides that, the corporate cultures between BP and Total are totally different, so integration would be hell…
Strange that the Economist omits Total (market cap $130bn) from the list of potential buyers for BP
John,
In response to your atricle… Word in the halls of Woodcreek is that Goodfellow was promoted a year ago when the Unconventional business was downsizing. By the way, that picture of him looks downsized by about 100 pounds.
I agree with the comments on Goodfellow. I too worked for him a few years ago. My concern is the fact that he has had fatalities on his watch and now gets a senior role. What sort of message does that send?
Matula can’t control disastrous IT costs and remains in charge. Outen spearheaded numerous NBD failures and terrible deal performance. Now heads up strategy? Ahem. Napier spent many years as head of real estate, and is now amazingly head of communications. A bit like tony blair being made UN mid east peace envoy. Golligher has achieved nothing in a very lacklustre career. Pickard always a bully and now heads up the calamitous Arctic campaign. Whatever next? Brinded brought back to take charge of HSE? Time for me to fill my 4×4 with some cheap gas. Over and out.
Crouching Tiger: We are on the same page! I like your list as well. I can’t believe MEO and most (all?) of his LT is still on the payroll. With crude prices being so low, all the warts will begin to show in Deepwater. How much longer will van Beurden stand for the lack of performance in UA?
I am very happy Goodfellow is on his way out. I have worked with him. He leaves a pile of destruction behind him. Golligher, Pickard, Outen, Napier, Culpepper, Conway, Matula, Henry, Odum etc should also get shown the door as they add little value. F150: I work in Houston and in Shell for a long time and know only to well that useless people come from all nationalities. I hope HR do what they are paid to do instead of plotting disgusting IPF revenge strategies.
So, Christmas has finally arrived in The States with the announcement that Goodfellow is finally leaving. After seeing the havoc he has inflicted in Deepwater and Unconventionals it will be good for folks like Crouching Tiger to see the damage non-Americans can do to shareholder value. Remember Walter, Phil and David Greer?
Brent now at $45
The falling oil price will hurt the majors disproportionately due to their high fixed overheads. The majors will still be profitable but will soon start selling (or abandoning) assets which, as a result of the overheads, produce a lower rate of return. The smaller, nimbler companies that buy the assets at knock down prices will generate much better returns from the same assets. And as the majors spread their fixed overheads over their fewer remaining assets, these assets will themselves become increasingly marginal. Some people may remember Schoonebeek…
Good to hear those on the Calgary gravy train are being thrown into the expensive tar. Agree to the overheads point. Next it is the time for the army of useless Houston support staff. Yes all the HR mafia, PR spin doctors, bean counters and arctic gun slingers to name a few. Time for President van beurden to dispose of the inmates at Guantanamo Creek and Camp Xray One Plaza.
Crouching Tiger what makes you think Odum will survive. The cull has already started in Canada with 150 people leaving by March. Odum is making a great start in reducing his massive overhead but has a long way to especially as Concentration Camp Culpepper nears completion and the overhead costs kick in for that. Hollowell must be licking his chops right now with the success in the Gulf keeping UA afloat
Odum will survive. But not his band of merry incompetent texan men. The oil rush is over my yankee doodle friends. I belief the knifes are being sharpened at HQ. Thanksgiving may just come early this year. Only OPEC cutting production can save Texan Turkey from being on the summer menu.
Mr. Donovan. Your site seems to be the focal point of speculation about a Shell BP merger. Do you have inside information? What is going on behind the scenes?
Brent now at $53 according to Bloomberg
There Be Dragons: I’m surprised that Odum has survived in Shell this long in spite of poor performance (well I guess I am not surprised since Shell does not require accountability). I’d be shocked if he could survive a merger.
Would the new board really include Odum given his ‘success’ in Alaska? If this did really happen there would be some serious collateral damage in both the Upstream bloated orgaizations.
Hasn’t Cosan, Shell’s partner in Brazilian ethanol been cited for engaging in slave labor practices ?
Signing the SGBP is one thing. Bringing the 5% who ignore the SGBP into line will not be so easy. I wish BvB good luck and a happy New Year.
Saw your article on Shell’s espionage saga. Rumor has it the US Attorney General in now involved.
My, my. Shell involved in espionage ?? Say it isn’t so. Acoustics and electromagnetics are two hot button topics at DoD and DoE. If your allegations are true, then Shell is playing with the wrong snake.
Zik, Osagie was transferred to The Hague a year ago as his final preparation to replace Mutiu. I agree with you that Osagie is not the type of gentleman and businessman that Mutiu is. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of people like Mutiu.
Osagie has made career pushing paper around Human Resources Department. He didn’t do that very well, but he was protected. In addition to Basil, Chris Finlayson was his godfather. Chris brought him to Brunei when Chris was based there and hurried him back to Lagos when Chris took over as number one in Nigeria.
Osagie, Basil and Chris share poor judgement. The fact that after his short stint in British Gas he took on a Directorship with one of the notorious oil companies in Papua New Guinea (inter Oil), is further proof of that.
But let’s face it: Osagie will take the job unless you or others can provide concrete evidence that can be confirmed through investigation by Shell. Hard evidence of shoddy values will persuade Shell to change its mind. So use your contacts and find the smoking gun
A STERN ADVICE TO PREVENT SHELL FROM MAKING A SERIOUS BLUNDER IN THE APPOINTMENT OF THE NEXT MD/COUNTRY CHAIR, AS MR. MUTIU SUNMONU GOES ON RETIREMENT
With rumours going round that the Royal Dutch Shell is bent on appointing Mr. Osagie Okunbor as the next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair to take over from Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, CON, who is going on retirement soonest, we consider it necessary to once again render this strong advice, considering the sensitivity of the subject, so as to clear the air, put things in their right perspective and reiterate our stand.
Without mincing words, making Mr. Osagie Okunbor the next MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC), Nigeria, to take over from Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, will be the ‘biggest’ mistake and a ‘corporate blunder’ Shell will ever make. It will be like Shell using its own hands to ‘destroy’ the company’s operations in Nigeria. Again, this is no exaggeration, but stating the bitter truth and the undeniable fact as we see it.
Often times, people are remembered by the legacies (be it good or bad) and impact they must have made and left behind in the life of others or the organization or company they have worked for. However, when such legacies left behind in a company like Shell (SPDC) are seen as a good one, it is far more important for such good legacies to be sustained by those coming to take over. As the current Country Chair/Managing Director of the Royal Dutch Oil Company based in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, bows out of office soonest, the question of who takes over the mantle of leadership becomes very expedient to put into consideration and find answers to.
Indeed, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu won the hearts of many with several qualities, notably; he was and still is painstaking, accessible (open doors), erudite, accommodating, slow to anger, humble, detribalized, tested and trusted, an ambassador devoid of mediocrity, megalomania and above all intelligent. These facts and attributes were also recognized by the Federal Government of Nigeria which was quickly followed by the prestigious award of the National title/Honour – CON (Commander of The Order of The Niger), by the President of Nigeria Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, two months back. It is therefore crucial to state here that no Nigerian Oil Chief has ever received such a National Honour award.
The ‘oil Executive’ Mr. Sunmonu, is also known to have received tens of titles (many he had refused) from several host communities where Shell Nigeria operates. In these host communities, choruses of praises are still opened and rained on him even in the face of oil exploration challenges.
This unprecedented development in the history of oil exploration and production, particularly in the Niger delta, should not be left unabated if the status quo must be retained and maintained without a paradox. Hence, it is “Who The Cap Fits” that should only be considered to take over from Mr. Sunmonu, so as to continue with the good legacy he will be leaving behind, and not some ‘desk-top’ or ‘sycophant’ individuals that do not have what it takes to deliver.
In other words, the next Managing Director/Country Chair of Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has to be someone that first, has a vast experience in Gas Production, especially now that the whole world is aiming for cleaner sources of energy; which gas production offers. The next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair should also be someone that was an Asset Manager and has gathered that level of expertise, just like Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu who was once the Asset Manager in Southern Swamp operations (Area C) Western Division in Delta and Bayelsa States, Shell Nigeria.
As MD/Country of Shell (SPDC), Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu brought his experience as an Asset Manager. As an Asset Manager in Shell, you are always on ground and this makes you close to the oil and gas facilities, the various host communities and the locals, and the company’s staff as well. These are the attributes that greatly helped Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu as MD/Country Chair of Shell and a great achiever. On the other hand, appointing Mr. Osagie Okunbor is baseless because it will not bring any positive impact to Shell (SPDC) operations in NIgeria.
Some persons in the Shell system have claimed that “Mr. Osagie Okunbor worked very hard at different levels of leadership”, but this is pointless because we know that it is Mr. Basil Omiyi and the Edo State connections in Shell (SPDC) that projected Mr. Osagie Okunbor to the position of the VP Human Resources. He did not attain to that position on merit or hard work, as they are trying to make us believe. The question is what job was he doing or has he done to be considered for the said position? Appointing an Edo State man to occupy the position of Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair will not help the Niger Delta region. Edo State is just in the Niger Delta region by ‘geographical manipulations.’ The ‘core Niger Delta States’ are: Delta State, Bayelsa State, Rivers State and Akwa-Ibom State. The core Niger Delta people do not consider or regard Edo State people as Niger-Deltans. They are not part of us. Mr. Osagie Okunbor is a Benin man from Edo State, as such, he has no affiliation with the core Niger Delta people. Mr. Osagie Okunbor cannot, or even know how to manage/relate with host community stakeholders in the volatile Niger Delta region of Nigeria. He is also a very ‘unpopular’ Shell (SPDC) staff within and without host communities of the Niger Delta region.
This is Nigeria, where the oil, gas and condensate explorations and productions are not like what we find in other nations that Shell is operating in. The complexities, challenges and demands of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria are quite overwhelming; hence it requires a well-grounded technical and operational person with the leadership qualities and professionalism to adequately manage Shell (SPDC) operations in the country. This becomes necessary when we consider the fact that Shell (SPDC) is still the pioneers and the biggest International Oil Company (IOC) in Nigeria. Therefore, Shell should have someone that is well-grounded in the Nigerian oil and gas industry who completely understands the working/operational environment and can fully represent the interest of Shell in Nigeria as well as that of relevant host communities’ stakeholders.
Therefore, it is imperative that the next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair has to be someone that is well-grounded in “engineering background”. Having an MD/Country Chair with an engineering background for an oil and gas company like Shell (SPDC) has a lot of advantages than having a man with a “clerical background”. An MD/Country Chair Engineer understands every component of the industry right from the project design to the workability of the oil and gas assets in his jurisdiction. As the ‘boss’, an MD/Country Chair Engineer knows the ‘technical’ details of the demands of his office and he/she knows what to do at every point in time. But the “non-engineering” Executive will have to depend on other people for everything. He cannot prepare ‘technical presentations’ and cannot answer questions on technical issues.
At the top, an MD/Country Chair with a technical engineering background will be able to adequately manage the oil and gas assets and people better than a novice like Mr. Osagie Okunbor for example. Well known and well-established International Oil Companies (IOCs) like Shell always discourage and stop any form of ‘favoritism’ or ‘who-know-man’ just to favour a friend in a sensitive job appointment. Like we have reiterated severally in times past; somebody like Mr. Osagie Okunbor has nothing technically-concrete to offer if appointed the next MD/Country Chair. He should be left to handle ‘clerical issues’ alone in Shell.
Let us reiterate here that it is not a question of one being a Vice President or a Director (through ‘who-know-man’) in Shell Nigeria that qualifies one to become the next MD/Country Chair, but it is about one having the vast requisite technical experiences and ‘character’ to adequately handle the demands of that office. The next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair should be someone that has competence on the job. This is something Mr. Osagie Okunbor would not be able to offer.
The next MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC) has to be someone that is ‘firm’ and has proven his or herself to be a ‘dependable’ and ‘reliable’ Executive not just for Shell as a whole but also for the locals of the host communities in Shell operation areas of Nigeria. He should be someone that is not an Edo State ‘tribalist’ or any ethnic tribalist for that matter. The next Shell Nigeria MD/Country Chair has to be someone that has an ‘independent’ mind yet ‘humble’, and can use his/her discretion and wisdom to address host communities issues affecting locals before they go out of proportion, as well as issues bothering junior Shell staffs too, just like Mr. Sunmonu is known to have done. That is, the next Shell Nigeria MD/Country Chair has to be someone that will not look down on host communities’ stakeholders as well as Shell junior staffs. Otherwise, host community issues will often snowball into unanticipated crises while junior Shell staffs that do not have a voice, will suffer greatly, particularly those that have served the company greatly for years but yet, are sent out through the back door without nothing, over flimsy excuses on health grounds that are no fault of theirs. We know exactly what we are saying based on recent happenings, so this is no exaggeration.
There are people who pretend to be good but in actual fact, they are not; the relevant authorities in Shell Hague should consider these facts in appointing the next MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC). If possible, those considered to be eligible for the position of MD/Country Chair of Shell Nigeria, should be made to come out and contest for the position through ‘rigorous tests’, both written and oral tests on the technical knowledge of the oil and gas operations of Shell Nigeria.
It is now unavoidable to prevent the oil rich communities and indeed the Nigeria people from weeping if the sad error of replacement is executed by misguided judgments on the part of the Royal Dutch Management, sequel to our earlier write ups on this issue.
Many Nigerians are currently waiting with anxiety as to who would take over and continue the good works of Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, CON. Relevant authorities and Shell Management in The Shell Hague, should therefore be very thorough before naming the next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair. A greater portion of the future of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry rests on that decision.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
And now we know the rest of the story. Shell’s appetite for creating Swiss shell companies for the purposes of hiding income and dodging taxes started around 2005, the time old Peter Voser took over Shell. Bean counters have no business running oil companies. They don’t know the industry.
The current rapid drop in oil prices is not simply a matter of market forces at work. Remember the last time oil prices tanked and banks in the US got themselves into trouble ? At that time Merrill Lynch owned more oil future than any other entity. Bank of America now owns Merrill Lynch.The world’s trading and banking houses are clearly dumping high priced long term contracts in an effort to cut their losses. There is more to the price of crude than simply supply and demand. The traders have panicked an so the price of crude has ‘tanked’. We have seen this before. Next time they will drive the price higher than markets forces warrant.
When Peter Voser’s departure as CEO was announced, it was explained that Peter wanted time for his family, hobbies and to give back to society. Today it was announced that he’s being proposed as Chairman of ABB (his previous employer) and he also took a directorship at a Singaporean Sovereign Invetsment house some months ago. This makes his departure story look suspicious. Maybe the board was aware that he overpaid for unconventional acreage in the USA and that his China adventures were quickly going nowhere but down.
Is it time for the RDS board to be a bit more forthcoming with its justification?
NOW THAT MR. MUTIU SUNMONU IS GOING ON RETIREMENT, WHO TAKES OVER AS SHELL NIGERIA MD/COUNTRY CHAIR?
As the current Country Chair/Managing Director of the Royal Dutch Oil Company based in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, bows out of office soonest, the question of who takes over the mantle of leadership becomes very expedient to put into consideration and find answers to.
Indeed, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu won the hearts of many with several qualities, notably; he was and still is painstaking, accessible (open doors), erudite, accommodating, slow to anger, humble, detribalized, tested and trusted, an ambassador devoid of mediocrity, megalomania and above all intelligent. These facts and attributes were also recognized by the Federal Government of Nigeria which was quickly followed by the prestigious award of the National title/Honour – CON (Commander of The Order of The Niger), by the President of Nigeria Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, two months back. It is therefore crucial to state here that no Nigerian Oil Chief has ever received such a National Honour award.
The ‘oil Executive’ Mr. Sunmonu, is also known to have received tens of titles (many he had refused) from several host communities where Shell Nigeria operates. In these host communities, choruses of praises are still opened and rained on him even in the face of oil exploration challenges.
This unprecedented development in the history of oil exploration and production, particularly in the Niger delta, should not be left unabated if the status quo must be retained and maintained without a paradox. Hence, it is “Who The Cap Fits” that should only be considered to take over from Mr. Sunmonu, so as to continue with the good legacy he will be leaving behind, and not some ‘desk-top’ or ‘sycophant’ individuals that do not have what it takes to deliver.
In other words, the next Managing Director/Country Chair of Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has to be someone that first, has a vast experience in Gas Production, especially now that the whole world is aiming for cleaner sources of energy; which gas production offers. The next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair should also be someone that was an Asset Manager and has gathered that level of expertise, just like Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu who was once the Asset Manager in Southern Swamp operations (Area C) Western Division in Delta and Bayelsa States, Shell Nigeria.
Let us reiterate here that it is not a question of one being a Vice President or a Director (through ‘who-know-man’) in Shell Nigeria that qualifies one to become the next MD/Country Chair, but it is about one having the vast requisite technical experiences and ‘character’ to adequately handle the demands of that office. He should be someone that has competence on the job.
The next MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC) has to be someone that is ‘firm’ and has proven his or herself to be a ‘dependable’ and ‘reliable’ Executive not just for Shell as a whole but also for the locals of the host communities in Shell operation areas of Nigeria. He should be someone that is not an Edo State trabalist or any ethnic trabalist for that matter.
The next Shell Nigeria MD/Country Chair has to be someone that has an ‘independent’ mind yet ‘humble’, and can use his/her discretion and wisdom to address host communities issues affecting locals before they go out of proportion, as well as issues bothering junior Shell staffs too, just like Mr. Sunmonu is known to have done. That is, the next Shell Nigeria MD/Country Chair has to be someone that will not look down on host communities’ stakeholders as well as Shell junior staffs. Otherwise, host community issues will often snowball into unanticipated crises while junior Shell staffs that do not have a voice, will suffer greatly, particularly those that have served the company greatly for years but yet, are sent out through the back door without nothing, over flimsy excuses on health grounds that are no fault of theirs. We know exactly what we are saying based on recent happenings, so this is no exaggeration.
There are people who pretend to be good but in actual fact, they are not; the relevant authorities in Shell Hague should consider these facts in appointing the next MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC). If possible, those considered to be eligible for the position of MD/Country Chair of Shell Nigeria, should be made to come out and contest for the position through ‘rigorous tests’, both written and oral tests on the technical knowledge of the oil and gas operations of Shell Nigeria.
It is now unavoidable to prevent the oil rich communities and indeed the Nigeria people from weeping if the sad error of replacement is executed by misguided judgments on the part of the Royal Dutch Management, sequel to our earlier write ups on this issue.
Many Nigerians are currently waiting with anxiety as to who would take over and continue the good works of Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, CON. Relevant authorities and Shell Management in The Shell Hague, should therefore be very thorough before naming the next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair. A greater portion of the future of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry rests on that decision.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
London Lad: we agree that buying BP now is writing an open check. Until its legal liabilities are established (and possibly confirmed by a higher court), a buyer has no idea how to assess the future cash commitments related to Gulf spill. The difference with the BG situation is that a more creative Shell Board would have considered what BG did itself later on: namely floating off the downstream gas business and its retail charging and collection business. In other words, it was arisk that could be managed> Macondo is not (at this point).
As a result, Shell lost a great opportunity.
Relieved: My point entirely. If unconventional (ie Bakken/Eagle Ford….) wells need to be worked over after 1-2 years of production (at a cost similar to the drilling of a new well) we will see a rebalancing of supply and demand within a couple of years – it will not be economical to maintain production and the wells will be shut in or abandoned. Wells that have already been drilled are “sunk costs” and will be produced for as long as possible, as is always the case. The difference with unconventionals is that “as long as possible” means 1-2 years rather than 10-20 years as was the case with conventionals.
Outsider: North Dakota just celebrated the production of 1 billion barrels of oil from the Bakken shale. Two thirds of that production came in the last 3 years. These wells pay off very quickly at $100 a barrel but production declines very rapidly as well. The same holds true for the Eagle Ford shale in Texas. With drilling stalled in these two areas production will decline quickly,as will the ‘new’ shale oil supply of US produced oil. This could take a couple of million barrels out of US and world daily production. Oil prices won’t rebound overnight, but they will rebound and go higher unless other sources of energy expand or new technologies for energy production mature and expand. Without new drilling and new supplies coming online oil production world wide will decline. Low prices expand demand. Eventually, there is a collision between supply and demand, and it won’t take long to occur. We have seen it before.
Relieved: I agree that the price of oil in cyclical, but the production decline of unconventional wells is much faster than the decline of conventional wells. I would expect a year or two before there is a marked decline in unconventional production sufficient to balance overall supply and demand.
Oil prices have relatively long term (relative to other commodities) price swings. In general the highs (or lows) come and go about every seven years (roughly). This swing time is related to the lag time necessary to bring on new production, and for current productions levels to decline enough to stimulate higher prices and increased drilling and production.
Exxon is probably generally correct in their assessment of where oil prices are headed over the long term. As production now declines because of low prices for crude, it won’t be long before prices start an upswing. Whether BP can last another couple of years at current or lower prices for crude is another matter.
The most obvious rival source for large-scale hydrogen is nuclear power generation not unreliable wind and solar. This was proposed in a paper presented at a nuclear forum some 20 years ago on the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen from nuclear = no/low CO2 emissions- unlike natural gas or other fossils
Given the recent US Supreme Court ruling against BP in its efforts to limit damage claims it would appear that their balance sheet just took another hit. How much of a hit is a matter of speculation at this point in time, but it won’t be chicken feed.
Total and BP have worked together on JVs for many years, and Total (especially under Desmarais) have a successful track record at mergers. Add to that Total’s new found enthusiasm for London (perhaps a UK tax domicile?) and it’s just a question of how much the liabilities scare them. Not much obvious overlap/conflicts in either Upstream or Downstream either.
Have to agree with “earclosetotheground” that this rumour is almost certainly a result of the “city” boys making money to pay off their mortgage (again). Why should Shell take on the toxic element of the Gulf spill? No chance. I was involved with the possible bid for BG back in the 90’s and the final put down on this was the problems BG was then having with domestic supply aggro in the UK.
With regard to the defamation suit now working its way through the US court system – I know of another case Shell is likely to face, regardless of how this case works itself out. And this one could make the news.
Shell’s hubris is amazing, and it is time people started taking it to task.
If I had received a 1000 Pounds every time the Shell/BP rumour came up, I would be a rich man by now. If you think about it, you know it is unfounded market speculation that has allowed a few people to make money by selling after the rumour started to ciculate
Welcome back LondonLad. You are correct, things were getting a bit stale on this blog. Maybe you can liven it up.
If Shell paid a $30 million penalty as a result of paying a $2 million bribe, can we expect to see a $15 billion penalty for the $1 billion bribe paid by Shell and ENI to acquire OPL245 ?
Oh dear oh dear oh dear Donovan. Up to your usual tabloid titilation and “add-ons” again. Referring to your article on the “Worst oil spill into the Niger Delta for years” the referenced article states very clearly “slick strectching for miles …… across swamps and INTO the ocean”. Yes Donovan INTO. This merely likely supports the usual problem in the Delta (and stated by SPDC) that thieving Nigerians caused the problem. Trying to imply that the leak was several miles offshore and then attempting to condone the thieving Nigerians by adding that they could only have done this using submarines merely underlines the lack of understanding you have with the Niger Delta (as does the likes of “Relieved”). There, that should get some response and liven up this somewhat dormant blog.
REPLY TO LONDONLAD BY JOHN DONOVAN
Surely you did not think the comment about submarines was serious?
There is a very old joke about how copper wire was invented, i.e., is was discovered by two Dutchmen fighting over a copper penny.
This joke reflects the notorious attachment Dutch for money (the are not alone). Given this cultural bias it should not be a surprise that RDS takes every possible route to avoid paying any more for anything than is absolutely necessary. And they go to great lengths to accomplish this, even engaging in unethical and criminal behavior. Well, like I stated, they are not alone. But birds of a feather do flock together.
I noticed that Toyota is coming out with a car powered by fuels cells that operate off hydrogen. Today the hydrogen comes from natural gas, so we don’t save anything in the way of CO2 emissions but there are any nitrogen oxide emissions (the smog gas). Tomorrow the hydrogen may come from solar and wind power. Does anyone think Toyota is making a serious mistake on betting on a hydrogen future for transportation ??
We have been through Shell’s creative reserve estimations before. Are we now being treated to round two ??
Ireland is supposedly a modern republican democracy, yet its officials and their stooge cops act as if they are a former Soviet satellite. John Locke said: ‘Where the law ends, tyranny begins.’ I think it is time for some internal housecleaning within the Irish government.
Mr Supershell – do you realise how hypocritical you appear? You criticise this website and its owner but you visit regularly. Also do you not believe in freedom of speech? In my long career at Shell I have found many people from the US with such strange and draconian opinions. If you don’t like the website you are free get your information elsewhere.
In my opinion Bill Campbell is right about his risk assessment of the Prelude. If there is an accident (and sooner or later an accident will happen) the damage will be much larger than on a comparable site on shore.
In my view an accident resulting in a fire is inevitable. Especially because the focus of Shell’s project department is on planning and budget. Taking shortcuts on quality and safety, including the violation of international standards is not a problem for the Shell top management. On a project like the Prelude the pressure on delivering on time will be enormous, this will effect the quality and therefore increase the risk.
A second issue is operational errors leading to fires. The question is not if it will happen, but when it will happen. Just analyse the number of fires on a on- shore Shell site! Keep in mind that the real number will be higher, because Shell is doing it’s utmost best to hide and downplay any kind of negative publicity.
Mr Donovan, your speculative article on the pending retirement of Mr Brandjes, RDS Company Secretary, is less than honourable. Other than the regular visitors to your website (myself included), he is probably the only person in the world who has been reading the conjecture and general guff in your emails for the last xx years. His sense of duty to the Company is admirable! Deep down you must be longing to get out of the life of updating your miserable website and find a new purpose. Would Mr Brandjes’ retirement be an appropriate trigger to do so?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
No. Wishful thinking on someones part. I enjoy having a free hand to publish information about Shell and hope I will continue to do so for many years to come. Bit puzzled why you remain a regular visitor when you describe the website as being miserable. What’s the compulsion to return? Are you paid to visit? Is it not part of your job to do so? You are aware of Shell’s policy of how best to deal with the existence of this website. It is not working. The damage to Shell has been enormous – literally billions of dollars (Sakhalin2) – and well worth the time and cost to me. I know that many people must be baffled why Shell does not take legal action against me bearing in mind that some articles, such as the spoof article you complain about, may appear rather forthright. The reason why I am not buried in injunctions is because of meticulous research to ensure I can substantiate in court everything I publish about Shell and its management. In other words, I have the documentary evidence. If convinced information is true I am prepared to publish it, including leaked documents, such as from Lavelle, the Dublin law firm, that no other website or news source would dare to publish. I do not have to obtain approval from an editor or from lawyers. It is my decision alone. That makes this website a very dangerous Internet outlet for Shell attracting as it does, disgruntled parties from around the globe. Hence the spying activity and attempts to close it down and kill news stories about our activities. I did have some regard for Mr Brandjes when he initially acted in a gentlemanly fashion after being appointed as my designated contact at Shell, but it eventually evaporated, along with his good manners.
It is not so much the size of RDS that justifies breaking it up but the over dominance of the Upstream. There is no way that a separate Oil Marketing business would have managed decline in the way that that the Upstream and Finance dominated RDS has. In the old days the CMD struggled with Marketing but we had 100+ OpCos who just got on with it – very well in the main. But once the centralisation imperative took hold 10+ years ago Shell lost its competitive edge in local markets. Thinking Global but acting Local is what built Shell’s brand but Acting Global and not thinking at all has damaged it. The OpCos were abandoned and when that happened all the necessary local focus went as well. Decision-making is so removed from the market that any attempt to identify the Shell brand with an individual market’s needs has gone. And the only criterion of measurement that matters is cost.
Is it too late to hive off Shell Marketing as a truly separate business and manage it as such – not as a poor relation of the big ticket Upstream? Possibly. But it’s worth a try.
John,
I am continually amazed at RDS’s inability to ‘neutralize’ your operation. Absolutely amazed. It is indicative of the level of incompetence now endemic within the ranks of RDS upper level management. But then again, if RDS management was responsible and competent you would not have much to report and therefore would not be the HUGE pain in the backside you are today. Personally I think many of RDS’s problem stem from size and that the company is now much like the old Roman empire – too large to manage effectively. Maybe it is time to break up the operation into smaller operating companies.
John, I read your amusing article about your alleged past. I got a good chuckle out from the article. No, you are not a current or former RDS spook, of that I am quite certain.
At four o’clock yesterday Shells head of legal Bridgid Lowe contacted alcohol confirmation lawyer Marc Fitzgibbon and informed him that following information obtained from “John Donovans website” it was a “mistake” to contact
the OSSL solicitor and request a conference call that would have included Statoil and Vermilion. There was no apology sent to OSSL.
Relieved, no hope this Zik will listen to you. It is the prerogative of the chairman to ignore everyone, paying attention to others would be a sign of weakness. And he thinks all the readers are Nigerians. They have learned to simply ignore the very long and incomprehensible speeches of the chairman. During a speech the chairman must use difficult words so he appears educated and impresses his audience. Just read ‘How to be a Nigerian’ from Peter Enahoro. First published in 1966. Nothing has changed since then, except they now have smartphones, internet and drive on the right side of the road. And the country in general is much poorer and worse off. So, just be like a Nigerian and ignore the crap from the chairman.
Zik, old man, you are defeating your own message by being so long winded. Keep it short and sweet and to the point. Very few have the patience to wade through your tomes.
WHO TAKES OVER FROM THE CURRENT SHELL NIGERIA MD/COUNTRY CHAIR?
As the current Country Chair/Managing Director of the Royal Dutch Oil Company based in Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, bows out of office soonest, the question of who takes over the mantle of leadership becomes very expedient to put into consideration and find answers to.
Indeed, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu won the hearts of many with several qualities, notably; he was and still is painstaking, accessible (open doors), erudite, accommodating, slow to anger, humble, detribalized, tested and trusted, an ambassador devoid of mediocrity, megalomania and above all intelligent. These facts and attributes were also recognized by the Federal Government of Nigeria which was quickly followed by the prestigious award of the National title/Honour – CON (Commander of The Order of The Niger), by the President of Nigeria Mr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, recently. It is therefore crucial to state here that no Nigerian Oil Chief has ever received such a National Honour award.
The ‘oil Baron’ Mr. Sunmonu, is also known to have received tens of titles (many he had refused) from several host communities where Shell Nigeria operates. In these host communities, choruses of praises are still opened and rained on him even in the face of oil exploration challenges.
This unprecedented development in the history of oil exploration and production, particularly in the Niger delta, should not be left unabated if the status quo must be retained and maintained without a paradox. Hence, it is “Who The Cap Fits” that should only be considered to take over from Mr. Sunmonu, so as to continue with the good legacy he will be leaving behind, and not some ‘desk-top’ or ‘sycophant’ individuals that do not have what it takes to deliver.
In other words, the next Managing Director/Country Chair of Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has to be someone that first, has a vast experience in Gas Production, especially now that the whole world is aiming for cleaner sources of energy; which gas production offers. The next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair should also be someone that was an Asset Manager and has gathered that level of expertise, just like Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu who was once the Asset Manager in Southern Swamp operations (Area C) Western Division in Delta and Bayelsa States, Shell Nigeria.
Let us reiterate here that it is not a question of one being a Vice President or Director (through ‘who-know-man’) in Shell Nigeria that qualifies one to become the next MD/Country Chair, but it is about one having the vast requisite technical experiences and ‘character’ to adequately handle the demands of that office.
The next MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC) has to be someone that is ‘firm’ and has proven his or herself to be a ‘dependable’ and ‘reliable’ Executive not just for Shell as a whole but also for the locals of the host communities in Shell operation areas of Nigeria. The next Shell Nigeria MD/Country Chair has to be someone that has an ‘independent’ mind yet ‘humble’, and can use his/her discretion and wisdom to address host communities issues affecting locals before they go out of proportion, as well as issues bothering junior Shell staffs too. That is, the next Shell Nigeria MD/Country Chair has to be someone that will not look down on host communities’ stakeholders as well as Shell junior staffs. Otherwise, host community issues will often snowball into unanticipated crises while junior Shell staffs that do not have a voice, will suffer greatly, particularly those that have served the company greatly for years but yet, are sent out through the back door without nothing. We know exactly what we are saying based on recent happenings, so this is no exaggeration.
There are people who pretend to be good but in actual fact, they are not; the relevant authorities in Shell Hague should consider these facts in appointing the next MD/Country Chair of Shell (SPDC). If possible, those considered to be eligible for the position of MD/Country Chair of Shell Nigeria, should be made to come out and contest for the position through ‘rigorous tests’, both written and oral tests on the technical knowledge of the oil and gas operations of Shell Nigeria.
It is now unavoidable to prevent the oil rich communities and indeed the Nigeria people from weeping if the sad error of replacement is executed by misguided judgments on the part of the Royal Dutch Management, sequel to our earlier write ups on this issue.
Many Nigerians are currently waiting with anxiety as to who would take over and continue the good works of Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu. Relevant authorities and Shell Management in The Shell Hague, should therefore be very thorough before naming the next Shell (SPDC) MD/Country Chair.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
I have read about this saga of Irish lushes so hard up they took booze in payment for ‘services rendered’. If I were Irish I would be miffed at the implication that the Irish are a mob of drunken fools. However, even Irish cops in the US are noted for their ability to ‘look the other way’. It must be something to do with the personality type.
Your blog Indicates the lawyer clearly confirms police alcohol being discussed by Shell /OSSL. Your readers should be aware the JV of Statoil, Vermilion, and Shell, immediately contacted the lawyer direct …what about? All parties refusing to say but after three years of silence Vermilion and Statoil now have something to say, but we don’t know what.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Just as long as I can drive my new Jag and keep my winter in the UK a little warmer to make my bones move more easily.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29855884
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29822830
AND, I would like to add to the Simon Henry blog made by others that it merely emphasises the fact that Financial Managers (at whatever level) have very little idea about the E&P business and should NOT have the authority to sign off documentation on the behalf of the E&P experts. This is a fact that I verbally made very clear to Bichsel many moons ago.
Simon Henry is correct. But he forgets to add ‘to do it well’. He seems to be completely detached from reality and his statement is a slap in the face of the professionals who do not get listened to!
The Moerdijk statement that the site is down de to a steamleak is Shell newspeak for damage on the 3 high pressure steam boilers.
North America Retail is being downsized once again by BARBARA STOYKO. As per the last “head cut” that BARBARA managed, CANADA was the victim despite better earnings than the USA. There is a bit of “INBREEDING” at play by Barbara Stoyko as she is living with a Shell retail USA employee that she supervises. This is very common down in the USA, where there are no morals or governing best practices. SHAME on you BARBARA STOYKO!!!
Simon Henry is correct when he says that it is not difficult to drill in the Arctic. However, drilling is just a small part of the overall process. The discussions should be based on all of the activities involved in exploration, development and production processes, including such issues as potential well control problems, accidental discharges and equipment failures. These are not supposed to happen, but as both Shell and BP have proven, they cannot simply be overlooked. The destruction of the Kulluk did not occur during drilling operations. The Macondo blowout occurred after drilling operations on the well had been completed. Shell have access to the technical resources and skills to minimise the risks, but have shown that they are unable to deploy them successfully in the Alaskan Arctic. The blind confidence of inexperienced drilling staff is perhaps the greatest single risk.
There is an almost perfect correlation between Multinational Oil company profits and the price of Crude Oil. The higher the latter, the higher the former. Changes within the business operations, cost reduction exercises and other reorganisations and the like, can affect financial performance on the margins. And instituting such changes can give Directors the feeling that they are “doing something” to justify their windfall level remuneration. But, in truth, it’s the traded value of Crude which really drives the dosh. So falling prices are bad for Shell, Exxn and the rest of them Arguably, however, they are good for the rest of us.
There are those who argue that the higher the oil price the stronger the drive for diversification will be. Renewables become more relatively viable if Crude prices are high. But Shell, having established Wind, Solar, Forestry and other unconventional energy businesses got out of most of them despite the rise in Oil prices. Even the (highly questionable) Governments’ subsidies for renewable energy were insufficient to keep Shell in the game. And falling prices make it unlikely that they will return.
One of the drivers of falling prices is the gradual increase in production – especially in the United States – of hydrocarbons (mostly Gas) from Shale. Fracking is changing the face of the energy scene, and not just in America. The US could become self-sufficient in Energy as a consequence, an extraordinary turnaround. The energy business is a classic example of where price is a direct consequence of the interplay of supply and demand. As supply of oil and gas from new non OPEC production such as shale increases the price falls. For the first time for a while the Sheikhs and their friends are not telling us how much we’ll pay for our gasoline!
The prediction of oil price trends is a dodgy old game and one major shock can lead to panic and price rises. That said there is reason to be bearish on oil for at least the medium term. There is an uncomfortable dilemma ahead for the Oil Majors. Unconventional oil and gas production – be it via fracking or by moving into environmentally questionable areas like the Arctic – is expensive. And yet if the reliance on Middle East and other traditional producers is to be reduced then this has to happen. But the bean counters are going to be worried about project viability if the Crude price keeps falling. My guess is that the hurdle rate for investment approval slips negative in many cases at $80 a barrel or less.
Consolidation of the energy sector may be the way forward. Rumours of BP and Shell dusting off the merger files sound logical to me. BP is far from out of the mire of the Browne and Hayward years yet. But come the dawn, and if the lawyers confirm that all the lawsuits are behind them, then a Shell/BP merger seems more likely than not. The opportunity to build a great Europe-based Energy multinational around the strong(ish) foundations of RDS and BP would be attractive – not least to the European Union. The nightmare alternative, by which either or both fall into the hands of Russian, or Chinese or Arab predators is not!
“Follow the money” is never bad advice. And along with “Who benefits” I’d recommend it at this time. The next few years will see major changes, some surprising, to the global energy scene. The power is shifting. The prizes are high! Who will win? We’ll see.
I would like to repeat a warning I have mentioned before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by contributors who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using aliases, such as “Outsider” and Musaint/LondonLad have built up a reputation over several years for the integrity of their postings on this website. Some contributors use multiple aliases when in fact they come from the same source.
Mr D there’s not one amongst us on Corrib who
doubts the Garda got the alcohol and in decent quantity ,when a lie is working you don’t change it
so Mr D “put up or shut up”
Who really cares ?
Tune In: Call out the Mounties and run those uncouth barbarians out of the country.
SHELL USA is trying to flex its muscle with Shell Canada……looks like the ignorant BUBBAS down South are winning!
It would appear that Marvin is afraid to cut into the largest part of his overhead, the safety department. This department has grown top heavy with JG 1 and JG A staff and reducing lower level staff while the record remains the worst in Shell. In HR we are having yet more cuts, seems I picked the wrong career.
A snippet for you John,
Shell CEO Crothers cuts into his holiday to handle ‘toxic waste” on Shell Corrib Claims against vendor not
quite sure were the truth lies on this one, great site John keep it up. Cheers.
John, If your Blackmailer Is OSSL they are as I write Outside their “target” HQ telling the world about their
“Scam” is that how blackmail works?
For Zik: You are being a bit long-winded, buddy.
SHELL SALES OF OIL BLOCKS – WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO HOST COMMUNITIES OF NIGER DELTA?
The Royal Dutch Shell is at it again as it has concluded the sale of its four Nigerian onshore oil blocks–Oil Mining Leases (OML) 18, 24, 25 and 29 – in addition to the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) – which it put up for sale following a 2013 review of its business in the country. According to a report, in an effort to reduce its exposure to onshore operations, which are more prone to security threats, Shell is divesting 30 per cent of its interest in the four blocks, while Total and Eni are selling 10 per cent and five per cent respectively. The remaining Fifty-five per cent will be retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with the new buyers. The divestment is also part of the Anglo-Dutch giant’s plan to dispose of $15 billion of assets globally in 2014 and 2015.
The problem we have with all of these concluded sales by Shell in its Western-Nigeria operations and now the Eastern operations is that it has no direct benefits to, or role by the host communities that have been bearing the brunt of the extractive industry for over fifty decades now.
On the Divestment of Shell (SPDC) onshore assets in the Niger Delta region, Shell initiated this process which according to them, was to help grow local capability. Oil blocks in Shell’s Western operations in Nigeria were sold to mostly Nigerian companies who were in partnerships with foreign funding and technical partners. But neither the host Delta State Government nor local communities were considered in these as partners, and this generated a lot of community backlash with threats from local communities to block operations. There were protests in the oil city of Warri and other places but all to no avail. Now the same thing has happened in the East; in Bayelsa and Rivers States. Again, there are no indication of direct role for, or benefits to the host communities that have borne the brunt of the devastation and exploitation for all these years of oil and gas exploration and production.
Plans are on for OML 11 & 17, some of the wells are in Ogoni, which has witnessed the most destructive evidence of environmental pollution from oil and gas exploration and production that are yet to be resolved till today. The question is, should the Nigerian government just allow these sales to go on without prescribing equity participation for the communities as a way of compensating them? Buyers of these fields become extremely wealthy. Is there anything wrong with the host communities of the Niger Delta being extremely wealthy as well? The sale of these four assets will bring the number of oil blocks sold by Shell to 12 in the last four years, as the oil major had previously sold OMLs 4, 38, 41, 26, 30, 34, 40 and 42 to local investors and their international partners. Of the eight oil fields previously divested by Shell, only OMLs 4, 38 and 41 are operated by the new buyer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company, while the operatorship of the other five blocks were transferred to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the upstream subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Under the current divestment programme, the report noted that Shell signed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with the Aiteo Group, which is acquiring OML 29, the most prolific of the oil assets offered to buyers, and the Nembe pipeline recently in Lagos, Nigeria. Other partners in the Aiteo Group-led consortium include Tempo Energy Resources, which has a 10 per cent stake and Taleveras with five per cent equity in the consortium.
The disposal of the Nembe pipeline, which moves oil through the Niger Delta to the Atlantic coast, is seen as Shell’s biggest move yet to exit onshore crude production in Nigeria. The 60-mile Nembe Creek Trunk Line is one of Shell’s two key pipelines in the Eastern Niger Delta, which the oil giant replaced in 2010 at a cost of $1.1 billion. The company also said recently that alongside its partners, Total and Eni, it had signed an SPA to sell 45 per cent in OML 18 to a consortium led by Canadian oil and gas company Mart Resources. Reuters reported that Mart Resources confirmed that it had entered into an agreement recently for the acquisition of OML 18, whose production it said ranged between 20,000 to 30,000 barrels per day from around 30 wells. Mart Resources is part of the Erotron consortium that won the bid for OML 18. Its other partners include indigenous operator Midwestern Oil and Gas and Suntrust Oil. The sale process “has not yet fully concluded but we can confirm that we have now signed the share purchase agreements for these oil mining leases and the NCTL,” a Shell spokesman said.
“Nigeria remains an important part of Shell’s portfolio, where we will continue to have a significant onshore presence in oil and gas, and which has clear growth potential, particularly in deep-water and onshore gas,” he added. For OML 18, the Erotron consortium was reported to have offered $1.2 billion for the oil block; Aiteo offered $2.562 billion for OML 29 and the Nembe pipeline; Pan Ocean Corporation Nigeria Limited offered to pay $900 million for OML 24; while Crestar secured OML 25 having offered $500 million for the oil asset. However, despite the execution of the SPAs between Shell and the buyers, the transactions would only be deemed truly sealed after a ministerial consent is granted by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, as provided by the Petroleum Act. However, the buyers have expressed confidence that the Minister would sign off on the deals soon.
Again, looking at all of these oil block sales by Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, the big question is; in what way would these benefit the host communities that have been bearing the brunt of the extractive industry?
We were irked recently when a report by Rachel D’Oro of the Associated Press titled “SHELL, ALASKA NATIVES TO SHARE IN OFFSHORE DRILLING PROFITS, noted how a worthy Shell initiative in Alaska positively engages host community locals as ‘partners’ to share directly in the oil and gas bounty of their coast. An extract from the said report reads: “An Alaska Native regional corporation and six Native Village corporations signed an agreement with a Shell Oil subsidiary Thursday (7/31) that aims to share the profits from offshore drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast. Shell and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. announced the formation of a new company called Arctic Inupiat Offshore LLC. Its participants include six village corporations on the North Slope. The agreement with the Shell subsidiary, Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc., gives the Alaska Native company the option of acquiring an overriding royalty interest from Shell’s drilling on leases in the Chukchi Sea.” And according to the Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby. He said the agreement also underscores Shell’s commitment to provide opportunities for the communities.
The report also noted that “Shell’s decision to invest in the future of the region and its people should be applauded,” Murkowski said in a statement. “This announcement ensures that the people of the North Slope Borough share directly in the oil and gas bounty off their coast. It also gives locals a say in what happens near their communities.”
We could not but wonder why Shell would do what they are doing in Alaska but fail to do same in other countries and places like the Niger Delta region in Nigeria?
The UNEP report funded by Shell was issued just over 3 years ago, and in the report both Shell and the Federal Government of Nigeria were indicted and specific actions aimed at remediating the severe environmental damages were assigned to all parties. The Federal Government of Nigeria has done nothing to address the issues and the communities impacted continue to suffer. Shell as the global operator that claims “best operating practices” is also not doing anything to get the government to respond.
This attitude would never be exhibited by Shell if it were in the US or Europe. The Macondo case of BP in the Gulf of Mexico, and the way the US government dealt with them is clear. BP was severely punished and the affected communities very well compensated for loss of business. Because the Nigerian government is weak and has no interest in what happens to the Ogoni communities for instance, Shell seems to have taken advantage of this by doing nothing, in violation of global standards. Shell knows they cannot do this in countries with better and stricter regulatory governance. But still, that does not excuse Royal Dutch Shell from not doing the right thing.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator,
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Finally – is it wishful thinking about Odum’s long overdue departure or is it based on fact ?
Just read an email ,Shell expose OSSL for dumping toxic waste across the border in N Ireland ,brilliant
deflection from Garda Booze nice one Shell .
Current Shell Senior operative on Corrib yesterday released (in writing) a malicious statement regarding the driver of the police /Shell 2007 alcohol delivery .The
release of the grotesque completely erroneous statement is timed to counter the news that the Minister for Justice is welcoming a reopening of the investigation into the “cops booze ” claims .
We now plumb the depths like never before .BVB must act to halt this villainous behaviour from Shell Ireland .
If Odum does go he goes 4 years early. Mandatory retirement is at age 60. Odum is 56.
It looks like Odum will finally be given his marching orders. I wonder if we will see other casualties of the CEO shake up. I’m glad I don’t have the letters UA in my ref indicator at the moment. Its been a long-time coming.
Let me tell you about one of the mess in Malaysia too. We made a mess of the Gumusut leased contract, damaged our relationship with Petronas. Now Ashley Bates CP GM got promoted to be VP CP. He is helped by non other Top Shell salesman Wayne H . Russ you have been conned. Get Ashley to sort out the mess before he goes. Ask the business for feedback. Don’t trust Wayne too much.
In the US the kind of legal shenaningans this ‘CW Law’ gang pulled would get someone disbarred might even lead to criminal charges for the individuals involved and the law firm itself. And you have to love RDS for trying to pull this kind of sleazy legal hat trick. RDS is such a good corporate citizen. None better.
Why is Peter Sharpe EVP Wells not made accountable for the Arctic belly flop? Everyone just blame the Americans.. Time to get someone new in drilling to turnaround Wells performances.
With the oil price falling i wonder if we will start to see the expensive UA projects being dropped. Shell can no longer continue to ignore the way things are going in the US. A good excuse for us to tidy up the inefficenies in the U S of A. Time to cut the useless and wasteful dumb kid’s allowance.
Well the recent corroborate good NEWS as you hsve posted… Maybe with all that extra money they can pay the OSSL COMPANY …,,,,
No one will read beyond the first few sentences of this plagarised verbiage from Zik. When is he going to take any notice?
Zik. Far too much. Most people will get bored to death after the first few paragraphs.
THE POSSIBILITY OF EARTHQUAKES AND THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF OIL & GAS EXPLORATION IN HOST COMMUNITIES OF THE NIGER DELTA
It is an established fact that when it comes to the very lucrative extractive industry of oil and gas exploration and production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which the Royal Dutch Shell has spear-headed in Nigeria for over 50 years now, nothing has been more devastating and disturbingly-pronounced than the adverse environmental degradation often left behind by this economic venture. Sadly, aside the obvious environmental degradation in the Niger Delta caused by oil and gas spills in the extractive industry, there are even more deadlier and harmful environmental impacts like possible earthquakes that are subtly being created by the extractive industry in region, which if not taken into consideration and measures put in place to ‘prevent’ or ‘accommodate’ it by both the oil and gas operators in the region and relevant government authorities, could spell doom for all and sundry.
The environmental impact of oil spills and gas exploration impact in the Niger Delta region has always been the focus of most stakeholders in the industry when it comes to addressing the environmental impacts of the extractive industry. But virtually nobody is raising alarm and talking about the gradual adverse impact of gas exploration being created underneath the earth’s crust. A lot of stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry are not aware that the constant exploration of gas for instance, unsettles the natural arrangement of what is underneath the earth’s crust, which could ultimately lead to serious earthquakes that will claim countless lives on many host communities locals.
This same problem created by the extractive industry, is currently being faced by locals of Groningen province in the Netherlands. It was reported that an earthquake measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale was felt in Groningen province recently and was considered a “significant quake in the Netherlands.” Social media channels were buzzing with news from people who felt the quake, some of whom were in Groningen city itself. “I have never felt such a strong one,” local councilor Paul de Rook said on Twitter. There have not yet been any reports of damage, news agency ANP said. The quakes are caused by the ground settling following the extraction of natural gas from under the province. Gas extraction company NAM has not yet commented on the strength of the recent quake but the tremors are thought to have been strongest in the villages of Ten Boer and Bedum. NAM happens to be a 50:50 Joint Venture between Shell and ExxonMobil, and is currently assessing claims from hundreds of people who say their homes have been damaged by the quakes.
It was also reported that the government of Netherlands has sharply reduced gas extraction volumes in the worst affected areas. In fact, at the beginning of this year the government of Netherlands has agreed to scale back gas production because of the earthquake risk. Total’s production, which reached almost 53 billion cubic metres last year, will be cut back around 20% to 42.5 billion cubic metres this year and in 2015, and reduced again to 40 billion cubic metres in 2016. This will cost the treasury €2.3bn in lost income over the three-year period. In addition, Ministers have earmarked an extra €1.2bn for Groningen province to strengthen buildings and the infrastructure. NAM has received more than 250 reports of damage, over 130 of which were in the city itself, the NRC Handelsblad newspaper said.
Earlier this year, the Economic Affairs Minister, Henk Kamp, had set aside €1.2bn to compensate people whose homes have been hit by earthquakes. Members of Parliament (MPs) have called for a debate with economic affairs minister Henk Kamp about the earthquake threat. NAM has had some 19,000 reports of quake damage so far, and carried out 3,000 street inspections. A further 5,000 homes still need to be inspected, the director told the NRC.
The above described situation in Groningen province of The Netherlands, clearly tells us that the host communities of the Niger Delta region, particularly host communities like Utorogu-Iwhrekan community in Ughelli South LGA, Delta State (that is rich in gas deposits), are predisposed to face the same earthquake challenges in the near future because of the years of gas extraction in the said areas by first; The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), and currently, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). It is therefore expedient for these oil and gas operators and relevant authorities/stakeholders in the industry to put this issue of possible earthquakes in the Niger Delta region into consideration, while going about their oil and gas exploration activities. Let us reiterate here that the stated three communities above will be the most impacted, if there is any possible earthquake because of the proximity and closeness of these direct host communities to each other.
While battling with and addressing the obvious environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration activities in the Niger Delta region like oil spills and gas flaring, there is need for operators and stakeholders in the industry to equally bring into the picture, the possibility of earthquakes caused by the ground settling following the extraction of natural gas from under earth crusts of the Niger Delta region areas.
Having this in mind, we believe, will help operators, regulators and relevant authorities in Nigeria’s extractive industry to know the level of natural gas exploration that could be considered harmful to the earth, and how this can be managed in the interest of all. It will also help relevant government authorities, regulators and stakeholders to manage human and material loss in case of possible earthquakes and also put in place “preventive measures” that will strengthen buildings and infrastructure in the direct host communities like Iwhrekan and Otu-Jeremi Communities in Ughelli South LGA, and Otor-Udu Community in Udu LGA, all in Delta State, and the region as a whole to withstand possible earthquakes. It will also help relevant government authorities to put in place ‘compensation mechanisms’ for host communities stakeholders that might likely suffer possible earthquakes in the future.
Knowledge is power, and prevention they say, is better than cure. In as much as such natural disasters cannot be prevented, now that we are aware that man-made activities like natural gas exploration can equally bring about such disasters like earthquakes, there is need for proactive steps to be taken in policy making and regulatory measures. That is why we believe International Oil Companies (IOCs) like Shell (SPDC), which has been operating in Nigeria for over fifty decades, should be made to face the music if there is any possible earthquake in the region in the near or far future. This should also include areas like Delta State, where Shell has Divested its oil and gas interests in the Land areas, e.g. Iwhrekan and Otu-Jeremi Communities in Ughelli South LGA, and Otor-Udu in Udu LGA, Delta State.
Now that Shell has Divested its assets and has exited the land areas of Delta State, will they leave the responsibility of bearing the consequences of their years of natural gas exploration to NPDC that just took over these assets? Considering the fact that NPDC is just a new comer that has taken over these divested Shell assets in the land areas of Delta State, Shell still has to take responsibility of the deplorable legacy they have left behind in these land areas. And having benefitted a lot from the oil and gas exploration in these land areas of Delta State, Shell has to contribute the lion share to the direct host communities for possible earthquakes.
For being the pioneer of oil and gas exploration in Nigeria, and having spear-headed natural gas exploration in particular in the Niger Delta region, Shell Nigeria should be ready to carry the burden of possible earthquakes that might happen in the region in the future. The Nigerian Government and relevant authorities in the industry should also take note of this and ensure that the interest of the host communities locals who are usually the ones that bears the grunt and pains of the extractive industry, are not left to wallow in their misery.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
A Dutch newspaper report that Shell Moerdijk is down untill at least the end of this year due to a steamleak. I asume they are having problems with the high pressure steam system.
To Deltaic: Don’t have to attempt anything. Shell’s negligence and incompetence and the venality of its management ‘team’ make that completely unnecessary.
One of the posted comments about Jo Kerkhoff mentions G4S, the contractor the former fed was working for. He got his revenge but there was a price to pay, as he is finding out. He should have done his home work before having anything to do with G4S and Shell. In the 2013 Public Eye Awards, G4S came third in the “peoples choice” category behind Shell and Goldman Sachs, as the worlds worst companies. Shell’s frightful track record is well documented. For G4S, take a few moments to read the “controversies” section of the Wikipedia article on the company. Negligence, incompetence and fraud. The two companies are so much alike. From the G4S perspective, was it wise to upset a man with so many connections? I have checked out Xxxxxxx xxxxxx online. Investigator for the Secret Service, DOJ, Treasury and Coast Guard. What was he really doing at the Norco site? Is there a hidden reason he was shunted out double quick? The incident is a potential commercial disaster for G4S coming as it does just a year into a five year contract to provide Shell with security services in more than 30 countries.
Information added by John Donovan.
I have redacted the name of the former U.S. Secret Service Agent.
Don’t worry “Guest” the two anti-Shell luddites (“Outsider” and “Relieved”) continuously attempt mischief and sensationalism. I just wish that I was as pure and adequate as they are, clearly others are not.
To Guest: The point here is that had Shell been doing preventative maintenance, as is the norm, the crane would not have failed. Crane failures like this are indicative of a serious lack of attendance to maintenance issues. In the US OSHA would be all over this and Shell would be facing stiff fines and penalties.
Guest: Cranes that are properly maintained and operated within their limits do not fail. Either the crane had not been maintained properly, or it was being operated outside its limits.
You really are a sensationalist. A crane failed and a container fell. The appropriate actions were taken. Nobody was injured, no asset damage occurred. Shell took actions to evacuate non essential persons. Yet you still sensationalise it on your site.
You really are a very sad person.
September 30, 2014
SHELL’S DEPLORABLE LEGACY IN DIRECT OIL AND GAS PRODUCING HOST COMMUNITIES IN DELTA STATE
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), which is a Nigerian offshoot of The Royal Dutch Shell Plc, has been operating in Nigeria for over five decades and still counting. And Delta State, can best be described as one of its main operation areas that habours its Western Division operations. Shell’s first real exploration in Delta State was a gas well in Erumukhowarien (around where we currently have Beta Glass), in Ughelli East which started in the late 1950s. But despite its over five decades exploration and production activities that started in Delta State from here, Shell did not meet up with the expectations of the host communities’ locals, as expected of an International Oil Company (IOC).
Today, every host community where Shell has ever operated in the land areas of Delta State, there is clear marked anger amongst families/locals who make up these land host communities, towards Shell and everything that concerns Shell as an IOC. Even though, Shell had Divested its interests and has left the land areas of Delta State, the anger from the host communities locals in these land areas still persist towards Shell.
This ‘anger and hatred’ towards anything Shell amongst families/locals that make up direct land host communities in Delta State, is born out of the pathetic and deplorable legacy that was left behind by Shell. Among other things, such legacies include years of environmental degradation and pollution of farmlands and fishing rivers; acquisition of ‘farmlands’ (which is the peoples economic lifeline), without appropriate ‘compensation’ to address the locals future; discriminatory employment opportunities, and where there are employment of locals, it is usually “casualized” (i.e restricted to casual labour); execution of Community Development projects/Programmes that are never sustainable; inappropriate and neglect of spills etc. Also, Shell host communities’ locals in the land areas of Delta State are seen by Shell, to only be good for ‘minor’ contracts like pipelines/flowlines surveillance, grass-cutting, housekeeping services, etc.
Looking at all the direct host communities in the specifically land areas, which include Utorogu-Iwhrekan, Otor-Udu and Otu-Jeremi; Ughelli East Communities of Erumukhowarien and Effurun-Otor; Ughelli West communities of Ekakpamre and Uvwiamughe, and many other direct communities like Olomoro, Uzere, Kokori, Evwreni, etc, the locals of these communities cannot boast of having any of their indigene who has occupied or is occupying a Managerial Position in Shell. Even when you look at the few ones (in the midst of many) employed in Shell, you cannot see one indigene of these Shell direct host communities listed above, that has risen to a job group 4 level. That has been the pathetic situation sustained by Shell in relation to its host communities’ locals in Delta State where the company has operated for over five decades now. In fact, this has been the situation right from the inception of Shell operations in Delta State till date.
Even with the creation of Sustainable Community Development (SCD) in Shell, whose duty is to look after the direct host communities, the situation has been aggravated and made worse by its cry for budgets that were demanded by these host communities. Worst still, these direct host communities cannot boast of sustainable pipe bone water and electricity supply. Whereas, in the operational yards of Shell Offices within these direct host communities, they have uninterrupted and stable power supply and pipe bone water, among other fringe benefits. Most times you see Shell Yards ‘beaming with lights’ while their surrounding direct host communities are in darkness with nothing to show forth as oil/gas host communities.
Even where few Community Development Projects/Programmes exist with direct host communities, they are left to rot away without any sort of maintenance structure/system on ground. Some projects like school blocks and laboratory blocks are observed not to be equipped for proper usage. We have many Shell projects like the Osubi Market Stores, which was built over 20 years ago but have been left to rot without proper use. Most of these CD projects were just built by Shell through PMC (Project Management Committees) and GMoU (Global Memorandum of Understanding) schemes that only end up enriching some community individuals through the collaboration of Shell personnel.
The so-much-publicized and talked about GMoU for instance has been carried out by Shell without ‘sincerity of purpose’. Since its inception in Shell’s Western operations area, the GMoU initiative has brought nothing but crises, confusion and conflicts amongst direct and indirect host communities in Delta State. This is simply because the GMoU initiative was designed to “short-change” direct host communities, as they are haphazardly clustered by Shell to breed confusion and conflicts, while at the same time enrich some individuals in the system. The direct host communities for instance, are clustered with indirect host communities thereby creating a whole lot of problems for all stakeholders. The GMoU initiative and its clustering attribute, has made indirect host communities that do not have real Shell facilities/assets to benefit more than the direct communities which have functional and ongoing (Divested) Shell projects/assets and facilities in the land areas of Delta State. For example, the only real direct host communities in Ughelli South 1 Cluster, which include Iwhrekan, Otu-Jeremi and Ekakpamre, are not benefitting from the GMoU initiative funds. Rather, it is the indirect host communities that are benefitting more from the implementation of the said initiative that is fraught with fraudulent activities.
For proper understanding, direct host communities as used here refers to communities that are the direct host to (Divested) Shell’s oil wells, gas fields, oil and gas facilities and exploration and production facilities/assets, while indirect host communities are communities whose only bearing of being called host communities is tied to them having pipelines passing through their communities.
Speaking of direct host communities, as a result of the environmental pollution created by Shell during their oil drilling, gas exploration and pipeline construction activities, etc, these host communities have been exposed to all manner of ‘insecurity issues’ unjustly. That is why we believe the SCD in Shell should be asked to explain why these direct host communities were neglected by Shell for so long before their exit from the land areas in Delta State? The SCD in Shell should be held accountable in this area because the livelihood and socio-economic life of the locals of these direct host communities have been paralyzed. Their fishponds and fish-farming activities have been destroyed; their farmlands have been acquired with ‘peanuts’ by Shell for oil and gas exploration and production activities. What Shell usually paid as “compensation” for lands acquired for their oil and gas exploration and production activities were never enough to take care of the future of locals directly affected. In fact, these so called ‘compensations’ and ‘Land Acquisition Monies’ often paid by Shell to direct host communities cannot be said to last even for a week for the said locals concerned to cater for their socio-economic needs.
With this sort of practice, how then would stakeholders in the industry judge Shell’s talk about Sustainability? Is there anything “sustainable” about their style of short-changing the direct host communities in Delta State, and the Niger Delta area as a whole? How can Shell be talking about sustainability when the ‘socio-economic future of its direct host communities ‘locals’ are never factored in Shell’s future plans and operations?
This was why we were irked recently when a report by Rachel D’Oro of the Associated Press titled “SHELL, ALASKA NATIVES TO SHARE IN OFFSHORE DRILLING PROFITS, noted how a worthy Shell initiative in Alaska positively engages host community locals as ‘partners’ to share directly in the oil and gas bounty of their coast. An extract from the said report reads: “An Alaska Native regional corporation and six Native Village corporations signed an agreement with a Shell Oil subsidiary Thursday (7/31) that aims to share the profits from offshore drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast. Shell and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. announced the formation of a new company called Arctic Inupiat Offshore LLC. Its participants include six village corporations on the North Slope. The agreement with the Shell subsidiary, Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc., gives the Alaska Native company the option of acquiring an overriding royalty interest from Shell’s drilling on leases in the Chukchi Sea.” And according to the Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby. He said the agreement also underscores Shell’s commitment to provide opportunities for the communities.
The report also noted that “Shell’s decision to invest in the future of the region and its people should be applauded,” Murkowski said in a statement. “This announcement ensures that the people of the North Slope Borough share directly in the oil and gas bounty off their coast. It also gives locals a say in what happens near their communities.”
We could not but wonder why Shell would do what they are doing in Alaska but fail to do same in other countries and places like the Niger Delta region in Nigeria? For instance, on the Divestment of Shell (SPDC) onshore assets in the Niger Delta region, Shell initiated this process which according to them, was to help grow local capability. Oil blocks in Shell’s Western operations in Nigeria were sold to mostly Nigerian companies who were in partnerships with foreign funding and technical partners. Neither the host Delta State Government nor local communities were considered in these as partners, and this generated a lot of community backlash with threats from local state communities to block operations. Why did Shell not consider direct host communities’ locals as ‘partners’ that ought to continue benefitting from the natural resources of their lands and coasts?
Now, Shell has left these direct host communities in land areas of Delta State in the name of Divestment; leaving in their trial legacies of ‘sub-human’ living and socio-economic conditions for the locals to contend with. Having given up their farmlands and fish-farms (acquired with peanuts by Shell), which are their main economic activities, the locals of these direct host communities have been degraded economically and exploited financially; leaving them in abject poverty and environmental squalor. Shell has left all their operations in the land areas of Delta State, and has abandoned the direct host communities’ locals to their fate with nothing to compensate for their relinquished farmlands and fish-farms.
When Shell came into these direct host communities, they took 90% of the people’s economic livelihood in form of their farmlands and fish-farms, and had given them peanuts in return, without consideration whatsoever about the peoples future. Where will these direct host communities go from here after these afflictions? How will they sustain their socio-economic wellbeing and that of their future generation when their farmlands and fish-farms have been either acquired by Shell (before the company exited the land areas of Delta State) for their (now divested) oil and gas business, or the environment have been grossly impacted by Shell’s exploration and production activities? How will direct host communities like Iwhrekan, Otor-Udu, Otu-Jeremi, Erumokhowarien, Effurun-Otor, Ekakpamre, etc, whose lives and economic wellbeing are tied to the ‘operations of the extractive industry’, take care of themselves and that of the future of their children?
Sustainable Development that does not factor and take care of the socio-economic future of the locals cannot be said to be Sustainable Development.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
To Alyeska1: I am certain you are correct about having a former Fed in the fold. It is my guess that is why Shell’s former Chief of Global Security left a few years ago, a fellow by the name of Garcia, and an ex-FBI type. These guys don’t have divided loyalties and have signed USGloyalty oaths that endure for a lifetime.
To LondonLad:
The world does not end and begin with Shell and so when better opportunities arise it is foolish not to take advantage of them. Besides, we all know Shell is not nearly the company it was once, not by a long shot. I have no regrets and I have done far, far better than I would have if I had stayed with Shell.
Aaaah here we are, Friday evening (at least here in old blighty), glass of red wine in my hand and I see that the usual old Shell stagers are still up to their scare mongering about the “Prelude” project. Still believe you know better than the present day experts lads?? Remember your skills and knowledge are now somewhat outdated. Chaps, we need to advance for the sakes of our grandchildren not go backwards as some like IS want us to do. Meanwhile “Relieved” remains the hardcore anti-Shell commentator aka “I’ve-been-shafted-by-the-company-and-want-revenge”. Even old “Zik Gbemre” made a very short (for him at least) commentary about Mutiu Sunmonu getting his Nigerian award. Well done Zik – short is better. Oh yes, before the “hang Shell from the rafters” brigade respond, I fully accept I am also again defending the actions of Shell.
I have been reading the recent comments and as a former Shell USA employee I can only shake my head in disgust. There was a day when was a ‘good company’ to work for, and it was truly fun to work for Shell (at least Shell USA), but that was long ago. Management proliferated (mostly the mediocre types) and the company has gone to sh*t as a result. I doubt Shell today can keep good staff for very long. As a result my guess is that Shell is going to f*ck up big time one of these days and pull a BP Gulf of Mexico style stunt that will damage the company beyond repair.
September 24, 2014
Dear Sir,
CONGRATULATIONS MR. MUTIU SUNMONU FOR BAGGING NATIONAL AWARD
We Congratulate the Country Chair and Managing Director (MD) of Shell (SPDC), Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, for being among prominent Nigerian Professionals to be honoured by the Federal Government of Nigeria with the National Honours Award; Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
This has been our advice to the Nigerian Government right from the Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo’s (Rtd) regime; that the National Honours should not only be conferred on Politicians who are known to have looted the nation’s treasury, but the National Honours Award should most importantly be given to prominent professionals in other sectors of the Nigerian economy.
We are glad that the present Nigerian Government has followed our advice in this regard, by recognizing prominent professionals like the Country Chair/MD of Shell (SPDC) to be among the recipients of the 2013/2014 National Honours at the formal investiture this year in Abuja. Mutiu is considered among the ‘non-government’ recipients that have contributed to the economic growth of Nigeria. This is also the first time a serving Nigerian MD/CEO of Shell (SPDC) will be given such a National Award.
We join in Congratulating Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu for the said National Award.
Zik Gbemre, JP
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
I work with someone who worked at that site and she acts just like Jo. Could they be the same person? Is Jo her real name?
although this is about Norco, I can honestly say the words back stabber, rude, mean spirited, bullying, vindictive, inadequate and many others too numerous to list could describe the supervisors at the Motiva terminal where I worked and would still like to be working, but It seems the good ol’ boy (and girl) network is the accepted management style at Motiva. I was told that most management people are untouchable no matter how wrong they are, or what they do! I wanted to work a few more years, but I left one month after making my 80 points, took the pension and got another job. It all comes down to ” the names may change, but the bulls**ts the same” no matter where in Motiva you are, or were employed!
Shell Oil is one of the most corrupt companies on the face of the Earth. No doubt the former secret service guy would make them nervous. No telling what he saw or stumbled across. I’ll bet this goes far beyond some loud-mouth lady being pretentious and crappy. I know a few active and former secret service agents, and performing a “surveillance,” especially one so lame, on one is not a good idea at all. These guys are heavily trained operators and I can guarantee you whomever did the surveillance had no idea what kind of potential danger he was in. Once with the Government, always with the government, that I can tell you about secret service agents. Also, who in the hell does such things? Ridiculous. I smell lawsuit, and if I were Shell I’d pay this guy a large sum of cash before he rips them a new one.
Typical Shell Management. This guy should have said he was a guard-shack supervisor and dummed down his resume. I can guarantee once upper management found out his background his time was limited. Shell Oil, of all companies, couldn’t have a former fed snooping around their operation. Plus it sounds like this Kerkoff lady is a Jerkoff:1)
Jo Kerkoff worked for me in the past. She was often too aggressive with the way she conducted her job duties, although sometimes it was warranted. However, she seemed to enjoy being unpleasant toward other people, especially subordinates. It seemed to me she was overcompensating for feelings of inadequacy. I hope that’s all, but I suspect she just enjoys being rude and abrasive. The agent must have laughed his A@s off when she told him to sit down…she’s very slight and thin. Poor Jo…issues everywhere she’s worked.
@ Bayou55: True, true. I know the man that’s being referred to in this article. He had things figured out from day one. Even I was shocked at how quickly he had figured out what (or who) the problem was at Shell. Even he knew his days were numbered according to what he told me. When he found out someone was listening at his door you should have seen his face!!! Any by the way he was a true security professional – not a make-believe one like jo and Mike.
From the article: “Is she a kind, considerate person of integrity, a professional who treats colleagues with respect and is a pleasure to work with, or the opposite – bullying, abrasive, rude and vindictive?”
I don’t work directly for her, but basically work with her daily. At first I thought Jo’s “short” and “snappy” way of speaking and emailing was because she was just in charge of so much. I was wrong. All of comments others have posted are unfortunately true…especially the word “backstabber.” Jo is mean and could care less for anybody who does not agree with her. She is not a “…professional who treats colleagues with respect and is a pleasure to work with.” Jo is all of the words you used – bullying, abrasive, rude and vindictive – and more. I do not like conflict, and hate to speak bad about people, but I’m so happy someone has brought Jo’s unprofessionalism to light. I don’t feel sorry for her at all.
Wow no need for me to post – you summed it all up contractor. Everything changed when she (Kerkoff) showed up. We have a nickname for her. To not be lewd all I’ll say is it’s a play on the name Kerkoff with the fist K replaced by another letter!
I work at the site for a contracting firm who works directly with Shell/Motiva security. I worked for the company before the arrival of Jo Kerkoff and before her boss, Mike Cisneros, was promoted to overall supervisor. Prior to Jo’s arrival, everything ran smoothly on the security end of things and everyone got along. Almost as soon as Mike got promoted and brought Jo on board, the entire complexion of things at the site changed. It became obvious that if you did not do everything Jo wanted, to include fire or remove employees she didn’t like, for any reason at all, you were going to be fired as a contractor. She is a rude, bullying, mean, xxxx, spiteful, liar. She will tell you to do one thing verbally, and later if that turns out to be wrong or not something her supervisor Mike wants or likes, she’ll deny ever telling you to do it or to take the action in the first place. She is untrustworthy, a back-stabber, and is not respected by anyone of her employees or any contract employees, except for the ones that play her game, appease her, and that she knows she can manipulate. She loves to manipulate and use one against the other. She loves to cause trouble for people whenever possible. I actually believe she enjoys causing pain for good people and will immediately try to get rid of anyone that sees her for what she is. No doubt in my mind that the agent referred to in the article saw through her facade almost immediately and when she realized that he was not going to play her games and tolerate her nonsense, she took steps to get rid of him. Her boss basically doesn’t know what he’s doing, so he does pretty much whatever Jo tells him. He is basically a figure-head. Ether way, I can guarantee you no one knew more about security oversight than the former Secret Service Agent, and that’s precisely why he was drummed out of his position.
I worked at this site as a contractor and had to deal with this person. The person referred to as “Jo” is actually a woman. I experienced the same lack of normal professional communication from her on numerous occasions and it was obvious that she was a neophyte who was way in over her head. The unreal thing is that there is nothing going on at the site that requires her to be so unpleasant and military-like. She acts, looks and talks like a U.S Army soldier. Her job is incredibly easy. She basically supervises a small staff, does reports, and oversees a security contractor, I believe G4S. That’s it! There is no reason for her, as she did with me also, to be so rude, mean-spirited and ridiculous. I used to work quite frequently for Shell, and she and her attitude is one of the reasons my company doesn’t do much work for Shell anymore. What a joke. I feel sorry for the former U.S. Fed, but he obviously intimidated Jo and her staff by the way he was allegedly treated. Listening through a door…how childish and preposterous for a major oil company. Very, very sick.
I can tell you first hand that Jo Kerkoff is one of the most unpleasant women I have ever dealt with. She has the professionalism of a neophyte. Her issue is that she wants to be in control of anything and everything to cover for her inadequacy as a professional and manager and I have often wondered who she is related to there in that corrupted place. Perhaps this agent did find out something they didn’t want him to know. I can guarantee you Kerkoff thinks she is some kind of hot s@%t, which she is certainly not. She is what I call a “this is my kitchen” type person, and makes back door deals, screws people over routinely, and is one of the least respected folks by any contractor at the Shell/Motiva site. He boss is also a joke who is more worried about appearances than real security. That’s the likely reason a bonifide security professional was treated so poorly. Kerkoff and her boss wouldn’t even qualify for the first step of the the Secret Service process, much less win awards, etc. This poor guy must have thought he was in The Twilight Zone.
After working at this site for many years I can identify with this man’s plight. The “good ol’ Boy” – or in this case “girl” – network is well engrained there. Such Megalomania is common at Shell/Motiva. I’m so happy I’m out of there. The agent should count his blessings – although I realize that’s of no consolation to his livelihood. What a shame but unfortunately not surprising at all.
After working at the Shell Motiva site for many years, I can vouch for every word above. The “good Ol’ Boy” – or in this case “girl” – network of management at the site was sickening. I am so happy to be long gone from that horrid site. The former agent may want to count his blessings, although I realize that’s of no consolation for his livelihood. Good Luck Sir!
Blackops is correct. I saw an article on here that used the words bully, dictator, control freak, and money waster to describe a motiva supervisor, well that seems to be the case in many of motivas workplaces. those things, along with managements hooray for me and f*@% everyone else attitude only serves to create a toxic workplace environment. I had my choice of several work schedules, worked the midnight shift just to avoid interaction with the “good ol’ boy” supervisors, until I just gave in and retired much earlier than I had planned.
SHELL MOTIVA NORCO: PENDING ARTICLE ABOUT VICTIMISATION IN A HOSTILE, SINISTER WORK ENVIRONMENT:
Shell Motiva is one of the most unprofessional sites in the oil industry, so tell us something we don’t know! I’m so glad to be away from that “good ol’ boy” network of bafoons you have no idea. Can’t wait to see what’s going on there now.
SHELL AND ITS TRAIL OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION OF NIGERIA
When it comes to the very lucrative extractive industry of oil and gas exploration and production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which Royal Dutch Shell has spear-headed in Nigeria for over 50 years now, nothing has been more devastating and disturbingly-pronounced than the adverse environmental degradation often left behind by this economic venture. The environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region by the over five decades of The Royal Dutch Shell operations in the region is so pronounced to the extent that it has been observed by foreign neutral individuals and organizations.
For instance, in a recent report, as highlighted by John Donovan, Germany’s Development Minister Gerd Müller, attacked the ‘production practices of Shell’ during a speech at the Berlin Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IHK) event. Müller denounced “Shell’s poor regard for the environment” and said that during a recent trip to Nigeria, he witnessed the pathetic oil production methods of Shell. In his words: “If you went to the Niger Delta and saw the standard of oil extraction, none of you would use the petrol stations of that oil firm.”
The German Minister said the company prioritized profit over concern for the environment. “That is unacceptable,” Müller added. Though, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Agip and Total are also active in Nigeria, Shell is the major oil extractor in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The report also noted that Environmental activists have long protested Shell’s oil production in the Niger Delta. Amnesty International and other groups released a report in August 2014 that stated the oil company had done little to clean up pollution from its oil production. Such production has left at least 10 communities in the area with contaminated drinking water, according to the report. A United Nations (UN) assessment of the pollution in 2011 estimated that it could take up to 30 years to clean up.
In their defense as usual, the report noted that Shell has blamed the spills on local villagers of host communities who “drill holes into the pipelines to steal oil, leaving the pipelines open and causing spills.” Aside the fact that the company’s figures on the frequency of these incidents have been contested by Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International, the question is; whose responsibility is it to protect the pipelines and sustain good practices of environmental protection? Shell is the one that placed/laid these pipelines/flowlines in different areas of the Niger delta region for their oil exploration and production business. And if the pipelines and flowlines are broken by oil thieves, who will now be held liable to clean-up and remediate the environment and bring it back to its natural state?
There is a Nigerian saying that “if a dog should bite and injure people, it is the owner of the dog that will be held liable.” Also, aside the issue of oil theft, there are countless incidents of “equipment failures” of Shell pipelines and facilities that have impacted the environment of the Niger Delta region. The crux of the matter is that Shell has not done enough with its environmental policy when it comes to protecting and restoring the Niger Delta environment that were adversely impacted by its operations. For instance, Shell did not do enough in restoring the environment before the Divestment of its assets/interests in Delta State. And it is not too late for the company to come make amends and do what is expected of it in restoring the oil-impacted environment.
Some years back, when the unexpected British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico (South America), happened, it built up a global storm of agitations and awareness on the real ‘cost of oil exploitation and its adverse effects on the environment’, especially in Nigeria, particularly the Niger Delta area, that have been subjected to all manner of environmental degradation and related issues for more than five decades. The Nigerian government and the International Oil Companies (IOCs), particularly the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), were fingered as the main culprit that should be blamed/held responsible for not doing enough to address the situation with oil spills in the Nigeria.
It was reported then that oil spill accidents worst than the spillage in the said Gulf of Mexico have happened in the course of Nigeria’s 50-years history of crude oil exploitation. In fact, a panel of independent experts, which carried out a painstaking research and traversed the Niger Delta in 2006, revealed that up to 1.5 million tons of oil, 50 times the population unleashed in the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster, has been spilt in the technologically precious Niger Delta over the past 50 years.
With the mind-bugging revelation that oil spill in Niger Delta is estimated at $10 million per day, many believe it is high time IOCs like Shell should reposition itself to adequately address oil spill incidents during their operations (even if they have divested and left the place), and for the Nigerian government to become more ‘responsive’ like the US Government had done on the Gulf of Mexico example, in addressing oil spill incidents in the Niger Delta area. While some are of the opinion that Oil companies prefer “ad-hoc repair of pipelines (where, rather than overhaul oil pipelines for longevity, they prefer to respond to repairs when the pipelines fail); others have thrown their blame on both the government and IOC’s like Shell for continuing with their “tunnel vision-option” of protecting profits, at the expense of human livelihoods and health.
From the standpoint of the host communities in the Niger Delta region, the IOCs and the Nigerian government are to blame for all the oil spills in the region. In the words of the Paramount ruler of Kpor Community in Ogoni area, Chief Taoh, he identified that: “Shell only cares about clamping the Oil and forget about the Community. They did not pay compensation or even clean up the affected environment (referring to a Spill in Ogoni Community and Edagberi of Egenni-Rivers State). There has been a lot of oil spill in Kpor and yet nobody bothers. My fishing pot was affected and economic trees were destroyed. In fact, no person can farm in the areas that were impacted by the Spill”, he said. Chief Toah regretted that the Nigerian government and Shell have remained insensitive to the plight of his own community, which has according to him, continued to suffer monumental and costly damage due to oil”.
Many of us will never forget “The Ogoni crises” of the Niger Delta region, famously known as the “Ogoni 9”, which culminated in the murder of human rights activist Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others. The Ogoni crises, which is yet to be resolved by Shell and the Nigerian Government till today, will always remind us of how oil giants like Shell creeps into oil-bearing countries and practically hold host governments’ by the jugular to have their way in sustaining ‘oil profits’ over and above human lives and environmental degradation.
However, it is never too late to make amends. Firstly, Shell is expected to render an unreserved apology to the Niger Delta people, especially those in Ogoni, OML 42, 34, 30 etc, for the company’s poor environmental policy and practices in the last five decades. If Shell really has “Respect For People” as they usually preach, then they have to show it by doing this. After which, Shell should promptly take practical steps in permanently addressing all the pending and evident environmental degradation issues caused by oil spills left behind by Shell operations in some of these areas in the Niger Delta region, especially the company’s Divested areas in the region. These moves, we believe, is the only ‘little’ remedy that Shell should muster to somewhat ameliorate the grievous environment-degradation-legacy left behind by The Royal Dutch Shell Plc in Nigeria.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
I noticed the German’s are calling for a boycott of RDS because of their conduct in Nigeria (not to mention elsewhere). Hmmm. I wonder how RDS would react if a high level US government official were to likewise join the call for a boycott. Does anyone not think that would get RDS management’s attention ??Hit them in their wallet hard and things will change. The shareholders will see to that. Stranger things have happened.
Wondering and John Donovan: ample proof is already with Shell and the Irish police…but it’s too damming for both Shell and police so they play the silent game. There has been massive abuse of Shell and Police procedures by Corrib Shell middle management and local policemen. The current CEO on Corrib for Shell informed us that it was unfortunate we got caught in the ” crossfire ” ..that’s the only bit of truth so far to come out of Shell.
Mr. Donovan, it would be good if we could see some documents and proof in the OSSL case. Thus far there have only been promises that these would be forthcoming. It is about time you shared your data with the public at large. Otherwise I have to wonder whether your site is really trustworthy — lots of words but no proof points whatsoever.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
I have already supplied over 100 pages of evidence to the Irish Police authorities who did not even bother to contact a vitally important named party – Mr Marc Fitzgibbon, a lawyer and senior partner in the Dublin law firm Lavelle, who was directly involved in negotiating a secret agreement with Shell on behalf of OSSL, covering goods and services distributed as bribes by OSSL on behalf of their masters, Shell EP Ireland. Tens of thousands of Euros were spent in an attempt by Shell to smooth the path of the troubled Corrib Gas Project.
Relieved, I hear you regarding ethics people at Shell. We have them and they are powerful. Note to CEO van Beurden, you intervened on May 20th regarding OSSL – it seems you did not act as promised (recorded live) now we read of Children being”taunted” are you happy with that?
For Aberdeen Calling : Shell’s ethics people ?? Didn’t know they existed, except in name only. Surely you speak in jest.
Your concerned Citizen letter prompted me to look at Facebook and your OSSL postings. Its plain to see there is a problem, your letter writer limits his concern to the locals and recipients of what OSSL claim “was extraordinary gifting “perhaps some blame sharing would be appropriate, if the “bairns” are getting taunted in school then the matter should be investigated by Shells ethics people.
Thick skull yes London Lad
Anti RDS no, anti victimisation of small vendor yes, the dogs in street here in Mayo know the truth, and you will soon, cops got the booze, Shell sent the booze. NO REAL PROBLEM THERE ALL LEVELS OF GIFTING ON CORRIB WERE RUNNING OUT OF CONTROL. WHEN REALITY HIT PANIC ENSUED, MAJOR PLAYERS REMOVED, OSSL INFORM SHELL A FEW LOOSE ENDS REGARD DISGUISED GIFTING REMAIN, SHIT HITS FAN, OSSL DISOWNED BUT DEFIANTLY WONT LIE DOWN AND DIE. Think on
London Lad before you judge.
I’ll attempt to get it through your thick skull “George Hamilton”, so here goes. Shell have not been taken to court despite the rants from anti-RDS people. Nothing has been proven against Shell. All that is happening is that it’s the same old inuendos, allegations and tabloid reporting. Innocent until proven guilty.
Texvette and London Lad re the vendor OSSL. Donovan doesn’t print crap he’s got the inside track, what your seeing here on the Corrib is a massive cover up by Shell being smashed up by determined victims of a need by certain Shell people and policemen trying to save their backsides regardless of who gets caught in the crossfire if Donovan says there is proof I believe him.
I really like this site and feel that it provides an effective outlet for information on Shell. I think most readers realize that the information is based on people’s views, feelings and perceptions and may not always be 100% factual. I have been following this site for several years but find I am visiting less and less due to recent developments: 1) the continued OSSL allegations (absent of ground-based facts) and 2) this site being “hi-jacked” by Zik.
Well said “Warri Veteran” I have similarly requested him to precis his very lengthy eulogies about the Delta people etc. etc. However it has now dropped off the edge of the blog after two of “Zik’s” contributions. More words “Zik” does not mean more sense or even the truth.
On another point I do like the usual “guilty until proven innocent” reaction on this website to this boring OSSL saga. “The truth about OSSL allegations” doesn’t add any new information and doesn’t prove Shell to be guilty. Despite all the rhetoric from anti-RDS fanatics on this site NO LEGAL ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN AGAINST SHELL!! So in my view Shell remains innocent of all “charges” m’lord.
Zik, my friend, please stop writing those long epistles in Donovan’s blog. I am certain that if you send him the text by email, he will post your stories in the main body of his website, he might even make a special subject for you ‘Zik’s observations of how the nigerians are oppressed by everyone but themselves’ or something to that effect. Now we need to scroll for a long time to see if anyone else has written a short comment. Take my word, your stuff is so long and verbose, it will not be read.
I have read the book of Peter Enahoro ‘How to be a Nigerian’. A delightful booklet which you should give as a present to your friends around the world. And you behave like ‘The Chairman’ who asks to speak for a few minutes and then hogs the audience for 2 hours. And naturally totally incomprehensible all the time. This is the nigerian way. His audience would not expect anything different. Nothing has changed since 1966 when he first published it.
So here your namesake Chief Zik (may he rest in peace) is proven wrong. He stated many times as a politician: ‘No condition is permanent’. Nigerians will never change so this is the exception that proves the rule.
My friend, stop de disting, my headengine explodes trying to understand your logic.
September 1, 2014
Dear Sir,
SHELL TO SELL FOUR MORE OIL FIELDS IN NIGERIA – THE NEED TO ENGAGE INDIGENOUS HOST LOCALS AS PARTNERS OF ASSETS SOLD
Now that it has become public that SHELL Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria has concluded plans to sell four of its oil fields in Nigeria (OMLs 18, 24, 25, 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line), precisely in SPDC’s Eastern Operations of Rivers and Bayelsa States Nigeria, as part of its $15 billion global divestment plan which Shell Officials in The Hague have officially signed, we consider it necessary to rightly advise the relevant authorities of Shell to engages host community locals as ‘partners’ to share directly in the oil and gas bounty of their coast.
To this end, we advise that Shell should consider the issue of partnerships or some equity stake for the host State Governments and local communities in the said oil blocks sales. That is, Shell (SPDC) should invite the State oil companies of Rivers State (Treasure Energy Resources Ltd) and Bayelsa State (Bayelsa Oil Company) to partake as partners, and offer them some preferential equity stake in the said four oil fields being sold. This move is imperative so that Shell (SPDC) would leave a good legacy behind in its Eastern Operations.
With the pathetic way Shell (SPDC) left its Western Operations of Delta State; where its oil blocks divestment were sold to mostly Nigerian companies who were in partnerships with foreign funding and technical partners, neither the host Delta State Government nor local communities were considered in these sales as partners, this has the City of Warri more like a ghost city, and of course, not a good legacy to have been behind by Shell. It is therefore expedient for Shell to use this golden opportunity with the current four oil blocks sales in its Eastern Operations to invite the State oil companies of Rivers and Bayelsa States as stated to partake as partners in the equity stakes.
We believe that if Shell can initiate the above described move in Alaska that positively engages host community locals as ‘partners’ to share directly in the oil and gas bounty of their coast, as reported some weeks back, then Shell can do same in its Eastern Operations of Nigeria.
An extract from the said report reads: “An Alaska Native regional corporation and six Native Village corporations signed an agreement with a Shell Oil subsidiary Thursday (7/31) that aims to share the profits from offshore drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast. Shell and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. announced the formation of a new company called Arctic Inupiat Offshore LLC. Its participants include six village corporations on the North Slope. The agreement with the Shell subsidiary, Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc., gives the Alaska Native company the option of acquiring an overriding royalty interest from Shell’s drilling on leases in the Chukchi Sea.” And according to the Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby. He said the agreement also underscores Shell’s commitment to provide opportunities for the communities.
The report also noted that “Shell’s decision to invest in the future of the region and its people should be applauded,” Murkowski said in a statement. “This announcement ensures that the people of the North Slope Borough share directly in the oil and gas bounty off their coast. It also gives locals a say in what happens near their communities.”
Now if Shell can do this in Alaska, they can equally do same in Rivers and Bayelsa States of the Niger Delta region. The way Shell (SPDC) left Delta State ‘dry’ with no good legacy should not repeat itself in Rivers and Bayelsa States.
However, to make amends of the pathetic legacy left behind in its Western Operations (of Delta State) and to salvage the bad image of the company in the Warri Delta State, we strongly advise that Shell (SPDC) should reintroduce all its Community Development Projects/Programmes and Scholarship Programmes in OMLs 34, 30, 42 etc. doing this will address the bad legacy left by Shell in its Western Operations, specifically Delta State. Shell should not leave Delta State like they exited from Oloibiri (where it first discovered oil over 50 years ago), with a very unattractive legacy. Shell should understand that this is where the company has operated in over fifty years and has made so much money yet without much Shell presence anywhere until more recently with the Ogoni issue.
If Shell says it initiated the Divestments of its onshore assets in the Niger Delta region to “help grow local capability”, then it should strategically involve host State Government and locals to be partners in the equity stakes of the Divested oil and gas assets. This, we believe, is the best legacy Shell can leave behind in places where it has operated in over five decades. We ask that the above advice should be given the needed attention.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Beer and wine is still freely served at Corrib project. You just need to know where to go and ask. It is a crying shame, but in line with the Irish habits.
In the 8/25/14 Washington Post, on the front page, there is an article about tracking the location of people using their cellphones, even if their GPS tracking mode is disabled. It would not be surprising to know that RDS uses such newly available to track all types of ‘persons of interest’. Employees and potential industrial espionage targets be informed.
August 25, 2014
QUESTIONS FOR SHELL REGARDING NIGERIAN OPERATIONS
We recently stumbled into a report by Rachel D’Oro of the Associated Press titled “SHELL, ALASKA NATIVES TO SHARE IN OFFSHORE DRILLING PROFITS, which is a worthy Shell initiative in Alaska that positively engages host community locals as ‘partners’ to share directly in the oil and gas bounty of their coast.
An extract from the said report reads: “An Alaska Native regional corporation and six Native Village corporations signed an agreement with a Shell Oil subsidiary Thursday (7/31) that aims to share the profits from offshore drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast. Shell and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. announced the formation of a new company called Arctic Inupiat Offshore LLC. Its participants include six village corporations on the North Slope. The agreement with the Shell subsidiary, Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc., gives the Alaska Native company the option of acquiring an overriding royalty interest from Shell’s drilling on leases in the Chukchi Sea.” And according to the Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby. He said the agreement also underscores Shell’s commitment to provide opportunities for the communities.
The reported also noted that “Shell’s decision to invest in the future of the region and its people should be applauded,” Murkowski said in a statement. “This announcement ensures that the people of the North Slope Borough share directly in the oil and gas bounty off their coast. It also gives locals a say in what happens near their communities.”
Looking at the above development and report, we could not help but raise some questions regarding Shell’s obvious discriminatory and baize style of operations in different parts of the world. We could not but wonder why Shell would do what they are doing in Alaska but fail to do same in other countries and places like the Niger Delta region in Nigeria?
For instance, on the Divestment of Shell (SPDC) onshore assets in the Niger Delta region, Shell initiated this process which according to them, was to help grow local capability. Oil blocks in Shell’s Western operations in Nigeria were sold to mostly Nigerian companies who were in partnerships with foreign funding and technical partners. Neither the host Delta State Government nor local communities were considered in these as partners, and this generated a lot of community backlash with threats from local state communities to block operations. Shell (SPDC) seems not to have learnt lessons from that experience, as they have just recently concluded similar sale of blocks in the Eastern area covering Rivers and Bayelsa States, again without considering the issue of partnerships or some equity stake for the host State Governments and local communities.
Why does Shell not learn lessons and do things right in order to avoid recurrence of problems from its host communities? Why does Shell (SPDC) not consider inviting the State oil companies of Rivers (Treasure Energy Resources) and Bayelsa (Bayelsa Oil Company) to partake as partners, and offer them some preferential equity? Shell (SPDC) has lost a golden opportunity to take the lead in the industry in Nigeria and change their community integration policy as it is practiced now in other countries, like the example above in Alaska.
The UNEP report funded by Shell was issued just over 3 years ago, and in the report both Shell and the Federal Government of Nigeria were indicted and specific actions aimed at remediating the severe environmental damages were assigned to all parties. The Federal Government of Nigeria has done nothing to address the issues and the communities impacted continue to suffer. Shell as the global operator that claims “best operating practices” is also not doing anything to get the government to respond. This attitude would never be condoned by Shell if it were in the US or Europe. The Macondo case of BP in the Gulf of Mexico, and the way the US government dealt with them is clear. BP was severely punished and the affected communities very well compensated for loss of business. Because the Nigerian government is weak and has no interest in what happens to the Ogoni communities, Shell seems to have accepted that and taken advantage to do nothing, in violation of global standards. So why does Shell condone evil practices in Nigeria, allowing such environmental devastation to linger without adequate attention? Shell knows they cannot do this in countries with better and stricter regulatory governance.
Another aspect is Shell and their community legacies. Shell started from Oloibiri (now in Bayelsa State) and left the town dead and desolate. Shell was in Warri, Delta State, where they sold out and have left Warri an “industrial ghost town with most businesses dead”. In fact, Shell (SPDC) left and abandoned hundreds of Office Building Blocks and Residential Buildings in Warri, Delta State, which are today overgrown with weeds and overtaken by rodents. Shell has equally completely withdrawn and stopped all its Scholarships and Community Development Projects/Programmes meant for host communities of its Western operations like OML 34, OML 30, OML 42 etc.
Now they are planning to leave Port Harcourt. So they also plan to leave Port Harcourt desolate with industries dead. Is this the legacy Shell wants to leave everywhere they operate in the Niger Delta? Is this the sort of legacy any reasonable corporate entity should leave behind in Nigeria where it has operated in over 50 years?
Shell is planning to divest more blocks in its Eastern operation areas. Does that include the Ogoni blocks? And how can they use this to address the lingering problems with Ogoni people? Will Shell not see this as opportunity to redress bad decisions made in previous Divestments and invite State companies to participate and own equity like they have done in Alaska?
These and many more are questions we would want relevant authorities of Shell (SPDC) and Shell International in The Hague, including the Nigerian Government and other countries where Shell is operating, to seriously ponder on and find answers to; by doing the right thing. This we urge.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Al Gore is now just another famous powerless ‘Talking Head’. Who says we cannot and will not burn enough hydrocarbons to push the planet ‘over the edge’ into major climate change? There is not one country that is taking that issue seriously because the short term political realities are that nobody really cares enough about the issue to deal with it as required. The necessary economic and social adjustments necessary to deal with the issue seriously are ‘too painful’ to currently contemplate. So, nothing happens. It would be political suicide for the current crop of politicians. Sell your beach front property while you still can.
Thanks John for the update on OSSL. It is disappointing to read that this saga has not been concluded satisfactorily. I expect something interesting is about to be announced about Nigeria strategy first week of September.
LondonLad: Cheers to you. The oil field is indeed no place for any form of drug abuse, at any time, and that includes alcohol.
You misunderstand, LondonLad. I am not a user and would want to see any users among my colleagues.
My point is: if “No drugs” is you company policy, then fine – nothing wrong with that. As multinational corp you really don’t have an option of imposing a different policy upon your employees.
But having a policy of something: “No drugs at work”, if you think about it actually implies: “What you do off duty (including drugs) is your own business”.
And after that they speak of how they want you to be their ambassador, also outside work – taking drugs – that’s some proper ambassadorship.
Or they trying to appeal to the recreational drug-users among their employees, in a desperate attempt to make employees love Shell like it’s their mother.
I don’t know…
Maybe they just phrased it wrong, in which case someone was not thinking straight. Hey, maybe that someone took drugs the night before he drafted the policy…
Beer and wine were available in Shell canteens in the Netherlands until the early 1990s. On North Sea production platforms two cans of beer were available to everyone each day until at least the early 1980s, and also on many European flagged drilling vessels. On French (Forex Neptune, Foramer) and Italian (Saipem) rigs alcohol was available comparatively recently – I haven’t been offshore for a while so I don’t know the current situation. Transocean and Pride probably do not allow alcohol on the former Forex Neptune and Foramer rigs.
Wow I unusually find myself agreeing with both “Outsider” and “Relieved” over drugs and alcohol usage on the rigs / in the office etc. Neither were acceptable in RDS during my time (and weren’t in any other major company). Seems that old “Elmer Fud” has fired a dud with his stupid commentary on the issue – off to the Betty Ford clinic for you my lad.
SNEPCO office relocation to Warri – good points raised. I also remember Warri being a thriving community and Shell roots being in Warri for many years, before the violence and local corruption commenced. Zik I would suggest that you also need to petition a number of authorities, such as NNPC, NAPIMS and the Federal Government, as they have more local producing assets / blocks than SNEPCO, which has one block 121 km from Warri. Please also note Shell has the Forcados Terminal near Warri, the only operator in Nigeria to do so. I am personally appalled that the so called Governors, Lawmakers and people who say the represent the people of Nigeria continue to support that idiot of a President. In some respects times were better under Abacha,
Addressing the comments on drugs and alcohol – Shell has a clear D&A Policy, and those who seek help will receive it from Shell. Please also bear in mind that the D&A policy is not just about illicit narcotics, but also covers prescribed medicine that May effect an individual’s ability to perform a task. I would like to know what has happened with OSSL and their grievances with Shell.
Working and living offshore is not the most satisfying experience, and there is no doubt that in spite of drugs testing and termination of people failing urine tests, there are people who seek respite from the rig environment by using substances that are illegal in some jurisdictions. The most effective way to stop this is to permit small quantities of alcohol as was the case in the past.
With regard to the ‘drugs’ comments, I don’t know about any of you folks, but I wouldn’t want to be working the big rigs with people who were shooting up on their ‘off time’. The oil field is no place for people who do drugs. These people put others at risk of serious injury or death.
I’m not familiar with the rules, but Shell is a Dutch company
What kind of a company includes in its safety rules something like: “No drugs at work”, in a jurisdiction where any narcotic substance is against the law. What is that supposed to mean, something like: “It’s OK if you do drugs, just don’t do them at work”? Ridiculous!
And yes, Shell employees are definitely afraid to speak up, restricted by the fear of loosing their jobs.
A goed post Elmer. We has many bully’s in management and people survey results show that staff are to scared to speak against them or of the bad work and money wasting in the scare of their careers. We has dictators and control freaks at the high level. The change will come soon now we have the dutch CEP and people will get shown the doors. It is the Houston cowboys as also the HQ EVP and VPs to blame
Why was SARNIA (Canada) REFINERY Manager recently fired?
Shell’s history from its early days and until now is incredibly controversial, to say the least.
Shell’s reputation, therefore, is very negative.
Negative to the point, where the general public will never anymore associate Shell with anything positive and worthy of their respect. The general public will not ever again ingratiate in their minds and hearts the entity that calls itself Shell, no matter what it does on the public arena.
Shell is after changing the public opinion about itself.
As yet another instrument of revamping its reputation, Shell sees influencing its employees, so as to turn them into good ambassadors of Shell.
In their desire to create proper ambassadorship, the managers of Shell become blind and prohibitive towards true talent among Shell’s ranks.
There are plenty of Shell’s employees, if not majority, who are irresponsible, lazy, disrespectful and arrogant.
There are plenty of Shell’s managers, if not majority, who are disrespectful, abusive and manipulative towards their junior-in-rank colleagues and each other, although they will exert every effort to hide those predominant and really obvious traits.
However, all those individuals somehow always end up receiving encouragement and avoiding responsibility for their wrong-doings.
There are other negative tendencies in the attitude of Shell’s managers: unjustly biased attitude towards newcomers, lacking fair judgment – punish the innocent and reward those, who did not contribute to success, perceive all subordinates as equally incompetent and negligent regardless of their true abilities.
Shell makes a mistake, if it believes it can influence its reputation through its employees in one way or the other.
Trying to inspire ambassadorship among Shell’s employees is a waste of resources.
Trying to reanimate or create new positive corporate citizen image and reputation under the old “Shell” name, logo, and everything that associates with it, is a gross waste of resources, and of investors’ money.
The image of Shell is so negative, that even its employees laugh at it openly. The general public will never ingratiate Shell.
It is surprising, how Shell investors are not opposing this.
However, Shell is a huge conglomerate that does poses all the things necessary to operate in the industry: the capital, the hardware, the know-how, the intellectual potential.
Therefore, Shell is still around.
If Shell thinks it deserves to be around, then it definitely needs to change its image-salvaging policy.
Shell really wants to manipulate the public opinion, it has to stop trying to salvage or reanimate the old image of Shell.
Instead the enterprise has to recreate itself under new fresh image and insignia, absolutely not connected to the old one: not by name, not by logo, not even by association to particular individuals, insofar as the legislation in the field would permit such a move. And make sure the newly established entity, under new logo, name and image, does well with the public from there on out.
Why waste the resources, when you can just rebrand and work under name, which no one associates with anything at all from the start? A bit of time and the new name will stand for affordable good-quality products in consumer heads. Is this not what is after?
Maybe it is cheaper to waste resources on revamping old image and hope the negative reputation will die as generations become history, then it is to rebrand.
It’s a mystery…
There is a video documentary on partisan movement on the territories of former Soviet Union during WWII. It featured some footage of the Soviet partisans destroying a Nazi train carrying supplies to the Nazi army in Russia. A number of carriages were fuel-tanks. Guess what insignia had been on the tanks? – Big letters: “S H E L L”.
Today, 70 years after WWII, In Russia the masses and the public opinion are still successfully manipulated by the state, using the idea of something: “… oh, those are Nazis, hate them, annihilate them, they do not deserve to exist per definition…” I bet you could feed any lie to Russians under the sauce of: ”It’s a Nazi”
Just as Russia will hate the German Nazi of WWII forever, so will the image of Shell remain forever negative in the eyes of the general public.
Let’s allow Shell to do the thinking.
Let’s Shell!
I agree that blood letting of US staff needs to happen. I believe that between now and the end of the year you will see quite some changes. Hang in there and be a little patient (however difficult it is). The Shell dinosaur (big body with small head) moves slowly but it does move…
Saw the comment on Matthias Bichsel and Twister. Anybody who knows basic facts knows this is nonsense. Twister was developed in late 1990s when Matthias was in PDOman.
To LondonLad:
Dear “LondonLad”, we wonder why you are trying to personalize the subject issue of discuss in your response. And it is also surprisingly that you are not using your real name to make comments on sensitive issues. If you are really sure of what you saying, then you should be bold enough to use your real identity. Your claim that “SNEPCO has no link to Warri area” clearly shows that you are either being fed with the wrong information, or you are simply not in touch with the ‘reality’ on ground and oblivious of the true state of affairs on the subject matter. You can call Warri whatever you like, but it is big oil giants like Shell (in collaboration/cooperation with domestic government) that are responsible for the greater percentage of economic and environmental atrocities that have contributed to making Warri what it is today; it is these same issues that stakeholders like us are trying to ‘address’ with our advocacies.
Also, it is the oil and gas wealth from places like Warri and the Niger Delta region (spanning over five decades) that have contributed to the ‘glamorous’ Shell Head offices in all the places you mentioned like London, New York and what have you. We do not expect you to understand this, since reading a fact-filled article like the one we posted on this issue, is too much for you to finish reading and comprehend. Our letter on SNEPCO relocation is for ‘serious-minded’ individuals that actually know the issues being discussed and they have something meaningful to contribute towards making the needed change. From you response below, it is clear you are completely out of this picture. Our advocacies on some of the issues we raise here, including that on Ogoniland, is not so much so to illicit responses from those concerned, but for relevant stakeholders concerned and for the world to be aware of some of the anomalies going on in the Nigerian extractive industry, which the Nigerian past and present government have not helped in addressing. Even when the response desired is not there or does not come, we are still not deterred from DOING WHAT IS RIGHT and SPEAKING OUT; trusting that one day, things will change for the better and for the good of the common man in Nigeria whose life and living standard is adversely affected by the issues raised.
To LondonLad: Twaddle, Twaddle, Twaddle. Zzzzzzzz.
Well “Gbemre” I am not surprised that you’ve had no response from the various Shell companies and Nigerian governmental departments about your request for SNEPCO to move to Warri. Basically for reasons of : (1) they are all probably still trying to wade through your VERY lengthy ramblings (2) it’s a totally daft idea, but no doubt allows some local Nigerians to make millions of dollars (3) Warri is a total sh*t hole to live in (4) SNEPCO has no link to the Warri area as you describe (SPDC has links and has an office there). Do you seriously expect any educated person to believe your arguments. Would you, based on your own stupid argumentation, expect companies with head offices in London, New York, Houston, Rio, Beijing, etc. etc. to move to Warri or any other place that might have an operated oil/gas field. NO. Wake up and smell the coffee rather than dollars. As to your twaddle over Ogoniland I fell asleep attempting to read the article so I’m afraid that a response to this is impossible. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Donovan please continue to keep the wonderful content and analysis coming. Your blog is a source of great information, and your cause is admirable. Thanks for all your efforts. A modern day David and Goliath if ever i saw.
August 11, 2014
THE EXPEDIENT NEED FOR SHELL TO RELOCATE SNEPCO OFFICE FROM LAGOS TO WARRI, DELTA STATE
We consider it as unfair, an injustice, and a clear day light continuous robbery that despite the fact that SNEPCO’s main two deep offshore Fields are situated in the offshore waters of the Niger Delta region around the axis of South-West of Warri and Bayelsa, SNEPCO still has its Head Office located at Lagos State that has no oil or gas bearing to start with. This has necessitated our countless calls on the above subject matter to the attention of relevant Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) authorities, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Delta State Government, including authorities in Royal Dutch Shell – Hague and Shell Centre-London, but up till now, we are yet to receive any response from any authorities in Shell (SPDC) Nigeria, or from the authorities of the Nigerian Government; neither has any action been taken in regards to the contents of our several letters on the said subject.
For Shell, this has been the Dutch company’s attitude of undermining the Niger Delta people in its secrecy-shrouded operations in Nigeria. Lagos is not in the Niger Delta region and has never been part of the Niger Delta region. It is in this light, that we consider it necessary to reiterate the subject matter, and once again draw the attention of relevant stakeholders concerned, especially the Royal Dutch Shell, to promptly take the appropriate steps in the relocation of the Head of Office of SNEPCO from Lagos to Warri, Delta State.
It is no news that the crude oil and natural gas deposits are found in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria, and the crude oil and natural gas are drilled/tapped in the Niger-delta region. By extention, when there is an oil-spillage, it is the fish ponds, the farmlands as well as drinking water, the natural environment and the air in the Niger-Delta that are daily polluted. And by implication, it is the lifespan of the people in the Niger-Delta region that is inadvertently and drastically cut short for breathing in contaminated air over time, and living in ‘sub-human’ degrading environment. But when it comes to locating the Head Office of the oil firms that will employ hundreds of people, or to share the spoils/benefits from the oil and gas industry, it is taken to Lagos or Abuja which has no drop of oil or cubic feet of gas. This may seem absurd, but it is exactly what is happening in the Nigerian oil and gas industry no thanks to the Royal Dutch Shell.
To put it bluntly, if SNEPCO should be allowed to continue Operating and running its EA Field (popularly known as Sea Eagle, that is located South-West of Warri, Delta State, and its Bonga Field located 120km South-West of the Niger Delta), from its Head Office in Lagos State, it is encouraging broad day light robbery. It is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is inappropriate to use the resources of one to feed another and still refuse to occupy the space provided by the owners of the same resources. One is not expected to cook food in Delta State and take the prepared food to feed people in other States; whereas Deltans are hungry and salivating. Deltans are also the ones that “suffer the environmental hazards” caused by the oil and gas exploration activities of SNEPCO, as an arm of the Royal Dutch Shell.
At the risk of diversion – albeit necessary, we want to recall a laudable step taken by former President Olusegun Obasanjo when he assumed office as civilian President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1999. Reasoning that there was no seaport in Abuja, “he ordered the immediate relocation of the headquarters of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to Lagos, which has the busiest seaport in the country. It was logical, and it coincided with a Niger-Delta proverb which says “If you want the eye of a fish, your hand should tend towards the head where the eye is located.” Besides, it is an Economic Principle that Industries/businesses should be located near/close to the natural resources/raw materials concerned. Let us also reiterate the fact that the Nigerian LNG has long located its Head Office in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, with the understanding that there is need for the deep offshore company to have its Head Office close to its operations. To this end, SNEPCO should therefore have their Head Office relocated in Warri, Delta State, which is closer to where the natural resources are located, and not to remain in Lagos State.
Luckily, everything that will make SNEPCO operate its Head Office effectively and efficiently as an Exploration & Petroleum company of Shell is in Warri, Delta State. Aside the over One Thousand (1000) Houses/Office Complexes and Residential Buildings left behind by Shell (SPDC) for the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) to takeover, other assets also left behind as stated above include: Warehouses, Helipads/Heliports, over Six (6) Gas-Powered Turbine Stations, Jetties, a Hospital, a Fire-fighting Station, Recreational Centers like a Golf Course, a Nursery/Primary School, etc. In other words, SNEPCO should be made to come occupy some of these Office Buildings/Blocks left behind by Shell (SPDC) in Warri, Delta State.
It might interest us to know that there is a precedent for this. During the beginning of the tenure of Basil Omiyi as Managing Director (MD) of Shell (SPDC), SPDC relocated its Corporate Head Office from Lagos to Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, for the same reasons we have clearly stated here. It is unfortunate that SNEPCO was not relocated to Warri at that time. The excuse has always been that of insecurity in Warri, but we do not think Port-Harcourt and Lagos are more secured than Warri today. In other words, the said relocation of SNEPCO from Lagos State to Warri, Delta State can still be effected, as it is long overdue.
SNEPCO was established in 1993, and signed a production-sharing contract with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to operate two deep water and three offshore licences. In 1995, SNEPCO made a major deep-water discovery (the Bonga Field), which is located about 120 km to the South West of the oil-city of Warri in Delta State. In 1999, a 5-year span development of the Bonga Field was commenced, with a targeted production capacity of 225,000 barrels and an export capacity of 150,000,000 standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas per day. Working with a crew of over 950 workers, SNEPCO (which also operates the EA Field, popularly called Sea Eagle), made its first export of gas in December 2005. Going by the records of Shell (which is not in any way small), it is about the largest floating production, storage and offloading facility (FPSO) – not just in Shell business, but in the world.
This colossal/gigantic project is just twenty minutes from Osubi Airstrip located near Warri (by flight) with a helicopter. But absurdly, SNEPCO, as a company chooses to run the EA facility in far-away Lagos, from which the flight to the same EA facility takes one hour plus twenty minutes (1:20 hours). And viewed from this angle, it is not being “cost-effective”; it is being “penny-wise and pounds-foolish”.
Without mincing words, managing an oil facility located near Warri, Delta State from a distant Lagos is a clear pointer to Shell’s disregard for the sustainable development of its host communities. But beyond that, it has the economic consequence of Delta and Bayelsa States losing revenue that should accrue to them through withholding tax, personal income tax, etc from staff and contractors of SNEPCO. And all of this will accrue to Lagos State which knows nothing about the pains of extractive industry, or suffers no environmental degradation or pollution resultant from SNEPCO exploration activities.
In our humble and candid opinion, SNEPCO has no business running its oil and gas facilities based in the Niger Delta from Lagos State, or even having a liaison office in Lagos State. Or else there would equally be no need for Shell to have offices in Nigeria: Nigerian operations might just as well be run from The Hague or Shell Centre-London in Europe.
These are some of the remote causes of bottled-up anger/tension in the Niger Delta which culminate in being vented through militant activities, kidnap and hostage-taking. We thank God for amnesty which has helped to calm the frayed nerves of the youths. But we make bold to say the Niger Delta people will not fold their arms and let this brazen injustice go on without being redressed. We are aware that Shell has sold most of its assets/facilities in Delta State. But the fact remains that trying to leave Delta State is like trying to run from its shadow. Forcados – Yokri Integrated Project and the Forcados Terminal are all vital ventures that cannot be run from outside Delta State. And this makes Warri continually relevant to Shell.
And in the face of this, we unequivocally posit that the relevant authorities concerned in Royal Dutch Shell should appropriately take the prompt steps to have SNEPCO Head Office relocated from Lagos State to Warri, Delta State. This is the appropriate thing to do, and it is only when things are done properly that ‘unanticipated’ conflicts can be averted in the Niger Delta. Shell(SPDC) and its SNEPCO company should at least respect the views of relevant stakeholders and thereby create room for a friendly business atmosphere.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
Warri, Delta State.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Capt. Crunch: Hey dude (or dudette), this is Donovan’s blog so he can post what he pleases. Maybe he was drawing analogies about bad management and leadership, and the consequences of it. Who knows, who cares? Relax and lighten up.
What has your anti-Obama diatribe got to do with RDS? It just makes you look stupid.
REPLY BY JOHN
Nothing at all to do with Shell. You are free to pass opinion. So am I.
Oh Shell Canada why only tell us now. Shell US sent many Houston cowboys to China too. See what happens! Shell Upstream is pulling out of China as their costs is the highest amongst their competitors. Relationship with partner has gone sour as there is only one Cowboy way. We only pity the local who has been promised long term career.
Nobody is against SHELL USA, but we must call a spade a spade. having worked at Shell Canada for over 31 yrs, I can tell you that ever since RDS purchased all Shell Canada shares in 2009 we have been submitted to terrible management from Shell HOUSTON. All decisions previously taken in Calgary are now chanelled thru HOUSTON and it has been nothing short of a comedy of errors. HOUSTON has decided to shutdown PROFITABLE Canadian refineries and sell Canadian retail gas stations for $1. When challenged by Canadian Management, HOUSTON simply fires Calgary based stahh and replaces them by incompetent TEXAS COWBOYS that have no idea how to grow a business. When will RDS finally take control of the AMERICAS portfolio and bypass incompetent HOUSTON layer of fat and incompetence..
Greenpeace need to get their own house into order before laying the blame on large corporate companies for global warming and attempting to halt the progress of mankind. Having a CEO who commutes to & from work by plane, getting basic facts on fracking totally incorrect and fasifying the figures of pollutants still remaining on Brent Spa etc. etc. shows their credibility to be somewhat shot to pieces.
John: Your comments about Obama, and the destruction he is inflicting on the US, is very accurate. I only hope that the US can endure 2 more years of this clown until a new person can take over.
I did like your latest tabloid headline Donovan, and almost (for a nano second), thought that you were trying to imply that Obama was trying to scuttle the good ship “United” – then I read on. The cartoon of Obama saying “Sue Me” reminds me of someone else who states the same words when attempting to corner Shell or anyone else who voices contrary to this website. I do hope it’s a case of a genuine attack against the US (heh and that includes US Shell / “Relieved” et al) rather than you’ve run out of insignificant ideas to attack RDS??
REPLY BY JOHN
No, it is not an attack on the USA, but an expression of disappointment in President Obama. He seems to have lost the plot. As for running out of ammunition to fire at Shell, there is no chance of that, as will become evident in coming months.
COMMENT BY “AN OLD EP HAND”
…the lad must have been joking when he hoped you were running out of ammunition against Shell. Shell is the main supplier of this ammo!
I would like to repeat a warning I have made before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by former senior people at Royal Dutch Shell, such as Paddy Briggs and Bill Campbell, who choose not to use aliases.
We all know Shell USA is led by substandard management that
needs to be put out to pasture. So, why doesn’t RDS simply get the blood letting over with and move on? Fire them, retire them, or shoot them. But get rid of them already.
Mr. Suburban Fox. you makes a very good observashon. i don think the shell company in the united state has it the same rules as ever other shell company. they no care for what the other shell people doing or about feel proud for shell. they should feel shame for no making money and waste important capito. this the very bad disgrace.
Texvette: Your reasoning is exactly why we have the problem we do. Shell Oil is not a separate company. It is just like any other Shell company and falls under the RDS umbrella. Bad performers should be booted out. Replace Odum and critters like pickard with a dutchman and watch how the profit shoots upwards. I think it should be obligatory for all Amercians joining shell to have a passport to be able to see how the rest of the world operates. Good riddance Voser. lets see if the new man ben does the right thing. he better or will suffer the same result.
“The Hague is 52 minutes driving time from the attractions of Amsterdam” – hmmmm me thinks that to be that precise someone must have done the journey a few times!!! However, despite all the little innuendoes on this site trying to say otherwise, still nothing has been proven in court against Shell & OSSL.
Well said “Concerned”, absolutely correct. The problem with the RDS Americans past & present (e.g. “Relieved”) is that so many think they are God’s gift to this planet, but, invariably they come up well short of expectations.
Whilst I’m having a moan, why does this “Zik Gbemre” keep rambling on and on (often repeating ad nauseum the words already printed on this website) trying to pin all the world’s ills on Shell. Have a try at précising your rambles Zik. As a shareholder they do a great job on the whole.
August 5, 2014
THE MANY SINS OF SHELL – EXAMPLE OF THE HITLER/NAZIS CONNECTIONS
Like a criminal whose hands have been stained with innocent blood, and whose past (like nemesis), will always catch and hunt its present, that is how best we can describe the history and current condition of the ‘evil oil giant’ known as Royal Dutch Shell. It has been said that to understand the present, there is need for us to look at the past to fully grasp current happenings. So to understand why Shell has always been in the middle of wars and crises ridden regions/societies, there is need for us to have a glance of the genesis of the Shell as a corporate oil/gas company. However, it is really sad and rather unfortunate that ephemeral gains/benefits and profits in corporate business has become far more important and valuable to Shell than ‘human lives’. The company’s roles in the different crises/wars that were, and still evident across the globe, clearly explains this undeniable fact.
To those who do not know, Shell, right from day one, has always directly or indirectly perpetrated and promoted ‘evil’ against humanity through its deceptive role in supporting evil regimes; so as to continue to make oil/gas profits and enrich itself more to the detriment of human lives. We have seen this ‘evil’ in Ogoni land of the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria; we have also seen it in Iran and currently in Russia/Ukraine. But what we see Shell doing today in Russia/Ukraine/Separatists conflict, long started even before World War 1, as well as World War 2.
Shell, as we know it today, started when a shopkeeper, Marcus Samuel, decided to expand his London business, M. Samuel & Co. The market for oil remained confined to lighting and lubricants until, in 1886, the internal combustion engine and demand for gasoline arrived with Karl Benz and the first Mercedes. By now the Samuel business had passed to his son Sir Marcus Samuel junior and his brother Samuel Samuel. They exported British machinery, textiles and tools to newly industrializing Japan and the Far East and on return imported rice, silk, china and copperware to the Middle East and Europe. In London, they traded in commodities such as sugar, flour and wheat worldwide. It was during a trip to Japan that Marcus became interested in the oil exporting business then based in Baku, Russia. In 1897, he formed Shell, after his first business, which sold painted seashells. He was knighted in 1898 for assisting in the salvage of HMS Victorious, which had grounded under questionable circumstances and was pulled to safety by the Shell tanker SS Pecten.
In 1907, Samuel’s company combined with the Royal Dutch Company of the Netherlands to create the company today known as Royal Dutch Shell. M. Samuel & Co., having transformed over the years to a merchant bank, merged in 1965 with Philip Hill, Higginson, Erlangers Ltd to create Hill Samuel, which is now a part of Lloyds TSB. However, the Samuel brothers initially called their company The Tank Syndicate but in 1897 renamed it the Shell Transport and Trading Company. Petroleum was also being produced in the East Indies, a Dutch colony, and in 1890 a company had been formed to develop an oilfield in Sumatra. This was the origins of what was to become the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company. Under the management of J.B. August Kessler, they built a pipeline and refinery at Pankalan Brandan. Kessler was joined in 1896 by a dynamic young marketing director, Sir Henry Deterding, who was to become a dominant figure in the company until the outbreak of the Second World War.
In other words, the full merger of the two companies into the Royal Dutch Shell Group came in 1907. There were two separate holding companies with Royal Dutch taking 60% of earnings and Shell Transport taking 40%. The business was run by a variety of operating companies. The merger transformed the fortunes of both companies. Under the management of Sir Henry Deterding they turned from struggling entities to successful enterprises within twelve months. The Group rapidly expanded across the world. Marketing companies were formed throughout Europe and in many parts of Asia. Exploration and production began in Russia, Romania, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States. However, in all of this, the First World War inevitably brought mixed fortunes for the Shell Group. And according to Shell Global website, Shell made a major contribution to the Allies’ war effort by becoming the main supplier of fuel to the British Expeditionary Force. It was also the sole supplier of aviation fuel and it provided 80% of the Army’s TNT. In addition it volunteered all its shipping to the British Admiralty.
But that is half the truth, if we take another look at the Shell history from Sir Henry Deterding perspective, we would see and know more about the role of Royal Dutch Shell as a collaborator and financial supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party via its founder, Sir Henri Deterding. Sir Henry Deterding was one of the first executives of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and for 36 years (1900–1936) its Chairman and the Chairman of the combined Royal Dutch/Shell oil company. He came to power after the early death of the Royal Dutch’s original leader, Jean Baptiste August Kessler. He was made an honorary KBE in 1920, ostensibly for service to Anglo-Dutch relations, but mainly for his work supplying Allies with petroleum during World War I.
According to Wikipedia, Sir Henry Deterding was called the “Napoleon of Oil”, and Deterding was responsible for developing the tanker fleet that let Royal Dutch compete with the Shell company of Marcus Samuel. He was the one that led Royal Dutch to several major mergers and acquisitions, including a merger with Samuel’s “Shell” Transport and Trading Company in 1907 and the purchase of Azerbaijan oil fields from the Rothschild family in 1911. In the last years of his life, Sir Henry Deterding became controversial when he became an admirer of the German Nazi party. In 1936, he discussed with them the sale of a year’s oil reserves on credit; the next year, he was forced to resign from the company’s board. In 1936 he bought the manor of Dobbin near Krakow am See, (Germany) and moved to that place. After he died in Switzerland he was buried at Dobbin in Mecklenburg, but his body was transferred to a grave in Liechtenstein in 1968. And according to John Donovan, he noted in one of his articles that Sir Henry Deterding’s burial ceremony at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany, had all the trappings of a state funeral. The spectacle of the said burial included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
More information from John Donovan reveals that “Sir Henry Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.” Royal Dutch Shell was said to have conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell appeased and collaborated with the Nazis. The oil giant instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Shell used slave labor and was a close business partner in Germany of I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that also used slave labor and supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children. Shell continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri and even after his death. It was money generated on Shell forecourts around the world, profiteering from cartel oil prices, which funded the Nazi party and saved it from financial collapse. Evidence about Shell’s Nazi connections can be found in extracts from “A History of Royal Dutch Shell” Volumes 1 and 2 authored by historians paid by Shell, who had unrestricted access to Shell archives.
Sir Henri Deterding, the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group became an ardent Nazi and financial supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party. The huge injection of Royal Dutch Shell funds by Sir Henri, saved the Nazi Party from collapse and in so doing, indirectly caused millions of deaths in World War II. Declassified US intelligence records show Royal Dutch Shell was viewed as “a Nazi collaborator that used Hitler’s slave laborers”. A ruthless thirst for access to new oil fields was a driving force by Sir Henri (right) for his support for the most evil man in history. Sir Henri was himself described at one time as “The Most Powerful Man in the World”.
As noted in an article by John Donovan, while Royal Dutch Shell support for the Nazi all those years ago has no link to current Shell management, however, there is a link to current activities, with Shell still supporting evil regimes and leaders for its self-centered business growth. Oil and gas is the reason why Shell has signed contracts and collaborated with dictators like Libyan mass murderer, Gaddafi and Nigeria’s late Gen. Sani Abacha. “So basically, nothing has changed; Shell is still willing to deal with the devil to fuel its unquenchable thirst for oil, irrespective of moral considerations and the potential deadly consequences of handing over billions of dollars to a regime which may well end up funding future terrorist atrocities, as it has in the past.” As highlighted in the said post, in addition to the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Gaddafi was also responsible for arming the IRA, another terrorist organization. Shell had also funded the corrupt Nigerian dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, during Shell’s plunder and pollution of the Niger Delta. It is this same scenario that is currently playing out in Europe that has instigated the crises between Russia/Ukraine.
With several news reports about a meeting between President Valdinmin Putin of Russia and Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden, in which the sensitive subject of Ukraine was discussed, it is interesting to note that the same subject was also discussed at a high level by Shell in the 1930′s, on that occasion with Hitler, who like Putin, also had territorial ambitions. It was this same picture that we saw being played out in Nigeria. Like we noted in our past articles on similar subject, when it comes to the Nigerian oil and gas industry, history will always remind us of the most inhuman and despicable atrocities in Ogoni land, perpetuated by Shell in glare collaboration with the repressive military regime of the Nigerian Government under the dreaded late Gen. Sanni Abacha. The Ogoni crises of the Niger Delta region, famously known as the “Ogoni 9”, which culminated to the murder of human rights activist Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others, will always remind us of how oil giants like Shell creeps into oil-bearing countries and practically hold host governments’ by the jugular to have their way in sustaining ‘oil profits’ over and above human lives and environmental degradation.
The same way Shell instigated the crises in Ogoni land of the Niger Delta region, which has remained ‘unsolved’ till now, that is the same way they had sponsored and fueled the two world wars as well as several other war crimes against humanity. It is also the same way Shell is currently instigating the crises between Russia and Ukraine with its business operations. The same way Shell collaborated and influenced the decisions and actions of the then repressive Abacha regime to instigate the Ogoni crises in the 90s, is the same way they are currently pulling the strings of the Dutch government and whatever happens in its operations in Russia.
Sadly, in the midst of this all, Shell ‘pretends’ to be concerned about addressing the ‘damages’ left behind in its quest and thirst for ‘oil wealth’ through its operations with deceptive “SAFETY FIRST” slogans and sermons on their supposed SHELL GENERAL BUSINESS PRINCIPLES, most of which are only true on paper but never in ‘reality’. The current stand by Shell (to continue its “business as usual in Russia” despite the downing of MH17 that led to the deaths of 298 people and the worldwide condemnation/sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine), is a clear indication of this fact. Even with its recent declaration that the company will obey sanctions without hesitation, and its suspension of exploration activities in Eastern Ukraine only (so far), it still does not mean that Shell has changed in any way because the company has left its operations in Russia unchanged. This means they are in full support of the atrocities committed in Ukraine by the present Russian government. Shell does even see the need to apologize to nations and the people of the regions (like those of the Niger Delta), where the oil giant has actively participated in committing heinous crimes against humanity.
But the question is, should government of nations and big corporate companies like Shell do whatever please them in securing their economic interests, territorial ambitions and world dominance, to the detriment of its various citizenry and humanity as a whole? Should we all sit down, fold our hands and allow our environment daily ravaged and lives lost due to the excessive economic and political ambitions of oil giants like Shell with the cooperation of host repressive governments? It is time for all relevant stakeholders concerned to rise up and continue condemning and exposing these anomalies against humanity.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Shell’USA is led by a bunch of ¨bible belt¨red necks. They have no understanding of what GLOBAL realyy means. To be quite honest most of thos folks don´t even know where Canada is or that Mexicans speaks Spanish instead of Mexican. It is time to purge all the existing Houston based mentality now!!!!!
August 4, 2014
RE: 12 SHELL STAFF AND FAMILY MEMBERS KILLED ON FLIGHT MH17
With regards to the above post which reveals that Mr. Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell, said “Shell will obey sanctions without hesitation,” there are however, some issues that were not clear in the said statement and there are questions that need to considered in putting things in the proper perspective. For instance, from this statement, is Shell telling the whole world that the company is also willing to stop its operations in Russia in response to Western sanctions? Or is Shell suggesting that it will stop only the company’s exploration activities in Eastern Ukraine and not its operations in Russia?
For us, we believe there is need for the Royal Dutch Shell to completely stop all of its exploration and operations activities in Russia/Separatists as well, for whatever sanctions imposed on Russia to make sense. There is need for Shell to stop all of its operations in Russia until the sanctions are lifted and fight between Ukraine/Russia stops. And for the world to know that Shell is not in support of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine. According to the post: “Shell, which also has LNG interests at Sakhalin, has suspended work exploring shale resources in Eastern Ukraine,” which is why we said the statement is not clear on whether Shell will equally suspend all of its operations in Russia as well and not just its exploration activities in Eastern Ukraine. How come Shell only suspended its exploration activities in Eastern Ukraine and nothing was done about its operations in Russia?
Though, it was stated in the post that Shell CEO noted that: “It’s a bit early to say how it will play out, and that they will obey sanctions without hesitation,” however, Shell’s suspension of its exploration activites in Eastern Ukraine without doing nothing to its operations in Russia yet, simply justifies the fact that WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO SHELL IS BUSINESS PROFITS OVER HUMAN LIVES AND HUMANITY AS A WHOLE. And like we said in our last letter on similar subject, Shell would rather continue smiling to the banks and turn a blind eye to all the atrocities daily committed by its host country – Russia in Ukraine. This automatically places Shell in the same position as Russia, as those perpetrating the crises in Ukraine and parts of Europe, including the missile-shot Jetliner MH17.
Also, from the said post, it was revealed that Twelve (12) Shell staff and family members were killed on the flight MH17, shot down in Ukraine last month, and not four as it was speculated at first. Let us recall that before now, it was reported that Four Shell employees and 193 citizens of The Netherlands died in the crash of MH Flight 17. But the interesting thing about all of this was that in spite of the sanctions from the United States of America (USA) and EU on Russia, plus the death of 12 of its personnel, Shell still wants to continue its BUSINESS AS USAUAL in Russia. This was contained in previous posts in a statement credited to Shell CEO that “Shell puts the interests of its shareholders first, above any geopolitical considerations.” And according to the earlier post on this subject; “that is his excuse for Shell’s dealings with evil regimes in Iran and Russia, irrespective of sanctions.” Though, we had kicked against this stand by Shell, which does not in any way justify its PRINCIPLES of “core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people,” we are even more appalled that, in spite of the death of 12 of its staff, Shell still wants to leave its operations in Russia unchanged.
And like we noted in past post, by this statement, as credited to Shell CEO, Shell is telling the whole world that “profit first and the interest of its stakeholders” before anything else, including the lives of its staff and the citizens where Shell operates. That is the most ‘cold’ and inhuman disposition any corporate entity should stand on. It therefore means that Shell can also sponsor, aid and abate crimes against humanity in countries where it operates; just to protect and project its profit-oriented “business as usual”. This was how Shell aided and abated ‘war crimes’ in the 1990s in Ogoni of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria. And if we take a look at SHELL GENERAL BUSINESS PRINCIPLES, it means that all Shell is all about is to talk of high moral principles like “SAFETY FIRST” ONLY ON PAPER but in REALITY, it is a different ball game all together. But Shell has to start practicing what they preach.
While we wait to see what other actions Shell would take, aside the suspension of its exploration activities in Eastern Ukraine, we are however not convinced that Shell is ready to change for the better as a corporate company that is genuinely interested in the lives and safety of people over and above its business interests in Russia. Shell cannot just suspend its explorations in ONLY Eastern Ukraine (according to reports), without doing anything to equally suspend its operations in Russia, and think that the company has done something in obeying sanctions. Russia is seen as the main aggressor and instigator of the crises in Ukraine, so Shell’s actions must suggest to the whole world that they are not in support of what Russia is doing. This is where suspending all of Shell’s operations/explorations in Russia comes in.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
I think the current weakness for Shell US is the leadership. Most of the employees that fiercely resisted the takeover by RDS are gone. Most current employee accept the fact that Shell US is a global firm owned by a European company.
To Shell Man: Wake up buddy. Management and staff at Shell USA don’t want to be ‘one company’. They never have. They want their independence and they DON’T want to spend their careers working in such garden spots like Nigeria. RDS is simply going to have to purge Shell USA of its senior indigineous management once and for all.
The sooner van Beurden brings Shell US under his control, the better. The loss making needs to stop and the mentality of Shell Oil being a different company must stop. The soreness that Shell is a European company is plain to see by every american working for Shell Oil. Come on guys we are one company.
For those of you RDS fans who may be interested, Shell USA NEVER lost money while it was an independent company. Losses only began after RDS took over the company in the mid-late 1980’s. In fairness to RDS and Shell USA, the company did take a HUGE profit hit in 1986 and afterwords because of the precipitous drop in oil prices in 1986. However, that was a ‘geopolitical’ event and a consequence of the Saudi’s flooding the market with crude (at Reagan’s request). Of course, we all benefited from the desired impact of that action by the Saudi’s. It bankrupted the old Soviet Union and eventually brought an end to it. Now we have Putin. Win some lose some. Again, the way to really hurt the Russians is to starve their energy industry of Western technology, expertise, and financing. Beware RDS investors.
July 31, 2014
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL – REPLICATING THE OGONI CRISES IN RUSSIA/UKRAINE CRISES
When it comes to the Nigerian oil and gas industry, history will always remind us of the most inhuman and despicable atrocities in Ogoni land, perpetuated by International Oil Companies like Shell (SPDC) in glare collaboration with the repressive military regime of the Nigerian Government under the dreaded late Sanni Abacha. The Ogoni crises of the Niger Delta region, famously known as the “Ogoni 9”, which culminated to the murder of human rights activist Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others, will always remind us of how oil giants like Shell creeps into oil-bearing countries and practically hold host governments’ by the jugular to have their way in sustaining ‘oil profits’ over and above human lives and environmental degradation.
The same way Shell instigated the crises in Ogoni land of the Niger Delta region, which has remained ‘unsolved’ till now, that is the same way they are currently instigating the crises between Russia and Ukraine with its business operations. The same way Shell collaborated and influenced the decisions and actions of the then repressive Abacha regime to instigate the Ogoni crises in the 90s, is the same way they are currently pulling the strings of the Dutch government and whatever happens in its operations in Russia. The same way Shell has practically destroyed the natural environment of the Niger Delta region with their over 50 years oil and gas exploration and production in Nigeria, is the same way they have adversely impacted the natural environment in its operations in Russia, especially on the Sakhalin II Project, where Shell was almost kicked out of Russia many years ago over their absolutely poor environmental performance in the said place. Though, Gazprom is there in Russia, as the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and one of the world’s largest companies, Shell equally has its strong hold in Russia. In fact, both Russia-owned Gazprom and Shell actually signed in 2013 a cooperation within hydrocarbons exploration and development in Russia’s Arctic shelf and a section of deep-water shelf abroad.
We all know that the Anglo-Dutch Shell is one of the largest foreign investors in Russian gas fields in Siberia and is also the largest corporation in the Netherlands. This has automatically made Shell the most vital and important player in the economy of Netherlands. That means if anything affects Shell, it also affects the Dutch Government and the Netherland’s economy. That means we cannot separate Shell’s interests from that of the Dutch Government’s interests. And as such, the business interests of Shell obviously outweighs every other interests concerning The Nehterlands; even if it pertains to human lives. That is why the Dutch Government is not condemning Russia for its devious actions in Ukraine and even against its citizenry, simply because of its economic interests in Russia through Shell. For shying away from this, it simply means the Dutch Government are aiding and abating broad day light ‘war crimes’ perpetrated by the Russia Government.
The Dutch entanglement with Russia through Shell is emblematic of ties that many European nations have with Russia. It was these same ties that Shell had with the repressive military regime of the Abacha government in the 90s to instigate the Ogoni crises which has remained unresolved till today. Words cannot describe or quantify the environmental damage and human loss in the Niger Delta region that were caused/instigated and still perpetrated by the ‘self-centered’ economic interests on Shell with its operations in oil/gas-bearing countries. Sadly, in the midst of this all, Shell ‘pretends’ to be concerned about addressing the ‘damages’ left behind in its operations with deceptive “SAFETY FIRST” slogans and sermons on their supposed SHELL GENERAL BUSINESS PRINCIPLES, most of which are only true on paper but never in ‘reality’. The current stand by Shell (to continue its “business as usual in Russia” despite the downing of MH17 that led to the deaths of 298 people and the worldwide condemnation/sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine), is a clear indication of this fact.
But the question is, should government of nations and big corporate companies like Shell do whatever pleases them in securing their economic interests to the detriment of its various citizenry? Should we all seat down and allow our environment daily ravaged and lives lost due to the excessive economic ambitions of oil giants like Shell with the cooperation of host governments? It is time for all relevant stakeholders concerned to condemning and exposing these anomalies against humanity.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
NIGER DELTA PEACE COALITION (NDPC)
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
July 28, 2014
RE: ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC AND RUSSIA: BUSINESS AS USUAL
It is really sad and rather unfortunate that ephemeral gains/benefit and profits in corporate business has become far more important and valuable than ‘human lives’. It makes one to wonder what the world is turning into. This was the exact impression we got when recently, the Shell CEO Ben van Beurden was straightforward in what he publicly stated at the 2014 AGM of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. The Shell CEO said that “Shell puts the interests of its shareholders first, above any geopolitical considerations.” And according to the earlier post on this subject; “that is his excuse for Shell’s dealings with evil regimes in Iran and Russia, irrespective of sanctions.”
The said statement credited to Royal Dutch Shell CEO, Ben van Beurden, can best be described as the most careless, callous, inhuman, non-empathetic and cruel statement disposition by such an oil giant. With this statement, it means that in spite of the condemnable attacks on Ukraine by Russia; in spite of the untimely deaths of 298 people that were lost (which includes Four Shell employees and 193 citizens of The Netherlands) in the crash of MH Flight 17; and in spite of the sanctions from the United States of America (USA) and EU on Russia, Shell still wants to continue its BUSINESS AS USAUAL in Russia. How does this stand by the Shell CEO, in any way justify its PRINCIPLES of “core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people?”
by this statement, as credited to Shell CEO, Shell is telling the whole world that “profit first and the interest of its stakeholders” before anything else, including the lives of the citizens where Shell operates. That is the most ‘cold’ and inhuman disposition any corporate entity should stand on. It therefore means that Shell can also sponsor, aid and abate crimes against humanity in countries where it operates; just to protect and project its profit-oriented “business as usual”. And if we take a look at SHELL GENERAL BUSINESS PRINCIPLES (link: http://www-static.shell.com/content/dam/shell/static/aboutshell/downloads/who-we-are/sgbps/sgbp-english.pdf) it means that all Shell is all about is to talk of high moral principles ONLY ON PAPER but in REALITY, it is a different ball game all together.
The above statement by Shell CEO simply justifies the fact that WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO SHELL IS BUSINESS PROFITS OVER HUMAN LIVES AND HUMANITY AS A WHOLE. And like we said in our last letter on similar subject, Shell would rather continue smiling to the banks and turn a blind eye to all the atrocities daily committed by its host country – Russia in Ukraine. This automatically places Shell in the same position as Russia, as those perpetrating the crises in Ukraine and parts of Europe, including the missile-shot Jetliner MH17.
It is in this light that we believe that, if Royal Dutch Shell does not stop its operations in Russia (as a way of registering that the company is not in support with what Russia is doing in Ukraine), in the next few days, then we ask that the European Union (EU) and United States of America (USA) should place sanctions on Shell, for practically fueling, aiding and supporting Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine.
This is the only action on Shell that we believe would send a clear message to others of its kind to change their company policies and actions when it comes to “human lives against business interests.” The Shell CEO needs to understand this fact that, no amount of business interests of company stakeholders can be used to equate or replace the life of one single individual. There is need for the US and EU to seriously sanction Shell if the company does not stop its operations in Russia. We ask that the right thing should be done for posterity and humanity sake.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
a bp-shell merger would be a disaster for humanity.
both companies have some good technical people, and some dangerously useless politicians – which kind would survive the post merger musical chairs?
There is no need to merge Shell with BP. It creates an even bigger mega monster. It’s easier to do within Shell or BP one can easily reduce cost by 30%. Look at the amount of overhead and waste around. The number of highly paid executives creating process and procedures. A lot of them sits in the centre and fly around the globe. Its high time to dissect them properly if one is serious.
July 26, 2014
RE: SHELL LEAVES BUSINESS STRATEGY FOR RUSSIA UNCHANGED DESPITE SANCTIONS
With recent reports that the Dutch oil giant Shell, is determined to continue its work in Russia and will not change its business strategy in the country, despite the sanctions imposed against Moscow by the United States of America (USA) and European Union (EU), it becomes obvious of WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO SHELL – THAT IS, BUSINESS PROFITS OVER HUMAN LIFE AND HUMANITY AS A WHOLE. This is really rather unfortunate!
The above position of Shell was revealed on Friday July 25, 2014 by representative of Shell’s press service who told RIA Novosti, as posted. In the words of the said Shell representative: “Shell continues to run business in Russia both in the upstream and downstream without any changes. We monitor the situation regarding the sanctions. But so far there have been no changes in either the business itself or in the business strategy,” the source said.
Let us recall that a week earlier, the United States expanded the list of sanctions against Russia, adding the country’s major entities, including Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank, Rosneft and Novatek. According to the post, the companies have been denied access to US financial markets, while the US-based companies and individuals are prohibited from granting loans to them for more than 90 days. Earlier on, the European Union also extended its sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, adding 15 individuals and 18 companies to the blacklist. But despite all of this, Shell has remain resolute in continuing with its business and operations in Russia, regardless of what the world thinks.
By this singular action, the Royal Dutch oil giant, Shell, is telling the whole world that their businesses and operations are far more important, and the only thing that matters to the company, above the value placed on human life. Shell would rather continue smiling to the banks and turn a blind eye to all the atrocities daily committed by its host country – Russia in Ukraine. It was only last week that we joined voices to reiterate that, “despite anger over downed Jetliner, Europe is shying away from sanctions against Russia.” But now that it seems the EU and the USA are bent on making things difficult for Russia with more sanctions, so as to stop them from their onslaught in Ukraine, Shell that is in the middle of it all, with the Dutch Government, have now made it clear to the world of what is more important to them. This means, no matter the sanctions placed on Russia to dissuade them from continuing with their ill-advised actions in Ukraine, Shell is bent on staying put with their operations in Russia.
Succinctly, Shell is telling the whole world that they are in full support with the Russia Government on what is happening in Ukraine, and of course, the shot MH17 jetliner. But like we said in our last letter on this issue, the truth is that, in a situation where innocent lives were blatantly cut short by the inter-play of a supposed cold war driven by the excessive tendencies of the Russian Government in Ukraine and parts of Europe, and the Dutch Government and Shell are more interested in saving their self-centered interests, then it greatly questions the integrity of the oil giant that keeps preaching “SAFETY FIRST” in all its operations across the world.
In a situation where about 298 lives were lost, which includes Four Shell employees and 193 citizens of The Netherlands that died in the crash of Flight 17, we are greatly disturbed at the length these big corporate companies and their partners in government would go to just to be on top of their game. Shell as a company often preaches that ‘Safety’ (which focuses on the safety of personnel against injury and loss of life during their operations), is the ultimate goal of all of its operations. And that if a job is considered to be ‘unsafe’ then such a job should be discarded and done away with, no matter how much is involved. But by playing ignorant of the situation in Russia and the loss of countless innocent lives and planes getting shot with missiles, then it means Shell’s SAFETY FIRST slogan and sermons are all a complete sham in all ramifications. When it comes to human lives and business, every corporate entity and government should know where to draw the line. But Shell prefers business profits than human life. With this ‘double-standard’, Shell should just stop preaching to the world about its SAFETY slogans/sermons. There is no point trying to deceive its host countries like Nigeria and others with its SAFETY slogans when they cannot condemn Russia from its recent actions.
Like we said in our last letter on similar issue, it is also funny that Shell is plying ‘double-standard’ in its operations in other countries like Nigeria when compared to what it does in The Netherlands. For instance, in its regular Integrity Due Diligence (IDD) Audit exercise in Nigeria meant for its registered Vendors/Contractors, Shell (SPDC) clearly stipulates that for every job execution, its registered Vendor/Contractor must first confirm that “none of its owners or directors, nor its employees or associates who will benefit from or take part in the execution or performance of the Agreement, is a Government Official…” That means as a Shell (SPDC) Vendor/Contractor in Nigeria, one should have no ‘relationship with the government’ that will make the latter benefit from the job being executed on behalf of the Shell. In fact, we know of one Prince Chief Okeimute Oviri, the MD/Owner of O & Company Ltd, a registered Shell (SPDC) Contractor who was nearly disqualified because he made some published commentaries on Nigerian politics, not that he was even an elected government official. The question now is, if Shell has and encourages a closely-knitted relationship with its Dutch Government in the Netherlands, how come the situation is different in Nigeria concerning its Vendors? Shell even allows a government official to sit on its board of directors. That is unheard of in other countries like Nigeria where it operates. Perhaps, this is a topic for another day.
It is appalling and unfortunate that the Dutch Government is not condemning Russia for its devious actions in Ukraine and even against its citizenry, simply because of its economic interests in Russia through Shell. For shying away from this, it simply means the Dutch Government and Shell are aiding and abating broad day light ‘war crimes’ perpetrated by the Russia Government. This is rather unfortunate and we condemn it in all ramifications.
Zik Gbemre, JP
National Coordinator
NIGER DELTA PEACE COALITION (NDPC),
WARRI, DELTA STATE.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
Correct me if I am wrong somebody, but I believe I read that RDS’s gross revenues are equivalent to about 85% of the Netherlands Gross Domestic Product. With that kind of cash flow I would say that RDS clearly has the Dutch government in their back pocket.
THIS POSTING BY Zik Gbemre WAS TO LARGE TO BE PUBLISHED ON THE SHELL BLOG, SO IT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED AS AN ARTICLE: OBJECTION TO MR. OSAGIE OKUNBOR AS MD/COUNTRY CHAIR OF SHELL (SPDC) NIGERIA
To LondonLad and USCitizen: Welcome back! This blog was getting a bit boring without you guys, even if you are hardcore RDS fans.
Geez – Shell’s public website on GTL clearly discusses the technology it is based on, no one is trying to muddy that water but John. The key is the more than 3500 patents Shell developed to make it commerically viable. It was proven to work 75 years before Bintulu in a lab, but not scalable, minor detail huh?? Shell and Sasol made that happen with hugh research investments. If it was off the shelf, many more folks would be building would they not?? Come on, engage the brain.
Shell MDS Technology and Process
Shell MDS technology is a modern version of the Fisher-Tropsch process which was invented back in 1920s. The Shell MDS process, however, uses a much more active and selective proprietary Shell catalyst, which enables the technology to be brought to full commercial operations.
It may be interesting for your readers to know that the process used at Pearl and Bintulu is the “Fischer-Tropsch Process” developed in Germany in the 1920s due to a shortage of petroleum resources and taking advantage of an abundance of coal (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Tropsch_process ). It was further developed by Sasol in South Africa during the 1970s to address the shortage of oil caused by the oil embargo.
LondonLad refers to the “Fischer-Tropsch” process as SMDS (Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis) and implies that it is something newly developed by Shell. It is neither new nor was it developed by Shell. The technology was proven 75 years before Bintulu exploded, and similar plants have been in operation in South Africa since the 1970s. The only difference was that the South African plants did not have to contend with smoke from forest fires.
Why should Shell et al have to sue someone just to prove their innocence? Trouble is that there are too many people who believe in suing just to make a fast buck. (Nigerians in the Delta region spring to mind.) All I can say is that Shell does not appear to have done anything wrong (let’s face it the Irish drink at the drop a hat, so a little top up from Shell would not cause any harm) it is merely those people who want to cause trouble with Shell’s gas projects in Ireland. Why do we have to keep seeing that girl with the “Shell’s cops” banner? As I have said before, I suggest the Irish trouble makers think long and hard about the prospect of having to use gas from Putin (see what has happened to the Ukraine). There got that off my chest, albeit that it is just to reduce the amount of footage that “Relieved” has produced recently in the blog.
To Unrelieved: Having a bad day, or are you an RDS fan?
Relieved: you can stop this “sieg heil” bullshit. We get it. … or perhaps you are a closet Nazi, using this site to live out fantasies?
There is that old adage about not believing everything you read. Of course, we know that holds very true for anything RDS puts out.
John, as the new owner of RDS you must immediately update the business principles statement! First priority of an incoming chairman…..
Shell Canada has just sold over 50 retail gas stations to a third party. Longterm plan is to exit Retail within 2 years…..massive employee layoffs are expected.
John: Saw your video clip. Pictures are worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. There is no explaining this away. Sieg Heil (Hail Victory) !!
At the end of the cold war General Dynamics Corp., a US defense contractor, saw the handwriting on the wall and began to sell its operations divisions one by one, distributing the gains to shareholders as dividends. GD stock price soared because of the rich dividends. Insiders made a killing. Eventually GD was down to one operating company, Electric Boat, the primary manufacturer of nuclear submarine for the US Navy. GD pondered selling EB, thereby liquidating the company and retiring the GD brand name completely. Along came a new CEO and things changed. GD began to acquire additional businesses, and today they are now one of the ‘big 4’ US defense contractors. Maybe RDS will sell off its operating divisions, liquidate itself, and distribute the gains as dividends to the shareholders. Well, one can always hope. The world would most probably be a better place without RDS lurking about.
In a way, the merger of RDS and BP makes some sort of perverse sense. RDS is really out in the cold (no pun intended) in the US Arctic. BP, et al, own the assets necessary to make RDS’s investment in the Arctic pay-off handsomely. RDS would have to reproduce much of the in-place logistical base found at Prudhoe Bay, and then pump their oil through a pipeline they don’t own. And BP’s brand is forever tarnished in the US. They are a host of other synergies to be realized as well. Talks about such a merger, because it is NOT a merger of US based corporations are probably quite serious. This is something to watch for.
I saw your article on possible misconduct on the part of Shell with regard to proprietary trade secret information. If this fellow engaged in his business with Shell in the USA he needs to get moving with regard to potential legal action. All statutes in the US with regard to theft of trade secrets have associated statutes of limitations. Now, this fellow might bring action against Shell for breach of contract (4 year statute of limitation), conversion (2 year statute of limitation), or theft (2 years statute of limitation from date of first knowledge). The date of first knowledge clause in this statute was a gift to big business because it gives them a ‘forever’ clause to bring action against contractors, former employees, etc. There is also the Economic Espionage Statute he might consider because Shell is a foreign corp., etc., but this information was disclosed willingly. I hope this fellow got a signed NDA, otherwise he is probably S.O.L.
Your advice and warning about Shell is well founded. All those dealing with Shell need to protect themselves completely. And if Shell objects to the terms and conditions of the disclosure then don’t deal with them. However, if Shell thinks you are really on to something expect shenanigans on Shell’s part. Dealing with Shell is like dealing with the mafia. You get what you ask for – trouble, and often lots of it. As John has disclosed Shell is apparently even willing to go after highly classified US DOD military technology if they see a benefit. Industrial espionage, theft of IP, etc., is just a part and cost of doing business for Shell.
The recent appeals court decision against BP and Anadarko is an ill wind for RDS. It means they can be fined heavily for pollution-law violations resulting from gross-negligence/incompetence. Given Shell’s conduct in their recent Arctic adventure they clearly have been very lucky. However, they need to get their act together. The financial consequences of screwing up could be extremely severe, even before one considers clean-up costs. The shareholders of the company need to understand the full consequences of letting the junior varsity run the Alaskan operation.
Mr. Putin (or whom-ever you are) In the late 1930’s Europe went through a situation much like that found today in the Ukraine. They have seen this story before. Mr. Hitler was once lauded for his rebuilding of Germany, then his true nature showed itself. Mr. Putin was once lauded for his work at rebuilding Russia, but now his true nature is on display. What more need be said (Note: Hitler was not blond or blue-eyed. Putin is.).
Mr Donovan, I notice the attention you are giving to Ben van Beurden bowing to President Putin. It is not long since you were supplying the Russian government with confidential Shell internal documents that cost Shell its controlling stake of Sakhalin Energy. You seem to have rather changed your attitude to Putin?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Changed by polonium poisoning in London and the invasion and annexation of Crimea. The UK government has also changed its attitude somewhat. In 2003 Putin undertook a state visit to Britain at the invitation on the UK government and attended a state banquet where he met with the royal family, no doubt including Prince Charles, who has also changed his attitude to Putin. Shell puts moral and ethical considerations to one side.
To Old EP Hand: Having had to deal with sour service issues when I worked for Shell on the ‘P’ side of the business I am as appalled as you are at the level of incompetence displayed on the Kashagan project, and by all parties. You are correct, someone signed off on all of this, and I suspect that some technical ‘expert’ at Shell signed-off as well. Probably a 2 year engineer who got saddled with processing incoming paperwork from the operator. If Shell management was as competent as LondonLad appears to have been in his time at Shell it is no wonder that the obvious was overlooked and ignored. Probably for ‘political’ reasons. Who would want to create a stink by claiming the Italians didn’t know their own rear ends from a hole in the ground ??? Maybe the Shell staff assigned to the project had the same problem.
London lad I wouldn’t judge by the time factor , i
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Niger Delta region of Nigeria in 1958 and has a long history of working … thirteen years of litigation, the case against Shell ended in a historic $15.5 million …
Comment by John Donovan:
Unfortunately the above posting is partly incoherent. The intended comment seems to be that the merits of the allegations should not be judged on a time factor, bearing in mind that it took 13 years of litigation before Shell settled a human rights claim for $15.5 million arising from Shell’s conduct in Nigeria.
As stated before, OSSL, it is indeed 5 years ago that this allegation first started. However, I guess Ireland has the same law of “innocent until proven guilty” SO why no prosecution of Shell yet? Innocent I would therefore say. All these allegations are just trying to pour a dampener on the Corrib project – what other mischief can these objectors attempt in order to stop a project that the country needs. Perhaps Russian gas might be cheaper and more reliable OSSL?
PLEASE SEE: Corrib Corruption Scandal on the Agenda at Royal Dutch Shell AGM
John, May we use your platform to inform all at Shell the following …it’s five years ago today that Shell CEO for Corrib took us into his office and informed us that a serious situation had arisen regarding Shells instructions to OSSL. He asked for two weeks of silence from us on all matters. In those two weeks he told us “I will sort it all out just be patient”. Senior Shell man Brian Foley was also in the room …..he remains in position as the top man on the Corrib project . What followed next is a comedy farce without humour. Thanks John .
Nexus, very many verbal instructions as you would expect for matters requiring confidentiality and integrity. CEO and one other senior Corrib Shell management now gone (very conveniently) and hopes of resolution in private dashed by spineless leaders and compromised police.
OSSL – were any verbal instructions given? If so, you have recourse via your contract with Shell. Alternatively, if you have Purchase Orders (PO) for service with issued Work Completion Certificates, or Purchase Requisitions with corresponding signed invoices for any of the services provided to SEPIL can be produced as supporting evidence for any work you can make a case. Under the Freedom of Information Act you can also request information for correspondence relating to OSSL, named company directors etc that can be used to gain access to data held in Shell or other companies related to this whole affair. I want to see justice done.
Nexus, you mean well I think, the Shell demand was for no traceability of Alcohol delivered to police. No traceability does what it says on the tin .
I am currently an employee with Shell. I write under an alias as a personal choice. I would like to ask OSSL – did you ever explore taking Shell to the small claims court for the non-payment of the (alleged) alcohol delivered to the Gardia? I am not sure how Irish law works, but such an avenue in the UK, would, I believe be a recourse for you to recoup the lost monies, whilst at the same time proving the existence / delivery of the aforesaid liquor. Personally I would want to see an end to this whole saga and those that have done wrong held to account.
Hi London Lad, whoever you are, it was the UK press that broke this story! Which prompted the Irish police Commissioner to launch an enquiry. The UK
Press picked up the matter from this Shell news site.
Can someone please explain to me (and on this site I’m sure there’s many) why there is still NO mention about this OSSL / booze subject etc. in the UK or Dutch press? Have to say that well done with “In the Gulf”, I think that “OSSL” appears to be someone who is drinking too much of the Guinness prior to his postings!! Also, why is there nothing of importance concerning the alleged manipulation of oil / gas prices by RDS etc. in the UK or Dutch press. I guess that there is nothing to prove.
P.S. I have a mate Donovan who says it should be MUSaint and not Musaint…….
REPLY BY JOHN:
Will take the correction as gospel coming from you, first hand.
I would like to repeat a warning I have mentioned before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by contributors such as Paddy Briggs, who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using aliases, such as “Outsider” and MUSaint/LondonLad have built up a reputation over several years for the integrity of their postings on this website.
Please explain, what’s a salt flat?
Lots of static since ..tree hugger …posting …asking why ? Shell wanted to blame Shell to Sea for damaging something called the salt flats ….does that make sense ?…
On the subject of Shell Corrib integrity note this fact. Shell instructed OSSL in a visit to our offices to recruit “tree huggers” their words, from outside Ireland to infiltrate a new Shell to Sea camp being assembled at Glencastle …..sounds crazy …it’s a fact – that’s how desperate they had become in 2006 on the Corrib Project; another inconvenient truth for the denial machine that is Shell.
Hi Relieved, believe me where Corrib management are concerned this Shell job has plumbed some depths. Crothers CEO (currently) wanted to tidy up but was stopped because revelations were too damming.
You have got to love the Irish ‘establishment’ and RDS. What a 3rd rate, Mickey Mouse operation. Classic mediocre soap opera comedy. They could not have screwed up any better if they had tried.
Last post 100% spot on bugging geeks were brought from outside the country at Nolans demand others that can confirm are Cronin and Byrne, Foley. Don’t know about bugging Teach Erris but they stayed there.
Document doing the rounds in Mayo Shell circles showing a local hotel bugging details (Gessala), and an instruction to only use non Irish surveillance team, GSOC take note, the instruction is confirmed by Shell.
Yes indeed, in 1999 I recommended that the Brent management team be suspended pending an investigation into their chronic misconduct, do you think such a recommendation comes easily to the lips when you still have some career ahead of you. Post the Brent Bravo incident in 2003, asked to assist in the production of documents that had unexplainably gone missing from files in Aberdeen and Den Haag, and as a retained Senior auditor for RDS, initiated investigation into Malcolm Brinded and others, including Chris Finlayson in 2004, for their part in the lead up to the deaths on Brent Bravo.
You may be surprised to hear that after the 2006 press release by Shell (copied to all staff worldwide) that I had essentially lied about the criminal neglect evident in Aberdeen over a prolonged period I received an extension of contract from RDS until 2008 which as you can realise was never honoured by RDS. So all open and above board, when I decided to provide evidence to the Regulator and the CPS in 2005 I did so only after I had informed the Board in writing and Van der Veer in person at a meeting in C16. At that time as a contracted employee.
At this juncture Shell had just pled guilty to all charges of neglect in the deaths on Brent Bravo.
Unlike you, I do not seek anonymity and have never taken any action against Shell, or it’s employees without notifying them in advance. I thought from your previous blogs that you were not a great fan of Chris Finlayson, but I may be wrong in that respect. Perhaps you can write a counter piece praising his skills as a Director and leader.
Please keep up your blogs, disparity of opinion is what makes the site so useful. Many of your comments are to be welcomed if a balanced debate is to be continued.
Star Gazer; Thought they send the best Arctic Alaska Wells Manager to develop unconventional in China. It’s a major change.
18 years in Shell I am still baffled by how we can waste so much money on doomed projects (billions on Arctic wasted and the Arctic project team are all still waiting around as if Shell is going to continue). I am hoping the board get a pasting at the AGM. Its time for a change. More transparency please.
I do believe Mr. Campbell is referring to the ‘Peter Principle.’ RDS is rife with examples of this.
Absolutely agree with the comments from “MaryM” and in fact very surprised that there has been almost no reporting of this violation against international human rights by Brunei being reported in the UK mainstream papers. A religion that drags countries back 500 years or more when applied in the format of Brunei, Saudi Arabia and Iran etc. Not exactly sure what RDS can do about this as a company, more the case that the US should start some form of oil/gas sanctions against Brunei. Oh dear me how stupid of me, the US doesn’t do that against large oil/gas producing countries. Even against Russia it’s only against individuals. I do like Friday’s – such humour is often written on this website by anti-RDS individuals on a Friday. Campbell in is usual attack on RDS and senior individuals – again Campbell did you make these concerns known within the RDS system when you were working for the company? Then there’s “Wari-or” (isn’t it Warri by the way?) with his laughable comment that “Even we (in Nigeria) are more good and honest with money”. Where has all the billions of dollars of oil revenue gone to over the years “Wari-or”? Oooooo that’s right to some fat Nigerians bank account overseas. Oh and by the way I have been to Nigeria, working there for 6 years, and it’s one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
It amuses me (not in a good way) that someone who is so adamant in implementing Sharia is neglecting the basic tenets of Islam and the Qur’an which prohibit exhibitions of extravagance be it in dress, jewellery, etc. I guess he’s a “Do as I say, not as I do” kind of ‘leader’.
Extravagance – which is to exceed the limits of what is required or what is customary – is something prohibited. Those who do so will be counted among the spendthrifts, about whom Allah says: “Verily the spendthrifts are the brothers of the devils.” [Sûrah al-Isrâ’: 27]
I give as an example…the incredible event that was his 5th child’s (daughter’s) wedding…some say in excess of $20MILLION was spent on the lavish affair which saw men and women mingling and men wearing silk clothing and golden jewelery.
You are true Mr Patrick. I do not know why the culture in Shell America is so selfish and think they are the leader of the world. I can tell you my friends it wont be long before we see devastating organisational changes. Cut this disorganised teams of charlatans off. Then i tell you you watch the stock price go up in the sky. Come here see Nigeria. Even we are more good and honest with money.
Odum may indeed be a nice guy, but that probably makes him a figure head leader. Weak, grinning glad-handers don’t make good corporate leaders. Yes men perhaps, but leaders – no. My bet is that it is Shell USA’s board (i.e., the RDS gang) that is making the big decisions (and mistakes). And that is probably the way RDS wants it. Odum is simply someone to hide behind.
Hi Loud Texan, don’t think it’s just Marvin Odum , it’s the whole team and culture in UA. Indeed time for change
A good day for Shell investors. Well done to CEO. But enough is enough. why is my great company continuing to limp along with the smiling but loss making Marvin Odum as head of America. We are not making money continue embarrassing the rest of the Shell with unforgivable mistakes. A nice guy but time for him to find a job in Hollywood. Time to get back to where we should be.
Chinese oil company may be interested too . That will be real competition if Someone does not block it.
Shell might have some competition from Total if they decide to mount a bid for BG. Andrew Gould has plenty of connections in France.
Hi Michael Crothers CEO of Shell ..using this platform to let you know …ask me for favors …ask me for police booze …ask me to lie to ombudsman ….
But don’t ask me to be stupid #shellsdisgrace
Shell is a very good company. It’s the people who lead it that makes a difference. Let’s hope for that day.
Brinded, Brown, Voser, Rees, Finlayson, Carne…
I’m sure there are more names that could be added to the list, but the oil industry seems to be currently haemorrhaging senior executives… and all from a specific clique. Is there a scandal about to break?
It’s reminiscent of 2004 (Watts, vd Vijver, Boynton, Hofmeister, Botts et al) and 2010 (Browne, Hayward)
OSSL you need fools to come forward and help you, it won’t happen cops won’t speak and we can’t, cheers for everything you did for us but that’s it.
#turkeysdontvoteforxmas
Thanks John to you and all the contributors. Shell is an arrogant company which is wasting money on a big uncompetent work force. Alaska is just one example of shameful failure. Shell’s overpaid PR monkeys have proven to be ridiculously thick for allowing the Putin visit to go ahead.
WHat on earth did Shell do to you to make you so bitter twisted and biased~?
REPLY BY JOHN:
The reasons why I set up this website can be easily deduced just by reading some of the information in these columns.
Interesting development on Shell Boozegate. Police inform OSSL they can’t ask main witness and offloader of booze anything because his rank is higher than investigators rank. Only a Commissioner can question the witness and he’s gone.
Shale gas has been produced for many years in places such as Sussex, and appears to have been used for lighting at Crowborough Station until quite recently…for example on https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/railwaycanal/conversations/topics/1213 you will find information from 1954.
It will be years before shale gas (if it can ever be produced economically) has any significant impact on gas supplies in the UK. It is not the answer to Russian gas, although it may determine the maximum price at which Russian gas can be sold.
In order to produce a significant volume of shale gas, thousands of wells will need to be drilled and fracced. There are very few drilling rigs available, suitable fraccing equipment is almost non-existent, and there are very few people available with the required expertise.
The construction of the required equipment, training of personnel, the drilling and completion of the required wells, and the construction of the required infrastructure (flow lines and gas treatment facilities) will require many years, and tens of billions of pounds of investment.
After the wells have been drilled, shale gas wells will require major maintenance work every couple of years – in many cases this maintenance will require resources comparable to those used for the initial construction of the well. This is not the same as a conventional gas well which may produce for 20 years without intervention.
Interesting article here which supports my view of UK shale gas production. It does not mention the timescale…
The amount of shale gas potentially recoverable in the UK is at least 10 times that of the famous Groningen field in The Netherlands. British shale gas has the potential to have a serious impact on Russian-European trade.
RDS negotiating sale of Canadian downstream assets.
Since when has RDS operated with ‘corporate social responsibility’. Recall RDS support for Hitler and his gang of demented perverts.
Paddy – voila! Precisely. Just what does the timing of the meeting tell us about the judgement of van Beurden and his PA advisors?
RETIRED ROYAL DUTCH SHELL EXECUTIVE, PADDY BRIGGS
I’m old-fashioned (and old) enough to think that “Corporate Social responsibility” matters. I am also an RDS shareholder. Unlike some previous posters here I don’t think that dividends are the only thing that Shell or any other Company should think about. The gory truth about Western oil companies dalliances with Mr Putin and his mob are well told in Tom Bower’s “The Squeeze”.
My review of it is here:
In the light of this story I think Mr van Beurden might well have been more circumspect with President Putin at this sensitive time.
While a lot of folks are irritated by the way RDS’s fearless leader sucked up to Putin it would wise to remember Shell has a great deal at stake in the land of the Russ and that he works for the shareholders who really don’t care if he sleeps with Putin so long as he keeps those dividends flowing. It is all about money, and the appropriate amount of shameless groveling and sucking up to Putin could pay off handsomely for RDS. As far as I can see van Beurden is just doing his job. National governments make foreign policy, not corporations, although they can dn
Well, hope that Donovan reads your requirements “Relieved” and restricts articles to RDS only. Any reference to 3rd parties involved directly or indirectly with RDS must not be mentioned on the website according to you “Relieved”. Thus if anyone castigates RDS (e.g. Greenpeace over Brent Spar) they must not be mentioned? Wow what a nodding donkey with an RDS problem “Relieved”. Even Donovan is somewhat more even keeled!! Let’s face it there are a majority of people who believe RDS is far far better than is made out by people such as yourself who post like nodding donkeys on this website – yes I am one of those. All this said, fair play to Donovan he generally allows both sides of an argument to be printed (clearly something you don’t want or like).
REPLY BY JOHN:
This blog is meant for free and open discussion about Shell and related matters as has always been the case. Always happy for both sides of a debate to be published.
Sheep pen list just the tip of the iceberg of gifting, now referred to by Shell BID department as “corruption” funny they weren’t calling it that at the time.
LondonLad: Once again, people visit this website to read about RDS, not about Greenpeace, et al., like it or not.
RDS – Brent Spar – Greenpeace : spot the linkage “Relieved”?? You are the one who clearly misses the point in that statistics are used by industry, Governments, Greenpeace, this website etc. to attempt to prove a point. Having this website just for nodding donkeys such as yourself would be somewhat incestuous and very boring. Maybe to allow people like yourself to continue self beatification by attacking RDS at every (unfounded) opportunity there should be a password to allow only anti-RDS contributors?
LondonLad: You seem to have missed the fact that this website is dedicated to RDS, not Greenpeace or any other environmental conservation/protection organization. If you don’t like those folks, and clearly you don’t, then why don’t you establish your own anti-Greenpeace/tree hugger blog.
Fooling around with numbers “Relieved” is also a problem with Greenpeace. Remember all the fictitious numbers they used for the amount of pollutants in the Brent Spar. They also were eventually found out, but hasn’t stopped them blowing up the numbers to attempt to stir trouble. And again Campbell targets Shell for the use of statistics however he does just the same. Statistics can be used to prove almost any point you want – that includes some of the anti-Shell folk on this site.
Fooling about with numbers is a constant game with senior level they do it with everything. And management at RDS is not alone. Recall Enron’s debacle. Of course, RDS finally got caught big time in 2004 with its fooling about with reserve numbers. However, when it comes to risk analysis eventually the chickens come home to roost and there is a serious ‘incident’ that always makes the news. It is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’, but RDS management does not seem capable of learning from past malfeasance. If RDS management keeps fooling around in the Artic they are going to get their heads handed to them in a way that will threaten the existence of the company.
Ian Blauu: small correction, the Dutch pensionfund is handled by Shell Nederland and the bulk of the money comes from the NAM and more specific: Groningen. The Dutch pensioners are therefore quite safe for the next 20 years or so.
I prefer a CEO who keeps up the standards of decency and technical superiority. In words and actions. Grovelling to the dictators of the world is just not on! Jeroen v.d. Veer did the same when Putin stole half the Shell share. He thanked him for that. And if you behave like a serf you get treated like a serf!
I fear van Beurden has the wrong advisors in this matter. Probably americans, they get it wrong all the time!
Shellwaarbenjijnu, you know very well Shell has to rely on Sahkalin In Russia, China, Nigeria, and few others to continue to fund the Shell pension in Holland. By the way , ” Bowing” means respect in many countries.
@Ian Blauu – I was not implying Shell should exit Russia. My observation relates to van Beurden’s body language. There is no requirement in Dutch / European / Russian culture to bow unless you are acknowledging a “superior” which is akin to groveling. The CEO of Shell does not have to grovel. He is at the top of an energy company which by any measure is the superior of anything Russian.
As for Putin knowing Shell’s business better than van Beurden – of course. Van Beurden has to rely on reports from Shell staff which will have been spun and shaped to convey the message “everything is in great shape”. Putin will have his spies everywhere feeding him the undiluted truth.
Shellwaarbenjijnu: completely agree, I saw him on TV, ‘Thank you very much, Mr President, for being able to see me here today. It seems that you know our business in Russia as well as I do.’ Also follow this link http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/7039 for the full text. I am almost certain I heard him say two or three times ‘thank you Mr President’. This grovelling made my stomach turn. Had Putin asked ‘and now you kiss my ass’, I am sure van Beurden would have complied. Anything for the shareholder! Somehow I cannot see the boss of Exxon behave like this!
Shellwaarbenjijnu, Shell is a business. Ben has to keep the share price high. Exiting Ukraine’s unconventional would be the right thing to do too.
van Beurden – shame on you! The front page of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf shows you bowing your head to Putin while he looks straight ahead. “Shell welkom in Rusland”.
Where is your pride man? Have you forgotten the humiliation heaped on Shell over Sakhalin based on trumped up charges of environmental vandalism? All originated by a ruthless kleptocrat who at the same time willfully ignores the environmental catastrophy of nuclear waste leaking from abandoned former Soviet navy submarines rotting away in the arctic. Putin is so bent he cannot lie straight in bed at night and you bow your head to him? Shame, shame, shame.
We were lucky in the 1993 SMDS explosion as it was Christmas Eve when everyone was off. For the record Train 9 is part of LNG facilities next door not part of SMDS. Just wish Prelude all the best.
@Deltaic – don’t wish to be overly “pickey” but I thought the discussion was around the safe functioning of the Bintulu GTL (pilot) plant. Train #9 refers to yet another addition to the LNG plant the functionality and safety of which was not under discussion.
Good job that those with real knowledge about projects kept going with aviation development (despite crashes and deaths) else we would be in some trouble wouldn’t we!! Guess you don’t fly Outsider. Still agree with LL as the Bintulu project has been a success despite some early problems and hence train 9 being built.
I am amazed to hear yet again that a project which resulted in an explosion and fire and the destruction of hundreds of millions of dollars that had been spent on its construction is a “success” – how are we supposed to take these people seriously? According to their logic, if Prelude blows up, but later designs of FLNG plant do not, then Prelude was a success? Trial and error is not normally the design approach used for multi-billion dollar projects.
Releived and Outsider really have no knowledge of what Shell is doing or has done regarding the building and addressing of safety issues with Prelude. All that comes across to me is a couple of people who have no idea of the project but merely guess incorrectly. Either way the project goes ahead and the moaners carry on wasting their time. Having been involved with Bintulu I have to agree with London Lad and say that it has in the end been an excellent project for all concerned.
LondonLad: you answer your own question quite admirably: I believe that there are lots of advantages to new technology which should be exploited to the extent possible. However, with all new technologies there is also a risk that something has been overlooked, the consequences of which may be catastrophic – as with the effects of the smoke from forest fires on the Bintulu GTL plant. Nobody actually knows what is going to happen to Prelude when it gets hit by a cyclone, but there will be green water going across the decks and through the process facilities with enormous force.
John
It may be interesting for your readers to know that the process used at Pearl and Bintulu is the “Fischer-Tropsch Process” developed in Germany in the 1920s due to a shortage of petroleum resources and taking advantage of an abundance of coal (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Tropsch_process ). It was further developed by Sasol in South Africa during the 1970s to address the shortage of oil caused by the oil embargo.
LondonLad refers to the “Fischer-Tropsch” process as SMDS (Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis) and implies that it is something newly developed by Shell. It is neither new nor was it developed by Shell. The technology was proven 75 years before Bintulu exploded, and similar plants have been in operation in South Africa since the 1970s. The only difference was that the South African plants did not have to contend with smoke from forest fires.
Again you miss my point and don’t answer the question!! Indeed Bintulu was shut down for 2 years after the explosion in the Air Separation Unit. What was the cause? – minute atmospheric particles stemming from the forest fires which blanketed Borneo and which entered and accumulated in the ASU resulting in an explosion. This was NOT related to SMDS technology. My question is Bintulu a success – well for Malaysia and all interested parties it would appear so as they are now on to Train 9. Outsider, I think you are a glass half-empty man who does like progress (particularly from Shell).
With regard to the Prelude FLNG project I think we can all agree that Shell is trying something that has never been tried before and that it does not have the corporate culture necessary to manage that facility safely. It does, in fact, have the poorest safety record of the major oil companies. So, it is reasonable to say that management has embarked upon a development program it does have the will or the where-with-all to manage and reduce the risks associated with this project to a manageable level. We only need look and BP and its Thunderhorse project. Hence, it is reasonable to presume that sometime in the future there will be an ‘incident’ that is serious. One can only hope Shell has been able to obtain proper insurance for this venture.
LondonLad: The first Bintulu plant was destroyed in an explosion and fire, with numerous injuries to people on site. If this is your definition of success, God help the crew of the Prelude.
You miss my point Outsider. Of course there is a risk with anything a human does, be it as a single person or as a company. Let’s face it most accidents occur in the home. Should we stop progress just because of the risks involved – no as far as I’m concerned. That’s my point. As long as most risks (of course ideally all, but humans are involved here) have been identified and addressed then projects should go ahead. Comparing Prelude to a 1934 Texas refinery (plus picture) is not a direct comparison. Sure, I remember the Bintulu GTL problem well but it shouldn’t stop / delay Prelude. Has Bintulu been a success or failure? The former I believe for both Shell and Malaysia. I’m sure the glass half-full people will jump at this conclusion.
London Lad: You need look no further than the first Bintulu GTL plant or the Port Arthur refinery to see that the application of “new” technology does not prevent mishaps. I would also remind you that Shell demonstrated unequivocally in Alaska that even with new projects, they have no hesitation in using 50 year old technology when it appears to offer a reduction in costs.
Prelude – a cause for celebration as far as I’m concerned Campbell. My glass is always half-full, clearly most commentators on here have a glass that is always half-empty (as far as Shell is concerned anyway). Again the tabloid photo upfront of the explosion at the BP Texas City Refinery – scaremongering again methinks. A 1934 refinery compared to a modern day FLNG/FLPG – some people just don’t want to see progress, especially in the Shell world. Let’s just rely on the supplies from Russia shall we…….
Corrib Watcher: Don’t get your hopes too high. Dutch law and Shell’s lawyers will make it almost impossible for the Irish police to find anything of interest
John tell your LL contributor ….word is Irish Police are in Holland at Shells integrity department demanding sight of enquiry details regarding the supply of alcohol by Shell to the Irish Police. Previous attempts to gain access to the enquiry details were blocked by Shell CEO in Ireland.
LondonLad: You are a fool.
Well Washington Observer, you use the words “rumor” (we would say rumour), “alleged”, and “not privy to the details” – so really there’s not too many facts in your commentary. I would say it’s more of “hot air”, tabloid titillation” and “same-old, same-old” against Shell. I await for the usual 10 pages of defence from someone I won’t name.
The comment by “Relieved” citing a relatively obscure field in Mississippi seems to imply that sour gas (H2S) is a relatively rare occurrence. It is not. Sour gas occurs frequently in oil and gas fields throughout the world, and must always be considered in facilities design. The presence of very high levels of H2S in Kashagan was known from the time of the first discovery well. The apparent failure to incorporate design features to address the presence of 17% H2S in the development plan can only be described as gross negligence on the part of all of the partners.
Rumor has it that a complaint is about to filed in Federal district court in Washington, D.C., that is related to Shell USA’s alleged attempt to gain access to US DoD classified technology. I am not privy to the details of this case, but I would watch for it.
I find the problems at Kashagan to be absolutely unforgivable given all of Shell’s experience with sour service equipment at the Thomasville field in Mississippi, USA. Shell USA virtually set the standards for sour service equipment, not only for production well equipment, but also for the processing facilities that removed the H2S from gas and oil and converted it into elemental sulfur. What happened at Kashagan was absolutely preventable and should never have happeded. However, it would appear Shell has ‘downsized’ its technical expertise right out of the company.
Tyler, well said. Heard Ben coming to China to sign off another U$0.5bil to sink in Sichuan. As long as you have the American cowboys running the show, we really pity Shell. We dont have Odum here but we have Brad Kerr. Ben, please do something with Ole boys and get rid of the high overhead if you are serious about developing unconventional in China.
@Old EP Hand – you are absolutely spot on in respect of Odum. Of course he should be fired. He is the “captain” of the Titanic that is the Shell operation in the Americas and is therefor 100% accountable for all that goes right and WRONG on his ship. There are smooth talkers and smooth talkers but none come as close to Odum (although the likes of Botts and Hoffmeister came close). You says it stinks to heaven but that is the problem in the US. It is indeed a “heaven connection”. All these guys at the top have their Southern Baptist, Mormon, etc closed shops and they will protect themselves as they hold hands, close their eyes and “praise the lord”.
@Tyler – your point on China is similar. The “good ole boy” politics and “clappy handy” church connections do not make for clarity on accountability & responsibility and hence excellence in business results (and ethics). Let us hope (and pray??) that van Beurden puts a stop to this poison which has weakened Royal Dutch Shell since the late 1990’s.
In the FT interview of April 1 van Beurden talked of the necessity of taking tough choices. He has a number to take but firing incompetent, smooth talking, power point pilots from the US should be one of the easy ones for him to take.
Let’s talk China. Shell has made commitment to drill Sichuan Province (press release 03/2014). What the story doesn’t tell everyone is that Shell has spent 1 Billion USD and has yet to find sustainable gas. It also does not address the fact that Shell China has gone from 9 rigs to 1 rig in Sichuan. Office staff in Chengdu is over 500 people for a 1 rig operation, by the end of 4Q 2014.
Let’s not forget that Shell China has been put under the US Unconventional Wells group. These are the same ones that screwed up the US Shale Gas Projects. The new manager is Chengdu is an American who came from Alaska, we know how that turned out.
There are so many things wrong in China and RDS has no idea of what is going on.
Investors be aware that it is a sink hole with no financial bottom and the “good ole boy” politics are in play in China.
John, you say Odum should resign. I disagree completely. He should be fired. Gross incompetence of a smooth talker. And how much of the billions that Shell USA wasted on the shalegas and cock-ups in Alaska flowed into the pockets of his friends? I have no proof at all, but in my humble opinion it all stinks to high heaven!
To Bill: if you read the report I refer to, it says that the contents ignited. It even says in the last paragraph: -quote- Further, it should be noted that the ignition of the two unconfined vapor clouds of LNG in Cleveland did not result in explosions. There was no evidence of any explosion overpressures after the ignition of the spill from either the cylindrical tank or the sphere. The only explosions that took place in Cleveland were limited to the sewers where LNG ran and vaporized before the vapor-air mixture ignited in a relatively confined volume. The U.S. Bureau of Mines concluded that the concept of liquefying and storing LNG was valid if “proper precautions are observed”.
-unquote-.
Regards the accident in Belgium, please google a bit, the accident was a ruptured high pressure gas line (40in, 85bar). Please check the place – it is more than 100km away from the regasification facility in Zeebrugge.
Regarding scaremongering – maybe I overreacted a bit, you can never exclude risk fully, but it is not exclusive to Shell and should not be an excuse to not try to evolve technology to the next level… I may be mistaken on the purpose of your article, but it seems that that is your message.
Cash all gone comments – My reply
John: Could you please include this correction as a blog from me. If the fellow cares to read the report on the website he linked it clearly states that when the fire had almost died down, the tank collapsed with some 9400 gallons of LNG spilled, this evaporated and in their words promptly ignited so we had a fire followed 20 minutes later by an explosion.
The Belgium incident is listed as an LNG incident on many websites.
I don’t quite understand the scaremongering charge, after all, these events happened did they not and were generally as a result of human error. It is to avoid the charge of bias that at all times I refer to historical failure data both related to Shell operations but industry operations also, as Cash be Gone should understand in determination of the probability of such events were are guided by – has it happened in our industry, has it happened to Shell, the answer to many of the questions is yes it has.
Regards
Bill
Cash All Gone: I think you are overdoing it a bit. Bill describes a number of incidents involving methane. LNG is liquid methane, but in the event of release it will immediately assume the gaseous form, which when mixed with air can form explosive mixtures. You are right in that LNG in liquid form is not explosive, but the time for which it remains liquid in the event of release is very short. Any escape of LNG will therefore result in a potentially explosive cloud of methane gas and air – exactly as happened in the events that Bill describes.
Reaction to Bill Campbell’s scaremongering article – please get your facts straight as the article is a brilliant mix of truth, halftruth and false statements. For example – the Cleveland incident in 1944 – there was no LNG explosion, there was fire only, except minor explosions in the sewage where the LNG got confined – source: http://www.ch-iv.com/history.html
The explosion in Belgium was not an LNG pipeline, the only regasification facility in Belgium is in Zeebrugge, at the offloading terminal. The gas explosion was caused by a bulldozer hitting a high-pressure maim ring pipeline running under an industrial area. Nothing to do with LNG except that the gas in the line may have been supplied into Belgium as LNG, but it was in gaseous form, nit liquid form in that pipeline.
I see the reasons for your gripe with Shell, but please stay with facts, not with assumptions. You have left Shell and the industry a long time ago – the industry has changed and is still changing rapidly, especially on the HSE side, as it is well understood that it is an essential part of the license to operate.
Shell Canada Retail sites are being shopped around to Husky and Valero according to inside sources within Retail Canada
LondonLad , You got it wrong. Look at why some Asian SEG left Shell. They are much smarter than the current crop of Excom. It’s some expats trying to divide and rule to lengthen their stay. Sounds like you are one of them from the time your have overstayed in Far East. Shell itself is a very Good company.
I would say “Mohd. Yusuf” it is you that has a very large chip on your shoulder, as I say perhaps because of less than average performances that have caught up on you. As I said, there are many excellent Malaysians and many that have reached the highest levels within Shell. These include chairman of Shell Companies in Malaysia, SSB & SSPC. The “recolonization” statement is merely that of someone who has failed at the workplace in his own country (or perhaps too much tuak?). You didn’t bother to reply to my factual statement that Malaysian Chinese were held back during the enforced Bumiputra first dictate. There are so many opportunities for GOOD performers in Shell, Exxon, Petronas etc. – you likely do not reach that level and hence you shot at the distant past by trying to blame expats in the companies.
As an aside Donovan does this website now make money? – I notice the gradual encroachment of adverts down the left hand-side.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Advertising revenue do not cover the cost of one server – we use two, but nonetheless, is welcome. So no, it does not make make money, but I am happy to continue funding it unless you insist on chipping in to make sure we generate lots of ongoing coverage for our Irish friends.
LondonLad, you must have retired after your tropic years in Far East. You smell like a colonial snob during my grandpa time. Many Asians have left after Shell globalized. This is another of recolonising us. Fortunately our national oil companies are getting very smart. They help stop all our easy oil money from flowing out.
The key words in your response Donovan are “have been” covered in the mainstream press. They no longer are at the moment. Secondly I thought that a person or company were innocent until proven guilty under UK and Irish law. My point is that this website and a few others think the law is the other way round. Shell has not until now been required to defend itself in court despite all the hollering of this website.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Any further mainstream news media coverage will depend on the outcome of the current investigation by the Police Ombudsman. The key item of evidence is an OSSL invoice for over €43,000 (with VAT) that I have published on numerous occasions stretching to almost a year ago. It contains detailed information, including the names of Shell employees/managers and the names of specific police officers, including Chief Superintend John Gilligan who helped unload the free alcohol. Strange that none of these named individuals have issued defamation proceedings against me. Strange that Shell has refused to state that the invoice is fake. Strange that despite two investigations by Shell and two investigation by the Irish police, prior to the current investigation by the Ombudsman, no one has branded the invoice as being fake or taken action against OSSL on that basis. So we await the conclusion of the current inquiry that commonsense suggests must either end with action being taken against Shell for corruption, or against OSSL for fraud, forgery and perjury. The invoice is either fake in which case OSSL is in the dock, or its not, in which case Shell is in the mire.
To “Mohd Yusuf” (and to an extent “AsiaDragon”) having worked in the Far East there are certainly many excellent Malaysian and Chinese staff working for Shell – a good number have reached very senior levels within the company. Some have headed Shell companies in the Far East. I fear however that, particularly Mohd Yusuf has a problem with his performance (bypassed, not really up to the required level??) and then blames it on the company / expats etc. If indeed you have a problem with Shell then apply to Petronas or some other local / international company in Malaysia. This is what happens in the UK – wake up and smell the coffee and stop blaming the expats for your inadequacies. Let’s face the fact Mohd Yusuf the Chinese were severely restricted in their advancement through Shell, Petronas and other companies because of the Bumiputra requirements. Was this fair considering that many Chinese with a far superior performance than the Bumiputra were held back??
Well OSSL / Rooney (any relation?) / Donovan – seems like it’s the same old (non) story from you lot. No substance, no conviction in the court, just tabloid sensationalism over a story (fiction or otherwise) that still doesn’t reach the mainstream newspapers here. Sure the local rag still hangs on to the story, as does this website, but surely if Shell was anywhere near to being guilty even the Irish courts would have started the prosecution process. Still like seeing that sole scruffy student with his placard in your oft repeated photograph!!
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN:
PLEASE SEE THIS ARTICLE
Perhaps you would like to see another photo, not as clear, but plenty of protestors, although probably none complying with your strict dress code see below. As I have told you before, the OSSL allegations have been covered in the mainstream press – The Guardian, The Sunday Times and the Irish Times, among others and on Irish TV and Radio. The investigation by the Irish Police Ombudsman is still in progress. I supplied evidence to the chief investigating officer last week. The Irish Justice Ministry and the Irish Police are in such disarray, its difficult to know what is going to happen next.
An ethical blind eye at KPMG and Shell just cracked open a little… new Commissioner in Ireland will want answers regarding jail threats for alcohol delivery company wrongly vilified in Shell Garda booze joint venture.
Hi …just been asked by Shell why we continue to flog a dead horse …we replied that we didn’t see them as a dead horse and that it is our firm belief that an honest man or woman with clout in that giant orginisation will step forward and arrest this ethical meltdown on the Corrib Gas Project #shellethicalmeltdown
Your ChinaDaily extract on Shell investing in Sichuan is out of date. Huibert Vigeveno, Mr Chairman please wake up. Wonder when are all your Chinese Ministry visits bearing real investment and projects. Don’t just do these shows to get your next progression to the Excom. What about local staff future and Shell long term future in China.
CashAllGone, are you saying the Shell expat JGB n A etc allow this to happen. Then Shell might as well use local Jg9 to do the job.
to Mohd Yusuf: what contracting strategy is there to form if Petronas just dictates which yard is the next in the queue to get the project?
Shellwaarbenjijnu n Relieved. The Gumusut kakap project award is the brainchild of Shell PnT led by Mathias B. It’s managed by a group of expats who don’t know how to develop contract strategy in a developing country environment like Malaysia. Some just come for three years to get their promotion and leave to a new job with promotion. Look at Hendrik Snyman, he put this experience in his CV and got a VP CP job in an oil and gas company in Australia. Many qualified Malaysian who challenged this has left because this mess.
@Relieved – you have hit the nail on the head and the sorry “hands off” approach (even as operator) appears to have been adopted in Malaysia with the Gumusut Kakap development. The contract was let to a Malaysian contractor with no experience of executing such a large project with the predictable result of quality issues, delay, rework, cost escalation, loss of production (revenue). All in the name of not upsetting a Malaysian bumi putra contractor with strong poitical connections (ownership?)
“The contract for construction of the FPS has been awarded to Malaysia International Shipping Corporation (MISC). The FPS is being constructed at MISC’s fabrication facility in Johor, Malaysia. The engineering, procurement, construction and load-out contract for the topsides and hull of the FPS was awarded to Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering.”
Your Shell Executive is playing the game still. Nobody’s bothered about 200 plus cops sharing 27k of alcohol, he wants to divert your gaze from the real matter ie..silencing the Garda and vilifying the messenger they sent to do their bidding. Your still very sharp London Lad, you have us all fooled, or do you?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
I don’t think there is any devious intent on the part of LondonLad. He simply thinks its all overblown and does not matter even if the allegations are true.
To LondonLad: This is my basic bitch with RDS management on Kashagan and other projects. RDS KNEW the Italians were not up to the job, and they KNEW there were potential contractor performance issues, and they KNEW what the consequences of bungling the engineering and construction operations could be. Yet they sat around sucking their thumbs, picking their noses and scratching their dirty butts and did nothing proactive to avoid the a predictable end result. That is deliberate misconduct on their part and the shareholders of the company should demand their heads. There is no excuse for this kind of (mis)managementof shareholder assets. None.
Your photo merely proves my statement : few people are interested in the booze to Irish cops tabloid reporting / subject. One scruff with a placard ……. Wow I’m very impressed.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN:
PLEASE SEE THIS ARTICLE
Perhaps you would like to see another photo, not as clear, but plenty of protestors, although probably none complying with your strict dress code.
What’s up with the current reorganization? It seems that people over 50 years of age are targeted for release and VERY inexperienced but young people are retained. Is this tolerated by a company who claims to be upright and to respect people?
I have been reflecting on the revealing recent comment by a former Royal Dutch Shell senior executive known on this website as “LondonLad” in which he trivialised the serious allegations that Shell has corrupted the Irish police by giving free booze to hundreds of officers alleged to be “Shell’s Cops.” This is what he said on the subject: “For those Irish who want a tipple – so what. Probably less than 0.01% of the UK / Irish population give a damn about the project and the alleged giving of some booze to the Irish police. Get over it and move on…” That is an indication of his regard for Shell’s much trumpeted Business Principles and for anti-corruption laws.
They main problem is (more so with motiva) is there are so many management people, that hiring freezes are imposed, which will not allow people to be brought in for the actual operations positions. Also many cases of “jobs” being created for certain managers when the locations they were employed were sold off, or closed. In short, too many chiefs, and not enough Indians!
LondonLad: Given the health risks associated with the accidental release of Hydrogen Sulphide, and the effects of Hydrogen Sulphide embrittlement on the strength of steel, I would have thought that is would be an area of great interest to partners. Hydrogen Sulphide gas is toxic at concentrations as low as just ten parts per million.
London Lad and all on Corrib. OSSL served Corrib well as is confirmed by current CEO in writing. In 2010 OSSL took a small confidential (at Shells insistence ) problem to the then CEO in Ireland. The CEO failed to cure the problem, three leading players on Corrib bit the dust because of the nature of the problem …a sweep up team were put in place but failed to cure the OSSL problem choosing instead to freeze them and hope for silence …the cops booze is only a tiny part of the problem ..but it’s the headline getter …we are not checking on Shells morality we are demanding some integrity from them. This won’t go away till cured .
Of course it’s a large and expensive project – I have never denied this. What I have said, and you still refuse to accept, is the level of detail that is required to be followed / checked by the non-operators. Individual weldings would be very very unusual for a non-operator to check on.
To LondonLad: Is not Kashagan a ‘large’ and ‘expensive’ project ?? If any project deserved meticulous oversight by Shell technical staff this one most surely did. Shell management screwed the pooch on this project. I have nothing further do add other than that someone needs to walk the plank over this.
Well “Relieved” that makes two of us who have worked in a similar Shell environment (operations also included in my case). Your examples of Shell staff “duplicating” the operators work is / was indeed the case for many of the large / costly projects. However, you miss my point about how far this type of “duplicate” work went. Checking individual welding work was not expected (neither was light bulb maintenance & toilet cleanliness). I say again that those with an agenda about Shell seem to attack them at every twist and turn, even if Shell had very little input into a problem or potential problem.
“OSSL” I am interested in our planet. I am also interested in moving the planet forward for our children. The small number of Irish complaining about the Corrib project clearly don’t want progress. For those Irish who want a tipple – so what. Probably less than 0.01% of the UK / Irish population give a damn about the project and the alleged giving of some booze to the Irish police. Get over it and move on (or back in your case). Still no court case for Shell on this eh!! Yes Donovan there may well have been a meeting concerning OSSL but the numbers were no doubt very small (as you yourself have shown in the past with a few scruff bags demonstrating the issue). Quoting the extreme left wing newspapers (Observer & Guardian) does not inspire me at all – they have a major problem with accepting anything that big business does.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN:
Perhaps you have not noticed, but people standing around in the wind at the Shell Centre for hours at a time, handing out leaflets, do not tend to worry too much about sartorial elegance. As to the number of people in attendance at the meeting, that is pure speculation on your part. Many Shell to Sea events have involved large numbers of protestors. Not dressed to the standard you require, but making their strong feelings known, as they are legally entitled to do. Freedom of speech, human rights, all those dreadful left wing ideals promoted by The Guardian and The Observer. Is that why you find these great newspapers so objectionable?
Some photographs of “Shell to Sea” protest events are displayed below. If the photos were larger you could get some idea of the not inconsiderable numbers in attendance.
To LondonLad: When I worked at Shell I worked upstream exploration. I have news for you. On critical wildcats we would virtually duplicated the efforts of our partners and their vendors. That meant having geologists, etc., on site looking over the shoulders and duplicating the work of the operators staff and their contractors staff. We would supervise and modify their proposed logging operations, and we would do our own evaluations of those logs, and we would submit our own recommendations to the operating company management independent of what their staff would recommend. We would submit our own completion and testing recommendations. Sometimes we agreed, often we did not. And when we did not we ALWAYS got our way. To put it bluntly, our people were more competent and better at their jobs than those working for our partners. In short Shell paid to have their staff involved up to their ‘elbows and assholes’. And it made a HUGE difference on a number of occasions. In one case we actually went back and twinned some exploration wells that had been abandoned as ‘dry’. We got 5 new gas fields and about a 1/2 TCF of natural gas in that case. We also got about 15 mm bbls of condensate. Keeping a close eye on our contractors was a very cost effective way to operate, and it paid off handsomely to do so. Don’t feed me your standard line of lazy, ignorant middle level management crap. You were obviously never involved in operations. Like I have said more than once, at one time Shell was a well run company. That day however, has long since passed into the pages of history. The company is in the hands of pretenders and dilettantes now.
Comment by John Donovan.
Added the above photo of Marvin Odum, Director of Upstream Americas, Royal Dutch Shell Plc. For some reason, his image came to mind after reading the last sentence of the posting.
Hi London Lad …who ever you are …perhaps no interest on “your” planet in the Corrib debacle but there is a good appetite for the matter amongst shareholders who witnessed Vosers discomfort at the last AGM …there are twelve very serious questions SHELL cannot afford to address in an honest manner.
OSSL EMAIL SENT TODAY TO SHELL EXECUTIVES, INCLUDING CEO BEN VAN BEURDEN.
….be prepared for the AGM …….unless you request differently ………
1:..you did instruct the alcohol supply …………….
2:..you did disguise the landowners favours …………
3:..you did demand falsification of police statement …
4:..you did send KPMG to frighten a vendor ………….
5:..you did gift an employee tennis courts ………….
6:..you did hold a meeting about disguised favours …..
7:..you did state that your actions were immoral …….
8:..you did arrange the handover of the alcohol ……..
9:..you did tell OSSL they would never work again ……
10:.you did operate a system called Jacintas garden ….
11:.you did vilify an innocent vendor ………………
12:.you did act without integrity ………………….
Have to agree with “Cash All Gone” as no partner in my 30 years in the oil industry has even gone down to the rivet welding level in checking the operators work. Indeed “Relieved” Shell did and still does second staff into an operators organization but certainly isn’t expected to check welding, light bulb maintenance, toilet cleanliness etc. etc. Of course as ever this silly story has been blown out of all proportions on this website by the usual tabloid reporting and add-ons, so don’t get too worked up “C-A-G”. For “Apprin” your comment that “competency is NOT recognized” is often the case – from the person himself / herself. The problem with humans is that they invariably have a much higher opinion of their competency / performance compared to others. I guess that you are one of those for the chop and merely don’t like it. Finally to the eternal moaner “OSSL” it seems that you together with Donovan are just about the only persons on this planet interested in this old story. No criminal charges and likely none in the future. Just enjoy your 6-Nations win and get on with your life of Guinness.
REPLY TO LONDONLAD BY JOHN DONOVAN:
Your timing is a bit off at the moment. Earlier this month you complained when I linked Shell to events in Ukraine. My article was the first to do so and was followed by numerous articles making the same connection. Now you say that OOSL and “Donovan” are just about the only persons on this planet interested in the OSSL allegations against Shell. On Sunday, a public meeting held in Ireland, streamed live on the Internet, discussed a number of issues including the OSSL allegations. One of the panel, Ed Vulliamy, the senior Observer/Guardian journalist, referred without any legal caveat, to Shell buying $70,000 of booze for the cops at Christmas. He read out correspondence he had with the Garda and his discussions with Shell officials. One Shell official threatened on the one hand to sue OSSL for defamation, while on the other declining to make an outright denial that OSSL allegations were true. He also made a strange comment that it would be best if the story was not published. The Observer/Guardian editors had the courage to ignore what could be construed as an implied threat and published the story. The entire video of the public meeting can be viewed online – the segment about OSSL/Corrib starts at about 28 mins. Furthermore, the Garda Ombudsman inquiry into OSSL allegations is still in progress. So, as much as you and Shell might wish otherwise, this story is current and ongoing. Mr Vulliamy, a friend of mine, also makes forthright comments about Shell’s ghastly conduct in Nigeria. An article about the public meeting was published on 18 March 2014 by The Irish Times.
To Outsider: the difference is that as shareholder you buy a share in an incorporated entity with its own legal ‘personality’, while very often (like Macondo) these are unincorporated entities – basically just partnerships where 1 partner is assigned to operate/execute on behalf. The other partners provide assurance and due diligence, but I still have to see the first time that a non-operating partner, without good cause, will dig to the detail of verifying weld NDT test certificates.
To CashAllGone: there is a big difference between a shareholder and a partner in a project – a shareholder has no right to interfere with the day to day operations of a company in which they hold shares, and has no responsibility beyond the value of his shares if things go wrong. However, a partner in an E&P venture has far greater responsibilities. Why do you think that Mitsui and Anadarko (as partners of BP) were liable for a share of the costs of Macondo?
Shell is currently going through a reorganization scam that is simply a legal way of discriminating against anyone over a particular age and also as a way of assuring that the good-old-boy network is alive and well.
Age discrimination has been alleged and the H.R. division has put it to bed neatly while telling outright lies to complainants regarding the H.R. “investigation” results. Managers are not accountable for ruining the reputation of competent employees. Competency is NOT recognized; however, past relationships are the key to advancement by inexperienced and unethical managers. Skilled personnel are assigned tasks that keep them out of recognition while particular employees are synthetically elevated by managers.
Shell is begging for litigation in the most recent “reorganization” in the U.S.
To CashAllGone: Back in my day at Shell it was not uncommon for Shell to assign staff directly to a project for the purpose of keeping an eye on their investment, giving advice to their partners and contractors, wanted or not, and also to raise hell when things were not being done properly. As a partner in a project Shell has every right to do just that, and it is up to Shell management to insure that their money is being spent wisely. In engineering the ‘devil is truly in the details’ and it is far better to do the job right the first time than to go back and fix a cock-up. I spent a good deal of my time at Shell traveling the world doing just that. But the old Shell is dead, and such is life.
To Outsider: there is a large difference between having procedures and following procedures. I am quite sure that all relevant procedures were in place, but they probably were not followed… How can a non-operating partner/shareholder reasonably go into that detail. It’s like any Shell shareholder being to blame for what the conpany does wrong… And remember jn what country this is – probably the “independent” inspector was getting drunk instead of inspecting and just stamping whatever was put in front of him… By the way, my understanding is that the gas in the line was not sour yet, but just sweet gas to get the system going – sour gas would only be introduced once thr whole system was up&runninf smoothly due to the dangers of high H2S content…
To CashAllGone: The partners in a development have the right of access to as much information as they need and since Shell is investing billions of dollars of it’s shareholders’ funds in Kashagan, it has a fiduciary duty to ensure an adequate level of oversight. Standard QA/QC and HSE procedures should have prevented the substandard welds from going undetected especially since it was known that the pipeline would be exposed to Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)
To Relieved: it’s easy to try to live in a digital world – 1 or 0, on or off, while the real world is analog and has a whole spectrum in between… I tries to give you factual information, but I see that it is not worth the effort… Good luck and have fun…
Hi Relieved …on the matter of self serving underlings ..
Shell trying to declare that top management booze senders on Shell Corrib didn’t actually work for Shell ..our lawyer put them right on that …and they backed off and blamed us for carrying out a Shell instruction …integrity zero.
To Cashallgone: Ah yes, failure on this project is the fault of the evil and corrupt garlic eaters. How many times have we heard this same old story – Shell management is the victim of its partners, its contractors, its employees, etc., etc., all of whom are crooked, dishonest and incompetent. Failure at Shell is due to saintly management being duped by evil and self serving underlings and hirelings. Shell needs a new story. This one is worn out.
To Relieved: the issue with the CashAllGone pipeline has nothing to do with material selection. By the way, the project was executed under management of ENI, and these Italiam crooks brought in some incompetent Turkish welders who caused a lot of weld defects, which then were attacked by the gas and caused brittle failure. Shell is only involved in the operational phase, and just is a shareholder for execution. If ENI did not ask help, Shell had very little opportunity to get involved…
This is an obscenity. No ifs. No buts. It’s wrong in every way. Former Shell chief paid £22m over two years despite profit warning
Mr Resolution, Peter Voser 22 Million…it must be by agreement ….can we have our booze money now ….also by agreement and supplied by demand of Shell when you were at the helm?
Several news outlets have reported that the recent production shutdowns at the giant Kashagan field in Kazakhstan are related to H2S corrosion and embrittlement issues in the production pipelines. These should never have arisen. RDS is a partner in that project. At one time RDS had a great deal of technical expertise in dealing with gas and oil containing high concentrations of H2S. In the 1970’s and 1980’s Shell USA set the standards for the design of H2S service equipment in the US and elsewhere. These were known as the Shell NACE standards. What has happened? I take it the bean counters at Shell have disposed of its technical brains trust as an ‘unnecessary’ overhead item. I wonder how many billions that decision will now cost the company? The people running this company today are damned fools.
By definition any court record is in the public domain, so you are perfectly within your rights to publish anything that is available from the court system. Historically, obtaining the information was more difficult and required a visit to the court itself but the same rules applied.
Reference the article relating to Iain Percival that I removed at his request, after I offered to do so if he had any objection to its publication. I want to make it plain that the main focus of the article – the correspondence between Mr Percival and Mr Hans Bouman – both senior people at Shell at the time, was not private mail via their own email addresses, but Shell internal correspondence using their designated Shell email addresses. It is for this reason that it was included by Shell lawyers in Shell discovery documents that formed part of the relevant class action litigation process. It is no secret that this website has thrived over the last decade on publishing Shell internal documents and correspondence, whether leaked, obtained via SAR applications to Shell, or sourced from court records. As the activities of Wikileaks and Edward Snowden have shown, no one using the Internet or any Intranet can ever rely that any electronic communication, however confidential or sensitive, will not end up being published for all the world to see and as we now know, captured, analysed and stored in vast data centres by US and UK spooks.
With unreserved apologies if you HAVE gotten his support: I find it very sad that you would decide to publish old documents from Iain, a man whose integrity and dignity you praise. His career concerns, his job applications etc are not something that should be shown around for cheap amusement, and to keep alive your anti-Shell moaning.
Yes this stuff was already in the public domain, but your explanation for publishing essentially says “it was hard to find, so I’ve made it easy for everyone to gawp at it”.
Take the document down, and show some dignity in return.
Again to repeat, if Iain is happy then I apologise, but if not, please remove it.
REPLY FROM JOHN DONOVAN: Hello Stuart. I sent an email to Iain immediately the article was published. I explained why, for legal reasons, I did not send it to him in advance. I offered to modify or delete the article if he so desired. I have now heard from him and honoured my offer to delete it. Since there was no legal issue in relation to Mr Bouman, I did contact him in advance and obtained his consent to publish. For the record, the article has been on the US Court records system for several years available to anyone willing to purchase a copy. Once it was posted online on 10 October 2007 the entire information, including the email correspondence, was no longer private but put into the public domain as a consequence of the litigation. The same applies even to documents marked strictly confidential. I was under no obligation to contact anyone. I obtained the document completely legitimately and was entitled to publish it and a related article without reference to anyone else. I contacted both gentleman out of respect for them. There are very few current or former Shell people who I would treat similarly.
This is Kenneth Mukoro 50 years of Oil and Gas Exploration without compensation, I really appreciate you bring the truth to the world it did good, I will be willing send some information on the internet of the activities of Shell here in Nigeria, SPDC Completes 8th Nigerian Oil Mining Lease Sale, the said lease expired some years ago but it faied to renew it leaving the communities to suffer the Oil and Gas exploration without compensation.
For those interested in history Finland was part of Mother Russia prior to WW1. Russia lost Finland (or the Bolsheviks gave it away)as part of the peace settlement after the Great Revolution. Who knows ? Maybe Putin will take his emulation of Herr Hitler to an extreme and invade Finland. Stalin tried it before WW2 and got a huge kick in the backside. He then split Poland with Hitler and managed to keep a big chunk of it after the war. However, if it were not for the Germans Stalin would have succeeded in Finland. History can be quite interesting at time. I wonder if anyone out there in BlogLand has access to a psychological profile on Comrade Putin they would like to share (are able to share) with the rest of us ?? I am certain it would be fascinating reading. Putin is quite a throwback to the bad old days.
Shell CANADA and VALERO are in the process of “framing” a sales agreement for all downstream assets
Not hollering (that seems your forte at the moment) Donovan merely making the point that too often you adopt the tabloid approach when reporting on Shell, that is picking and choosing comments from other articles (often from the left wing Guardian newspaper), bundling up those that are most negative about Shell (very often ignoring the positives in the same article) and making it into a dramatic headline about Shell. I realise you have an alleged gripe against Shell but as the years have progressed your venom gets worse and worse, as I say like a cancer. There are many other anti-Shell nodding donkeys that attack them – some with justification. However, as I have asked 3 or 4 of them, some repeatedly, “did you make your concerns known to the company when you were working for them” – none have said yes. Clearly these, like yourself have a gripe (e.g. maybe forced early retirement?) but don’t care to admit it. Some of the ranting about Shell & Corrib, Shell & price fixing still haven’t progressed very far. Why? Perhaps there’s nothing in the story. Your story on Moody-Stuart and the attack on him viz Brent Spar abandonment is yet another example of your tabloid reporting – sure Greenpeace “thought it unwise” but, as is often the case with Greenpeace, based on fictitious numbers – did I see that added in the headline? No. Now breathe deeply and count to 10……..
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN:
Basically you accused me of exploiting the Ukrainian situation by linking it to Shell. You came unstuck because of the number of subsequent articles making the same linkage. Shame you won’t admit it. As to what you say about me taking a tabloid approach and focussing on the negative, is it not naive for you to expect a gripe site aimed at Shell to take any other course of action. If you want a positive spin on all things Shell, then visit shell.com and read their press releases. If readers are interested in a counterbalancing approach, then hopefully we provide it. Please also bear in mind that we publish all kinds of articles about Shell, whether containing positive or negative information. I have no objection to being linked to the Guardian. It is as you correctly describe it, a left wing newspaper, but nonetheless an essential read to form a balanced view of world events. Personally, I think its a great newspaper, as are some titles perceived as being at the other end of the political spectrum. No, early retirement was not forced on me. I was never a Shell employee. As to the ongoing investigations into the Corrib project and oil price fixing, only time will tell as to the official outcome. I do know that the allegations made by OSSL are genuine. I cannot say the same about the allegations of oil price fixing. I simply do not know. Turning to Mark Moody-Stuart, I have not made any comment about him for some time. The comments you refer to were made in the Guardian article, not by me. I repeat, you are blaming me for comments I never made. Contrary to your assertion, it was not my story. With regards to who is getting over-excited, other visitors can read your comments and mine and make their own judgement. In my view, you need to spend a little more time pondering on the issues and establishing facts before posting comments.
LondonLad, you started hollering far too quickly about me linking Royal Dutch Shell with unfolding events in Ukraine. My article was the first to do so and others have followed since then, including articles by Reuters, Forbes, The Motley Fool, The Dallas Morning News and The New York Times. I would suggest that before making a fool of yourself again, you should perhaps reflect more carefully on a relevant subject before getting over-excited and posting a comment that backfires so spectacularly.
VALERO is in discussions with SHELL CANADA to acquire downstream assets in 2015
With regard to the latest crisis in the Ukraine – It is true that many pipelines pass through Ukrainian territory. It is also true that the Ukraine is an incredibly rich agricultural region. It is also true that the eastern portion of the Ukraine has a large population of ethnic Russians, a result of many decades of Soviet occupation. If Putin gets a wild hair up his gazoo I would anticipate he would try to annex that portion of the Ukraine east of the Dnieper River. This would give him the Crimean peninsula and the industrial heartland of Ukraine, including the former Soviet closed city of Dnipropetrovsk.This city was a key nuclear weapons, aerospace, and weapons development center, which is why it was closed. It was also the home of Soviet ballistic missile design and fabrication bureaus. The Ukraine was also where many Soviet ICBM’s were based. And now it may be that the Ukraine is sitting on a treasure trove of natural gas. So, there is a reason why Putin (and Shell) has such an attachment to the Ukraine.
LondonLad: So glad you have returned. Your incisive and objective analysis is so ‘original’ and interesting. Keep up the good work !!!
Wow Donovan your latest “article” titled “Royal Dutch Shell uncertainty in Ukraine” clearly shows your hatred of Shell has taken over like a cancer. Trying to attach the name of Shell to everything that springs to mind with this terrible conflict, and previous Shell activities, shows you need to pop along to the clinic for some medication. Reply to LondonLad by John Donovan: You may not like what is stated, but it is all true. I have added several words to the paragraph about Vosers surprise resignation. I am not the only news publisher to see the link between events in Ukraine and the implications for Royal Dutch Shell and energy supplies for the EU. See “Ukrainian Unrest Has These Eight Energy Companies On Edge.” And: This Is The Gas Pipeline Map That Shows Why The Crisis In Ukraine Affects All Of Europe. For the record, I do not hate Shell nor anyone who has ever worked for Shell. I do however believe that it is wrong for Shell to pretend that it operates within an ethical code when that clearly is not the case. In my experience Shell is a ruthless, predatory, unprincipled company that prefers cover-up to transparency. Shell closed its Tell Shell discussion forum years ago – hence your regular postings here, not on shell.com. Finally, I find some of your comments offensive and displaying the characteristics of a troll, since you continue to make personal remarks while hiding behind an alias.
I have been tracking some very odd political contributions from Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron in the Ukraine. Almost seems like they were the big money behind the recent political unrest. Have you guys done the same? I traced two political parties and several prominent politicians to Shell Oil contributions.
It’s ironic that the story of the fire at the Convent refinery is posted adjacent to Bill Campbell’s article about Prelude. If it can happen in a refinery such as Convent or Texas City, it can certainly happen on board a ship.
John
Just a reply to the so called negativity. I think I stress that without risk taking man would still be living in caves. As far as FLNG I was involved as a Gamechanger member in RTS in the late 90’s in approval of seed funding for the project which I very much want to succeed. The article is essentially about design philosophy related to risk on what are very special industrial plants handling hazardous substances (offshore installations) and the paradox about what would be acceptable in a planning application on land compared to what is done in international waters on the high sea.
I believe the period of highest risk likely to be during the initial start up, chilling the tanks etc, in 24 years of design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance of offshore installations I cannot recall everything going by the book, there is always something waiting to bite you on the bum. On a Cormorant Alpha, or a Brent Charlie, there were mechanisms, rapid blow down etc to get rid of the heat energy, but not on Prelude.
If it has a problem over the years my bet would be that it was not related directly to loss of LNG but gas from the front end process or from the supply of gas that routes way back to the utilities to feed the 6 boiler plants. It’s often the less sexy plant that causes the start of the domino effect. For example, in 2004 in Algeria an explosion in a steam boiler triggered a second more massive vapour cloud explosion and fire. The explosion and fire destroyed a portion of the LNG plant causing 27 deaths and 74 injuries ad material damage well outside the plant boundaries. This plant covered several square miles, workers could escape on all points of the compass, but still you have these catastrophic events, not many granted, but if the cat gets out of the bag, it can be very unforgiving, especially on the limited confines of an offshore installation. This is not negativity, its just fact. The risk matrix for Prelude will have taken this into account, so in summary, the potential loss of offshore is higher than for land plants, but even on land loss of life can be considerable. Prelude has 6 boilers, driving steam turbines, with AC Alternators producing some 100 MW, its quite a show on the utility side also.
Bill
Very happy to be a Shell shareholder and that Shell ranks top for dividends payouts. Also great to see that Shell ranks in the top 20 brand names in the UK – despite the efforts of negative nodding donkeys on this website.
Believe it or not Peter Rees
was very alarmed about the Corrib story and the cover up did not sit well with him as a man of great integrity .
John ..Re your excellent site we must declare if it wasn’t for you we would have no voice …let me tell you that the power of Shells dirty tricks department in Ireland is a marvellous sight to behold. The two most alarming items being investigated by the police GSOC overseer are Shells demands by CEO no less to falsify a police statement to protect a police officer and Shells covert gifting of alcohol to the police that were ensuring free passage to the Corrib site at land and sea, have for no good explanation dropped off the radar at GSOC ..when we asked the current CEO for a status report on both these very important matters (assuming integrity is still important to Shell) we were told by the door man at Irish HQ to take the matter up with the Minister for Justice as Crothers (CEO) did not know the answer …perhaps John we could ask the Minister through your platform?
Deltaic, is it negativity or a careful assessment by an acknowledged expert who has self-evidently given considerable thought to the relevant issues? We want to move forward but surely with proper consideration of offshore HSE issues, not with a cavalier attitude that costs lives e.g. the “Touch F*** All” approach to employee safety on Shell North Sea platforms exposed by the audit team led by Bill Campbell. Shell routinely falsified maintenance records. Bill’s warnings were not properly acted upon and platform workers lost their lives in a subsequent explosion for which Shell received a record-breaking fine. Please also note that we publish articles/comments from Shell related experts irrespective of whether the content is positive or negative. I hope that Iain Percival, the retired Global Chief Petroleum Engineer of Shell International, may enter this debate as I would be very interested in his comments. As to this website being anti-RDS, I would argue that we have provided over the last year a more accurate picture of Royal Dutch Shell than has been projected by Shell’s own website. We want Royal Dutch Shell executives to act at all times in accordance with Shell General Business Principles, which include the claimed core principles of honesty, integrity, openness and respect for people in all of Shell’s dealings. This is surely not an unreasonable ambition given that the principles were devised by Shell, are promoted by Shell and are supposedly current and binding on all Shell operations everywhere. In other words, we are only asking Shell executives to do what they already claim to be doing. If they had abided by the ethical code the reserves scandal would not have occurred. Finally, we provide the one and only Internet forum for free and open debate about RDS and related matters which incidentally enabled you to express your views. Shell closed down its own forum – Tell Shell – after being caught secretly censoring critical comments, after claiming it was uncensored.
Come on Campbell, if we all adopted your negativity to progress (yes with some associated risks) we’d still be walking with our knuckles dragging along the floor. Fortunately all the attacks from this anti-RDS website won’t stop Shell progressing.
With regard to the Prelude project I suspect that RDS management has forgotten about Murphy’s law. And this project is a ripe target for the laws of Mr. Murphy. He will raise his ugly head, you can bet your life on it. However, I would advise against betting the lives of the crew of this unique mega- barge on it.
Bill,
Excellent article which very clearly puts the finger on the sore spot! As a seasoned and most senior HSE auditor you are in the best position to reflect on these points. If I still would be working I would make your article compulsory reading for any HSE or Audit course. Budding HSE and audit professionals can learn from you.
After all my years in Shell, I know of no projects in our business that have not suffered from pinhole leaks, corrosion, faulty software, poor or wrongly executed design and maintenance, etc etc. Any of these occurrences should be de-escalated quickly if the proper systems and processes are in place. Yet, things do go wrong and on a vessel like the Prelude, the potential for rapid escalation of the problem is real.
The PLL appears to have been massaged low enough on paper and so the decision makers can wash their hands in innocence if something goes wrong. With a project of this magnitude and complexity (a Moonshot or an Elephant in Shell speak?), there is only one spot where the ultimate decision to proceed is taken and that is right at the very top.
Shell used to take pride in the fact that if a project did not pass the business principles, it just would not get done. The Prelude project does not involve corrupt governments or pressure from the USA to not get involved. So the top of Shell can relax, nothing stands in the way of their business principles anymore, only some mere technical challenges. However, the business principles cover more than corruption and environmental issues. Health and Safety are also very important matters in these principles.
Perhaps it should have been decided to call this a stranded asset and not book the reserves. But we all know how important booking of reserves is!
The top of Shell consists of very smart people so they must have considered this. And then to trust the advice of the technical side after all the problems over the past 10-15 years with major projects, as frequently reported on this site of Donovan, is – to put it mildly – quite courageous. Maybe they felt like Kennedy: ‘We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, ’. But Kennedy was a politician with different goals. Politicians do not drill wells and develop oilfield projects!
Or Shell should have come clean and admit that this is a trial and first of a series where we will learn from mistakes in order to develop otherwise stranded assets. Now that would be real courageous!
To Bill C: You wonder if at board level the risks of Prelude are understood? Must be rhetorical, because you know as well as I do that management at the top is mainly by sound bites and assurances by other lower ranking staff members. Each level going up has a benefit in portraying the project in the best possible light. Safety concerns are at best noted down but “extreme views” are never tolerated. The principle of ALARP is one of the most misused safety concepts around. It is fair to assume that many people worked parts of Prelude and that components are reasonably safe. It is also fair to assume that nobody understands the total aggregate risk of all these components together. Irrespective of all the massive QRAs produced. Prelude is a fantastic undertaking, let’s hope it is not a similar tale as Babel tower, overreaching and the end of a huge empire.
Nexus – You are essentially correct. Actually, RDS management’s first obligation is good stewardship of their shareholders investment. That is what they are hired and paid to do. That is life in the real world. As long as management does not break the law then there can be no real complaints. Political policy issues are matters for national governments. If RDS gets in bed with, say the Iranians, then that is another matter. Iran is effectively at war with Israel, and management is ‘aiding and abetting’. Like it or not. At that point management risks some sort of retaliation. That retaliation can come in any form – political, economic, military, etc. Talking those sorts of unnecessary risks is most probably not very good stewardship of shareholder assets, legal or not.
Earthquake in the middle of the Bristol Channel – must be the result of fracking in the vicinity……. oh no of course its hundreds of miles from any fracking facility!! By the way “Relieved” you really do twaddle about RDS being anti-semitic by linking it to Woodside. Nothing to correlate there, just a very sensible business decision.
Relieved – don’t think there is much to choose between all of them. Israel has treated the civilians in the West Bank appallingly. Saudi operates a Sharia law that has little focus on justice and Qatar likes to support radical groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. When you add the ego-politics on top it becomes even harder to work out where to invest and where not for your shareholders who want a return.
To answer the question – ‘Is RDS still anti-semitic ??’ you need only watch how RDS management reacts to Woodside Pet.’s decision. We all know RDS behaved shamelessly on this question during the 1930’s and 1940’s. One might argue they were looking down the wrong end of a gun barrel at that time. Literally. Today that is not the case. Given that the Saudi’s are their business partners in Motiva, and that in Qatar they are joint business partners with the local government one might say they are looking down the wrong end of an ‘economic’ gun barrel today. Ho Hum. Life is so full of difficult choices. You can either do the right thing or the wrong thing. In Shell’s case, how Shell reacts will be determined by the quality of senior management’s character. And I think we all know that, in general, that is not worth a bucket full of warm spit. Ho Hum. What is new ?
@Raymond: my commiserations! I escaped the open offices until my retirement. Each time rooms needed to be shared from a certain jobgroup level I made a promotion and had a room to myself. I remember that in 1977 or thereabouts Don Schaefer was the great mover and shaker behind the introduction of open offices. Everyone was against and revolts were imminent, so he lined up a fact finding team of 7 senior people (all jg 1-2 department heads) plus the junior project engineer (jg5) who had to execute the plan, to visit several open offices in Germany. Except for the project engineer they all travelled first class as was the rule on business travel for jg3+. They came back and had to say it was good, provided you built the offices first class. Otherwise it would be a disaster. (They all lied, but arms were twisted…).
In the end BSP succumbed and had a disastrous open office. Rats running along the beams in the ceiling. Few people could concentrate on the work. Managers had their own office.
All capitulated to the gurus and consultants who kept selling the open office space. Then came the roaring 90s and SIEP went open office. Even jg UN (Tiny Tim, may his smoking soul RIP) were sitting in open offices. At around the same time Shell started to go quickly down the drain. Could there be a correlation with open offices?
Sickness leave goes up sharply in open offices. They are good for teamwork in some industries where people have to share ideas and emotions like advertising firms or media companies. It is fine for a short while when people have to get to know each other. But once you start to do some complex engineering and thinking, you need a quiet environment. For HR it is fine, this is simple and routine work.
The Norwegians understood it, they had nice open plan offices and for each a very small office you could sit in if you needed to think.
I genuinely feel sorry for all the people who are forced to do intelligent work in a substandard open office environment.
Poor Raymond, we have been sitting in open office for more than two years. A JG B is also sitting next to us. All in the pretext of cost saving!
Well we moved into the new buildings in Houston. What an utter disappointment. If this is the new face of Shell (small cubes, no privacy and poor working conditions ) then I can see Shell having problems attracting top people. How many top students want to work in a 6×6 cube while the head of HR lives in his glass palace? Nice one Bruce
To Kangaroo: How perceptive. It is more than an ‘impression’.
There was a day, long ago, when Shell USA had talented management and staff. That day is now in the dark and dim distant past, just a fading memory and the stuff of myth and legend.
Looks like Shell Canada is secretly trying to sell its RETAIL sites to a 3rd party grocery chain.
“Relieved” , in Australia, we don’t have the impression the Shell boys know what they are doing. In Arrow, everything they touch, the cost more than double. They seem to be using offshore deep water technology to drill simple onshore well. It’s almost three years since they acquired Arrow, they are still not producing. No wonder, their Chinese Partner is getting impatient.
I don’t agree that the US is ‘over-drilled’ and ‘over – fracked’. What I do know is that Shell USA was asleep at the switch and missed out on the best tight gas and oil plays. By the time they woke up the best acreage had all been leased. So, all Shell could do is rummage about for the scraps. And that acreage is indeed over-drilled and over-fracked given that there is little to exploit.
Old EP Hand is spot on. When I was with Shell USA the most remarkable thing about the company was how quickly the best and brightest were identified and marginalized by mediocre management. These talented people left the company almost as quickly. And the rest is history.
EP Old hand, you said it all. It is the basic strategy of divide and rule. It is also threatening to have someone smarter than you.
Londonlad and Asia Dragon:
Perhaps I can add my two pennies worth on the debate of diversity.
Asia Dragon is right when he speaks of the Chinese (and a small portion of Indians). They are as a group the smartest and hardest working people in the world. But they should realise there are many that cannot keep up with their pace and attitude.
And the lad (welcome back!) is right on Din Megat. I know him very well and he used to be a really nice person and able engineer. But then there was pressure from the authorities to promote locals. He seemed a safe bet but really had reached his limit as a Chief PE. He knew this himself and wanted more time before promotions. But this was not allowed so he went into survival mode and started bleating MBA jargon and had no time anymore for his underlings. The same can be said for Joshua Udofia. Nice guy and acceptable since he was from a small tribe. And what about George Omene, as a junior engineer he kept the oil flowing during the civil war. Nice guy but not really an intellectual and everyone who knows him knows also all the stories… All true too.
Before Shell talked about diversity, we used to really have diversity of thought and behaviour. Just look at some of the characters in KSEPL. Totally
unmanageable, but often with great ideas that led to breakthroughs. And we were leading the whole EP business in technology.
Then came the period where diversity became fashionable and it went out of the window. Token women (full of testosterone) blazed the way in (and soon out again). Genuinely good locals like Tan Ek Kia, Abdallah Lamki, Egbert Imomoh just were not allowed to reach the top. Lame excuses like: ‘not allowed by their government’ were often used. The American managers knew how to handle diversity: as long as it looked OK and you could manipulate them it was fine. Anyone with original ideas was removed quickly. Few countries are as hypocritical as the USA so they are forgiven. It is in their genes.
And from the outside things started to look more diverse in numbers. Women, other nationalities etc etc. But they all have the same mindset and diversity of thought is efficiently repressed. The fact that HR staff, Legal people and imported politicians are making careers is meaningless in a highly technological company.
You get the Hofmeisters of this world talking about Exploration and Production as if he knows anything about this! And please let nobody start explaining to me that public relations is now so important you cannot leave it to engineers.
Start with getting your marbles together and deliver first class technology and projects on time and within budget. Doing so makes government relations relatively easy. And shareholders will be happy too! Failing to do so soon leads to a downward spiral. I fear we are witnessing this right now.
Read the most recent comments about the Prelude. The comments about ‘rogue’ waves was interesting. I don’t know what the data for SE Asia are, but I do know that rogue waves in excess of 35 meters have been documented in the North Sea. There is plenty of data available from some of the oil/gas production platforms located there. I also know the US Navy has compiled data about rogue waves for various locations about the world. Someone might try contacting the US Office of Naval Research or the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Admin. to see if that data is available.
For all you Prelude fans out there I have a bit of sobering information. The reason the US Navy does not built aircraft carriers any larger than they do is because they don’t know how to do it. The issues for the Navy are dynamics, i.e., shock and vibration, and long term hull maintenance. Hulls have a service life that is fatigue related. The harder you work a ship the shorter the hull life. If the US Navy doesn’t know how to built mega-ships what makes Shell think a South Korean shipbuilder and consultants know how ????
Personally, I think the real issue with the Prelude is long term maintenance. RDS has shown a predisposition to get cheap when equipment begins to wear out. We have seen this in the North Sea and elsewhere. However, fixed platforms usually don’t sink. There is a good chance RDS can put the Prelude on the bottom if they play their ‘Touch F** All’ games with maintenance on this vessel.
Kookaburra, I fully agree with you. We don’t see enough of diversity in Shell. It should not be just lip service on “diversity” referring just to Female gender or number game. We need to see more Aussies too. There is a general tendency to ignore talent from developing countries. After all most of the revenue and growth are in these regions.
“Asia Dragon” are you deliberately trying to bait the readers of this forum? Did you have a particular group of Asians in mind? More Asians at the top doesn’t guarantee any greater success in the running of the Shell business. Rather it is potentially limiting. This is why there is a need for TRUE diversity that brings a difference of background, skills and opinion to review, challenge and make informed decisions. I’ve personally watched the business go through phases where suddenly all the hires are Indian, or Asian or other target groups, and suddenly yes we may have more Indians or Asians in the organisation, but really what flows is that we end up with is “Like employing like”. We see a club of a different flavour formed. Generalising that Asians “can do it better” does not encourage robust discussion and challenge. You are merely advocating putting a different group of like minds together….There are a lot of under utilised pockets of talent in the Shell organisation and suggesting focusing on Asians is an insult to all the other talent in the company who bring or have the potential to bring value to the table.
Well. ” LondonLad” , the Economist article relates the business environment and Asian crisis created by the Western World. It also demonstrates the flexibility and robustness on the Asian businessman in time of change. By the way, It’s in their blood. There are more Asian Talent in Shell. Just make more use of them in different level. You will see a great difference!
Well “Asia Dragon” lets hope these Asian’s you are pontificating about do better than those mentioned in this article :
http://www.economist.com/node/603660
The last high up Asian within the Shell organization, the Malaysian Din Megat, hardly covered himself in glory.
Congratulations to Donny Ching for his appointment to be Legal Director, as a member of EC. At long last, the first Asian in the EC. Looks like Ben V B is serious about changing. He is bringing his DS A Team closer to him. Put more Asian in top management, one can guarantee Shell will quickly turnaround and run like real business.
Relieved, that Metocean data is available from OTC Paper 10791 at http://royaldutchshellplc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/OTC.pdf
Those interested in the design criteria for the Prelude LNG barge might want to contact:
Brian Casey – United Kingdom | LinkedIn
uk.linkedin.com/pub/brian-casey/26/556/1b3
Chester, United Kingdom – Senior Naval Architect at Shell
Brian Casey. Senior Naval Architect at Shell … Prelude FLNG. World’s first … Based on ABS Safehull ‘A’ Analysis and Bureau Veritas 3D FEM / Fatigue Analysis. This fellow apparently works for RDS and was involved in the design of the Prelude.
To Outsider: That depends on the wind intensity and sea state.
With the massive loss in US , Shell should be selling off US not Australia unless they want to offset the loss from other countries.
Relieved: I presume the Prelude will be free to swing around the turret to head into wind – the topsides rise 93m above sea level so there is plenty of area exposed to the wind. However what happens when the wind and sea are from different directions, as would be expected during the passage of a cyclone?
The freeboard on the Prelude is too large to allow the ‘barge’ to remain tethered at its anchors for and aft in a ‘large blow’. Those people will need to allow the vessel to swing into the wind, otherwise they could very well have a SERIOUS problem on their hands. Given that the vessel has no propulsion it is doubtful Shell will want to tow it to a safe harbor to wait out a major storm. I don’t know what the draft on that darn thing will be fully loaded but I suspect they would need a deep water port for that scenario. Just remember what happened to BP’s state of the art production platform ‘Thunderhorse’. BP was lucky it did not sink.
John, on your article on Prelude FLNG, we wonder who will be staying and working there. We suppose Majority will be Aussies. Why have they not started recruiting? Or have we missed this.
Mr Abdul Ghafoor, Your company is very lucky to get rid of David Greer. We have a lot of big spender and Mr. “Do nothing” at high places in a Shell. We can’t get rid of them. In fact we have to pay them a healthy sum to get them off our back. See how good is our Shell Hr system.
M.S. Al-Suwaidi Industrial Services Co. Ltd.:
This is to inform you that Mr David Greer, our previous CEO, contract was terminated last year. He spent too much money, was very expensive and could not do anything in the company. He was yelling at employees and insulting all the time and was like dictator. We are happy that he has left !
RELATED: Former Shell exec David Greer on the poach
Kangaroo, I agree that there seems to be a “short term” focus rather than a long term view of the Shell Brand in Oz. It feels a bit like hocking your possessions down at the pawn shop to pay the bills. Upstream projects and LNG are clearly Shell’s current darlings, where until recently there has been little mention of cost control and spending has been liberal. I would like to think the government would be smart enough to place conditions on the upstream licenses to stop company’s from being able to just “dig it up and ship it out” so to speak without giving something back, particularly when they are essentially a vertically integrated business and it is not an unreasonable expectation. Of course, this is unlikely to happen. Unfortunately, I personally felt the final death knell for Shell Downstream in Australia was sounded when Geelong went on the market. Around the same time the term “world class terminal” was dropped for Clyde. So far the only thing that has surprised me is the speed with which the rest of the business appears to have ended up on the auction block with it. In terms of social performance and sustained development, I am sure we will continue to see this message, but there will be a lot of smoke and mirrors along with it to divert attention to that which suits the end objectives.
Kookaburra, Well said. To aggravate the matter, all the corporate overhead are not recoverable, therefore directly out from the profit margin. This include Simon Henry’s package. We wish BVB would hold on, re evaluate and if necessary selectively dispose off assets in Australia. Selling the whole downstream business is a strategic disaster which Shell will regret. Shell is still making good money in Australia. What happen to all the Social performance and sustain development which openly bragged about.
Kangaroo- As you rightly point out and anybody with any kind financial education realises, in a consolidated balance sheet it is very easy to move profits to those parts of the business where it is more advantageous or the company chooses to do so. We all know of the massive overheads from Corporate head offices that are charged out to the various parts of the business that see none of the benefits. Take these out of the equation and what a different scenario things can be. I saw some positive articles out of Stanlow after purchase by Essar who stripped out the fat and recognised the strategic importance of the site. I will acknowledge that this too could be spin. The constant negatives turned into positives. This prolonged and constant negativity (and I am talking many years of selling the message that they are poor performers for some parts of the business) is demotivating to employees and counter productive. In terms of the sale of Australian Downstream Assets, the Aust Fin Review seems to be pretty well on the money so far. This suggests that there is either someone leaking the information, or the leak itself is a deliberate part of the strategy.
Lots of talk about BVB “cleaning up the mistakes” of the past ..we can assure you Voser set out to sort the Corrib debacle involving gifting police alcohol, caving in to landowner demands for separate deals, but he was misled by the same “bad apples” that broke all the rules in the first place and failed to sort it out ..despite his AGM promises …..start your clean up in Mayo BVB .
Do not understand the linkage on integrity part. But just wonder why others can run petrol stations profitably but not Shell. One should keep it if it is giving marginal contributions. Think of the Shell brand and big picture.
Your not wrong Kangaroo.
Start with the Business integrity department BID.
About as useful as an ashtray on a motor bike, no use whatsoever. Integrity zero in Shell.
I think divesting assets in Australia is a big mistake. It would be better to rationalize and lean them. Otherwise Shell will have to buy back in few years time. The right place to cut is in the central offices in Holland where many fat cats ( some pigs ) are located, doing nothing but traveling around the globe creating work not generating any revenue. They know who you are. You can cut at least 50% without affecting the business.
John, Shell still hiding behind a wall of silence regarding the abuse of a local vendor OSSL, defending misinformation and lies BvB will do well to ask for the facts and make a judgement, if Shell are to embark on a new way forward, people are disgusted by their actions here.
John, These Shell mess do not happened overnight. It must be planned and well timed. Hope Simon Henry is not making Ben V B a scapegoat. But then we won’t be surprised as he has done to many of his previous bosses include Sir Phil W.
The following article published by American Thinker Blog is interesting because it apparently gives estimates of original oil in place for Shell’s Burger (I presume) prospect. Oil was discovered in the original drilling program in the 1980’s. Recoverable oil would be on the order of 4-5 billion bbls. At $100/bbl that makes the gross value of the recoverable oil on the order of $400 – $500 billion US. About 1/2 trillion US$.By the way, the USG’s royalty on this will be at least 12.5%. That is $50 – $60 billion US$. This is not chump change, and it is why Shell will eventually get to drill this prospect. Add in a few more discoveries and it is clear why oil and gas exploration will continue on Alaska’s North Slope. People need to prepare for that eventuality. The article in question is headlined “Shell Cancels Chukchi Sea Drilling” Extract: President Obama boasted in his State of the Union address that “over the last three years, we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas …
I hope Super Ben quickly disband the Superbuckets and revert back to Country model . It really confused the key stakeholders big time.
Fully agree with EP old hand. In addition , Shell US is bleeding big time in unconventional. Poor cost management and over commiting way beyond their authority. Ranking them as no. 13 in US is over generous. Wish Ben can act fast before he gets suck into these shit.
@ Mystic Meg –
Obviously they are all to blame, the amounts wasted are beyond the discretionary commitment any director may make. And they all are very clever and trained to ask the right questions. But politics have prevented them from doing sound business. Clearly me first, Shell later.
And I remember very well what we were taught during a lecture on my first course many moons ago. An old and slightly bitter manager told us: ‘You are about to start a career in Shell. I will give you two bits of advice: 1 write many reports or ensure your name goes on these reports. And 2, one day you will screw up. Just make sure that if you screw up, you do it big time. That way you can blame others and prevent from being fired.’
To me it appears that Marvin, Bichsel, Odum, Brinded, Voser etc etc may have had a similar lecture by the same man. And they, being most clever, listened well and remembered the wise lessons…. They went a bit overboard with the magnitude of the screw-up I dare say.
But I surely hope that van Beurden has the balls to fire Bichsel and Odum. Preferably publicly for gross negligence. I can never prove it obviously, but I would not be surprised if Odum’s friends and family have become very rich in gold plated contracts that are now being written off as bad investments. They have the brains, the staff and the technology to interfere timely, but they chose to look the other way. They are all guilty as hell and they know that everyone knows!!
BBC America is reporting this morning that Shell is halting its Alaskan exploration program to cut costs and realign the company in a more profitable mode of operation. I suspect Shell USA management is getting horsewhipped over this, and rightly so. Projects like this are not ‘suspended’ without much deliberation and grinding of teeth.
Who will be the scapegoat(s) for Vosers mistakes?
Marvin?
Bichsel?
Henry?
Will be an interesting 10 days.
Pundit is 100% correct about the HR system, and I would suggest it goes one step further. HR, despite losing its staff to offshore positions still dictates a lot of the policy but without accountability. Take the latest office design fiasco where we will offer new staff a small box to work in but wonderful non work areas ! Result nobody sits at their desk and everyone does less work but we collaborate ! How on earth can you attract the top staff to work in an environment such as that. Sitting on school meal type benches is not the best environment to work. I’ve been here for 5 years and it won’t be another 5 before I go, this is just terrible and HR think it is good with fanfares and trumpets! I don’t think so. The good old boys will leave in droves and there will be a lack of experienced staff in Shell. Sad really when you look at the history.
Old EP hand is right: until 1996, there was an HR system that was the envy of the world. Then Personnel department became HR and everything was replaced by the latest US nonsense. Shell People (HR online) was indeed a Hofmeister baby. Cost overruns were more than 100% and it had an unacceptable audit opinion: the rest is history. People are Shell’s most valuable asset but Hofmeister and Mitchell are more interested in managing their careers than those of the Shell staff, who operate and develop the fields!
For BG ‘downunder’: In the US at least one state has eliminated this sort of conduct. The state of Maryland prohibits the majors from owning retail service stations directly. They are all independently owned by small businessmen. There are plenty of them. But not a one is owned by an oil company. The scheme works well. Something to think about.
Have Shell been involved in stealing service station businesses and landholdings anywhere else in the world ? It has been done in Adelaide South Australia with the help of the Torrens land system and corrupt government officials in charge of the land register. Dead service stations right across Adelaide where they got caught. Almost a total shut down. Comment by Shell lawyer to me “women can’t run them…they take them away from women”. Privately owned sites, independent, branded Shell. The Dealer dies and Shell steal the site holus bolus from the dead dealer and his widow by fraud and claim it is theirs. You can ask the Premier (leader) of the State of South Australia Jay Weatherill. Feel free to contact him at http://www.premier.sa.gov.au/index.php/contact
John, we worked hard every year in the offshore platform but does it really matter. There is no correlation of Shell business performance to hard work and production. Can someone please help explain.
RDS might want to contact Warren Buffet at Berkshire Hathaway to see if he might be interested in a pipeline deal. BH bought Enron’s gas pipeline system when it went on the block 10+ years ago. However, Buffet is a very smart investor and RDS won’t be able to bamboozle him into paying more than the investment is actually worth.
I used to be very proud of Shell twenty years ago..but now I dare not say I work in Shell even though I am a shareholder. It’s not only fat and slow, it is jungle of internal processes, hiding behind HSE, high overhead with no accountability. It is symptomatic of a company going to be winding down. I hope Ben can turn the dinosaur around. First he has to change out few top leaders who has been around for sometimes.
@Retired
I almost hear myself speaking. I remember how Hofmeister during his introduction rounds told everyone that Shell had the best HR system in the world. I know for EP that each International Staff and each local staff with a certain potential was discussed formally once per year in The Hague with three independent parties present. The godfather, the line (often the MD of the opco) and a HR representative from central office. Each staff received on average 1-2 minutes time. A lot of homework had been done beforehand obviously. And then a 1 or 2 line statement was kept on file, CEP established and development options agreed.
Then some idiot wanted change and Open Resourcing was introduced against advice of many, but hey, these were the roaring 90s….. It was the ideal tool for Hofmeister to wreck the best HR system in the world, introduce his own (american) lackeys and the rest is as they say history. This was the one job he did well: break a great system!
To break something is easy and can be done quickly. To build a good system needs time, dedication and good leadership. None of this is available anymore.
For ‘Old EP Hand’: I remember the ‘old pre-1990’ days well. Like I said, Shell is not the company it used to be. Americans in Shell are, in general, too provincial to be running an international operations. Pecten (Shell USA’s old international arm) was run very well in comparison to Shell USA’s domestic operations. About 4 layers of management was missing. And it was organized much differently than Shell USA. However, after Marlin Downy left (he was forced out over a refusal to ‘reorganize’ along the Shell USA model) it went to hell fast, like the rest of the company. It became bloated with too many people who didn’t know what they were doing.
For ‘NOT PETER REES’: I worked for Williams when I was a young engineer at Shell. He had a great educational pedigree but had no intuitive feel for E&P. As a physicist he didn’t understand the way the ‘E’ part of the company worked and operated. He started in petrophysics and blew some evaluations that upon further evaluation by other people a couple of years later turned out to be big gas discoveries. But he was well connected politically, and managed to bury that performance failure, and the rest is history. It makes sense he ended up on the downstream side of the business. That was where he could do the least harm. I am not certain how much good he actually did for Shell. There is a very good reason why he left Shell ‘early’.
Well Mr Peter Rees QC exits Shell. After Mr Peter Voser and Mr Mark Williams. I wonder what they all have in common?
Agree with Old EP Hand that the average quality of the people in Shell has gone down over the years; in my view directly correlated to the increasing prominence of an HR function that systematically fails to understand that the costs of attracting, training and retaining high quality E & P staff is (and always will be) insignificant compared to the costs of drilling and completion of oil wells or the building pipelines and other facilities in E&P projects. The real value of having high quality staff and equally competent and brutally honest middle management will manifest itself most painfully when the expected returns from projects do not to materialise as these projects encounter set-backs that outside the far too narrow and optimistic uncertainty and risk profiles.
The proposals to fund Shell Oil’s shale oil and Alaskan debacles might have originated within the US, but the funding of the proposals would have required approval from other Executive Directors before being agreed. All of the Executive Directors therefore share responsibility for the losses. Those Executive Directors with an E&P background (Bichsel, Brown, Brinded) should have been able to ask the appropriate questions before giving approval for expenditure of some $30 billion, much of which may never be recovered.
Stuart is wright: Andy was never in any way involved with the America’s. this sort of statement undermines the credibility of Old Hand’s posting. Let’s wish Andy a speedy recovery. Nobody can wish him anything else. He may not be the right man for the job, but we surely wish him good health. Watch Wetselaar: and that is a comment to Shell and all readers
@relieved
Until the early 90s Shell Oil had many great designers and other top professionals. They were second to none when it came to HPHT welldesigns (and offshore development, geophysics etc). Also very pragmatic and hands-on experience. I remember Leo Broussard, genuine good old boy. He could smoke a big cigar and drink whiskey without taking the cigar from his mouth. But he knew more about well and completion design than anyone else in the world. And he was always willing to share his knowledge. Just not interested in making a career, his passion was designing complicated completions! Shell International thought in those days a 10K well was high pressure. At this time Shell Oil was already working on 25k and 30k wells. Shell Oil was not so good at deepwater stuff in hostile environments. They, like all americans, relied too much on API standards, the lowest common denominator they could get away with. The North Sea set the world standards and took the lead.
Then came the roaring 90s. Everything had to be done faster, shareholder value, bonuses, do like ENRON etc etc. This led to an influx of fast talking americans with me first, rest later attitude and the contractor will fix it. Scandals like the Tejas Gas disaster (carefully kept away from the press) and other bad things emerged (just check out the Donovan website). Phil Carrol was quietly removed about 9 months later for his role in Tejas Gas. He presided over the meeting that approved the purchase during the one time there was no rep from Shell International. Neither Herkstroter nor Moody-Stuart could attend so he moved knowing full well that Herkstroter et all were vehemently opposed. Shell Oil became a bust or boom company.
Shell Oil always has been pragmatic with a can-do attitude. But doing first thinking later and this does not work in extreme environments and pushing the design envelope. They put top people (of the old school) and formed Aera which performed brilliantly and revived Bakersfield.
And the fast talking americans then swarmed out over Shell International and changed the culture. Me first, screw the rest. The rest is history….. Do not make the mistake to assume all americans fall in the fast talking category, I have met several genuinely capable and hardworking people from Shell Oil who put the company first and the rest later. But they were a minority.
I find it interesting that Shell USA isn’t making money. Up until 1989 Shell USA had never posted an operating loss for any given year. Never. The operating performance since then has been spotty. Any one care to comment on the problems?
Old Hand, not quite accurate. Andy has/had nothing to do with the US Shale or Alaskan businesses. His role in Upstream International has nothing to do with Upstream Americas – where both these things reside.
I will say I’ve met Maarten a few times and he’s a massively smart guy, who had already been given a line business to lead and I suspect will be possibly more capable than his boss.
The lame being led by the blind: So the shock of not becoming number one was too big for Andy Brown. I wish him a speedy recovery and thereafter he should go spend quality time with his family and enjoy his earnings. On shell.com I read the following: ‘During Andy’s recuperation and until his return to work, Maarten Wetselaar, Executive Vice President Integrated Gas and former head of finance for Upstream International, will serve as acting Upstream International Director, in addition to carrying out his regular duties.’ Wetselaar is no doubt a brilliant finance man. But a finance man is really a failed banker, not good enough for the real thing… And this brilliant fellow will ‘lead’ the whole upstream as a part-time job? Has Shell not learned from the past what happens if you put beancounters in charge? Apparently not. Andy should be sent home, he has only achieved very poor results (Alaska, shaleoil USA, etc). And for this job one needs to be in top condition AND have an EP background. There are some people with the right qualifications who could do this job much better. And they are in Shell too! And it certainly is not Odum, another one who needs to be sacked. Van Beurden does not know about EP, it was not in his portfolio so he did not interfere… So the upstream is now like the lame being led by the blind. Unbelievable. I can only wish them good luck.
PetroChina top management are been reprimanded for some bad deals include Arrow. Is Shell doing anything. It’s all a con job by ex Dart Energy. Wonder who did the due diligence.
Marginal tax rate at Groningen is 85%, and RDS share is only 30%. Unlikely Groningen production level is a big profitability issue.
Sources tell me that Shell Canada’s Retail assets are being shopped around.
My guess is that Shell’s bottom line is going to take a hit of over $1bn per year with the reduction in Groningen output – does anyone have the data for a more accurate calculation?
Ben, if it is true Andy is leaving, bring an Asian to the CMD to make a real difference.
I am no longer posting comments submitted by “Kris” as the recent ones do not even mention Shell. This forum is for adult discussion about Shell and related matters including this website. Trolls are not welcome.
Andy Brown decent bloke in the loop for all Corrib gifting matters. Was he disgusted as well as Crothers Rees and Nolan?
First Voser, then Rees and now Brown…would the last one to leave the CMD please remember to turn out the lights?
John, powerful shareholders approached OSSL after they had addressed the AGM last year. They demanded to know more about our submission to Voser. They then advised that we scream the house down until the promised resolution was in place stating that it did not sit well with them what was happening. Voser sent a man who demanded more proof. He was offered a walk through of the evidence …but declined stating he had “heard enough to form his opinion” and that to visit the evidence would only bring further annoyance to the police and the landowners who were the recipients of Shells largesse at OSSL expense. Que letter four weeks later from Shell no new evidence was presented by OSSL to support their claims. Shareholders please take note .
I know that RDS fans are loyal to the point of absurdity, and are immensely proud of the fact that RDS is supposedly one of the world’s largest and best managed (according to legend) corporations, so this suggestion will be lost on them. However, for those seeking a sound investment I suggest you compare the asset valuation and the growth in that valuation of RDS to Berkshire Hathaway. I think you will be surprised. Cheers.
London Lad misses the point, as usual. The expression “Lions led by donkeys” was coined during the First World War (supposedly by members of the German general Staff) and was a commentary on the perceived quality of British commanders versus that of the soldier in the trenches. A comparison with the situation in Shell is self evident. There was no attempt to compare either Shell or this website with the First World War.
Wow what timing, thanks for the warning. Just got an email from RvP saying would I like to play for MU but I said I’m too busy waiting to replace BvB at RDS. Sorry about the acronyms – guess most of the contributors on this site must be used to them by now from the Yanks, Aussies & Mick’s etc. Someone (Relieved, Outsider or some other introvert) asked why I’d not been commenting – soooooo many more important things than this nodding donkey website to keep reviewing.
P.S. “shellwaarbenjijnu” please don’t try and compare / contrast this website / Shell with the First World War. A very cheap comparison and talking point.
FRAUD & SCAM ALERT: If you have received a communication from someone purporting to be a Shell manager/employee offering you a job, please go to links and select Shell Fraud/Scam Alert (and “Recruitment Scams” in particular). Please do not send the communications to me because they will not be posted here. For security reasons I have no wish to publish such information. I have received several such requests in the last 48 hours and have no intention of allowing this facility to be misused.
With the anniversary of the First World War this year, the expression “lions led by donkeys” comes to mind.
Unfortunately, there are very few, experienced, motivated, knowledgeable workhorses left in what was a great company built on a bedrock of serious technical expertise and exposure to the global operations.
These days, to get ahead you need to be a whizz bang excel and power point jockey and preferably to have spent as little time as possible “out there” where oil and gas are found, developed and produced.
Rijswijk knows best – just trust the omnipotent, sprawling, process bound Projects and Technology organisation.
Giving the profit warning is not what Ben may or may not have wanted but it’s a requirement from the stock exchanges to share material information as soon as it is available. So no need to speculate around that. There are much more interesting things going on
Ben needs to get a handle on things starting with the abuse suffered by the vendor in Ireland whilst “assisting” Shell to progress the Corrib shareholders witnessed Vosers false promise of resolution, over to you Ben
dutchdude is probably right; neglected for years (as Peter & friends lined their pockets) and now badly needed to pull the top heavy cart out of the mire, it’s the last remaining workhorses that will probably get the blame. Let’s hope that Ben will turn around this mentality and save this great company (and my investment in it).
Voser’s legacy. Complete decimation of knowledge and technical ability (Transition 09!!!), and now a collapse of profit. Probably another signal to chop more workhorses. Try to find those staff now-a-days in Shell, totally impossible. I agree with Relieved, although very sad to have been witness to this process.
While it is true that many contributors to this site have worked for RDS in the past, many (if not most) gave up and left the company after it was clear that the company was in the hands of mediocre management (myself included). Shell at one time was a well run company, and it was fun to work for it. But not any more. The ‘old Shell’ is long dead and gone, and the future for the ‘new Shell’ does not look bright.
John, how often have our directors in the past claimed huge successes in times of high oilprice and then modestly (in small print and low voice) stated that whatever they do will only be visible some 10 years later?
In bad times they always reminded us in fat print and booming speeches that it was not their fault and inferred it was the result of bad decisions some 10 years earlier. But from now on things would be fine, we would change and all would be well and they could still claim huge bonusses.
But let’s check back, who were in charge some 10 years ago? YES: the bully astronaut who had seen the future and liked it and the brain with the beard who predicted Shell would be producing 6-6.5 million BOE in 2014. (I believe he is now trying to make the trains in the UK run on time.)
I guess there is no real chance they hand back there ill gotten bonusses? Or give these to charity?
It is clear your job is not finished!
BVB says “not what he expected of Shell “OSSL echo those words.Will BVB order a fresh look at this damnable situation ?.OSSL
travelling to meet with new CEO to demand action .
I noticed the Aljazeera America article. Once derided for their slanted news reporting these people have done an about face and have become a serious news network. They are not yet on par with BBC but they are getting there. The 5 major US news networks are now second class to these folks.
As owner and editor you have the ultimate authority over what is and is not published on this site.
Given that Shell frequently tell their employees that they are supporting spooks through their work, surely Shell and the spooks must be on the same side? REPLY BY JOHN: It ain’t necessarily so. Spooks and investigators, one representing the US government have contacted me in the recent past in connection with certain matters relating to Shell. I supplied the US government with confidential information that had been leaked to me. On the other hand, I am also aware that Shell has sought advice about me and this website from the US government and from a specialist unit in Pittsburgh partly staffed and funded by the FBI. This was partly in regard to the leaks, which have caused consternation at Shell. On one occasion for example, I was supplied with a Shell database containing contact information – email addresses, phone numbers etc for 177,000 Shell employees and contractors. The leaks continue to this day.
Given RDS management’s taste for engaging in alleged criminal activity of various sorts it would be prudent for RDS management to presume that ALL of their telecom traffic was being monitored and intercepted by US and Brit spooks. RDS engages in quasi-legal and alleged illegal operations and so those folks under contract to RDS to provide services to those ends would also be prudent if they assumed they too were being monitored. Happy days to ALL involved !! Comment by John Donovan. The word “alleged” appears twice in this posting, on both occasions inserted by me.
It’s curious that the amount being raised by asset sales ($30bn) corresponds precisely to the figures quoted for Shell Oil’s investments in unconventionals ($25bn) and the Arctic ($5bn)
Fully agree with ” Relieved”statement. We have worked with Shell US management, there is no sense of urgency and job levels are highly inflated. Time to chop down the trees. Shakeup is an understatement.
The is no doubt that RDS needs a management shake-up and shake-out. Shell USA would be a good place to start the house cleaning and clean-up.
John,
Good idea to commemorate the reserves scandal. But I prefer the idiot Watts in his spacesuit. As a priest he almost looks human. He is not, he is one of the great bullies that Shell bred over the years. Just lest we forget!
There is no Director support outside Ireland for the stupidity that took place on Corrib. And the failure to close out the matter leaves the grown ups in The Hague speechless.
To misquote Oscar Wilde, “To lose one director may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness”. Directors do not usually resign without very good reason – Peter Rees’ resignation so soon after Voser’s untimely departure to Switzerland can only mean that something is very seriously wrong at the top of Shell that the directors are unable or unwilling to support.
Corrib Booze and landowner love bombing ……it’s important to note Crothers not part of this system but sadly for a man of great integrity he does lead the cover up team at the insistence of the legal people, he has been incredibly naive and spouts the most incredible incorrect statements. Its possible that Peter Rees was disgusted by the Corrib Team.
Your last post, equally disgusted you missed out equally spineless. Peter Rees wrote at length about this type of middle management corruption so he obviously didn’t like what he knew about Crothers and Co on the Corrib .
Peter Rees was fully aware of Corrib Senior management diabolical treatment of a small helpful
Local vendor ,he was disgusted that such a situation was not addressed in keeping with Vosers promise .Other senior non irish Shell people including Directors are equally disgusted .
Just read the latest news on your site! No idea what is happening. This must be something big, otherwise it would be massaged much more smoothly, big wheels don’t just leave. They go spend more quality time with the family…. Presumably clash of characters and then the CEO wins. It overshadows Prelude for now. And the shareprice is just going up. What will happen Monday? Never a dull moment.
RE your article The Miners’ strike – a personal story I haven’t told before – believe me times have changed. The degree of executive freedom that Paddy Briggs had in Scotland back in 1984 is inconceivable in today’s cautious centralised world.
I don’t think Shell will divest ShellOil as its too strategic to let go like their China business. The mistake is investing in unconventional where the bigs boys are not good at. Time to let go unconventionals and focus on what you are good at. If not Shell have to start do things differently for unconventional. R
The notion that RDS would divest itself of Shell USA is quite interesting. It is an indication of how far Shell USA has fallen since the Dutch takeover in the mid-1980’s. Actually, the seeds of the decline in Shell USA’s fortunes were sown in the late 1970′ and early 1980’s when Shell USA decided to invest heavily in tertiary recovery of ‘unconventional reserves’, i.e., in heavy oil and the wholesale Co2 flooding of old fields. Shell engineers were so pleased with themselves they made it clear they saw no need for an exploration department. In the end it was a waste of resources and effort. Now, Shell USA finds itself under investigation for conspiracy to engage in espionage and to rig the international oil markets (racketeering).
Shell USA’s geniuses are not doing so well.
I wonder how the US legal system would treat RDS if they did indeed sell off Shell USA to the likes of Chevron or the Saudi’s. That unit would take with it a host of civil and potential criminal liabilities that would clearly diminish the value of Shell USA’s assets. Shell’s name brand would be irreparably harmed in the US because of the publicity, not to mention any convictions. And would RDS also want to divest itself of all those supposedly rich pickings in the US Arctic? I doubt it. That is where the real potential lies for Shell. How this shakes out will be very interesting.
Shell and Morgan Stanley would have no problem in rigging oil prices, because they are founding partners and members of the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) in Atlanta. Google the “$2.5 Trillion Oil Scam – slideshare” and Google “Goldman’s, Global Oil Scam.” ICE rigs the oil prices, the oil supply-chain and the oil markets. The US and most of the world are victims of this scam. To avoid the Big Oil rip-off, plug your Tesla S electric car into your household, solar array.
We wonder why Shell bought Arrow in the first place. It’s. no brainier. With Shell gold plated standards and high overhead, it can’t be a viable investment. Wonder who is behind this acquisition. Poor Ben has to deal with all these mess.
EP Old hand n Iain- could it be the finance chiefs has more choices n most of finance folks have higher CEP in Shell as well. Wonder why Simon H still around. Joking too.
@Iain we go back a long time…. You are technically correct but I was talking CEOs, not mere underlings. You know, head honchos, the ones who could piss furthest or had the biggest you know what! We all know Maarten did not have the warmest personality of the directors in Shell. Please read this as the ultimate english understatement! Not many tears were shed when he left. Bankers and finance people are genetically quite similar and you don’t want them to run a technical business!
Several more have resigned:
Harry Roels quit because he could not stand the continuous baiting and bullying by Watts anymore. Then he became CEO of RWE and sorted out those krauts very well!
And Frank Chapman was forced to go to Nigeria after doing a first class with honors job on Troll, working 6 years 80 hrs a week and only asked for a short posting close to London to sort his own life out. But no, Watts insisted he had to go to Nigeria, real men go to Nigeria! So Frank just quit. Only then he was immediately offered a blanc cheque to reconsider but he gave Watts the bird and the rest is history.
And then there is Iain Percival who quit to do an MBA. But fortunately he came back to his senses and rejoined to become a (the) top petroleum engineer!
There must be a lot of happiness in the top of Shell! Working for a great company and hoping to become #1! What more can one wish for?
@Old EP Hand
Voser is not the first to step away from Shell at the top to “spend more time with the family”. Maarten van den Bergh surprised us all when he bailed out in 2000 to “spend more time with his family” only to pop up as Chairman of the UK bank Lloyds TSB in 2001. Such a position is not exactly a part time job so one can only speculate as to how much time the family got!
Maarten was also a finance man so possibly this is a world of finance thing. I wonder how much of the family Simon Henry sees? Sorry,I’m only joking 🙂
Voser must have been pushed or at least eased out of the door. I am not aware of any CEO of a major corporation who resigned at the peak of his tenure in order to ‘spend quality time with his family’. Never heard so much crap in my life. If there was a genuine problem in his family, it would have been made public via some leaks.
He will get a lot of time to think over his sins as summarised by John recently as well as his sins when in UBS. I hope he copes. Or will he also join priesthood like Watts?
There have been a host of articles published recently about the extent of the NSA’s intelligence gathering activities, both in the US and internationally. A unit of the NSA specializes in obtaining the ‘unobtainable’, and apparently has been quite successful. NSA targets all sorts of folks. I wonder if RDS has been targeted given their apparent appetite for classified DoD technical information and for manipulating crude oil prices. Maybe we shall find out in the not so distant future.
Corporations buy back their own stock for a number of reasons, the primary consideration being to increase stock price and dividends. Stock buy-backs are a signal to investors that corporate management sees little opportunity for stock and dividend growth in the foreseeable future. In other words, the company is, at best, stuck in a no-growth or very slow growth mode. Earnings per share are anticipated to hold steady or decline. The buy-back simply helps maintain share price and keep investors from seeing their stock holding decline in value.
Nothing substantial is going to change at Groningen, and there are two reasons why: 1)The Dutch government holds a 40% stake in the field and gets a big financial boost from gas sales, and 2) there are still penalty clauses in the gas delivery contracts with other European countries. So, guess what? Not only are RDS and Exxon on the hook for some major expenses, but so is the Dutch government.
I am very happy to see Shell becoming more Dutch. It was the brits who stole the company that was 60% Dutch and 40% british. And look what Watts and Brinded have done to the company. Putting a swiss beancounter who was soiled at UBS did not help. I prefer a dour dutch calvinist any time over one of those fast talking brits or americans who sell their soul and that of the company to anyone willing to pay.
There was a day (in the 1980’s) when RDS ranked far ahead of its ‘peers’ in ‘unconventional oil and gas’, at least in the US. Then RDS bought out Shell USA, the price of oil and gas collapsed, and RDS abandoned serious development of ‘unconventional’ sources of hydrocarbons. They puttered around, but didn’t take the matter seriously, especially the shale gas concept. It is the ‘group think’ problem of big companies. Now they are paying for their lack of imagination. I see no signs that this company will change.
Voser also knows that he can say whatever he wants about the Arctic – he won’t be around in 2025 to explain why it hasn’t happened. Just another case of overpromise, if only to explain where the shareholders’ billions have gone
Shells stupidity on Corrib Project making it very hard for Minister Shatter to defend Garda actions against the decent people of Mayo #ownupshell
The Polar Pioneer is currently in Tromso, 17000 miles from Anchorage via Cape Horn. That’s going to be a very long, very expensive trip.
Why has Shell decided to risk using the Polar Pioneer, another second-hand rust-bucket drilling rig (in this case nearly 30 years old), in Alaska’s Arctic? I thought Shell were supposed to use the most cutting-edge modern practices in the Arctic. Can Shell not afford a new rig? Or does Shell think Alaska’s Arctic is too marginal to justify a new rig? Or, does this say anything about the financial health of Shell’s Arctic operations, or about the company health altogether? Please advise!
Shell Malaysia has the first Gas to Liquid plant in the 90s. Despite a bit of setback initially,it is still very profitable for its quality, low cost and great business environment. So why not expand the facilities in low cost environment in Malaysia instead of in US. MB
Why is Shell sending the American cowboys to China to develop the unconventional when they rank 13th in US. This can’t be right.
If the fines paid by the banks for rigging interest rates are any sort of guide, it will be very expensive for the oil companies if they are found to have been manipulating oil prices
Can’t speak for Cambodia, but police corruption still just about illegal here in Ireland for the time being anyway.
I saw the article on waste water production projection in Alberta. For Those Interested – New York’s Central Park is one (1) square mile in area.
Why does this website comment so much about a small small topic in Ireland. Are Shell doing so well that this is the only point to criticize them so much. Here in Cambodia they are well liked.
Police Bribes….WHY ….is the CEO of Shell …personally attending meetings in Den Haag London and Dublin about police bribes ….that didn’t happen …WHY ?
It would be nice if Shell’s new Prelude LNG ship functions better than BP’s Thunderhorse platform did. I think Shell need to hire some very qualified marine engineering inspectors to supervise the construction work on that ship. But what do I know ? Any comments LondonLad ??
Hi Irish police ,its one thing
staying stum about your booze arrangements with Shell (bribes in any other country ) but when a judge is asking the questions about the relationship between you and the oil giant ,and you don’t answer truthfully then it’s a miscarriage of Justice ( in any other country )
“Interest “of Mayo Justice your late on the case Shell in charge in the Mayo courts no question about it.
Cops booze thin end of the wedge .but some one has broken rank and all will be exposed by ombudsman .
Info required please / did an irish policeman gain a conviction of an Erris man on Thursday whilst denying
He offloaded a large amount of alcohol sent by the people at Shell or Statoil the prime movers of the court case /please respond on this platform /very dangerous situation /
#howmuchpowerisshellweildinginmayo
Mr D
Shells Byrne did not send Alcohol to the Garda Shells John Egan did , Byrne just a victim like
OSSL #voserwillcloseitout #spinlessmanagement
Thanks
D
Hi John, Radio Station Shell alcohol sender, John Egan Director still at his desk ….Garda alcohol sender Connor Byrne “sacked for abusing Shell Gifting policy” so what is Shells policy ?
The Shell Blog facility is back and fully operational.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read??
John, oil man of the year Peter Voser ,promised me resolution at the Den Haag AGM ..one or two witnesses present I believe he’s a man of integrity and will deliver ….Shell Garda ,alcohol gifting now officially a criminal matter and people caught in the crossfire should not have to wait any longer for justice …action now Mr Voser !!!
LondonLad: I like a man with a sense of humor.
Given the fact that RDS now lies in 5th place compared to its peers will we see Vosser give back his “oil executive of the year” award.
Lower 3rd Q profits at RDS have been known / predicted for more than a week – e.g. Telegraph and Express have stated as such in their Business sections. “There can be no doubt that this fall in profit has been insider information for several weeks now” – of course it has been known for a number of weeks at RDS board level, as it should have been. Inferring that this is something illegal or unusual is yet again tabloid titillation from this website. Actually their results, albeit disappointing, were better than a number of analysts had forecast. I thought belly-aching was more your forte Relieved – hence your alias.
To LondonLad: Will you please quit your belly- aching. You know quite well that
RDS and its management doesn’t get half of what it deserves in negative publicity. If RDS was not behaving badly this website would have not anything to publish. And by the way, lumping me in with the likes of Greenpeace is truly a compliment, and I thank you for it.
To George Hamilton : firstly this site has shown very little respect for several RDS employees over the years, and continues to do so with much venom at times. Secondly, as for Donovan to accuse me of making personal and unpleasant comments it is like “pot calling kettle black”. Those with an agenda clearly against RDS should also read their own vitriolic comments which often come across as people with a stability problem. This hysteria about alcohol misuse in Ireland just about summarizes the problem with this site – apart from a few (aka photos posted on this site) activists and obscure local newspapers nobody has shown an iota of interest in this subject in the UK or elsewhere. People such as those from Ireland / Greenpeace / Relieved etc. etc. don’t need to immediately try and deflect comments that attempt to defend some (yes, some) of RDS actions / activities. I have also complained about RDS, aka the first point on my last posting, but just because I don’t vent my spleen against RDS my negative comments about them are glossed over. REPLY BY JOHN: I agree that some other contributors are unfair and unkind to you LondonLad. Your relatively rare negative comments about Shell are not glossed over by me. It is also true that we have been disrespectful of certain Shell people on what we considered, and what I still consider to be perfectly valid grounds. The difference is that what we said was always in our own names. This meant that if anything we stated was inaccurate or untrue, the named party was able to seek redress. As to the Irish cop corruption scandal, do you consider The Sunday Times, The Irish Times and The Observer to be local obscure newspapers? All have covered the story. Likewise major Irish radio and TV broadcasters. Note that you are still persisting with your unpleasant personal comments while hiding behind an alias. That is disappointing.
The European community is not very happy with the US NSA for all of its monitoring of European telecommunications. However, there is a very, very close relationship between NSA and British SIS so I suspect the Brits were involved to some degree. What is interesting about all of this is that these folks may have swept up conversations, emails, etc., between RDS, et al, that pertain to the oil price fixing scheme they are under investigation for allegedly perpetrating. If it should turn out to be true, and there a good chance that this will be the case, then BP, StatOil, and RDS could be in very serious trouble IF NSA and SIS have records of their conspiracy. Wouldn’t that be ironic. This is such an interesting development. An international criminal conspiracy ??? In the US it would fall under the RICO statutes, among others, and in the US people would go to prison for a long time. The same could hold true for RDS’s supposed targeting of the US Dept. of Defense. That would be espionage. I wonder what NSA and SIS actually did sweep up ?? Maybe Mr. Snowden can shed some light on all of this.
London Lad, two things a bit more respect for Donovans Family please, secondly it’s public knowledge here in Mayo that the joint venture between An Garda Siochana and Shell regarding alcohol supplies is the subject of official enquiry by the relevant authorities, with prosecutions powers, which hopefully will expose the wrongdoing and the subsequent cover up, well highlighted on this site .
I agree that Shell’s scenario prediction was not always that great – I had many a clash with those God’s in The Hague who thought otherwise. Some 9 years ago their prediction for the future was US$14 for a mid-range scenario for oil projects and new acquisitions. Hmmmmm. However, do we know how accurate other major’s performed? I again reiterate my 3 points last Friday : 1) have Shell been bought before the courts re this hyped up story about alcohol “abuse” in Ireland? 2) have Shell been bought before UK courts for alleged pump price fixing? and 3) has Shell been proven to be stopping / greatly reducing capex investment worldwide? Regarding #1 I still cannot find any reference to this “hysterical” story in the mainline UK papers or main internet sites – perhaps sensible people have more serious and important matters to be concerned about. Oh, P.S. Donovan, my mother died in August (aged 93) but I don’t try and use this as an excuse for my defence of Shell when it is attacked by people who have an agenda against them and / or have very little knowledge about the oil/gas industry. REPLY BY JOHN: Sincerely sorry to hear about your mother. The difference is that my father co-founded this website and news of his death was publicly known, including a reference to his passing in a whole page article in The Observer devoted to the Shell corruption story in Ireland, which sparked all of the “Hysterical” coverage on Irish TV, Radio, magazine and newspapers to which you object. As to the alleged pump price fixing, I have republished allegations and news originated by professional journalists working for the national and international news media. I cannot recall making any comment on the subject myself. Your postings are unfortunately becoming personal and unpleasant – comments I doubt you would make unless hiding behind an alias.
John ,excellent exposé on Garda alcohol how was this allowed to happen? Where now for Shell? CEO number five for the Corrib? Why the Lies? Will Voser intervene? whats the top cop saying? Shell has lost the plot in Ireland,major disgrace.
PV Transition 09 is a mess n the strategy refresh created further mess. It is obvious PV never intended to stay long. In China it’s a bigger mess run by a group of expensive amateurs expat. What happen to the good old Shell. Poor Ben has a tough job ahead to turn the ship around.
This ‘booze for the Irish’ scheme of RDS’s is AMAZINGLY STUPID. Who was the retarded jackass running this operation ??? They should be hung out to dry (no pun intended). This saga reads like a rejected soap-opera. No wonder RDS is beginning to have ‘troubles’ with its business model. Nobody is minding the house. Where is/was the adult supervision ???
Michael Crothers has been
badly let down by those that ran the Corrib project long before he arrived .
But on realising this he has chosen to continue the lie regardless of the cost to others , Garda Homeowners ,and support companies are all just cannon fodder in the need for cover up .also do you notice that all Corrib Cock
Ups ( CCUs) the list is long ,are of Shells own making .
My heart goes out to those
Garda who played the Shell game only to be let
down .
Relieved: the market capitalisation of Shell is just one half of the net asset value – compare this with Chevron where the market capitalisation and net asset value are approximately the same. Shell is a prime candidate for a takeover or a breakup. The only question is not “if” but “when”.
Old EP Hand: I seriously doubt RDS will wear down John, but they could damage the company so seriously its pieces become worth more than the whole if the company is broken up.
LondonLad: Whatever happened to your fellow kindred spirit, US Citizen ??? He seems to have abandoned you to spar with the ignorant, illiterate, spiteful anti-Shell barbarians all by yourself. Ah well, we all have our crosses to bear. KBO, your comments are occasionally entertaining.
London Lad your posting confirms a lot of Shell poor decision making, never forget Shell to Sea, love them or hate them, correctly brought Shell to book on many occasions and in a lawful manner. Shell to Sea have saved lives in contrast to Shell who have cost lives drilling in unsuitable soil, as well advised to them by their own experts at the beginning of this project .
Awesome issues here. I’m very happy to see your post. Thank you a lot and I’m taking a look forward to contact you.
Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?
Here we are again, it’s Friday night and this website continues to pontificate about how Shell is going to be screwed by this country + that country + this organization + anything else that moves on this planet, and oh a possible hostile takeover. Thank goodness that those idiots in Greenpeace are being screwed by that nice guy Mr. Putin else Shell might also have to worry about this glorious factually inaccurate organization. So “nodding donkeys” (aka Outsider and Relieved + those Irish who’d rather live & “travel” in the dark ages) have Shell been : (1) bought before the Irish courts for their alleged alcohol “conspiracy” with OSSL? (2) bought before the UK courts for alleged pump price fixing? (3) proven to be “stopping capex” investment worldwide? (4) shown to be wrong in getting rid of non-profit making activities recently? The list goes on and on. Yet the nodding donkeys on this site merely attempt to try and show Shell and its workers in the worst possible light. Fact is that places like Nigeria would go down the toilet if Shell pulled out. Cherry picking snippets from various news articles from obscure newspapers around the world (many with their own green / anti Shell agendas) doesn’t fool those with more than one brain cell. It’s a shame but over the years I sense that this website is run by someone who has a real stability problem. A few years ago there was a degree of balance in some of the arguments for / against Shell. Now it’s almost hysteria against anything Shell does. COMMENT BY JOHN: What does it say about you bothering to post extensive comments, as you have today, on a website operated by someone who, in your opinion, is mentally unstable, as your comment clearly implies. It would not be surprising if I were a little unsettled given that my 13 year old Labrador passed away on 21 June and my 96 yr old father five weeks later, both in particularly distressing circumstances. Your timing in making such a personal accusation is therefore unfortunate. The truth is that we post positive and negative news about Shell. Please don’t blame me just because there is so much negativity about Shell at the moment emanating from Peter Voser, major news organizations and the financial media. It is Shell that is currently unstable, not me.
How can a single guy like PV do so much damage to a huge company like Shell? His TO9 reorg was a braindrain exercise and politicians won out. There is a huge shortage in Shell for technical competent staff and managers. I have nobody above me currently who understands even 20% of my discipline. I fear this will get much worse before it gets better. To the next boss: don’t run a technical company like an investment company.
Greetings, I think your blog may be having web browser compatibility problems.
When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however,
if opening in IE, it’s got some overlapping issues.
I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up!
Aside from that, wonderful site!
If irish policemen bite the dust because we lied its just collateral damage all’s
fair in Oil&Gas #cheerscoppers
Melt down on Corrib shockingly poor management team and now losing the support of the police locally into the bargin Voser needs to act now .
John time to ask some questions the word here in Erris is that the Garda investigation is over and that Ossls claims have been found to have substance Commissioner now involved .check it out .
If RDS were to be hit with large fines and damage claims from a price fixing scheme then they would clearly become a take-over target.
It is common knowledge that BP, Exxon and Total (and possibly others) planned hostile bids for Shell after the reserves fiasco. Shell’s current underperformance in comparison with the market, together with huge write-offs on unconventionals and the Arctic suggest that some of these plans may be under consideration once again, perhaps with Chevron added to the list of potential bidders.
Relieved: I agree but also would point out how RDS stock price has only increased 11% since Jan 2010 whereas XOM (28%) COP (29%) and CVX (55%) have done much better. They also didn’t waste millions on restructuring. Yes PV will be remembered for sure!
Peter Voser’s disappoints about Shell’s performance in the US are his way of saying Shell USA management ‘screwed the pooch’. Shell has nobody to blame for its ‘disappointments’ but itself, and that means senior level management. Time for some house cleaning at the top.
To Outsider: You are correct. However, in nature it would seem that most forms of scum ‘float to the top’, so to speak. RDS is no exception. Being an ex-Shell type I speak with some knowledge of the phenomenon.
Hi all and John recent postings shock but don’t surprise ,the abuse of a small Irish vendor pales into insignificance but confirms the mindset of some in Shell #bullyboys
Relieved: I’m as horrified as you to read the story about Leroy Caillet, and know that it reflects the behaviour of a small psychopathic proportion of Shell’s employees. Fortunately, there is a far greater number of decent, honest people at Shell who will also be horrified. Hopefully these people will one day control the show.
I read the article about those folks who lost their father in a accident that Shell blamed on their deceased father. How typical. Remember the case of the woman in Alberta or B.C. whose family suffered from H2S gas poisoning which Shell denied any knowledge of ??? What can we say about RDS management ??? They are simply a collection of mean, lowdown, dirty, lying Scum. Now, they may have been born that way, or they may simply be former abused children who cannot help themselves because they don’t know any better. Who knows. But the fact remains that RDS is managed by Scum, and anyone working for, or doing business with the SOB’s should realize that.
I don’t know how much money Shell left on the table after the last round of bidding for Chukchi leases, but it was in the hundreds of millions. Shell did the same thing in the ’80’s. You’d think these guys might wise up, but don’t count on it. Shell apparently has money to burn (more money than they have good investment opportunities, or so they think) and they do know how to burn it. So, burn baby, burn.
LondonLad: You seem to think I may have Irish heritage. Not so. I am Scots-German, mostly Scot. That accounts for my ‘contrary’ nature. And you know how the Scots and English have gotten along over the last 1000 years or so.
Today’s press reports that Shell is pulling out of its shale investments in Texas and Colorado, and being replaced in the Chukchi Sea and the Niger delta suggest that a major realignment is taking place
Saw the comment about RDS’s invitation to share information with them. Kind of reminds me of the old saying: ‘Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly.’ Sharing ANYTHING with RDS is a fools exercise.
To “Relieved†– the Oirish, or should I say their ancestral trouble makers across the pond, should realise that the reserves quoted on this website (from carefully chosen left wing organizations) for various exploration blocks are grossly exaggerated. I would say that most Yanks who pontificate about making sure other countries tax their population for this that and the other look at themselves. Why do the Yanks have such cheap fuel – their stupid Government subsidize fuel. Simples.
I see the ‘shell to the sea’ campaign is finally beginning to pay off. The Irish need to also institute a royalty fee on all produce oil or gas. In the US it is between 1/8 and 1/5 the sale price of the raw product. That would add another couple of HUNDRED BILLION $USD to government’s general fund. This is the kind of money that is at stake for the Irish government and it is why the oil co.’s (especially RDS) are so willing to buy off Irish politicians. Bribery is simply a cost of doing business for them, and it pays off handsomely.
RDS is very disingenuous about their marketing plans for the fuel they would produce from that proposed GTL plant in Louisiana. The liquids would be exported and sold overseas because it is so much more profitable than selling it in the US. That is why so much diesel refined in the US is already sold overseas. US crude sells for about a 20% discount to that in international markets and while crude cannot be exported from the US the refined products can be exported. This is all about cheap US gas and the premium pricing of fuels in foreign markets relative to the US market. The US should also prohibit the exportation of refined fuel products if the raw feed stock material was produced in the US.
A GTL plant in Louisiana? Sounds great as long as natural gas is available at a very low cost, and capital amortization is paid by somebody else… GTL in Qatar and Brunei works, but only because the gas is free… The only justification for GTL in the US would be to force up overall demand (and hence prices for everyone else). Would Jindal really support a project whose sole function is to manipulate the market, hurting both domestic and industrial gas consumers?
The article on this website under the headline: Shell screwing dealers in Northeast USA?: Motiva no longer operates the retail outlets, they have leased all to wholesalers (jobbers) who in turn set the prices for the rents, and the gasoline. they have also done away with the trucking fleet, (you won’t see any shell trucks on the road) which means the wholesalers contract with common carriers to deliver the products to the stations. this is part of the plan to concentrate on operating terminals and refineries and move away from the retail sales. even though they no longer operate the stations, the products are still loaded at the motiva terminals. they have also sold off several underperforming northeast terminals as part of a restructuring plan. not to defend the company, but it appears the wholesaler is the “bad guy” in this case.
Good to see that the Russians are taking the Greenpeace activists / yobs to court for boarding an oil platform. Several years in the Gulags may straighten their yobish behaviour out.
West Awake E in Irish Whiskey …your correct not in Scotch as per my post ,
SHELLS BELLS
I knew Des and Neil since before Shell were here very helpful in every way big help to Entrerprise and Shell a shocking disgrace what Shell done to them
To, also a john in Mayo, Point of order (hic) there is no E in Scotch Whisky
Hello John my tuppence worth is as follow the Gards here confirmed the alcohol to Shell it’s Shell that’s in a tizzy and doesn’t know what to do ,and the gards are pretty upset with Shell .Great web site the truth hurts.
I would like to repeat a warning I have mentioned before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by contributors such as Paddy Briggs, who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using aliases, such as “Outsider†have built up a reputation over several years for the integrity of their postings on this website.
Mr Donovan, London Lad, George Hamilton, shareholder complicity in this matter is not in evidence we have our CEOs assurance of resolution and we should have clarity soon rather than later, because its getting a little bit stinky, Thank you.
John .message for S to S
Don’t no how to contact direct NEXT WEEKS bottle
has to be SHELLS BELLS
SCOTCH WHISKY
London Lad don’t try to make little of this well reported item on Shell and law enforcement officers ,local concerned people have been battered round the head by these alcohol fuelled officers you are wrong to be complacent in your capacity as a shareholder wise up my friend and less of the mindless irish twang it’s not
Nice and a gentleman wouldn’t do it .
John, glad to hear you are indeed still enjoying running your website. I just believe it must have been more fun for you when you were still receiving the occasional e-mail from them instead of the current silent treatment.
@Relieved: your contribution really lifts the quality of conversation. Thanks! REPLY BY JOHN: I believe the policy is counter-productive and more recently – the unacknowledged death of my father – reflects very badly on senior management, but its up to Shell. The days of gentlemanly conduct from Shell leaders such as Sir John Jennings, with whom we developed a cordial relationship, appear long gone. Sir John ran the show, not Shell lawyers. Admire your restrained response to “relieved”.
Settle down boys and girls ,Voser demanded resolution because of Donovan’s postings he set up a non Irish enquiry behind closed doors this team hung their heads in shame when they heard all
But cover up seemed the best route “no evidence was the war cry “but Ossl don’t agree we will bring you kicking and screaming to the evidence and reluctantly expose the cops the landowners and your (Shell) corrupt middle management on the Corrib #errisbehindossl #actnowvoser #policecomeclean
Elmer and John Shell ,,were getting worried about a lack of challenge from Shell to Sea and decided to breath new life into them ,what a job they made of it ,fantastic #halfwits ,yes I applaud OSSL #neverliedown
Oh well, here we are on Friday evening and all I can see in the “Shell Blog†is a lot of nodding donkey comments agreeing in various degrees about RDS involvement in supplying alcohol to the Oirish Police via OSSL. Have to say by the way Donovan that the pictures of half a dozen protestors with very large flags in front of the Irish police is very impressive….. NOT. Just shows the true interest of the local population in this tabloid story. This story hasn’t got much media attention in the main line newspapers (including the tabloids & the Guardian) – probably seems to them that this is no story at all?? Why don’t Shell respond to your innuendos / accusations / titillations – perhaps they have far more important things to do for their share holders than respond to someone who has a huge chip on his shoulder from some perceived violation many years ago. As a shareholder I can commend this approach from Shell. It’s also strange that no formal move has been made by the Irish judiciary system to involve themselves with some form of prosecution over this issue – no issue perhaps and merely yet another attack by people who have a grudge against Shell. Ooooo I await some umpteen pages of defence and references ……….
Loony Tunes yes sir Shell man playing Mr Big demands 300 plus cops get “well looked after ” demands no local purchase and no traceability enter OSSL ,first class outfit ,job done Mr Big under investigation but its a big secret ,he can’t get OSSL coverd with a false invoice because all eyes are on him but OSSL don’t know this and give him breathing space . Bombshell Mr Big Phucked out for massive abuse of “favours” AKA cops booze
OSSL forced up the ladder for a result re payment where’s the proof ? Asks a Canadian chappie you destroyed it says OSSL
Tough Shit says the Canadian and by the way Phuck off out of this project
Looney Tunes are funny this is not
This little saga of RDS and the Irish is like a bad Looney Toons cartoon, and someone at RDS was truly looney tunes to think they could get away with this stunt. Morons.
For Supershell: You missed your time and place in history. You would have done very well in the Germany of the 1930’s. You would have made a good storm trooper.
supershell, hi Shell pay much attention to this site when Voser met OSSL he said as much Shell had a fourteen hour meeting with OSSL part paid some members but not others ,tried to silence them but failed ,watch this space the best is yet to come .
Some very bad stuff that does indeed shame the name of Shell .
Shell is no longer responding to John Donovan’s probes and claims. It’s not much fun having an enemy that no longer wants to play. REPLY BY JOHN: On the contrary, it keeps me amused and has cost Shell billions of dollars. For over a decade, Shell has not wanted to play, except by its own rules, and has ended up in an intolerable situation whereby the company is publicly humiliated on a regular basis. Don’t take my word for it. This is what a Shell official said about us: “John and Alfred Donovan well known in UK/Hague. They perceive Shell played them and so have made it their mission to embarrass, belittle and criticize Shell, which they do quite well. Their website, royaldutchshellplc.com is an excellent source of group news and comment and I recommend it far above what our own group internal comms puts out.” Shell has long been active behind the scenes, in the shadows, hiring spooks and lawyers in an attempt to counter our activities. That all backfired spectacularly when we became aware of Shell’s dirty tricks operations, partly as a result of being contacted by a very high level source in Shell Global Security, who became ashamed of Shell’s corporate espionage activities. Personally I think Shell senior management tactics of sticking their heads in the sand and hoping we will lose interest and go away, has been disastrous for the reputation of the company.
Hi supershell ,interesting put down by you ,rebuttal possibly an option in the beginning but neither the policemen or Shell have that option now denial now not possible .Shell Corrib Boys and Girls could cop a plea of insanity in preference to denial it would be more believable .
super Shell don’t you mean re bottle didn’t think this would flush YOU out but it has is the noose tightening on their lying little necks ?
The practice of accusing Shell of something outrageous and then claiming that lack of rebuttal equates to proof of that claim is getting quite tiresome. Does anyone agree? (ref. OSSL emails to Shell and Irish Police18 Sept 2013)
Shell have shown a blatant disregard for all the people who make project progress possible I.e. the police the landowners the vendors , no regard whatsoever as to who gets damaged by their lies and cover up ….why don’t the police wise up ?.
Shell you are a corporate disgrace now you are lying to the police where will it end may be an honest cop will come forward
Shell pulled the sex, booze, and drugs stunt with employees of the US Dept. of the Interior, MMS, and it worked. Why should it shock anyone that Shell would try a similar stunt in Ireland ? Low lifes are cheap and easy targets for bribery, etc. This is just business as usual for RDS.
London Lad ..Whos us ? ..your difficulty to comprehend is yours alone ..read Donovans comprehensive file on OSSL then you will understand .
Begosh and begorrah “George Hamilton†and “The West Awake†– please keep off the Guinness before making your posts as they are somewhat undecipherable to us mere mortals. Clearly you have both been getting some of Shell’s handouts over there in Oirland.
I must ask Crothers you gave OSSL a glowing report “exteamly flexible on a difficult project “we know what you mean” go to get it done vendor” why the need to meet them in sleazy hotel rooms ? What are you worried about ? Why when you declared you dismissed them” immorally “from the project do you continue to abuse your position of power and deny them (three people ) a living a situation you could correct with a wave of your clean hands
The court documents you display speak of the need to avoid creating a martyr by the local police amongst the protesters Shell and the police saw the need to disappear the OSSL honestly given statement and then to disappear the statements author GANNON NOLAN where are you ? Explain please
John , something stinks can we ask Shell why after promising to do so they could not reveal the content of a opinion to match an OSSL opinion agreed by legal people for both parties as a sort all solution did that hidden opinion expose Shells extremely difficult position (your OSSL file refers ) Mr Voser this stinks
John ,your Irish Times posting earlier possible that Roadbridge don’t know what went on but categoric denials of illegal and unethical actions need serious back ground checks before going to print .Ossl and Roadbridge may both have been duped by Corrib Team
Who is going to take the blame for the latest fiasco/cock-up at Port Arthur ??? RDS is good at pinning the blame on the innocent and the contractors and rewarding the incompetent.
Garda booze YES press boozeYES covert gifts YES
disguised invoices YES
demands to lie YES
Subcontract the blame YES vilify the innocent YES …HOW BUCKING DARE YOU SHELL COME CLEAN NOW
John please inform OSSL as follows ,multiple members of the press ,who could do Shell no good but also no harm if they so chose were the beneficiaries of Shell Director John Egans largess in contrast the police force locally who assisted Shell day and night on land and at sea got nothing at Christmas ,
Pack you bags Egan and Co times up we don’t believe your non denial ,thanks John .
Corrib Gas middle management ….I don’t include Crothers in this he was late on the scene and can be forgiven he relied on many of you for guidance and got misled …
YOU SHAME THE NAME OF SHELL…God forgive you we never will .
Would any one agree Shell and Garda are engaged in a shameful act ,not giving and taking booze ,but covering their wrong doing by making villains out of a small vendor in order to cover their tracks ,well here’s a news flash its not working
John a message to OSSL demand knowledge of the current contact details of Gannon Nolan Byrne all probably still with Garda and Shell get a skilled legal person involved its clear that both organisations are covering up the truth great support for you in Erris even from pro gas people
RDS’s claim that they can drill safely in the Arctic reminds me of Neville Chamberlain’s claim that there will be ‘peace in our time’. It was and is all a load of BS. Hitler went to war with RDS’s support and there will (still) be massive oil spills in the Arctic. The big question is – Who will get stuck with cleaning up the mess?
LondonLad: I am glad you found your time at RDS rewarding. Many do not. I for one am delighted I left RDS behind me years ago.
LondonLad: are you mellowing?? I don’t think anyone has ever said that they believed all of RDS was rotten…but we all have issues with the 5% who have their own agenda and regard everyone else (both inside and outside Shell) as “collateral damage” in the achievement of their objectives
Thinking about my last posting – why don’t all the protagonists who complain about / defend RDS meet up over lunch (perhaps John can get RDS to pick up the tab!! and get some of them to attend) at an agreeable date and venue. I’m sure the likes of Di O’Rea & Nigerians alleged be living in extreme poverty in the Delta can be linked via Skype to the restaurant.
To “Relieved†aka Di O’Rea – why is it that anyone who comments on some of the stupid negative comments about Shell placed on this site are immediately branded as someone who works (presently) for RDS? I worked for 30 + years for the company and did NOT like some of the elements of the job and the pontification from The Hague (most particularly from the HR function). However, they were / are a company at most levels who believe / d in what they were / are doing was / is of true value to shareholders AND the community / country they were / are working in. There are many that attempt to slag RDS off – presently the Oirish, Greenpeace, anarchists, Luddite’s and corrupt Nigerians (purporting to defend the rights of the Ogoni’s) but at the end of the day we all want to move around this planet which requires hydrocarbons, fracking, etc. etc. It is the whipping up of hysteria by those who have no idea about E&P activities (e.g. Greenpeace & fracking activists – most of whom are paid for by the UK tax payer and very rich parents) that at the end of the day should look at themselves and ask who is going to pay for my life in 20 years time and how am I going to go around the world and enjoy my parents legacy?!?!
To: On The Job: Do you work for RDS, per chance? You have a wonderful sense of business ethics.
WARNING ABOUT POSTINGS ON SHELL BLOG: I would like to repeat a warning I have mentioned before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name, or by contributors such as Paddy Briggs, who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using aliases, such as “Outsiderâ€, have built up a reputation over several years for the integrity of their postings on this website.
Middle management corruption in Shell and Statoil is acceptable if it gets the job done wise up you silly locals .
Is the editor of the western people aware that three people lost their jobs in what Michael Crothers states was an immoral fashion because of this booze gifting scenario wafer thin lies from Shell keep these people current employment a damnable situation .Mabey an honest Guard will come forward with a second confirmation of 2005 alcohol distribution .lets hope so …..FREE THE OSSL THREE from this shameful cover up .
Very very interesting John Donovan One newspaper on side =100 euro expenditure Three Hundred Gards on side on the television beating the living day lights out of innocent local people to secure a successful project = 30.000,00euros I’m now getting the picture
Whatever happens next, will anyone try to assess the real costs of the OSSL debacle to Shell and others? Apart from the public opprobrium resulting from the exposure of Shell’s dubious practices, and Shell’s own legal fees, the costs to OSSL in achieving any sort of victory are huge. In addition to OSSL’s own legal costs and the income they have lost during the dispute, Shell will ensure that OSSL are removed from the list of “approved contractors” shared by all of the E&P companies, preventing them from obtaining future work in the oil industry. Shell knows that OSSL will never be able to prove “Tortious Interference” in court, even if they could afford to take on the might of Shell’s legal army. And there will be no compensation for OSSL’s employees who have been made redundant as a result of Shell’s actions.
Yes George Hamilton INTEGRITY RESULTS JUST IN Western People Newspaper 1 Shell oil and Gas 0. (Own goal John Egan )
John , just seen today’s London Sunday times people putting there coats on in Corrib House middle management clear out on the way this corruption not acceptable to Voser or Rees
Hi blog, I’m on the job in Mayo read your blog know OSSL not well but know them, SILLY QUESTION FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED why after ten years of good service does Shell need to only meet OSSL in seedy hotel rooms (previous Donovan articles refers) what’s the big need to distance themselves from OSSL. its at odds with Crothers calling them (OSSL ) an excellent vendor. maybe not such a silly question.
John your latest posting regarding Shell OSSL lets be clear who was at the meeting in the local hotel would this if factual dispel any doubt about the Shell cover up and cause an honest Shell man or woman to demand answers some one like Peter Rees or Peter Voser these guys won’t stand for middle management corruption to much to loose ie the confidence of the locals here in Mayo .
Did I read that correctly a minuted meeting in a local hotel confirms Shells is complicit in all that the vendor is saying THEN NAME ALL PRESENT AT THE MEETING so that Peter Rees can assess the depth of this cover up right now SHELL your not looking to clever
Peter Rees’ quotation “This is not a court of morals, nor is it a court of justice; it is a court of law” seems to imply that if Shell’s army of lawyers can mislead a court into believing that something was legal, then ethics and morality are of no concern. There is a very fine line between deliberately misleading a court using half truths and insinuations and telling outright lies. I have no doubt that when it comes to half truths and insinuations, Shell’s army of lawyers can defeat almost any honest adversary.
I londonlad heads the BS department
What a despicable mess they walked Michael Crothers into you have to say its not the way he works or lets hope not Shells got a lot to answer for they didn’t think a little hick company would fight back fair play OSSL
LondonLad: I have a piece of advice for you: Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day. Cheers.
Read the piece about RDS’s ‘business principle’. It is all a fraud. Pure PR crap.
Londonlad u can spin a story anyway u want if there money to be made u just have to be manipulative enough.
Great article in the Times newspaper today, page 25 (15th August) – “Let’s shatter these five myths about frackingâ€. Pity most of the yobs and anarchists can’t read let alone understand scientific facts.
Honesty integrity respect for people , not on Shell Corrib different values were required there to get the job done OSSL expendable Voser failed to act as promised if he fails you what chance the rest acting with integrity
Templeofcorruption, i was goin to ask the same question!
londonlad news for u the IRA are as corrupt as the next organisation so why don t u join up! Poor u ,u sound like u ve givin up!
London lad .!! What uour job description at Shell ??
LondonLad: So you would have Ireland descend to the level of a third world country where graft is the norm? Is that really your idea of progress? I have no idea how the OSSL mess was created, and perhaps there was really nothing intended beyond a gesture of thanks to the Garda at Christmas. Unfortunately it has now become a major embarrassment for all concerned.
“Eileen†it’s not a disgrace that there is no coverage in Ireland – this is only a story for those who don’t want Ireland to develop but would rather they continue to live in the dark ages. Trust me the rest of the UK (and most likely the world apart from the IRA loving Kennedy’s) doesn’t give a hoot about this low life story. I am absolutely sure that now the football & rugby seasons are about to start the story over Corrib and all the stupid hype whipped up by sites such as this (and the left wing Guardian) will drop off the news in Ireland even more. RIP all you stone age unwashed. By the way what has happened to the attacks on Shell / BP / etc. etc. over the petroleum products price fixing – just another over simplistic story generated by the likes of the suing culture Yanks no doubt. Oh I do like summer time when the stories generated by the “media†are often total bull-shit as there is nothing else to moan about.
Re earlier comment about lack of coverage in irish media, couldn t agree more. Its a disgrace.
Remember that former RDS employee whose ‘classified’ IP RDS targeted ?? Rumor has that NASA (Langley Research Center) has invited him to become one of their science/engineering advisors. NASA has apparently asked him to help them formulate a very long term research program. When is the last time that happened to a former RDS employee. There is life after RDS.
To LondonLad: You need to check your spelling, Old Top. Cheers.
It matters Danyell of course it does. Maybe you were being ironic but without the rule of law we have anarchy. I have no idea whether the accusations are true but they have been made and there are questions to answer.
What is it with the Irish and booze ????
Can OSSL post a copy of the PO and contract scope of work tied to the PO? I see a number is posted in the invoice (4510249377).
Does it really matter? bribes, backhanders, bungs call it whatever you want but they have existed since time began and will continue forever. Rightly or wrongly it is common business practice and like the ancient Spartans the crime was not the offence itself but being caught out.
Well said “Relieved†you clearly still have Di O’rea in the brain. Coming from a Yank that is extremely rich!! You guys across the pond, particularly the likes of the Kennedy’s who attempted to sponsor the murdering IRA, try looking at the severe corruption in the US.
On a more serious note, that is the first piece of silverware for this season that the boys have won.
To those who think the Irish should be grateful for RD Shell’s presence, I would remind them that they have options when it comes to dealing with oil companies, i.e., Exxon, Chevron, Statoil, Total, etc., etc., etc. The Irish don’t have to put up with Shell’s corrupting influence if they don’t want to. They need to get rid of their corrupted gov’t officials first, however.
What I still find so disgraceful after all this time is the absence of media coverage about the illegal/ dodgy/ underhand methods employed by state, state agencies and Shell. Nowhere on television in Ireland where it matters /high profile such as Late late Show or Prime time has there been consistent coverage. The majority of the Irish population just carries on as though this struggle in Co Mayo is not happening .
I am reminded if course that for years girls and young women were disposed of in the Magdalen Laundries (sweatshops) or shipped to England to have their illegitimate babies. Not to mention thd organised and widespread clerical abuse in every diocese here. We Irish seem to be blessed with turning a blind eye to injustice at home when money is involved. One only has to remember the Galway FF tent !!
As someone who lost her job as a result of making my opinion heard; daring to peacefully protest; writing to the press and so forth I am not surprised that free booze, DIY were given to community . Again the church has/is complicit on this. Take a bow Fr. Kevin Hegarty.
To all of you – us- who struggle for justice in a very unjust world Hope, Hope and Hope that one day we shall overcome. Xxx
The Oirish should be glad that Shell finally brings some energy into this country – literally and figuratively.
LondonLad: I suspect your attitudes pertaining to Ireland and the Irish would have been seconded by Cromwell. Remember your history. I am most certain the Irish do.
Hi London Lad ,your inability to understand surprises no one keep taking the tablets cheers .
Shell to Sea offers sincere condolences to you John and to your family on the death of your good father, Alfred RIP. Both you and he have given inestimable support to our campaign and it is heartening to see such support continue even at this time. The current sorry saga of Royal Dutch Shell v OSSL has similarities with your own experience – inept ‘leadership’ within Shell is incapable of recognising decent business practice and continues to subvert in that area as Royal Dutch Shell plc has subverted state governance for decades.
Alfred Donovan lived and died with his integrity intact.
Suaimhneas sÃorraà dá anam (Eternal rest to his soul).
Can some one explain Shells ..Garda ..decent people of Erris ..KPMG ..stonewall silence is there something bigger we have not to know about ?
Jeeeeez thank God there is life outside of the insignificant and small island called Ireland. What a load of whingers and moaners who are hell bent on stopping progress. As for the alcohol angle – that is rich coming from the country who get pissed regularly on Guinness and export it for considerable profit. Having attempted, on several occasions, to understand the comments from “George Hamilton†and “Corrib Watcher†they clearly have been on the sauce (Guinness) prior to making their postings. I genuinely cannot understand what these Mick’s are trying to tell the outside world.
Three things the leading players can’t break the truth on 1 Garda SHELL demand for lies 2 Garda Shell denial of alcohol supplies 3 Shell Local Homeowners deny covert home improvements ….if Shell clearly prove “not us that would be corrupt “then the OSSL people would be before a judge by now in the meantime deny them a living is the best Shell can do ..shame on the guards shame on the householders …come clean BIG OIL and repair the damage
Pullatomish Pier on u tube a good watch no Shell man there because they had no permission to be there but they didn’t tell OSSL boy that they knew there would holy murder up there just a Shell tactic
Your lead story ,a few questions where is NOLAN where is CRONIN where is ROONEY and the big question where is GANNON some one please come forward with the answers
So sorry about the Passing of your dad John, On behalf of my family and l, Please accept our Condolences. Alfred Donovan was an inspirational in his battle against the dirty Oil Company $hell. He always stand for what he believed that is right by fighting for the Oppressed.I strongly believed that GOD has placed him in a special place and his kind, gentle, perfect soul will continue resting in the Bosom of the LORD. Alfred died an Hero, and will always be remembered for his good work. may God grant the entire family strength to bear the loss
Glad to see that those Nimby’s who want us to be subservient to the Arabs and live in caves are objecting to fracking in the UK. Why don’t they just wait for a few months until fracking has started in their area then submit fictitious claims for structural damage as the Americans have done?
Nice words from sad to hear Alfred Donovan was the giant from where I’m sitting i do think someone in Shell will step forward and offer corporate condolences lets hope so
so sorry to hear about the passing of Alfred Donovan. my condolences to John and the rest of the famly. Alfred was inspirational in his relentless battle against Shell – he proved that the “little guy” can speak out, even against oil giants. He was a relentless whistle blower. again, so sorry to hear that he’s now gone.
Well said, Paddy Briggs.
I am very sorry to hear of the passing of Alfred Donovan and pass my condolences to John and the family. I guess the best any of us can hope for in life is that we made a difference. Mr Donovan did and that is to celebrate.
The age of the whilstle-blower and the activist is with us today and those who try to reveal the hidden truths are being villified by establishments big and small. It takes courage to stand up to the big battallions. I know Shell past and present well enough to know that it is not as bad as this website might sometimes suggest it is – but not as good as the Shell PR machine would have us believe either. It is only by digging resolutely for the truth that we will know on any one issue where along the spectrum form Villian to Hero the truth resides! Then, when the facts are known, we can make our own judgments. The Donovans have been diggers for truth and I commend them for it even if I dont agree with all of their conclusions !
RIP Alfred Donovan.
Well it’s taken something special for me to “revisit” this site after such a long time, but, I sincerely give the Donovan family all my sympathies on the loss of Alfred Donovan. A good innings and no doubt an honest and true man, despite my angst against some of the articles written and defended on this website.
Alfred Donovan RIP Shell didn’t know what they were doing when they picked a fight with that man. Rest in peace you were a good man indeed.
John, as a regular reader of your website my sincerest condolences with the loss of your father.
Hans
Although I don’t agree with most of the negativity expressed here, I want to express my sincere condolences for the passing away of your father, John.
Halliburton may have destroyed evidence pertaining to the testing and completion of that well, but it was BP’s well design and drilling program that was the real culprit. BP tried to save a well bore that had been trashed by a shoddy drilling program. That well was never intended to be put on production. It was a ‘throw away’ well bore because, as with most exploration wells, BP really didn’t expect to find a commercial oil accumulation.
Would it be best if Senior Corrib man Brian Foley had a little bit of recall before the people of Mayo demand clarity on this crushing of a local company because of an inconvenient truth time to come clean Mr Foley .
What’s $1+ billion and money laundering allegations when almost a USD $$$ trillion is at stake. That is real money and warrants the liberal greasing of corrupt hands.
Along with the imprisonment threat if OSSL spoke out ,at an earlier stage in this debacle OSSL were informed by a Shell senior Corrb manager that if we approached Shell higher up the ladder that he would see to it that we would never work in the oil and gas industry again we asked Michael Crothers to to explain this extremely harsh ban on future employment for doing Shells bidding and assisting in all Shells requests ,his reply as always is silence .
A top Shell executive called Frances Van dam flew from Den Hagg to meet the smallest company that Shell had ever delt with she wanted the meeting to take place outside of Ireland so two members of the small company met her in London all her questions were answered honestly and and any information she requested was give freely we OSSL had acted she said with propriety and had been selected as the Go to company when special requests were required by Shell we put forward the name of Brian Foley Senior Shell Corrib man as the person who would confirm all we had to say .five months later we OSSL were requested to travel back to London to meet with Shell CEO the outcome of the second meeting was that would seek an outside opinion on the matters in dispute and OSSL should also obtain an opinion , both opinions were to be shared openly at a subsequent meeting from these opinions a solution would be found and the matter closed. However when the opinion sharing meeting took place Shell refused to put their independent opinion on the table .
The following day their independent opinion giver was sent to the offices of Ossls independent opinion giver to inform him that if his client revelied any of the information freely given then a prison sentence would be the likely outcome because of the nature of Shells demands on OSSL , that threat has never been withdrawn by Shell dispite many requests from OSSL ….
John , remember “beware of a man in a Shell Hat” a story on the Shell senior contracts manager for Corrib Brian Foley is the man the Voser appointee is relying on for the truth to aired on the OSSL claims. He is also the man who ordered the favours, furthermore he is a friend of the Voser appointee …what chance the truth coming out – there a fox in the hen house kidding on he’s a chicken – the cover up continues: its also remarkable that he’s still in that job .
Shell Canada is in talks with LOBLAWS supermarkets to sell its gas stations
John read all you have printed about OSSL just like to add ,can you imagine the great sense of excitement at OSSL when Shell asked us to assist them in certain tricky matters to smooth the passage of their Corrib project to assist in the manner we did was they informed us was the ticket to fifteen years ongoing business for a world class client …can you imagine the horror when we discovered that we were only to be used then trashed for fear that our confidential moves made on their behalf would be uncovered to reveal what they now call corruption ..they didn’t call it that when they were making daily requests for favours we were tricked by supposed men of integrity then we took our plight to higher level even at the risk of imprisonment as threatened by Shell but that higher level fell for the crap being spouted by the irish Shell team and failed OSSL again #saddaywhenwesaidgladtohelpyou
The very top people at Shell Corrib Project authorised the home improvements for nearby locals and booze for the Garda wrong people sacked to ensure cover up but that didn’t work thundering disgrace and Voser knows it now a man is in mortal danger his price for helping bring gas ashore and doing Shells biding big disgrace but no surprises life is cheap as far as Shells concerned .
Half an hour ago at the Corrib site I asked a Shell person about the hunger striker ,yes we know about it we have a sweepstake on how many days nice people
Reports from Shells Corrib development in Mayo that local vendor is on a hunger strike demanding intervention from Shell regarding on going cover up of very serious matters including demands by Shell to mislead the police ombudsman or be dismissed from project .
I am not surprised that RDS chose the man it did for its new CEO. RDS is heavily committed to gas and gas to liquids conversion because it is so profitable. They need someone running the shop who understands what he is doing (at least in theory).
How much of the drop in Shell’s share price is related to exposure to potential claims if the EU suspicions are confirmed?
Presumably the fall in share price is the start of the discounting for the accession of Simon Henry to the throne? RDS share price has been stagnant for some time now so we must be due for a(nother) re-org !!
In June, Shell appointed as one if its Vice Presidents, Mike Muller, the person at the centre of the Brent price issue. How is it possible that the senior management did not see this? I’m sure the EU would be very interested in understanding this appointment.
It may be that BP is being taken advantage of in the post blowout legal environment, but I cannot say that this is unexpected. BP is its own worst enemy. If people are submitting fraudulent claims then BP should fight those claims. It would not be good PR, but their are being played for patsies right now. BP should take a page from Chevron’s playbook. Pay the legitimate claims and fight the fraud.
I am reacting to the article on BP’s difficulties in court in the litigious US environment. BP has a case to answer; no-one disputes that. However the feeding frenzy is a disgrace and another demonstration of “one rule in the US and another for the rest of the world.” In a few days (July 6th) our business will mark the 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea. It is worth while remembering that the operating deficiencies of Occidental, a US oil company, resulted in the deaths of 167 men. In addition, the survivors have been scarred (physically and mentally) for life and the families have done their collective best to get on with their lives without resorting to armies of lawyers. In contrast, 11 men died in the Deep Water Horizon episode. That is certainly 11 too many but not the same scale of human disaster as was Piper Alpha. The sums being talked about as “justified compensation” for the deaths, environmental damage, loss of earnings beggar belief and could eventually destroy the company. In addition, a number of BP employees could end up with lengthy custodial prison sentences. In contrast the “damage” suffered by Occidental was derisory being £110 million paid to the survivors (considerably less than £1 million per man) and not a single Occidental employee or company official was prosecuted in a court of law. To add insult to injury. Occidental’s lawyers spent considerable time and effort following the payments trying to recover the money from contractors on Piper Alpha, pursuant to indemnity
obligations in contracts, which were common in the North Sea at the time of the disaster.
Perhaps John would consider removing the BP related articles and the associated sickening comments from the US free loaders as a mark of respect to the Piper Alpha victims and their families. In the meantime I recommend all those who follow this site make a point of watching the newly released film concerning Piper Alpha “The Night The Sea Caught Fire: Remembering Piper Alpha”.
Does the presence of Simon Henry at the Bilderberg meeting with Voser and Ollila provide a clue to Voser’s successor?
Speaking of defamation, I bet RDS defamed that fellow whom they tried to get possession of his ‘classified’ IP. I bet they made up all kinds of unkind remarks and spread them around. Any Bets ??
So, RDS, et al, conspired to boost the price of oil. Let’s say they managed a $10/bbl increase. At 20 million bbls/day that means the US economy took a $36+ billion hit per year. Over 10 years that is real money. RDS is in deep trouble. In fact, they conspired (albeit indirectly) to defraud the US government. I think someone will go to prison for this.
Relieved: Apart from the regulatory vultures, I presume there is scope for class action suits. This could potentially be on a similar scale to the reserves litigation
Looks like the regulatory vultures smell blood and are beginning to circle.
The so-called energy company of the year award granted $hell by Platts is a complete mockery! This action is shame and sham of what any the lowest level competence and excellence, best practice and corporate social responsibility stands for. The Platts is a total joke, thus demonstrates gross negligence or like $hell, is derelict of the duties it claims to provide to the public. If a company which deliberately overstate its oil reserves and paid huge fines to avert prosecutions, illegally fixes prices, lies to the highest degree, and is corrupt and bribes and kills (poisons the environment and people) to make profit can win any reasonable groups’ award. Then the world is going nuts. I however know that great people and groups still exist that know groups such as $hell, thus will not grant this Platts’ prevaricated award or mistake.
I understand that the EU and the US Justice Department are also rather curious about the relationship between Shell and Platt’s – something about price fixing?
As Ogoni and someone conversant with Nigerian politics, the corrupt system and how $hell has infested the country with greed, violence, bribery and corruption, killing squads and other kinds of bad and illegal behaviors, including disrespecting the host communities of oil companies. I understand the name of the so-called oil theft game and everyday pollution caused by #hell’s recklessness since 1958 to date. Maybe Londonlad and his likes will read the developing story about an arrested $hell contractor connected with the recent oil theft that led to the shutting down of the trans-Niger pipeline, which he referenced. This isn’t the first time $hell contractors and government officials, the military protecting $hell and pipelines are caught stealing Ogoni oil and from other facilities in Niger delta. $hell recruits and pays people to steal this oil it’s stopped from officially extracting since 1993. Once this lead to fire and leaks it’s $hell that will first go to the press claiming sabotage. What a shame and what a company; sadly the world keeps watching on as this criminal company mature in oil theft, lies, bribery, corruption and killing!
Oil theft dates back to the 1960’s in the Niger Delta, it has escalated rapidly since the 1990’s . Since the 1980’s the greatest cause of pollution (volume wise) is that of theft (i.e. explosions, spillages etc.) caused by Nigerians themselves (just check the internet rather than sticking your head “where the sun don’t shineâ€). The so called Delta “Chiefs†profit from sale of the stolen hydrocarbons and from compensation for the pollution THEY have created. Why even today this tabloid website states yet another example of theft causing an explosion, fire and pollution in the Niger Delta. Perhaps your defence of such activities (particularly via using the smoke screen of Shell) could have some hidden reason?
LondonLad: Your proposed scenario is not realistic. You live in the UK where the rule of law exists, and where the legal system has not been corrupted (at least not to a great degree) by the oil industry. The oil industry does not ‘own’ the British government like it ‘owns’ the Nigerian government. You are comparing apples and oranges, and it doesn’t work well.
Hahahahaha, London or Lagos man, those involved in such so-called sabotage are Western business men and women-some may be sponsored by $hell. It’s on record though, that most sabotage are done by government and $hell officials. The security task-force saddled with the responsibility of monitoring these pipes and $hell recruits for oil theft are those doing this act and Western (including UK) business people buy the stolen oil. The real point though, like I said before in a quizzical form and you couldn’t answer is: when did the so-called sabotage tied to militants and others of the host communities began? $hell has been spilling oil in Ogoni/Niger delta recklessly since 1958 to date. You do the math. Also, are there armed forces men and women guarding oil pipes in UK? The answer may be no. Why in Nigeria? $hell, which is your precursor can tell you why. But first, it’s its greed and determination to poison the host communities.
I wonder what would happen in the UK if I blew up the oil pipeline, that runs close by my house, which then caused oil to pollute my garden. Do you reckon I could get millions of pounds compensation via the UK (or even US) courts? Perhaps I should get some of these Ogoni’s that regularly try this to help me. How much dash would they need Ben “if that’s your real name†Ikari?
$hell’s dubiousness in spill reporting isn’t new. It happened that the world didn’t listen due corporate influence and benefit from cheap Ogoni/Niger delta oil. Ogonis have exposed the crook known as $hell long ago-that’s why the company killed Ken Saro-Wiwa thinking he’s the only issue left. $hell Oil is a scam and should be banished if those operating it feels they’ve been bashed so much considering how reckless, corrupt and deadly they are. If the company’s management can’t show respect and decency for people and the environment as evidence seems to show across the board that they don’t. Then the rogue company should cease to operate or exist. How can any good thinking society condone such octopus, anaconda and bloodsucking cult known as $hell?
Going by the story titled: “How Shell is trying to send a chill through activist groups throughout the country” and posted to this link. Those who know the crooked and deadly company are aware of the fact this company feels it’s good at-intimidating and silencing people. The one group it can’t silence no matter the circumstances, and it knows that, is the Ogoni people. Well, I do hope this case mentioned by the referenced story will turn against the company. This way our free speech and rights to protest and petition as guaranteed by the First Amendment can be protected. If to the contrary, America is doomed as a corporate cow, after it fell for corporate influence in Citizens United Vs. FEC, and Kiobel vs Shell (among others), which were both ruled in corporate favor by a reportedly business friendly Supreme Court, which seems to not care about people and their rights, but corporate dominance.
Oh if you guys really knew the story behind OPL245 and the Malabu / Etete angle!!
LondonLad: Just for grins I googled ‘LondonLad. Hmmm. It is none of my business, but you might want to change your call sign, buddy. Cheers.
LondonLad: Where or where have you been ??? We have missed you and your cheerful disposition. Welcome back !!
“Someone once said (and I wish I could remember who)†– I thought it must be you Relieved as you seem to like the sound of your own voice!!! Oh, and if RDS didn’t write down their code of ethics you would be griping about them not doing this.
We all know RDS owns Jiffy Lube in the US. Rumor has it that the engine oil sold at Jiffy Lube is not newly refined motor but recycled motor oil. Can any one confirm this ??? If so, I wonder if RDS (Jiffy Lube) is letting its customers know they are getting second hand oil. My guess is that everyone thinks they are buying newly refined motor oil. What ever happened to truth in advertising ?? Sounds like RDS may be engaged in deceptive trade practices. Would anyone be surprised ??? Here is an web advert link by Jiffy Lube about used motor oil : Jiffy Lube® A Second Life for Your Used Motor Oil
Someone once said (and I wish I could remember who): ‘If you have to write down your code of ethics you have already lost the battle.’ That is clearly the case with RDS.
RDS management has a serious problem with hubris, but that is common amongst the management of large corporations. However, the lesson of some recent, and now infamous, corporate exec’s stuffed with their own self-importance(e.g., those of Enron Corp., etc.) can be found in the line by Socrates – “Those whom the gods would destroy they first make proud.”
Relieved: I know and you are completely correct. But our politically correct pointy haired bosses had lost all rationality in the transformation process. I fear this happens in most big processes.
To Old EP Hand: I consulted for Enron on that India project and those damned fools negotiated themselves into bankruptcy on that deal. To break even on their power plant project Enron needed 10 cents a kilowatt hour for their power. In India ??? There was no way the government was going to allow Enron to charge those rates for power. Enron got taken to the cleaners by what they considered 3rd world fools.
In 1969, Unocal caused a blowout in the Santa Barbara Channel which led to industrywide restrictions on the areas open for offshore drilling. Many of these restrictions are still in force today. Shell may have achieved the same result in the Arctic.
Hi there, I read your new stuff like every week. Your humoristic style is witty, keep it up!
Hi John:
Stumbled on your website just now – just recently an event took place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Me and a couple friends protested on the last day of the event, and here’s some stuff i wrote on the event. Thought it may interest you.
As the concentration of carbon dioxide has reached a record high level in the atmosphere, Shell is currently busy with one of the dirtiest type of corporate propaganda – promoting itself as sustainable and concerned about the environment by spending an extreme amount of money to distort the minds of Dutch elementary and highschool students and sending them a message that couldn’t be much farther away from the reality that we face today.
The public relations conducted by Shell demonstrates the extensive instrumentalization of human psychology specialized to alter the young minds and hearts to effectively mould their perceptions of the world, corrupt their values and infiltrate the language. Shell’s intention is clear: to align the mentality of these students with the corporate ideological line of multinationals like Shell which are exploitative and oppressive (think of what happened in Nigeria, Iraq), overshadowing the unethical implications of their global operations, keeping their perspectives narrow and teaching them to accept this as normal. The event involves a fanfare that has the appearance of Disneyland’s themepark with the look and feel of MTV’s sweet sixteen-birthday extravaganza.
The facts are obvious, even the International Energy Agency recently stated that most of the oil must stay in the ground if we want to avoid catastrophic climate change. There’s a very simple way for Shell to show that it cares about the environment – stop taking part in the problem!
Shell’s track record, scratch that – criminal record, shows that it has no intention of changing its course – its actions are inhuman, savage and needs resistance.
All the best,
Danny
To LondonLad: Chill out, buddy. We all get to have our say on this blog so long as we don’t get too carried away.
Well “Outsider†your just like the Donovan’s with the little add-ons!! All I stated was that trying to reduce the tax bill by RDS was, for the share holder, the correct thing to do. Your add-on about costs, the running aground etc. were NOT condoned in my commentary. All I was addressing was the taxation aspect.
Londonlad: RDS’ actions in Alaska would appear to show a complete disregard for safety and responsible management, especially with the benefit of hindsight. Although nobody was killed or injured, this was only through shear luck. Either the risks were badly assessed or risk management was completely lacking. $90 million in costs to date, and public ridicule are far too high a price to pay for trying to save $6 million in taxes. The $5 billion invested in the Arctic to date has also been jeopardised, if not lost. If this is what you expect as a shareholder, I suspect that you are probably alone in viewing the events in such a charitable light.
So what if Shell (or any other oil company) moved an oil rig for the purposes of reducing tax payments? Is that really that big a deal in the grander scheme of things? I would expect that 99% of the readers / contributors to this website make sure that they minimize their tax payments (if not then they are rather stupid). As an RDS share holder I believe their actions are absolutely correct. However, running aground was not really advantageous and only allowed tabloid websites such as this to pontificate.
Posted by Relieved
on May 29th, 2013 at 14:32:
I have heard of ‘slime in the ice machine !!!’, an infraction for which public eating establishments are often cited for by health officials, but ‘slime in the fuel tank ??? This is a first. Slime is a bacterial and algal growth. So, how long does it take to grow ‘slime’ in diesel fuel ?? Or maybe a water tank was used to store diesel and it picked up the slime there. Someone sold those folks bad stuff. Really bad stuff.
Posted by uscitizen on May 29th, 2013 at 14:26:
And this is the guye who waxes on about principles. I will testify to the highest authorities that I have never posted under any handle but uscitizen. Tell me John, it is real easy to check IP addresses, how did you validate that I post under different handles. Simple you did not. The bottom line is that you LIED. You are an unethical person. And you insulted 95% of your posters who post with a handle and not their name, DUH! You have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt all that I have accused you of, lying to make your case. You are shameful. And the best part is that when you read this, YOU will know that you have been caught. VALIDATION, great stuff. Lets see how you try to spin and lie about this. Tell folks how you validated that shellwatcher and uscitizen are the same poster, YOU cant!! And you accuse folks of integrity problems??
JOHN DONOVAN: “Shellwatcher†is but one of many aliases used by this person, who most often posts under the alias “uscitizenâ€. The use of multiple aliases is meant to deceive us and other visitors. He does not have enough courage to make postings under his real name and is totally lacking in scruples and integrity. He should use the alias “trollâ€. A thoroughly unpleasant devious individual.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: us citizen, you are partly right. I have not lied, but I was entirely mistaken in accusing you of using multiple aliases to post comments. Someone else did so, including using the alias usacitizen, that I wrongly thought was you. Consequently you are entitled to and have my unreserved apology, whoever you are. As far as I can see you have always used the same IP address for all of your postings (stretching back to at least 2011).
John, you are a God sent to the Oppressed people, and your great reward is in heaven. Please keep up the good Job. I am strongly convinced by now that $HELL and BP OIL are partners in Crime after reading through the Amicus Brief they filled in support of SHELL in The case:KIOBEL V SHELL in UNITED STATE SUPRME COURT. KUDOS! Please keep up the good Job!
Great to see Sean Churchfield being open and transparent about the mess in Alaska. It’s a pity it will probably not score him any points…
Howdy! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a outstanding job!
I just read the MP’s demand from Google to take websites that spread lies and hate from the Internet. I presume this will mean the end of this site. REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: “Shellwatcher” is but one of many aliases used by this person, who most often posts under the alias “uscitizen”. The use of multiple aliases is meant to deceive us and other visitors. He does not have enough courage to make postings under his real name and is totally lacking in scruples and integrity. He should use the alias “troll”. A thoroughly unpleasant devious individual.
Interested parties to this site should review how Shell is participating in the RINS market each day. They are actively hedging buying and selling with the intent to take profits. This is driving the costs of RINS up and ultimately the cost of gasoline and diesel up. This is right in line with the price fixing allegations currently underway. All you have to do is analyze the buying and selling patterns to see the real Shell.
John: Just for grins you might want to post a link to Shell’s business principles. We need to be reminded what an ethical company RDS really is. This latest portrayal by petty government bureaucrats looking to make a name and career for themselves, at RDS expense, and shameless media outlets pursuing mega- advert $$$ is simply scandalous !!! Scandalous, I say !!! Something must be done to shut this nefarious and slanderous behavior down !!!
With the EU raids and discovery for the US legal action, there could be a lot of dirty linen finding its way into the public domain over the next few months
The market for refined petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel fuel, is now an international market. The US exports a great deal of diesel and gasoline to Europe. As a result I fully expect this investigation over market manipulation to expand to the US because the exportation of excessive amounts of refined product, or the apparent exportation of excessive amounts of refined product, can cause price hikes here in the States.
Hmmmm. BP,and Shell are partners in Crime. I now imagine why BP filled Amicus Brief in support of Shell in Kiobel v Shell at Supreme court in America
USCitizen: So glad you are back. Things were getting to be a bit boring and one-sided with only LondonLad to hold down the fort for RDS.
Relieved: Neither Watts, nor vd Veer nor Voser had the good fortune to spend a few years in Cambridge with Lord Madingley of Boots and Coots fame. I think Moody Stuart might have done…
I have not absconded John, just do not have time to waste or breath to waste on folks with a clear biased agenda. Folks who take any data and use it to build their already determined conlcusion. Later – much too busy trying to get my retirement paid for by contractors taking me to lunch twice a year, man these perks are awesome!! Again – get a life.
Maybe we ought to start calling RDS and BP management the ‘Cambridge Boys Club’ or perhaps the ‘Cambridge Mafia’. No ?? Just a thought. Anybody else have any ideas, aside from the usual obscenities.
It seems reasonable to speculate that if the CEO’s of these companies reached a deal on oil prices, then the executive committees of both companies were also involved. Members of their boards of directors may also have been involved. Given that RDS had executives from the US on the exec. committee and on the board I would guess those individuals (retired or not) are also subjects of a wider criminal investigation. Involvement of the US DOJ therefore seems to be inevitable. And who knows, maybe we shall get to the bottom of these ‘damnable and viscous lies and rumors’ about price fixing. Afterall, RDS management is governed by well established corporate ‘business principles’ and would never stoop to such conduct. Dream on, my children, dream on. Don’t you just love the arrogance of power.
LondonLad: While it is true that oil is traded as a commodity on various markets it is also true that the oil companies have been heavy speculators in those markets. That fact has been know for a long time.
The biggest oil price fixers in the UK in order of “fixing” are:
1. UK Government (at a healthy 60%) – FACT
2. New York and London Stock Market traders (non-oil company traders) – FACT
3. Companies that buy up cargo loads of oil and store it offshore for the price to rise then sell at vast profits – FACT
4. Shell, BP, Statoil et. al. – ALLEDGEDLY
Lets face it, as with the LIBOR scandal, it takes more than one or two companies to fix the price of a product.
LondonLad: Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to recall RDS having the same problem over price fixing in the Phillipines.
In the States this alleged price fixing activity could be prosecuted under Federal conspiracy and Racketeering statutes (i.e., engaging in organized crime), among others. People would/could go to jail for a very, very long time if convicted of such activity.
Interesting to see on the ITV website that they state : “The price of petrol at UK pumps has increased significantly since 2004, but the majority of that is down to tax.” Most people should be aware the biggest thieves with regard to oil price “fixing” are the UK Government – 60% tax at the pump AND that does not include the tax at the wellhead of the North Sea. Cameron et al are hiding nicely behind this tabloid story. REPLY BY JOHN: Musaint, you are bunching ITN, BBC News, Channel4News, Sky News, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, The Telegraph, The Guardian, USA Today, The New York Times etc all under the your “tabloid” banner. Seems rather unfair to me. You are right about UK governments, past and present.
Well here we go again!! Oil price fixing and all the little add-ons and innuendos again by the Donovans. Strongly recommend that it’s best to read some of the UK newspapers for a more sensible write up and debate on the oil price fixing. Biggest price fixers? – the London and NY (non-oil company) traders. Why do you have to interweave so many aspects on Shell that you’ve been discussing over the last month or so, most of which are conjecture or alleged? “Royal Dutch Shell was built on price fixing” – bit of a sweeping and unfounded statement I would say. Well “Relieved” I thought you knew all there is to know about Shell as your ingrained negativeness must be based on knowledge of the company, i.e. its Business Principles. Clearly not. REPLY BY JOHN: Hello Musaint, I can recommend some reading material to you so you know the facts. Start off with A HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL, volumes 1, 2 & 3. This vast work was written by eminent historians paid by Shell. When you have read it all, as I have, let me know and I will direct you to further credible, verifiable, reference source information providing more proof confirming what I have stated. The whole evil enterprise was built on price-fixing.
Could some current senior manager from RDS tell us what the company’s business principles (really) are ???
In the same way that LIBOR is used to set interest rates around the world, the price of crude set by Platts is used to determine the value of oil globally. No surprise if oil companies were using similar tactics to their friends in the banking sector.
LondonLad: Given that you agree that RDS management is responsible for their conduct and decisions, then I take it you agree they should be held responsible for what appears to be (according to ‘Washington Observer’) a not so subtle attempt at espionage (under USA law and perhaps the Official State Secrets Act – UK). Correct ?
To LondonLad: Someday you may know my story, but for now it is not appropriate for me to comment. FYI – I did not retire from Shell. I was not so foolish as to hang around that long. Better opportunities beckoned, and there are better opportunities in this world than working for RDS. Believe me, it is a big wide world out there, with lots of better opportunities than working for RDS.
Dear Voser, You have made an impact to Shell. However there are still lots to be done. Put an Asian in the Excom. The old Western business model and management style is outdated. So do Shell a favor before you leave.
Yes “Relieved” one of the objectives of this website is to encourage discussion – and for that I genuinely salute the Donovan’s for inserting comments on the Blog from the likes of myself. Yes I was a good company man for many years – were you? I very much doubt that as the chip on your shoulder from enforced early retirement appears to blinker your thought process. I do love your comment that “RDS management IS responsible for everything it does” – YET AGAIN I ask, did you (YES YOU “RELIEVED”) voice/email/write about your concerns when you were “working” for Shell??
LondonLad – my name IS Maura, what’s yours?!
It think that, in the end, Oxford will find its arrangement with RDS to be a Faustian bargain.
LondonLad: I think that the historical legal precedent that you and RDS are looking with regards to your ‘Donovan Problem’ can be found in the quote: ‘Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest ?’
Oh, yes – RDS management IS responsible for everything it does. If they aren’t, then who is ???
To LondonLad: I do believe one of the objectives of this blog is to encourage discussion about the way RDS does business. From time to time it manages to do just that.
Just for grins – Being the good ‘company man’ that you obviously are, do you wear underwear adorned with little red and yellow Shell logo’s ?? We breathlessly await your reply.
Not quite the same as the major golf event or large office building. In this instance there is no need to smuggle in a huge bomb or hijack a plane. All that is needed is a relatively small explosive device, or a speedboat suicide attack, as per the USS Cole, to ignite a ready-made gigantic potential bomb. All that’s missing from the billion dollar Prelude vessel is a large target painted on each side. As to your self-appointed role on this website, you are as always very welcome, especially as US Citizen has absconded.
There are far too many “add-ons” and innuendos trying to pull Shell into a story (the tabloid approach as I’ve stated on many occasions). A very good example is that of this terrorist story viz offshore facilities. Hey, what about a refinery viz terrorists in the UK or USA; hey what about a large office in the world viz terrorists; hey what about a major golfing event viz terrorists – the list goes on and on. All can be woven into the name of Shell (and other oil companies for that matter). Get my point yet? No probably not as the Donovans and “Relieved” are fixated with trying to sling mud at Shell at every opportunity. By the way “Relieved” you still refuse to answer some of my basic questions, which are simple to answer. As Donovan has stated many times he merely wants to hold Shell to its Business Principles etc. – a very noble cause indeed; all I want to do is make sure these attacks on this website are based on fact NOT innuendos and half-baked stories.
With Cambridge graduates filling three positions on Shell’s executive committee (Andy Brown, Simon Henry, and Peter Rees) how did anyone get approval to set up a research facility with Oxford??
LondonLad: Me thinks you were an ex-Shell manager. Your lack of objectivity (i.e., brain washing) and immaturity give you away. This discussion about potential terrorist activity directed towards RDS’s proposed floating processing plants is
not irrelevant given the concern of RDS’s investors and insurers.
FYI – a 1 tonne charge of high explosive detonated under the keel of such a ship would undoubtedly break its back, causing it to tear apart and sink. That is how modern torpedoes work. Like it or not these ships are going to be very vulnerable targets, and RDS will need to plan and prepare for ‘hostile activity’ directed at them. It is only prudent. RDS should consult with the RN and SAS about such matters.
LondonLad: Fiction? What fiction? You make a blanket condemnation, but provide no examples – not one – of what you are describing as “fiction”.
One last comment about Shell’s proposed designe for a gas processing vessel of ‘vast size and proportions’. That darned thin has one hell of a freeboard and will be extremely difficult to handle in any kind of a wind. In a ‘big blow’ it may be impossible to handle unless it has very powerful engines.
P.S. The King is Dead, Long Live the King 😉
To the Donovans and “Maura” I think you miss the point. No oil company can fully protect any offshore facility for 100% security and safety. This tabloid story merely highlights what I have said about this website on many occasions – yes, many facts quoted BUT far too much fiction for my liking (perhaps not for the anti-Shell brigade though). And, if Shell did have the SAS to protect a facility? Then guess what this website would no doubt blame Shell for an overkill etc. etc. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The Bonga comparison is fact Maura not fiction as you attempt to make out. As for your comments “Relieved” they merely highlight your attempt to blame Shell for everything they do. As stated and asked many times to you : (1) were you given early retirement from Shell ? hence your “problem” with the company; (2) did you complain upwards within Shell with all these negative comments / concerns which you state Shell had when you were working for them? The old “Twaddle Master” seems to have reinvented himself under the guise of “Relieved” – welcome back!
LondonLad: Do you like to dance ??
LondonLad: You complain about me drawing attention to what will be an obvious, but until now, unspoken prime (almost sitting) target for a terrorist attack, but then add to the highlighting of this hugely expensive, gigantic floating LNG facility – a ready-made gigantic bomb, by posting your own inflammatory comment. This in turn has drawn further attention to a sensitive subject and generated yet more comment and more attention. Guess this is going to be another situation like the Arctic, where Shell will have to self-insure because it will be impossible to obtain contingency risk insurance? In conclusion, you are guilty of exactly what you accuse me of doing – drawing attention to a highly vulnerable potential target for terrorist attack. (Surprised you have not mentioned the retirement of Fergie?)
LondonLad – to include ‘The same action was taken by SNEPCO fro their Bonga platform and so far (apart from one incident) it has worked’ in a comment can only be described as either pathetic or hilarious! Ever hear the maxim that some only have to get ‘lucky’ once …
LondonLad: One final comment – Do you remember what a couple of thugs in zodiacs filled with several hundred kilo’s of high explosives did to the USS Cole about 10 years ago ?? As I recall, it cost the USN about $500 million to repair that ship, and they were lucky it didn’t sink. Think about it, buddy. Convince Shell’s investors they have nothing to be concerned about.
LondonLad: My, but you have a nasty attitude towards bearers of unpleasant news. Were you one of those ‘shoot the messenger’ types when you worked for RDS ?? If investors are worried then the issue is something RD Shell management needs to address, not ignored. Investors aren’t experts in the offshore oil business and if they aren’t convinced those facilities are secure investments they won’t back them. So, RD Shell needs to do some convincing and educating. But just between you, me and the fencepost, those big 500,000 tonne proposed ships are going to be inviting targets. Perhaps too inviting. Don’t want to get surprised, do we ?? And we most certainly don’t want to have any industrial accidents either. Remember RDS has the worst industrial safety record of all the majors. I think RDS investors have a right to question policy and ask questions. It is their money, after all, not yours that is at risk.
Don’t know who the idiot trouble-stirrer is who you have given highlight to viz his/her story about terrorists with zodiac boats blowing up offshore activities, but, I think he/she needs to get realistic. No, I doubt very much that RDS design for such terrorist activities – they will however plan with local authorities to help protect their installations (AS OTHER COMPANIES DO). Structural design and security for terrorists are completely different. The same action was taken by SNEPCO for their Bonga platform and so far (apart from one incident) it has worked. If companies designed for terrorist activities then the $/bbl price would be almost unaffordable, even for the subsidized Yanks. As a shareholder I am completely happy with RDS present approach. I think the unnamed contributor needs to understand the offshore business.
For those interested in Shell’s saga with US DoD and DoN you might google ‘DRPM SSP’. These are the folks Shell apparently thinks they can bamboozle. Unfortunately, these people take their mission VERY seriously, they have no sense of humor, they don’t forget or forgive, and they take no prisoners and give no quarter. Shell management would do well to keep that it mind.
Everyone seems to have a comment about Peter Voser’s departure. How about he may just have had it. RD Shell is clearly a difficult company to manage, in large part because of the mediocrity of senior level management. Good old Peter may have simply had enough and decided to hang it up and go do something worthwhile. The cat fight over his successor has already begun and Peter is quickly being forgotten.
I don’t really care who gets the CEO position so long as they give us our offices back and stop reorganizing us. Oh sorry I just woke up!
It’s a pity Voser is leaving. He has made an impact. Suggest Shell put his job in MOR ( managed open resourcing ), So may the best man or women wins.
We salute Voser leaving when high? Wonder who is next? Hope women in Shell lives on.
With Rothermund long gone, and Voser on his way, the only surviving Swiss seems to be Bichsel – and he’s four years older than Voser
Don’t go Peter your Ossls only hope .
For those interested, I would also recommend googling ‘us uk mutual defense agreement.’ It would seem that RD Shell decided to target weapons technologies that are probably shared between the US and the UK. Not the most brilliant idea Shell management has ever had.
For those interested in RD Shell’s taste for US DOD classified technologies I would suggest googling on ‘PEOSUBS’. These are the guys RD Shell has apparently decided (foolishly) to take on and tangle with. RD Shell’s target of interest was apparently, in part, classified acoustics technology. Not a wise decision.
John and Alfred if like many others in Mayo I put my name up front it could lead to problems. Enough said .
I would like to repeat a warning I have made before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs, such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by contributors such as Paddy Briggs, who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using an alias have built up credibility over the years e.g. “Outsider”
If a CHEIF SUPER in the Irish police doesn’t respond to that OSSL email it’s because he can’t break the link between what’s being said and what happened the dogs in the street in Mayo know whats going on but even they won’t bark about it
John ,when that black boot comes down on you that should be it but OSSL have had the balls to speak up there is no integrity whatsoever in the Shell team I applaud OSSL but think they are screwed as Shell required to silence the matter
Mr Donovan. Thanks for exposing the evil company called SHELL PETROLEUM (SPDC) keep up the good work
To DutchDude: You are correct. All that changes are the additives. But that wasn’t necessarily the case 30 years ago.
Hi Relieved, as far as I know all gas comes from the same tank. Go to any fuel loading point and you will see all different branded trucks lining up for the same delivery point. With a bit of luck the additive added to the tank makes the difference. The marketing boys have to do something, but as far as I could/can tell 99.9% of all gasoline is the same.
Oh, and I didn’t know Shell had the poorest safety record of the industry, I thought BP carried that flag. More info welcome. REPLY BY JOHN: You requested more information.
LondonLad: Are you a trout fisherman by chance ?? Rumor has it that Scotland has great brown trout fishing. So does Montana (the USA). If you like to trout fish go to Google Images and search on Montana Brown Trout. You will see what I mean. Cheers.
LondonLad: Glad to have you and your sense of humor back. You have been missed. I guess I will have to come up with some witty reply to your comments, or I might just let them go. Shell loyalists annoy me. While Shell was once a good company, that is no longer the case. Time to wake up buddy.
For someone who moans repeatedly about Shell, and is like a nodding donkey when it comes to agreeing with negative comments about Shell, I am absolutely amazed “Relieved” worked for Shell for so long. Are your present day gripes because you were given early retirement? – I ask this as it would help in understanding your negativity. As I have said before – did YOU complain to management/team leader etc. about your reservations/concerns about Shell’s working practices when you were actually working for Shell? “My buddies told me Shell gasoline had shortcomings” – did you/they raise the issue upwards or was this merely a moan that couldn’t be substantiated?
P.S. I assume that your term “Gas” means “Petrol” for the rest of this planet? 😉
To anonymous Deltaic. No, Shell don’t hide their brand but they do their damnedest to hide the rottenness behind that brand – bribery, corruption and what is widely perceived as their involvement in the judicial hanging of the Ogoni Nine.
When I worked for Shell I NEVER bought Shell gasoline. Never. I had buddies who worked in Shell’s downstream division who clued me in on the shortcomings of Shell gasoline. I still won’t buy Shell gas. I buy Chevron gas whenever possible because Chevron has the in-industry reputation of best quality control and best product. Motor away America, but be careful about what you put in your tank. Come to think of it, you need avoid Jiffy – Lube as well. That is another sterling Shell operation.
Hope Shell’s planned new floating LNG facility is built to better standards than BP’s ThunderHorse. Remember that fiasco ?? However,given Shell’s sterling record of performance on other major projects I wouldn’t count on it, and neither should Shell’s shareholders.
Just love the drawing that heads up the story “Rage against the boring machine”. Person on the left typifies the demonstrator of these times – hoody and with a scarf round the face to conceal their identity. When in the wrong and fearful of being caught …………….. At least Shell doesn’t attempt to hide its brand. COMMENT BY JOHN: In normal circumstances I would agree with what you say. Unfortunately normal circumstances may not apply in Ireland if the police force is not impartial, but instead acts as a militant offshoot of Shell security, as a result of widespread corruption by Shell.
Wonder what sort of nut jobs this Greenpeace “Whistleblower” site is going to attract? Guess we should all accept that the “revelations” will be non-factual and work from that point.
Excuse me, but even Shell admits it has the poorest safety record of all the major oil companies. That is nothing to be proud of.
Shell’s new IT policy regarding cloud enterprise computing could backfire badly. IT will be a prime target for the Chinese. Sad but true fact of life.
To “Outsider” : Shell is NOT an American company so why should the corporate entity (RDS) be liable to US law for its actions in Nigeria? Americans should remember that the US arm of RDS (aka Shell Oil) was bought out in the 90’s by RDS. Shareholder numbers in the US have no legal standing for such cases either. The development team for Bonga was situated in the US merely because of certain (GoM) deepwater skills judged to then be present in the US. It also allowed many Nigerians to be cross posted to the US to gain certain skills.
Faceless identity- terrified “Londonboy or lad,” my rant is lengthy and yours short. All are rants pointing to a court decision with lots of question marks (treating Ogonis different because they’re different?) that may open up more suits. Also, Ben Ikari is different from Londonboy; why then must we write or talk the same way? Do you really hate human diversity like your master or precursor $hell hate Ogoni and its environment; and hating her more because it can no longer return to kill her children and pollute her land, air and water, yet fears more suits will come from Ogoni?
“Londonlad” or is it Londonboy? Well, Lengthy or short is ranting, if you know the meaning. There are different kinds and shapes of writing, so length will differ as I’ve motioned to you previously. More importantly,I’m one person no one, especially Western media can threaten or abridge my rights to free speech and expression. These among others are natural rights no one gave me, thus shall exercise to the fullest-orally and written. Note also that Ben Ikari isn’t a faceless Londonboy or lad. I will not be you or like you; will not change for you or anyone, period! Lastly, you’d have been right about the Kiobel’s decision if the minority justices didn’t place several question marks on the position of the majority conservative justices, which is the entire decision. Other legal luminaries are also asking questions, which points to the fact that Ogonis are treated differently because they’re different and it’s about $hell and other Western corporations. No matter how long $hell and its cronies such as your faceless self will have their day in a court of moral standing.
In Kiobel et al vs Shell, the US has shown that sense at long last prevails. There, I said that in just a few words rather than a lengthy rant aka Ikari.
I find it amazing that Shell uses the reasoning that it has insufficient connections with the US to make it subject to US law. Why was the development team for the Bonga project based in Houston? How much of RDS stock is held by US citizens or funds? How many times has Shell claimed support from the US taxpayer or authorities as an “American” company?
In Kiobel et al v. $hell, the US has shown that oil is thicker than blood, as was also represented in ’95. This was when former Pres. Bill Clinton chose the so-called diplomatic sanctions, yet buying Niger delta oil misnamed Nigeria’s instead of insisting with economic sanctions that Nigeria/Abacha shouldn’t kill the Ogoni Nine. Having said the above, I thank the US Supreme Court for entertaining the Ogoni case. It’s been interesting to see the court open its door to listen to arguments and address the fabric of the case.
The outcome though, shows a betrayal of the original intent of the ATS, international Covenants, proceedings, other US legal precedents, including Sosa, that was set by the Supreme Court. The deal is simple: corporate influence used by mostly conservatives to protect their interests. It’s such influence that made the Pres. Obama government pretend its foreign interest or policy will be in jeopardy should $hell, which is a US company by adoption face trial in America. The same American government claims human rights is a serious component of its foreign policies, and it supports and fights with victims of these rights. Obama also reiterated this human rights policy position in his Oct. 25, 2012 reply to my protest letter of August 31, 2012.
This foreign interest reverberated severally in the court’s decision as a huge premise for corporate protection. The Justices are respectfully entitled to their opinions, but the disagreement on “reasoning” shown by the minority (liberal) justices and written by Breyer exposes the legal inconsistency or selective justice and hypocrisy brought about by such corporate, commerce/so-called conservative influence. Therefore, this decision is a device to protect $hell, USA and other Western corporations and empowering them to further torture and kill. As with the conservative Justices, what the Republican Party is doing in Congress currently as they struggle to protect corporations and the rich points to why this decision isn’t new to me.
In short, though had little hope, I saw the national interest/commerce dimension from the outset and refused to vote for Obama in Nov. 2012, therefore my protest letter cited above. Finally, in the decision, the over all argument that $hell has little presence in New York and being a public trading company on the New York Stock Exchange is inconsequential. No matter how small its presence, $hell is $hell and it’s been doing billions of dollar business in US and with the government (the failed Arctic Mission, for instance) for years. It’s investing in the communities and floating educational and social incentives. It’s also creates jobs for thousands of Americans despite its so-called small presence in New York. Indeed America is benefiting huge from $hell like it also benefited from Ogoni oil and still benefiting from Niger delta oil. The company has huge presence in USA, making it a local company by adoption, even though originally foreign in the books.
In any case, however, Ogonis will have to cheer up for making this bold statement of fact regarding natural, human rights or justice and exposing American hypocrisy on its commitment to internationally protected rights such as rights against torture,other crimes against humanity and genocide, which this case was/is about. There is hope to explore other legal options to seeking justice against $hell, and making oil exploitation in Ogoni harder. Ogonis will not give up despite the fact that the court and US government have approved and protected corporate torture instead of denouncing and providing remedies for victims and punishing the torturer (s) as their books orders.
Well done to the US courts for throwing out the ridiculous attempts by Nigerians to fleece yet another international company, in this case Shell. Why don’t they try Pyongyang next?
To RDS Employee: I am ‘assuming’ nothing. However, from my experience at Shell exploration staff rarely, if ever, indulged in the wholesale G&C production dept. staff loved so much. So, you are correct, not everyone at Shell is tainted.
To Deltaic: I was describing G&C in the US. In fact, it got so bad that one sr. VP of a services vendor had the audacity to complaint to one of Shell’s VP’s that they were getting their fair share of ‘the business’ relative to what they were spending on gratuities, etc. The reaction of the Shell VP was to ‘forbid’ the acceptance of such gratuities by the engineering staff. Not a popular move with the staff, and it only lasted only until the VP retired. Then it was business as usual.
Excellent observation “RDS employee” – I wonder if “Relieved” joined in with all this alleged corruption, bribery and ignoring of Shell’s business principles? Probably did if he knows so much about it – or did he report it to the management or authorities of the country?
RDS man you are correct re integrity however on Corrib I can claim to fill a mini bus of Shell management past and present who are complete strangers to the truth and devoid of any real integrity
Voser is going to act in cleaning up that team watch this space
Relieved, that’s $hell against Ogoni people for you! The crazy and greedy,corrupt and environmentally racist, terroristic company has a standard in Ogoni/Niger delta of Nigeria that is completely different from its Western/American standard. To be fair though, the corrupt, incompetent and deadly Nigerian government, $hell’s partner in crime allows such unhealthy and backward measures. The company may have been is convinced that Ogonis mean business vowing it can’t return to their (our) land. Like you said, the case at the U.S. Supreme Court may also have added to its fear of the seriousness of Ogoni people resisting and exposing her to the world. Ogonis know they can’t trust $hell, and know one should.
Relieved, don’t judge others by your own admitted poor standards. You incorrectly assume that Shell Employees have no integrity yet have no proof apart from your own self admission.
Saw your comments about ‘code of conduct’ etc. Of particular note was the definition of ‘bribery’. when I worked for Shell vendors would trade free season tickets, etc, in return for ‘favorable consideration’ on well drilling, logging, completion, workover, etc. contracts. The vendors were quite successful with this form of G&C (graft and corruption) and Shell’s staff participated in it willingly. It was a petty, back-handed form of bribery, of course. As far as I know, these business practices continue to this day. My point here is that for decades, and on day to day basis, Shell staff have routinely ignored Shell’s vaunted ‘business practices’. And everyone knows about it. This sort of thing goes on at the jr. engineer level to senior management. Shell’s business practices guidelines are a joke.
Is this alledged OSSL invoice genuine or what. Perhaps it’s indeed a fake in order that the likes of anti-Shell folk will eventually look idiots when the truth comes out? That would be such a shame.
Police alcohol . John you will hear no denials because the details you have are exactly correct the garda locally and nationally are disgusted by Shells handling of this matter they feel for the people caught in the middle but can’t afford to speak
So, 20 years after walking away from their oil fields in Oganiland Shell is NOW going to go back in and decommission those facilities ??? Maybe the case before the US Supreme Court has finally gotten their attention. Those folks at Royal Dutch are such a responsible lot.
Any company behaving like that in the US would find itself saddled with hefty criminal sanctions and fines, and senior level management would be facing jail time. In this country (the USA) that kind of conduct is clearly criminal.
JF
JEFF FUNKHAUSEE
The ‘special relationship’ between Putin and the Dutch reminds me of another ‘special relationship’ the Dutch had with a fellow named Hitler. As Yogi Beara once said: ‘This is deja vu all over again.’ Well almost. time will tell.
To Deltaic: Thank you for your vote of confidence, even though it was meant ‘tongue-in-cheek’. FYI, I have spent over 25 years in the industry so I have learned a thing or two, in operations, engineering, and R&D. I would remind you that it was ‘bean counters’ placed in high level executive positions that decided Shell USA should surrender its lease holding on the Alaskan North Slope in the 60’s and early 70’s because ‘there was no way to get the oil to market’. Yep, Shell gave away the Alaskan North Slope to those ‘idiots’ at ARCO, SOHIO, and EXXON, et al. In the end the ‘bean counters’ always make the major strategic blunders because they don’t really have a fundamental understanding of the business and how to mitigate risk. Running an oil company is a card game to these guys. Eventually, they lose big-time.
Do we know what the criteria is for a person to win this Petroleum Executive of the Year? Why wasn’t Relieved given this award – he seems to know so much about Shell and the oil industry?
reading the list of Petroleum Executive of the year reminds me of the list of Nobel Peace prize winners. There are some good people on, the rest is politically correct and/or has paid a lot for the election. Voser is a very poor choice, he does not know petroleum has been involved in screwed up projects and cheating banks. And then I saw a picture of that idiot no-brain Maria van Hoeven, the ultimate token woman on whatever organisation needs token women, and I knew enough….
In reading articles about PV’s failures, TP’s screw-ups and some more local fails by certain individuals, i’ll just say, come-on-karma! The damage done to individual’s lives by the cold-bean-counter-self-serving recklessness of this leadership may only end up being repaid by their own suffering. Perhaps JF may also want to understand the natural laws of causation that is sometimes called karma. No belief in a supreme being is required. COMMENT BY JOHN DONOVAN: I am guessing that “PV” is Peter Voser, “TP” is Tom Purves, not sure “JF”?
Would ‘Bloody Kefuffle’ be an apt (and polite) description of RD Shell’s Alaska program, or am I being redundant ?
You gotta love those business principles of Shell. An example to all corporations aspiring to fame and fortune. Or is that infamy and fortune ???
With regard to those loans Shell made available to its senior level management for legal defense. I presume they were all paid back in full ??? If not, I presume they were declared as ‘income’ and those individuals payed the appropriate level of income tax ??? Does anyone have any insight to how these loans were closed out by Shell ???
Shell anti-Semitic ? Oh, please say it ain’t so !!! Of course Shell is anti-Semitic, but in a low key manner these days. It pays to be anti-Semitic, big time. So that is the way Shell shall do business. Money is money, after all. And Shell is in the business to make money. Given Shell’s well known corporate history does anyone think that Shell is not anti-Semitic ?? Come on, get real.
My comment on tabloid writing refers to your usual “Shell add-on” to any article even remotely linked to Shell. In this case to the article from that well known and read paper “The Epoch Times”. Sorry, but I prefer to believe what I read in journals from the Royal Horticultural Society. REPLY BY JOHN: You are spinning again. This is not an article remotely linked to Shell, but one that directly names Shell. The conclusions are categorical in relation to Shell chemicals.
I did not realize you were such an expert in entomology and beekeeping, etc. A retirement passtime perhaps ?? If so, with all that honey apparently at your disposal one would think you would have a sweeter disposition.
I am sure (at least I hope so) that the article about Shell killing off the bees is tongue in cheek, however, having seen some of the twaddle recently on this site I am not so sure. Would suggest you read the article from the Royal Horticultural Society (somewhat more reliable than tree hugging articles you have published) to give a more balanced summary of the problem.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=528
Indeed if you “spray it directly onto the bees they may be harmed” which together with “incorrect application by farmers” of pesticides will potentially harm bees. Bottom line here is that if the people who use pesticides don’t read the instructions then it is their fault, not the likes of Shell. Reading in depth (for example as mentioned on such “reliable” left wing channels as the BBC, e.g. Bill Turnbull who is an avid beekeeper) THE main problem is the parasitic mite “Varroa”.
Once again tabloid writing on this website helps it to loose a great deal of credibility. (You should have issued this stupid story yesterday on 1st April !!) REPLY BY JOHN: MUSAINT/LondonLad, You seem to forget that the article was published not by a tabloid, but by The Epoch Times, which publishes in 35 countries and in 21 languages. Extract from their mission statement: “The Epoch Times is an independent voice in print and on the web. We report news responsibly and truthfully…” With regards to the other “tree hugging” articles, are you referring to the one about Shell’s toxic contamination in Curacao or killing off workers in Brazil? In the latter case, Shell/BASF have agreed to pay $316 MILLION in compensation to workers exposed over three decades to toxic chemicals. Unfortunately you are making an April fool of yourself. Might be an appropriate time to buzz off and switch to a new unblemished alias, again.
T from L regarding your last comments a trust was broken threats were made a world class company responded like an ally cat OSSL challenged them and should be applauded for their courage in doing so . On a difficult project sometimes moves are made to ease the passage and advance the progress we all in the industry know that however you don’t leave a shitty mess in the corner like this you tidy it .
The invoice is correct as were the previous police alcohol invoices .
To George Hamilton: you confirm exactly what I assumed – the “invoice” is not an invoice but some half-baked attempt of one-sided Minutes of meeting. As you so eloquently say: I am not aware of the details – and I don’t claim to – I am just challenging the authenticity of the “invoice”. In fact, by this OSSl, if the whole booze story is true, admits to being involved in fraud and corruption, which is something any lawyer/legal department for any company would advise against strongly…. And please, don’t start with the “small very honest company loses it’s virginity due to the big bad Shell bear”… If this whole story is true and what is stated on the “invoice” is true, OSSL, if they employ anyone with more 2 brain cells, knowingly agreed to be involved in corruption….
Hello tired from lies .. You have no background to go on I think your nom de plume should be blind to the truth
The invoice is correct Shell have been aware of the debt since they organised the booze for the police in Dec 2007 instructions on alternative wording for the invoice were promised by Shell Senior personnel on the Corrib Project but failed to materialise the last straw for OSSL was to raise an invoice clearly stating exactly what was supplied and how it was supplied READ THE INVOICE ALL PARTIES INVOLVED ARE NAMED . Also in an attempt to sort things out MICHAEL CROTHERS CEO SHELL Ireland informed OSSL he did not know how to Pay for the alcohol .. Then went on to explain that it was OSSLs problem HOW ? The two previous years alcohol was also supplied at Christmas to the police and paid by SHELL in a disguised invoice at their insistence
To Outsider: No. But in order to avoid such an event Shell’s 2nd rate safety record needs to be made public so that everyone knows what kind of ‘Touch F* All’ attitude Shell has not only towards the safety of its staff and contractors, but obviously toward the magnitude of environmental damage they could do if they had a major incident. I think that Shell management thinks they can ‘put in the fix’ politically should their be a major incident by greasing the palms of the appropriate politicians in Washington.
John, you had your own business – have you ever come across an invoice like the one OSSL claims is authentic? I can tell I never have… It’s so obvious a fake that your own credibility and of this site will suffer from it. I understand your long standing quarrel with Shell, but let’s avoid moving into la-la land and making a caricature out of ourselves… REPLY BY JOHN: I made it clear that we do not know if the invoice is authentic. If Shell or the Garda says that the invoice is fake, then we will remove it and publish nothing further about the OSSL/Shell dispute. I can say that the invoice was supplied by our regular contact with OSSL. When this company first contacted us in Sept 2012, we took up the allegations directly with Shell, but Shell did not respond. This was before we published a single word on this matter. The invoice was supplied to us along with a covering email dated 27 March 2013 purportedly sent by OSSL to senior people at Shell (including Peter Voser) and to a senior Garda police officer. In my view the whole situation is bizarre. In normal circumstances the police should step in to investigate, except that they are accused of being a main beneficiary of the alleged corruption. Irish Shell was a regular client of ours. Lovely people to deal with at that time, 30 years ago.
John – The Shell Alumni News is probably intended to be an “in house” publication. However, it is included in the public website for Shell Canada and US. I was made aware of the article by a retiree who received the printed copy of the publication at her home. I went to the Shell Canada and US website and found the article. So – while probably intended to be “in house”, the publication is in the public domain free for all to see.
Told you so OSSL complied with Shells requests then when thought the better of what was going on crushed them like a bit of shit to cover their tracks sound familiar any one ?
Deep poo is also on the cards for Shell Corrib outrage at treatment of small vendor is growing partners Statoil and Vermillon Oil demanding answers on police alcohol claims
Relieved: In Norway, they don’t use rigs that are 40 years old, they have a regulator with teeth, and they have employees who refuse to undertake tasks they consider to be unsafe. The Norwegians learned the hard way after the Alexander Kielland and other incidents. Do we need an event on the scale of the Ocean Ranger/Piper Alpha/Alexander Kielland in the US before somebody wakes up?
In the 1980’s Shell drilled in Alaska, from manmade islands and from drillships and had no unusual difficulties like those that they have experienced this year. So, what gives ?? Are complete incompetents running the management shop ??? Shell USA clearly needs a housecleaning at the top because it is apparent those people have no real idea what they are doing. Shell doesn’t have these kinds of problems in Norway. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned there.
Don’t tell me I always support Shell and their staff/ex-staff/principles/methodologies etc. Seems like an ex-exploration manager of Shell (Nigeria) has been a bit of a naughty boy :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/9949319/Tullow-Oil-apologises-to-Ugandan-government-over-bribery-allegations.html
There is an older drill ship than the Noble Discoverer; the Noble Roger Eason was built in 1963.
Maybe Marvin Odum will next blame those elusive but pesky Arctic winged monkeys for Shell’s problems. Shell afterall is a zero-defect company. What ???
John – The Odum quote is from the March 2013 issue of Shell Alumni News.
The article starts on page 3:
http://s03.static-shell.com/content/dam/shell-new/local/country/usa/downloads/alumni/alumninews-us-march-2013.pdf
How about Petr Sharpe? Isn’t he the one accountable for drilling. Poor David Lawrence, what does he know about drilling.
Maybe this island nation of Curacao can bring a suit in US Federal Court for clean-up costs and other damages under the Alien Tort Statute after we find out how the US Supreme Court rules this spring ??? After all, the pollution at this site was done deliberately an knowingly, and quite maliciously. Shell knew what kind of problem it had on its hands, but the locals didn’t. Shell snookered them.
Aaagh back from almost 3 weeks escape from our lousy cold winter (yes Greenpeace, cold, despite your pontification about these “bad” oil companies) and I find myself agreeing with “Relieved” (well almost). Shell is indeed run by bean counters – has been for the last 20 odd years. The lack of someone like Roel Murris to tell these bean counters to eff off has clearly come back to haunt the explorers of the company. Not sure that I agree with the statement that there is more potential in the America’s oil/gas shales than the Arctic – the Americans appear to be able to screw up the development of both (physically and politically).
P.S. Pity about Dave Lawrence falling on his sword, but, it was always said that he was like Mathius Bichsel but without Bichsel’s sense of humour (which is no advert when comparing to an inbred Swiss).
Shell’s failure were engineering and operational failures, not exploration failures. Shell should be doing major housecleaning in operations and drilling dept.’s. And by the way, the resource that is changing the energy picture of the America’s are the oil and gas shales just now being exploited. There is more potential in those that in the Arctic.
The Shell of the past is history. Now Shell is run by ‘asset managers and bean counters’ who have no fundamental understanding of the business.
I recently read the following comment from Marvin Odum regarding the Alaska fiasco: ” this was a marine transit issue that occurred after completion of our exploration program and well outside our theater of operations”. Give me a break ! This is a classic example of Shell trying to assign blame and responsibility to other parties. It was Shell who decided to use very old and outdated equipment, as well as attempt to move this equipment during horrible weather conditions. Shell has to take full responsibility for its’ operations, regardless of whether it is “drilling”, “marine transport”, etc.
I have finished reading through the US Dept of the Interior Report “Review of Shell’s 2012 Alaska Offshore Oil & Gas Exploration Program” dated March 8, 2013. One observation contained in Section E “Shell’s Operational Oversight and Management Systems” caught my eye.
Quote:Shell’s focus appeared to be on compliance with prescriptive
safety and environmental regulations required for approvals and authorizations, rather than on a holistic approach to managing and monitoring risks identified during operational planning.Unquote
What has happened to the development of the full safety case approach and its subsequent challenge & review which Shell insists is the norm before embarking on such an operation? How often do senior people take it upon themselves to “have a good look” once in a while? Or are we witnessing the inevitable consequence of having a Swiss bean counter in overall charge of the company compounded by Technology, Projects and Safety run by a Swiss “my way or the highway” explorer? Of course it may be that the US arm of EP or “Odum Shell” does things its own way, free at last from the pesky RoyalDutch strictures (re)developed in the 2000s in the pursuit of technical and Operational Excellence.
The company was once a byword for technical and operational proficiency but that was consigned to the dustbin of history by a previous bean counting Chief Executive Cor Herkstroter. Sadly, the question does remain:
“Shell, waar ben jij nu?”
A worker is killed at a Motiva refinery, and then there is the story about Brinded. Ah yes, Shell has an impeccable culture of safety in the workplace that begins at the top and works on down through the system. Ya, Right.
Very surprise that Peter Voser pay and bonus has gone up because of US and China growth. US operation is bleeding with high overhead and low gas price while China Gas is still alot of hot air. Get real man.
Peter Sharpe as Drilling Chief should give back some of his shares and bonus to the Alaskan and Kulluk fund.
I wonder what Marvin Odum and Pete Slaiby made off with. They did such a beautiful job in managing Shell’s Alaskan operations this year. Well done !!! What ????
Voser may make big bucks, but Ken Laye, CEO of Enron, got $30 million a year. There are big time crooks and small time crooks.
Fraud, theft, blackmail, bribery, extortion, blackmail, espionage, and what else. Oh, yes – kidnapping, torture and murder in Nigeria. These are the sort of activities RD Shell engages in when it suits their purpose. I say this in all seriousness because Shell is routinely prosecuted for these types of transgressions.What a great company to work for.
To Washington Oberver: I was simply responding to Relieved’s comment that it was a case of Americans spying on Americans. Shell Oil (the US affiliate) is wholly owned by Royal Dutch Shell plc.
Royal Dutch Shell plc is a British company, headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands. The majority of its employees are non-US citizens
This is for Outsider: What are you implying ??
To Outsider: That point is irrelevant to this discussion. As I understand the matter from what information is available, apparently Shell USA decided to engage in the equivalent of a legal mugging to obtain title to proprietary IP for which they had no legitmate legal claim. Nothing new here, they steal IP all the time. As I read the situation, they weren’t even sure what this fellow actually had, otherwise they could have taken him into court. That did not occur, and for a number of reasons. My guess is the biggest hurdle is they couldn’t say what he had and, equally important, all statutes of limitations had probably expired for Shell to make any legitimate claims against this fellow. In short, it looks like Shell didn’t have a case to make. I do believe Shell only had 4 years max. to press their case in court.
There is clearly more to this story, and I am certain Shell was walking on extremely thin ice in matter at best. The security issues mean they stepped in a pile of legal horses**t, big time. NCIS does not initiate criminal investigations of large corporations without just cause. Trust me. Where there is smoke there is fire.
Relieved: you seem to have overlooked the fact that Shell’s US technical and research functions have a very large contingent of non-US nationals from all over the world.
John, I read your ‘Spooky Affair …’ article. Not your usual fare on this site. Normally I wouldn’t bother to spend any further time on such nonsense but I decided to educate myself a little bit. Anyone with better knowledge is free to correct me if I am incorrect. As I understand the situation and US law (from what is available online) this proprietary IP and classified ‘Restricted Data’ that Shell was supposedly trying to lay their hot, corrupt little hands on is by nature considered so sensitive that only those people with a legitimate ‘need to know’ can get access to it. In fact, as I read the law, even the President of the US cannot gain access to that information if it has been determined he has no ‘need to know’. As I read the law information is classified SECRET if release would do ‘serious’ harm to US national security interests. It is classified ‘Top Secret’ if release would do ‘GRAVE’ harm to US national security interests. As I further understand the situation, those with access to ‘Restricted Data’ are required to have a DoE ‘Q’ level security clearance. This is apparently equivalent to a Top Secret level DoD security clearance. Furthermore, ‘Restricted Data’ is apparently classified at the Secret level, at a minimum.
So, as this story goes Shell was apparently trying to obtain access and ownership of proprietary IP that was classified as
‘Restricted Data’ and was related to what? Nuclear weapons design!? This is information the President of the US cannot get access to if he has no ‘need’. Furthermore Shell clearly had/has no legal right to have access to this material or to own it. Obviously, the release of said information to Shell could possible cause ‘serious’ or ‘grave’ harm to US national security interests, which is why they cannot get access to it on their own. Am I on track here ? My question is: Who the F*** sam hell is running Shell USA!! Are these retarded pea-brained jackasses out of their F*** minds !! The arrogance, hubris and incompetence displayed by this kind of conduct by senior Shell USA (obviously) management is utterly mind boggling. If this story is true, and the media takes it up and runs with it Shell’s brand name in the US is history. Toast. Trash. And Shell can expect a serious consumer and political backlash. All Shell pensioners and shareholders should take RD Shell management to task over this kind of (obviously) criminal misconduct on the part of Shell USA management. Through the damned S.O.B.’s out and hire someone competent for heavens sake. Their performance in Alaska is cause enough for that, but now we learn about this little ‘espionage’ caper as well ?? Americans spying against Americans. Give me a break. Make the bastards walk the plank.
I would like to repeat a warning I have mentioned before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs, such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by contributors such as Paddy Briggs, who choose not to use an alias.
Did Shell dupe this man or was the man in the hat acting alone ? A shareholder asks is he still in the hat ? If so it was a Shell instruction
Landowners demanding answers from Shell in Mayo and getting none so shareholders don’t hold your breath very poor management situation on the Corrib Project
Can we take it that SHELL will take a close look at the
MAN IN THE SHELL HAT
Situation before the AGM some response required I think what’s going on over there ?
Read the article about Shell’s crystal ball into the future. What utter crap. 10 years ago their crystal ball has nothing to reveal about the revolution in the drilling and fracturing of source rocks. And I am certain their crystal ball had nothing to say about how their Arctic (mis)adventures were going to proceed. If we go back to 1910 I am certain Shell’s crystal ball had no inkling of WW1, WW2, the great depression, the cold war, atomic energy and the atom bomb, etc., etc., etc. That Shell document is absolutely worthless. If Utter BS. If Shell is lucky the might be able to sort of gauge events 5 years into the future. Beyond that they are playing games.
Hello “LondonLad,” I noticed you mentioned me in your recent post and got it wrong on the issues I speak to. Be informed for the last time that I am Ogoni. I speak for Ogoni or to Ogoni issues, which borders around Nigeria and $hell, your precursor. I don’t speak for Nigeria. Therefore, I don’t know what you claim $hell has done for or in Nigeria that is positive. What I know for sure is that, $hell hasn’t done anything positive in Ogoni but stole ( may be stealing more currently) Ogoni oil, collaborating with the Nigerian government to bribe some feeble and greedy Ogonis. The joint-venture holders have also been trying to intimidate those who speak out against $hell’s terrorist and devilish acts. They’ve invaded, destroyed Ogoni communities, killed the people and degrade our environment as attested by UNEP report. Ogonis whose sources of livelihood have been fishing and farming are completely deprived of their close to heart lifestyle by $hell and Nigeria both of whom I dislike for their criminal behavior and speak against. Ogoni is an environmental time-bomb waiting to explode, courtesy Royal Dutch $hell’s greed and incompetence.
John – why do you bother responding to the ramblings of LondonLad / Musaint? In a sense you are giving his contributions a form of “credibility” by taking the trouble to respond. I believe the majority read what he has to say (if we bother reading at all) and just go “ho hum”! REPLY BY JOHN: Fair comment.
REPLY TO LONDONLAD/MUSAINT: Note that you are unable to provide a single example of anything stated as fact by us that is untrue. Your latest comments are just a rehash of what you have stated before under various aliases. You did once tell me in email correspondence under yet another name (presumably another alias) that you have a grievance against Shell yourself and will probably one day reveal what it is. I am still waiting. I would be a bit worried about visiting South Africa bearing in mind recent events. Hope you have a good flight and a safe return.
Heh ho I had better sit on the naughty boys chair for a while. However before I go there, as I have stated so many times before, if you don’t like criticism or defence of Shell against some of the stupid comments on this website by people that have a huge chip on their shoulder then either : (1) try and understand why they are defending Shell (yes hard I know for some) against the likes of Greenpeace who have just one agenda – to put us back in the dark ages, (2) actually go to a place like Nigeria and genuinely understand why people like Ben “is that your real name” Ikari blows a great deal of hot air in attempting to blame all and sundry about Nigeria’s woes and totally ignores the huge benefits Shell (and other oil companies) bring to that woeful country, (3) properly educate yourself about the E&P business (don’t try and extrapolate just from a knowledge of sales) and realize that it is a far more complicated business than many try to make out on this website. The main gripe that gets my goat on this site? – the tabloid innuendos that titillate idiots that have no idea about the E&P business. Shame I cannot wait for the lengthy response I’ll get from this, I’m off tomorrow to the outback’s of South Africa for 3 weeks and will even miss the Real Madrid match (ooooo what a give-away!!).
To Texvette: Shell rarely if ever holds it senior management accountable. The only time I know of a senior manager getting sacked was when one was caught banging his secretary in his office during working hours. Shell managers are NEVER responsible for failure. It is their staff that has let them down, either through direct screw-ups or because they ‘gave poor advise’ and caused the manager to screw-up. It is always the worker-bees that are at fault for performance failings. After all, Shell only promotes the best and the brightest to “lead” the company. Ha!! Ha!! Most of those people could ‘Lead’ their way down a dark alley.
John is 100% spot on re Shell’s senior mgt, including their HR cronies, watching this website. It is a joke how much attention they pay to this, looking for the truth among the smoke. Ask Uncle Tom Purves if they read this or not. Oh yea, he is stuck up in the cold north, by Santa Claus. Might be hard to get a question him until the thaw comes. You bet your dollar they read this…
REPLY TO LONDONLAD: I have evidence in the form of Shell internal communications and documents proving this website is closely monitored by Shell management and its lawyers both in the USA and in Europe. In addition, Shell has mounted a global operation monitoring all traffic to this website from Shell premises. All part of an attempt by Shell spooks to trace our insider sources and stop the leakage of highly confidential internal information to us e.g. a database containing contact information for 177,000 Shell employees and contractors. That incident made news headlines around the world. Since 1995, Shell has been publicly complaining about our activities highlighting Shell management misdeeds. Shell has put posters on display at Shell HQ buildings about our campaigning activities, handed out leaflets about us at reception areas at Shell HQ’s, including Shell Centre and The Hague, issued press statements about us and even published an article about us in a Shell internal magazine authored by a Shell Legal Director. Shell is even more fixated by our activities than you are. As to your allegation, made while hiding behind your current alias, suggesting that we sometimes publish fiction, not fact, please provide an example? Should not be a problem if we are as lacking in integrity as your cowardly comment suggests. You have been attacking us for a long time, always hiding behind an alias, sneakily moving to a new one when you deem it necessary. As MUsaint, with theatrical gusto, you promised never to visit this website again, such was your claimed disgust, but soon popped up again using a new alias. Not the behavior of a person of integrity. We never hide behind an alias. Shell, Peter Voser, Simon Henry, Matthias Bichsel, Chris Finlayson, David Pirret, Tim Hannagan, Mark Moody-Stuart, Tom Purves, Keith Ruddock, Malcolm Brinded, the Rev. Phil Watts and all of the other scandal tainted current and former Shell executives and lawyers featured on this website know our names and where we are located. No hiding or deception on our part. I am sure my solicitor, Richard Woodman of Royds, will happily accept service on my behalf of any defamation writs. Richard has successfully represented me in six high court actions involving Shell, two of them libel actions we brought against Shell.
Wake up and smell the coffee “it4us” the RDS senior management have far more important things to do than read articles or blogs on this website. Do you honestly think they want to waste their time reading some of the drivel stated as fact on this website!! Before anyone comments, I do read some of the shorter blogs/articles out of historical interest and in the hope that I can see fact rather than fiction. Rare as hens teeth. I do however, strongly support the comments from “Texvette”. Unfortunately Teflon Bichsel will have had very little input on this venture (this should stir the stirrers), I really wish he had/has however.
Amongst their other shortcomings, RDS senior management have evidently not been reading this site closely enough. Problems with the Noble Discoverer were being pointed out in these columns (by ‘Outsider’ in particular) over a year ago. Another example of the RDS hierarchy being trained to suppress bad news ?
Shell has a history of not holding its’ leaders accountable. In spite of this, I am still amazed that no one in an executive leadership position has not been sacked as a result of the horrendous mismanagement of the Alaska operations.
BP is currently going through a criminal trial over its actions in the Gulf of Mexico. Given that RD Shell is now under criminal investigation for its, and its contractors, obviously deliberate failure to abide by US law, it makes one wonder what sort of criminal action Shell would have faced IF there had been some sort of ‘incident’ last summer. The company could have faced HUGE fines, as BP now faces. Furthermore, it is clear that management decided to take those risks, not with their own money, but with the shareholders money. There really needs to be a major change in RD Shell senior leadership (and I use that term loosely).
Having chugged through inches, closer to feet actually, (for the yanks that’s tabloid speak) of “Shell in the Arctic”, I finally came across an article on Matthias Bichsel that basically stated some mud would be thrown in his direction on this website. When can we expect to read some of this (promised for a “few days”). Yes, even I who will defend Shell on many fronts have a very sour taste in my mouth for this guy.
REPLY TO LondonLad: Posting using a single alias is one thing. I would not do so myself, but it is common practice on the Internet. Posting under multiple aliases is something else. I note there is no denial by you in this regard. I have nothing further to add to the other comments I have made.
It would seem to me that the Dutch side of RDS is slowly but purging RDS of the British side now that RDS is one operating entity.
A very waffled response Donovan to my straightforward comment that I want to have a profitable return on my investment, in this case my Shell shares. Again you use the tabloid expression of “implication” as to what my comment meant. You got that wrong! Do you not want a return on your investments? (N.B. I said nothing about profit or otherwise about this website so don’t give the usual rant about that!) Finally, if you don’t like people using aliases to argue against some of the attacks against Shell then change your methodology for people using this blog.
REPLY TO LONDONLAD: You discussed several issues mainly relating to the Shell AGM and then closed your comments with a sentence saying: “As a Shell shareholder all I want is a nice return on my investment.” The implication being that this is your priority in holding Shell shares above all other considerations. As Musaint and LondonLad you have regularly defended Shell’s indefensible record of plunder and pollution in Nigeria, despite all of its broken promises to end gas flaring; planting spies throughout the Nigerian government; engaging in corruption; conspiring with the leaders of militants attacking Shell infrastructure; dealing with murderous regimes and colluding in the murder of legitimate protestors. All okay as long as you get a nice dividend. I have operated this website and its previous incarnations, all focused on Shell, all on an entirely non commercial basis, declining all donations and all paid advertising. We hold, but have never sold, a variety of Shell domain names, including three Shell unsuccessfully attempted to seize. In short, we have never received a single penny income from operating this or any other website. We put principle first and money last. You do the exact opposite and that includes hiding behind a number of aliases when posting on this website. In addition to the aliases Musaint and LondonLad, you have corresponded with me by email using a third name, no doubt also made up. Says a great deal about you. In contrast I have never used an alias. So yes, compared with you, I do claim to be noble.
So, wanting a return on your investment is now classified as greedy!! I suppose that when you (Donovan’s) invest or were working with Shell you don’t / didn’t want any return / profit. How very noble of you. Actually I would say stupid. Most normal people who need to live in retirement want some form of return on capital invested – are all these to be classified as greedy or just those that comment positively on Shell?
Contrary to what LondonLad says, many UK based Shell shareholders, especially the elderly, are unlikely to attend the AGM when it means traveling to Holland, with all that entails. Some have held Shell shares for several decades. The last sentence in LondonLads comments speaks volumes. Many other Shell shareholders and executives have the same No.1 priority. Pure greed.
So, no audio-visual link this year. Just means that some of the UK shareholders (particularly those with burning questions) will have take a trip across the Channel to The Hague in May – I can thoroughly recommend going as the weather is normally great then. Air fares can be quite cheap, else there’s always the ferry. So no great hardship. May even stroll across myself. As for your “well informed source”, I am afraid that the majority of the company is (and has been) Dutch – so no change there!! And yet again there is the tabloid hype with “they won’t return to Shell Centre” / “they’ll move to a single centre in The Hague”. The first is untrue according to my Shell source and the second (as a shareholder) I would have no problem with, but again very very unlikely unless the lefties such as Clegg & Cable get their way on corporate and personal taxation. As a Shell shareholder all I want is a nice return on my investment.
I agree with Mr. Percival’s comments. He is spot-on.
Any delay to Shell’s Arctic exploration drilling programme will have absolutely no impact on hydrocarbon production output in 2013 as reported by AllAfrica. This is just a load of rubbish and I am very surprised it has been posted with associated “oh my goodness” red heading. It indicates a total lack of understanding of the EP business.
About the article regarding Shell and BASF: Shell management knew what it was doing when it relocated its pesticide operations from the US (Rocky Flats, Colorado) to Brazil. Shell management knew many of their workers would contact cancer and that they were condemning them to early and painful deaths. Shell didn’t give a s*** about those workers in Brazil and still doesn’t. Shell’s only concern was profit. Today it only concern is limiting the damage settlement. In 1976, when Shell was forced to shut down its US operation, roughly 96% of all Americans had traces of Shell’s ‘miracle’ pesticides in their blood. And the cancer issue was well known at the time. A $20 million settlement offer for those poor folks in Brazil is chicken feed. Shell should be force to pay billions in punitive damages for the deliberate harm they caused in their quest to extend the life of a very, very profitable, albeit dangerous, line of chemical pesticides.
Can anyone tell me how Shell planned to handle a spill of diesel fuel, etc., from the Kulluk if its tanks had ruptured ? It appears to me that Shell blew off that problem because of weather and simply opted to deal with the problem after the fact. Obviously, they did not mobilize their spill response team because of hazardous weather conditions. Did Shell have a contingency plan ?? I mean, they were supposedly capable of handling any type of spill in any type of weather, correct ?? Right ?? Or maybe their response plan is a lot of smoke and mirrors and hot air.
Dry towing a drillship? Something must be very seriously wrong. And when the Kulluk comes out of the water the damage to the hull will be clear for all to see – look forward to seeing the photographs!
Despite new paint jobs and some remedial work it is clear that Shell’s Arctic fleet is still a collection of refurbished rust-buckets that should have been sent to the breakers long ago.
Definition of “punkahwallah”: “the wallah (boy, servant) who operates a punkah, large cloth fan suspended from the ceiling” (The slang usage is derogatory, of course)
John: All of the information you are publishing about the reserve scandal is interesting, but was ‘known’ about within the greater Shell organization for years. Going back as far as the mid-late 1980’s there was at Shell USA real ‘concern’ about the acceleration in rate of supposed reserve replacement and reserve bookings even though crude production kept declining. These ‘new’ reserve numbers were known to be suspect, but people kept their knowledge and ‘suspicions’ to themselves lest they anger the higher powers. Most alarming at the time was the very real and marked decrease in the production of light crude mirrored by the marked increase in heavy crude production. Shell was getting roughed up badly (financially) by the price differential between light and heavy crudes. In fact, in the mid-1980’s, after the fall in oil prices, it was costing Shell more to produce their heavy crudes (by $4-$5/bbl) in California than they could get for the stuff. This led to the serious financial crisis for Shell USA in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Needless to say, many the reserve bookings were fictional. While it was easy for managers to get new reserves booked it was almost impossible to get downward adjustments to early ‘over optimisn’ or ‘pre-mature’ bookings. The end result was a bloated reserve portfolio that needed some serious deflation. Unfortunately, it took until 2004 to get the job done. The real problem for Shell was, and probably still is, a corporate culture that tolerates and accepts misrepresentation and fraud on the part of management, both middle and upper level management. Middle level management lies to upper level management and upper level management lies to the board of directors and the shareholders. The shareholders would be prudent in expecting future ‘surprises’, like the 2004 reserve scandal, from Shell management.
“an old EP hand” : If you read my comment about Aidan McKay properly you will see I call him a prat for his email to Bob Sprague which comes across somewhat badly for McKay as far as I am concerned. I can also say I have no idea what you infer with “Punkahwallah” – I never worked in India or been on any area desk in The Hague working on that part of the world. I’m afraid you’ll have try much harder Sherlock!!
I was surprised to see Alf Thorkildsen in the reserves article, he was until recently CEO of Seadrill and it might have been a problem to lead a major listed company, depending on what his role was (unclear to me). Now he is partner in private equity firm Hitecvision so none of this will matter anymore as his job is to maximise profit and nothing else. Seems he has the experience.
Londonlad, you call Aidan a prat when he worked for you. I know him very well and your remark reflects some deep frustration on your side. If you are who I think you are, this remark: you were once a very good project manager, you appear to have imploded in frustration. Would it be appropriate to change your name from Londonlad to Punkahwallah?
I am hearing that Andrei Galaev has got the chop as CEO of Sakhalin Energy. Not sure if it’s because of incompetence or a move to strengthen Gazprom’s hold.
To “Relieved” : (1) I never said that you and “Texvette” were the same person – that’s like saying Sir Alex Ferguson is the same as Arsen Wenger (yes, I know you people beyond the pond have no idea who these people are – the rest of the world does however), (2) For your latest posting, I would say that BP has led the way and others will follow (oooops got that wrong, you Yanks started the ball rolling with Exxon “Valdiz” !!
According to Voser Shell’s strategy is one that ‘others can’t easily repeat.’ Given the events of the last few years the question is: Who would want to do so ??? Name a few candidates please.
With regard to the Kulluk saga and incident does the old saying: ‘Penny wise and pound foolish’ come to mind ?? You got to love those bean counters at Shell. Who is running this company anyway ?
To LondonLad: FYI – Texvette is a different party. Apparently, you now have two ‘arrogant’ Yanks you don’t care for.
LondonLad,I agree with you that most African govts are greedy, corrupt and incompetent; they’re deranged, but not without Western influence for their interest. Africans should know and do better than the stooges statuses in their land. The continent is old enough to think and act for itself despite the maneuvers from the west. More importantly, bigotry is the last thing on my mind when dealing with the Niger delta/Ogoni or overall African situations linking the west. I fight racism, inequality and oppression, repression of all forms. Also, I live in the west, see what Africans mean to most Westerners:subhumans/beasts good mostly for exploitation. So know the issues I speak to, even though some Westerners and courts are clear minded, humane and credible. The facts are: $hell Intl. makes the rules alongside Nigeria’s subsidiary and supplies necessary tools/advice to so-called $hell Nigeria or SPDC. Also $hell intl gets profit from activities by $hell Nigeria. Remember, it’s $hell intl which organized the monitoring of Ken Saro-Wiwa, whom it saw as a threat to its business and intl image. Brain Anderson (European) was the person in charge of Nigeria’s $hell then. When Saro-Wiwa couldn’t be stopped, $hell intl in collaboration with Nigeria planned with the military govt to kill him. First, $hell denied there was any environmental pollution in Ogoni where it started business in 1958 to 1993 when it said it’s stopped due to agitation against pollution, etc. Not even an iota of sabotage was raised by $hell at the start of Saro-Wiwa-Ogoni struggle in ’93. Then $hell asked Saro-Wiwa to withdraw his campaign that was hurting her. He refused and was trumped up by $hell and govt, using their media power, mostly Western. Anderson asked Owens Wiwa to tell his brother Saro-Wiwa to recount the environmental problems in Ogoni and he will regain his freedom. Saro-Wiwa turned the offer down. Finally, the so-called $hell Nigeria is just a name aimed at shelving responsibility; Nigerians don’t own $hell Nigeria, though locals are hugely employed up to MD. It’s common sense that localization doesn’t expressly mean ownership. $hell Nigeria isn’t a national oil company. These are the facts and the Hague court know this. Where then does bigotry come in, other than that the court is protecting the interest of its govt and corporation such as $hell? The court dropped all cases against the home office in Netherlands, where it sat and agree with $hell that Niger deltans are the polluters as though are corporations such as $hell, which pollutes and kills to make profit. $hell’s profit go to its home government, which runs the court, and help the development of Netherlands, Britain, etc?
Relieved, you’re right. And also I understand the issues of plaintiffs’ onus to prove their case. Evidence and the truth haven’t mattered so much where huge govt and corporate interest lies against foreigners as in this case. The courts have mostly considered national interests, especially when dealing with this kind of case. Obviously, there could be some problems for $hell, but to what degree, and how could this problem help or truly solve the Niger delta problems when the Nigerian govt is foreign govts and $hell’s stooge? The probable in-road created by this decision will be harder to follow, just as redeeming fines or penalties against $hell as clear in the Bodo-$hell case in London. So the court knows what it did and especially accepting $hell’s blame on citizens and dropping charges against $hell Intl, which makes the rules and collects the profit from Nigeria.
I found the emails interesting and indicative of the deception Shell management was clearly engaged in. They were trying to exploit the events of 9/11 to their benefit. What these emails could have done at the time they were written is cause Shell’s stock to drop significantly. I don’t think they will have any impact now. However, the emails do give a clear indication of the attitude Shell management has for Wall Street’s superficial approach to investment strategies.I do know Bob Sprague, but not well. He was a typical Shell USA manager. It is obvious from these emails that Shell management was not telling the investment community the truth about reserves, rate of reserve replacement, real rate of return on investment (ROR), and so on. It is also obvious that they really didn’t care if they were being factual or not. Their primary concern seems to be about getting caught in ‘a big lie’ about all the above. They were also clearly trying to use the events of 9/11 to their advantage if investor ‘expectations’ were not met, and as a means of ‘covering their tracks’ regarding previous deceptions. It is an interesting set of emails and clearly indicates that Shell management deliberately misled their institutional investors. It seems they were trying to keep stock prices from taking a tumble if the investors knew things were as they had been told. These emails clearly indicate deliberate fraud on the part of Shell management.
So, Ben “if that’s your real name” Ikari, it really seems that you are a bigoted African who cannot accept that independent Africa (yes, independent) cannot look after itself and merely wants to blame everybody else for its failings. Sub-Saharan Africa remains a joke on the world stage because it acts like an immature child who always wants to blame others and not admit to its own failings. As I have stated so many times, Shell is NOT to blame – please look to yourself and your corrupt, bankrupt, government for the problems that your country is in.
BBC website today : “Detective jailed for News of the World leak” – I just wonder if and when we will read “Shell staff jailed for leaks to tabloid website”? Note : Shell staff have / had signed contract obligations that are / were in place……. However, I must say that these leaks do make for lovely tabloid reading / titillation – i.e. how much can you really trust them? Have to say that I am disappointed with Aidan McKay (who used to work for me when he was in New Orleans) for being such a prat.
To Mr. Ikari: The verdict against Shell is clearly not what you would have liked to have seen, but it is significant none-the-less. It tells those who would bring such suits in the future how they need to approach the legal problem and the manner in which they need to press their claims in court. The burden of proof was on the plaintiffs, and if they did not present a convincing case then the court was right in rejecting their claims. Personally, I think this verdict poses a serious potential problem for Shell in the future. The door for future suits has been opened, and those suits, if properly prepared and presented, could represent a serious financial liability for Shell.
The interest of most Western courts, which includes The Netherlands and governments is to protect capitalism and Africa’s exploitation and oppression. Why then should I nor anyone who understand corporate influence in government and courts be surprised at the decision of the Netherlands or Hague’s court? How can a court agree the people are responsible for their own pollution, knowing that $hell accepting about 40% spill means 89 to 99%? What we know is that these courts and governments pay lip-service to the protection of international human rights and especially when their companies are in violation of the rights of Africans. Meanwhile, the Hague’s court allowing fines against Nigeria’s $hell subsidiary is only a means to diffusing public outcry or criticism. If not what’s the difference between a tenant working for a landlord and collecting rents, other profits to him and a landlord benefiting from these actions based on his policies? $hell Nigeria is nothing but a name…key decisions are made by the home office in the Hague and Britain, likewise the profit shipped to these headquarters. Unfortunately, Niger delta of Nigeria like other Africans shall remain the victim of global greed, exploitation and all that come with capitalism and ingrained racism. Its citizens are part of the problems, because they have refused to unite and stop the flow of oil once and for all. Betraying themselves for messes of pottage from governments and $hell, etc. doesn’t help the charade. Imagine the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger delta (MEND) and how close it’s to stop the oil flow madness in Nigeria, but now President Goodluck Jonathan was allegedly used to penetrate them. With government/$hell’s peanuts and threats by US and British government to help Nigeria crush them so that oil will continue to flow, they stop the just agitation and reclaiming of what’s rightly theirs. Greed, lack of vision and intellectual dimension, disunity have thwarted that bold and holistic effort at freedom. Many of them have now been killed by Nigerian government, some in jail and others awaiting sentencing. Why then will the Netherlands’ court controlled by $hell and its baby govt not hand down such ruling, knowing that Nigeria is in their hands and the victims are feeble? What a pity!
Good to see that the court in The Hague showed some common sense for all but one of the cases bought against SPDC in Nigeria. Even the one that they were charged for was somewhat weak in that “breach of care of duty” to stop saboteurs opening up a wellhead and subsequently they, the saboteurs, polluting the surrounds, must be open up for debate. I suppose Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, the Ogonis and other Delta tribes will have to look for other courts around the world to try and attack Shell. The problem remains in Nigeria with pollution primarily being caused by saboteurs and corruption endemic throughout the system. The Delta tribes do not seem to be able to accept this fact and merely continue to drag Shell, and others, through the courts in order to fill their own fat bank accounts via court fines. It would be very interesting to see the world-wide bank accounts of these tribal leaders. No doubt Ben “if thats your real name” Ikari will comment on this.
Yes, “Relieved” / “Texvette” I do have a major problem with the arrogance of many American bully-boys who have become the modern day (economic) colonialists. If you would have read my posting properly you would see that I used the past tense about the SEC rules, which were subsequently upgraded for modern technological advances in 2009. Another case of it taking Americans several years to realise and accept they made a mistake. I had to use the past tense about the (outdated) SEC rules as I was referring to the historical article on Shell’s reserves reporting from the Donovans, that had once again been regurgitated.
LondonLad: It amazes my how you insert your “Ant1-American” sentiments in almost all your posts. Regardless if the SEC’s reserves reporting guidelines are good or bad, they are the rules for any company wanting to be listed on a US stock exchange. If the company desires to be listed, they need to follow the rules as written. The SEC rules are designed to protect all investors from all countries. The responsibility for developing the reserves estimates belong the business unit and they are held accountable. The Financial function – on top of the reserves audit group, provides an additional measure of due diligence only. The financial function does not develop the numbers; they attempt to provide assurance that the rules, guidelines and procedures are followed.
LondonLad: You seem to have a burr up your backside when it comes to Americans. That is too bad, because like it or not you are stuck with us. Cheers, pal.
I am sure that (most) of what you have printed regarding Simon Henry’s “contribution”, to your tabloid article on the HISTORICAL (i.e. almost 10 years old story!!) reserves problems of Shell, may be correct. However, as we all know the reserves reporting (aka requirements of the SEC) was grossly outdated for modern day technological advances. Yet again it was the case that the Americans wanted to “rule the world” with their outdated methodology of reserves reporting and impose it on the rest of the world. Nevertheless, I do agree that Shell “minions” were under pressure to report reserves to help scorecards/end-of-year reviews. My PRESENT issue with reserves reporting is that it is the Financial Manager (at operating company level) that signs off the reserves reporting sheet – why? Surely this should be the Exploration Manager and Petroleum Engineering Manager that should do this? The knowledge of a Financial Manager (i.e. accountant) and several levels upwards, Simon Henry, cannot challenge or understand what the reserves numbers mean or the back-up data behind them! The buck should have stopped at the likes of Mathius Bixel then head of global exploration (and his PE counterpart in The Hague). Bottom line is that Shell AND every other company that is tied to these outdated American reserves reporting methodologies should have the scientists and NOT the accountants sign off the numbers.
Mr. Donovan, £3.2b? This is a lot of money. Wonder whether this has been provided as post balance sheet contingent adjustment. Hopefully it does not impact on share price.
Saw your article on Shell’s blacklisting of people they don’t like. This has been going on in the States for decades.
John, Of course RD Shell is behind those cyber attacks. Nobody else has the motivation and the resources necessary. Any protestations by RD Shell management to the contrary are so much ‘piss in the wind’.
Someone should get OSHA in here at Port Arthur and review our plans for start-up on this crude unit. Management just keeps hacking away at the last problem pipe and trying to get back to start-up versus spending the right amount of time proving that the unit can startup safely. How long is our company going to continue to try and start up this problem before we dop back and systematically fix the problem? Motiva’s leadership at this plant is weak.
In all honesty can the Donovan’s kindly list some of the past and present senior executives of Royal Dutch Shell that they would support for their good work, honesty, ability to abide by country HSE requirements, etc. etc. More and more it seems that if you work for RDS at a (very) senior level they’ll get shafted via real AND tabloid reporting on this website, Greenpeace (dick-heads), and other tree hugging websites. We (the countries around the world) need to advance, risks need to be taken as a result ………… JOHN DONOVAN REPLY TO LONDONLAD:
Supply a list of past and present praiseworthy senior Shell executives? That is an ask too far. I can think of one example. Sir John Jennings. We had dealings with him on a face to face basis when he was Chairman of Shell Transport & Trading and a Group Managing Director of Royal Dutch Shell Group. He demonstrated his integrity and his support for Shell’s Statement of General Business Principles in an unprecedented way. If he had not retired, this website would almost certainly not be in existence. Moody-Stuart took over and hid behind Shell’s army of lawyers, supporting a thoroughly dishonest Shell executive who, in addition to repeatedly stealing intellectual property, not only from us, rigged a contract tender in a conspiracy involving a number of high level people at Shell, of whom one at least, Tim Hannigan, is still a Shell executive. Next came Sir Philip Watts who inherited the hydrocarbon value creation teams set up under Moody-Stuart and fraudulently conjured up some much needed proven reserves. After he was forced to resign, Jeroen van der Veer was given the top job and was soon engulfed in the TOUCH FUCK ALL scandal and cover-up, and then the Sakhalin 2 debacle when he surrendered Shell’s majority stake to Putin in the most humiliating circumstances. Now we have his equally scandal tainted successor, Peter Voser, Chairman of the UBS Audit Committee at the time when UBS was engaged in all kinds of criminal activity.
As for taking risks, we may have already caused irreversible calamitous damage to the environment and the future of humanity by flouting the dire warnings about climate change.
It would help if we could at least have confidence in the integrity and competence of senior management of multinational giants such as Shell who want to run risks for commercial gain. Unfortunately we know that the overriding driving motivation behind most fat cat business moguls appears to be pure personal greed. And they end up with millions even when the risk-taking ends in disaster. Sir Philip Watts walked off with a reported severance/pension package worth $18.5 million after defrauding Shell shareholders and bringing to an end the 100 year old partnership between Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport & Trading.
Mr Donovan, it’s very insightful testimony of Simon Henry of both Phil and Walter, both his bosses. The fault seems to be always with his bosses not him. Wonder what he has to say about Mr. Voser?
Shell is taking a pounding about the judgement exercised by senior management over Shell’s Alaskan adventure – from the decision to tow the Kulluk through a winter cyclone to avoid millions in property taxes, to their decision to rehabilitate a small fleet of rust buckets in order to save (maybe)significant amounts of money in drilling costs, etc., etc., etc. We won’t mention Shell management’s decision to assume HUGE the financial risks associated with any type of major environmental ‘event’. Are we surprised ? Nobody should be surprised. The management team of this company (presumably Shell USA) also made a decision not to many years ago to engage in what appears to be espionage, targeting technologies classified by the US Dept.of Defense. What ‘responsible’ senior Shell management idiot decided to assume the risks associated with that type of activity?? I think it is time Shell’s institutional shareholders insisted on a major housecleaning in the upper levels of Shell management before this gang’s luck runs out.
Outsider and Dutchdude – yes, a tsunami was to blame, one of incompetence, inexperience,insouciance and insincerity (with respect to the tax question). These four elements are a lethal brew to be avoided when embarking on a risk assessment.
Is BP North Sea preparing for a cull.
BP’s Regional President for the North Sea Mr Trevor Garlick in a recent communication to staff confirmed the BP North Sea region had not achieved 2012 production targets stating that the production short fall was circa 35mboed of lost production.
The note also confirmed the BP operation is continuing to see increasing costs. The communication goes on to confirm the major 2013 focus for the BP North Sea business will be actively managing its cost base in line with its now much smaller North Sea portfolio following the recent divestment of the Harding fields and Southern North Sea fields and facilities.
Does this statement indicate a reduction of the bulging headcount in the North Sea HQ is finally to start.
DutchDude: agree 100% – no amount of paperwork can prevent accidents (or Tsunamis). But a critical review of potential hazards by an external party (not subject to management pressure) can often identify risks and hazards before they lead to accidents. Are you suggesting that a tsunami was responsible for the Kulluk ending up on the rocks?
LL and Outsider, you both make a very common mistake, seen all over the EP industry. The unwarrented believe in paper (i.e Safety cases and bowties). Nice docs, nice exercises, but they almost always skip the core of the matter. Which is understanding your risks. I do not subscribe to the phase “act of God”. Which is also very popular with insurance companies. If Shell really wanted they could do in depth and accurate risk assessments, and only than can the decision be made how to act on thse risks. Having a bowtie or safety case is not going to stop or reduce the risk of or the consequences of a Tsunami (or senior management short sightedness for that matter).
LondonLad: I’m sure Shell performed all kinds of QRA’s and prepared Safety Cases for Alaska for internal use. But outside the US these documents are then critically reviewed by the authorities, who must agree to them before operations can start.
“Outsider” I very much doubt that Shell (even the US arm of RDS) did not perform several “Safety Cases” (with it’s “Bow-Ties” and all) regarding the whole Alaskan operation, including chopper operations, rig-tow etc. etc. Most governments now have this, or an equivalent, as a requirement to operate in their territory. That said they sure missed something viz the rig tow. However, some acts of god (e.g. tsunami’s) are somewhat hard to predict and at least in this case nobody was killed and the environment remains intact, despite hysteria whipped up by some who have an agenda against the likes of Shell and the oil industry in general. Unless you have definitive proof that Shell only applied their GoM knowledge to the Alaskan operation I think your comment is very wide of the mark as RDS input will certainly have been applied to this project not just limited Shell Oil knowledge/experience.
Not only has Royal Dutch Shell embarrassed itself with it misadventures in the Arctic, the US Dept. of the Interior has also embarrassed itself for failure to provide competent oversight of Shell’s operations. Shell and the USD both appear to be run by the less than competent, leading to a ‘blind leading the blind’ situation. Thankfully, the only real damage has been to reputations.
For Londonlad: This Neanderthal is glad you are back on line. I do enjoy our exchanges. Happy New Year to you and your family.
From the information on this site, the need for a “Safety Case” approach for Shell’s Alaskan operations seems to be overwhelming. Helicopters that couldn’t fly in ice and fog, two vessels aground, and the failure of the containment dome are all examples of how the prescriptive approach used in the US does not work when circumstances change. Shell has experience of operations all over the world, but apparently applied only their knowledge of operations in the Gulf of Mexico to their Alaskan fiasco.
P.S. Happy New Year to you and your father. REPLY BY JOHN: Glad you are in a better mood than before the Christmas/New Year period. With regards to those concerned about the series of mishaps to which you refer, you can add many major newspapers including the FT, the NYT, The Washington Post, The Sunday Telegraph etc and now the U.S. Government. They are rightly bothered. Best wishes to you for 2013.
Good job the tanker “Overseas Reymar” wasn’t owned by Shell otherwise this website, “Relieved”, and every other Neanderthal who doesn’t want to progress with living in the 21st century, and all that this entails with the risks involved, would be up in arms. I reckon the rig that ran aground in Alaska (and has been released without any panic – apart from contributors to this noble website + a few left wingers with an agenda) should have been left there, as was, so that the fishes could have colonized the structure and helped mother nature propagate their species. Not “colonized” as we Brits did in the 19th century Ben “is that your real name” Ikari!!
Lady Godiva: It is very hard to understand how Marvin Odum has kept his job in light of safety performance and the what has happened in Alaska. Oh, nevermind, I understand – Shell does not hold any of its’ leaders accountable.
How on earth has Pete Slaiby kept his job, let alone Marvin? Who is responsible or accountable?
Shell got lucky, this time, with a canceled tsunami warning. Imagine a 100 ft. wave parking Shell’s rig high up on that volcanic shore line. They would have had to haul the wreck off piece by tiny piece.
If incompetence was incontinence, this so-called leadership team of Shell Americas would have floated clean away.
I wonder if RDS drilling call for requesting assistance from the US Army and/or US Navy in the event of a major incident. And Who is going to pay for all of this Federal assistance ??? I presume the Army is going to send Shell a big bill for renting their helicopters. Surely, RD Shell does not expect the US taxpayer to foot the bill for their incompetence. Or do they ??
We concur with DutchDude and Relieved. There are still lots of NATO ( No Action Talk Only ) in top layers in Shell. Recommendation to place Asia leaders in top position fall into deaf ears. No wonder, more have left in the Transition 09 and more will be leaving in the Strategy alignment. It is based on who can talk and who you know. EM
Dutchdude is spot-on with his comments.
Sad to see the mishap in Alaska. Many reasons why, but in my mind the foremost one is the relentless cutting of competent technical staff in favour of politicians. Transition 09 has done so much damage to this company, and has only propelled the quick talkers to the top. These managers are afraid of technical knowledge, and believe they are super anyway!
Shell should go back to being technical first, and demonstrate a job can be done safely without all the pre PR. Voser and Henry have done tremendous damage to this company with their short term, quick gain plans.
John and I are most grateful for the support and encouragement received from our Shell insider sources and contributors. Thanks also to our numerous visitors, the vast majority of whom are regulars here. Our best wishes to you all for 2013.
Shell never misses an opportunity to tell the world that they have spent $4 billion on the Arctic, but if a small fraction of this amount had been spent on fit for purpose drilling units, rather than using mothballed vessels otherwise destined for the breaker’s yard, we would not have seen the Discoverer beached a few months ago, nor the Kulluk on the rocks today being pounded by heavy seas. As a shareholder, I would expect some clarity as to how $4 billion was spent on the project before a well had even been drilled – the money was evidently not spent where it was needed.
I don’t think Royal Dutch Shell has the sort of trouble with it Norwegian operations it has with its Alaskan operations. I would suggest that Shell USA’s personnel are not up to the job of operating in the Arctic. The Gulf of Mexico perhaps, but the Arctic – no. RDS needs to transplant some managerial and technical competence to supervise the less than competent US staff.
Happy New Year to you and your Royaldutchshellplc.com clan. Your blog is truly a much needed public service. My Regards to your team.
interesting article on Voser and UBS. you may wish to cover his time with ABB as well, a period during which ABB was deeply involved in bribery and corrupt practices (google ABB + corruption).
Dearest John and Alfred Donovan, lion-hearts’ son and father. As the year ends, I say, congrats; you’re the best, so stay the best…no one does this like you do! Confronting monsters such as $hell with the truth, especially their own hidden truth/document isn’t easy. Meanwhile, the trickery and hidings, gaming of cats and dogs we find of $hell in the Arctic and other fronts points to the terrible pains Ogonis and others of Niger delta suffered/still suffering in Nigeria, where $hell operate under no binding laws or rule. Where any law or rule exist $hell bribes all those saddled with implementation, maneuvers state power to shut everyone,especially the victims off. Finally, Ogoni and Niger delta need help from the world to breathe fresher air as $hell-Nigerian government toxicity is suffocating the people with speed. Ogoni is poisoned (as UNEP report shows) that $hell and Nigerian government may live and reel in petrodollars. Sadly the international community looks on the same way it did when Ken Saro-Wiwa and others were about to be hanged unjustly in 1995. Why? We live in a world that is oil-drunk, thus prefers oil to live. This attitude must change so we can be more humanistic and proactive to also save the global environment. Happy 2013 to you, family and readers of this wonderful blog!
Hello John, I wish you and your father all the best for 2013 and will continue to read your website with great interest. Keep up the good work!
Well, well. We now know how prepared Royal Dutch Shell is to handle the unforeseen. And when it comes to preventing drilling ‘accidents’ it is the ‘unforeseen’ that bites you in the arse every time. And to make matters worse the ‘unforeseen’ usually comes in the form of bumbling, poorly or untrained personnel that are not properly supervised. It is RDS’s responsibility to see to it that not only are its personnel properly trained, equipped, and competent but that the personnel of their contractors are likewise properly trained, equipped and competent to do the job they were hired to do. This latest installment in Shell’s Arctic soap opera makes one wonder how prepared RD Shell is to handle any kind of ‘incident’ associated with their drilling operations.
There is an old saying that goes something like: “The flag and the Bible are common last refuges for scoundrels”. Sir Phillip has demonstrated that there is great wisdom in this old saying.
John: Very interesting set of articles you have posted in recent days. Let the band play on.
Mr Donovan, what is the address of the BG incubator as there will be more strays after Shell strategic super bucket realignment exercise
LondonLad, I am one of those retired Shell people and I do not feel offended at all by Donovan. On the contrary. On many occasions he has stated that the vast majority of Shell workers are fine. He merely is holding the top of Shell accountable for not living up to the standards they themselves have signed off to and pretend to impose on the staff. It is very much a ‘don’t do as I do but do as I tell you to do’. That is not sustainable, Shell staff is far to clever to not understand this. And since staff is unable to remove bad management, they will copy the standards as lived by management. And the result is clear. A bad top in a company will quickly transform that company to a lower standard. And putting in a good top will then take many years to get things right again.
Does everyone / anyone who has been working for Shell in ANY sort of capacity get corralled into the same “box” that seems to have appeared here on this website as a “Nazi”, a “Touch F*** All” wimp, an “incompetent reserves specialist” etc. etc. How about the Donovan’s who were in cahoots with Shell selling “their” product some years back, and which kicked off this humorous site? Role on March 5th!! JOHN DONOVAN REPLY TO LONDON LAD. Very disappointed by your comment. The only person who has implied any such nasty connection is you under the cloak of an alias. What I say is in my name and supported by evidence. Thus anyone can take legal action if they believe they have legitimate grounds to do so. None of the articles in question have anything to do with the Nazis. I have already supplied Shell internal documents proving Chris Finlayson was notified about reserves issues two years before shareholders were informed. I will also supply evidence in relation to his association with the TOUCH FUCK ALL scandal and the debacle on the Sakhalin II project. Your allegations of us being in “cahoots with Shell” are of course also made while you hide behind an alias. We acted at all times with absolute integrity. Unfortunately cannot say the same for Shell. Hence the six high court actions settled by Shell. You may find the site amusing; don’t think Shell shares that view.
John: Your are once again rattling the old stinking skeletons in RD Shell’s closet. It does make for interesting reading.
John: Saw the article about RDS’s abuse of independent station owners. This is so classic of Shell. The company will break its contracts whenever it feels it can get away with it if there is money to made doing so. What ever happened to their much lauded ‘business principles’. It is all BS, of course. You are a fool to do business with Royal Dutch Shell. They are shameless thugs, frauds, and cheats.
Obviously billions, not millions…!
Whilst Shell may have had dodgy tax practices in the decades before any of its current staff were either born or out of daipers….2011 accounts seems to show that they paid 24 Million on an income of 55 Million, which isn’t bad going, and hardly worse than Stabucks et al
Ah, having a ‘history’ is a dangerous thing. It can rear up its ugly head and bite you in the arse when least convenient.
To LondonLad: I tire of your nonsense. Best Regards.
Well “Relieved” your last posting really does exemplify why Yanks are some of the most despised people on this planet. Just see any international news channel or newspapers to see this is a fact with the demonstrations that abound. Arrogance and lack of historical and geographical knowledge remains a problem with the U.S. – also highlighted in the run up to your presidential elections. Take your so called Baseball “World Series” – world indeed !!! Your facts are as reliable as a Mickey Mouse watch or those of Greenpeace. My historical knowledge is not selective it’s just that the Brits have a history, unlike those across the pond. Additionally it was you and not I that raised the subject about America entering both WW’s (late I have to add) etc. etc. I am glad that RDS gobbled up Shell Oil, just a pity that so many of their staff came over with their / your type of arrogance. Can’t wait for you repetitive response, unfortunately I will now be away for 3 weeks and no doubt “Ikari” will fill up the blog long before I return so that I miss your reply.
To LondonLad: As long as you brought up the subject let me remind you that we Americans got into those two world wars ‘late’ because you Brits made such a cock-up of the operation you were in serious danger of being thoroughly whipped. You fools started those wars, we had to finish them for you. Fortunately, WWII finally bankrupted your morally bankrupt empire. And if we Yanks had not been around to cover your stiff British butts you would have been calling one another ‘Comrade’ long ago. I won’t discuss Vietnam with you because I served in the US Army during that war and you don’t have a clue as to what you are talking about. Fortunately, we Americans had the good sense not to help the Dutch try to regain their lost oil rich colonies in Indonesia (the Dutch East Indies). And as for RD Shell, if it hadn’t been for the rich dividends Shell USA paid out on the stock RDS held in Shell USA during the 1950’s and 1960’s you folks wouldn’t have been able to rebuild RDS, Nigeria not withstanding. I find your view of history to be somewhat selective, as it is with a good many older Brits. The sun set on the British Empire and its outdated notions of class, privilege and race a long time ago, and thank god it did. Have a good day.
My prime gripe “Relieved” is with Nigerians who pontificate about their present situation and in doing so blame all and anybody for their own begotten ills. This includes the British and international oil companies like Shell. Stupid comments from yourself regarding various wars add up to naught. Yanks being LATE on the scene in both World Wars does not really help in this discussion, neither does your failed attempt in Vietnam. Still you want to go that route. Thank goodness we beat the All Blacks – something you girls could not do!!
To LondonLad: Some of you ignorant retrograde ‘Redcoats’ never have gotten over having your sorry butts kicked by a bunch of uncultured colonists. Get a life laddy, that war was over a very, very long time ago. In fact, that war became pretty much a world war with the French and Spanish involved as well. And you Brits lost it, and with it the entire North America continent. I Say, good show, old Chap. What? And don’t forget we Americans bailed your sorry Imperial colonizing butts out of two very ill considered world wars in the last century, not to mention the Falklands conflict. Your most glorious moment in those four wars was the evacuation at Dunkirk. Hail Britannia. Cheers, pal.
Well Ben “if-that’s-your-real-name” Ikari, it would seem that you and “Yankie-doodle-dandy” Relieved have solved the world’s problems!! I for one am proud to be British and proud to have worked for Shell for 30+ years. The American’s are the modern day colonialists for whom corrupt Nigerians would appear to have found an affinity. Wonder why?!?! Nigerians have destroyed Nigeria, NOT shell, NOT the British. Shell has spent so much money on trying to help communities (at times I wonder why) and all they can do (like you Ikari) is attempt to bite the hand that feeds you. God help Nigeria if it was left to the Nigerians to run the country. I await your one thousand word response.
To Mr. Ikari: It has been my pleasure.
Dearest Brother “Relieved,” my pleasure. Meanwhile, facts or evidence, argument without counter-argument (like knowledge without test and expansion based on proven evidence and persuasion wrapped in honesty and the truth)is no argument. I have enjoyed and shall always enjoy every minute spared for the truth to be tested and known. Thanks so very much!
A Brit; what is this thing with hiding your names,or is this your real name? Well, true that when the British left there might have been organized infrastructures. It’s also true that, the infrastructures in place today despite the craziness of African/Nigerian leadership have surpassed what the British might have left. Again, why did the British went there to terrorize our people and territories in the first place? Please tell us why. If you couldn’t then the answer is the legacy that has become commonplace today-force, power exhibition,fraudulent acts other illegalities, exploitation and usurpation of resources of others for the betterment of the powerful(the British first and now so-called leaders of Nigeria/Africa) to the detriment of the weak and disadvantaged poor. Why has the British government/companies continued to manipulate and sometimes impose rulership there; do you forget $hell,a British blood-sucking company? Finally, if we take all the blames of African problems from Britain and overall Western exploitation,imposition and maneuvers, we must not be honest to ourselves. Why? Because legacies stays, even though positive things may emerge thereof. It’s like a child’s upbringing. Though the child may evolve and find him or herself when grown, the experiences or lessons from childhood aren’t lost. They, for the most part form important aspects of adulthood, therefore the issues we speak to.
To Mr. Ikari: It has been an interesting dialog. My best to you.
Thats right Ikari, blame the British for your current problems. classic deflection mentality. When the British left Nigeria it was prosperous and had a well maintained infrastructure. Pity that can’t be said right now.
Dear “Relieved,” you have spoken very well. I agree with you and I am glad you have seen the effects of colonialism first-hand in Africa. Also glad to note you said you are American. There is no difference between both countries: they are like father like son! Meanwhile, the future of Africans/Nigerians is in the hands of the peoples like you said. If we be honest, we will also agree that the British colonial lumping of different groups, which have distinct territories and have no cultural similarities, thus speaks different languages (we know that language binds than not) as represented in Nigeria and other African states play important role in the lingering African problem. Therefore, the continent’s problems and backwardness can not be completely divorced from British colonialism as the intended colonial gains have continued to trickle down to the masters. The British legacy of violent, forceful and illegal intrusion and fraudulent manner of land and property confiscation has been imprinted on ethnic groups and politicians/leaders who wield power in Africa,Nigeria in particular. Yet we demand that The Africans must move forward, learn from the past to avoid colonial mentality and the implications of oppressive, violent and corrupt acts introduced by colonialism. We can attest how difficult it seems to move away from such acts, because telling people who have been drunk and become intoxicated eating where they do not sow like colonialism to stop. Stopping is, however possible with collective grassroots enlightenment and action by the people. Help is also needed from the international community, if foreign governments and groups can for once put aside the benefit they get from the African nuisance or lunatic leadership, which some help to impose.
To Mr. Ikari: FYI I am NOT British. I am American. But I have worked with a good many Brits, Aussies, Kanooks, etc., over the years, and have picked up a few of their manners of expression. I do not take issue with what you have to say about colonialism. RDS has a terrible neo-colonial attitude amongst the staff. It is quite obvious to us Americans. And I have worked the West African oil fields, so I have seen the legacy of past colonialism. It is not a pretty picture. That being said, I will again say that the future of Nigeria and of Africa is in the hands of Nigerians and Africans. Nothing can be done about the past. You folks need to take command of your own countries and futures. Nobody can do that for you. In my opinion you folks are your own worst enemies.
Hello Relieved,are you British? That is, assuming your name is real. Well, it isn’t unfashionable to see people who have so much to answer for their destruction of others to select issues or points that touched on their nefarious acts. So I’m not shocked. Now, I’m not arguing that the British colonial ship according to you didn’t sail long ago. I’m also not completely blaming colonialism/Britain, etc. I have written pieces asking Africans, especially Nigerians to move on and stop allowing strangers such as $hell to come to their home and dictate how o run their family. We should also agree that colonial mentality or hands forcing what doesn’t belong to them still affects colonies such as ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria, like slavery. Example, $hell (then BP) came as colonial British economic vehicle. It’s still in Nigeria terrorizing Ogoni and other Niger delta communities, and helping to deepen the corruption pits. Britain and America, others of the west still provide Nigerian leaders arms and advice to kill their own people for oil to flow unabated. Yet, Nigerian leaders (if real leaders exist) should by now know better to send such advice and arms, including $hell, the colonial tape-worm packing and making better the lives of their people. Hope you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that colonial mentality has eaten deep into Nigerian politicians/leaders therefore, their violent and corrupt attitude.
To Mr.Ikari: I sympathize with your allegations and contentions about British colonialism, etc., etc., ad nauseum. They are well based in fact. The history is not disputed. However, that ship sailed long ago. The simple truth is that the fate and future of Nigeria is in the hands of Nigerians these days. Unfortunately, you folks are buggering up very badly. You now have no one to blame but yourselves. It is not RD Shell’s fault, although they clearly contribute to the corruption within the country. You can always run the SOB’s out of town if you wish, it is your country. You folks need to take charge of your own country. Peacefully, if you can, by force of arms if you cannot. But it is time to stop the complaining and get on with it, already.
Good “Londonlad!” If you aren’t “deltastic,” who are you,since Londonlad isn’t your real name and if you aren’t wobbling and confused with different names? Let me be clear once more. I haven’t disputed and will not dispute the fact that Nigeria is corrupt. For me, Nigeria is the most corrupt nation on earth; it’s an illegal country founded via fraudulent means by British colonialists. This is, of course a fact. That is how about 350 diferrent ethnic nationalities were forced at gun point to form the union for the economic benefit of Britain which continue to date. I have indeed criticized and accused Nigerian leaders/politicians of hyper-corruption and went further to do an article that says European,American and other governments, their health facilities should stop allowing Nigerian politicians/leaders to their clinics so that they may develop the death-traps called hospitals at home. I can’t even count how many articles I have written on the ills of Nigeria. I went on to write that sovereign national conference is the true cure for the nation’s problems and also advocated its disintegration between now and 25 years years. You may have searched Ben Ikari and Ben Wuloo Ikari, respectively. If not just do yourself a favor to know my stand on issues affecting Nigeria and the world. More importantly, what I want you and other $hell’s surrogates to know, if you truly don’t is that, Ogoni isn’t Niger delta, though considered aspect of the latter because it’s an oil producing nationality. Also Ogoni struggle isn’t Ijaw or Niger Delta militants: Movement for the Emancipation of Niger delta (MEND)struggle. Ogoni struggle is only a microcosm or an expression of what other oil producing communities in Nigeria (Niger delta) are experiencing. Also, Ogonis are one group of people who have continued to demand openness,honesty, competence and accountability among other veritable traits from their leaders. We’ve refused to cover them up (even though we might not know everything happening)like others do. Ogonis understand that he who goes to equity must do so with an open hand. Lastly, Ogonis are known for their (our) nonviolent principles and we’ve used and will continue to use constitutional, civil cum legal means to seek redress from Nigeria and $hell, etc. If you have any case/evidence of Ogoni leaders extorting money from $hell and other companies please expose it since neither I nor some other Ogonis may not know everything happening.
Well Ikari, yet another waffled rant from you. It’s often said that to hide the truth say 1000 words rather than 10 – you have proved the point. Ogoni’s need to look at themselves AND their dishonest leaders, not just try and blame Shell for their own ills. Nigeria is corrupt – fact. P.S. I have no idea who deltastic is, seems yet another who can see through your waffle.
John: Read your article about Shell management not being concerned about the safety of floating LNG facilities. I think they should reconsider the consequences of some disgruntled Muslim type sending a few well aimed RPG’s their direction. Such a facility is a very inviting target for those wishing to ‘make a statement’.
“Deltastic,” because some of you $hell guys have chosen the fake names, your name makes me curious as to its originality or credible and legal status. Or you just change from “LondonLad” which is another fake name to Deltalic?
Well, you have to research and understand the Ogoni people and their (our) issues before writing publicly about or against them. I noticed you are ignorant of the Ogoni issues, therefore confusing the Ijaw militants or so-called Niger delta militants (MEND, etc.) and Iaw struggle with Ogoni. Ogoni has a record of its nonviolent struggle, thus we are known for using constitutional/civil means to seek redress or remedies. Other than Chevron that is another company, which had presence in Ogoni (less presence), $hell, your precursor has been that monster company Ogonis have issues of human rights and the environment with. There is no record of Ogonis or the elders, chiefs or politicians/leaders scheming money from $hell and other companies that could be found in Swiss bank as you claimed.
Ogonis have taken $hell to court and will continue to do so until justice is satisfactorily served. Legal resolution of issues or conflict is a constitutional or civil approach any civilized people,including the British people, Americans, Chinese, Australians and others will apply (and have been applying) if in our shoes. Ogonis going to court to seek human rights violations and environmental damages caused by $hell can not be tantamount to extortion or illegal means to reaping where we did not sow.$hell knows Ogonis are honest about the charges against her, but will stop at nothing to give us a fight as mostly corporations do in developing countries especially. You can attest that neither $hell nor BP fought the American government or people in the reserve scandal and Gulf of Mexico spills, respectively. They obeyed, accepted guilt and paid all penalties to avoid negative consequences.
Meanwhile, if you have evidence to show Ogonis extorting money from companies please show it to make your case or continue your lies like your master, $hell. Also note that before January 4, 1993 when Ogonis formerly took their case to the public or world, we asked $hell to pay accrued royalty and rent and that it also clean our environment and pay us for the deprivation of our sources of livelihood, which are fishing and farming its operations destroyed, $hell refused. It only asked for a shopping list that was sent and nothing has been heard from her to date.
Even when $hell settled the Wiwa et al out of court because it could not withstand the evidence against her and other backlash, Ogoni plaintiffs did not approach the company, rather the company approached plaintiffs’ attorneys and the case was settled one day or more after the first trial date $hell did not appear because it was seriously pushing for settlement. If $hell choose to lure and pay some Ogoni chiefs, leaders or politicians as a way of disrupting the Ogoni grassroots movement (MOSOP), thus dividing and ruling (can not conquer Ogoni), that is its own volition. Finally, in English language repetition comes with emphasis and depends especially on the kind of writing or issues. If at all there were repetitions in my response below they were for emphasis. More pertinently, all you need worry about is to write your own response based on what you know. That is with facts or evidence to make the truth known, and not worry about the length of my response because you have no control over my thought nor right to freedom of speech and expression. You would agree with me if honest that everyone’s post on Shellnews.net or other blogs are not same in length.
Common sense that is not too common dictates that, when one see a message or writeup he/she do not like, maybe due to length or content (or the byline), such could be ignored and deleted. I hope you have common sense; or you just lost it like the killer company $hell?
John: A year or so ago one of your contributors wrote an editorial suggesting that Royal Dutch Shell was at its core a racist company. I saw it on the web. I think we now have an answer.
John: Read your article about Shell Oil’s (USA) support of the apartheid regime in S. Africa during the 1980’s. This was during the tenures of CEO’s John Bookout and Frank Richardson. This story does not surprise me one bit. I do believe John Bookout was knighted by the Dutch Queen shortly after retiring from the Shell USA CEO position in 1988. It was also during this time period that Shell USA was fighting the USG over the cleanup costs of their Rocky Flats pesticide (their ‘drins facility) production facility. Shell tried to shift the costs to their insurance companies but lost on the grounds that the pollution of that site was done knowingly and deliberately. The 1980’s were not a proud period in the history of Shell USA. I know because I worked for Shell at that time.
John: Noted your stats on hits and views. They keep increasing. Congratulations.
Forgot to add – how much of the money screwed out of various companies by the Ogoni “elders/leaders” has actually been received at the coal face? Very,very little I would imagine. Most has no doubt been put in some fat Nigerian’s Swiss/UK bank account. All these guys do is to aggitate the youths to cause problems (aka the “area boys”) and then reap the rewards from the aftermath.
Ikari, you need to shorten your response!! Way too much waffle & repetition. Bottom line remains as others have already stated – Nigeria is rotten to the core and the Ogonis aren’t much different.
LondonLad? again with Ogoni in your mouth. Well,if you have an iota of the truth in you, you’d agree Ogonis have a solid record of championing a just and nonviolent struggle against the nigerian govt/$hell. Your anacondic precursor, $hell has a principle and teaching in Ogoni/Niger delta that says people can lie, destroy their very existence to be able to eat. This is because $hell has exploits and siphons the peoples’ resources in conspiracy with the nigerian govt, thus destroyed the peoples’ livelihoods by degrading the environment to making poverty and diseases endemic. This sad development permits weakness and gullibility. To say the least you’ve continued to be prevaricatious with frivolous or spurious assertions about my Ogoni people. I bet you will fail like $hell has continued to fail! When I asked you how many percentage of oil spill $hell has caused in 46 years (1958 to 2004) before the issues of oil theft, which $hell and the govt are reportedly involved and sabotage find their way into Nigeria’s lexicon you couldn’t reply to date. Saro-Wiwa’s work will stand the test of time to show how he stood up to the Nigerian govt I have numerously lambasted for its incompetence, corruption and deadliness among other ills. $hell, which designs most of nigeria’s oil industry legislation that favors not Ogonis and other oil bearing communities was also exposed by Saro-Wiwa due to the unholy alliances between the govt and her. Saro-Wiwa died because he refused $hell’s overtures and didn’t bow to its threats. Some Ogoni politicians and $hell lured/groomed leaders are susceptible to $hell’s bribery and corrupt practices and so could parley with your master. What do you expect in a country where $hell rules; a place where $hell’s-led corruption and violence for profit-making is an epidemic? Notwithstanding the corruption practices enshrined and instilled by $hell, Ogonis, which include myself have continued to demand openness, honesty, direct and competent communication, accountability from Ogoni politicians and leaders. The record is obvious. Therefore, stop lying against the Ogoni people,even though we aren’t perfect people,and no group or people have been nor will be perfect. $hell’s influence is corrupt and violent influence, but where there is a government as the current Obama government corporations such as $hell,BP are made to cough some of their blood money from Ogoni/Africa out, though they still use most Republican party lawmakers to seek legislation that may protect them from doing the right things.
Absolutely correct and well stated “old EP hand”, I have often stated such facts before on this website, particularly to those such as the Ogoni’s who cannot vent their anger & frustrations with their own dreadful government and therefore rely on attacking the likes of Shell. Another clear objective is to take Shell, and others, to court in order to make as much money from them by attempting to sue on often fictitious facts. Most notable is the pollution in the Delta region (which I admit is awful) that is now caused primarily by the locals who attempt oil theft and vandalism of the pipelines. Corruption, corruption, corruption is the cancer of Nigeria, but, as you say, Nigerians will blame anybody but themselves. Having spent time in Lagos over many years it is awful how a large majority of Nigerians are just out for the quick (now-now) fast buck and are totally unwilling to help their fellow Nigerian. I remember helping out at the “Friends of the Disabled” for a number of years and if it wasn’t for external help (e.g. Shell, the occasional foreign volunteer) these people would have been totally discarded by the state and local community.
John: I read the recent exchange between Nigeria Laddy and Old EP Hand with some interest. Having worked for Shell for years, and having worked the exploration plays of West Africa, I think that I have some knowledge about the problems in that terribly screwed up part of the world. The truth is that both of these parties are correct. Nigeria is in every sense a failed country. But Africa is in every sense a failed continent. However, the past is water under the bridge and nothing can be done about it. Life is not fair, if you have not yet noticed. Nigerians and Africans cannot go on forever blaming the white man for their failure to get their act together, take charge of their futures, and put together functional governments that serve the needs of the people. Nobody is going to do this for them. So, these people indeed need to quit ‘whining and whimpering’ and get on with the business of building a future for themselves. The time for excuses for is long over.
Nigerian Laddy, my brodder! How now, how de Madam? Eeh, my headengine, him go disappoint me big-oh how you be talking to your brodder. No peppersoup and goatstew wid de foo-foo for you today!
I cannot let your silly remark go like that. I have looked after many good Nigerians in my time. And I have looked (like many others) after the wellbeing of your country as much as possible. But you must admit that your country is about the most corrupt in the world and going down the drain rapidly. This is the root of all the problems. So, you go to your village and stop the extended family palaver and instead you go fix the big ogas in YOUR government. At all levels. And if it does not work via the democratic ballot box (which it won’t) you take up arms. Plenty arms around, just look at all the gangsters running Lagos. Area boys they call themselves.
No point looking at others to solve YOUR problems. Those problems are indeed very big. I wish you good luck. And don’t wait for my pension to be wasted on the Nigerian corruption. It could be the most beautiful and rich country in the world, but you people have chosen to screw it up and I can tell you, you have succeeded! And in good fashion you blame it on the white man, the Syrians, the Lebanese, the Ghanaians, slavery, other countries, churches, koran, bible, the Igbo, the Yoruba, the Haussa or whatever else and then you hold up your hand begging for a hand-out. It never appears to be you guys who are to be blamed yourself. I have no time for your whining. I read the book of Peter Enahoro ‘How to be a Nigerian’, I suggest you do the same. Enahoro was a decent man, who saw very clear what was wrong. And he had a great sense of humor!
So, Peter Voser think there is enough gas to largely replace petroleum and provide cheap fuel for at least 250 years. Hmmm…. At the rate climate warming is occurring we will need all that gas for air-conditioning.
John: Heavenly intervention ?? What does the Book of Revelations say about the form the Anti-Christ will take ?? Hmmm…Me thinks Sir Phillip is a wolf hiding in a sheepskin. Keep a close eye on your valuables.
Old EP Hand: It’s guys like you that screwed up Nigeria years ago – that is what my friends here tell me. Thank you very much. Don’t blame management of today – go look in the mirror. Perhaps giving back your pension would the decent thing to do instead of bad mouthing the current generation, incl. management.
To ‘Old EP Hand’: Amen, Brother. Shell is nowhere near the company it once was. And as a result I don’t think its future is anywhere as bright as senior management would like everyone to believe.
To LondonLad:
While you may not appreciate John’s ‘blasts from the past’ I find them interesting. They are an excellent source of information that allows one to compare current corporate conduct with past corporate conduct. As far as I can tell, not much has changed in the last ten years or so. At Royal Dutch Shell it is still ‘business as usual.
To LondonLad:
FYI – I too used to fly, although my license was limited to fixed wing aircraft. The notion that Shell would not specify that it contractors have aircraft equipped to fly in the adverse conditions routinely encountered is appalling. It clearly demonstrates a lack of regard for the welfare of not only contractor personnel, but also its own employees. As I said in a previous posting, conduct of the part of Shell management is not only grossly negligent, but close to being criminally negligent.
Inference remains from “Outsider” – no legal action taken by the authorities, nobody killed, more up-to-date conversation on this website. Job done. Off to watch Braga then to NY for some R&R – have a quiet week. XXX
Inference was made by “Outsider” – quote “Shell sent….” Would have been more honest to state that “the PHI operated choppers being used to transport Shell staff etc.” Again tabloid reporting. I am sure there is probably some 100 pages of requirements for flying in icy conditions let alone 10 pages. Point is that it would be great to have a clear statement from the authorities that PHI Inc. flew illegally – I do not think the newspaper article inferred this illegality. REPLY BY JOHN: As I said, you are trying to defend the indefensible. You seem to have about as much regard for the safety of Shell offshore employees as Shell does. Touch F*** All. Let other visitors be the judge.
Having now read that excellent article from that well known rag, the “Anchorage Daily News”, it would appear that the PHI Inc. operated choppers (NOT owned by Shell??) were working within the law. No mention is made of the legal requirement to have de-icing equipment in the area at that time of the year in those weather conditions. So I again believe that my comment about “Outsider” rumour mongering are correct. REPLY BY JOHN: No one said the helicopters were owned by Shell. They were however carrying Shell employees as passengers. “Outsider” is a pilot and has the expertise and experience to comment on such matters in an authoritative manner and in fact has kindly supplied me with a 10 page document by the Joint Aviation Authorities Europe entitled: “Operation of Helicopters Certified for Flight in Limited Icing Conditions.” “Outsider” has a personal interest having been on board a Shell helicopter in the North Sea when the crew lost control due to icing. Don’t you think that Shell has a responsibility for the safety of its employees when traveling on Shell’s business as helicopter passengers? Should Shell not have ensured that the helicopters were equipped with “critical deicing equipment.” With all due respect, I think that you are trying to defend the indefensible. “Outsider” has also made the following points: (1) Flight in icing conditions requires de-icing equipment, and additional certification of the aircraft/helicopter (2) Shell is responsible for specifying the level of de-icing equipment installed on the helicopters provided by a subcontractor (3) the fact that the helicopters contracted by Shell could not fly under the prevailing conditions suggests, yet again, that Shell’s planning was grossly inadequate (4) the absence of a “known band of positive temperature” in the Beaufort Sea precludes the use in icing conditions of helicopters certified for flight in “Limited Icing Conditions”
I wonder if “Outsider” can supply his source (newspaper article / date) of the rumour about Shell flying helicopters without de-icing equipment? Of course with all this hot air about the Arctic warming up etc. maybe the temperatures at the time of the helicopters flying were above that when de-icing equipment was legally required? OR, maybe this is just another piece of rumour-mongering by an individual who has a problem with Shell? Still, “Relieved” seems to believe in the tabloid rubbish. Talking of tabloids – I see that 40% of the articles published on this site are from 7 or 8 years ago!! REPLY BY JOHN: I can only guess that you did not read the linked Anchorage Daily News article. Here is the relevant extract: “All too often, fog socked in the helicopters Shell used to rotate workers on and off its vessels, stranding them for extra time at sea or onshore in Barrow and Prudhoe Bay. While the choppers, operated by PHI Inc., have instrument-flying capability, they weren’t equipped with critical deicing equipment that would allow them to soar into the clouds. And whenever fog rolled in — as it does roughly half the time in the summer — it was often impossible for the helicopters to stay below the clouds while still flying sufficiently above the water. The solution next year will be to put rotor heating on the equipment, allowing Shell to keep the helicopters flying on a more predictable schedule.” So no “rumour-mongering” but reported undisputed fact by a major title belong to Hearst Newspapers. As to the publication of archive material, it serves as an excellent reminder of Shell’s past exploits, including some that you have commented on and one occasion went as far as “welcoming“. Re-publication of past Royal Dutch Shell corporate sins hopefully makes it less likely that they will be repeated.
Read the comment about Shell’s Helo’s. Where the devil was the Coast Guard and FAA. Those things should not have been allowed to fly in Alaska. Helo’s don’t tolerate icing conditions very well. In fact, they don’t tolerate them at all. They simply drop from the sky if not properly equipped. Let’s hear it for Shell’s management team. They are operating on the edge of criminal negligence.
Shell sent helicopters to the Arctic that were not equipped with de-icing equipment? Presumably because de-icing equipment is not needed in the Gulf of Mexico? Maybe someone should have told them that the Arctic is a little colder. Aircraft icing is a problem anywhere the temperatures approach freezing, and helicopters are particularly vulnerable in icing conditions. Maybe Shell could have spoken to their colleagues in the North Sea?
To Outsider: Everything is OK now ???? I wouldn’t bet my life or my pension on it.
Interested observer: your comment seems to refer to the Sakhalin article, but this is from 2005. In the meantime Shell has been through several transformations, so everything is now ok
Does anyone but me get the idea that Royal Dutch Shell management has a VERY serious lack of project skills ??? If Shell doesn’t get control of the cost over-run issue on big projects they are going to get a big kick in the a** on profitability in the not too distant future. This problem in scandalous, and it calls for a serious house-cleaning amongst the ranks of senior management.
With regard to the article about plans to export vast amounts of US natural gas in the form of LNG. Don’t bet on it. That gas will be needed in the future here in the US.
Re the Motiva article, so true…..How prophetic that the picture of Voser and the senior execs are sitting there opening a valve at the ceremony…. and ultimately, a valve just like it allowed caustic to get into the unit. This project was terrible from the start…bad idea started by Tom Purves….. Bad project team, led by Tom’s buddy forrest Lauher, who had no idea how to run a project of this size, bad leadership throughout the project….. Tom decides to come save the project when in fact he has never worked on a major project and has no skills to actually deliver what he promised…. his cronies were dropped onto the project in various jobs…..Hartsock, Funkhouser, all with promises of making a difference…. meanwhile no one would speak up for fear of losing their job. The project finally falls on its face, only after Tom gets shipped out to Siberia. Everyone thought he would get paid a nice severance and retire but after this embarassment, the senior Shell execs couldn’t pay Tom a nice payday. Tom then had to move on to Canada where he is now head of mining….. laughable. And his buddy Funkhouser is working on the next mega project…laughable…. he will somehow work his way up to Canada to be with his daddy Tom…. I’m sure he will wait until it warms up…. and old Forrest is now off in El Paso working for a small refinery company after being run off from Shell….. This is Shell’s finest. Tom, you are a joke. I hope you enjoy your stroll to the bank. Everyone else will when you leave.
Seems like we can expect some good profit margins to be announced from Shell. Good news for us share holders eh!! Almost as good as Chelsea getting beat 3-2.
John, Your ‘blasts from the past’ are interesting. By way of comparison with todays news they show that not much has changed in the fundamental way RDS does business.
Exxon must be laughing at all the energy Shell is expending trying to perfect the company. Still it has been three years since the last one.
Engines and Super-buckets. Shell management and their consultants are not much for imagination. Me thinks the engine stalls and knocks a bit, and the buckets definitely leak.
Hmmmmm, LondonLad? Well, if you’d followed my thoughts or writings you’d agree I’m even more hard on the Nigerian government, politicians or cabal than $hell sometimes.
If a real government and not submerged in greed, corruption and especially incompetence of gross proportion. It will not allow $hell Oil, a foreign monster to overtake and dictate for her how it deals with its own people. $hell is most powerful in Nigeria than the federal government. And the government acknowledges this fact. $hell get the best of treatment and protection from Nigeria against its own population. The company takes advantage of ignorance and greed couple with the ethnic division and tension in the country.
Meanwhile, the corruption you pointed to and other ills are noted as common in the country.
But mountainous evidence also shows $hell is at the center of most corruption, bribery and violence. Lastly, your claim of locals involved in donkeys of years oil theft is vague. It’s only reminiscent of $hell’s attitude of scheming, spinning and tricking with a mischaracterization and misleading intention.
Can you honestly point to when your company, $hell started reporting oil theft or sabotage in Ogoni or Niger delta? This is, bearing in mind that these issues weren’t heard of during Ken Saro-Wiwa’s campaign that preceded the Ijaw-Niger delta militancy we saw emerged in 2004 due to $hell/government’s irresponsibility, greed and neglect.
Yep, Shell absolutely correct when it states that theft and sabotage BY LOCAL NIGERIANS is a prime cause of loss of production. This has been a problem for donkey’s years and will continue until NIGERIANS stop thieving and vandalizing private property/products. Additionally this is now the prime cause of pollution in the Delta region. Hey ho at the end of the day Nigerians deserve all they get – corrupt politicians, corrupt “chiefs”, corrupt State Governors, poor infrastructure, poor education etc etc. Such a shame when so much could have been made of the country by NIGERIANS. Of course they blame everybody but themselves for the shambles the country is in. Pity they don’t use their undoubted skills in working for the country rather than for the individual. At the end of the day I really wonder what will happen to all the money they no doubt will get (and have already got) from the US/Dutch courts from Shell. No doubt in some fat Nigerians bank account in Switzerland!!
$hell should stop lying and spinning because they will not stick.
It’s the same environmental pollution caused by $hell oil spills, unchecked 24 hours a day gas flares and other unprofessional practices Ken Saro-Wiwa exposed and he’s killed when he refused to withdraw his campaign at the request of $hell is that, which exist in Ogoni today. This high level and first of its kind pollution was confirmed by UNEP report and not the frivolous oil theft case the killer company makes of late. $hell’s claim about oil theft,thus calling on the Nigerian govt to help stop the act as reported herein, is a big ruse.
The company and the govt are the popular oil thieves. They stole Ogoni/Niger delta oil at gunpoint and with draconian laws made possible by $hell and other multinational/Euro-American corps since 1956/1958 to date.
$hell should honestly tell the world when oil theft started or when it first reported the incident. It claims between in the last 5 years less than 30% of oil spills were caused by its recklessness. Meanwhile, how many percent of such spills happened between 1956 and 2008 (last 5 years) or when militancy started for the company be blaming the locals for spills due to alleged theft? Also, is it not $hell’s greedy policies and the take-all syndrome of the company and govt (both in joint venture) that led to militancy; meaning poverty and hardship created by $hell while it rolled billions of the peasants money into its coffers?
There is no way $hell can truly and legally escape liability, but for its influence and connections. By the way reports have it that $hell staff, govt officials and politicians including officers of JTF $hell is praising are involved in organizing this theft since they no longer openly extract oil in Ogoni. In other parts of Niger delta their gang of govt-prone and corporate thieves have also engineered the elicit trade of stealing oil and then look for locals who are granted local implements to refine so as to have the premise of making such frivolous claims $hell makes. Finally, the same environmental pollution Ken Saro-Wiwa exposed and he’s killed by $hell and Nigeria exist in Ogoni today. These spills and gas flares took place between 1958 and when $hell began reporting oil theft recently,when Ijaw-Niger delta militants struck due to $hell and govt’s lackluster attitudes,greed and genocidal policies.
Ms Dilbert, It is half time for Voser. So he is putting on his thinking cap to change out some players who are not performing. Dont worry about the engines. It is all about people and delivery. We hope he got it right this time.
LondonLad: The ‘silly story’ about Jiffy Lube is not so silly. Many thousands of their customs have suffered serious damage to their auto’s because of the way these clowns do business. Humdreds of people have had their auto engines damaged beyond repair. Jiffy Lube is one of the worst ‘quick service’ outfits in business, and they should be put out of business as far many a State’s attorney is concerned.
Its been nearly 4 years since the last ‘transition’ I wonder if these superbuckets are just a way of preparing us for yet another org change
Shell super bucket? If Voser runs Shell like a business, then he should quickly revert to the Country buckets in most developing countries. By doing that, he will remove at least 30% of super overheads and super frustration of poor accountability.
Superbuckets, growth pipelines, funnel strength, capability focus, optionality, powering progress together, CVP, commercial mindset, core engines. Looks like someone has been reading Dilbert, Peter! What on earth happened to ESSA?
To LondonLad: Hmmm. Got up on the wrong side of the bed, did we? Or did YOU forget to take your Exlax last night? At least you have a sense of humor, on occasion. Have a good day.
Say “Relieved”, have you ever worked in Nigeria? I guess not by the way you pontificate erroneously about the problems in the country!! Keep taking the exlax as at the moment something is going in the wrong direction in your body.
BBC America just did a nice piece on Royal Dutch Shell and Nigeria. It was well worth watching. Needless to say, Shell took a big hit on the way they conduct business in Nigeria.
One thing this ‘bucket list’ does is reiterate Shell’s intention to continue operations in Nigeria for many years to come. This policy is key to understanding why Shell is trying so hard to limit litigation under the Alien Tort Statute. A Shell loss before the US Supreme Court would require Shell to clean up the way they do business in Nigeria or face further litigation in the future. It is obvious that Shell wants to continue to do ‘business as usual’ in Nigeria. They have gotten away with plundering the country, rape, murder, etc., and made 10’s of billions of US$$$’s in the process. Why would Shell want to change a business model that has been and continues to be so profitable ???
Is this ‘bucket list’ a list of wishful desires before something or someone ‘kicks the bucket’, or is it just a very poor choice of metaphors by mentally challenged HR types?
Looks like this article / leaked email has stirred up a hornets nest!! For one of the few times (and do not let this go to you head Mr. Donovan) I welcome this publication. It would be interesting to know if other majors (e.g. Exxon) or FTSE 100 companies are weighed down by this HR nonsense. Anyone know?
Read your blog about Mr. Voser’s message. Now you know why I left that company long ago. At times management suffers from collective mental incapacitation, runs amock and turns the organization into a ship of fools.
With the concept of buckets, Shell is preparing for the ever shrinking volume of production (despite the preachings of the former beloved Bearded Brinded to the opposite). If they continue on this reorganisation for reorganisation sake, they need only a few buckets to move all oil they produce.
The fact that Voser was prepared to put his signature under all this drivel shows he has lost it. If he has lost his marbles, perhaps those can be passed around, I am sure he can find a consultant to design a learning event on the theme of passing marbles.
Or is Voser shrewder than most and is this the start of another major upheaval that will see more americans in the key and high paying jobs?
Let me point you to this youtube: in 1960 it was described already how it will go by Harry Belafonte:
“Superbucket” motivational message from Voser : Have to agree for the most part with the source of the leak that this once again highlights not only contractors attempting to show their worth, BUT, also Shell’s HR department trying to justify their vast numbers within the organization. It really is a continuing case of “Buzzword Bingo” – most of which remain from the time I was working for Shell. The main outcome will be that minions down the system will have most of these buzzwords engrained on their end-of-year scorecard and will therefore help the technical staff to take their eye off the ball for what should be their main driver – technical excellence. So, more meetings, brain storm sessions, camp fires etc. etc. and all for HR to pontificate the added value they (HR) have created!! It really is the case that 90%+ of these buzz words were being “discussed” ad nauseam 10 years ago – time to tell the Emperor that he has no clothes on.
I note that Peter Voser’s encouraging words make no mention of ethics, integrity, or competence.
Read your interesting piece of history about the power of protest. I also note that the Dutch courts recently reaffirmed that right in The Netherlands, despite the desires of Royal Dutch Shell.
I would note that Allseas is a Swiss based corporation. It is therefore no surprise that connections with the Nazis of a bygone era should crop up. The Swiss were heavily involved with Nazis. And truth is not slander. So, let the fact speak for themselves.
Great article in the Sunday Telegraph (by Christopher Booker) “The great Arctic ice scare melts away as Antarctic ice hits record highs”. Yet another piece of evidence that the likes of The Guardian, BBC and of course Greenpeace will attempt to refute. This time it’s satellite evidence from NASA that has shown : (1) a severe cyclone this August played a key role in the Arctic ice melt (i.e. not global warming), (2) the Arctic was far warmer in the 1930’s than today, (3) last week Antarctica’s sea ice area was only just short of the greatest extent ever recorded at either pole. Bottom line for Shell is that they had better get drilling before the next Ice Age appears.
To LondonLad: I do enjoy trading barbs with you, but all good things must end eventually. No I am not on Garden Leave, but I could use a good vacation. Unfortunately, I have too much work to do and not enough time to do it. So, it seems I must bid you a fond farewell. It has been interesting. Perhaps we shall do this again some time. Best of Health and Luck to you, even if you are a rabid RDS fan.
Do you have anything on your web site or can you send me to a place where I can get
information about extending the life of a well?
Thank you
Bill Myers
info@timberlineassets.com
Seems like “Amused” has plenty of time to twaddle and block up Mr. Donovan’s blog – lost your job and on “Garden Leave” ? On a more serious note, I am glad that pump petrol prices in the UK are going to be investigated by the “powers-that-be”. Indeed they do not really appear to follow crude prices too well. Costs me a fortune to get up to Old Trafford now.
So Shell has decided to harass Greenpeace, and is all this lawsuit is about – harassment. While Dutch courts have jurisdiction in the Netherlands they have no jurisdiction in the US or US territorial waters. Shell needs to sue in the US. But the best way to handle this is the US is to obtain a temporary restraining order. IF RD Shell thinks they will intimidate Greenpeace leadership I think they are sadly mistaken. The PR angle on this is that Shell is opposed to freedom of speech and assembly. And given their stance with the US supreme court, is in favor of legally indemnifying corporations for criminal misconduct. Shell is making itself look like an organization run by thugs.
Read the article about Shell’s argument that corporations should have no liability for human rights violations. Is that so?? I thought this issue was dealt with at the end of WWII when I.G. Farben, and it management, was held liable for their participation in the wholesale extermination of Jews, Slave, and other forms of ‘sub-humans’. But then Shell ratted out its Jewish employees to the Waffen SS and they went to the slave-labor work camps and the ovens. I take Shell management doesn’t think there should be any criminal liability for that kind of behavior. Gee, what a great company to work for. Sieg Heil !!!!!
To Shell Veteran: Who I work for now is none of your business. However, you are clearly curious about my background so let me tell you something about myself. I did work for Shell for over a decade, and I did very well. I left Shell because of my dissatisfaction with the way the company was being managed, which in turn was leading the company into a financial crisis. I discussed my reasons for leaving with several GM’s and VP’s at Shell, because there were somewhat surprise at my decision to leave. To a man they wished me good fortune in my future endeavors and stated that if they were my age they would do that same thing. Within two years of my departure Shell USA did indeed have a serious financial crisis, resulting in annual operating losses and significant layoffs. None of this was necessary. A few years later Royal Dutch Shell went through its reserves scandal. I have absolutely no regrets about leaving Shell. I could never have accomplished, personally or professionally, what I have had I remained at Shell. I most certainly would never consider going to work for the company today. It was a far better company to work for when I left many years ago than it is today.
To Shell Veteran: I am doing very well, thank you. Long time Shell employees, and you appear to be no exception, are noted for their very limited perspective. I know and have known, many long time employees of Shell and your opinion is not universal shared. I would also say that the very high historical turnover rate amongst Shell employees, and I am now referring to professional staff, speaks volumes about the company.
I would like to repeat a warning I have mentioned before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs, such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by contributors such as Paddy Briggs, who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using an alias have built up credibility over the years e.g. “Outsider” and “LondonLad/Musaint.”
REPLY TO USCitizen: There was 10 hours of filming at multiple locations in the UK and Russia involving several people, including my father. All edited down by the TV people to what you have seen. So far, there are two versions broadcast. A film crew from the USA have also spent several hours filming an interview with me. Still to be broadcast.
John – saw your interview – thanks for the entertainment. Did not even mention your dad?? Wow!!
Amused – who do you work for??
To the newcomer from Devon – sorry your time at Shell did not work out. It has worked out for many of us. Many friends who have worked here over 30 years and many people who came from elsewhere and appreciate Shell. To Amused – good luck to you – you need it.
John: Read the article about Shell’s containment vessel tests. One can only imagine what could possibly have happened if the Coast Guard was not involved in the certification process and that vessel had had to deal with a real problem. After 5 years you would think Shell could have done better than this.
Anyone know how to get the latest E&P organigram for senior Shell staff at Group level – surely this isn’t too much of a secret? REPLY BY JOHN: It is self-evidently not information entrusted to you. If you don’t think its too much of a secret, why not ask Shell? Though I wouldn’t bother doing so unless you use your real name.
For USCitizen: I used to work for Shell USA but now work for DEVON ENERGY. There is NO comparison. It would take a court order, a team of mules, and a gaggle of Sheriff’s deputies to drag me kicking and screaming back to Shell. Wake up Dude.
To US Citizen: You are quite correct, Ignorance is Bliss. That is clearly why you are so happy working for Royal Dutch Shell.
Amused – why do you make this so easy.? So you want to hold the folks who developed the global warming theories to the sames standard as you do Shell. Look up the data manipluation that London Lad referred to, quite ethical huh?? Geez, do your homework.
For USCitizen: There is an old saying that goes something like: ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ Cheers, pal.
For Amused – you would know huh?? LMAO. This is too easy. Come talk to some of our recent joiners who can Contrast Shell with others, they would never go back!
To “Amused” or perhaps that should be “Bemused” – global warming is indeed happening (although not today in the UK as it’s certainly a bit chilly), but, is not all down to the oil companies and those of us that burn/use fossil fuels – do you burn/use fossil fuels or perhaps you produce enough hot air yourself to keep warm!?. Historically global warming and global cooling have occurred – fact. Interesting to note that people have falsified the data to attempt to prove a point e.g. http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2012/03/01/fakegate-the-obnoxious-fabrication-of-global-warming/
As I have stated many times previously, people like yourself and others that hug trees seem to want to put us back to the stone age and make us live in caves. The majority of us want to develop ourselves, travel, have some fun and to do this we require the use of fossil fuels and their by-products. This Corrib project is a good example of “green” idiots refusing to realize the vast benefits to the community & country if this project goes ahead. Now I hope that you breathe slowly when responding else you will burst your blood vessels. Breathe in one-two-three, breathe out one-two-three.
To LondonLad & USCitizen: I know you guys (rabid RD Shell fans both) probably don’t or refuse to believe the scientific data linking the burning of hydrocarbons to global warming. I have only one comment : Even little birds are smart enough to know that it is fatal to sh*t in your own nest. This fact seems to have escaped you two.(No, I most certainly did NOT infer that you guys are ‘bird brains’. No compliment was intended).
Prices in Europe are indeed much higher in the State because of government taxation. But here in the States it is much easier to manipulate markets because there is far less government control of them. Price gouging is not new here, and the BIG OIL companies are not at all bashfull about playing the trading game to their advantage.
To “Curious” : I also worked in the oil/gas sector (yes, “Amused” it is past tense!!) and the local market is indeed also a factor, BUT, this is driven by market traders, of the Stock Market variety primarily, and not by Shell or other oil companies. THE problem in pump prices remains the taxation rip off the customer has to pay to the tune of 60% of total cost in the UK.
P.S. Phew that was a close call at 24-21 ………….. worked it out yet!!
John: A short while ago you posted a series of articles about Shell’s deliberate theft of IP and an ongoing lawsuit between Shell USA and the owner of that IP. My guess is that in a Texas state court the owner of the IP would have no problem winning a case against Shell based on the expectation that Shell would abide by its publicly stated business principles. In the state of Texas your word is your ‘bond’, literally and legally. Texaco discovered this to their dismay in the 1980’s and it cost them something on the order of $6 billion (about $12 billion in todays $’s).
I read the letter from Mr. Wiseman with great interest. RD Shell and Shell USA might want to rethink their policy, particularly in the state of Texas. Texas is an unusual state in that for legal business purposed your ‘word’ is your ‘bond’ and is legally binding. Case in point, the legal dispute between Texaco and Pennzoil over Texaco buyout of Getty Oil way back in the 80’s. The CEO’s of Texaco and Pennzoil had agreed that Texaco would not interfer in the takeover/buyout of Getty Oil by Pennzoil. This was a ‘handshake’ agreement. Unfortunately for Texaco they decided to go after Getty, and eventually took over the company. Pennzoil sued for $6 billion for ‘breach of contract’ in Texas courts and won. Texaco had to fork over $6 billion in cash to Pennzoil. Joe Jamial was the attorney for Pennzoil. So, in the state of Texas Shell’s stated business principle can be taken as their ‘word’. i.e., a publically stated business contract, on how the company operates by any of their partners, suppliers, etc. Shell can be expected to follow those principles, otherwise they are engagin in deliberate fraud. Failure to follow thos stated principles could cost Shell very dearly. I don’t yet think anyone has yet challenged Shell on this concept, nor do I think it has been tested in Texas state courts, but the day is coming given the way Shell operates. And I expect that Shell could find itself on the wrong end of the legal stick. Fraud is fraud.
To LondonLad:
I worked in the Oil and Gas industry at one time. I know all about what you mentioned.
But you missed the point about local market manipulation. Try again.
To “Curious” : the ones who are (to use your words) “buggering the public” are the Governments at either end of the supply chain. Petrol costs in the UK comprise of more than 60% in taxation. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19489908) Sure Shell (AND other companies) make large profits from the sale of petrol/diesel and other petroleum products, but, the investments required for exploration and production requires eye-watering amounts of money. Drilling a dry exploration well offshore can amount to costs greater than $50m. At the end of the day these companies require these profits to : (1) keep shareholders happy and (2) discover & produce oil/gas to keep the consumer (such as yourself) happy and cosy in their little world. Big problem is the taxation rip-off.
Price gouging by RD Shell ?? What is their PR motto ?? ‘Let’s go.’ As in let’s go bugger the public ??
For LondonLad: Back in the 80’s Shell USA had an unwritten policy of providing lifetime employment for anyone who was or had been in management. As a result they had former managers running log libraries, etc. Those promoted to management but whom proved to be failures were usually exiled to Shell’s Information Center, i.e., it computerized services center. That worked for awhile, but only until computer services became important to the functioning of the company. At that point Information Services became a drag on corporate performance. Shell management had a nasty habit of blaming failures on its technical staff when most of the time it was management policy and decisions that were to blame. The end result was bad long term investment strategy and a host of failed projects. That in turn led to the poor financial performance of the last 80’s and 90’s and the downsizing.
To Amused : Larger organizations do not necessarily mean better productivity. Smaller is often better (faster moving, less bureaucracy, less layers etc.) and is not always the result of poor management, as you are trying to imply with Shell in the U.S. during the 1980’s. Shell unfortunately had way too many staff (1980’s and beyond) with local staff often far too reliant on the expat performing the work. Recent reduction in Shell’s expat numbers, in order to increase the numbers of local staff (and thereby appease Governments, unions and local stirrers) has not always been successful unfortunately. In a similar vein the incorporation of Shell Oil staff over the last 20 odd years into the RDS Group has also often been painful with too many Americans believing they were God’s gift to the company. Some were indeed excellent and great contributors but there were far too many who were not. Really was a case of “over paid and over here”.
Great to see that Shell is reducing its onshore Niger Delta holdings for what appears a good amount of money. Who will the harbingers of doom start to blame for all the Nigerian woes if/when Shell reduces onshore acreage and becomes less of an operator?
John picked up that info thank you watch this space for Shell Corrib Gas Project
Halting bombshell just around the corner not content with jailing local farmers now threatening small local vendors with imprisonment if they reveal
Police alcohol supply details top man in KPMG sent to deliver the threat
I now note that Shell USA has somewhere on the order of 10,000 plus employees. Back in the 1980’s it had over 20,000 employees. Poor management (particularly in the 1980’s) has taken its toll on the company and it has contracted considerably.
John in the uk who is ethics and compliance person within Shell. Reply by John: I have now been able to post the information you are seeking.
With reference to the article on the lawsuit requesting the release of safety data: Someone is wasting time and money with this lawsuit and is completely unfamiliar with the way the US government operates. So, don’t hold your breath and bet on the courts siding with the plaintiffs regards a failure to respond within the statutory time limit for the release of information under FOIA (freedom of information act) requests. The courts routinely side with governmental agencies in failing to release data within the supposed statutory time limit. The courts are very lenient with governmental agencies in this regard. It is not uncommon for agencies to take 2 or 3 years to respond to FOIA requests although the law states they have 30 days to do so. All an agency is really required to do within the statutory time limit is to notify the requestor that they are working on the request and will forward the requested information as soon as they have time and resources to process the request. This is the reality of life in the BIG CITY.
I would like to repeat a warning I have made before about postings on this blog. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs, such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the bona fides of postings made in my name or by contributors such as Paddy Briggs, who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using an alias have built up credibility over the years e.g. “Outsider”, “LondonLad/Musaint” and our biggest fan, “USCitizen.”
To LondonLad: Nobody is forcing you to visit this website. If you find it so offensive why don’t you just quit visiting it ?? Or is that not an option ??
For LondonLad: Not ‘conspirators’, my confused friend, but standins for Royal Dutch Shell’s propaganda organ.
For once, well done to the Obama administration for backing Shell against these environmentalists who merely want a fight because they see mileage in it and thus allow themselves to justify their own existence. There are far far too many examples of these idiots, and Nigerians, attempting to make money from US courts. Earth Rights group really need to look at themselves seriously and be honest as to how much time (and tax payers money) they are wasting with some of their nonsense. They complain about Shell (and no doubt other companies) trying to influence governments, but, what do they ALSO try and do!! Assume “Relieved” is still taking the exlax and that “Amused” is still attempting to connect all contributors to this website who attempt to defend / argue for Shell as conspirators. Finally, why are so many articles continuing to be from 7 or 8 years ago – so very repetitive and I fear show that there aren’t enough negative articles in the press to attempt to slag off Shell. REPLY BY JOHN: You are of course entitled to your opinion. I have already explained the circumstances behind the archive material being republished. It is in my view a good thing to remind Shell senior management of past sins and I will continue to do so. Anyone who visits this site regularly knows there is no shortage of negative news emerging about Shell. We also publish or provide links to ALL positive news stories about Shell.
To Wck Waldo: Way back in the late 1980’s Shell USA was facing the embarrassing prospect of posting the first annual operating loss in the history of the company. To avoid that problem Shell sold its facility at Woodcreek (which was originally named Turkey Creek, but the PR guys didn’t think that name appropriate). This sale was not announced to the staff but the information leaked anyway. So, my question is this: Did Shell buy back this piece of property, or are they simply leasing it ?? I suspect it is still being leased.
So it appears Shell Real Estate didn’t get the email about saving money. Only weeks after spending millions on landscaping at Woodcreek they announce they are going to dig it up to make way for roads and walkways to Woodcreek Alcatraz Blocks E and F along with the long awaited basketball court. Amazing planning !
John: I would pursue whatever legal action is appropriate with regard to any threats you have received. The issuance of such threats is meant to intimidate you. Without any direct knowledge of this situation it is my educated guess that they are motivated by Royal Dutch Shell. REPLY BY JOHN: I don’t think Shell has anything to do with particular matter.
Sgayoyo: There is a program beging aired on American television (through the PBS system I believe )that documents on film the environmental damage done by Shell in Ogoniland. What I found to be particularly interesting was the large number of abandoned oil wells that have never been plugged. The wells still have tubing in them and the well heads are so old they suffer from severe corrosion. The corrosion is so bad the wells leak both gas and oil. The gas pollutes the air and the oil pollutes the well sites, soaking the soil and running off into streams. Shell apparently didn’t want to bother with the expense of plugging these wells, so they just walked away from them. This is completely irresponsible conduct of course, but who is going to hold Shell responsible ?? Not the Nigerian government. It will cost millions to plug these wells properly, and millions more to clean up the damage, but Shell isn’t going to spend a dime doing so unless the government forces them to do so. That is not likely to happen in the near future. So, the uncontained release of gas and oil into the delta environment continues. If Shell were to pull this stunt in the States they would be fined billions and put out of business.
For USCitizen: There is an old saying that goes something like: ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ Cheers, pal.
Relieved
on Aug 22nd, 2012 at 15:38
USCitizen: You are back! The world of Shell loyalists has missed you terribly. Where oh where have you been? Vacation? Finishing school? Oh, well, it doesn’t matter. LondonLad needs help fending of the anti-Shell barbarians that clutter this blog with their anti-Shell propaganda. You two should team up. Come to think of it, I bet you guys already know one another.
You would know if you bother to ask pal, there are many many Shell folks who are very proud to work for this company. Many have come from other companies and are very pleased with the choice they made, I do not blame them. Have no idea who he is, could be one of thousands bud. I check this site once in a while and the need to comment on repeat drivel is not worth it, just like your bashings. Enjoy your life, I do!!
I find it indicative of Shell leadership’s understanding (or lack thereof) of their financial responsibilities to their shareholders, etc., to operate safely in a very high risk Arctic environment that senior management decides to resurrect (on the cheap) three beat-up and rotting derelicts ready for the breakers to form their Arctic drilling and spill containment fleet. And now, after 7 years of work and what – 4.5 billion ??, They still don’t have their rusting bird roost barge/spill containment barge refitted for Arctic service. Who planned this operation ??? So, guess what ??? Shell might not be able to drill this year. How much will this cost the company ??? Great going guys !! Let’s hear it for the water-walking management team running this show. Is anyone really surprised ??? Time to promote these people to positions where they can do no harm. All I can say is that I am glad I own Exxon stock and not Royal Dutch Shell stock.
USCitizen: You are back! The world of Shell loyalists has missed you terribly. Where oh where have you been? Vacation? Finishing school? Oh, well, it doesn’t matter. LondonLad needs help fending of the anti-Shell barbarians that clutter this blog with their anti-Shell propaganda. You two should team up. Come to think of it, I bet you guys already know one another.
Oh yeah , the advertisement with Shell name and the Nazi emblem is copyright infringement. Our lawyers will be calling you, oh never mind you talk to them every day!!
Whew – I sure am glad we were able to hold off that Total hostile takeover, had me nervous. Sure am glad this weakened company has survived!! And I am distraught to hear that we spent a lot of money on security in Nigeria, wow, never would have guessed. Keep up the good work!! These 10 year old news flashes are keeping me current!! PS – Why are you advertising for the Nazis gas company on your web page??
Jeeeez this website and more particularly the likes of the Guardian / tree hugging societies need to get realistic. So what if Shell (and many other oil companies in Nigeria) spend vast sums of money trying to protect their (AND shareholder) property/facilities from trouble makers and activists / thieves. I am sure that most law abiding people on this planet would like to do the same to defend their investment / prpoerty. Bottom line is that the Delta region is uncontrollable at the moment due to corruption and inept Governmental control (local and country). At the end of the day, even if the likes of the Ogoni’s and other tribes got what they wanted (i.e. independence from Abuja), the Delta tribes would continue to bicker, argue and “fight” each other. It’s just a continuation of past history. Yes, Ben Akari, this has nothing to do with “colonialism” but is a typical African tribal problem where everybody else is to blame but themselves. Seeing people killed by whoever is NOT acceptable. However, people AND companies have the right to defend their livelihood from thugs and thieves (be they politically motivated or otherwise).
P.S. I do NOT like this guy Fellaini. 🙁 REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: “This website” is not responsible for any of the articles relating to Nigeria. We publish or provide links to all articles, positive or negative about Shell. Since you have raised the subject again, I would make the following points. A Shell VP Ann Pickard, bragged to American officials that Shell had embedded spies throughout the Nigerian government. A confidential independent report prepared for Shell by experts admitted that Shell activities have “inadvertently” fueled corruption and feeds the violence in Nigeria. It is also a matter of record that Shell has broken pledges to end gas flaring in Nigeria. Of course it is tough to do business in Nigeria. You have cited some of the reasons. Is it not right, under the circumstances, that Shell should have announced long ago that its business principles, pledging ethical trading, including respect for people, and environmental impact, do not apply in Nigeria. That would be a more honest approach. Shell cannot have it both ways.
Dear LondonLad : I read your note to Jim Footner of GreenPeace. Tsk, Tsk. Life is too short for this sort on nonsense. I would suggest that perhaps you need some anger management counseling. Peace, brother.
To Jim Footner, Head of Greenpeace climate & energy campaign, can you please confirm if you spend time, energy and money liaising/meeting/campaigning with governments and various “powers-that-be” over various “green” issues in order to try and persuade these governments and organizations to believe some of the ideology and clap trap you pontificate about? If you do, how do you do this? Walk? Bicycle? Of course not, you fly / wine & dine like everyone else on this planet who wants to put across their case. Bottom line is that once again Greenpeace / Guardian advocates one rule for themselves and one for others.
Got to end there as it’s so hot here (climate change and all that) and switch on the aircon.
P.S. Saints won yesterday and hopefully Utd. do the same tomorrow – these are THE important aspects of life not Green peace & Alaska 🙂
That was a nice article about Shell’s ‘guano’
barge. I could suggest some appropriate names for this resurrected ‘bird poop’ derelict, but I am certain Shell wouldn’t appreciate the humor.
Who would have thought the Girl Scout’s involvement with Greenpeace would have aroused such passionate reactions. Give it a break people. Go eat some of their cookies. They are pretty good. I buy them every year.
To compare Greenpeace to ruthless dictators is a little bit over the top, even for rabid Shell fans like yourself. That is like saying it was Little Red Riding Hood who ate Grandma, not the Big Bad Wolf. I would remind you that it was Royal Dutch Shell that willingly jumped into bed with the Fascist regimes and funded their rise to power in the early part of the 20th century. The end result was the carnage of WII and the death camps. And Shell did rat out its Jewish employees. I wonder how many survived the slave labor and death camps.
Shell’s history of cavorting with thugs when such conduct is profitable is long. It continues today in countries like Nigeria, where millions of children suffer as a result. And let’s not forget how Shell knowingly poisoned workers in its pesticide plants in Brazil after they were force to close their plants in the US because of the well document environmental and worker health issue.
You should seek a job with Shell’s propaganda machine, if you don’t work there already.
I assume “Amused” that you realize that dictators use children in front of their tanks. Greenpeace seem to be no different then by using children in front of their political agenda and to defend their often violent ways. Bottom line is that people still need to use fossil fuels and their by products – even nutters such as Greenpeace. Nobody on Earth can guarantee anything for 100% and in the case of Shell’s Arctic activities I am sure (<100% of course) that they will explore, drill and produce safely and environmentally well. Mother Nature has generally been able to cope with past oil spills – far better than the tree huggers who can’t cope with the situation.
P.S. too many seals around anyway, particularly with this new strain of flu they are spreading.
Royal Dutch Shell vs the Girl Scouts (and Greenpeace). This is something I really want to see. RD Shell has already lost the PR battle. This be would something akin to the clubbing of baby fur seals to death just so you could sell their snowy white hides for a small fortune.
Delusion at Shell? Please say it ain’t so. I remember years back when Shell hired a consultant to give it advice on how to retain top staff and point management problems/failings. Well, guess what. Shell refused to accept the report because it was so blisteringly critical of the ‘Shell way’ of doing business. They paid for the report, of course. But they refused to accept the conclusions and recommendations. This is ‘so Shell’.
Londonlad, well, thanks for your opinion, though Ogonis aren’t fighting any other tribe in Nigeria. You are not honest to have said that.
My honesty saying that there is faction in MOSOP doesn’t construe fighting against other tribes or ourselves. Ogonis disagree like the British,if you’re from there,and other people.
More importantly, Ogonis aren’t seeking independence via Goodluck Diigbo’s MOSOP faction Declaration,but local autonomy or self-rule that is popular in Nigeria and other parts of the world including USA.
If we seek independence we have what it takes to succeed, yet with human imperfections.
Note also that Ogonis have always peacefully and nonviolently demanded their rights; it’s the government and $hell,your seeming precursor which have over the years oppressed the Ogonis and have used communities such as the Andonis, Okrikas as proxies to kill us.
Currently, the many deaths recorded in Sogho,an Ogoni village is caused by the imposed activities of the illegal governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, who didn’t contest any election but with long legs or “man know man “as synonymous with Nigeria, he’s declared governor by the court,which claimed he’s the one chosen by his party, same party (PDP),which dropped him and picked someone else as its candidate.
Meanwhile, Amaechi wants to construct a banana plantation Ogoni don’t want, even as he relocate universities and other people-based development projects to or near his village. Because Ogonis are resisting such imposition and disrespect they must die by the guns of local and foreign thugs he employs.
This is the story of the Ogoni people from when the British colonialists illegally and criminally invaded and conquered our people in early 1900, destroying all we have and handed things over to Nigeria,which makes things worse than under the British.
Same as for the Jocks in Scintland, I would really like to see the Ogonis get full independence and see how they progressed / survived ON THEIR OWN. In Scotland they failed centuries ago to retain independence because of continuous infighting and mistrust between the clans. Fast forwarding to present day I doubt very much that the Ogonis will progress as they are continually fighting other tribes AND themselves. Ben Ikari and his comments on Goodluck Diigbo highlight this problem as far as I am concerned. Once again I can only reiterate my opinion that indeed Shell (AND many other oil companies / NNPC) screwed up with oil spillages, but, THE major problem now with the Delta region is tribal infighting (i.e. finger pointing to everyone and anyone but themselves) and locals who want to steal oil from pipelines via sabotage (of course as with most Nigerians they will deny their illegal and dangerous actions). So to Ben Ikari I say go for independence and let’s see who you can blame for any problems that you encounter on the way.
Although Goodluck Diigbo and his MOSOP faction didn’t do this in good faith considering the ill-consultative and awareness creating methods and sharp division in MOSOP.
The Nigerian Tribune and other media should get it right and be accurate in their reporting, as baseless and trouble-shooting hot captions such as the above will take us nowhere.
What the Goodluck Diigbo MOSOP faction in Ogoni declared on August 2, wasn’t Ogoni Republic rather, as the declaration states, was/is self-rule or governance for Ogoni within Nigeria.
This is like the many ethnic groups such as Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo or the Ijaws and Ibibio which have self-rule by having multiple states created for their ethnic groups (the first three so-called majority especially).
The media and confused public must therefore get it right. Self-rule or self-determination within the framework of a sovereign state such as Nigeria isn’t an offense or treason and treasonable felony as the Rivers State governor Chibuike Amaechi,Ogoni oppressor and other Nigerians have ignorantly claimed.
Ogoni had self-rule in 1947 under the leadership of Timothy Naakuu Paul Birabi, and within the protectorate under colonial British rule, though it wasn’t the kind of free self-rule it had before colonial control.
Correct London Lad, its almost as sickening as Culpeppers email yesterday to all staff threatening “a more vibrant, engaging and productive workplace” What a joke, and once again so so wrong. People survey talks and Shell doesn’t listen. Chevron tried and failed, lets hope “open plan” goes the same way and takes Culpepper with it.
What sort of Shell HR crap is this “Empowering Innovation through Meditation”!! Hope it’s a joke….. Yet again HR come forth with some brainless idea to take technical staff eyes off the ball. Unfortunately I bet HR have again brainwashed some board member to have it implanted in his end-of-year scorecard so that it gets “forced” downwards through the system.
RD Shell does not nourish innovation. It encourages and promotes industrial espionage at any opportunity. Like all large companies, thinking outside the box and being a ‘non-conformist’ entails taking ‘risk’. Taking great calculated risk is what has made Silicon Valley so successful. This is a completely foreign concept to a company full of, fawning, posterior venerating managers whose only real skill is the politics of climbing the corporate ladder.
Well, what can we say about RD Shell’s barge problems ? To fracture a famous quote how about – ‘For the want of a functioning barge a kingdom was lost ? ‘ Perhaps not. But one does have to wonder about the future of a company whose ‘star’ management team cannot get their act together after how many years of planning ? 7 ? Or was it only 5? RD Shell’s poor project management skills clearly threaten the long term health of the company.
Can LondonLad or USCitizen or any other rabid fan of Royal Dutch Shell explain why RDS has failed to waive the $75 million limit on damages related to any oil spill in the US Arctic. Come to think of it, maybe Marvin Odum or Peter Voser would like to comment on this. Me thinks RDS wants to put the USG on the hook for cleanup costs in the Arctic if they should have a major problem. Am I not correct???
Royal Dutch Shell is going to sue Greenpeace where ? In the US. The US is NOT Nigeria. The courts and the law are not for sale in this country. Citizens and organizations do have the right of freedom of speech, and the right of freedom of assembly. That means the Greenpeace folks can run their little boats around Shell’s ships shouting slogans and waving banners, and so on. If Shell has to put up with walruses ‘disturbing the peace’ and making a nuisance of themselves then the same holds true for the Greenpeace folks. Like it or not in territorial US waters US law is the name of the game and Royal Dutch Shell has to put up with Greenpeace.
I see that Royal Dutch Shell is planning to challenge the $5 billion fine for an oil spill. I think Shell is getting off cheap given all the damage they have caused. And I suspect the Nigerians are using this spill to make up for past ‘oversights’. Eventually, the chickens do come home to roost.
for Texvette: you are completely right. But as an old cynic (realist?) I like to remind you of that nice english saying: None so deaf as those who will not hear. I fear this is applicable to most directors in the current world.
A good safety leader would coach Marvin and tell him where he is going wrong. The last two have been incapable of doing that. You are 100% correct though about it starting at the top.
LondonLad: Are you by chance Dutch ? Just curious.
Reply to LondonLad: The quoted statement does not mean that we are in possession of every conceivable item of information about Shell. We do not have the information you are seeking.
Do any RD Shell insiders know when Shell will pull out of the UK completely ?
With the oft repeated advert that this site is the “Worlds leading source of information about Royal Dutch Shell”, can I again ask if J.D. could provide me with an updated organigram of the E&P organisation as the official Shell website no longer allows such information to be open to the public domain.
LondonLad: You have a sense of humor ! Who would have guessed. In case you are wondering, not being ‘full of it’ I have no need for EXLAX. Have a nice day.
I cannot speak to Saro-Wiwa’s case specifically, but I can address the Shell mindset from around 1990 when I worked for Shell Western E & P in Houston (one of literally dozens of Shell entities in Houston). I was commissioned to write event-tracking software for safety incidents and environmental incidents. One quantity to be tracked was exceedances (exceedences? no one was ever certain of the spelling), i.e., cases in which spills or upsets of dangerous substances exceeded legal thresholds for those substances. How did the project manager decide to handle exceedances? He created a number called “opportunities for exceedance,” the number and total amount of spills that could be committed without exceeding the law. For each relevant substance, my program was to report not just the number and quantity of spills, but the number and quantity that could have been committed without violating the threshold set in law. Of course the laws were lax, and always made Shell look good, however many spills there were.That was their corporate attitude, and my program was required to reflect it… I had no say in the matter. It does not surprise me that Saro-Wiwa’s life was regarded primarily as a business matter for Shell. That seems to be the nature of multinational corporations, and Saro-Wiwa paid with his life for fighting against one of the largest of them.
With an acronym like “Relieved” I assume you have great experience of Exlax??!! Whilst I’m at it, can John D. provide any update on the Shell E&P organigram? – used to be able to piece bits & pieces together when the Shell website (the real one that is) was more “open”, however, it seems impossible to find out who is where and doing what.
LondonLad: You need to take your EXLAX on a regular basis. It will do wonders for your overall disposition. Sorry, but I don’t have a remedy for intellectual constipation.
After the BP Oil Spill in 2010 Shell laid off people only over 40 at their IT office in Houston, TX (OST). Denied it was discrimination, denied it was because of the Oil Spill then implimented a policy in effect now, not to rehire any severanced employees. Shell Oil just needs to take it down hard and leave. I will never, ever buy Shell gasoline or any other product from Shell or one of their many Joint Ventures or sister companies.
Hello John
nice video from Deutsche Welle. For other viewers: fast forward to 20 minutes.
You are doing a great job, keep trucking!
To Also Relieved: You seem to imply that sacking the safety manager will improve safety. Safety has to be the focus of the top leader of the organization. I cannot understand how Marvin Odum continues to have one of the worst safety records in Shell (perhaps industry) and all he does is change safety managers and focus on the use of handrails on the stairs of the Woodcreek cafeteria. The “tone” for safety HAS to start at the top. This is not — and has not been happening in Americas EP
“or other fraudulent scheme” – covers a multitude of sins and thus legally will not allow any suing. Jeeeez Donovan what sort of journalism would allow you to encourage such actions?!?! AGAIN the chip on your shoulder appears to be very very large indeed!! You also use the words “over-excited” – you need to look at yourself in the mirror occasionally. At the end of the day I hope Shell sue these idiots who make fake videos and make a lot of bullshit statements. REPLY BY JOHN: Hello LondonLad/Musaint, you seem rather agitated. I have explained the precise grounds on which the people behind the fake adverts may have a legitimate claim for defamation against Shell. Since we have successfully sued Shell twice for libel, I have some credibility in such matters. What precisely are your suggested legal grounds for Shell being able to sue the perpetrators of the campaign? What credibility do you have. Have you ever sued anyone for libel? Are you a barrister? Or are you just an undeclared paid or unpaid Shell spokesperson defending the indefensible, as you often do here. You even attempt to defend its conduct in Nigeria when an independent 93 page report prepared and paid for by Shell, made a series of admissions about the companies dire impact on Nigeria. Yes, there are background problems in Nigeria in terms of endemic corruption and yes Shell does have to compete against its rivals. But it should drop the claim to operate within a set of business principles pledging honesty, integrity, openness etc when it actually engages in all kinds of unethical activity, including arming Nigerian police spies and conniving with Nigerian militants, embedding spies in the Nigerian government and repeatedly promising to end gas flaring, but failing to do so. As for operating in a country with endemic corruption, my guess is that Shell much prefers it that way. It has expertise in handing out big bribes e.g. to the Sultan of Brunei.
So Hurricane Denise finally blew itself out and ran out of energy. Such a shame it did so much damage by not listening to people. One year on and the Americas safety performance is worse and a lot of good people benched. At least Marvin did the right thing.
Ah, LondonLad, you possess some degree of curiousity. My remarks were clear and stand as is.
Assume “Relieved” that your last sentence applies to just the PR group of RDS? If not you are way, way, wide of the mark. That said, have you, or do you work for Shell? If that’s a no then how do you manage to make such a pontificated remark?
Londonlad: You need to face reality, boy. The fact of the matter is that RDS’s genius media guru’s got brilliantly stung, and big time, by GreenPeace. So, much for the ‘Let’s Go’ campaign. This is, of course, a huge embarassment for RDS. Face it, RDS doesn’t have the ‘best and brightest’ working for them in their PR group. Lot’s of shameless, groveling suckups YES. Talent NO.
Strange that if the idiots from Greenpeace conduct an elaborate (and illegal??) hoax against Shell it’s met with stupid comments from this Gabrielle Levy such as “yet another successful viral campaign” and “pranksters” – hardly madam. These people again act illegally and defend their actions as though once again (and incorrectly) they are defending the majority. Adding the word “brilliant” to the headline story is once again tabloid journalism!!
I love the sub-article in Wikipedia on Greenpeace : “They have worked to create awareness of important environmental issues since the 1970’s, but their methods, accuracy, and effectiveness have ranged from controversial to comical to scandalous. Greenpeace activism is based upon the simplification of complex issues into epic battles between good and evil. Rather than devoting a lot of resources into educating the public, Greenpeace, like most political activist groups, tries to create sensationalist drama to grab attention and put simplistic issues in the headlines.”
Better informed than Greenpeace and tree-huggers at times. I still chuckle when I think of the vast volumes of pollutants Greenpeace stated were in Brent Spar. Bottom line at the end of the day is that most normal people want / need fossil fuels to lead a life they desire. Even Greenpeace use it to fuel their ships, fly around the world to tree-hugging conferences and drive to Shell petrol stations to create havoc. As for being paranoid and intolerant, that should be levelled at the likes of Greenpeace and other “scruffy” organizations who, as a clear minority on this planet, seem to want to dictate to the majority that their views are the correct way ahead. Wonder how many votes a “Greenpeace” party would get in a countrywide vote – very few aka other UK Green parties.
P.S. well done to John in his speed of posting – pity it’s not an Olympic event!!
For LondonLad: Back again ! Great ! I do so enjoy your opinionated and ill informed posts. FYI – I am a hugger, but I am not into trees. You, my friend, are paranoid and intolerant, and appear to have been watching too many cheap and cheesy corporate propaganda flicks. Tree huggers are generally harmless folks, no matter what you may think of their views on politics or the environment.
LondonLad: I think you’ll find that many of the people contributing work in the oil industry, and simply resent the damage done to the reputation of all in the industry by the actions of a few unscrupulous incompetents.
Methinks that some of these “contributions” below concerning Shell drilling in the Arctic are from Greenpeace and “tree huggers” as they have suddenly / rapidly been posted (OR is someone asleep and not posting these quickly enough?). As far as I am concerned (yet again) these buffoons have to travel around the world to make their complaints so how do they travel? – by bicycle? All I can say is watch out Bradley Wiggins for these tree huggers – yellow jersey in the Tour de France for the uninitiated. REPLY BY JOHN TO MUSAINT/LondonLad: Your contribution was published within 9 minutes.
Ancient Mariner: fair point, although the published specs for the vessel show 10 identical anchors. If Dutch Harbor is known for poor holding, why were no suitable precautions taken? Why was no pre-laid mooring available? Was anyone on watch on either the Discoverer or the tugs? Even the cheapest marine GPS units have a facility to warn of a dragging anchor. And this all took place in broad daylight. It seems all too similar to the Exxon Valdez, albeit without the spill. Poor planning, and unprofessional execution.
John,
It is clear from your article on the risk Shell is taking in its Arctic exploration program that investors and shareholders are being misled. This is no different than the ‘reserve fraud’ scandal that shook Shell 8 years ago. Shell management has a bad habit of engaging in deliberate deception when it suits their needs. A major spill in the Arctic could take the company down, but have investors and shareholders bought into this policy through informed discussion. No. Shell management is hiding the ‘downside’ potential of these activities.
This is for Shell’s propoganda organs regarding the grounding (yes the darn thing obiously was grounded) of the Noble Discoverer :
“Lier, Lier pants on fire …..’
Now, if this ship had been a US Navy ship, or a Royal Navy ship, the entire wardroom would have been relieved for gross incompetence. I presume Shell is going to insist on a change in the command structure for this vessel. Or am I p**** into the wind??
Presumably Shell will now prosecute everyone on the beach at Dutch Harbor for breaching the court ordered exclusion zone?
Insider, the Discovery was not using the same mooring system as it will use during drilling operations. The drilling operations are controlled by the use of a 8 anchor system not the single one used for mooring the vessel in Dutch Harbor. Many ships have problems anchoring in Dutch Harbor as it has very sandy bottom and as such does not have good holding.
London Lad – Where oh where have you been ? It is so good to see that you have not disappeared on us.
You state Donovan that : “Some contributors using an alias have built up credibility over the years e.g. ‘Outsider’ “ – so only those who choose to bemoan Shell for this that and the other are credible. Hmmmm what about MUSaint who spoke such words of wisdom.
I am sorry, but, Paddy Briggs at times has got a very big chip on his shoulder against Shell – it would be of great interest to know why!! At the end of the day there are many who have worked for Shell or have a vested interest in Shell (shares) who support the work they are doing worldwide. The oil industry is, at times, unfortunately a “messy” business that requires oil companies to (including Shell) join in the necessary business approach. This includes the likes of Signature Bonuses, Corporate Boxes at sporting events and most importantly the giving of vast sums of money to countries to attempt alleviate the lack of funding by corrupt countries (e.g. Nigeria) on their own people for basics.
Gawsh, I wish I had a corporate box at Old Trafford…… 😉 REPLY BY JOHN: Paddy Briggs seems to be very well thought of by Shell colleagues bearing in mind that he was elected to his current function as a Trustee of the Shell Contributory Pension Fund. All of his postings here have been in his own name. That says a lot. He is prepared to take responsibility for what he says. I am perfectly happy to acknowledge you and MUSAINT as being examples of alias users who have built up credibility here. As previously mentioned, I have suspicions that you are one and the same. Certainly share many opinions including on Shell in Nigeria. Comments above would then amount to self-praise… 😉
If the Discoverer’s mooring system cannot even hold position in a 35mph wind, what is this rig doing in the Arctic? Loss of position while drilling, and especially during a well control incident would create a very dangerous situation.
Shell bought the Discoverer through its subsidiary Frontier Drilling and operated the vessel for several years before selling the rig with Frontier Drilling to Noble in 2010. It is therefore somewhat disingenuous of Shell to blame Noble for the failure to meet the emissions standards. Does anyone really believe Shell’s comment that there are no generators on the market that meet the current emissions standards?
On April 27, I described as “a gushing farce” Shell’s supposed “impressive achievement” in managing to “clock up just shy of one million Facebook fans in under two months?” There is now a question mark over the possible manipulation of “Likes”in regards to brands featured on Facebook. Websites allowing aliases to be used are especially vulnerable to manipulation. That includes Wikipedia and blogs, such as this one. It follows that I can only vouch for the authenticity of postings made in my name or by contributors such as Paddy Briggs, who choose not to use an alias. Some contributors using an alias have built up credibility over the years e.g. “Outsider”.
Everyone working in the refining business (I have never worked for Shell) knows that refineries can be dangerous places if you don’t stay on your toes. So, can you Port Arthur Shell guys tell the rest of us non-Shell guys what happened to Shell’s process hazard reduction plan ? Surely, they have such a plan at that new $10bln facility ? Hello ? Can anyone in Shell management explain what the F*** happened ? Or perhaps simple, wonton, gross imcompetence on the part of senior management is the only and best answer.
Shell knew all along that their drilling ship couldn’t meet the required clean air standards and apparently made no effort to upgrade and meet those standards. Switch and Bait ???? This is way beyond that. This is utter contempt for the regulatory system and the pristine environment Shell will be working in. They are scaming the system and making the requlating proffesions look like ITS all their fault.
The Discoverer is a 1960’s era vessel – it should come as no surprise that it cannot meet current emission requirements (any more than a 1960’s vintage automobile would be able to pass a current emissions test)
This Shell porn thing is too good to let go by without making a few more comments. One can imagine how the terminology and slang of the oil field will fit into Shell’s new business. These terms take on a whole new meaning. For example, ‘dry hole’, T&A’d, ‘nipple up’, ‘gusher’, ‘exploratory test’, ‘blowout preventer’, and so on, and on. I better stop or John won’t print this. Sorry, folks but this was too good to pass up.
Read the article on 5 years and $10b later…. this comment is made….
I’m really having a hard time wrapping my mind around what happened at this Motiva plant. A few things puzzle me. ….
This is not a puzzle to us that are here. This project was bad from the start…. Tom Purves put all of his old cronies on this project to allow them to end their career on a high note…. He was told repeatedly by people in the know that Bechtel was the wrong choice…. this issue with the caustic was missed in the PHA…. Also, his biggest crony, Jeff Funkhouser, a fundamental joke, was brought over here to get him out of Norco and apply his heavy hand on the leadership team who was here trying to make this project / plant run. Jeff has no clue and neither does Tom for that matter re how to run big projects. Yet they were the two leads at the end of the day on this project. This project flopped at the end of the day, is a big embarrassment to the owners….and where are Tom and Jeff now? Are they being held accountable for this mess? Nope. Tom is now in Upstream. He left as soon as they swept up the confetti from the celebration. Jeff is now in Global Solutions working on….Operational Excellence in project startup. This is so Shell. Jeff is such a part of the problem on this one and he rides out under the night cover to do it again in another part of the world….and we wonder why Shell has this big fiasco.
Tom and Jeff should both be fired…. Shell is not and will not change because of their terrible leadership at this point in time. A great company in the past but not anymore.
Tom, you should be ashamed of what you created.
Jeff you should just be ashamed.
My comments on Bruce Culpepper were just my opinion, I respect that others may have different ones. Personally, I’ve seen him do the right thing on a couple of different occasions where there have been difficult individual & HR issues. Obviously not things i’d share on a website, but I assure you that when i’ve seen him have the chance to screw someone over or use the system to get the fair answer, he did the latter.
Obviously others have seen a different side, but I stand by my view.
For TexasExpat: You must not have been around Shell much. Culpepper is one of the biggest “suck ups”/”yes men” in the company. He presents a facade that he is representing the employee, but he is 100% “company”. Please give examples of when he stood up to his bosses in The Hague that resulted in a change.
I was going through the links on the porno article and ran across comments about the ‘Baptist Mafia’ at Shell USA. It is there, no doubt about it. And it was there in the early 1980’s when I first went to work for Shell. Many a promoted incompetent got his ‘reward’ for simply being ‘one of the true believers’. And many people, particularly support staff took in the teeth at evaluation time if their conduct was deemed to not be ‘morally sound.’ The situation has worsened over the years. It reminds of Gulf Oil (which is now extinct). At Gulf you had no chance of any decent career with the company unless you were a Mason. This Baptist thing at Shell has got to go. I agree w/ the Brits and the Dutch. It is like a cancer. These people are the most duplicitous,
!@#$%^&**().
First is was sex and drugs at DOI, now it is whips and chains at Circle K/Shell.
Makes one wonder about senior Shell management and their recreational habits.
What an interesting blog !!! How does Shell survive this kind of PR ???
Somebody in top management needs to seek employment elsewhere. Peddling porn ??? Before we know it, Shell will form a subsidiary that will be a ‘private’ backer of the porn making industry in S. California, and will reap the profits that come with porn production. Maybe they already have. Rumor has it that ATT has such a subsidiary, and that it is HUGELY profitable. Selling sex for big $$$ is definitely easier and quicker than exploring for oil and gas.
And another inquiry for some intrepid investigator: Maybe these 240 Shell stations in Florida are also now selling ‘behind the counter adult sophisticate’ magazines. Can anyone verify this ?? It would not surprise me one bit given Circle K’s policy on porn in its branded stores.
Now that we know Shell is attempting to set moral standards when it is profitable to do so, we should probe a little deeper on this issue. Circle K stores also generally have ‘behind the counter’ porno mags for sale. Hustler magazine being one of several. Can anyone verify that these Circle K stores that sell Shell gasoline are still selling the ‘behind the counter adult sophisticate’ magazines ?? Maybe Shell’s moral hypocrisy runs deeper than is acknowledged.
Thanks Bruce for your response! So what is the point of a Shell People Survey if it is going to be ignored ? It is the only feedback forum people have and it is a joke. Fully agree about Hague driven decisions but senior leaders need to grow some and stand up to this. Culpepper is one of the ones who is afraid to do that and is quite happy working from his large office and managing his own career. Has anyone seen any conclusive evidence that open plan offices are more “collaborative” apart from open trading floors. I doubt it, The real truth is that it is all about space occupancy and cost. Yes the sea will come in but the tide will turn back again, unfortunately long after we have lost some great talent and potential.
Thanks for the clarification Regular Contributor. I was exposed primarily to Downstream and I can attest that Rolex watches were not presented as anniversary awards. I fully agree with everything else you said in your posts. Loyalty is a two way street. Shell US used to be totally loyal to it’s employees and the employees were totally loyal to the company. Post John Bookout (primarily during the Phil Carroll tenure) we learned that employees were no longer a “valued asset” of the company. While we still get new employees to join the company, they are looking for a pay check/”punching their ticket” vs. enjoying working for Shell and wanting to pursue a long term career. This is — and will continue, to cost the company from an experience standpoint. While all companies have made a shift from employee loyalty, I know of no other oil major that has done it to the extreme as Shell.
To be fair to Bruce Culpepper, I think someone should put a different perspective across. Firstly, the Shell Real Estate strategy isn’t something that I suspect he gets to define or decide, but like most people has to make the best of what is (I agree) a bad job. I didn’t hear his comments, but I know that there are fights that won’t go anywhere, and arguing against open plan offices in Shell is like complaining at the sea for coming in – however passionately people argue, it ain’t gonna change anything, so the most honest approach is to work out how to make the best of the situation as is really is.
Secondly, I’ve worked around a whole bunch of HR folks, and trust me, he is one of the good ones. Not someone who just focuses on HR and doesn’t have any personality or balls, and given some of the alternatives – i think you guys should count your blessings!
Bigger issue for me would be the constant flow of Hague dominated decisions that then can’t be stopped, even at these senior levels, when the don’t make any sense on the ground, outside of Holland.
To Texvette – You have got to be kidding me. This was standard procedure in E&P operations for the professional staff when I went to work for Shell USA in the early 1980’s. A very nice dinner was included where senior division management attended the award. Surely, you must have seen senior Shell personnel wearing Rolex watches with a Pecten and diamonds on them. It was quite a common site when I worked for Shell. But then Shell USA was a different company than it is today. People actually used to like working for Shell. It was fun. I loved working for Pecten Int., Shell USA’s international division. Shell treated their valued staff quite well. And Shell only very rarely hired experienced personnel from outside the company. They preferred to hire them straight out of college, train them in the ‘Shell way’, and to promote from within. Exxon still follows that method.
In my day at Shell, John Hofmeister (remember him) would NEVER have been hired or given the position he was. It would have been absolutely unthinkable. He knew little if anything about the oil industry. Shell trained personnel were also in great demand within the industry, and it was difficult to keep good staff. And in a perverse way, Shell management used to say that they had trained half the people in the oil industry. There was a good deal of truth in that statement. For several years I taught both exploration and production engineering courses at Bellaire Research Center. Those were much different times, it was a different generation, and clearly it was a much different, and much better company to work for.
TO: “Regular Contributor” – Could you please let me know when Shell US presented Rolex watches to commemorate a service anniversary. This is the first I ever heard of this and I have great grandparents, grand parents, parents and relatives that have worked for Shell and never heard of this. I do agree with your comments about Shell totally and completely ignoring the results of the Shell People Survey. Like Culpepper, the Survey is a joke.
And while I am making comments, when I first went to work for Shell I had my very own office, with a real desk, 3 office chairs, a large book case for my technical reference material (I am an engineer) and two full sized filing cabinets, along with a private phone line. Hello???? What the F*** is HR up to these days. Get your heads out of your backsides and breath some good air for a change.
There was a day when Shell USA handed out a Rolex wrist watch for the 10th year anniversary of loyal service. After that they handed out diamonds that went on the watch for every additional 5 years of service, I believe. I did stay around long enough. Shell has really gone down the tubes if all they hand out for 10 years of service is crap like photos. They might cost $10.
Mr Culpepper strikes again and tells senior leaders to suck it up and support the new Shell Real Estate vision of the future. The new open concept is a tremendous step backwards for all of those less than LC but is widely supported by senior management. So Culpepper, why do you not listen to the staff on these issues, is it just pure arrogance when you totally ignore the last three years of Shell People surveys, which quite obviously show you that people DISLIKE their working conditions. Instead SRE go off on a multi million-dollar campaign to plant trees and flowers to make Alcatraz Woodcreek Branch look appealing. The truth of the matter it that it is the inside which needs to be changed. Do you really think we like sitting three feet away from each other. Are we expected to lay eggs next? Where is the Employee Value Proposition which has been quoted so often in the past? In my opinion it has been so eroded and then you wonder why we struggle to recruit new staff. How many graduates would be thrilled when they see their new portable office ! No desk of their own just a portable container. Wake Up Culpepper, start listening for a change. Oh and while I am ranting do you really think Upstream people want a picture of a gas station as a long service award !! I recently got my 10 year award and was so disappointed it went in the trash. A gas station!!!! Just shows you how out of touch HR is as well.
Indeed Shell was not mentioned in the article, however, they have repeatedly been linked to fracking by yourself and tree-hugging societies in the past. I should have used your approach and “added” the title : “Shell effectively given go ahead for fracking by expert societies”. 😉
Port Arthur — Shell UPPER MANAGEMENT at its “finest”!! How many more bi$$ion will it take before you get it right !?!?!?
Re: Motiva Refinery Debacle – Unbelievable. Lock-out, Tag-out, the most basic safety rule, strikes again. The same thing that blew-up Piper Alpha. Caustic – the same thing that blew up Norco. Unbelievable. And Caustic doesn’t just pit stainless, it causes cracks in stress areas. They will have to use advanced ultrasound techniques on every millimeter of hundreds of miles of piping because a hidden crack will propagate and cause a failure days or years in the future. Might as well melt it all down and start over.
The image of Marvin Odum with pecten shaped bubbles emanating from his lower back says it all…. (See article Marvin Odum blathering on)
Let me comment on the Niger Delta’s Environmental Problems and gas flaring in general. If half of the bile directed at the oil majors had instead been directed at the Alams, OBJs, Odilis, etc, perhaps the people of the Delta would have had a little breather from the perpetual flames of the gas flares. Instead, they continue screaming their guts out at Shell, Chevron, etc, when in fact it is the responsibility of the State (FG) to improve infrastructure in their poverty-stricken region, to enforce tight environmental regulations, etc. I believe the oil companies are doing exactly what other multinational companies anywhere would do – taking advantage of lax laws in a region with some of the poorest black Africans anywhere. What profit-generating company would not do the same. These are, afterall, the most nameless, faceless, voiceless people in a voiceless country. And as long as the people of the Delta continue turning out in the millions to welcome Alams, Odili, etc from prison or the drag-ball (in the case of Alams), it’s business as usual.It is not Shell’s responsibility to build houses, hospitals, roads, or to guarantee the quality of air in the oil producing regions. Indeed, it is not their responsibility to put an end to gas flaring by building gas pipelines into a country that essentially has no industrial capacity, particularly when a substantial chunk of Nigeria’s money-generating industry is faraway in Lagos. The FG is responsible for enforcing these laws, and even here in the US, when (in the early 1970s) it became clear that lead (in leaded fuels) was bad for three-way catalysts that removed unburned hydrocarbons and also could get into drinking water, the Feds enforced the laws – they did not wait around for ExxonMobil and oil companies to change their stance on leading petrol. That’s a Government. Nigeria hasn’t got one.And as for the people of the Delta, they can keep screaming their guts out. They’d better get used to the death, destruction and oppression they’ve been saddled with for the past 50 years. There’s plenty more where that came from, and as long as the world has its insatiable thirst for oil, it’s coming!
Well, for Motiva, CEP isn’t woth $12B if the crude unit can’t run. It was filled up with caustic and caustic washed the whole unit. There are thousands of feet of pipe that have to be replaced. The fire started due to leaking pipe. What a mess. So ironic to see Uncle Tom Purves talking about us getting rates up to planned levels as we are bringing the unit down. This unit was the worst part of the whole project. I guess we will get to see Jeff Funkhouser come over to “help” the new leadership team. Tom won’t since he got the hell out. Needless to say we won’t be starting this unit up anytime soon. We got it up in time for the senior execs to get off the clock and then back down to rebuild the unit. Geez…..
Is anyone surprised with the current issues with the new crude unit at Port Arthur. Word has it that: 1) the problems are much more severe than being reported, and 2) this is just “the tip of the iceberg”. Some wonder if the new $13 billion worth of units will ever start-up
Dear Susa,
I completely agree with you in your presentation about the involvement or complicity of the Nigerian government in the $hell’s crimes against Ogoni and Niger delta. I have, of course, repeatedly mentioned this involvement or slick, killer alliance. My current campaign focusing on Nigeria and not $hell alone speaks to this effect. In short, I have a protest coming up at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC, Wednesday, June 13, at 10am. This is to let the embassy know what Ogonis and their friends in the US know about the role of government in the crimes against our people and the degradation of our environment. We shall be sending a message to the government in Nigeria through the Ambassador.
Meanwhile, it is instructive to note that most of government’s behavior in Nigeria as they relate to oil and the people are influenced by $hell, which evidence shows places its staff everywhere in government that is sensitive to its business so as to influence and manipulate decisions, laws or rules and regulations affecting her interests. One example is the current petroleum minister, Alison Madueke, who is reported to have been trained in school by $hell. The joint venture between government and $hell makes matters worse. In nutshell, both government and $hell are responsible for the predicaments of Ogoni and so are liable, thus must be held accountable. Nigerian government is one of such baby or kitchen governments in the world, which allows corporations to dictate the lives of their own people. This government is not worth calling a government, but shame and sham-a corrupt ,deadly and ever incompetent entity.
While I believe SHELL should be held responsible for ruining countless Ogoni people’s life and degrading the environment in the Ogony land, I believe the SO CORRUPTED Nigerian Government must be held accountable as well. It is sad that all of these slaughtering and complice to corruption have been ongoing for more than 5 decades and the world is just now learning about it. Ben, I command your courage and determination in getting the word out, and shedding some lights into SHELL’S practice in Nigeria. Practices that are unacceptable, shameful, and for which it is totally fair for you, Ogony people,to seek justice for. But, just for your information, SHELL wasn’t the first, nor the last that have taken advantage of AFRICAN people’s wealth,and contibuted to degrading the environment carelessly in Africa. ELF oil has done the same thing in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past, and got away with it, leaving those Congolese in the poorest health conditions. It is only fair to seek for justice and I wish the Ogony people Good luck.
Well, finally…. not the announcement that we all wanted to see, but good enough for us. Tom Purves…GOOD RIDDANCE. He is going to Upstream as an Operations Excellence VP. What a fall for this guy!!! We had hoped it would be a retirement notice. He now can slither off down I-10 and go ACT like he is adding value to Shell’s Upstream. This gets him finally out of Motiva and out of Port Arthur. Tom, your legacy is a joke. You leave us nothing. This project ended up being overspent( $12B, not $10B as Shell says in the media) and 2 years past due. Tom, you ruined many people’s good careers in this march to the top of Mount Purves Ego. I hope you look in the mirror and see the real Purves one day and can live with what you have done. Good riddance. You are a non event and that is how you will go out. Buried in Shell with a nothing job…. But, you were actually good at doing this your whole career so it will work out fine. To see you being operations excellence VP over projects is a joke but typical Shell. Do us all one last favor and take Funkhouser with you. We all know where he will go if you do…. We also know where he will go if you don’t.
Prayers answered!
With respect to the WSJ (one of Rupert Murdoch’s stable of unimpeachable “journals”) article on the strike in PDO one glaring error stands out. PDO is 60% owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman. Shell’s share is 30%. Shell discharges a role of technical adviser and seconds a (diminishing) number of staff to the company which is directed by a 12 man board, seven members of which represent the government. The Chairman is the Minister of Oil & Gas, someone who does not shrink from a leadership role. This picture does not fit with the statement “Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) – led Petroleum Development Oman.
Motiva CEO and Saudi Aramco states that cost for the expansion are in the range of $10B…… give or take $2B. This sounds like the rubbish that Purves keeps feeding these goons. Purves, you looked old today…. Go home and cash in your worthless Shell stock. Enjoy your tea!!!
“Londonlad,” well you dodged my question about your name like $hell will dodge every genuine attempt by Ogoni to ask for respect and that it adhere to its own business philosophy of honesty, integrity…
Be informed, and you may have known by now that Ogonis are victims of $hell business.
The company has made billions of dollars like the Nigerian government. Or do you forget that the government do not know the actual number of barrels of oil $hell extract daily; that $hell just give what it pleases?
Finally, Ogonis are not interested in getting anything from $hell rather, we are rightfully seeking justice for the harm the company has done us. It is factual that $hell collaborated to kill Ogonis and poisoned, degrade our environment. It was at $hell’s behest that Ken Saro-Wiwa was murdered-the facts are there; Abacha was only used by $hell to achieve that. The company thought once Saro-Wiwa was out of the way it can rest from Saro-Wiwa’s campaign that exposes the degradation, which UNEP report confirms and other abuses (human rights violations) caused by $hell. The company’s spy network and deadliness, even lies and other corrupt practices are not synonymous with Ogoni situation alone. Records are revealing the company exhibit similar attitude everywhere except its home-countries of Britain or UK and Netherlands, other states of Europe and America.
Interestingly, the Ogoni struggle is just and so will succeed in exposing $hell, demanding justice and adequate compensation. Where there is a crime there is remedy, and where there is law there should be justice. All Ogoni seek is justice and not an extraneous wealth we do not deserve.
Re Motiva Port Arthur, I hope people don’t believe the propaganda that the CEP project created 300 permanent jobs. It did create some new jobs, not close to 300. It also doesn’t account for the many jobs that were lost. The only way this project pays off is if Port Arthur brings on the additional capacity with the same basic fixed costs that the facility had prior to the project. There are 2 jobs that the project does need to eliminate, Tom Purves and Jeff Funkhouser. That may help pay for some of the overage of the project costs. I’m sure we will never hear the true costs of the project. Clearly over $12B.
As regular visitors will be aware, it is not our practice to censor postings on this blog. Unfortunately we have received a posting from “Esther” which we will not publish because it contains threats of violence.
To “Ben Ikari” – I think I understand your rant, however, as ever with Nigerians the attempt is to blame everyone else but themselves. The approach is almost always of attacking the foreign companies and at the same time attempt to extract as much money as possible from them via the courts. The Ogoni’s often appear to be no different in this respect. The undeniable problem with the Ogoni’s AND other tribes in the Delta region is YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT. They have denied you a proper education, decent housing, basic medical care etc. etc. Above all they have taken billions of US$ out of the country that should have been invested in the place. Foreign companies (particularly Shell) have invested and given billions of US$ into the Delta region – no doubt some of that has also been siphoned off by corrupt Nigerian officials. I have said most of these points before to you and others, it seems like we’ll have to agree to disagree. I do agree that the killing of Saro-Wiwa was an awful and unacceptable crime. The perpetrator of this however was your very own Sani Abacha not Shell. Again it’s a case of blame everyone else rather than your own ex-dictator.
To Donovan – I hardly think my comments are defamatory, more like honest. I have to say I liked your response of “sometimes totally unfounded” – so sometimes I am right then 😉 Some of your articles with the added tabloid headers clearly show you do not always want to merely challenge/object to Shell’s activities but would rather attack them at every opportunity for every alleged misdemeanour. Shell does a great deal of excellent community work around the world, particularly in places like Nigeria, but like every organization run by human beings is prone to mistakes and errors. As to me using a pseudonym this is what any website with a blog element should expect, including yourself, so tough-luck with that. I have to say however that in this respect well done to you for posting comments. REPLY BY JOHN: The truth is that you don’t always get it right and neither do I. This is the reason why despite the bluster on both sides, I have always appreciated you putting time into offering criticism and balance. The same applies to USCitizen. Your views, particularly on Shell in Nigeria, are strikingly similar to a person who posted here for many years under the name of MUSAINT before declaring he would no longer visit the site because he objected to the focus on Shell’s connection with the Nazis. COMMENT BY “OUTSPOKEN” (A FORMER SHELL EMPLOYEE): Hey London Lad:
You need to read your articles more carefully. There is nothing the royaldutchshellplc.com article about William Hague that is not already in the public domain. And my goodness, but you truly have a mean streak in you. Where do you find the time and emotional energy for all of this? Me thinks you need to get some sort of private life. Have you considered consulting a ‘pshrink’ about your irrational anger toward someone you have never met? Maybe an anger management course is in order here. Might help you a great deal. However, I think you don’t really exist and are simply a fake spokesperson for RDS’s propoganda organ.
Have a Nice Day.
Mr “londonlad,are you really a londonlad? Candidly, is this your real name? If no, why can’t you unmask? If yes, proof by an affidavit. Meanwhile, Donovan is right to state that William Hague is trying to help $hell, which looks like your precursor get away with murder. The rogue and deadly company will not escape justice even after the US Supreme Court. If in doubt or think Donovan is wrong and should or could be sued, start by presenting an alternative fact to wit Hague is innocent and not a former $hell’s employee. How I wish you were Ogoni to see and feel how our shoes hurt, and the many lifeless bodies Ogoni has dug to mother earth due $hell’s recklessness and racism. You are not Ogoni and will not be, so will not understand despite the fact that the same blood that run through oppressed Ogonis run through you and your people, wherever you may come from. Ogoni deaths orchestrated by $hell and now backed by the British government is beyond politics and so stop attempting politics with it. You will not be happy watching your people and their environment die because of the recklessness of Ogoni, if there was any.
Hope you get sued Donovan for that stupid and outrageous add on comment about William Hague trying to help Shell get away with murder. Once again it shows you to be someone who has a severe chip on your shoulder over Shell allegedly screwing you in the past. Next move for you is the nut house I think!! REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: That’s the difference between me and you. I make a statement in my name and the parties at whom my statement is directed are free to sue me for libel if they contend that what I have stated is untrue. You make frequent defamatory comments about me, sometimes totally unfounded as per your previous posting, but always hide behind an alias so that you cannot be held responsible. And when you are dead wrong, as you were last time, you don’t even have the grace to apologize. The Sunday Times did not mention that William Hague is a former employee of Shell. I believe that information is salient. I have no fear whatsoever of being sued for libel by Hague or Shell. The UK and Dutch governments have gone to a lot of trouble in the hope of preventing these matters (Shell’s crimes in Nigeria) being aired in open court, so the prospect of Shell or Hague taking any action that would result in that actually happening is ZERO.
This is amazing. This story is getting exactly zero coverage in the mainstream press of the United States. While I am not exactly surprised it is just one more incidence of keeping Americans ignorant of the true nature of the oil world. Thanks for your efforts to inform and educate. All the best. (ASSUME THIS COMMENT BY SAMOU RELATES TO THE SHELL TOX STORY)
Executive pay. Dear Anon, I happen to have been around when Linda Cook was the token woman in Shell. Let me tell you one more time: she did NOT make any clever decisions. She behaved like a czarina. Her meetings were something to be seen, she had more testosterone and hate in herself than most other male directors. Her presentations where completely pre-cooked. Never seen so many yellow stickers on the plastic viewgraphs. She did all the management things that she read in a management book: walking up and down in front of the audience. Smiling all the time. Not wanting to be interrupted with questions since this would disturb the flow. And every question was answered with ‘ that is a very good question but unfortunately I cannot answer it now since I did not read the plan (or some other lame excuse). And when she got stuck, up popped Lew Watts or another slave of hers and answered it eloquently. And then the time was up and she had to leave. Busy, busy, busy. I would not be surprised if she shagged Phil Watts, they were never more than a few meters apart and adored each other.
I asked many americans who knew her career in the US what was so special. There has been zero response, they simply did not know. She did make a promise (which was broken of course) that exploration costs would remain low forever and EP would grow forever. This is what Phil Watts (sorry, SIR Philip) wanted to hear.
She was simply a social climber, making full use of the fact that Shell wanted some token women. All clever work was done by others, she just did not have the brain to do it. And nice projects you mention, both came in 4-6x the projected cost and are only saved by the high oilprice…..
Good riddance of her, bonus for the guys who decided she had to go.
Marvin Odum has consistently had one of the worst safety records in Shell. How does he continue to get by ? Firing your Health, Safety and Environment Managers does not fix the safety culture, nor does “making a scene” when folks do not use handrails on the way to the cafeteria. Good safety practices should be followed EVERYWHERE !
One year on and I wonder how much longer Marvin will wait for his safety record to improve.
Will Denise follow Libby?
The oil companies are right to flare off gas – it’s very cheap to do so. Apparently because it’s cheap makes it right for them to right? A dictator was right to commit mass murder and plunder the economy because it was easy for him to? (I will resist all temptations to name you appropriately for making such a nonsensical argument). I find your line of reasoning absurd: The people of the Niger delta asked for it by welcoming Alamaesigha in their number? What has that got to do with anything? I agree that the people of the Niger Delta are responsible mostly for what is going on now. The major misfortune of the Niger Delta is the failure of its present leaders and those of it’s recent past. Here are some things to consider: They were conveniently ignored during the decades of Scholarships Abroad from FG (believe me, there were a multitude of school cert holders who were willing but who had to make do with little jobs in Lagos). The culture of Looking out for your tribal brother didn’t help the idea of federalism. What I am trying to say is that the level of illiteracy in the Niger delta hasn’t been entirely without cause. Try to think Here is really the question I want to ask: Is it the responsibility of the Niger Delta citizens to negotiate with oil companies issues about pollution, environmental regulations? Does the government not owe that duty of care? Isn’t it the government’s duty to insist on cleaner technology? If the Niger delta is expected to take care of itself in this sense, shouldn’t it as well be self governing? I know fully well that The Federal Government will rather have the oil companies pay the fat penalty for not meeting up to standard, which also is cheaper for the company which would rather not invest in costly cleaner technology. Lastly: There are no affirmation actions or free rides to Federal universities for people of the Niger delta. No such things exist. Scholarships are being claimed and used. And the universities there are flooded with students, as badly maintained as they may be.I wish we had time for facts, numbers, so we are more empirical instead of all the unnecessary emotion. I am not denying the senselessness of the Niger delta politician (thieves all of them). Or that illiteracy is rife and poverty too. Nice breeding ground for crime, gangs etc. Niger delta people need to get off their lazy asses and stop crying victim. Yar’adua needs to know what he is doing. And you need to try to understand first. We all the need to ask the right questions before we can get right answers. Else we all end up with wayward results. Plus Ken Saro-Wiwa was something of a literary giant and intellectual. Many young people of the Niger Delta will join that list. You watch and see.
i want to thank everyone of you who has been iettresend in this our struggle with shell.i want to say it here that we are not only demanding these that is already on the news but i want to personally see that shell nigeria and international is brought to an international court to bring shell to justice and make them pay for the destruction of our ecosystem.gas flaring,Oil spills and every other environment pollution due to their oil exploration and exploitation we need help and all the links to take shell to court especial a court in the USA..as shell has been made to pay the ogonis so i did want shell to pay us .your support and links will help us to take shell to court in a foreign..shell dont obey court rulings in nigeria this is why we desire to have them prosecuted in a court in the US if you are willing to help us in this please feel free to contact me.PASTOR RANAMI AFAGHA.EMAIL:pastorranami@aol.com PHONE: +2348083743386, +2347061127571.THANKS
It is totally uelvbienable that a world highly respected organisation such as the UNEP could collude with Shell and the Nigerian government to condemn the natural owners of the resources that has sustained the country for over 50 years. I think that Mr Mike Cowing should re-examine his position rather than planning to take more money from Shell and the Nigerian government to do the remediation work. The UNEP claim with destroy stakeholder trust instead of building good relationship with the communities that has been persecuted for their resources. The Ogoni people are calling on the international community and all people of goodwill to come to their aid to stop their being stigmatised as polluters of their own environment. Oil operation started in the Ogoni area in about 1956 and the campaign that Mr Ken Saro-Wiwa wages against oil pollution could not have been caused by Ogoni people. the so-called oil bunkering started only about 5 years ago and every investigation carried out by Ogonis and the authorities have revealed that these bunkerings are supported by the same cabal who have always being in-charge of spending or mis-managing the national resources.
I doubt the letter is genuine. The excerpts that were published makes it sound as though it was written by an activist group. Shell employs thousands of people in Nigeria, and it is unlikely that the only people who know the truths as to what Shell is doing in Nigeria are a few activist groups, Shell’s brutal management elite, and nobody else.
So the title of this somewhat misleading article (“Shell admits funding Niger Delta warlords”) was NOT made by you but by Ben Amunwa? REPLY BY JOHN: The headline came with the article. It was not made by me. Just click on “SOURCE”.
“Shell admits funding Niger Delta warlords” – yet again this is tabloid titillation Donovan and not what Sunmonu said!! All he states (in your reprinted article) is prefaced by “could have”. Yet again an expansion of the facts to suit the objective of this website. As an add on Donovan, I am sure you (and probably a large percentage of the UK population) have inadvertently contributed in some way to causes that are illegal, dodgy or unliked. By using the word “could have” the person is being honest and realistic. Your reporting at times with these tabloid add-ons is not honest. REPLY BY JOHN: You see to be getting over-excited again. I am not the author of the article in question. I have not changed a single word of what the author stated. I have not added a single word to the article. Only a link to a related article. The author is careful in what he has stated and provided links to a video containing what he describes as an “admission”. Visitors are able to watch the video and draw their own conclusions.
On the IT reorganisation of 2004. It would be nice to hear from some insider whether the huge IT reorganisation (or was it change for the sake of change) in 2004 and beyond has achieved what it set out to do and if not, what lessons were learned? I have the suspicion that it all turned out much more costly and did not achieve its objectives. It did create a lot of pain with the IT staff involved and the benefits for the business were not too clear. I seem to remember there was a lot of management speak and the leading lights of that day presumably have looked after themselves and moved on, leaving a mess behind.
Rumour has it that Shell Canada is planning to sell Retail unit
Nice John, just another attack – you stick your neck out the way you do and people will respond. Do you see us running a hate Donovan website ??- we certainly have enough reason and material too, but we do not. Enjoy your hatefull life, I can not imagine letting unjustified hate run my life. REPLY BY JOHN: Glad to see that you are still paying attention. If you set up a Hate Donovan website will it be presented in your own name, so that you take legal responsibly for what you publish, as I do, or will you still hide behind an alias? For the record, I don’t hate anyone or any company. I am simply campaigning for Royal Dutch Shell executives to act at all times in accordance with Shell General Business Principles which include the claimed core principles of honesty, integrity, openness and respect for people in all of Shell’s dealings. This is surely not an unreasonable ambition given that the principles were devised by Shell, are promoted by Shell and are supposedly current and binding on all Shell operations everywhere. In other words, we are only asking Shell executives to do what they already claim to be doing. The SGBP is being used as a PR tool to promote undeserved confidence in the scruples and honesty of Shell senior management. For example, the SGBP featured in the Form 20F Declarations filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission thereby generating confidence in the proven reserves volumes which had been inflated i.e. were false.
While Shell execs continue to make pledges of ethical trading which they flout, we will continue our humble efforts to expose their hypocrisy.
Hmmm. Seems like Donovan has accepted defeat and now doesn’t want me to make any further comments on this biased site. Heh ho his loss. REPLY BY JOHN: Visitors can read my responses to your recent postings and decide for themselves if I have conceded defeat as you claim. I have told you before that your postings are welcome because they provide some balance. The same applies to USCitizen, the other unofficial spokesperson for Shell. If you choose to make a personal attack on me, then I will point out that it is a cowardly act on your part when hiding behind an alias. Something I have never done. You said that I had tried to stick the murder of Neil Heywood onto Shell. That allegation was completely false and you are self-evidently not enough of a gentleman to withdraw the allegation. As to this site being biased, it certainly is towards pressing Shell management to act at all times in accordance with Shell’s own Statement of General Principles, pledging honesty, integrity, transparency ect in all of Shell’s dealings. If Shell management had done so, it would not have been responsible for so many scandals, including the reserves securities fraud when Shell was found guilty of market abuse and received massive fines from the US Securities & Exchange Commission and the UK Financial Services Authority.
Not hysterical or a troll just sometimes fed up with the tabloid “reporting” you make with innuendos, titilation and insertions with the word “Shell” highlighted to try and make the reader believe Shell are full-on involved. Why do people that disagree with such reporting have to be trolls? Seems that most of the hysteria on this site is generated by its owner!! REPLY BY JOHN: You make personal comments about me hiding behind an alias. Comments that you do not have the courage to make under your real name. With regards to this particular story involving corruption, I have never accused Shell of being implicated in the murder of Neil Heywood. I have had an acrimonious relationship with Shell for nearly two decades and have seen the dark side of the company. I do not believe that the current (or any recent) Shell management would have anything to do with murder. Shell does however have a track record of getting involved in corruption in host countries e.g. paying a $48m fine for corruption in Nigeria. Also sponsorship of sex, drugs, gifts fueled corruption of USA regulatory authority employees. It has a track record of close association with Hakluyt, the sometime employer of Neil Heywood. It has used Hakluyt for undercover operations on an International basis. Shell is still a client of Hakluyt. Shell’s global head of security returned to Hakluyt not long ago. Shell also has a track record of infiltrating agents into the governments of host countries e.g. Nigeria. Shell has done business with the China National Petroleum Corporation, which until this scandal broke, was under the control/influence of the faction mired in the corruption scandal. It seems likely therefore that it has done business with the faction accused of corruption. It does seem reasonable, given Shell’s track record of getting involved in intrigue and corruption in host counties to put the questions I have to Shell about any possible connection with the unfolding events in China. Remember Shell preaches openness, but for some reason is tight-lipped on this subject. Why? One final comment to LondonLad. You knew full-well that your comments would generate further focus on this “tabloid” story. My guess is that Shell management would prefer for you to refrain from comment on this subject.
Why don’t you start writing a new series for the X-Files for TV Donovan? With your ability at trying to stick all sorts of crime on Shell (e.g. the murder in China of Neil Heywood) fiction seems just right for you!! REPLY BY JOHN: LondonLad, you seem to be turning into a hysterical troll, making nasty comments and an outright false allegation all directed at me personally while hiding behind an alias. Please point out where I have alleged that Shell is implicated in the apparent murder of Neil Heywood? I put legitimate questions to Shell based on the background facts, as stated in the articles I published. If Shell had replied to my first email giving a categorical denial of any connection with Heywood/Hakluyt in relation to Shell’s activities/plans in China, that would have been an immediate end to the matter as far as I am concerned. I have no idea why Shell has treated this as a taboo subject instead of responding as it has many times in the past and did so on two other matters I raised in correspondence at about the same time, replying on one occasion when no response had been requested. One final important point: Shell’s name had already been brought into this matter by the news media before I published my first article.
motivawatcher: You’re absolutely right, the Motiva guys and gals that got the big fat bonuses were the happy bunch, especially those who were secretly approached by their manager and asked would they accept a severance package if one was offered before it officially came out. The severance program was not suppose to be a volunteer program, but some managers conveniently rated some people low or redundant so they could receive a severance package. This information was leaked out by several of the folks that received a severance package.
oldwhitemale: and what about all the Motiva guys and gals that got big fat bonuses?? Seem to be a happy bunch but nobody mentions that.
sure will be interesting to see how far a lawsuit against Shell for age discrimination goes! i say: not gonna happen.
Motivawatcher, I recently read on this website about the employee at Motiva Port Arthur who has a pending lawsuit against Motiva Port Arthur for age discrimination. I
Motiva staff (at least some) seem to a bunch of whingers. Get a life and do some decent work for a change.
Oldwhitemale,
Actually spoke to this person last week about the lawsuit. Motiva tried to get it thrown out but they were not that lucky. A trial date has been set by the court for sometimes at the end of the year, and he is not backing down. From what he was telling me the company does not have a leg to stand on. Joey D did so many crooked things that I would not be surprised if more lawsuits start appearing.
To Outsider: these eco-activists are not the public opinion, they try to influence the public opinion to their side. That is exactly what happened with Brent Spar – if Greenpeace would have gotten their facts right and understood upfront that the proposed solution was the best one for the environment overall, they would not have created a fuss and Shell would not have been in the horrible situation they were in… The eco-activists, but also all other types of such movements (anti-globalists etc.) sell 1 product – fear & distrust. And if a couple of truths have to be killed to achieve this, then that is “just” collateral damage. I do not say that Shell or any other large corporation is better than this, but what insults my brain is that these eco-warriors claim the moral high ground while in reality they are at best just the same as the corporations…
I agree that Carol Pierson needs to check her facts – for an environmentalist she seems remarkably ill informed. However, even if the environmental activists may not have all of their facts 100% correct, they are no less guilty of spinning the news and holding politicians to ransom than Shell. Shell may have been right about Brent Spar from a purely technical/economic perspective, but they were horribly wrong in their assessment of the public’s reaction to the idea of simply dumping the platform in mid Atlantic. The environmentalists knew exactly what they were doing, and in contrast to Shell were completely in tune with public sentiment.
This latest article from Carol Pierson again clearly exposes how the treehugging community does not base its actions on facts nor does the effort to get a good understanding of them first… Some examples: 1) there are no penguins in the Artic, they only live on/close to Antarctica. 2) there was no Shell CEO named James Smith – if I recall correct there was someone with that name in Shell holding the position of UK Countrychair. 3). Shell is not suing anyone, as far as I understand they are asking the court for confirmation that due process was followed and that people/organisations that dispute have to come forward now and not at the last minute – of course the treehuggers are upset that they apparently are outsmarted and the legal system is used so they can’t abuse it… 4) reference is made to the Brent Spar case but nowhere is mentioned that Greenpeace in the end had to admit that the initial Shell-proposed solution was the best – technically and environmentally. but as was proven not from public opinion point of view.
I am not here to blindly defend Shell, although I work for the company in a technical position outside the USA. My post has nothing to do to defend whether or not Shell should be allowed to drill (I have my opinion on that one though), but to expose the sneaky way the treehugging community is waging their war (they call it relentless activism..). Even during my student days several years ago I got upset with this way of influencing the public opinion with lies/cheats/half-truths by the treehugging community. I was active in one for some years in my highschool time and I can tell that they are just a business as Shell is. They don’t do it for the betterment of all, as they claim constantly, but just to proof their existence and ability to keep themselves employed with salaries paid from the donations they get… Michael Crichton wrote a book about this “business” – he is not far from the truth how he portrays.
If anyone is counting, power outage #3 in the past few weeks happened again for the motiva port arthur facility. Tom, why aren’t you adressing this? or are you too busy with getting feed in to the new refinery so you can get off the clock? It’s a shame that we are starting this new refinery up with a flat tire. Hilton, are you counting how many times we are in the flare?
“You self-evidently decided against commenting and have only done so now after being cornered. If you have done nothing wrong, why not reveal your identity so that your admitted track record of accepting valuable gifts from vendors can be investigated?”
I had not seen it, correct. I am flattered that you used my comments. I did not comment because there is nothing to comment on, my orginal posts speak for themeselves. Do not have any energy to debate with someone who does not listen and use rational thoughts. You are beyond hope with your blind bias.
PS – you just do not understand executive compenesation so, enough there, you are wrong, but can not see it. Later , done with this conversation #losingbattle
REPLY BY JOHN: As I said in the article, I believe you are sincere in your views about Shell Motiva managers accepting gifts from vendors. You do not, as I do, consider it to be a slippery slope. On the other subject, you are right in saying that I do not understand executive compensation. It is a mystery to me how some execs get away with colossal sums e.g. the reported $400 MILLION package for Lee Raymond on his retirement from ExxonMobil. He was not even a founder of a company, just an grotesquely overpaid employee.
Londonlad, Ogonis will not get justice in Nigeria or any other part of Africa. In short, such law as the ATS isn’t anywhere in Africa. In Nigeria, $hell controls everything that has to do with its interests. It will use its fiat to stop the case as it’s tried many times in USA. The govt is a conspirator, so will not allow the case proceed. So what’s wrong with using the law provided in USA, which foresaw such crimes as $hell’s? Also, be informed that Ogonis didn’t even know they’re going to sue $hell when they (we) arrived USA. When the ATS presented itself ten years ago (2002)we applied it. American lawyers helped and still helping us. Importantly, where there’s law there’s justice, so we are seeking it. Greed, as synonymous with the Nigerian state and $hell isn’t the foundation of our suit. Holding $hell accountable so corporation will change the way they do business in the so-called Third World, is the reason we’re in court. Yes, we didn’t sue $hell because we want money. Rather what we want and will always ask for is justice. Note also that Ogonis are far different from other Nigerians. On the one hand Ogonis are distinct in language,culture, landmass and territory. On another hand, we don’t have the luxury to extract or benefit from our oil and gas. So corruption, which isn’t synonymous with one group alone, but all peoples isn’t prevalent in Ogoni society. Also, Ogoni don’t have a state nor had the position of governor of Rivers State, where we are located (as our national location) not by treaty but by British colonial imposition because we’re forced into the Nigerian contraption. The few Ogoni politicians may have tasted corruption, but not without National/state government, party approval. In short, they’re caught up in the corrupt Nigeria system. Our fate in America is, however, different from other Nigerians, as Ogoni is, of course, different from other Nigerians.
Interested to read that Greenpeace (they who overestimated the Brent Spar oil volumes!!) have boarded a Shell contracted icebreaker in Helsinki. Wonder how they got there
Salary $2.06
Bonus $2.40
Other $5.27 mil
Stock Gains NA
Total Compensation $9.735 mil
Good lord John, how can you compare apples and oranges so badly. This does not include his long term stock options; Which Peters did.
Rex W Tillerson Ownership Of ExxonMobil
Industry Medians
Stock Owned (% Of Co) 0.03%
Stock Owned $129.1 mil This his total Stock ownership granted over several years. I did not see what each years breakdown was, but as you can see this is huge!! By the way it has gone up $70mm in two years, compare that!
Ps – Vosers base pay with bonuses and other compensation, not the long term stock grants comparable to Tillersons was 7.0 mm. Again – Apples to Apples is the Key john.
Ps – I just ignored your other posts – tickled pink that you exposed your self trying to compare my posts to taking bribes, any sane person will read those and laugh at you!!
REPLY BY JOHN: The total compensation of Tillerson in 2011 was $9.73 mil. The total compensation of Voser in 2011 was $16.3 mil. Straight-forward comparison. With regards to corruption at Shell/Motiva, I provided links so that readers could see for themselves your defence of the vendor sponsored freebies/bribes and draw their own conclusions. Guessed that you had read the article, as you now confirm. You self-evidently decided against commenting and have only done so now after being cornered. If you have done nothing wrong, why not reveal your identity so that your admitted track record of accepting valuable gifts from vendors can be investigated?
Good lord folks – at least do some homework, what was the Exxon CEO paid, have a clue? Over 2.5 times what the Shell CEO was paid, and historically has been 5-8 times what the Shell CEO is paid. Is Exxon 2.5 times or 5-8 times bigger than Shell. I thought not. Do not hurt your brains coming up with the your reply. Shell CEO pay is not the one you want to use for excess complaints, many many worse examples out there. What do you think they should be paid wise ones?? RELY BY JOHN: Voser received substantially more for the last year ($15m package approx) than Rex Tillerson at $9.73m . Surprised we did not receive any comment from you in regard to the article: “Alleged bribery and corruption at Shell Motiva“?
Nothing to attack Shell with so we now have to revrt to articles from 11 years ago!! Jeez, even the tabloids seldom stoop to these sort of levels of “jounalism”. REPLY BY JOHN: The Reuters article published yesterday referred to the spying by Hakluyt on behalf of Shell and BP, which was the subject of The Sunday Times article. Flattered of course to be equated with journalism when we are mere bloggers.
There was an interesting article and a link to documents describing a race discrimination lawsuit by a Motiva Norco operator a couple of weeks ago on this site. I can’t seem to find it anymore. It stated that an operator was terminated for breaking one of the life saving rules at the Motiva Norco Coker Unit. He was terminated by his supervisor Joey D. It went on to say that two black operators had broken the same life saving rules some time later and were not terminated by Joey D. The operator that was terminated was a white male. I guarantee that this will never make it to trial. They will settle out of court with a gag order. REPLY BY JOHN: Have now found the article you are seeking: Motiva refinery worker files discrimination lawsuit
With Malcolm B retiring, Andy B coming..lets hope there is good changes coming.
By the way , What is there to handover?
To Malcolm- Happy Retirement!! write a book- see who are your friends after you retire. Save the trips , let the business do their work.
Cronies of Malcolmn – Watch out – you are next.
To Andy- show us you mean real business, you are not another Fade. Clean up HR and IT, reorganise new businesses and exploration..there is so much wastes and fuzzy accountability.
Well Ben, some very fine words indeed. However, I think you have missed my point. The US are international bully boys and their legal system is there to make money as much as it is to attempt justice
Londonlad, Great name indeed! Ok. If $hell had committed the egregious crimes it committed in collaboration with Nigerian govt (against Ogonis)in your country (where ever it is), would you prefer the company go unpunished? If yes, good for you, but the law of crime, especially when the culprit is visible and unrepentant like $hell doesn’t apply if in a yes case as could be your position. If no, then you’d be speaking to why Ogonis are using this American law that helped to reduce the speed with which such crimes occurs. Keeping the law will checkmate greedy and deadly corps such as $hell.
As you can see, another power outage at Motiva Port Arthur. Going to really be interesting to watch this new albatross come up on rates and then have this 100 year old power supply keep shutting it down. Tom, why didn’t you fix the electrical system when you had the opportunity? Too busy counting your stock options I guess. Let Jeff do that for you and try to make a difference in your final days.
About time the American legal system did
With Brinded now gone, might CIO Alan Matula now come under scrutiny ? The parallels are there: years of over-promise/under-delivery, aggressive suppression of bad news, and the intimidation of critics through behaviour bordering on the psychopathic. There’s little doubt that the cost of Matula’s vanity projects is playing a significant role on the demise of Downstream, where businesses like Retail make margin on cans of Coke. It’s sad to see DS businesses being divested, but at least one can share their sense of relief as they leave Shell and start divesting themselves of all this junk.
The article re Brinded and Nigeria on “why Shell can’t build a refinery in Nigeria” is comical. Though the justification is correct, the reality is Shell can’t build a refinery anywhere. Just look at our own Port Arthur project. Under Tom Purves’s leadership, this ill fated concept got hatched. Everyone was happy in the early days, taking Port Arthur back to the glory days. Alas, the cit leaders didn’t plan on Tom and the project team bringing global help in here via Bechtel to do the work and therefore not impact the locals nearly as much as what had been advertised. Now, some 2 years late on the commitment for start-up and a price tag that will ultimately grow to $14B, Shell might just as well say ” Forget Nigeria…we can’t build a refinery anywhere. ” Tom’s legacy goes down the toilet with this project. He would do well to retire and at least give our team half a chance to run it well.
By the way, for any that are watching…. Tom’s #2 boy, Forrest Lauher, aka Forrest Liar, resigned from Shell as Botts sent the anticipated note out yesterday. Forrest was in over his head from day 1 on this project, given to him by none other than Tom Purves. He lost control of the project and got removed back in 2009. Should have been fired. Instead he got saved and was placed in our plant manager seat. Again, couldn’t handle the top job and they pulled him last year. We can only wait for the notice on Tom’s #1 boy Funkhater and then ultimately Tom himself. 2012 is starting to be a great year!
John, the EU oil sanctions don’t take effect until July, so I guess that Shell are in full compliance with the letter, if not the spirit, of the sanctions. And Shell will no doubt continue to buy as much oil as they can until the very last minute… REPLY BY JOHN: The US embargo of Iranian oil announced in December will come into effect on 28 June. It may not be wise of Shell to upset President Obama by continuing to buy Iranian crude in the meantime bearing in mind Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic Ocean. Iran is a very hot topic with Obama this weekend. Shell would be well advised to also bear in mind that given the overall circumstances, many will view its conduct as immoral. Shell is well aware of how bad it looks, hence its furtive conduct.
The quote from a named spokesman for Shell PR (quoted here, but also on Bloomberg and many other sites) that the directors had
Oh dear oh dear. Now who are
Good Riddance to Bully Boy Brinded! The biggest mierenneuker imaginable. A very nasty man, arrogant, conceited and a downright bully. Shell will do well without him. Stay off Network rail trains with Brinded on the Board!
It appears that Voser finally got fed up with Mr Overpromise/Underdelivery. Despite all the nice words about him, he is clearly kicked out. Plenty of sycophants around him are now fearing for their jobs and positioning themselves whom to kow-tow now.
This bearded fellow wasted his great brain on very small details and he was unable to delegate. I think his only real good project was the SLIM project. This was many moons ago and launched him to the top jobs. And there he failed as frequently and eloquently pointed out on the Donovan site.
Big brain, a micromanager on par with the pointy haired boss in Dilbert, a vicious and vindictive attitude to those that were of no use to him or that might talk back.
In summary: Good riddance and now the legal system of Scotland can go after him. But I doubt they will.
What goes around comes around…. The announcement of Brinded has long been anticipated. We now wait for the next much smaller announcement…. Tom Purves to retire….. This will make our day when that moment happens.
Shell never deals with the issue of bad leadership until it is too late and the havoc has been wreaked…. However, as we say in the US, Every dog has its day….. and today that was Malcolm.
So early retirement then after all that ……. REPLY BY JOHN D. You are still playing a point scoring game. You seem to forget that the avoidable deaths of Shell offshore workers on Brent Bravo is at the heart of this matter. The deaths occurred after a safety audit led by Bill Campbell exposed a shambolic, illegal and shameful safety regime on Brent Bravo. They occurred after Shell senior Expro management had promised Bill that Shell would bring an end to the “Touch F*** All” culture and the falsification of safety records. The explosion and record breaking fine provide proof that the promises were not kept. There is NO commercial aspect to this matter as far as Mr Campbell is concerned. He is driven solely by a fear of an even worse event due to the same policy by Shell of putting production and profits before the safety of offshore workers. Please give Bill some credit for his integrity and for his long campaign, which has rightly received cross-party support from many MP’s.
Agent provocateur indeed!! Never been called that before, and I am most certainly not in league with Shell in any way! I again reiterate my point : was Campbell fired or given early retirement from Shell and thereby lies his grudge or did he reach full retirement age in the company? An honest answer might convince many that his continuous aggressiveness against Shell is genuine or just an ongoing grudge. This is not a “slanging match” merely a point of clarification.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN:
Mr Campbell has made it clear that he does not wish to get into discussion with someone making insulting comments while hiding behind an alias. With regards to his comment that you may be an agent provocateur, perhaps he gained that impression from checking your history of postings. Just so there is no misunderstanding, we welcome contributors who provide a counter-balance to negative postings about Shell. I have provided some links to further information about the Brent Bravo scandal. Despite all of the promises by Shell senior management about safety, which including appointing a safety Czar, its track record remains atrocious. Years after the Brent Bravo debacle, it was revealed that the lifeboats for a Shell North Sea platform were not seaworthy. You could not make it up.
LondonLad: In many cases “Reaching Retirement age” in Shell simply means being unable to find a position outside Shell -nowadays the most competent people generally move on long before reaching retirement age and pursue a second career elsewhere.
To : an observer of Shell, you state “It is commonly known that a great many employees of Shell Expro are freemasons”. Where did you get this “fact” from – smoking whacky backy?? I doubt very much that a great many are indeed freemasons. Even if they are (wich I seriously doubt), so what? Let’s face it they are a society that provide one of the largest contributions to charities in the UK. I think you very clearly have an axe to grind against Shell. In that context why does Campbell have such a chip on his shoulder over Shell? Was he sacked for some reason? Did he actually reach his retirement age in Shell? Would be nice to know so that we can believe more that his rants are genuine problems he has with Shell rather than caused by some hidden grudge.
GTW, I know you are right, TP and others will get their due. What is painful is that those whose lives have been changed and whose spirits have been destroyed because of his actions, will not be compensated. Tom is not the only one taking credit for this new cruel process of forced ranking, by claiming credit for what market demand has meant for profits. There are promotions taking place right now because credit is claimed by those executing Tom’s plan for performance ‘refirings’. I worked in manufacturing sites where management and performance was a joke, and profits were above forecast. It’s always been market demand and the hard work of the folks on the ground that make manufacturing successful, Tom is not a pioneer in taking undue credit for local successes, but he has certainly been the cruelest!
I have no proof nor will I ever find that proof, but this reprehensible conduct of the legal authorities smells to high heaven of masonic lodges. It is commonly known that a great many employees of Shell Expro are freemasons. The police forces all over the world are well presented in the various lodges. I would not be surprised if Brinded himself is a member.
Bill Campbell is a very courageous man taking on these evil forces. We in Shell all knew him to be a completely honest and competent Maintenance manager and HSE auditor. But he loses against all the parasites and sycophants whose sole job is to protect the directors. And then live well on the spoils of their abhorrent activities.
Top marks for the Donovans who keep this festering sore in the spotlight. To some it maybe a lot of repeating old stories, but those that want to hide and bury their bad actions know that time is on their side. And Shell has deep pockets and knows how to procrastinate.
John, there is no issue with my post. This is the same GTW that has been providing updates for some time on the ill fated project CEP and the ill fated Tom Purves, both of which should be going fading into the background this year as old worn out news.
I retract my previous statement. COMMENT BY JOHN DONOVAN: WE HAVE REASON TO SUSPECT THAT THIS POSTING IS NOT IN FACT FROM THE PARTY WHO USES THE ALIAS “GOLDENTRIANGLE WATCHMAN ON THIS BLOG, BUT IS FROM AN IMPOSTER.
With all of this money spent on the CEP expansion, it has been built on an old electrical infrastructure. I guess no one is counting how many times you read about a “short” electrical outage at the plant. Tom Purves and the Motiva leadership know exactly why this is happening and how to fix it. They don’t want to pay for it. They have been given the project and have turned it down at least twice. Meanwhile, we just keep having outages. Going ot be interesting when both refineries come down in the future.
LondonLad: the lack of stories concerning Shell should be welcomed, if it implies that Shell are cleaning up their act, perhaps due in part to the efforts of the Donovans.
US Observer, surely almost all (NOT all)contributors to this website have an axe to grind against Shell, particularly those who have a perception that they have been screwed by Shell in times gone by. As for Itchy Woman, she clearly has a femanistic / burn-the-bra approach to work in Shell. AND I would like to add that once again an old old article (from someone who has an axe to grind against Shell) has to be republished due to lack of news against Shell (I refer to Briggs 2009 article). COMMENT BY JOHN D. Would it not be fairer to say that everyone posting on this blog, including you, has an axe to grind. It is easy enough to look back over your contributions and reach a conclusion.
It is easy to figure out who Witchy Woman is (LC). She has an “ax to grind” and is using this forum
@uscitizen
Voser is a competent and amicable chap. You claim Shell has delivered on its deliverables. Let me tell you everyone delivers on their deliverable…. But joking apart, look at the promises over the years and how well Shell has delivered on these promises. Their trackrecord is not very good over the last 15 years or so. They are a good money making machine. And sofar they have delivered on their constant or increasing dividend payments. Sometimes by increasing their debt but they have done it. A nice high oilprice has helped, don’t you agree??
So my only observation was that his ‘promise’ to extend North Sea fields is quite opposite their activities in this area. And they have promised this before and done the opposite. It was a nice promise to build a new and expensive office in Aberdeen, more jobs for the UK and more activity and extending of production. Just check back what they have done.
And predicting future productionlevels by Shell in general and Brinded in particular is nothing but a sick joke.
To – an observer of Shell
Shell has been delivering on its deliverables – why would you paint Voser as some one who is not??
This was not a personal attack now was it Witchy one??
#133 Witchy woman
on May 8th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Marvin Odum who probably has the worst safety record in Shell goes for a diversity vote and someone who has no safety experience to replace the VP of safety he just fired. Clear message where his priorities lie.
Witchy Woman – you blase me for personal attacks???? That is so rich! I am defending people that are attacked if you had not noticed – and yes I do slam the folks who are throwing garbage out! Live with it!! Enjoy your retirement! Shell has a good retirement package in the US dont they??
I feel the value of your posts is also minimal, just a complainer. PS – here is where you bash Denise – remember – or do we need to question your integrity the way folks question Shell leaders??
Witchy woman
on Dec 7th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
In GOM we thought that hurricane season was done. Why is Hurricane Denise causing so much damage then? Like all Hurricanes though they move on the professionals are left to pick up the pieces.
According to the Independent article posted today the boss of Shell is telling us all not to get too emotional about fracking. Has he not seen the confirmation that fracking causes earthquakes? You have cited the Reuters article. There are others including coverage of a fracking earthquake in Blackpool England. I have to conclude that Voser is a fracking idiot.
US Citizen
Thank you for your unsolicited feedback. It was typically of zero value.
I think you need to learn how to read before commenting.
I don’t see any mention of Denise there, and as far as I am aware Deepwater would appoint the VP.
Typically you have it wrong again and incidentally the new appointment is great. If it was Denise, she did well.
Maybe its about time you left as you contribute little apart from personal attacks.
Is Voser now also being jinxed by the famous Brinded spell? This decent and down to earth Swiss financeman is trying to tell the world that Shell will increase production from North Sea fields by extending the life of these fields (Sky Sunrise interview). I am taking bets with some friends this will not happen. All observable actions by Shell is that they are retrenching from the North Sea. Voser emphasised that there will be a lot of job creation in the UK….. Now, where have we heard this before????
And he says (Bloomberg story):
‘Shell will increase production to about 4 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2017-2018. Last March, it said daily output would rise to 3.5 million barrels this year and 3.7 million barrels by 2014’.
Promises, promises, promises. This translates into bonuses and a bit later in ‘new insights’ or other factors that could not be foreseen. I give it to him he is not as audacious as Brinded who predicted 7-8 years ago that Shell would be doing close to 6 mln bbl/d around now.
I am not calling the man a liar. I would not dare to with his army of lawyers in Shell. But how should we call someone who ‘not speaketh the truth’?
Shall we keep it as ‘tarred with the same brush as Brinded?”
US Citizen, you are probably right. I expect it will be higher than the $10b I shared. Everyone over there knows that Motiva has had a spinfest on the information. Contractors have been told to shut up and not report the facts. That is what happens when the Tom Purves came back and took over. Everybody knows it. You are a suck up and everyone knows that too. I’m glad that you remain oblivious, even to the day that Shell reaches up and drops you over the cliff like they have done so many in the last several years. Shell….good people and crappy leadership. We all know it!
PS… Stay tuned for the Purves retirement announcement coming soon to a garbage can near you!!
Uncle Tom – your data on CEP at Port Arthur costs is wrong – so stop spreading lies. Just quit if you are that unhappy.
To Witchy Woman – get off the Denise Rants. She is a very talented hard working woman of integrity. Not every HSSE position needs to be filled by HSSE career folks. In fact – folks with line experience, which she has, are in a very good place to lead HSSE organizations. I did and did just fine. You are just an unhappy person who is mad you or yours did not get that job, give it up and let the biased outsiders do their shell bashing, not shell people who are simply bitter at their lot and should realize how darn lucky they are. Or – please quit and become a shell outsider – might help us both out.
Having read that the former RBS-CEO, Fred Goodwin, has been stripped of his knighthood by UK authorities. Makes you wonder if and when Sir Phil Watts will stripped of his one. No doubt Phil’s selfish behaviour at the helm of Shell did more harm to the industry and private investors than Fred.
Are there cases where UK employment lawyers have won against shell? REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: Don’t have knowledge of any such case, but I recommend you to a lawyer who has sued Shell many times on our behalf. Four High Court cases for IP theft and breach of contract. Two for libel. All settled by Shell with damages and all legal costs paid. The lawyer is Richard Woodman, a partner at Royds Solicitors, 65 Carter Lane London EC4V 5HF Tel: 020 7583 2222. Richard knows Shell well and all of the tricks of their legal department. Richard is head of Royds Employment Department and specialises in all aspects of employment law. He was recommended to me and turned out to be a great asset and kind friend in our years of successive legal battles with Shell. Thanks in great part to his dedication and expertise, we never lost a single case against Shell. Also had a great barrister team led by Geoffrey Cox MP QC, a courtroom orator who verbally bashed in open court a High Court judge who was blatantly biased in favour of Shell. Judge forgot to declare that his life long friend had Shell as a client. The judge also had an undeclared commercial connection with Tom Moody-Stuart, the barrister son of Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, the then Shell Chairman. By coincidence, or otherwise, the Judge shocked the legal world by unexpectedly resigning after we had made a formal complaint to the Lord Chancellor. The Judge joined the aforementioned friends company, which worked for Shell. Apologies for rambling on.
I hope we get an SE/SD professional as the new VP of Deepwater SE/SD and not another import to a senior position.
Old Timer – I am afraid that there clearly is very little news (i.e. aspects of Shell’s work) for the Donovan’s to rant on about recently. A great deal is re-printed as though it’s new but is merely old stories and anti-Shell propoganda that is old history. Yes, we learn from history but we don’t have to regurgitate it repeatedly. The lead story today linking Shell with Jewish skin lamp shades is really gutter press and totally deplorable nonsense from the Donovan’s. REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: You are entitled to your view. Considerably more evidence is being accumulated as a result of many newspaper archives from Europe and the USA, and books as far back as the 1930?s, all being made available and searchable online. In a few months time, we will publish all of the additional evidence. Those who are interested will be free to read it. The evidence is overwhelming. It includes information and documents from Shell
John
Great stuff to re-post some historical events in Shell. It shows that your network has mostly been spot-on predicting what was wrong and what would happen.
It also shows how long a big company can continue on a substandard level and still do reasonably well. Could it be that a high oilprice has helped a bit?
I remember that evil Watts still very well. He has gone completely silent the last few years, exactly what can be expected of a small minded man. Presumably he is working his Japanese garden and repenting in his home church, trying to buy absolution and still hoping not to go to hell but instead a very long time in the purgatory…. I fear in vain!
It would be also be nice if you could dig out some old records in which the man with the facial hair (aka Mr TFA) has been promising increasing production levels and if I am not mistaken, he even projected more than 6 million bopd to be reached about now. But he never delivered and still is on seat!! He has been at it for some 15 yrs or more by now. In the past we learned faster in Shell but then there was less fear and more decent people at the top.
Keep the good work up!
SHELL EXPECT US: REPLY TO WILLIAM TELL BY JOHN DONOVAN. We have exchanged email correspondence with you. As I believe I have pointed out to you previously, if you supply any Shell internal emails, we would insist on giving Shell sight of the emails before publication of the emails or any related information. It is our normal practice to give Shell the opportunity to comment on authenticity unless the information comes from a trusted source.
Well, well – if anyone wishes to get a flavour of what is possible in the wild west of Ireland I suggest you watch the wonderful John Michael 2011 film “The Guard” starring Brendan Gleeson. Anything & everything is possible out there.
Are we to understand that the violent conduct we witnessed on Irish newsreel shots from Corrib in Mayo were fueled by Shell supplied alcohol to Irish policemen …tell me no …innocent decent people protecting their homes
John saw your reply it all happend ok problem is the Hague is now in charge of the situation all Irish corrib staff have been silenced four people have been let go over their part any one who speaks or produces evidence will suffer big time the cops who got the booze are watching from the sideline also in silence hoping for a clean outcome . If it was all exposed the project be stopped that came from the horses mouth Shell .
I am ashamed by the conduct of Shell HR in the Anti Discrimination case. As a company we should honour these issues. The mentioned HR rep (Van Barlingen) in the article did much more damage to Shell’s reputation by her cold reply and non-action.
I truly hope that senior HR management will overrule this decision and decide in favour of Mr Gatti.
Mr Donovan are you aware that a one thousand euro reward is on offer in Mayo for the name of the supplier of large amounts of alcohol to local Garda on behalf of Roadbridge Shell. REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: I have seen the various allegations and comments posted here, but no evidence. If anyone has any evidence to support these allegations, please sent it to me: john@shellnews.net
Still criminal offence to bribe Gardai Rb who supplied it? next you will say you didn’t pay for home improvements or will you ?
Roadbridge supplied no booze to Garda on Corrib others supplied it Roadbridge were told to pay for it get your facts right jp
Corrib Project comments from G Hamilton not correct Roadbridge Shell main contractor supplied large amounts of booze to police protecting the project now the press have a hold of the story and panic has set in….oh what a tangled web we weave when first …etc ect
Roadbridge Shell main contractor supplied booze in large quantities to cops on the corrib frontline now cops in a panic because press have a sniff of it cops not pleased with Shell
In in response to George Hamilton, Shell Corrib have bigger problems than Gardai gifts. The lead project planners RPS have informed Shell that every land owner agreement they have could be deemed to be invalid because certain landowners got special disguised extra payments by way of cash, home improvements..etc… whilst the rest got the bare minimum for access to there land. The Irish Shell CEO is gone over this matter.
Shell Corrib Gas Project losing the much needed support of the local police force. By leaving them in a very embarrassing position over Illegal Christmas gifts. Heads are rolling Peter Voser CEO now involved – Shit is hitting fans everywhere
John D, Someone should tell Mr Wallach of Beaumont enterprises that the Motiva project has long surpassed the $7B dollar price tag. This project will come in north of $12b, 2 years late and is being tagged as one of Shell’s worst projects. The project would have been killed by both partners of Motiva but too much money had been sunk into the effort, notionally $4B, to walk away from it.
We would like to wish all visitors and contributors a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
The Bonga spill obviously is unforgiveable. A relatively young facility should not leak oil. But the disaster as mentioned by many journalists will be minute. It is light oil and most will evaporate and disappear before hitting the beach.
In 1979 there was a spill of another magnitude: the bottom of tank 6 had dropped out in Forcados. There was 1 meter oil in the terminal and Bert Ockeloen, the General Operations Manager flew over it the next day and stated: I may lose my terminal so break the wall and flush it into the sea. We talk of 100,000 tonnes of Forcados crude. Fortunately it was in the middle of the rainy season, there were no spark arrestors on the export pumps and the oil was lapping at the base of these…. God took a kind eye on Forcados that day. After flushing the lot into the sea, it all disappeared within weeks. Not a trace to be seen. Some small money and fish was given to local villages. Only the channel used to move the oil to the sea remained polluted and was cleaned up many years later. It all was possible because there was a military government suppressing the press and life was good for Shell!
So, bad marks for spilling oil on Bonga but it is not the end of the world. Nigerian bacteria are very strong and will eat it all up!
I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be precisely what I’m looking for. Would you offer guest writers to write content in your case? I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you write regarding here. Again, awesome web log! REPLY BY JOHN: All are welcome to submit articles for publication, relating to Shell, this website, its owners and related matters. Does not matter if the content is positive or negative. Any allegations must be substantiated with evidence. Links can be inserted. Please note that we will not allow the forum to be used for advertising purposes.
What the hell are you two talking about with these hurricanes? Just hot me thinks.
yes Witchy Woman, and just like after a hurricane you can pick up the pieces, but the casualties are gone forever
In GOM we thought that hurricane season was done. Why is Hurricane Denise causing so much damage then? Like all Hurricanes though they move on the professionals are left to pick up the pieces.
So Golden Triangle MAN – Lets assume Purves and Smallwood are as bad as you say and assume that the project execution was lacking – over budget and overschedule, one editorial comment for you – I assume you would have known how to pull off the most complex US refinery project in the last 50 years with better results – but you do not seem to grasp the magnitude and size.
Having said all that – you state – ” Because of the decisions of Motiva leadership, and Tom Purves in particular, this project could have done so much more for the city of Port Arthur. They decided not to.”
Decided not to what? How can any one debate that this Shell investment – late and overbudget, is a huge coup for Port Arthur in jobs and tax base?? How?? More permanent and contract jobs for years and years? What on earth are you doubting about that. Look in the mirror and realize your hatred for Purves is clouding your view on the long term big picture.
Read this Shell spin…..
When Motiva Enterprises completes it
Fracking will be good for South Africa, especially since it will provide plenty of gas that will displace expensive imported gas. I have heard that there will be in excess of 2500 jobs from start up of the project, a vast majority of whom will be South Africans. All-in-all a good piece of business for the country despite all the negative press provided, in the main part, by ill-informed and people with political agendas.
Fracking in the Karoo by Shell how is it a good project for South Africa? How many people will be employed on the project?
Thanks John for sharing the Nigeria spills link with us. It brings back happy memories from the old days when I was involved in many of the wells that are now being sabotaged or are failing. From the photos it is clear we should thank Huub van Engelshoven who decreed that Shell would use solid block trees even on land. Normally these are used offshore but he knew way back to not rely on good maintenance and honest nigerians. Solid block trees are much more sturdy than composite trees. The extra costs must have paid off. But now there is a genuine mess for a whole host of reasons. Nigeria needs to sort itself out first methinks.
“Sucking up” (as you put it) to potentially massive new emerging markets (e.g. China, India & Brazil) is exactly the way to go for any company. I am also sure that a great majority of Shell’s shareholders (myself included) want this to happen – why allow the likes of Exxon, BP etc. to do this and not Shell?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: I am sure most will agree with you, but in the case of China, is it prudent to inject huge funds, as we are all doing, into a regime with an abysmal human rights record, which is vastly increasing its military power, including naval forces and its nuclear arsenal, and has acted recklessly in pursuit of its ambition for orbital weapons? I guess we are all hoping that the Chinese government and its aggressive military will decide that it would not be prudent to destroy its customer base, bearing in mind that almost all consumer goods these days seem to be manufactured in China. Wal-Mart is probably its best customer. Greatest respect and affection for the Chinese people, but its leaders are another matter. Remember Tiananmen Square. Remember Tibet. Is it morally correct to deal with governments who have no respect whatsoever for human rights?
Verna leaving to go to Bechtecl would surprise me. She knows how bad Bechtecl is and have been on this project. The only reason Bechtecl is still around is due to the relationship between Riley Bechtel and the Saudis. I hear Funk will leave in the dead of night, which tells me Uncle Tom isn’t too far behind with his retirement. You can bet he will take care of his little boy. As for the article on timing, just like Shell….. Everyone knows that the project is 2 years late. They continue to push start-up dates into 2012. Everyone involved with the project knows it is a bust. I’m now hearing numbers in the $11-12b range. It has gotten so bad that the Motiva folks won’t even share the cost numbers with anyone. The contractors feel that Motiva doesn’t want to hear the truth and that is fine with Bechtel. What a shame! Uncle Tom, I hope this is what you were looking for. I hope they include Tom’s severance package in the cost of the project and just do us all a favor and dump him. Give him his big retirement party so all the old Shell cronies can show up and tell their good stories and act like none of this matters. Tom, you stink, have stunk for awhile, and everyone I talk with over here in PortArthurville looks at you as a plague. Your are spoiled meat and no one will align with you…… except Jeff. You 2 deserve each other.
To Par Cepper & Triangle Watchman: I hear that Purves and Funk have now aligned thoughts on Motiva for project reduction. Means Rutherford could leave Port Arthur for Betchel. Good news eh!
The Americans really are THE bully boys of the planet. What right do they have to have legal jurisdiction over what happens elsewhere on the globe, particularly when the plantiffs are not American. Yet another example of Nigerian’s trying to get a fast buck.
Comment received in response to the article: Will Malcolm Brinded be attending the funeral of his friend Gaddafi?
Maybe Brinded’s not going to the funeral but is he going to be the next Chairman of Network Rail?
(Name and email address supplied)
PAR Cepper, trust me, I know what I’m talking about. Uncle Tom is the root problem. Funk is just hanging on. As soon as they get rid of Tom due to a failed project, some say one of the worst ever in Shell, Funk will be gone quietly….. Lauher has already been dumped.
triangle watchman: you don’t know what you are talking about. Funk is about to strike and you are still on about Uncle Tom. The problem really is that there too many druggies on the work site. Gee what a mess.
“Dr. Goodluck Diigbo points out:
Message to Monday N.K. We have received your comment criticising Shell’s conduct in the Nigeria Delta. Unfortunately we cannot decipher some of the points you are making. Can you please resubmit it after seeking help in re-drafting so that our readers can understand what you want to say.
Good to see that Shell (SPDC) has a website that reports on oil spills in its operational areas in Nigeria. Covers operational oil spills, theft, sabotage and other illegal attacks. Clearly shows that each year between 2005 and 2010 the very large majority of oil spills is from sabotage (despite the twaddle coming from Amnesty, environmentalists and Nigerians with an axe to grind with Shell). Even the Dutch newspaper “De Telegraph” has praised the website.
Re the article of Motiva getting funding from the Enterprise funding, Unlce Tom Purves and the Motiva leadership knew exactly what they were doing. They had the same game plan with the city of Port Arthur and the tax abatements. They showed all the upside of the Crude Expansion project with promises of 300 new jobs and a bunch of local commitments for local workers. As soon as they received the Enterprise funding and the tax abatements, they let Bechtel bring in workforce from outside the area. Re the 300 jobs, they did not include the many jobs they were cutting in the base plant, forcing retirements and reducing positions…. all the while advertising the new jobs for the new sections of the expansion refinery. A shell game to say the least and shows the capability of Shell’s senior leaders, especially the one Tom Purves, who no longer has a career. He is just hanging on until the last few checks are signed for this elephant of a project, now ballooning to over $10BILLION. A reminder that Tom promised it would not go a penny over $8.5BILLION. My my my… if you want details on this one, just ask Ms. Verna Rutherford…. Remember Tom……. I’m watching……
Zebulon John Egai: the only one that can fix this is your own government. So to all Nigerians, revolt against your own corrupt government and try to get a rule of law in your beautiful country. Once that is achieved (more or less) the rest will improve too. After all the demonstrations in arab countries, it is now time that you guys start this too in Nigeria. Only Nigerians can fix this. As long as you have that massive corruption (at all levels) life will be hell for everyone.
shell and its partners, in niger delta, have violated united nations framework convention on climate change, GAS FLARING is regularly going on,who can help us. thank you.
Hey dutchdude, good point on survivors of indiscretion in shell ranks. But let lowly team leaders push back when managers are disingenuous and we are swiftly severed. There is no justice. Even if SR restores some of the morale and spirit; nothing will compensate those whose spirits were disgraced after being subjectively ranked then terminated. What self-appointed organizational development ‘guru’ convinced whom that this was a way to improve the Culture? 1.5 x 1y pay was an insult to those who were not given a choice. I guess the only remaining hope is that karma or God and the heavens, mete the ‘justice’ deserved by the ignorant souls who enacted this heartless process! As detached from the current conversation as this may seem; please consider my comments as further example of how Shell seems to contort Priorities!!!
To retiree: No sir, I don’t want any more fatalities or spills in Shell. The sad fact is that inside Shell and outside as a society we have become too foregiving to inferior HSE performance. Who still blinks an eye when 1 person is killed in our business? The HSE staff use a matrix that only when more than 3 or 4 are killed the incident becomes major. The BP oil spill showed that even such a worse case scenario is survivable for the company and most of its senior managers. How many BP managers lost their jobs over that incident? Reality is that the oil industry is building up for the next Piper Alpha, (many current managers don’t even know about that incident anymore; outside UK this is a fact). Dear retiree, we want the same. No fatalities, no big oil spills and no more managers who get away with it all….
Sorry Itchy woman I have no idea who you are talking about! I am sure most other readers of this site have no idea.
Macannon, you know very well who I am referring to. The Ego has landed in Houston.
Probably due to the fact the boss was a woman “Twitchy Woman”? That said, what are you referring to and where are you referring to?
So, no-one wants to work in HSE then. Strange how only two people applied for a senior position. I wonder what caused that?
As some commentators have said, abandoned and old fashioned facilities and pipelines exposed to the oil surface that they become impacted by natural agents (sun, rain, etc)will definitely leak and spill most oil considering the chain of pipelines in Ogoni. More importantly, reports have it that $hell staff and government officials, the Rivers State military taskforce and buyers from outside and within the state are behind this oil bunkering, which has been only few year in operation. By and large $hell and the government are still the culprits, because they use outdated, exposed materials and hungry youths in the community to still get this oil, while pretending operations in Ogoni have been stopped.
dutchdude’s comment: “Unfortunately this UK spill was too small.”
So you would prefer that the North Sea take on a 5 million barrel spill to prove a point?
Oldtimer, you are too forgiving towards Glen Cayley. His HSE record is truly terrible, and one wonders how many chances a senior managers gets in Shell to demonstrate he is incompetent in manageing safety? Seems Shell needs a “BP moment” to wake up, as they did not (want to) learn from the BP spill at all. Unfortunately this UK spill was too small.
So according to this sites main headline pipeline sabotage prevails yet again in Nigeria. Seems like these so called
Macannon: As I said, if the wells had been properly suspended or abandoned, and the flowlines and infrastructure cleaned and removed (in accordance with standard industry practice – especially in Holland) there would have been no corroding, leaking, flowlines and production facilities, and no possibility of leaks due to corrosion or sabotage. Whether or not sabotage took place, corrosion alone has resulted in the release of huge quantities of oil in Nigeria, as it did at Gannet. The facilities and flowlines in Nigeria were left full of oil. Over the years most of it has leaked into the environment.
Outsider, I have never stated that saboteurs were responsible for the Gannet leak so like others on this website you should not exaggerate or add words to what has been stated. It is the amount and impact of the leak that is important and it is this that may well have been overstated to get a story or prove the
Macannon: if the wells in Ogoni land had been abandoned (or properly suspended) and the surface flowlines and infrastructure removed, there would have been no possibility of sabotage. Instead, wells were left filled with oil and gas under pressure, as were corroding, leaking flowlines and production facilities. Whether or not sabotage had taken place, corrosion would have ensured that large quantities of oil and gas would leak into the environment, as happened at Gannet. Or perhaps you prefer to have us believe that the Gannet leak was also the work of saboteurs?
Question is Outsider are you, WWF, Greenpeace or anyone else able to say how much has been spilled? Wait until the correct numbers have been ratified by the authorities. As I said earlier the likes of Greenpeace are often way out with their numbers as they know very little about the subject. As for Nigeria (particularly Ogoniland) most of the problem is not from (ex-Shell) wellheads but from damaged pipelines. For damaged read sabotaged by locals for their own gains. Please provide evidence of widespread negligence by Shell in their responsibilities in Ogoniland for securing wellheads. Indeed wellheads, flow lines & other facilities in Holland, Malaysia etc. etc. were adequately sealed. HOWEVER, these countries did not have the saboteurs that caused the subsequent pollution. As ever with Nigeria the cancerous corruption prevails and do-gooders and tree huggers jump on the band wagon as they have little or no knowledge about the subject. All they can see is an opportunity to bash an international company. Let’s see them attempt to blast the Nigerian Government – result would be that they got nowhere.
So Cayley feels the inspection and maintenance programme let them down? This would infer that changing some ink on paper will fix the problem.
Now Glen is a nice fellow and a geologist so he maybe forgiven for being so ignorant. I would expect these farcical statements from HR folk but not from petroleum professionals.
I bet that the inspection and maintenance programme is a very good one. Developed and improved over many years and checked by the outside agencies. The management of this programme however is clearly lacking. And management is made up of people. And people can be hassled in doing the wrong thing as long as you scare them sufficiently.
Brinded, who set the scene many moons ago with his insisting on processes rather than common sense, has created an army of frightened drones who always agree with the boss and are happy if a series of boxes can be ticked off so all will be well. Those drones have also blindly followed the TFA policy of Brinded. And being an ex Exxon guy, Crayley knows all about following orders. The mistake he made is to think the orders from his current bosses are of the same quality as in Exxon.
Macannon – are Shell really able to be so precise about the volume of the Gannet spill, or should their figures be considered as comparable with the 5000 barrels/day of the initial MMS press releases on Macondo. In Nigeria, as elsewhere, the operator (Shell) was responsible for securing their producing wells and infrastructure when production was stopped. The pollution which occurred after Shell stopped production was only possible because Shell failed to fulfil its obligations. It is striking that Shell did not leave leaking wells, corroding flowlines and collapsing production infrastructure in Wassenaar or Schoonebeek when they stopped production from the fields.
At the end of the day the very small amount of oil allegedly leaked (“estimated at 218 tonnes”) will disappear very rapidly and cause very very little damage to the environment. Of course now Greenpeace (they of the over statement of Brent Spar pollution!!!!!) will continue to exagerate volumes (as will others) to the extent that the entire Gannet Field reserves have leaked into the North Sea. It really is that time of the year when there is so little news to report on. Ho Hum.
Outsider it seems to me that you’ve read way too much into what Veritas said in his post. He didn’t say that since it was stopped after 10 days all was OK. As for Nigeria you appear to have joined the uninformed Tree Huggers in accusing Shell of the pollution. A vast (yes vast) majority of the oil spills in Ogoniland post date (yes post date) Shell’s involvement in the area. Sabotage by Nigerians who want to steal the oil and also get damage money are the primary causes.
Veritas: you seem to be implying that because Shell have finally managed to stop the flow after 10 days, then everything is OK? How long must a well flow and how many thousands of tonnes of crude oil need to be released into the environment before a problem exists? I guess the Nigerian leaks should not really be a problem either – it’s only a matter of a few thousand barrels of light, sweet crude after all.
John, I normally appreciate your site for its neutrality, but it’s clear now that Shell’s North Sea leak is fixed that at least two of your “experts” you cited in your August 16 post, and possibly all three, were very very wrong. I think you have done very well in the past verifying your sources, especially the chap from Malaysia, but the folks cited that day were full of hogwash and speculation. Other than that, keep up the good work. REPLY FROM JOHN: Some people might be surprised at your assessment that we are neutral in relation to Shell. As to your other comments, stay tuned. More information will emerge shortly about how far Shell can be trusted in relation to the safety and integrity of its North Sea Platforms. The information, includes a recent document supplied to me on Friday by the HSE offshore division. It is a letter from a very senior UK government official sent to a senior person at Shell Exploration and Production. We will put the letter into the public domain and also bring it to the attention of relevant U.S. regulatory authorities and Alaskan state senators.
Suggest you put a different picture on your lead story concerning Shell still being in Syria. I’ve got one of Assad if you want one. REPLY FROM JOHN: Appreciate the offer, but have found one, unless yours is more appropriate. Thanks.
Boy oh boy, part 7 sure has a lot of very lengthy argumentation but in honesty (and I do have Shell shares) I read nothing in there that really convinces me that you should continue to rattle on about some connection between Deterding and Hitler. An alledged connection that happened some 65 years ago. I really believe you keep this on the “front page” as a form of tabloid press titilation. Come into the present and concentrate your continued sniping at Shell based on the present system. REPLY BY JOHN: You are entitled to your view. Considerably more evidence is being accumulated on an almost daily basis, as a result of many newspaper archives from Europe and the USA, and books as far back as the 1930’s, all being made available and searchable online. We will publish all of the additional evidence. Those who are interested will be free to read the evidence, which is overwhelming. It includes information and documents from Shell’s own archives, which Shell was concerned would come into our possession. We have Shell internal communications obtained by us under the UK Data Protection Act revealing Shell’s anxiety at this prospect. Shell has threatened action in relation to this subject. We are 100% confident that for obvious reasons, no action will be taken. We are not talking about allegations, but historical fact. Deterding/Royal Dutch Shell pumped funds into the Nazi regime for many years and Shell continued to do so after Deterding resigned as Director General. Deterding remained a Shell director until the day he died in Nazi Germany. He had a Nazi funeral attended by Nazi officers and senior Royal Dutch Shell officials. A personal message from Hitler was read at the grave.
John, Regarding your response to “Austria1” that you do not believe that current Shell management sympathizes with the Nazis… If this is indeed the case, why are you so affixed on this topic. “The past is the past”, there are enough present issues that you could direct attention towards. Why do you “live in the past” ? REPLY: A legitimate question. The answer can be found here: Royal Dutch Shell Nazis Secrets Part 7: Why does it still matter?
I have read with concern that the current Shell management sympathises with Nazis. Is this correct? REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: I have not read that and I am sure that they do not.
The comment that “SPDC has not produced oil in Ogoniland since 1993” (from Andrew Vickers) reafirms my point that all subsequent oil spills (last 18 years) have been caused by sabotage from the Ogonis themselves. In many cases encouraged by the village elders and MOSOP leaders. Their aim? To get large amounts of money from Shell et al. About time these people were held to account and not Shell. I am also amazed that Shell is still responsible for these pipelines if they no longer produce from the area, surely the Nigerian Government is now responsible? This is certainly the case in the likes of Malaysia where Petronas takes over full responsibility where a company has stopped production (yes I know, and made the well heads etc. safe) and relinquished the acreage. Heh ho no doubt it’s the age old problem of mega corrupt senior Nigerians seeing an easy way to fill their Swiss bank account, likewise lawyers (most being the leach scum of this earth) and tree huggers thinking they’re doing good (idiots).
Get over the alias thing John, or start calling out 95% of your posters. Be consistent – is that not what you ask of Shell?? Live up to the standard you ask others to live by! SMH: REPLY BY JOHN D: The vast majority are not as personally abusive or blinkered as yours self-evidently are, as can be confirmed by glancing through your record of postings here. I have the courage to post outspoken comments using my real name. You do not. Since you make more postings here than any other visitor and are by far the most outspoken – a self-proclaimed Nemesis – it really is time that you worked up the courage to reveal your real name? What’s the problem? What are you afraid of by coming out into the open? If you have told us the truth about accepting gifts/hospitality from Shell suppliers, I am sure you have nothing to fear. With a deluded outsize ego like yours, how can you bear to remain anonymous? Don’t forget to supply a nice colour pik along with your name.
Right John – do hot share your background data, cant share that – but clearly ID the person with your links. Swell job of high integrity posting. Get that point! Of course you will tell us you have lots more facts, can not share them, but I can tell you who it is with my links! Wow – crazy that you can not see that behavior is shady and that if Shell did something like that, you would call out the lynch mobs. Trust us, we have more data, but we can not share it!! REPLY BY JOHN: Same reply as previous: Your analysis of the situation was based partly on an inaccurate assumption. You are unaware of the background facts. I have not revealed detailed content of extensive emails on this matter with an insider source, emails to the Fat Cat in question, nor my entire related email correspondence with a top lawyer at Royal Dutch Shell, Michiel Brandjes. I have nothing further to add at this time regarding the allegations other than to say that I have to be rather more careful than you in what I say, bearing in mind that I do not hide behind an alias, as you choose to do.
That’s right Goodluck Diigbo you weren’t given N10 million, it was probably more like N20 million. The MOSOP organization is well known for it’s corruption – again, where does all the money they ge in various compensations? NOT to the Ogoni people who are hoodwinked into believing MOSOP is doing them good.
I hope the county commissioners understand and more importantly the people of this area understand the implication of supporting this pipeline. Besides the environmental effects, this pipeline will take jobs away from the precious Sabine Neches Waterway.
A pipeline project that could create thousands of American construction jobs and lessen the country
Wow – a new low – no facts – just unsubstantiated claims by someone with initials that match the initials of someone else and John is willing to accuse a shell “fat cat” of sexual harassement and having affairs. You keep topping your self John. Show me how this is fact based reporting? But you only post facts right John? Shell does something like this and you add this to our eveil portfolio right John? Geez, give me a break. You indict your self over and over, making this way too easy John. Evil huh?? REPLY BY JOHN: Your analysis of the situation is based partly on an inaccurate assumption. You are unaware of the background facts. I have not revealed detailed content of extensive emails on this matter with an insider source, emails to the Fat Cat in question, nor my entire related email correspondence with a top lawyer at Royal Dutch Shell, Michiel Brandjes. I have nothing further to add at this time regarding the allegations other than to say that I have to be rather more careful than you in what I say, bearing in mind that I do not hide behind an alias, as you choose to do.
I bet that of the “potential”
Refer to Shell Malaysia’s comment dated 24th July ” Their shared services centre (now known as Shell Business Services Centre) is a fine case study of how unsuspecting employees are hired, used and disposed. Long work hours, under incompetent team managers, guarantees quick turnover. Staff turnover at this entity has remained high for years
Go read the posts I have made where I state that all individuals and companies make mistakes, of course we have. No attempt to hide from that at all John, come on, read the posts and stop looking uneducated!!
ALL articles are gathered – sorry – not even close – but nice try!
Later –
REPLY FROM JOHN: You ask me to go and read your posts again. If you don’t mind, I would rather accept that you have already conceded on that point. Apart from posting articles ourselves (over 20,000 on this website) we pay for a live news feed of Shell related articles and take all that are gathered, irrespective of whether they are positive or negative in relation to Shell. That is a fact.
Ironical – oh that is sweet – that word should be your middle name John! Oh – I just love those old buried links from 2009 for a Wikipedia article, come on John, you can do better than that. Posted anything since then? All kinds of articles you can link to that are posted every week about Shell activities in the community. Love this – look at his lead in;
Royal Dutch Shell is responsible for many important initiatives in relationship to the environment, encouraging business start-ups, supporting charitable causes and other good works. With regard to the environment, Shell has however been accused of [1]greenwash
John, I am still looking for your posts telling the world that Shell does good deeds, come on – post them again!! From your nemesis – a lazy, uneducated and evil Shell employee!! Please keep the compliments flowing. Did I have any spelling/typing errors – whew – I sure hope not – John might cast mean thoughts about my capabilities again!! I am so hurt! REPLY FROM JOHN: I just found it ironic that you castigated another person on this blog for making an “undeducated” post. I accept that your spelling errors were caused by laziness. Don’t worry, since you hide behind an alias to insult people, no one will be able to identity you personally. Is there any chance that you will ever work up the courage to make postings under your own name, as I do, taking legal responsibility for everything I say? You cannot claim with any shred of credibility to being my Nemesis, when you hide behind an alias and are entirely dependent on my goodwill to permit you to make postings on this website. Based on your overall postings, I do not believe that you are evil or uneducated. Delusional, perhaps. Certainly proud of the company you work for. There is nothing wrong with loyalty, even if sometimes misplaced. As to Shell positives, there is a permanent link: ROYAL DUTCH SHELL INITIATIVES
Thanks for the tip and for showing again the pettiness(sp??) that defines who you are John. I sincerely apologize for trashing your site with my poor speed typing skills! Trust me, I know how to spell these words! But the content of my comments got through just fine, you even seemed to be able to grasp them John and know what words I mis typed! Thanks for the help, but I am too busy to type in word, proof and then post, I will pass on your tip of the day. Got any more value added tips? PS – lazy implies you did not put forth the effort required for the job, the effort I put into posts on your site was just right. Nice try though! Keep living in the past and the future will pass you by, oh it already has, my bad.
Misspelling (or is that Miss Spelling, who actually cares) does not mean an uneducated post. (I have to say that it would help by having a larger “box” to comment in so that more of the typed sentence can be viewed and not located halfway down the page.) I have to agree with the comments from “uscitizen” concerning the repetitive, and now somewhat boring, link of Shell to the Nazi’s from over 60 years ago. I think it shows more about your mentality than that of present day Shell. It is also very clear that “shell malaysia” is someone with a major grudge against the company, perhaps sacked for under performance? Poor spelling? Shell continues to provide handsomely to the local communities throughout East & West Malaysia, above and beyond government requirements set in PSC’s etc. Shell cannot be blamed for the oppressive nature of the Malaysian system / government. Rather than quoting a load of legal court/case numbers, can “shell malaysia” please expand / describe what employees have been unfairly dismissed for? My experience with Shell is that dismissals are for pretty serious offences, most of which are included in the contracts that staff sign on joining the company. REPLY FROM JOHN DONOVAN: Shell used to have an internet discussion forum – “Tell Shell” – supposedly for uncensored lively and open debate. It had a nice wide space for each posting. As I have previously pointed out, Shell was caught secretly censoring postings. Shell then suspended the facility before it finally disappeared without trace. As to Shell’s historical association with the Nazis, no one is forced to read the articles and related evidence we provide. It is not compulsory. With regard to postings in the box, you can type your comment into a Word doc then copy and paste into the box. This would enable uscitizen to identity typing errors. Visitors can click on “All” at the top of the Shell Blog column to read the postings in a wider box.
I know John – you would never imply anthing underhanded with your main page lead in stories on our alleged Nazi affiliations from WW2 about current leadership. Read your own posts where you say the behavior you post about WW2 still exists today. Right John?? And outspoken – your post of course made no sense. The hard working E&P folks do not have time for this, but they are of course the ones John is bashing the most fella! Make up your mind.
That is it, I am part of the Shell propganda bot! Just can not accept that there are many many good folks, all up and down our chain of command, who do things right to make this a good company. One that many many smart folks want to work for.
And Shell Malysia, if you really think my fellow employees acts of giving back to the community are part of a shell cover up, god bless your poor bitter soul, you have of course slammed many many good peoples intentions with your callous undeducated post. I know John, you have tried so hard to point out the good deeds of Shell, so very very hard. Keep it up John, we really really do believe you!! Right! REPLY FROM JOHN DONOVAN: You have the cheek to accuse others of making uneducated posts when you cannot spell uneducated (or for that matter, “anything”, “Malaysia” or “propaganda”). Or perhaps you were just being lazy? Senior management at Shell does still trade with the enemy – see Royal Dutch Shell Nazis Secrets Part 7: Why does it still matter?
This is in response to the erroneous statement by ‘Macannon’ regarding unfair employee dismissals in Malaysia.
“I am sure that some (probably a majority) got their just desserts and are now merely joining on the bandwagon of some genuine cases.” – Macannon
Every case of unfair dismissal is sent to the courts by the local Labour Office in Malaysia. Only the local Labour Office can do so after investigating the merits of the case. The process is lengthy and costly for the employee who was unfairly dismissed.
Please read the details to avoid being misinformed. (Just Google ‘Malaysia Labour Department’).
Due to outdated employment laws, it is impossible for any employee to ‘join the bandwagon’. The dozens of cases of unfair dismissals of Malaysian employees is testament to how Shell is putting up a public show (via ‘works of charity’) while ignoring its own Business Conduct Guidelines.
Shell Malaysia’s modus operandi is very similar to the Ken Saro Wiwa case. When it is obvious that Shell is not going to win the case, it offers to settle ‘out of court’ just before the start of the trial.
Don’t take my word for it. Check the evidence.
http://www.mp.gov.my/ (Type Shell in respondent).
Some very fair comments from “Viktar” and “uscitizen” – all companies and people (including the Donovans) have their faults. The more you are in the public limelight the more you are able to be attacked. Shell does a great deal of good charitable work and projects that Governments (particularly African ones) should be doing them selves. Unknowledgeable idiots such as “outspoken” clearly have little or no close knowledge of the company or have a gripe against the company (lack of promotion, poor performance etc.). Why is it that if anyone praises Shell on this site he/she is classed as “fictional”, “shameless”, “grovelling” or “part of Shell’s propaganda organ”?? I think “outspoken” is someone who has a problem with Shell and cannot accept anything good said about them. Remind you of someone else?? REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: No individual has done more than me to highlight the good works of Royal Dutch Shell. I collected information over a number of years and included it all in a Wikipedia article “Royal Dutch Shell initiatives” providing many reference sources confirming the authenticity of the information. The article was deleted on the basis that it was biased in favour of Shell. I have previously stated that the vast majority of Shell employees are decent hard working people. My concern is in regard to the rotten apples who remain in senior management positions despite serious misdeeds, including for example, participation in the management of a rigged tender for a major contract (Tim Hannagan) or involvement in the cover-up (Malcolm Brinded). Tim Hannagan – currently Global Brand Standards and Performance Manager at Shell International Petroleum Company – was not the mastermind (Shell executive Andrew Lazenby), but he went along with the planned deception designed to steal IP information from several companies and stop them from approaching rival oil companies. Hannagan attempted in a subsequent Witness Statement to distance himself from the corrupted process in which the contract was miraculously awarded to a company that never participated in the tender. David Pirret is another senior Royal Dutch Shell executive with skeletons rattling around in his closet. All of these individuals are free to sue me if they dispute what I am stating. I still have the evidence. It still smells. For an independent view of Shell’s activities, including its horrendous record in Nigeria, this article is worth reading.
John, I saw USCitizen’s recent comments on your blog. This ‘gentleman’, if he is a ‘real’ person and not a fictional product of Shell’s propaganda organ, is living breathing proof that being a shameless, groveling suck-up apparently pays off big time at Shell. I wonder which part of the company he works for. Doubt he works for the ‘real’ part of the company responsible for finding and producing oil. Those folks are too smart and too well educated to swallow that kind of crap. Besides, they simply don’t have time for this nonsense.
Bad news, guys. I hear Funk is out but Koontz is in. Folks at Convent are goin to screem! Funk is a bad dude, but koontz is worse. His sneakyness is only surpassed by his union hate.
Thank you for your post Viktar, but you will never be able to convince these poor Donovan folks that Shell and its people are anything but evil nazi lovers bent on destroying the world. I have shown repeated examples of good, but old man Donovan says, oh I am not bashing the people, there are lots of good people, just the company – he does not realize they are the same thing! There are many many examples of good – and I am headed out to one now, helping a shelter for battered women, with a lot of evil shell folks. Thanks again – and I am sure Donovan will have a rebuttal on your example on some ulterior motive we had. And if you say it increases our chances to make more money – guess what – you are right – and do things the right way! They do go together. We all make mistakes, people and companies. Key is to learn from them – and despite Donovans insistence – we do. I can hear the response now, oh well – we are proud of our company! REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: Please cite any comment or posting on this or any other website where we have made the comment you falsely attribute to us i.e. that Shell and its people are evil nazi lovers bent on destroying the world. People will be able to draw their own conclusions if you fail to provide an example. You will not be able to do so because we have never stated or implied that this is the case. That false accusation destroys any credibility you had here. I can only surmise that you have been too lazy to read what we have said in historical context about Shell and its Nazi past that the company would prefer to forget.
Shell was helpful in coordinating a JV between I.M. Skaugen and InQtel called HUSH LLC.
It’s an enterprise aiming to stop piracy and terrorism on the high seas. It’s a good example of an ethical oil initiative. Not all oil news is bad news.
We installed the HUSH Hub on Norgas Carine almost a year ago, it saved crew morale, delivered security, and new revenue. Everyone is happier and safer. Now all of our ships have this equipment. All our crews are safer and we’re fighting terrorism and piracy.
We are offering the HUSH Hub to other maritime fleets and thereby doing our part to increase global stability.
Google: inqtel skaugen HUSH
Google: shell inqtel HUSH
Shell entities in Malaysia have yet to prove themselves to be worthy employers. Getting a lawyer who deals with employment issues in Malaysia is hard enough, what more spending a decade pursuing your case in the courts. Only genuine employees who were unfairly dismissed would pursue this path.
The fact that the Malaysian employment laws, the product of neo-colonialism, favours the employer is good news for multinationals like Shell. A ‘gold mine’ of sorts. Most multinationals have been taking advantage of this for decades. However, Shell has taken it to a new low.
Their shared services centre (now known as Shell Business Services Centre) is a fine case study of how unsuspecting employees are hired, used and disposed. Long work hours, under incompetent team managers, guarantees quick turnover. Staff turnover at this entity has remained high for years….at one point, exceeding 40%. It is essentially a sinister tactic to keep costs low.
Shell Malaysia is where it is today thanks to the hardworking people that built it over the past 100 years. And what did they get in return ?
Shell’s mercenary tactics against its own people is well documented (refer civil cases in previous post and elsewhere on this site).
The question is, how many more lawsuits have to be filed before Shell cleans up its act?
Is it another Nigeria waiting to happen ?
C’est la vie!
Shell’s announcement ( Reuter) of a Manufacturing JV Service company with a CNPC to avoid paying low value drilling is applaudable. However they are in the wrong business. They should leave to people who are good at it. It take years to perfect this. Shell expats who are highly paid and lack of business acumen will sure see the demise of the JV before it starts. Furthermore why Singapore? Trust me. Of course this is not important to Peter Sharpe as he has scored his brownie points, as usual ( capitalising on BP’s Macondo as well ) and would have retired and blame it on others like the CNPC Chinese.
Its not to late- Shell Voser- suggest you focus on your core business and aim at reducing your own Shell overhead and let the service companies do their work for you more efficiently. Dont leave it to Mr Sharpe.
London Lad- the expats today are no longer the professional expats we have in the 70s/80s. The expats then worked very hard and are sincere in coaching locals. The expats today except a handful I am afraid knows nut.
We shall find out who is right soon. Why are IOC partnering with NOC everywhere? They see they no longer can survive by themselves. We shall see.
I used to love working for Shell but no longer anymore as there is so much internal process and not enough external focus. I thought I am the only one but alas about 80% of my colleagues feel the same… we are tired and are thinking of leaving..before we leave. Suggest Shell to do a people survey and ask the above question.
Hey Shell team – Respect to you for having such an open comments policy. Shows you dont’ have as much to hide as some may think! REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: Sorry to say that there is a misunderstanding on your part. This is not a Shell website. “TellShell” – Shell’s internet discussion forum for claimed open and lively debate was first secretly censored by Shell, then “temporarily” suspended, then closed. This was because the discussions became too open and lively for Shell management.
Why were these Malaysians dimissed? Malpractice, fraud, poor performance etc. etc.? I am sure that some (probably a majority) got their just desserts and are now merely joining on the bandwagon of some genuine cases. Shelll in Malaysia is a good employer and a vast majority of their staff would agree.
Unfair Employee Terminations in Malaysia
Despite being the world’s number one Fortune 500 company, Shell has a long way to go to comply with its own Ethical Guidelines.
The previously well respected company has taken the stand that if there are no local labour laws to protect its employees, then, ‘anything goes’. Unfairly dismissing employees is a rampant practice in Malaysia. It is so common, that Shell Malaysia has appointed multiple legal firms to defend itself. In the capital of Kuala Lumpur alone, it has appointed at least three separate legal firms to deal with the piling cases.
Unfortunately, these are only cases that went to courts. For every such case, there were many more that never reached the courts. The losers are not Shell…it is the victimised employees. Unlike Western countries, the only legal remedy Malaysians have is to go through the legal process, which sometimes take more than 10 years. Many victims don’t bother with this and just accept their fate and try to move on.
Employees are often bullied into resigning or given poor performance evaluations by their incompetent supervisors. Usually, the management needs a scapegoat to put the blame on. The lax employment laws in Malaysia makes it an ideal place for Shell to literally do as it likes.
The following are just some of the cases that are pending in the Malaysian Labour courts. (Claimants names removed to protect privacy). For full details of each case and findings, please go to the court website http://www.mp.gov.my/ and type ‘Shell’ in respondent. This is publicly available.
I would strongly recommend potential Shell employees to consider carefully before signing the dotted line.
Case No. 8/4-234/97
50 employees vs Sarawak Shell Bhd
2 8/4-406/97
4 employees vs Sarawak Shell Bhd
3 8/4-653/97
5 employees vs Sarawak Shell Bhd
4 8/4-8/98 Miss G vs Sarawak Shell Bhd.
5 8/4-166/98
5 employees vs Sarawak Shell Berhad
6 8/4-334/98
2 employees vs Sarawak Shell Bhd.
7 7/4-732/11 Mr K vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd.
8 14/4-1996/07 Mr M vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd
9 3(15)(3)/4-1461/04 Mr J vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd./Shell Malaysia Limited
10 22(19)/4-2884/04 Mr N Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd.
11 8/4-653/98 C & 5 others vs Sarawak Shell Sdn. Bhd
12 8(17)/4-770/00 Mr R vs Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Limited
13 1(15)/2-155/02 Workers Union vs SHELL Malaysia Trading Sendirian Bhd., SHELL Refining Company Bhd., SHELL Malaysia Limited dan Tiram Kimia Sendirian Bhd.
14 27(12)/4-851/02 Ms R vs Stesyen Minyak Shell Jana
15 12/1-357/04 Workers Union vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd, Shell Refining Company Bhd, Shell Malaysia Limited & Tiram Kimia Sdn. Bhd
16 20(28)(12)/4-733/04 Mr A vs Shell Refining Company (FOM) Bhd.
17 8/4-1377/04 Mr H Sarawak Shell Berhad
18 17/4-2322/04 Mr A vs Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Limited
19 22(6)/4-2455/04 Mr J vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd.
20 8/4-2607/04 Mr J vs Sarawak Shell Berhad
21 17(8)/4-2622/04 Mr Y vs Sarawak Shell Berhad
22 10/4-3272/04 Mr P vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd.
23 20(13)/4-618/06 Mr M vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd.
24 26/4-1017/06 Mr A vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn.Bhd
25 1/1-1329/06 Ms R vs Stesyen Minyak Shell Jana
26 11/4-1879/06 Mr M vs Shell Refining Company (Federation Of Malaya) Berhad
27 10/4-2258/06 Ms L vs Clamshell Dredging Sdn. Bhd
28 2/4-201/07 Mr V vs SHELL AUTOSERV MALAYSIA, A DIVISION OF CHAMP DISTRIBUTORS SENDIRIAN BERHAD
29 1/1-912/07 Shell Employees Union vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd. Shell Malaysia Limited & Shell Refining Company (F.O.M) Bhd
30 20/4-307/08 Mr M vs Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd
Another round of cuts coming to Convent, poor Stan, you thought your were safe because you are black, but they finally see the lazy no good phuck you really are you lying bastard. I don’t feel sorry for you one bit. I have a better job now and I don’t have to put up with all the lazy protected race and gender scumbags. I hope David is proud to have kept you so long. They let go some really good guys and kept ignorant lazy ass trash like you. Roxanne, Jill, and Connie I still can’t wait to but ya’ll in the mouth.
Is there a career path in HSSE?
Only time will tell when we see who the new people are in these senior positions. Time to send the right message to HSSE staff
Well Joe McBloggs I guess the problem is that key people in the Scottish authorities are more concerned with their independence from England than some old story about Shell.
Why is it that the Scottish authorities are so lax when calling Shell to task? It has been many years since the two workers died on Charlie and it took the site of Donovan and actions of retired auditors to keep the attention going albeit at a very low level. Otherwise all would have been forgotten and swept under the carpet.
One almost would believe that many operators and members of the policeforce are member of the same masonic lodge and we all know that the brothers are there to help each other?
I bet that nobody in the UK authorities will ever take Brinded to task for his TFA policy and other hypocritic remarks on ‘Safety is our top priority’. It is disgusting. The feeling of justice has gone.
Risteard O
Read an article from about this time last year… wanted to share it with the readers of this site as it is becoming a prophetic reading…. Steve cleaning up the Gulf Coast. He has alot in common with the groups that helped BP last summer… except the scum he is cleaning up are bad leaders, not oil on the beach….. Tom, when does your time to come to get cleaned up and leave?
By Joe Blow
It was with some elation that I heard of Mr. Purves
I wonder what value/reserves Shell will be attributing to last year’s multi-billion dollar shale gas acquisitions now?
The third company in the NYT list of shale gase producers is EOG Resources. EOG Resources is the new name for Enron Oil and Gas Company
Motiva paid him $3mm into CIDA. But trust me, he has no idea about the oil sands crude coming as Shell has kept it quiet until the pipeline can get approved. Everyone thinks it is Saudi crude that will fill up the CEP. It will be oil sands crude and all the environmental emissions that will come from it. John D should try and contact Hilton and get his feedback
I wonder how much Shell has paid Hilton Kelly? He hasn’t said much about CEP.
I’m glad Shell refuted the statement re Saudi Aramco being the sole supplier of crude. As soon as the keystone pipeline gets approved, Shell will exercise it’s 50% equity rights and push Canadien oil right into Port Arthur. I’m sure my environmental buddies in Port Arthur are not aware of the oil sands crude coming to Port Arthur or they would already be screaming. There was another article that came out yesterday that stated that Saudi Aramco is pushing oil to China more and more. Get the facts straight or Shell will….
Oh and by the way, there is no way in hell that the project will be finished in 1Q 2012. Everyone knows it. Ask Shell for a retraction on that one.
There’s a certain irony in Ann Pickard’s lecturing of the Australians. I believe her previous assignment included responsibility for Nigeria? Have her views on greenhouse gases really changed so significantly since she arrived Down Under?
Watching Tom:
Also wanted to ask how are you guys doing with the Life Saving Rules. Are the whites being fired for breaking a life saving rule and blacks keeping their jobs like in Norco?
Wow – this site reaches new lows. Some of you Shell folks just need to take care of your business and stop trying rationalize things away. Geez, if you raise your kids like this we are in big trouble with the next generation. Have Mom and Dad handle any problems, its ok Johnny they are just picking on the (fill in the blanks) portion of the population. Give me a break.
It’s a little odd that the news is dominated by the first (very small)shipment from Pearl, while Shell is invoking force majeure on very large volumes normally exported from Bonny.
The article titled “Saudi Arabia will be sole source supply for Motiva Port Arthur” doesn’t tell the whole story over here that we see on the ground. Firstly, Saudi Aramco, during 2008, cut crude supplies to the US, and therefore Motiva as it’s largest supply base, and sent incremental crude to China, namely for better profits. Secondly, if Shell ever figures out how to get Canadian oil sands crude down to Nederland, the Arab heavy will back out pretty quick. Shell owns so much equity in the crude supply bbls for Port Arthur. A lot of stumbling blocks exist to finish the pipeline from Cushing down to the Gulf Coast. Until that time, I expect the answer is Arab heavy. When that pipeline opens up to the GC, you will see both oil sands and Arab crude filling up the crude unit at Port Arthur….
of course, that assumes that the infamous VPS-5 crude unit ever gets finished. The article talks about 1Q2012. Anybody over here with a real view on the ground knows the only thing that will be complete is the Coker. My my, the spin doctoring that Shell tries to do is sickening……
Has anyone seen Funkhouser lately? We don’t see him doing any work…..
It should be noted that Mr Jim Hartsock has now been placed in a role called Turnaround Manager – Operations Integration. He knows nothing about turnarounds nor operations. He only knows Tom. Tom Purves is a joke and continues to show the impact of his heavy hand on our site. There is no way that Jim Hartsock ought to even be here. Those in the know like Mr Steve Sanders understands how this played out. Steve gets a visit from Purves some time back and gets told that he will make a job for Hartsock. All the while, Tom is actively working to cut the throats of several people over here trying to make a difference and delivering severance packages to these people by adjusting their performance factors. Tom, time may move on. Your legacy doesn’t. It died with your credibility. We all now count the days when you are gone. Limp off into the sunset, with your tea jug and enjoy your wife and family. You have done enough damage here. And take Jeff Funkhouser with you. I hear he got into a little bit of trouble with the police over here and Tom helped send him to Saudi Arabia for a little bit of work to calm the issue down.
Keeping our heads down and waiting for true leadership to show up.
Watching Tom:
Also wanted to ask how are you guys doing with the Life Saving Rules. Are the whites being fired for breaking a life saving rule and blacks keeping their jobs like in Norco?
Watching Tom:
Please tell me you have met Mr Joey D, from NORCO. Funks right hand man. If you have not met him yet, you are missing a real treat. He is a Douche Bag. Funk pulled him out of Norco after he was given a manager job that he could not handle, got himself in too deep, and had to bale. Chances are if you see Funk, Joey will not be far behind like puppy. He is on special assignment (special project there) cause Norco had enough of him and he knew it. He is getting paid big bucks for nothing cause he is a piece of garbage. Talk about a chump. Before he was promoted, he could not even quality on the easy CR-1 job in Norco, had to go out on disability and sucked his way up the ladder after that. NO one likes him and he knows it. I am hearing they have enough of him there, I can only imagine. If you get a chance, go check out that snake, but dont turn your back on him, he is just a bad or worse than Funk or Tom.!!
The people @ PAR understand it all.
JEEEEEZ WatchingTom Purves can you please use some language that most people that use this site can understand. (e.g PAR = ? Funkhouser is who? Lauher =? etc. etc.) I am sure you have good intent with your rambling, but, please make it more understandable to the wider audience. I would suggest, for example, a bit more titilation (aka the Sun newspaper – that’s over the pond newspaper for you or aka the nonsense correlation STILL used as titilation by this website for Shell and the Nazi’s). To be quiet honest I have never seen such a rambling on this website with names that 99% haven’t got a clue who they are!!
Just a quick update from the little town called PAR…. As it has been well documented by now, Tom Purves has set up shop back over here in Motivaland after his demotion….. i mean transition back to PAR to quote “help get this project straightened out”….. never mind the fact that he has never ran a project of this size or anything comparable. So the very next thing that he began to do is try and suck up all of his buddies, which some call minions, to come help him….. The most notable chump is his main side kick Jeff Funkhouser. Believe me, he is staying low until he can slide out of town. All of Shell knows he is a joke…. yet the senior leaders of our company have let Tom have his way. The 2nd stooge, Forrest Lauher, just got ran off and will leave the site shortly. He should have never been given the project, was not equipped to be successful, should have been fired back in 2008 when they took the project away from him. He failed miserable as site leader for PAR and was finally found out. Funk, you will be next.
Now, we have an audit team come in from the Hague to review how our pipe module project went. The lead honcho for this part of the project, Mr Jim Hartsock, another one of Tom’s boys, mysteriously gets an opportunity to go to the NPRA in Denver instead of participating with the audit team. Can you imagine that one? Why would it be ok first of all for one of your project managers( re Hartsock, I say this lightly) to go to NPRA while this pitiful project tries to stumble across the finish line. Secondly, wouldn’t you think Jim would have useful information to share with the audit team? Where is Jim for his interview? “I’m sorry… he is in Denver at an NPRA conference….. Seriously Tom???? And who would Hartsock be meeting with in Denver….. none other than Jerry Crail of the infamous Tom Purves gang.. Jim, I guess you were setting up your next gig with Crail and the Upgrader outfit up north…… May be you can do better than you’ve done here…. This is the guy Tom saved from Tosco when they dumped him at Wood River. He got Crail to hire him at SGS, then made Quinn give him a job at Convent, and when Quinn finally got tired of him there, forced the PAR gang to take him in on the project. He gets assigned to watch the pipe modules at remote locations, all the while working from his home in St Louis….. and low and behold, the modules are screwed up….. Lots of questions that need to be asked…. Can’t get answers from Hartsock because he is in Denver following Crail around….. for some of us, this is getting really old Tom. Do us a favor, come clean, and retire. You are done man…. You are no longer da man! and haven’t been.
Shell execs who read this still….. find out about Jim Hartsock…. and while you are at it, look into Jeff Funkhouser…… These 3 are bad and need to be dealt with.
John D, why don’t you send these 3 an emil and ask about this one? Share their responses with us…..
Me thinks JanBlauu that you’ve been smoking something you shouldn’t be smoking!! There is absolutely no way that IOC’s will disappear in 5-10 years or less. The likes of Petronas (very well trained by Shell & Exxon in the 70’s & 80’s) are good performers. Most others (e.g. those NOC’s in Oman, Venezuela, Indonesia & Nigeria) have very lazy incompetent local staff who remain still very dependent on the expat doing the work while they themselves cream off millions. Long live the IOC’s and the expats. Local staff need to get realistic with their dreams while at the same time thinking of theor country and not just their own Swiss bank accounts.
John- I think I know what Mirilad is talking about..in 5-10 years ( or maybe earlier), there will be no International Oil companies (IOC) and all the National oil companies ( NOC ) will be fully independent and contracting the service companies to extract oil/gas. Why need IOC as middle man? This is an outdated business model. Its time to replace the high overheads and expensive expats who do not add values but add costs. JB
well Mr. London lad, u seem to think all national oil companies fail…why not quote successful ones.. REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: Have not got a clue what you are talking about?
REPLY TO “Google” and “Googler”: The reason why we have not published your comments/allegations is because to the best of our knowledge they are baseless and therefore seriously defamatory of the relevant third party. You are also wrong in stating that the relevant article has been deleted. It has just moved down due to the posting of new articles. We researched the background of the person in question and found nothing to substantiate your allegations. If you have any such evidence, send it to me by email and we will reconsider the matter. You want to make allegations hiding behind an alias using our facility, under our name. That is not something we are willing to do. We also note that you have submitted comments under multiple aliases, not just the two most recent ones. With regard to the subject of publishing allegations, our attention was recently drawn to an article published by Time Magazine: “The Caligula Effect: Why Powerful Men Compulsively Cheat.” We have decided not to publish the related allegations.
An excerpt from the Port Arthur news at the end of 2010…..
PORT ARTHUR
John – Further to the comment by Anonymous. I am not arguing if Shell did or didn’t get involved with the Nazis. I used to be a frequent visitor to this site but rarely visit anymore since you seem to be totally obsessed with Shell’s Nazi involvement. This is very old news and it is time to move on to news and topics that are more timely. REPLY BY JOHN: Thanks for taking the trouble to comment. The focus on Royal Dutch Shell’s Nazi past will be expanded with further facts resulting from more research. Other significant developments are in the pipeline. This is not a subject we have any intention of dropping, as will become abundantly clear in coming months. If you find the subject so objectionable, simply ignore it and just stick to current news and events, which are still covered. Someone is interested because site traffic has increased, not declined, since we highlighted Shell’s close association with Hitler and the Nazi party. Nothing staggering, but still well over 2 million hits every month.
John, this growing obsession with Nazism is trivialising of other people’s suffering and has nothing to do with Shell as a company at all. It is, frankly, a bit weird. It is also immensely hypocritical to accuse Shell of insensitivity while expropriating the suffering of others in the service of your personal crusade. REPLY FROM JOHN: It is absolute nonsense for you to claim that Shell as a company had nothing to do with the Nazis. If you read the book “A HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” authored by historians paid by Shell who were given full access to Shell archives, you will see for yourself that Shell had a great deal to do with Hitler and his henchman. Shell pumped funds into the Nazi coffers. The evidence is confirmed and expanded by a variety of independent reputable sources, including numerous newspaper reports. You seem to be in complete denial.
John,
I saw the article stating that a blow in the Artic from one of Shell’s propose wells would not produce more that 9468 bbls/day.
Who is the manager and/or PR moron at Shell that released that statement? 9468 bbls/day, max. Really? You don’t say? That level of accuracy and precision impossible to obtain. How about you folks at Shell trying again to come up with a ‘meaningful’ estimate, instead of this kind of useless crap.
Marvin Odum who probably has the worst safety record in Shell goes for a diversity vote and someone who has no safety experience to replace the VP of safety he just fired. Clear message where his priorities lie.
John, has it ever occurred to you that your increasingly frequent evocations of Nazism and the Holocaust to score points against Shell might itself be considered deeply offensive and insensitive? REPLY BY JOHN: A number of valued contributors to this blog have complained about the focus on Shell’s Nazi past. “Musaint” decided to stop visiting. Another said he was thoroughly bored. The subject is controversial and the header graphics designed to shock. Shell managed to escape the public odium it was due from its financial support for Hitler and the Nazis. The blame was all heaped on to Deterding even though Shell continued its financial dealings with the Nazis after his resignation as head of the company and even after his death. This is all becoming clearer as a result of evidence emerging from the transfer of newspaper articles from microfilm to searchable online digital archives. We have gathered many more articles from newspapers in the USA, Canada ant the UK (The Scotsman, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Express, The Guardian, etc) and they will all be incorporated into a revised single reference source. We intend to make sure that what you describe as “scoring points”, but is a history of Nazi party funding which contributed towards tens of millions of horrific deaths, is brought to the attention of the world. We note that only one item was highlighted in the many Shell internal documents Shell recently supplied to us in response to our 2011 SAR application under the DATA PROTECTION ACT. It was a reference to our article on this subject. Because we consistently keep a link to the Nazi Secrets article as the top feature on our site, it ensures that the Shell/Nazi/Hitler subject appears at number 6 or 7, dependent on browser, on the first page of a Google search for “Royal Dutch Shell” out of 2.6 million results. For obvious reasons, its the subject that Shell would least like attention drawn in such a prominent rankings position when people Google “Royal Dutch Shell”.
@Londonlad,
Maybe what Omani 1959 is trying to do is gather enough information so that he and his other idle, non productive friends can take to the streets of Oman again, to try and blackmail the government into cancelling the production sharing agreement with Shell, and then the Omani government can sell 100% of its Oil and Gas and thereby gain far higher revenues.
This in turn (he is hoping for, or surmising at this stage) will lead to higher salaries for the woefully inept and unproductive, Omani nationals, but I must admit not all the Omani nationals are lazy and unproductive. By and large most of them try to do their best, but their
to LondonLad answering your question so what if Shell takes it’s contracually agreed oil in Oman, we Omanis (80%) are living on poverty line and Shell is stealing and sucking our oil, this oil fortune which Shell sweeps (34% share) from under our feet should go back to us Omanis not to this giant oil leech.
thats why we initiated an oil nationalization campaign in our country to get back this valuable natural resource.
I coud not find in PDO’s annual report any evidence on how much exactly Shell takes from our oil.
if you have any reference on how much Shell takes from our oil I will be thankful to you.
To Omani1959 :So what if Shell takes its contractually agreed oil in Oman? All facts and figures can be found in the company (PDO) annual reporting. Instead of trying to cause trouble (have you been sacked or passed over for a position?) just get on with an honest days work.
Trying being an experienced floorhand, welders helper on the pipeline and an Occupational Safety and Health Tech in the oil and gas industry as a FEMALE…I dont care what anyone says, its still the “good ole boys world” in O & G…wish me luck that maybe an honest job will come my way. Safety isnt a game people and the next time you look at missing hands and caved in sculls you’ll remember how much you need peope like me. It all turns to the right but that cant happen if no ones alive. Ya’ll be careful out there and LISTEN.
can anyone give any evidence or a proof that Shell:
(The company takes around 200,000 barrels of crude per day
Alot of international workers on our site working this project, coming from the team who said they would hire locally for the tax abatements…… and the city officials bought it….. Wonder if this guy lived on downtown Port Arthur???
A contract welder working on the Motiva plant expansion in Port Arthur who was found dead Monday was identified as Arnel Ocampo.
Ocampo, 52, was from the Philippines, said Justice of the Peace Brad Burnett.
Contractors said that they saw him slumped over on a scaffold at about 5:15 p.m. and tried to yell for him, but he was not moving, Burnett said. The contractors told the judge there was welding equipment on the scaffold with Ocampo.
Emergency responders were contacted and Ocampo was taken to Christus St. Mary’s Hospital in Port Arthur where he was pronounced dead at 6 p.m., Burnett said. The judge added that he did not notice bruises or any sign of a fall, but did order an autopsy.
Ocampo was a contract worker with International Plant Services, said Burnett.
Autopsy results are still pending.
Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Contract-worker-who-died-at-Motiva-plant-1342631.php#ixzz1K7SuwGYU
to Elias777 thanks for your solidarity with the campaign to nationalize our oil and rightly said oil leeches like Shell should stay away from our country.
All the best.
@KuchingKid,
Spot on with your comments regarding the Omani’s.
They all have this attitude that they get sent overseas to complete their degree, and then come back to Oman and expect to walk into a (Manager’s) job, with an office, a computer, two cell phones, and a group of workers below them to do all the work. The expats just have to sigh and get on with what they were employed to do.
To Elias777 : You state that “Venezuela have done pretty well to nationalize oil” – tell that to the people of the country who are only just waking up to the fact that Charvez has wasted most of the money on pet projects & sponsoring other evil regimes (& his own overseas bank accounts)whilst at the same time leaving the people in poverty and with very little human rights. If Omani 1959 wants his country to go the same way so be it. Perhaps they will eventually see sense and go on the streets to get rid of such stupid ideas. Fact is Omani’s tend to be very lazy people and get others to do the hard work.
To Oman 1959, I wish you all the best with your campaign and I hope you succeed to get all the documents, I’m sure you have the knowledge and technology to process your own natural resources. If UAE and Saudi Arabia did it why not Oman? Venezuela also have done pretty well to nationalize oil, why not Oman? Is time for developing country to take care of themselves, OIL LEECHES should stay away from Middle East.
To omani1959 – let’s face it Iraq, Yemen and now Libya have NOT improved their oil production under nationalization and most certainly have reduced production recently. Corruption and laziness of locals make nationalization very problematic. By the way, if you blog on this site (or others) expect other peoples views, even if you don’t like them.
to Kuchingkid I did not ask about your opinion on nationalization, I only wanted some information about the2004 agreement between Shell and Oman government.
there were too many oil nationalization success stories in the past :
Saudi Arabia nationalized its oil from Aramco
UAE nationalized its oil from Adnoc
there is also Iran, Iraq, Libya, Yemen who all had success stories with their nationalisation.
hope you fail and our campaign wins.
It may be a pain, but, is it illegal to spy on someone just to gather information? I don’t think so. The problem comes when there is something to hide!! REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: Witness intimidation and related burglaries are illegal and amounted to a criminal conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The conspiracy continued even into the three week High Court Trial heard by a Judge who failed to disclose that his lifelong friend, the founder of an IP firm, had Shell as a client. The Judge also neglected to disclose his connection with the barrister son of the then Shell chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart. The Judge expressed not the slightest interest in Shell’s spying activities. He allowed Shell to engage in a carefully contrived deception at the climax of my three day cross-examination designed to entrap me. The case was settled. Shell paid all legal costs, said to be over
To omani1959 : like many fully nationalized companies they often fail miserably due to incompetence of the locals who are put inpositions they cannot cope with. Additionally they are finacially raped by senioe local staff who take most of the profit and squirrel it away in Swiss bank accounts. PDO will be no different – lazy / corrupt locals will be the beneficiary. Hope your campaign fails.
we are leading a campaign in face book to nationalize our oil company in Oman “PDO” :
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_194036703966156&ap=1
we desperately need any information about the 2004 agreement signed by our government with Royal Dutch Shell which owns a staggering 34% share in PDO.
I will be very grateful for anyone who can give us some details about this agreement.
“Refugee from Shell slams fracking” – what scientific knowledge does Wuganalee have to state such drivel? That said, the article has very little substance to make me support his arguments. He seems to be yet another Ogoni trying to get money from an international company. Perhaps he should try and do an honest days work to get some cash.
So it will be interesting to watch as Uncle Tom Purves has to come clean on the cost of the Motiva CEP project. He originally sold it as a $7B project as the clown Lauher and the rest of the project team put their pencil to paper and came up with the costs. Of course, all of those people have been run off the project. Meanwhile, the owners gave Uncle Tom a chance to come clean back in Dec 2008 when they shipped him back over to clean up the mess. Most of his check estimates came in north of $10B. What does he do? He goes back and says “Not a penny more than $8.5B and we can get this project complete.” Well, he has had to go back to the well several times since then and the project stands at an approved budget of something north of $9B. He is going back for another $0.5B soon. The estimates still say north of $10B. Uncle Tom, we wish you well. Glad to see you are a big project guy much like your buddy Forest. And let’s not forget that the start-up plan for this albatross is pretty bad. Who is running that show? Take a guess….. Uncle Tom’s sidekick “da Funk”. This is going to be a hoot to watch as it comes across the finish line. All I can say is No clue.
REPLY TO USCITIZEN: You seem to be deliberately trying to mix up what i have stated and what “OUTSPOKEN” has alleged. I authored the article “Shell is very different from Enron“. There were a number of articles by various publications comparing the Enron scandal with the Shell reserves scandal. The article by The Economist “Another Enron” is one such example. “OUTSPOKEN” provided related comments as a result of reading my article. OUTSPOKEN has already responded to your comments. You have acknowledged that there were former Shell employees at Enron who you describe as traders. In any event, I am not responsible for other contributors opinions/comments, whether from OUTSPOKEN, you, or anyone else who supplies comment for publication on this website.
God Bless Donovan and the person Outspoken who can not post for himself on this site. First Outspoken – shame on you for doing consulting work for Enron – you day out of one side you did not know how they made money , clairvoyant one, and then work for them as a consultant. Using the Donovan connect the dots skills, you are crooked. Secondly – as a lowly consultant, I am sure you had no real insight to how folks behaved or did business. But wait, if you claim you did, then you reinforce my orgininal thought, shame on you for doing business with them? So which is out oh outspoken one – indict yourself or admit you really did not know how they did business???
John, John , John – must you continue to dig while you spin, – nice try – Managers vs Execs. The guy was clearly implying that Shell managers/Execs worked for the corrupt Enron and Shell is corrupt – so any questions. Please. Name on ex Shell Manager who had anything to do with the big Enron decisions! Thought so , the silence is deafening.
I feel for folks like you! Have fun spinning this one!!
PS – maybe Shell survived our crisis , and it was a crisis, because there was no comparision to Enron, ya think?
Later – I may change my tag and send my thoughts to John so he can post for me – Come on Outspoken – if you are so Outspoken post for yourself!!
NOTE FROM JOHN DONOVAN. USCitizen included within his posting the comments made by “OUTSPOKEN”. I have deleted the repeated relevant OUTSPOKEN comment about ENRON, which can be read below. All that is left here is the latest comments of USCitzen.
POSTED On BEHALF OF “OUTSPOKEN”, A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: John,
I read the comment by the one reader about doing a criminal background investigation of your family.
Sounds like Shell at work here. Slander and defame those that would question the good name of Shell. Cast aspersions upon their good name. Destroy their credibility. Break them and their allies. What a tired and tawdry way of doing business.Thuggery disguised behind a thin veil of respectability provided by the carefully crafted corporate image.
As a doubter of Shell management’s quality of character and their manner of doing business you have become one of the feared and despised ‘OTHER’. The OTHER are to be neutralized so that they can not cause difficulties for the Shell corporate family. The OTHER are the enemy of all good Shell loyalists.
REPLY BY JOHN: I have no idea who made the comment.
I wonder, has anyone investigated the Donovans for previous bad / criminal past family members? I am sure there must have been, but, does that make them responsible for the past family behaviour? REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: No one has said that current Shell employees or descendents of Sir Henri Deterding have any responsibility for his actions. They do not. Royal Dutch Shell boasts of its long history. Check out “Our History” on shell.com. As can be expected, although praiseworthy events are rightly covered, there is no mention whatsoever of Royal Dutch Shell massive financial support for Hitler, which saved the Nazi party from oblivion. The dark side of Shell’s history is hidden in the closet along with millions of skeletons. Due to the same driving motive – GREED – Shell has continued throughout the years to do business with evil dictators and still does. e.g. in June 2009, Shell settled a US Court case for $15.5 million in respect of complicity in torture, murder and human rights violations in Nigeria. As for “criminal past family members,” there are none of which I am aware.
I would suspect that Mr/Ms Lao is speaking in a perspective very relative to his or her own experiences. I guess Shell has done an ‘excellent job’ in the ‘relative-subjective’ opinion of all who only value the profits of their behavior. Too many contributors to this site have cited personal experiences with unethical behaviors in Shell’s local and corporate/global-level ‘systems’.
First time on this website. What is the matter with the site owners? So bigoted persons. Shell does an excellent job in poor countries despite all the anti-Shell nonsense posted here.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF AN OUTSPOKEN FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: Yes I have something to say to uscitizen. Get a life. And learn to read and think for yourself. You come across like some Hitler Youth PR manager. Hail Mighty Shell. You also might want to read a book entitled ‘1984’. It is a good read.
Not that it is any of your business but I used to consult for Enron. I did so for years so I know of the beast of which I speak. Unlike many former Shell employees I refused to take their job offers because I could not figure out how those clowns were making money, outside of their gas pipeline business. As it turned out, they weren’t. And for your information, some of Shell’s former senior level managers who went to work for them couldn’t figure that out either and left in short order. But these were the honest former Shell managers, some of whom I knew quite well.
However, as is always the case, birds of a feather flock together, and the slimier of the former Shell managers stuck around at Enron to begin second careers. Eventually, the big bad Wall Street wolf huffed and puffed and blew their house of cards apart. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of crooks. The sad part of the story is about all the good, hard working employees that got ‘f***’ by their own management, not to mention all the investors that lost their investment. In that regard RD Shell management and Enron management come from the same ‘rape’em and stab’em’ school of business economics. They make off like bandits with their inflated salaries and stock options, leaving the investors and employees holding the bag. It is fortunate for RD Shell investors and employees that Shell had the resources to survive their own massive corruption scandal. Aside from that, RD Shell management and Enron management were not that dissimilar in the way they operated. They still aren’t.
Geez, John Strikes again with a headline full of spin. Name one member of their senior or central leadership team who was a Shell exec. Sure they had some traders, but I guess you think traders set company policy and are the ones who mislead the world on Enron earnings, right John. Your integrity is not up to the standard you seem to want to hold others. Tip – your headline makes the uneducated think that leaders of Enron were ex Shell folks. Either change your headline or admit you mislead folks, that is the standard you espouse! But you will not, we know you too well. The spin meister!!
REPLY TO USCITIZEN FROM JOHN: You accuse me of spin, but engage in blatant spin yourself. This was not a comment made by me as you purport, but by a former employee of your company. The headline was a direct extract from the comment in question. The former Shell employees working for Enron were described in the comment as Shell managers, not Shell executives as you wrongly state. Hope you don’t mind me correcting your inaccuracies. I am sure “OUTSPOKEN” will have something to say in reply.
Dilbert, you must be joking ! If you are in Shell long enough, you know it is just lip service. Those Whites with skirts are preferred over colored in key positions. Since when you do you see a colored SEG in the EC. It will never happen. We have given up long time ago.
Peter Voser really knows how to motivate the hired hands:
Announces that DIVERSITY is top on his agenda. Odum (US Country Chair) follows with the statement that “persons of colour” are his top priority.
Sweet! Now my incompetent management will be incompetent females “of colour”!
What am I supposed to tell young white male hetrosexual engineers when I interview them? That they will love watching the diversity candidates promote past them because diversity is a wonderful thing? Sure it is, now get back to your cubicle and make your boss her bonus.
So, when are these Nazi secrets exposed. I am still waiting! So far nothing worth reading!! REPLY FROM JOHN DONOVAN: Sounds like your alias should be “NOT INTERESTED”. Can only surmise that you have not read the entire 9 part article. Or perhaps you are unconcerned that Shell helped finance the Nazis and hence the concentration camps, where millions perished in horrific circumstances. We have already provided copious evidence from independent reputable circumstances and much much more is in the pipeline. The Internet will prove to be a disaster for the reputation of Royal Dutch Shell. More newspaper archives from around the world are being made available on a searchable basis online. More books are available online on a searchable basis. Same applies to foreign language books and articles including from Germany. We have further confirmation of Shell’s direct contact with Hitler and Shell’s funding of the Nazi Party. Shell is certainly interested. Shell senior management was in contact with me on the subject earlier this month, after discussions with the paid historians responsible for “A History of Royal Dutch Shell”. It is obvious from the comments made by Fat Cat CEO Peter Voser about current events in Libya that Shell is still prepared to deal with the devil, driven, as always, by unscrupulous greed.
From RIA Novosti:
Russians Rush for Iodine Pills:
Russian military units stationed on the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which are disputed with Japan, prepared for a possible evacuation because of the nuclear threat, only days after they were warned about the tsunami.
amazed nothing on this site about Kashagan; another mega-project quickly going down the pan in Shell’s hands
No tsunami impact on Sakhalin projects says Upstream Online:
Oil and gas projects near Sakhalin Island off Russia’s far-eastern coast have seen little impact from the tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake in Japan, supermajors operating in the region said. Russia ordered a tsunami warning in three …
Any news from Sakhalin about the effects of the quake/tsunami? Yuzno Sakalinsk is only about 400 miles from the epicentre
John, how bad is the trouble in the Middle East going to hurt Shell on crude? I know the deal with there partners on Motiva crude but what about other areas? REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN: Others contributors to this blog are better qualified than me to answer your question.
uscitizen is right, market demand is significant in setting consumer prices. no evil in working that process to full advantage. No, the upset in the balance occurs when individual and corporate self indulgence exploits other individuals, communities, cultures and the environment, whether on the supply or demand ends of the system. Every expense incurred from entertainment, travel, training, and drilling in deep water impact the supply cost. Responsible citizens understand this and are forever conscious of the impacts of their behaviors on all costs to the community, the environment and supply-side costs as they impact consumer prices.
To the poor fellow who wants to know why coke is more expensive than oil on a volume basis – God help ya! Next product up for his review – bottled water. Market demands , market demands. People will pay , companies will sell. REPLY FROM THE POOR FELLOW IN QUESTION: John, I have a response to USCitzens ‘predictable response. How about a monopolistic duopoly that exists between Coca – Cola Corp. and Pepsico and that prevents the rise of any meaningful competitor????? ‘Market forces’ my ass. The same thing is occurring in the bottled water business only the Nestle’ company has jumped into the fray and that keeps the situation somewhat more ‘fluid’, no pun intended.
I give, I call uncle. I can not continue a debate with someone who clearly is not listening and thinks acceptable ethical, moral and legal behavior with vendors, ie once or twice a year activities at de minimus levels, will drive me to corrupt practices. You win, I am crooked, all folks in all industries around the globe who have business relationships with behaviors identical to mine are crooked and we can not manage the slippery slope. Happy, good. I can see a lot clearer how your logic works and that the black and white world you live in is applied with your assumptions about peoples standards, values and ethics. Later and moving on. Please have your sarcasm meter calibrated before reading this post.
All the other accusations are too numerous to debate, others can engage you on that. I know how I am asked to behave, how I am expected to behave, how I am graded vs that behavior and how I apply that standard to my organization. All in my organization sleep well. Our community neighbors appreciate our behaviors and the stewardship we apply to our business. All I got pal.
REPLY FROM JOHN DONOVAN: For the sake of argument, let’s accept that you are a responsible person of integrity who acts at all times in accordance with the Code of Conduct. Unfortunately some Shell employees/managers/executives are greedy and thoroughly dishonest. Some climbed to the very top of the company. One even received a knighthood while secretly engaging in a multi-billion dollar securities fraud. Allowing vendors to treat Shell employees to freebies and Shell employees to treat government oversight officials to gifts, is a recipe for scandal, as per the notorious Shell sponsored Drugs, Sex & Corruption scandal involving the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which made news headlines in 2009.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER SHELL OIL CO EMPLOYEE: John,
FIRST SUBJECT: Can anyone in the US food industry or petroleum industry explain to me in reasonalble and rational terms why Coca-Cola, etc., sells for about $1 US per liter retail, while gasoline sells for about $0.75 per liter US retail, which includes a host of Federal, State, and local taxes. Am I missing something here??
SECOND SUBJECT: John,
After 9/11 the US Congress passed an ill considered piece of legislation called the USA Patriot Act. Provisions of that Act are up for renewal this year. One of the more onerous provisions has to do with the attaining of search warrants. The Patriot Act did away with the protections from ‘unreasonable search and seizure’ that had been in place since the signing of the US Constitution in the late 18th century. That particular provision is set to expire shortly and an extension is currently under debate.
When I think about it, the Fed’s could use this statute to literally walk into Shell USA offices and go through everything Shell has in the way of business records. Everything. The cause would be suspicion of conspiracy to commit espionage. Wonder why that has not happened given that NCIS had/has had Shell under investigation?
Perhaps it was due to high level political connections in the Bush Administration, and continued high level connections in the US government. What do your readers think?
REPLY TO US CITIZEN: Unfortunately the code is meaningless since Shell senior management has a track record of supporting corrupt practices, engaging in corruption, securities fraud, IP theft, price fixing cartels, fictitious trades, putting profits before employee safety, sponsoring industrial espionage, using Shell employees as unknowing guinea pigs in a study of carcinogenic properties at a chemicals plant, informing on Nigerian gangs Shell was secretly funding, disguising Iraqi and Iranian oil shipments which were in breach of UN sanctions. This list is endless and includes involvement in torture, murder and human rights abuses. It really is deeds, not words which count. Shell’s ethical code is a sham. And we can see how Shell treats whistleblowers. I admire your loyalty to Shell, but it is sadly misplaced. As to your acceptance of gifts, free golf and “outings” from vendors doing business with Shell, the intent is obvious. It is to buy influence. That is corruption. It remains to be seen if the level of corruption – the gifts and freebies – are approved by Shell, but in that case it is an unwise unethical enticement to vendors and potentially a very slippery slope.
Nope – will not share that with you. But we have a tracking system where we log all of our vendor contacts and where we log offers that are out of compliance. Violate these polices and you get fired. Questions? We have had to fire folks for these violations. We are expected to flag violations that we see. We do not run to a hate site and post them, we deal with it.
Read the document you posted closer – while it does not list the limits, it refers to them.
ever offer, give, seek or accept G&H
that exceed prescribed value limits,
unless line manager approval has
been obtained. These value limits
are listed at intranet site.
If you are going to post a document read it!
REPLY TO US CITIZEN: Could not find the G&H limits within the Code of Conduct. Apparently published on the Shell Intranet. Perhaps you can kindly tell us what they are provided that does not put you in the position of revealing confidential internal information.
Wow – we went from items described as acceptable in our code of conduct, Yes Joh the standard is always that the activity does not influence your decisions, to visiting ladies of leisure and needing protection. I rest my case. John, you are like some politicians, take an extract out of context. If you read the whole policy , that I review every year, you would see that there are limits that have to be reported if you go over or are invited. That sidetrip to Vegas better have been reported by the person you replied for John. All of mine are reported and logged. You clearly did not understand the reciprocity approach that many of us take. You have a business relationship with a vendor, you ensure that for business entertainment, you reciprocate. That takes out any doubt that you did something for benefit. Try to understand how that works. There is no hole for me to get out of John, but you are in a cavern quoting part of a standard and applying it out of context. How do you know if it impacted my decision or not? I am not about to put my job at jeopardy for a lunch or a golf game. And to the guest that went thru you, shame on you for your accusations. Insulted me and my family. I will not do the same to you, higher standard. Good day. PS – read the whole policy John and then let folks know about the limits and why they are there.
POSTING ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA:
Reply to US Citizen:
When I was working for Shell USA I once had a vendor (who will remain unnamed for the present time), and whose services I was evaluating, offer to fly me out to their corporate facilities in California in their corporate Boeing 727 to ‘look over their operation’. On the return trip they indicated that there would be a stopover in Las Vegas for a little ‘R&R’. Prostitution is legal in Nevada, and they asked if I have ever visited any of the more famous ‘recreational institutions’. Of course, there would be a little gambling, etc., at the casinos. A good time would have been had by all. I declined the invitation. The vendor was not ‘passing the grade’, and they were clearly trying to either buy me off or set me up. It didn’t make much difference.
This sort of thing was, and still is, not uncommon in the oil industry. It is the sort of thing that comes with being a ‘member of the club’, so to speak. The vendors supply the ‘entertainment’ in return for business being kicked their direction. That is the quid pro quo. (Does this remind you of the Sex and Drugs scandal at DoI??).
I am certain that you enjoy your ‘benefits’ and that you have a good time, being that you are obviously ‘a member of the club’. (I presume you ‘use protection’??? Wouldn’t want to give the wife an unwanted ‘gift’.)
yes, every Shell employee that is cowardly silent when they see unfair, unjust, unsafe, unlawful or immoral acts. ..and especially those whom I have seen commit these acts while getting recognized and rewarded for some pretentious accomplishment. Those that get away with political games for their own advancement are the most proud to work for Shell. I was once very proud of Shell, and very proud to be an employee. I earned a very comfortable living,and probably overlooked things while raising my family, that became intolerable as I aged. Be proud of your company, do well and take care of your family. Do all that you can to influence when you see someone violating these values. Hopefully you will never be exposed in the way that I was, to behaviors and activities that you can no longer influence or tolerate.
REPLY TO uscitizen: Every time you pay us a visit, you dig yourself a deeper hole. You admit accepting gifts, lunches and free golf from parties doing business with Shell. This is what it says in the Shell Code of Conduct: “You must not offer, pay, make, seek or accept a personal payment, gift or favour in return for favourable treatment or to gain any business advantage.” Do you think these parties are lavishing gifts on you because of your sex appeal and great personality, or to gain favor? Based on your postings I think we all know the answer at least in relation to the latter. With the time you spend on free lunches, free golf/outings etc plus visits here, currently several times a day, I am surprised you have any time left for work? I have deleted from your comments the inclusion of the postings to which you are responding, because the repeats in my view only cause confusion.
REPLY TO “bware” BY “uscitizen”:
So you just bashed every Shell Employee that is proud of Shell. We are all wonderful, dedicated, self-sacrificing lieutenant or pawns? I have said on here that a company, like people make mistakes. Never said Shell has not. What we refuse to take is the bashing that John and people like you hand out. Stating that the intent of the company is to make money in spite of all the stakeholders. Pure rubbish and if you really paid attention you would know that. I have worked with people like you, we know your type. I sleep very well, you have not read all my posts. If this company was EVIL as you and Johnnie state, then I would have been asked to violate operating permits to make money, look the other way to get the units back up on time, etc. We simply do not do that or allow that. Some operating companies do, that will get you fired at Shell. Now you and John will call me a Liar, but you have not been in my shoes and that is how we and I do business. Simple. And if you can not see how a person who works for a company that trains us to do business right is bashed because of some mistakes as an evil company, so be it, you are the one who is myopic and looking thru some colored lenses. Later, gotta go violate a permit and gas the community – that is what I do every day right?
THIS REPLY IS IN RESPONSE TO THE POSTING BY JOHN DONOVAN COMMENCING “In fact your posting was published hours ago…
My bad – it was not there when I refreshed but one I posted after it was?? Oh my Vegas and Atlantic City – we clearly are not communicating. $20 lunch at the local Mexican place. Sometimes I buy sometimes they buy! $50 round of golf, sometimes they buy sometimes I buy! Oh and I have nothing to hide from the Shell system John, turn them all in. Taking a trip to Vegas or Atlantic City would be against the policy, I do not do that. You chose to start this web page, so I all realize you are in a much different place than folks who come on here. PS – why do you not call out all of the folks bashing shell and not using their real names, I thought so! So I guess the fact that they are hurling abuse while hiding their identity allows us to draw conclusions about their honesty, courage, integrity and credibility. Right John! Now we see how your argument falls apart, as most of your arguments do! See ya, till next time. Enjoyed the distraction!
Headed off to Wimbledon with a supplier soon, RIGHT!! That is what John thinks a Business meeting is to further a business relationship!!
…of folks like uscitizen…no responsible character traits here. All of Shell is always great. If one believes that they exploit, rape, and abuse resources and people, then one must be vindictive. uscitizen is clearly a hopeless patsy. ..or maybe he is a dedicated employee that does not want to see his beloved Shell being immoral… or a manager/director who is trying to defend the charge that he has so proudly stood by. I like others in today’s new shell could no longer live like this. If you sleep well every night, knowing what Shell’s only true motive is, no matter how well you deny it to yourself; and without ever communicating it to anyone, then God bless you. You are one wonderful, dedicated, self-sacrificing lieutenant or pawn. This all boils down to Shell’s ability to irresponsibly disregard communities, cultures, the environment, humanity, and the personal impact on individuals, for the sake of energy exploitation for profit. No, uscitizen, I have worked with people like you, for people like you, and have had people like you work for me; not becoming part of the character-absent, immoral culture, and speaking honestly when you see injustice, is the only way to be truly content. Defending immorality, can only mean internal misery, no matter how much you want to believe that preserving your position and honoring Shell is what’s important. There are far too many observable, irresponsible acts committed by Shell, not to at least admit awareness. Some of us see these behaviors carried out by such a significant player in the exploitation of our resources as EVIL. Something tells me that you may be in a position of some influence. How well are you really sleeping? please forgive me if i have this all wrong; i am just trying to figure out the means of your die-hard , servant position.
REPLY TO uscitizen: In fact your posting was published hours ago. Guess you forgot to refresh the page. We remain keen to have people speaking out for Shell. That should have been plain from the fact that we have continued without exception publishing your abusive comments about us over recent years. What I am pointing out is that there is a vast difference between us making comments in our own names about Shell, which we are prepared to defend in court, compared with you making defamatory comments about us while hiding behind an alias posting name and an alias email address. Shell has our current address for correspondence and the service of legal proceedings. We were in contact with Shell just days ago via our home address and await a response. I am sure visitors to this site would be impressed if you posted under your real name (and supplied us with your address details – not for publication) so that we were in the same position as Shell is with us i.e. able to challenge us in the libel courts. If you have confidence that your personal acceptance of gifts, lunches and “outings” from parties doing business with Shell Oil will not be frowned upon by Shell senior management, then at least declare your name. BTW, are the “outings” to Atlantic City or Las Vegas? If you continue to insist on hurling abuse while hiding your identity, others will be able to draw their own conclusions about your honesty, courage, integrity and credibility. On reflection, bearing in mind the hole you have dug for yourself in relation to the subject of bribes/corruption, you are probably best advised not to disclose your real name.
Oh Donovan – you did not post my last entry. What part of it violated the Blog rules? Yes folks – when you post some hard truths the great hope for ethics will not post it! Wow – pot calling the kettle black, but that would mean your accusations against Shell have some merit, so naaah. Bad analogy! Lets just say you make mistakes that folks can interpret as evil, bad form, low ethical standards. See how tough it is to meet your standard of pleasing everone all the time?. Tough world out here John, come join us.
“Interested
on Feb 10th, 2011 at 2:12 am
What is happening in PA with CEP? I understand there have been talks about this blog. The funny thing is that after the note from Norco about the three new comers all talk stopped. Would like to hear what OSHA had to say about the mishap.”
They might have realized what kind of site this was and realized they were posting in the wrong place and found someplace more credible!
“RELY TO US CITIZEN:
You cannot change now what you have stated here in the past. Fortunately visitors can look back at your comments and decide for themselves whether my statement that you have admitted accepting gifts from vendors and seem to consider such gifts to be an entitlement, is a fair assessment. You have now also admitted accepting free hospitality. Lunch, presumably washed down with free beer or wine. You also mention social outings. The list grows. What next. This is the corporate culture that resulted in the Sex, Drugs and Corruption scandal. With regards to whistleblowing, I suggest that you check out relevant legislation enacted in the USA and the UK to protect whistleblowers. You will then be better informed. Far from being illegal, whistleblowing is protected. Shell has a whistleblower helpline, but unfortunately it is fatally flawed, which is perhaps why Shell employees contact me, rather than Shell. With regards to Shell employees generally, we know that the vast majority are decent hard working people and have said so many times. Our problem is with the Shell fat cats who will deal with the devil and flout Shell
What is happening in PA with CEP? I understand there have been talks about this blog. The funny thing is that after the note from Norco about the three new comers all talk stopped. Would like to hear what OSHA had to say about the mishap.
RELY TO US CITIZEN:
You cannot change now what you have stated here in the past. Fortunately visitors can look back at your comments and decide for themselves whether my statement that you have admitted accepting gifts from vendors and seem to consider such gifts to be an entitlement, is a fair assessment. You have now also admitted accepting free hospitality. Lunch, presumably washed down with free beer or wine. You also mention social outings. The list grows. What next. This is the corporate culture that resulted in the Sex, Drugs and Corruption scandal. With regards to whistleblowing, I suggest that you check out relevant legislation enacted in the USA and the UK to protect whistleblowers. You will then be better informed. Far from being illegal, whistleblowing is protected. Shell has a whistleblower helpline, but unfortunately it is fatally flawed, which is perhaps why Shell employees contact me, rather than Shell. With regards to Shell employees generally, we know that the vast majority are decent hard working people and have said so many times. Our problem is with the Shell fat cats who will deal with the devil and flout Shell’s own claimed ethical code to enrich themselves. In future, if you wish to make defamatory and abusive comments about us, please set up your own website so that we can take appropriate legal action against you. We can hardly do so when the comments are published on our own website (with you hiding behind a pseudonym). We have the courage and integrity to make comments in our own name and at our own cost.
“”REPLY TO
REPLY TO “uscitizen”: Have not heard from you since you admitted accepting gifts from vendors doing business with Shell. It was obvious from your comments that you considered such gifts/bribes to be an entitlement. With regards to whistleblowing, you obviously support the people at Shell like Jeroen van der Veer who knew for years that shareholders were being given fraudulent information about Shell’s claimed oil and gas reserves and did not inform the people who own the company or bring the multibillion dollar securities fraud into the open. Shell Production Geologist Dr Huong, who did blow the whistle internally, was sacked and then buried in court injunctions and prison committal proceedings to silence him.
REPLY ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: To USCitizen: Read the Wikileaks revelations recently? Or is that an ‘inconvenient truth’? Shell only has its senior management to blame for all of that. Need to watch those ‘loose lips…’, and put your corporate propaganda organs into high gear doing damage control. We thought you had had enough and were through with this website. Promises, promises. That is So much like Shell management. You cannot trust a word they say. Have a good day.
Ahh the conspiracy theorists rise. Oh yes, RD is plotting all kinds of evil things! Geez, you folks need to get a life. Yeah if you leak company confidential information, you might have someone trying to figure out who it is! What a concept. Maybe one the us government may want to look into!
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: This is for shellwaarbenjijnu:
I now live in that mystical land of Shangrila. Thanks for asking. To be honest, I was just being a bit of a smartass with that MI6 comment, but the analogy seamed apt. In the States Shell employs former FBI types for their security group, and they have connections with their buddies at the FBI. Yes, it is indeed a dirty and tangled web RD Shell has woven. RD Shell is doing its best to co-opt and compromise politicians and those governmental agencies that have ‘watch-dog’ functions over the legality of their operations. Call them what you want, RD Shell or the fictional ‘Spectre’, the company still stinks and they threaten the rule of law in those countries in which they operate.
Ah “former employee of Shell USA” – regarding MI6 it is even more tangled than you know. Shell has former UK intelligence service operatives on payroll. A certain Ian “McCreepy” is engaged in tracking down employees who leak to this site. No doubt through his web of connections busies himself with trying to crack open this site and determine the identity of the contributors.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: John,
The more I read about RD Shell the more they resemble the dastardly fictonal criminal entity ‘SPECTRE’ of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and movies. Is this a case of art imitating life, or the other way around? Where is MI6 and James Bond when you need them?
Someone From Port Arthur:
You guys had to have met the infamous Joey D, (He will be found right up The FUNKS ass, cant miss him. Please let us know what you think, Please dont be shy we all know that he is a piece of shit!!!! along with the other two that were shipped over there to save the day…
POSTING ON BEHALF OF AN OUTSPOKEN FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: John,
I read your latest Wiki-leaks posting. I knew the Dutch government held a significant stake in the giant Groningen gas field in the Netherlands, but did not know it was 40%. That means RD Shell’s stake is 30%, and they pay a boat load of taxes on what they earn from that field as well. Likewise for Exxon.
So, why has Ireland given away the Corrib gas field to Shell and its partners? It seems to me that the Irish government should be able to cut a deal similar to what the Dutch have with RD Shell and Exxon in the Groningen gas field. And RD Shell and their partners should pay income taxes as well.
RD Shell has done a good job of co-opting the Irish government to get the deal they wanted. That much is clear.
I wonder what “associated marketing businesses” to Stanlow can mean?
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA:
Hello John,
Your Canadian reader is quite correct about his geography, of course.
However, I bet much of the air pollution from Fort McMurry circles the globe at that latitude and makes it to Prudhoe Bay the ‘long way’, particularly in the summer. No doubt air pollution from the Russian Arctic oil complexes makes it to Alaska and beyond as well.
As a kid growing up near Yellowstone Park there were times when the smoke from the Alaskan forest fires would reduce the visibility in Northwest Wyoming to just a few miles.
Much of Los Angeles’ air quality and pollution problems today are not home grown, but come with the wind all the way across the Pacific from China.
My point here is that air quality in the Alaskan offshore Arctic is not going to be impacted to any measurable degree by RD Shell’s drill ship and small flotilla of supporting vessels in a two month drilling program. The allegation that it will have any measurable impact is probably pretty much of a joke.
My regards to your Canadian reader.
While the former Shell Oil employee may have a point on the motives of the DOI, his geography is a bit off. To say the oil sands in Alberta are “just next door” is a stretch. Prudhoe Bay to Fort McMurray is about 3600 km (2250 miles) or about the same as Los Angles to Boston
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: John,
Read the stories about RD Shell’s air pollution permits being ‘deficient’, thereby delaying the issuance of a drilling permit for next year. This is nonsense. Something else is going on at DoI.
The amount of air pollutants emitted by land rigs, and the Prudhoe Bay complex, not to mention the massive tar sands projects in Albert, which is essentially just next door to Alaska, dwarf anything RD Shell might emit in a 2 month drilling program.
DoI has decided to ‘stick it’ to RD Shell for other reasons. Maybe it has to do with the Gale Norton affair, or the ‘sex and drugs’ scandals, or the current ongoing investigation by DoI and the Navy. Whatever the cause, RD Shell has a ‘political problem’ that they may not be able to overcome. Don’t count on Shell ever getting to drill in the offshore anytime soon.
Maybe RD Shell should contract for a modern drilling rig, that might help their cause. The fact that they are not going after a modern rig indicates they know something else is going on.
When the Republicans lost the White House Shell lost its sponsor. They are on the outside looking in now.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: John,
I have been reading the continuing saga of Dr. Huong. RD Shell is a vindictive company. Anyone who knows how they operate knows this. But in Dr. Huong’s case the pernicious hypocrisy of Shell management has climbed to new heights. They sued this poor man because they could get away with it in the corrupt Malaysian legal system. The claim of ‘defamation’ is a joke on Shell’s part. Shell’s conduct in this case is a classic example of ‘corporate tyranny’. Nigeria is another.
Keep this story in the public eye. It is a lesson and a warning to all who would ‘cross’ RD Shell.
Beware the ‘Yellow Peril’.
EGrainger, perhaps I’ll help get some response to your questions started. Yes, it is hard for some to see Shell as the responsible party in some of the Niger Delta events. My opinion is that oil exploiters are responsible for collaborative responsibility, with governments, communities, cultures and the environment. Sabotage of their facilities only indicates that they have not completed the whole package. Maximizing profit can mean neglect of stakeholders.
I am currently investigating Shell’s position within Nigeria, more specifically the Delta; when I came across your website. It is crammed with an insane amount of information I can’t even begin to take half of it in, it
POSTING ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: John, Got an observation and a question.
The observation is that from all the comments you get, and the articles you run, like that on Dr. Huong, it is clear that RD Shell management is highly cannibalistic and has a nasty tendency to jettison their best and brightest for self-serving ‘political reasons’. It was that way when I was at Shell so things haven’t changed much, except to get worse.
The question I have for all the critics of your ‘revisit of yester-year’ is this:
If the clock were turned back to the 1930’s does anyone have any doubt that today’s RD Shell management, European or American, would sell out their Jewish employees? Remember that Shell USA is headquartered in the ‘Deep South’ and in the heart of Southern Baptist Country. Come on folks, be honest. We all know that today’s sterling gang of managers would do it in a heart beat, and without a second thought. And they would do just to suck up and earn the ‘brownie points’ to further their careers.
Think about that for awhile.
RD Shell is such a well led corporation.
REPLY COMMENT BY JOHN DONOVAN: I will duck that question. What I would say is that some members of Shell top management have ruthlessly abandoned claimed business principles out of greed, ambition and/or misguided loyalty to dishonest colleagues.
More on TP…. Trust me, the fact that Tom Purves single handedly ruined the careers and reputations of many in his 4 years at the helm will be his legacy for those in the ranks. For the SEs in Shell, you are right as they will look at the project called CEP and will let that determine what his ride into the sunset is titled. The facts re CEP are this…. Good concept, bad timing, leadership ( Lauher ) that was in over his head ( remember Tom hired his little buddy off the streets after CP dumped him, project’s initial estimate is $3.5b; Tom gets it approved for $7b; the project goes off the rails due to no controls and inadequate leadership with Bechtel and Lauher and his team, the control estimates come in at $10b, Tom gets it re-approved at $8.5b. And we are where we are. Still trying to get it completed, 2 years later. Project will still be over $10b. Start-up will be what it is going to be.
As for leadership being Shell’s finest, I don’t disagree that this is probably the best Shell can put on the front line. This isn’t saying much as most in the trenches know that Purves carries alot of weight with Motiva and the Saudis since he is the only senior left over from the early days of Motiva. But give me a break, the other leaders brought in are the ones Purves brought in, not shell’s best. At least if he is going down, Shell’s senior leaders let him “do it his way”. Trust me, they all deserve each other. the rest of us just will wait it out anddo our best.
Those observing and those being impacted by TP’s needy ego, do not his legacy make. When it comes right down to it, he and the Funk were seen as saviors to a project needing better management. And this is what gets played outside of Shell. If he pulls it off with cost improvement, and is able to connect all upsets to Bechtel (and others), his retirement package will be one to be envied. The Reuter’s article excerpt below eludes to that view; managers brought in to ‘restart’ the project after Saudi ARAMCO became concerned about cost, must be Shell’s finest.
“The $5-billion project, begun in 2007 was stopped for over a year in late 2008 due to concerns by Motiva partner Saudi Aramco about the cost and management of the expansion. Work resumed in 2009.”
Mr. Donovan, here is what I can tell you since the PR spin on this was pretty shallow…. The crane, a part of the CEP project, and being operated by Bechtel, toppled over backwards, falling into and across a piperack. This damaged the piperack extensively, taking out power lines, collapsing into a resid tank that we had just put back in service. This also trapped an individual in one of the vacuum trucks in the surrounding area. A very bad event indeed but played down to the external community for obvious reasons. Another problem due to Bechtel which should have been fired from the project back in 2009 instead of all the people Tom Purves ended up letting go that were trying to help. Maybe Purves and Funkhouser with their little tag-along plant manager can help to right this one. Believe me, it is going to get worse before it gets better on this project. OSHA is in here investigating. We’ll wait and see what they find.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL: John,
I read your expose’ on Dr. Huong’s ordeal. As a student of history this is the sort of thing you would expect from the fascists or Bolsheviks of days gone by. The two ideologies are different sides of the same twisted coin.
RD Shell’s cultural roots show clearly in the way they treated this poor man. And their conduct was and is despicable. That man did not slander Shell. Truth is not slander.
Dr. Huong, you are not the only one who has been done wrong. The only truth here is that Shell senior mgt is bad. Tom Purves, here in the US, has done similar deeds as you refer to. He has lied about good people in our company and between him and the HR cronies, who sole job these days is to serve senior mgt, created fabrications that led to good people leaving our company. A strong similarity is the level of diligence that senior mgt and HR exhibited going after these people to run them out of the company. Tom also lied and had performance factors changed, after the manager had set them, to allow people to be targeted for severance packages across all of our GC sites. He falls into the same mix of senior managers that you reference; the only difference is the country. Shell senior mgt has changed this company we have all been proud of and have served our entire careers for. Flat out frustrated and no end in sight. Shell mgt won’t respond to you becauase they have no backbone and won’t stand up to be judged by their deeds. Face it, this company is a 3rd rate company with weak leaders. This unfortunately is as good as it gets until major changes happen.
It would be surprising if the Frontier Discoverer meets current emission standards. The vessel was built 45 years ago. Imagine trying to get an emissions certificate for a 1965 automobile…
Shell claims to have spent over $2bn on its Arctic exploration programme, but are proposing to use a vessel which should have been sent to the scrapyard many years ago. A new vessel would cost perhaps $500 million, but would last for 35 years and would include all the latest safety and environmental equipment. How can Shell claim to be serious about emissions, safety, and environmental protection while trying to use equipment constructed when the issues were not even considered – the Frontier Discoverer was built before the first major offshore blowout (Unocal, Santa Barbara channel) occurred in 1969.
Golden Triangle Watchmen:
Did the Norco TRIO show up yet? Useless Joey D (No degree just like “Funk”, BB- rule breaker, and Gabby Dipp (brainless). They are all coming from NORCO to save the day over there in Texas. Again Funk pulling strings for Joey. His dictatorship at Motiva Norco was too long and over thank god. They were running him out so he had to call his long lost buddy Funk to help him out. This useless piece of shit is like a grade 2 or so making way too much money for a person with no degree who skated on everyone else
That TP was able to reek the havoc that he did, on the organization and on people’s lives. No justice that no one had the wisdom or guts to stop him. .. Or that he is still in any position at Shell. … but the biggest injustice of all, is that there has not been nor will there probably ever be, reparation for his damage to personal lives! Yep more of the ‘dialogue’ of alignment, being ‘spoken’ in today’s Shell.
Funny is not what would come to mind for Tx City from where I sit if Jeff gets run off from Motiva and goes to hang on to his next apron with KC. Many of us, who read this website, remember the Tom and Jeff show when it was here. Not even close to being funny. I am just blown away that Shell has let it exist as long as it has. He got fired up here when CP decided that he would not be a manager. Peple up here remember what the knife felt like when he was working for Tom 2 levels down in the organization. I’m sure he has a nice little reason to go to BP with his Norco buddy still around. Was part of why he is no longer married I’m sure. The boy is no good. Trust those who know him. And neither is Purves. He is old school Shell with some friends in HR. The only reason he hangs around. Tom must be counting his days.
About Jeff it would be funny if he would end up at Texas City BP with KC and his other friend from Norco. Poor BP.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: Response to Golden Triangle Watchman: Hey Buddy, you got it right. The Nazi story isn’t about Nazis, or Hitler. It is all about the mediocrity of Shell management, their lack of integrity and character, and how those major personality faults in senior leadership reflect in the corporate business decisions, in how they treat their people, their business partners, and how they deal with governments. It is about the consequences of bad leadership and the need for a serious house cleaning in the management ranks at Shell, and a change in corporate management culture.
Re Interested…. I think you will see a bad start-up because the construction is / has been bad all along. There is no contractor, excluding Bechtel, that feels good about what they have participated in. Re Tom, retirement by end of 2011 or sooner if he is successful in pushing the project to completion sooner. Face it, he got demoted and sent over here to clean the mess up he created. He is only interested in his legacy and his ego, nothing else. Re Jeff, too young to retire and he has an ex wife who owns half of what he gets so he will want to keep working. As soon as Tom leaves, Jeff will be disposed of in a quiet way. He knows it, Tom knows it, and Shell mgt can’t wait. Jeff is bad to the bone and just dirty. Has been as I understand it for many many years. Forrest won’t be too far behind. He is a joke and just does what these 2 tell him to.
Re Shellie… wake up. This story isn’t about Nazis. It’s about how Shell mgt continues to connect themselves with bad people, bad govts, and because the leadership we have for our company is weak and basically programmed to preach the same message, they are bad. Not so much because they are evil I belive; they are just bad and weak leaders. Not much left to say.
Thanks GTW for update. Started some calls about start up people who plan to leave mid-year 2011. I wonder how this will work for TP & J?
REPLY TO Shellie: What a strange posting. You seem to be under the impression that we are in some way making money from this website. In fact, it costs us money every month with no incoming revenue. No subscription costs. No advertising. No donations. We deliberately operate on an entirely non commercial basis so that no one can fairly accuse us of trying to make money out of telling the truth about Shell. With regards to the Nazi aspect, I note that thus far no one has disputed the facts as stated in Royal Dutch Shell Nazi Secrets. The evidence, much of which has been buried in newspaper archives for several decades, is overwhelming. Shell decided to deal with the devil for financial gain. It is still following the same policy. We have no intention of dropping the subject. In fact, as will be seen in the New Year, we will ensure that the Nazi chapter in Shell’s history is taken up by the mainstream media. I appreciate that some Shell employees may feel uncomfortable about working for a company stained by its Nazi past, and from the plunder, corruption and pollution in Nigeria. And now Shell is in bed with state sponsors of terrorism – Libya and Iran, but that is the history and current business record of Shell. Evil is in the DNA of this company, which pledges honesty, integrity and transparency in all of its dealings. How on earth does that equate with news stories over the last six months alone and even with those published in recent days. If anything we have published was untrue, Shell would have had the website shut down within hours. It does not try to do so, because any court case would only focus more attention on its evil track record. That’s the truth of the matter. With regards to your personal insults directed at my father, he served in the British army for 12 years and fought the Japanese in Burma. He has a disabled pension and medals to prove his record in World War 2. It is rather more commendable than Shell’s.
John, can you stop this stupid campaign of nazi thing? This is going no where.
Is your cranky, eccentric old man after this? Ask him to enjoy rest of his days or is he planning another duplicate site to keep your extended family fed.
These pictures from the 60 year old nazi grave are annoying. I work for shell and agree/ disagree with
some or many policies. But you have no freaking right to speak on employees behalf. For one thing, shell is feeding us and other at least millions directly/ indirectly
and your attitude stinks with these nazi & other idiotic, stretched stories.You and your kids (if you can have any), have made their
bucks by these dubious & parasitic activity. STOP when you can…Your sight was interesting during shell restructuring last year with different and real people participating but it is
pathetic now. Same people appear to be posting things under different names..same things with different make-up. If you have any sense then look around, most companies
in the world in 21st century work in similar way. I participate in many blogs online but have not seen such a vicious poison in today’s world. Your kids, if any,
will of course be thanking you for arranging their future source of income. Please wake-up, listen, look around and stop this non sense.
You did your job, screwed Sakhalin but now dont screw more ; it has started to hurt as an employee.
What’s the latest on the epitome of morals, KA, that the GEP Folks so dearly loved?
Interested – Nothing is being said because nothing is really happening or different on the project. It is getting built. Uncle Tom Purves got sent over here to “fix it” but everyone who knows Tom knows he hasn’t got a clue how to run these big projects. But him and Jeff are going to fix it. Right… The last feedback I got from my contractor buddies is that Uncle Tom called them all in here lately and told them they would finish by end of 2011. They won’t tell him any different but know that is a farce, which is the fundamental root of the problem. My understanding, when Tom could have come clean with the board, told them the project would get done for $8.5b when in fact every control estimate and check estimate that different groups did for him said no less than 10. He wanted the project to get done and lied to make it happen. Tom has no issues lieing to anyone. He has done that pretty consistently over his career and continues. We all expect he will wrap it up in 2011 or 2012, collect his stock, and retire. This will be one retirement that should raise the company stock price due to ethics and morals getting better when he leaves. Until then, it’s the Jeff and Tom show because all Botts could do to punish Tom was to demote him and send him to Port Arthur to clean up the mess he created. Wow, what a punishment. He was over here all the time anyway.
What is going on with the Port Arthur CEP job? Can’t find out anything.
I am also an exUS Shell staff. I think I know uscitizen from his style of writing. He was one of those continually on the take – bad apple as far as we were concerned. Amazing of him talking about Grofaz!
REPLY TO uscitizen: I guess we both have got a little over-excited in the heat of discussions. What I will do is thank you for all your postings here and wish you all the best for Christmas and the New Year.
“I used to work for Shell USA. The company you describe did not exist in my day, except at the lower level, sometimes, and I seriously doubt it exists today. In fact, the staff was always looking for a little G&C from one vendor or another. (G&C
REPLY TO “dutchdude”: We try to avoid censorship but agree that the insults detract from some excellent and informative postings and lively debate. Perhaps contributors will kindly bear this in mind in future postings on this blog as I will.
To John D.: John maybe it would be a good idea to post a rule for the blogs that personal insults to fellow bloggers are not allowed. Your blog serves a purpose of discussion, that certainly can’t be had in Shell. The returning personal attacks distract from the real purpose of your blog. There is enough in Shell to write about, let’s not attack each other at this forum, since we all took the time to log in to your site (without a doubt from our own machines and not the company’s!!)
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: I have a response for US Citizen.
I used to work for Shell USA. The company you describe did not exist in my day, except at the lower level, sometimes, and I seriously doubt it exists today. In fact, the staff was always looking for a little G&C from one vendor or another. (G&C – graft and corruption, as in: tickets to ball games, free meals, etc. All in return for throwing business the way of the vendor. This was and still is a time honored ‘quid quo pro’ in the oil industry). Senior management always played games, especially with reserve bookings (does that bring back a memory or two?). No offense fella’, but your blathering about how great Shell is kind of reminds me of the blathering the Germans did in the 1930’s about how great GROFAZ was (look that one up). You are obviously a bright guy and the German’s are bright people. But there are: ‘none so blind as those who will not see’, and ‘none so deaf as those who will not hear’. You live in a world of willful self delusion. A fraud. You have ‘bought in’ to the system in order to move up the food chain. If Shell was such an ethical outfit how come all the criminal investigations regarding bribery, and so on. Guys like you always make guys like GROFAZ possible.
REPLY TO “uscitizen”: Still twisting my words. “Lazy and/or unintelligent” was and remains my assessment of you personally based on your postings, and does not reflect at all on Shell employees in general who are loyal to the company and defend its actions when they deem that it is being wrongly maligned. You say the company you work for would never tolerate you taking inappropriate gifts from vendors. This seems to suggest that you take gifts from vendors which YOU consider are appropriate? You go on to accuse me and conscience driven Shell whistleblowers of being on a par with the Nazis. A reference to the most evil regime in history responsible for tens of millions of deaths, including the mass genocide carried out in concentration camps. Is that really your considered opinion?
Agree with DutchDude, the “revelation” that Shell had people in Nigerian ministries etc is not new, and was always well known. Suppose the diplomats have to put something in their reports, but this is not a big reveal.
Nice shot, lazy and unintelligent huh. So that is what you think about Shell employees who have the guts to defend their company. What a useless tool. Let me give you some data. The company I work for – from EVP down – would never tolerate me mis reporting data to government agencies, violating Environmental permits on purpose to make production targets, cooking the books on fixed costs vs capex, taking inappropriate gifts from vendors. That is how I was trained by EVP’s down and that is how I train my folks and the folks who work for them. We will fire people who do that and have. No exceptions. Is there a different standard at the highest levels, I do not have enough data to draw conclusions. Does not stop you, but it does stop me. Now – how will you react? I lie. right. Show me data, sorry John – company confidential. The info you get from Shell insiders violates our business principles, but you are glad to take it right John. Where does that place you and the Shell employees who violate our policies? On par with the Nazis I would say!
REPLY TO “BEMUSED” POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: I have a comment regarding ‘Bemused’s’ comment:
Is it just me or does anyone else think ‘Bemused’ is a few bricks short of a full load. (One good cheap shot deserves another).
Is it just me or does anyone else get the feeling that John isn’t married?
I am now retired but I have been at one time a ‘secondee’ to another oilcompany in which Shell had a considerable interest. Occasionally I felt pressure to pass on business secrets. So I did some soul searching and decided that I was placed there to transfer technical knowhow and for the rest act as if it was my own company. (They did pay my salary after all via some convoluted mechanism). Thereafter it always was very easy for me how and on what to communicate with Shell central office (in those days there was no head office) and this behaviour earned me the trust of the employing company. Hence I am still on good terms with them.
But I certainly do know of many people who would simply spy on request of the head honchos in Shell and pass on any kind of business information they asked.
I guess you just make up your mind whether you can still look yourself in the eye while shaving in the morning. In the end even the Shell honchos respected this behaviour, or at least they pretended it since my brief was to transfer technology and help the company to attain a higher level of knowhow.
POSTING ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL: I have a question for RD Shell corporate loyalist ‘dutchdude’:
‘If this ‘seconding’ is as good a thing as you say it is then perhaps RD Shell would like to disclose in which other countries it has ‘seconded’ those governmental ministries charged with oversight of RD Shell and their indigenous oil industries.
I am particularly interested in the Irish, Australian, Canadian, and US governments.
I am certain the US Justice Dept. and the FBI would also be interested given that such ‘seconding’ is very much a criminal violation of US law. Now I wonder why that is? I guess American’s have funny, even ‘Victorian’, ideas about ethics and ‘fair play’.
No? I thought not.
With all due respect RD Shell ‘dutchdude’, although you are a good little loyal drone with a good future at RD Shell ahead of you, you are as we say in Texas : ‘So damn full of it your eyes are brown.’ That is a quaint American saying for you know what.
DutchDude, Certainly ‘being in bed with’, or ‘having people in the Nigerian government could be a good thing. And I’m sure initial intent was probably meant to develop a relationship that served Nigeria and Shell. But it sure sounds to me like Shell abandoned some values and principals, to manipulate this relationship. Would you really expect senior leaders to reveal to you in hallway chat, that Shell is “in the Nigerian government” do whatever it takes to profit from Nigerian oil?
In the corridors I have chatted with a few senior managers and all of them have an explanation why we have people in the Nigerian government, and how this is a good thing for Shell. I have also worked with Nigerian government secondees and we all knew that anything we did or said would go straight to the Nigerian leaders. So not really a big secret revealed here; was always right in front of us. And how can it be “infiltrating” if we all know about this? I know many other issues I can get upset about, but this wikileak is not one of them.
REPLY TO JOHN DONOVAN:- John- entirely agree with trying to keep management on the straight and narrow. With the wikileaks details concerning Pickard and the Nigerian Government it seems however, that the Shell Code of Conduct and General Business Principles do not apply to senior figures within Shell. This is terrible, just so terrible. I thought I was working for a principled company – how naive I have been. Morals do not seem to factor with these people. It shows how cut throat the o&g business is. Shell is and will always be ‘me first’. What about men and women ‘for others’? It’s going to take a complete turnaround of management and behaviour before Shell becomes the company it longs to be.
REPLY TO ROSIED: Our objectives are simple. We want Royal Dutch Shell executives to act at all times in accordance with Shell General Business Principles which include the claimed core principles of honesty, integrity, openness and respect for people in all of Shell’s dealings.
This is surely not an unreasonable ambition given that the principles were devised by Shell, are promoted by Shell and are supposedly current and binding on all Shell operations everywhere. In other words, we are only asking Shell executives to do what they already claim to be doing.
The plain fact is that if Shell executives had abided with the SGBP, scandals such as the reserves fraud involving blatant deceit and cover-up, the preventable Brent Bravo deaths which flowed from the Shell “Touch F*** All” safety culture on North Sea Platforms, and the more recent PR humiliations arising from outrageous examples of greenwash advertising, could not have occurred.
We do not believe that it is morally acceptable that Shell executives are indemnified so that even if they cheat, deceive and cover-up serious misdeeds, treating shareholders and the public as gullible fools, they are still able to walk away as winners. In the case of Sir Philip Watts, with a severance package/pension pot reportedly worth $18.5 million USD. We think that this is disgraceful situation at odds with all ethical norms including the SGBP and will continue to say so on this website.
The SGBP is being been used as a PR tool to promote undeserved confidence in the scruples and honesty of Shell senior management. For example, the SGBP featured in the Form 20F Declarations filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission thereby generating confidence in the proven reserves volumes which had been inflated i.e. were false.
While Shell execs continue to make pledges of ethical trading which they flout, we will continue our humble efforts to expose their hypocrisy and we welcome the support of others who like us are not prepared to put up with such deception.
The gap between Shell rhetoric and reality is evidence from Shell’s appalling track record including a leadership role in price fixing cartels, numerous Clean Air Act violations, repeated environmental infringements, multimillion dollar fines for groundwater contamination, more fines for unauthorised venting and flaring of gas. We also have to add to this litany, Shell’s exploitation and reckless disregard of the safety of its employees and its global espionage operation against its own employees trying to prevent whistleblowers. Shell’s industrial espionage activity in the USA and Nigeria has been exposed in 2010. We first became the target of such activity in the 1990’s. Richard Wiseman, the then Legal Director of Shell UK Limited was the spymaster. Other Shell espionage/dirty tricks operations, including infiltration and undercover activity in Nigeria involving Ken Saro-Wiwa, was also underway at the same time. Shell’s involvement in the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwi has been exposed by the Guardian newspaper. This is why Shell settled for $15.5 million the related US court case in June 2010. It could not allow damning evidence of torture and other human rights violations to be exposed in open court. The rule bending Mr Wiseman was of course the perfect choice for the role of the Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Poacher turned gamekeeper.
Regarding the Royal Dutch Shell Nazi controversy, as previously indicated, Shell is still following the same unprincipled policy. Recent and current Shell fat cats have continued to deal with the devil in the form of evil dictatorships in Nigeria (who in collusion with Shell murdered Ken Saro-Wiwi and other Nigerians), Libya (a state sponsor of terrorism which blew Pan Am 103 out of the sky), Saudi Arabia (Shell’s US business partner – the largest funder of Islamic terrorists) and Iran, the supplier of roadside bombs maiming and killing American and British soldiers. Iran also trains the Taliban on how to use the IED’s. And now Shell is getting into a closer embrace with the Russian Mafia. Claimed business principles are readily ditched in favour of oil and gas reserves.
I guess I am one of the “hard working decent people ” who works for Shell. I guess I am not “getting” the Nazi issue. Really? We are Blogging about what Shell Execs did during WW2? No doubt, any involvement with the Nazis is regretfull!! I just don’t make the connection with todays issues (and of course issues). I am a young (mid 30’s) staff guy, so I am comming from that perspective. If it matters.
Next, Is the intent of this site to; 1) Destroy RDS, or 2) fix the problems in RDS?
New to the site, thanks!
REPLY TO US CITIZEN: I think we can safely leave it to others to decide who is twisting words. My comments about the vast majority of Shell employees being hard working decent people is already on display for all to read and reflects what I have said many times. I stand by my comments about Royal Dutch Shell Nazi Secrets and have supplied overwhelming evidence from independent reputable verifiable sources. You do not put forward “good arguments” because you are either too lazy or too unintelligent to do so, or perhaps both. Also note there is no comment about Shell’s connection with the rankings you took delight in drawing attention to, ignorant of the fact that Shell is a paying client of the company which produced the rankings. I also note there is no comment from you about the WikiLeak revelations today concerning Shell’s espionage in Nigeria, infiltrating every government department. Add that to recent other news about Shell in Nigeria. Plunder, Murder, Corruption, Pollution. Yet you continue to defend the most evil company on the planet. This is not a glib comment but a carefully considered and researched assessment based on evidence I am fully prepared to present in court if Shell disputes what I say.
John, you are so messed up. You now equate a reputable organization and Shell employees with people who admired Hitler. I do not even have to pose good arguments, people read your words and see how twisted you are. Miserable life you lead. Sleeping well in the US, see ya!
REPLY TO
Thank you Donovans with your own wikileaks website! Shell has been saying for years to want to stimulate diversity. But what they have done is to reduce diversity but simply hire more women. American women in particular. And somehow I cannot shed this feeling that Shell has been less than fortunate about picking those ‘diverse adding’ females. All of them run on high testosterone levels, are presumably frustrated they were not borne male and what is worst: they give the impression of not being averse to corruption or assume the business principles are not for them. They blend in well with the current top as often pointed out by the Donovans. And was Cook not removed because she was not good enough after a string of disasters? Even Boeing had problems and she was on that board too. And then the Miss Boynton, kicked out after cooking the books. It would be better if she had cooked a nice stew. And now Pickard. I bet she will survive in Shell, crooks like each other. Who can guarantee me that she is not selling out Shell to the US government? And the list of bad women is much longer. It has gone a bit quiet on Gale Norton, but she seemlessly fits in with this diversity enhancing lot! The bad thing of all this is that there were (and are) many genuine good women in Shell who could make a difference. But Brinded and his cronies do not want change, they just want to milk Shell as long as possible and get out unharmed. Apologies for digressing but I am a great believer in true diversity.
REPLY TO DANIEL: That was a brief parting. 2 minutes before you returned with another comment. The current generation of Germans obviously bear no responsibily for what happened in World War 2. Same applies to Shell employees and to the vast majority of Shell employees during the war years. However, a stigma will always be attached to Germany, Royal Dutch Shell and the Shell brand arising from the actions of those in leadership positions at that time. Recent and current Shell fat cats have continued to deal with the devil in the form of evil dictatorships in Nigeria (who in collusion with Shell murdered Ken Saro-Wiwi and other Nigerians), Libya (a state sponsor of terrorism which blew Pan Am 103 out of the sky), Saudi Arabia (Shell’s US business partner – the largest funder of Islamic terrorists) and Iran, the supplier of roadside bombs maiming and killing American and British soldiers. Iran also trains the Taliban on how to use the IED’s. And now Shell is getting into a closer embrace with the Russian Mafia. Claimed business principles are readily ditched in favour of oil and gas reserves.
I was leaving it occurred to me. Perhaps we shall see sites like this disparaging the German people and blaming them for all the ills the are beseeching Europe today. After all there is fairly convincing evidence pointing to the fact that the German people supported Hitler as well. I could try and point out who wrong that would be, but … why bother people will see what they want to see
Alas adieu adieu
Thank you for the past, some very good info and discussion. I too no longer care to ‘look’ so I shan’t.
I bid thee farewell
We can look at this history vs present behavior in another way. As I stated previously, the move from whole system/eco-sustainability toward dominance of the fittest, is where corrupt ethical and moral practices displace responsibility. The ‘dialogue’ that is taking place has been loud and clear for the past couple of years: managers play with US regulators, managers indulge in hedonistic self-centered activities, we indulge in the pursuit of energy profits even in Iran, AND rewards keep flowing for top leaders. Mr V enjoys a new +22% salary up from 3.2M in ’09 to 4.4M. Now don’t get me wrong, he did an excellent job of getting rid of ~6000 employees and made sure all who followed the rules were also rewarded, whether they drank too much, sexually accosted their underlings, had sex on company property, or perhaps circumvented environmental regulations. …so… do you hear the ‘dialogue’ of alignment? Are we behaving much different than any other time energy extraction and profit became the idol. We are behaving like this at all levels in the organization (internally) and in our relationship with the world. Dialogue no longer takes place. The conversation for alignment becomes one-sided, and all who want to survive in the big-oil game, become servant to the indulgences required to compete. Don’t look to see a change in Shell’s moral or ethical behavior, internally or as a world citizen, unless it is a change that serves someone, and ultimately the organization. I agree, greed is the evil that replaces responsibility. But let’s face it; the rewards for the skilled and greedy, far outweigh any motivation to care for anything beyond self and the enterprise.
I have to say I agree with John. A) If you don’t like it, don’t look. B) I think the history of a company is it’s genealogy, since a leader to be must accept a companies history and culture to even be considered for a leadership position. If a person really believes that history is justified “for the good of the company” he is going to repeat it. We see this over and over within Shell in spite of their lip service to “adherence to the highest principles”
RESPONSE TO “SIGNING OFF”: NO REFUNDS. Reference your assertion that you can’t subscribe to this site unless we only focus on current Shell misdeeds, I would make the point that there are no subscription fees. We have been operating websites focused on Shell since 1995. Shell issued a press statement in March 1995 complaining about our activities. All of our sites have always been operated on an entirely non commercial basis, with no subscription charges. We turn down on a regular basis companies wishing to pay us to place adverts on the site. We have refused all donation offers including from a Russian source during the Sakhalin2 debacle. Thus, we are free of any influence other than from people like you who hopefully enjoy the spectacle of Shell management being embarrassed and belittled from time to time as a result of our activities. So we listen to what you say, but want more people to be aware of the Royal Dutch Shell/Nazi relationship and will campaign accordingly. There will be a major development in this regard later this month. The site continues to attract astonishingly high traffic for a “gripe site”, with over 2 million hits in November. Many German companies, including Daimler-Benz, had associations with the Nazis. Royal Dutch Shell was a foreign company, yet pumped funds into the Nazi party in a variety of ways saving the Nazi party when it was in danger of going bust. Only one German company – I.G. Farben – had a worse track record. Shell was in bed with I.G. Farben, jointly owning and operating German companies which used concentration camp slave labor in the production of synthetic oil to fuel the Nazi military. Although we accept that the whole matter is controversial, we intend to make more people aware of Shell’s record of funding and supporting the Nazis.
I have to echo the message from Disappointed. The Nazi linkage is tiresome. I love reading about how Shell is a bad guy as much as most that visit this site. But this is out of hand. Daimler-Benz was also associated with that regime (utilizing slave labour) as I’m sure other companies were benefiting from Hitler. I almost have to ask – what brand of car do you or does your family own? I want to hear about current Royal Dutch infractions. I just cant subscribe to this site otherwise.
REPLY TO “USCITIZEN”: Hitler was admired by many, including his financier, Royal Dutch Shell Group. Hitler was arguably the most evil person of all time. So much for being admired. Shell spends tens of millions of dollars on global advertising campaigns, so of course many people are deceived and know nothing about Shell’s conduct e.g. its role in corruption and human rights violations including murder and torture in Nigeria, for which it has recently paid millions of dollars in settlements and fines. That’s the facts, as opposed to the PR propaganda paid for by Shell designed to fool the public. And by the way, were you aware that Shell is a paying client (member) of the organization responsible for the rankings by which you apparently set such great store? I think not. That potential conflict of interest should have been declared alongside the rankings, but of course was no where to be seen. I only discovered the financial linkage as a result of some detective work. Shell contributed towards the cost of the rankings publication you have cited.
Make sure you post this about the evil empire since you post all things good and bad, right John???
Shell Makes list of most admired companies
LINK SUPPLIED
REPLY TO MUSAINT: What is obvious from your comments is that you have not even bothered to read the 9 part “Royal Dutch Shell Nazi Secrets” or otherwise you would already know about the overwhelming evidence from independent, reputable, verifiable sources, confirming Shell’s funding of the Nazis. You have not challenged a single stated fact. Shell’s association with the Nazi is distasteful but it is also factual. Exactly how long do you think the information would remain on display on this website if it was propaganda as “Disappointed” suggests? I can guarantee that unlike you, Shell lawyers have read every word and checked all the quoted evidence. If the facts were untrue, Shell lawyers would have had the site closed down within hours. You have been visiting this website for a number of years and despite what you say, what’s the betting that you will do so again? You and “Disappointed” and your comments will always be welcome. Unlike the Tell Shell discussion forum for uncensored lively debate (closed after we caught Shell lawyers secretly censoring critical comments) we publish all postings relating to Shell and/or us. I do however hope that anyone offering comment on these matters will first read the 9 part article. That would be a much fairer way forward than the blanket criticism offered by a person (whose views I normally respect) who dismisses the evidence without even knowing what it is. As to your comment about having a large chip on my shoulder, I somehow don’t think your revelation will come as a surprise to people who are regular visitors here. Most will have surmised that we are not fond of Shell’s overpaid hypocritical top brass, who put themselves before the best interests of Shell employees (who are ruthlessly tossed out on mass with many being forced to reapply for their own jobs). Or in the best interest of shareholders, who have been defrauded and treated with contempt, particular those in the UK who are now second class citizens as a result of the reserves scandal. They are a bunch of incompetents, who due to their own negligence, have to endure the humiliation of a website using the top level domain name for the company – Royal Dutch Shell Plc – to expose the truth about Shell, including its support for the Nazis.
The Shell-Nazi link focus of this site seems to have reached new levels of hysteria with the human skin lamp shades article. Ironically this could have come out of the propaganda kitchen of Joseph Goebels himself. The swastika on the Shell shop at the top of the page is the last drop for me; I will now remove this site from my favourites list. Thanks anyway for the much higher quality content in days gone bye.
I have kept silent these past couple of weeks whilst some appalling dross is written / inferred by the Donovans linking Shell to the Hitler regime. (I am sure Mr. D. you will now come back with umpteen references to bore me to bits about how you can show this that and the other to show how Shell colluded with anybody / regime on the planet.) Point is that some of your recent “attacks” on Shell (viz Hitler)just show how large a chip on your shoulder (and your fathers) you have. Your bitterness shows very clearly through in recent weeks. Shame, as some of the attacks against Shell and their decision to operate in Iran I agree with – this continuous historical linkage to Hitler gets very very tedious and when you show the lamp shade angle it is way over the top – some would say madness. Perhaps readers to this forum and Wikileaks should investigate past Donovans and maybe / allegedly being able to link their ancestores to other historical disasters / tragedies. Bottom line is that this site is now bordering on the rediculous and has lost its value. I shall sign off permanently as I see no value whatsoever in logging in to this nonsense. Bye.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF “EXSHELL”: John, it is vital in my view that Julia (Australia’s PM) should also be aware of Shell’s terrible track record. FLNG is a new technology and Shell has just announced that they are going to pump in billions in their new FLNG development. I am sure that Shell will destroy this pristine Australian waters.
Donna Getz’ account of problems following a well test mirror an event in Drenthe in Holland when production from a sour gas (H2S) well was released during a well test during the 1980’s, causing a herd of cows in an adjacent field to drop dead. I don’t think it even made the Dutch news after the farmer and local community were reminded of the importance of Shell (NAM) to the local economy. I’m sure there are plenty of readers of this site who can provide additional information.
MESSAGE TO THE SOURCE SUPPLYING US WITH INFORMATION RELATING TO SHELL RELATIONSHIP WITH IRAN. YES, WE ARE SAFELY RECEIVING YOUR INPUT AND ARE DULY GRATEFUL. IT IS BEING USED AND WILL BE INCLUDED IN AN IMMINENT MAJOR MAILING TO U.S. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN. PLEASE KEEP THE INFORMATION COMING. WE WILL PUT IT TO GOOD USE. WE FULLY UNDERSTAND WHY YOU HAVE USED A SPECIAL EMAIL SERVICE TO PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY AND SECURITY, WHICH DOES NOT ACCEPT REPLIES.
If anyone is interested, we have a copy of a Shell SECRECY AND RESTRICTED USE AGREEMENT from October 2006 involving “IOOC, Iranian Offshore Engineering Company, a company organised and existing under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Agreement covers: “so called Sulfinol Process which is a regenerative process developed by SHELL and Affiliates of SHELL for the removal of acidic components from a gas stream employing an aqueous solution containing sulfolane and/or sulfolane derivatives with addition of an amine.” The agreement is self-evidently not quite as secret as Shell had hoped. Copies available on request subject to any injunction by Shell and its 1200 strong legal department which includes 720 lawyers, 80 of which are “intellectual property professionals”.
I think that as we weaken toward ego-cenrtic, there is no grey. One immoral or unethical act changes white to black. We have seen this in our behavior in the Niger Delta; this is part of the SHELL system, observable and destructive to the world that we exploit. As 66 stated, living up to moral and ethical practices will become an increasingly difficult challenge as finding and extracting energy becomes more difficult. Many have shared on this site, observations and experiences of internal breakdowns in moral and ethical practices and behaviors, in all levels of the organization. I assert that ‘grey’, is in the dialogue between top leaders and their subordinates and ultimately through the rest of the organization. What is alarming to me, is the present alignment with compromised standards. We do not have a choice about whether ‘alignment’ works, alignment always works. The responsibility of leadership, from the top down, is to insure that Shell’s relationships, practices and behaviors, internally and in the ecosystem (ALL of the World that is not Shell), contribute to sustaining the ‘whole’ (Shell and the world). This dialogue to get to that alignment is the grey. Sustaining the whole is white, compromising any of it is black.
Very interesting posts. I suppose I turn off from debates that describe things in such stark terms as “evil” or “good”…I do think there are just so many shades of grey in all aspects of life that black and white terms hardly ever do any situation justice! But your unpacking of the term evil is a useful way of looking at it as it relates to folks views of Shell at present. I agree with John 100% that the business principles should either be upheld fully (even if it means losing business and/or pulling out of certain countries) of they should be dumped. Shareholders should be told this upfront and get to vote on the issue – either we will uphold the BPs and that may have some impact on short term dividends, or we will dump them altogether, and take whatever reputation hit that may result – I would have an open and honest debate on this whole issue and then put it to the shareholders. I sense that Realybware is right that we are re-entering an era of ‘ get their first, develop it fast’…and the Business principles may come under greater pressure then now! On the pesticides/drins issue – agree it is worrying, but caution again that hindsight is a great thing, and we simply did not know about the dangers of certain chemicals then as we do now. Asbestos is a classic example of that.
REPLY TO “66”.
Pleasure to discuss these issues with someone who makes their points in a reasonable balanced way. With regards to the similarities between then and now, basically Shell is still keen to deal with the devil (e.g. the fanatical Iranian regime and the alleged reformed state sponsor of terrorism, Muammar al-Gaddafi) to achieve its business objectives, irrespective of ethical/moral considerations. The history of Royal Dutch Shell published in 2007 was revealing about the anti-Semitic behavior of Royal Dutch Shell towards it own employees. Its authors came unstuck resting their defense (of Shell funding the Nazis) on the basis that Deterding’s attempts to meet with Hitler were all rebuffed, thereby drawing the conclusion that the Nazis attached no importance to Royal Dutch Shell/Deterding. Unfortunately they were apparently unaware that in fact Hitler had a four day meeting with Deterding at Hitlers mountain top retreat. The Nazis also arranged for an official from the German Foreign Office to be seconded to Deterding as a personal assistant to facilitate liaison with Hitler. In addition, Dr. Georg Bell, a German spy, acted as a joint agent/delegate of Deterding and Hitler. The close relationship between Hitler and Deterding was evident from the wreath that G
realybware: Well said! The moral decline in Shell commenced after van Wachem stepped down. Then there was a succession of leaders with an anglo-saxxon mind. They employed consultants and injected the top with like minded people. And they removed over the years all those who said that the king went naked. And the rest is history. It not only happened in Shell but in many other decent companies. It is hard to believe but in the mid 90s there were still many banks run by decent bankers!
Thank you for your post, I wish I could express myself so well!
66 and Mr D, I think that in order for Shell to remain a sustainable enterprise, there needs to be some philosophical re-alignment in leadership to the moral and ‘good’ vs the ‘evil’ that Mr D refers to. In an organization where profit becomes idolized over all else in the ecosystem, the ‘idol’ becomes all-important to the point that many things and ultimately ALL things will be sacrificed to that end. This is where not only Shell but other oil exploiters have crossed the line in the past. Doing business with the devil is a rewarding affair when we become servant to ego (vs eco). Synergy in an organization, vs individual isolation, competitiveness, (and self-serving greed): are only a reflection of how the ‘whole’ positions itself in the global ‘theater’. Mr Hoffmeister’s pompous attitude about BP is an example of the top down philosophical alignment in Shell today. Although he is no-longer at the helm, his presence definitely still defines SHELL. And no doubt Mr V and his minions ‘align’ helplessly through a new subservient, ordered organization, driven by Mr V’s single-mindedness about the ‘idol’. We will all compete to play that game until we feel our individual morales are being exploited too far. An interesting description of the alignment i am referring to is reprinted below from another source:
Evil is characterized by selfishness and purpose. It maintains that it is both important and correct that those who are worthy should succeed, while the weak and unworthy perish. The efforts of good to distribute wealth generally are viewed as cheating the truly deserving. . Evil characters do not regard other characters (co-workers)–not even other evil characters(co-workers) –as worthy of respect. They are always willing to take advantage of another
Thanks for your resposne John. I do indeed understand that a company’s history in its entirety must be accounted for, and to a certain extent lives on in terms of the companies reputation. However, where I disagree with you is in thinking that the misdeeds of 70 years ago are indicitive of management practices today. Now I know you don’t think much of today’s management, but that is a quite seperate matter to how the place was run 70 years ago. In other words – it has no real bearing on the Shell of today, and how it operates. When I heard first about the Nazi link with Shell, I looked with interest to see if the 100 year history of Shell, published a few years ago, would deal with it at all, given it is not the sort of thing companies want to be reminded off. I was pleased that they did cover it (including a photo of the headquarters in the Hague flying the Nazi flag). Did they cover the issue fully – probabaly not – but I take my hat off to the company for dealing with it at all – I know of many companies who would not have. You describe Shell as “the most evil company on earth.” ….
they have their faults for sure, but in my humble opinion they are a long way from that.
Panalpina and Hofmeister, bribes in Nigeria. I am certain that the top management knew all about the goings on. About 5 years ago a scandal nearly erupted but was quenched. (Or as the say in Nigeria: ‘de disting was quench-oh by de Oga’. SPDC had made around 500 million dollars disappear over the years to all kind of community projects. No trails could be found in the books. And this for a company that should be able to trace every dollar spent anywhere. Because it is shareholder’s or taxpayer’s money. So I am sure that Hofmeister et all just assumed the bribes via Panalpina would disappear in the great wash. I am not an accountant. But as an engineer I know we can and must and do certify for instance every weld on long pipelines. The exact location, date of weld, weldingrods used, name of welder, and an X-ray photo is included. If you can do that, you should be able to trace every dollar spent? Unless you don’t want to?!?
Remind me again…when did WW2 end? Why are you tainting good employees names who work today at Shell with the misdeeds of the company over 70 years ago. Weird. REPLY TO “66” BY JOHN DONOVAN: As I have said before, the vast majority of Shell employees are decent hard working people. The company is to blame for the misdeeds you mention, which have indelibly stained the name of Royal Dutch Shell for all time. The catalog of misdeeds such as the securities fraud, all driven by pure greed, continue to this day, including dealing with current evil regimes in Libya and Iran. Add to that bribery and corruption in the USA and in Nigeria. And what about the deadly toxic legacy from pesticides, not to mention pollution on an epic scale e.g. decades long gas-flaring in Nigeria and widespread groundwater pollution in the USA. All taking place while Shell pretends to abide with its much trumpeted business principles, including honesty, integrity and transparency. What a joke. I can only assume from your comments that you would prefer not to know about the dark side of Shell. We believe that all Shell stakeholders and the public are entitled to know the ugly truth about the most evil company on the planet, including its role as the financier of the Nazis.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF AN EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: IN REMEMBRANCE: I remember walking through the American military cemetery at Normandy one bright summer day many years ago. It was full of American tourists that had unloaded from about a half dozen tour buses. I have never seen so many grown men break down and cry in my life.
My father was in the US Navy and served in submarines in the Pacific theater. 25% of those folks died in combat. In the early days of the war he served in the surface fleet and fought the Japanese Imperial Navy at a place called Guadalcanal. The war in the Pacific was a very dirty, brutal business and not many prisoners were taken, by either side. Your father knows about this, first hand. Many American men who fought in that theater literally hated the Japanese to their dying day. A sad but true fact. My father detested them as a people for what they did, for what he had seen, and for what he had experienced, and would not have a thing to do with anything Japanese, or made in Japan. To his dying day.
10’s of millions of Chinese died at the hands of the Japanese.
In Eastern Europe the Nazi’s were as brutal in their treatment of the Russians as they were in their treatment of the Jews. That war was a war of extermination, and 10’s of millions of Russians died as a consequence.
And the sad but true fact of life is that Royal Dutch Shell, along with other companies here in the US, were ‘invested’ in the Nazi’s and in the Germany economy. That includes Ford Motor, General Electric, and so on. Let us not forget the Swiss. It is not a pretty story.
However, Royal Dutch Shell is unique amongst this rogues gallery of amoral profiteers because Deterding’s support and influence came at a very critical time in the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazi Party. I have little doubt that without Deterding the mid-20th century history of Europe may have been much different. Perhaps the Communists would have gained a stronghold in Germany. We shall never know. However, it is unlikely that this alternative path of history would have been as violent, as viciously brutal, and as destructive as that resulting from the rise to power of the Nazi’s in Germany.
And without the German’s raising hell in Europe and Russia it is unlikely the Japanese would have tried to take on both the American’s and the British Empire in East Asia by themselves. The Japanese lacked the necessary natural resources, especially oil, and the Royal Navy and the US Navy were simply far to powerful.
Royal Dutch Shell has a host of stinking skeletons in their corporate closet, and their management doesn’t seemed to have learned much, or wanted to learn much, from the past conduct of their guiding predecessor, Sir Henri Deterding.
Hofmeister pompous as ever.
Last night I watched the BBC documentary on the Macondo blow-out. It was easy to relate with all that was said by the various participants. But two things stuck to my mind: the media and politicians (Obama included and leading the way) are like a troup of rabid dogs. The moment someone is down, they all attack in a feeding frenzy. All with hidden agendas, all completely oblivious of what their actions might cause. Presumably this is their job and I expect hardly anything else from these charlatans.
But then I saw several times that smug toad Hofmeister dumping on BP in general and Hayward in particular. I have seen this devious american arrive in Shell. He was instrumental in pushing the salaries and bonusses of the top echelons to excessive heights, he introduced the ‘behavioural skills’ at the expense of engineering skills, he pulled in many americans that have generally made a mess of things and when he finally was removed, sorry transferred, he travelled as an emperor through the whole of the USA. All under the title of ‘President’. A non-job if ever there was one. He is a disgrace to the people where he came from (Amish). And now he has become an ugly toad kicking someone who is down on the ground. This shows his real character. I advise all girls NOT to kiss this toad in the hope a handsome prince would emerge. You never know, pigs might fly too.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA: My response to US Citizen is this: As a former Shell employee I know how Shell management functions in ways that would scare the crap out of you. What I have to say about Shell’s very public ‘good works’ (by very well meaning staff) on a local scale versus the conduct of Shell management internationally and on major projects is this: You can make a vampire look respectable and presentable with enough make-up and a good external ward-robe, but lurking underneath that pretty facade still lurks the predatory, blood sucking vampire.
Reply to uscitizen: Back with your usual insults that we have come to expect. You mention about Shell volunteer work in a good cause, then go on to predict that we will accuse Shell employees of having other motives, and based on this false assumption, trot out a put down – “Chew on that” – when in fact we have not said anything at all. I authored a Wikipedia article in 2009 – Royal Dutch Shell initiatives – which included coverage of the help Shell has given to many people, small businesses and charities. It was deleted by other editors on the basis of being biased in favor of Shell. Not that it is any of your business, but we have supported charities all of our working lives, including the Red Cross, and provided help to a US children’s charity on this website. This of course is all beside the point. The reason for your latest rant and rage is the Royal Dutch Shell Nazi Secrets article. If you had read it all, you would know that in the years after Sir Henri Deterding retired as the CEO, Royal Dutch Shell Group continued with the appeasement and collaboration with the Nazis, piling more money into the Nazi coffers, which funded the preparation for war. I suggest before making further comment, you read it all, including the extensive evidence from reputable independent sources.
PS – tell all the folks that we helped out this weekend with many Shell volunteers that we do not resemble in any fashion a “good corporate citizen”. We did this because our moral standards require us to, as employees and citizens. Next thing you will say is that we had other motives, and you can not begin to know how wrong that is or how that insults the individuals who care greatly about our neighbors and their well being. Chew on that. When is the last time you or your blog company did something to help your fellow man, and I am not talking about your hollow rants about Shell to educate the poor common man about how evil Shell is. If you are doing it, tell us about it. I have not seen anything so in true Donovan journalistic behavior I assume you have done nothing. Am I right??
Your determined efforts to connect the alleged individual support of an old RDS exec to today’s company is a huge affront to the people that make up today’s company. We resent and reject your allegations that this is what this company and it’s people stand for. You have done more to destroy your credibility than any organized, does not exist, corporate effort to do the same. Thanks – now the whole world can see what an obssessed irrational family looks like – The Donovan’s!!!
POSTING ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA:
I have a response for ‘concerned shareholder’, and other ‘concerned shareholders’:
Henri Deterding’s only real motivation for supporting the Nazi’s before their rise to power was clearly driven by his desire to recoup his losses, and prevent further losses, due to the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and the threat that ideology posed elsewhere. Deterding was an old style, ruthlessly ambitious robber baron, like Carnegie, Vanderbuilt, and J.P. Morgan, etc. He wanted HIS Russian oil fields in Baku returned to Shell. And Deterding was not alone in his admiration for Hitler. Joseph Kennedy and Henry Ford were admirers as well. And Ford was a financial sponsor, as well as a rabid anti-semite.
Today, Shell’s motivations for dealing with unsavory regimes like the Libyans, the Iranians, etc., is purely based up the desire to secure further access to large reserves of oil and gas. Nothing more, nothing less. Shell management doesn’t give a holy rat’s rear end about the consequences of supporting regimes such as these, just as Deterding didn’t give a holy rat’s rear end about the consequences of supporting the Nazi’s. Deterding’s only concern was for profits, just as it is Shell’s only concern today. Today Shell management doesn’t care that their partner in Brazil, Cosan, has a history of using forced slave labor in their cane fields to support their ethanol production plants, just as Shell in Deterding’s day didn’t care about getting in bed with I.G. Farben in Germany, who use extensive amounts of slave labor.
There are more that just a few parallel’s between the ethical behavior of Shell management today to that of the Nazi era.
Like it or not, Deterding and Royal Dutch Shell played a major role in facilitating Hitler’s rise to power and all that came after. Deterding’s financial help, support and influence were crucial to the rise of Nazi facism in Germany. Without Deterding’s help history may have taken a far different and less violent and deadly turn. That is Royal Dutch Shell’s history. Hiding that history, and the recent history of Shell conduct, serves no purpose other than to create a marketing illusion for the general public. It is an abject fraud. And the conduct of the company, past and present, reflects the quality of character of Shell management (lack thereof) and the corporate culture that promotes such management. By any standard of measure, Shell is not, and historically never has been, a ‘good corporate citizen’.
Remember the old saying: ‘Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.’
Ha, ha. I think it’s time that Allie Romeo verifies his “sources” as part of his “communication studies”. A funny story , much unlike the current poohah on this site about the link between Shell and the nazi’s. That’s a bit like trying to connect the current British Government (and the current British voters) to the attrocities committed during the colonial era. We have to look back and learn from history, but at a certain point it becomes a bit cheap and meaningless…
It’s also small dash for greedy corrupt Nigerian politicians. About time all their foreign accounts were investigated.
In Nigeria they say ‘pay small dash, finish palaver’. And 30 mln is only a small dash for Shell…
MESSAGE POSTED ON BEHALF OF BILL CAMPBELL: REPLY TO HANS BOUMAN:
Dear Hans
Re the well design you are probably right but having listened to the BP Drilling Engineer and others (he gave good testimony) I am not convinced that they will be proved negligent – their argument will be that other opinions are subjective after the fact and the BP well was fit for purpose. Certainly I do not think their actions will clear the high hurdle of gross negligence (based on the testimony provided under oath) according to the US definition of same.
Interesting to me that BP had every confidence in their Deepwater Horizon Drilling Engineer (also previously Drilling Engineer for Thunder Horse) who handled the two relief wells with Haliburton doing the cement jobs on these also.
With your contacts in the great School of Drillers out there are you aware how the relief wells were completed ? Were these like the Deepwater Horizon well, or did they not have the courage of their convictions.
I am sure if the well design was changed in line with what their critics (including Shell) have stated publicly the ambulance chasing Lawyers will not doubt use this against them.
Many thanks for your positive feedback
regards
Bill
To Bill Campbell:
Thank you for a very good analysis and lucid story. Recently I was asked by a local business club to give a presentation on this blow-out. And I ended with a blow by blow account of the last hours before the mishap, nearly word for word the same as in your story. Obviously we both were guided by the good BP report of the blow-out.
I agree with Bill that with a good execution of the event the well might have been saved but I am personally convinced that the design of the well did not help preventing the blow-out. (No lockdown ring in the wellhead, and not running a liner to be tied back later). When you drill these extremely difficult wells, you will have a very small operating envelope and margin of error. To handle the operations perfectly you need the best people you can get and they must also be kept focussed all the time. It appears that too many critical operations had become routine and or were delegated down to lower levels. The tests were too short and in my view should have been attended by the most senior toolpusher on the rig, this is not stuff you delegate.
Why all this has happened will presumably become clear over the next few years when the lawyers of the three companies involved will get rich in various courtcases.
And I am not convinced with what I have read that this well has been properly killed. Squeezing in all that mud and cement merely created two vertical pancake fracs and oil and gas still may percolate through and surface at a later date. BP had the chance to do a proper circulation kill but it looked as if they and the autorities all wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.
This blow-out was a classic where many things that ‘never will go happen’ all happened and at the most awkward moment. This is the story for nearly all major blow-outs!
Messers Pals & Kennedy of Bloomberg really ought to research a topic before writing about it. Just what is meant by “Shell is targeting hard-to-reach rock formations in Australia, the U.S. and China”? Coal seams for CBM in Australia are not in the criteria of hard-to-reach. There are undoubtedly challenges in the optimal exploitation of CBM but the technology / techniques are hardly new or “hard-to-apply”. In any case the geoscience and engineering capability in Shell is more than enough to address the task. My comment applies equally well to the (presumably) tight gas assets in North America and China. The tone of the article implies Shell will have trouble delivering meaningful gas production from these “hard-to-reach” formations. Yes, the technical challenge is greater than with conventional gas, but then Shell has invested serious money in researching the technologies and techniques required. Will Bloomberg reporters write an article in the same vein throwing doubt on the ability of the BG-Group to deliver from similar formations in the same countries? One thing is for sure, the BG-Group do not have recourse to the R&D back up in-house to Shell.
FURTHER COMMENT POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL USA: ‘The difference between overt ‘bribery’ and the far more subtle ‘influence peddling’ is much like the difference between rape and seduction. It is all a matter of technique. One method is patently illegal and the other is not. But the end result is the same. Someone always gets ‘buggered’. A horse by any other name is still a horse.
Big business is now in the mode of ‘courting’ political officials and ‘appropriate other officials’ with ‘favors’ and ‘special considerations’. Some of those ‘special considerations’ may entail future employment, with all the associated benefits of a favored employee, e.g., Gale Norton, formerly of the Dept. of the Interior in the US, and Pat Doyle, former Irish Garda superintendent.
In the end, it is the public interest that takes it in the teeth, and all to the financial benefit of big business. ‘
REPLY TO MUSAINT POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER SHELL OIL USA EMPLOYEE:
Cheers. Kennedy was a politician and meddled when he shouldn’t have. However, that self serving nonsense was motivated by local Boston politics. But that is old news. The problem with the way the Irish government has (mis)managed its hydrocarbon resources goes back almost 20 years, to radical changes in policy/law by government officials who ultimately spent time in prison for corruption. That too is old news. But I am sure you are aware of that fact already.
Jeeez “Former employee of Shell Oil USA” that’s a lot of words (all I think I’ve read) but, still no hard documented evidence of substantial reserves you state (i.e some independent authority), albeit your geological argumentation may be a plenty it still needs the drill bit to prove it correct. As important is that you do not show/prove that Shell has bribed the Irish Government aka your article. I know fully you are referring to Northern Ireland – Kennedy stuck his nose into both sides of the countries, and as stated helped raise funds for terrorists.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF SHELL OIL USA.
To Mr. Musaint: It does seem like you are a true blue ‘loyalist’. By the way, the Ireland I was referring to was not Northern Ireland so your comments about Teddy Kennedy are irrelevant.
Furthermore, British-Irish politics bores me. It is somewhat like North-South politics in the US. The ‘South shall rise again’ and other such nonsense. The Irish are independent and the Empire is dead. It is time to get over it and move on.
If you are a poor man, $100 is a lot of money. If you are a rich man, it is chump change. The Corrib discovery is on the order of about 1 trillion cubic feet of gas. Not huge by North Sea standards, but nothing to piss away either. For a small country like Ireland those reserves are a considerable treasure. Everything is relative. Until natural gas was discovered the only reliable naturally occurring hydrocarbon fuel resource the Irish had was peat.
We also know the Irish government gave Shell, et al, one of the best tax/royalty deals in Europe. That is a matter of record. Instead of following the Norwegian model of resource development, they followed the Louisiana model for resource development. So, I stand by my assessment. The Irish got
To the ex-Shell employee of Shell USA regarding his/her comments on the Corrib gas controversy. You may not like the way that the Irish Government has handled this issue, however, they are the elected body and secondly you show no hard evidence that they have been bought, bribed, or even buggered as you nicely put it by Shell. You also mention Ireland has “considerable hydrocarbon resources” – please quote a reliable source (with reserve numbers) where such a comment can be believed. Me thinks that you are merely trying to stir some trouble here without any evidence to truly back up your statements. Reminds me of Teddy Kennedy when he kept sticking his big US nose in to Irish politics and attempted to get money for the IRA terrorists!!
Mr engle, helping to maintain honesty contributes to dialogue, “cleaning up negative postings” is censorship as in 1st amendment! Go-away!
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Mr Voser is ill-advised to make such comments on BP / Macondo. He attracts to Shell the headlines seen in the Daily Mail and is now a hostage to fortune just as Tony Hayward became when he told the world “he would focus like a laser on safety for the next two years” on succeeding Lord Browne. In addition his observation ” to correctly investigate the accident one had to examine the thinking behind the particular well design BP used” is interesting in the light of the Brent fatalities. Just what was the thinking behind the “design” of the piping patches which eventually failed?
Do the Swiss have a translation for the expression “people who live in glass houses should not throw stones”?
Musaint: fully agree that The Brent Spar fiasco was nothing more than a publicity stunt by Greenpeace without any factual basis for their claims. My point was that Shell will always be at the mercy of public opinion.
“Alleged Shell deception in Sri Lanka”. Using your own words Mr. D. (in red, in capitals) “it certainly seems authentic” – and the reason you give (in the same sentence) is “it talks about Shell deception and a hidden agenda”. What sort of reason is that to believe the story is genuine and not someone (yet again) trying to cause mischief!! Like the News of the World, it helps sell a story ……
Should be noted that at the time of the “Brent Spar fiasco” the guys from Exxon kept a very low profile as 50% owners of the structure AND Greenpeace admitted that they got the numbers wrong on the amount of residual oil left in the spar. Just proves that the action by thugs and tree huggers, particularly in Germany, was based on incorrect facts. Basically don’t always believe what is printed on paper and in websites!!
At the time of the Brent Spar fiasco, there was a boycott and vandalism of Shell’s filling stations in Germany, which was very effective in bringing the message home to Shell’s management in the Hague that they were at the mercy of public opinion. This website has been publicising Shell’s large scale ongoing business relationship with Iran, so it is hardly surprising that it has been experiencing “technical problems”
uscitizen of poor comprehension, i don’t think anyone objects to IPFs. FORCED RANKING is where mistakes are made. You may have more data and more cards in your deck but you obviously don’t believe anything shared in this forum that exposes destructive ethics and blatant injustices. Great leaders were terminated in the first round that did not have the chance to work a PIP. Unexpected low numbers were given with no forewarning. Having a better retirement than most citizens is far less than some of these folks deserved. Your statement really sounds far more socialistic. Like someone said a while back, it sure sounds like you have a lot of ownership in some of these ‘schemes’. …or maybe you are just naive and delusional. And I’ll tell you how RIFs were handled in the companies of some of my peers: PIPs along with voluntary retirement, ends up yielding more than needed. Keep your judgement to yourself about low performers getting what they deserved. Some loved Shell as much as you do, and would do anything they could to work a PIP and be productive for a few more years. … and again there are people protected that are poorer performers. ….DUDE!
Golden Triangle is spot on about Tom and unfortunately this style of
For – MR no personal ID for Mr uscitizen dude!
real user I
Golden Triangle Watchdog – I am not in HR – so do not try to play cards you do not have. You clearly have an agenda, do not enjoy working for Shell, so be it. Any one as unhappy as you needs to join the ranks of Donovan. And I have my next job, so no career advice from you will help me. Have a good life, if you can. Find some thing you will be happy doing and stop blaming others for your attitude, you own that dude.
US Citizen…. I have no hatred for Tom Purves. What I actually hate is favoritism, lying, egotism, manipulation, hypocracy. Tom exhibits all of these and very little leadership skills. Tom falls in this catagory along with the fact that he flat out lied to get people off the payroll that he didn’t want on the payroll and senior leadership knows that. He also lied about some other things which will eventually come out, like environmental performance at our plant. That has been buried deep to allow for the CEP to get its permit. Just look around and see how many of our past environmental dept from 2 years ago is still in place or with the company. A complete turnover….. Does anyone wonder why? Motiva got rid of them because of what they found. I’m sure Hilton Kelley could get an ear full if he hasn’t already. Alot of this was on Tom’s watch and he knows it as did the Motiva CEO. I’ve worked here at the Port Arthur plant for 20 years. Tom had a good message early on but it became clear pretty quickly that he was no good, had his favorites, and was not interested in changing the culture, just status quo. He ultimately has a few close allies that he brings with him everywhere, like Funkhouser, Laugher, Hartsock. Man, this is the best he has got. My understanding on Jeff is he got sold from the company with Tosco up north and came back in because Tom got him a job with the company. Here you have a man with no formal education, other than how to suck up, getting up to 1 step away from a plant manager. You wonder why. The folks in the rank laugh at this guy. He has long forgot what true leadership is about. Tom created this and has allowed this to grow. And the issue I have with HR is they have become nothing but a group of staffers, hanging on to the senior leaders, doing what they are asked to do, assuming their role is to identify and help develop the leaders of tomorrow, with very little understanding of what true leadership in the field needs to be. The People survey is a joke and all know it. It stopped being useful after the first edition. Senior leaders don’t use it except to update every other year what they heard. And you can discount my feedback all you like….. gas cards were paid to get the numbers up. With you being in HR, I can understand why this whole topic doesn’t feel good. It’s ok…. Go hook up with Jeff Funkhouser, he can find you a job.
real user I’d, REALLY!?! … Like yours? HAh. Yes some packages were bestowed upon folks with lower ‘relative performance’,mostl of these folks were prompted to their humble positions, because of their knowledge, skills leadership abilities. Most did not deserve to be discarded with paltry pensions. These folks are for the most part on their mid 50s+. they gave the best part of their life to shell and were top performers. IPFs were formulated to execute a scheme that someone will claim is the reason for profit improvements. It doesn’t matter what some of these folks are suffering through, that’s too human. This was executed in a suffering economy, on folks who are beyond favorable age. The IPF rate/ranking is no magic, and in in some cases removed the most effective Leaders. There are many ways this could have been executed without abusing those who have given so much to shell. .. All because someone decided to prove that leadership responded to the people survey accountability topic. Forced ranking in our plant environments is destructive to synergy and ultimately devasting to the unfortunate who end up terminated unjustly. Leaders can behave like tp, jf, ka, deserving no respect from their reports, and end up rewarded. But a poor shift team leader, who might be facing respectable upsets in their personal life lose focus for a while and there is no compassion.
Don
sure sounds like you own some of the new schemes being practiced. also sounds like you reside in a safe little fraternal consortium of self accrediting,and probably self-rewarding
I see ex Sakhalin and bully David Greer has resigned from Regal Pet, wonder where he will create carnage next!
Don’t let USCitizen fool you….. The Shell People Survey is a joke and everyone, who takes it , knows it. Most plants have to give our employees a gas card to take it. And I know for a fact that the HR community has told most all of the senior mgt not to follow up on it….. but instead to read it and listen to what the people are saying and what their concerns are, but dont spend the time doing anything with it. Let’s be real…. Shell is a good company with good benefits. The senior leaders stink because they have forgotten the most important principle that kept Shell strong….. the people. Today, you have the people…..and then you have the senior execs and HR.
By the way, Uncle Tom, how is that new job going? Enjoying your little cubicle over in CEP along with your tea pot? All I can say is… count the days till retirement. You are done.
sure sounds like you own some of the new schemes being practiced. also sounds like you reside in a safe little fraternal consortium of self accrediting,and probably self-rewarding ‘dillusionists’. your people survey results are far different from the ones that we have seen for the past three cycles.
To John Donovan – Right!! That is clearly what we are doing – an eveil empire! I am happy and I assume you are! Hard to be with all that hate, but whatever floats your boat.
To the person who used to uscitizen as their id?? ; we just completed our last survey and it was not at all like the Dow feedback. I will not share the details because that is company business, but i will contrast our reality with your Dow comments since you are sure we are the same!
Pros
World class manufacturing capability and processes – Check
Pretty good marketing – Check
Good benefits package – Excellent benefits package – one of the best in the world at Shell – folks can retire with few worries.
Ability to exercise flexibility in work arrangements – Huge focus on family /work balance – I was able to manage a very very sick kid, lots of time off and worked from the house alot and got good reviews. I have enabled many folks who work for me to have alternate work schedules based on a family situation.
Good place for new graduates to gain skills – Check – we get the best of the best still, put up a poster and we get many many applicants – hourly and professional jobs.
Cons
They paint a target on your back after you
bottom line is these “grievances” are in most cases legitimate positions and opinions about ‘management gone wrong’. The new world inside shell is not much unlike Dow and GE. Here is an example from a Dow employees people survey and link to more of this review:
Pros
World class manufacturing capability and processes
Pretty good marketing
Good benefits package
Ability to exercise flexibility in work arrangements
Good place for new graduates to gain skills
Cons
They paint a target on your back after you’re 55 – all of a sudden you become a burden.
The rating system is impossible to succeed in – if you do its because you’re someone’s golden boy or girl.
Once you get a bad rating, it’s almost impossible to make an improvement.
High reliance on contractors for many jobs.
Very limited capital in some businesses – makes for a very boring job if you’re a good engineer.
Pay levels in manufacturing are lower than competitors.
Advice to Senior Management
Realize that many of your people enjoy their work and you’re stifling their contributions by not making the tough decisions. Don’t let them wilt on the vine – either put some money into the business or sell off the ones that you really don’t want. http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Dow-Chemical-Reviews-E207.htm
I’m sure mr voser and others will receive huge bonuses for saving the company from those low performers. you are not hearing from those who have been kept, as they are either now playing the game well, or they scared and keeping their mouth shut. these tactics did nothing for GE’s or Dow’s stock prices, but someone was well rewarded for enacting them.
USCitizen – Are you going to continue defending this
uscitizen says:
September 27, 2010 at 21:29
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Daniel says:
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retiree says:
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Nigeria says:
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Daniel says:
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wooble says:
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shellwaarbenjijnu says:
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POSTING BY FORMER SHELL EMPLOYEE says:
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geismar gator says:
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JustTheFactsMaam says:
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CorporateHR says:
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jg6 says:
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John Donovan says:
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rwilliamson123@gmail.com says:
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Former Shell Employee says:
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jg6 says:
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GoldenTriangle Watchman says:
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Former Shell employee says:
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interested says:
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Improving _Shell says:
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rwilliamson123@gmail.com says:
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Seeberger says:
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Regular Browser says:
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insider says:
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Frequent flyer says:
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Daniel to retiree says:
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Daniel says:
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retiree says:
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Daniel says:
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Golden Triangle Watchman says:
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Black Ocean says:
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uscitizen says:
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peteu says:
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LongTermShareholder says:
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MUSAINT says:
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shellwaarbenjijnu says:
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IMBer says:
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LongTermShareholder says:
February 27, 2010 at 22:32
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Shellwaarbenjijnu says:
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February 27, 2010 at 10:19
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URGENT REQUEST says:
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Solar says:
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Eric. says:
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ScorpsyNuts says:
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Desi says:
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Anonymous says:
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Witchy woman says:
February 6, 2010 at 16:20
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Outsider says:
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sandybeach says:
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notcomplaining says:
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MUSAINT says:
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rwilliamson says:
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1.1 says:
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SC24floor says:
February 4, 2010 at 20:11
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MUSAINT says:
February 4, 2010 at 14:14
-
Witchy woman says:
February 4, 2010 at 12:44
-
guest1 says:
February 4, 2010 at 11:54
-
Shell 12 says:
February 3, 2010 at 21:04
-
FE says:
February 3, 2010 at 18:01
-
guest1 says:
February 3, 2010 at 10:44
-
SafetyPro says:
February 2, 2010 at 16:19
-
guest5 says:
February 2, 2010 at 10:46
-
Witchy woman says:
February 1, 2010 at 12:54
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
January 29, 2010 at 13:37
-
FT Interview with Voser says:
January 26, 2010 at 17:05
-
shell follower says:
January 25, 2010 at 02:07
-
Bitumen Bob says:
January 23, 2010 at 03:43
-
ex-Shell engineer says:
January 14, 2010 at 01:32
-
AsiaDragon says:
January 13, 2010 at 14:50
-
Witchy woman says:
January 12, 2010 at 21:15
-
guest1 says:
January 12, 2010 at 09:03
-
Canadain says:
January 7, 2010 at 16:27
-
guest1 says:
January 6, 2010 at 14:50
-
unknown says:
January 6, 2010 at 13:30
-
Dutchdude says:
January 6, 2010 at 12:52
-
guest1 says:
January 6, 2010 at 09:40
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
January 5, 2010 at 22:00
-
John Donovan says:
January 5, 2010 at 18:24
-
MUSAINT says:
January 5, 2010 at 14:28
-
uscitizen says:
January 5, 2010 at 13:24
-
Mahdi Hassan says:
January 4, 2010 at 23:12
-
John Donovan says:
January 4, 2010 at 18:54
-
bubba says:
January 3, 2010 at 19:50
-
retiree says:
January 2, 2010 at 10:50
-
MUSAINT says:
January 2, 2010 at 10:24
-
uscitizen says:
January 2, 2010 at 00:56
-
chedderc says:
January 1, 2010 at 18:21
-
MUSAINT says:
January 1, 2010 at 14:34
-
uscitizen says:
January 1, 2010 at 06:43
-
MUSAINT says:
December 29, 2009 at 19:00
-
insider says:
December 29, 2009 at 16:45
-
John Donovan says:
December 29, 2009 at 16:44
-
bubba says:
December 29, 2009 at 16:28
-
John Donovan says:
December 29, 2009 at 16:05
-
MUSAINT says:
December 29, 2009 at 15:34
-
rwilliamson says:
December 28, 2009 at 05:22
-
jiggalator says:
December 25, 2009 at 14:48
-
John Donovan says:
December 22, 2009 at 22:44
-
Desi says:
December 22, 2009 at 19:58
-
jiggalator says:
December 21, 2009 at 16:17
-
John Donovan says:
December 20, 2009 at 21:00
-
MUSAINT says:
December 20, 2009 at 19:55
-
John Donovan says:
December 20, 2009 at 19:38
-
MUSAINT says:
December 20, 2009 at 19:07
-
John Donovan says:
December 20, 2009 at 18:22
-
MUSAINT says:
December 20, 2009 at 17:45
-
John Donovan says:
December 19, 2009 at 12:01
-
sceptical joe 2 says:
December 19, 2009 at 10:25
-
Outsider says:
December 19, 2009 at 09:42
-
John Donovan says:
December 18, 2009 at 17:01
-
sceptical joe 2 says:
December 18, 2009 at 15:12
-
sceptical joe 2 says:
December 18, 2009 at 15:08
-
MUSAINT says:
December 18, 2009 at 08:13
-
guest1 says:
December 17, 2009 at 16:54
-
John Donovan says:
December 17, 2009 at 12:54
-
Sceptical Joe says:
December 17, 2009 at 12:32
-
motivaman says:
December 15, 2009 at 00:30
-
motivasux says:
December 14, 2009 at 13:41
-
John Donovan says:
December 11, 2009 at 17:41
-
MUSAINT says:
December 11, 2009 at 16:34
-
guest1 says:
December 11, 2009 at 11:37
-
SCE says:
December 10, 2009 at 19:20
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
December 10, 2009 at 10:40
-
Escapefromshell says:
December 10, 2009 at 04:01
-
Anakson says:
December 9, 2009 at 17:42
-
AsiaDragon says:
December 9, 2009 at 15:13
-
guest1 says:
December 8, 2009 at 09:34
-
fred says:
December 7, 2009 at 20:36
-
rockdude1950 says:
December 6, 2009 at 14:51
-
Wood River Days says:
December 5, 2009 at 14:44
-
scapegoat says:
December 4, 2009 at 15:17
-
NorcosFinest says:
December 2, 2009 at 22:23
-
Santa says:
December 2, 2009 at 16:49
-
Outsider says:
December 2, 2009 at 12:25
-
insider says:
December 2, 2009 at 09:14
-
stu says:
December 2, 2009 at 01:09
-
IT4me says:
December 1, 2009 at 23:36
-
MUSAINT says:
December 1, 2009 at 19:33
-
Elegia says:
December 1, 2009 at 14:46
-
Paddy Briggs says:
November 27, 2009 at 14:33
-
Stu says:
November 26, 2009 at 19:57
-
MUSAINT says:
November 26, 2009 at 19:39
-
John Donovan says:
November 26, 2009 at 12:28
-
Anonymous says:
November 26, 2009 at 12:02
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
November 26, 2009 at 09:17
-
John Donovan says:
November 26, 2009 at 00:15
-
Anonymous says:
November 25, 2009 at 23:15
-
jmjpfm says:
November 25, 2009 at 20:38
-
NorcoScum says:
November 25, 2009 at 00:04
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
November 24, 2009 at 13:48
-
guest1 says:
November 24, 2009 at 12:13
-
Anonymous says:
November 24, 2009 at 11:53
-
John Donovan says:
November 24, 2009 at 11:18
-
Anonymous says:
November 24, 2009 at 10:38
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
November 23, 2009 at 21:53
-
guest1 says:
November 23, 2009 at 16:56
-
Jo Blow says:
November 23, 2009 at 15:49
-
John Donovan says:
November 23, 2009 at 14:20
-
Anonymous says:
November 23, 2009 at 12:14
-
MUSAINT says:
November 21, 2009 at 21:37
-
MUSAINT says:
November 20, 2009 at 19:52
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
November 20, 2009 at 17:33
-
SeeMeNo says:
November 20, 2009 at 15:04
-
John Donovan says:
November 16, 2009 at 23:41
-
MUSAINT says:
November 16, 2009 at 19:53
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
November 16, 2009 at 05:28
-
Worker Bee says:
November 15, 2009 at 17:59
-
IT4me says:
November 15, 2009 at 14:52
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
November 15, 2009 at 11:02
-
IT4me says:
November 14, 2009 at 20:43
-
MUSAINT says:
November 12, 2009 at 16:41
-
Colin Lambert says:
November 12, 2009 at 15:52
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
November 11, 2009 at 12:34
-
SHELLMOTIVAHATER says:
November 10, 2009 at 22:11
-
Paddy Briggs says:
November 9, 2009 at 18:31
-
John Donovan says:
November 9, 2009 at 10:40
-
guest1 says:
November 9, 2009 at 09:57
-
Outsider says:
November 9, 2009 at 09:41
-
jlmfrance says:
November 9, 2009 at 08:46
-
HansDietrich says:
November 9, 2009 at 08:05
-
IT4me says:
November 8, 2009 at 11:18
-
Worker Bee says:
November 7, 2009 at 18:22
-
Just a Worker says:
November 6, 2009 at 19:43
-
HR Insider says:
November 5, 2009 at 12:58
-
John Donovan says:
November 5, 2009 at 10:30
-
R G Langille says:
November 5, 2009 at 04:55
-
Efengee says:
November 1, 2009 at 23:24
-
guest1 says:
November 1, 2009 at 14:46
-
IT4me says:
November 1, 2009 at 13:30
-
guest1 says:
November 1, 2009 at 11:20
-
IT4me says:
November 1, 2009 at 08:26
-
ConcernedShareholder2 says:
November 1, 2009 at 01:12
-
Chuck says:
October 31, 2009 at 02:03
-
Tom Pain says:
October 30, 2009 at 22:05
-
landdownunder says:
October 30, 2009 at 14:35
-
hard worker says:
October 30, 2009 at 00:38
-
ConcernedShareholder2 says:
October 29, 2009 at 22:25
-
dutchdude says:
October 29, 2009 at 17:16
-
Outsider says:
October 28, 2009 at 17:28
-
motivasux says:
October 28, 2009 at 02:40
-
uncleharris says:
October 27, 2009 at 23:37
-
Pele says:
October 26, 2009 at 21:01
-
John Donovan says:
October 25, 2009 at 19:47
-
President Obama says:
October 25, 2009 at 18:56
-
MUSAINT says:
October 23, 2009 at 18:37
-
WTF says:
October 22, 2009 at 18:07
-
dutchdude says:
October 21, 2009 at 15:37
-
John Donovan says:
October 20, 2009 at 10:08
-
Peat says:
October 20, 2009 at 05:53
-
John Donovan says:
October 20, 2009 at 01:27
-
guest1 says:
October 19, 2009 at 21:42
-
Gale Norton says:
October 19, 2009 at 19:48
-
MUSAINT says:
October 19, 2009 at 19:16
-
John Donovan says:
October 19, 2009 at 16:26
-
Gale Norton says:
October 19, 2009 at 11:59
-
MUSAINT says:
October 17, 2009 at 19:14
-
guest1 says:
October 17, 2009 at 11:30
-
norcoproud says:
October 17, 2009 at 00:01
-
John Donovan says:
October 16, 2009 at 09:09
-
MUSAINT says:
October 16, 2009 at 09:01
-
Interested says:
October 16, 2009 at 08:54
-
MUSAINT says:
October 16, 2009 at 08:51
-
johndoe says:
October 14, 2009 at 00:18
-
Guest 66 says:
October 13, 2009 at 18:44
-
norcoproud says:
October 13, 2009 at 12:23
-
johndoe says:
October 13, 2009 at 04:26
-
FE says:
October 12, 2009 at 17:59
-
ShellPE says:
October 10, 2009 at 21:40
-
GOM says:
October 10, 2009 at 17:47
-
dutchdude says:
October 10, 2009 at 07:24
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
October 9, 2009 at 15:46
-
dutchdude says:
October 9, 2009 at 11:59
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
October 8, 2009 at 23:34
-
Outsider says:
October 8, 2009 at 22:21
-
guest1 says:
October 8, 2009 at 21:49
-
usetobemotiva says:
October 8, 2009 at 21:30
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
October 8, 2009 at 20:19
-
Uncle Tom says:
October 8, 2009 at 14:03
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
October 8, 2009 at 11:59
-
Skipper says:
October 8, 2009 at 07:22
-
John Donovan says:
October 6, 2009 at 22:51
-
FE says:
October 2, 2009 at 20:06
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
October 2, 2009 at 10:58
-
Seashell says:
October 1, 2009 at 14:53
-
Steve Sasanow, Subsea Engineering News says:
October 1, 2009 at 11:47
-
ex insider says:
September 30, 2009 at 21:45
-
usetobemotiva says:
September 29, 2009 at 22:19
-
insider says:
September 26, 2009 at 15:45
-
Outsider says:
September 26, 2009 at 14:24
-
NorcoProud says:
September 25, 2009 at 23:31
-
Guest 66 says:
September 25, 2009 at 19:28
-
insider says:
September 25, 2009 at 09:50
-
Outsider says:
September 25, 2009 at 07:53
-
insider says:
September 24, 2009 at 21:31
-
SoontobeGone says:
September 24, 2009 at 13:12
-
insider says:
September 23, 2009 at 13:39
-
MotivaBrother says:
September 22, 2009 at 00:51
-
motivaman says:
September 21, 2009 at 18:27
-
John Donovan says:
September 20, 2009 at 00:42
-
Interested says:
September 19, 2009 at 23:29
-
Nomad says:
September 19, 2009 at 03:02
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
September 18, 2009 at 18:22
-
guest1 says:
September 18, 2009 at 08:29
-
wooble says:
September 18, 2009 at 00:41
-
W,B.Loud-Glade says:
September 17, 2009 at 16:51
-
MUSAINT says:
September 17, 2009 at 16:25
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
September 17, 2009 at 13:48
-
Outsider says:
September 17, 2009 at 10:38
-
wooble says:
September 17, 2009 at 09:17
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
September 17, 2009 at 02:26
-
NorcoScum says:
September 17, 2009 at 00:11
-
MUSAINT says:
September 16, 2009 at 19:04
-
MUSAINT says:
September 16, 2009 at 18:46
-
MUSAINT says:
September 16, 2009 at 18:41
-
motivaman says:
September 16, 2009 at 03:41
-
motivaman says:
September 16, 2009 at 02:55
-
John Donovan says:
September 15, 2009 at 13:11
-
MUSAINT says:
September 15, 2009 at 13:00
-
NorcoScum says:
September 14, 2009 at 23:12
-
Jo says:
September 14, 2009 at 09:27
-
TomPain says:
September 14, 2009 at 07:42
-
John Donovan says:
September 14, 2009 at 01:00
-
scapegoat says:
September 11, 2009 at 20:06
-
Plan BS says:
September 11, 2009 at 00:32
-
Outsider says:
September 10, 2009 at 08:35
-
John Donovan says:
September 9, 2009 at 16:31
-
David Tierney says:
September 6, 2009 at 09:43
-
NorcoScum says:
September 5, 2009 at 21:05
-
EXSF says:
September 5, 2009 at 19:31
-
John Donovan says:
September 5, 2009 at 17:30
-
SeeMeNo says:
September 5, 2009 at 03:14
-
EXSF says:
September 3, 2009 at 17:20
-
Outsider says:
September 3, 2009 at 09:09
-
Your're boring me Stu says:
September 3, 2009 at 04:14
-
Stu says:
September 2, 2009 at 22:08
-
guest1 says:
September 2, 2009 at 21:09
-
Stu says:
September 2, 2009 at 18:34
-
John Donovan says:
September 2, 2009 at 17:08
-
Bill Bartmann says:
September 2, 2009 at 14:52
-
Stu says:
September 2, 2009 at 13:25
-
John Donovan says:
September 2, 2009 at 12:07
-
John Donovan says:
September 2, 2009 at 11:11
-
Stu says:
September 2, 2009 at 09:23
-
Stu says:
September 2, 2009 at 09:15
-
EXSF says:
September 1, 2009 at 14:10
-
scapegoat says:
August 31, 2009 at 06:35
-
Sakhalin says:
August 30, 2009 at 03:23
-
Russia With Love says:
August 30, 2009 at 00:50
-
EXSF says:
August 29, 2009 at 21:52
-
John Donovan says:
August 29, 2009 at 17:30
-
Stu says:
August 29, 2009 at 16:14
-
guest1 says:
August 29, 2009 at 08:50
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
August 29, 2009 at 03:30
-
EXSF says:
August 28, 2009 at 20:30
-
John Donovan says:
August 28, 2009 at 18:55
-
2ndGen says:
August 28, 2009 at 17:41
-
John Donovan says:
August 28, 2009 at 16:55
-
claire.a says:
August 28, 2009 at 16:38
-
John Donovan says:
August 28, 2009 at 15:49
-
John Donovan says:
August 28, 2009 at 15:11
-
John Donovan says:
August 28, 2009 at 14:43
-
Jo Blow says:
August 28, 2009 at 14:41
-
claire.a says:
August 28, 2009 at 14:22
-
Stu says:
August 28, 2009 at 13:34
-
Stu says:
August 28, 2009 at 13:31
-
John Donovan says:
August 28, 2009 at 13:08
-
guest1 says:
August 28, 2009 at 12:57
-
claire.a says:
August 28, 2009 at 11:43
-
John Donovan says:
August 28, 2009 at 10:15
-
Stu says:
August 28, 2009 at 10:06
-
John Donovan says:
August 28, 2009 at 08:14
-
2ndGen says:
August 28, 2009 at 00:03
-
EXSF says:
August 27, 2009 at 21:55
-
John Donovan says:
August 27, 2009 at 20:20
-
Stu says:
August 27, 2009 at 19:35
-
John Donovan says:
August 27, 2009 at 09:56
-
2ndGen says:
August 27, 2009 at 09:00
-
EXSF says:
August 26, 2009 at 22:18
-
John Donovan says:
August 26, 2009 at 09:08
-
Stu says:
August 26, 2009 at 07:15
-
Outsider says:
August 25, 2009 at 22:40
-
John Donovan says:
August 25, 2009 at 22:10
-
Stu says:
August 25, 2009 at 21:31
-
Stu says:
August 25, 2009 at 21:28
-
coolit says:
August 23, 2009 at 20:43
-
Outsider says:
August 23, 2009 at 17:48
-
John Donovan says:
August 23, 2009 at 09:00
-
Paddy Briggs says:
August 23, 2009 at 07:34
-
Stu says:
August 19, 2009 at 22:40
-
former_Joe says:
August 19, 2009 at 16:12
-
Stu says:
August 19, 2009 at 09:29
-
WizardlyMan says:
August 16, 2009 at 23:11
-
Witchy woman says:
August 16, 2009 at 22:03
-
motivasux says:
August 15, 2009 at 11:53
-
IT4me says:
August 12, 2009 at 21:46
-
W.B.Loud-Glade says:
August 12, 2009 at 17:32
-
NorcoScum says:
August 12, 2009 at 17:28
-
John Donovan says:
August 12, 2009 at 13:51
-
John Donovan says:
August 10, 2009 at 15:27
-
Paddy Briggs says:
August 10, 2009 at 11:02
-
W.B.Loud-Glade says:
August 10, 2009 at 09:47
-
Stu says:
August 10, 2009 at 09:26
-
Paddy Briggs says:
August 10, 2009 at 06:31
-
Jo Blow says:
August 10, 2009 at 04:08
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
August 10, 2009 at 03:51
-
motivaman says:
August 9, 2009 at 23:55
-
John Donovan says:
August 9, 2009 at 23:21
-
Outsider says:
August 9, 2009 at 15:14
-
MyTwoCentsWorth says:
August 9, 2009 at 05:03
-
JanBlauu says:
August 9, 2009 at 04:18
-
SeeMeNo says:
August 9, 2009 at 04:00
-
John Donovan says:
August 8, 2009 at 19:53
-
Just Visiting; says:
August 8, 2009 at 19:39
-
Guest 66 says:
August 8, 2009 at 19:15
-
Paddy Briggs says:
August 8, 2009 at 14:56
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
August 8, 2009 at 02:55
-
Life After Shell says:
August 8, 2009 at 02:06
-
motivaman says:
August 8, 2009 at 01:35
-
johndoe says:
August 7, 2009 at 22:33
-
guestABC says:
August 7, 2009 at 10:52
-
guest 66 says:
August 7, 2009 at 04:05
-
Paddy Briggs says:
August 6, 2009 at 08:09
-
motivaman says:
August 6, 2009 at 04:18
-
motivaman says:
August 6, 2009 at 01:54
-
uscitizen says:
August 4, 2009 at 21:42
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
August 4, 2009 at 16:41
-
Paddy Briggs says:
August 4, 2009 at 14:03
-
former_Joe says:
August 4, 2009 at 12:42
-
scapegoat says:
August 4, 2009 at 12:15
-
Chemicals says:
August 4, 2009 at 11:58
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
August 4, 2009 at 04:05
-
IT4me says:
August 3, 2009 at 20:33
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
August 2, 2009 at 10:29
-
Paddy Briggs says:
August 2, 2009 at 09:49
-
AsiaDragon says:
August 2, 2009 at 03:46
-
AjitShah says:
August 2, 2009 at 01:47
-
Outsider says:
August 1, 2009 at 18:47
-
bob... says:
August 1, 2009 at 17:50
-
Pensioner says:
August 1, 2009 at 17:31
-
bob... says:
August 1, 2009 at 16:25
-
John Donovan says:
August 1, 2009 at 15:42
-
Paddy Briggs says:
August 1, 2009 at 10:51
-
SeeMeNo says:
August 1, 2009 at 05:52
-
Norco Historian says:
August 1, 2009 at 00:21
-
Fireball says:
July 31, 2009 at 23:53
-
jonny says:
July 31, 2009 at 23:53
-
uscitizen says:
July 31, 2009 at 19:29
-
Paddy Briggs says:
July 31, 2009 at 16:22
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
July 31, 2009 at 12:35
-
Shell Shocked says:
July 31, 2009 at 09:46
-
motivaman says:
July 31, 2009 at 01:21
-
Paddy Briggs says:
July 30, 2009 at 11:00
-
guest1 says:
July 30, 2009 at 08:05
-
shellwaarbenjijnu says:
July 27, 2009 at 17:07
-
guest1 says:
July 27, 2009 at 14:08
-
John Donovan says:
July 27, 2009 at 13:35
-
Karel says:
July 27, 2009 at 12:14
-
guest1 says:
July 27, 2009 at 09:50
-
JanBlauu says:
July 26, 2009 at 08:12
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
July 26, 2009 at 07:18
-
AsiaDragon says:
July 26, 2009 at 04:44
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
July 25, 2009 at 00:37
-
Outsider says:
July 22, 2009 at 16:15
-
scapegoat says:
July 22, 2009 at 12:05
-
scapegoat says:
July 22, 2009 at 04:06
-
conventscum says:
July 22, 2009 at 03:52
-
johndoe says:
July 22, 2009 at 01:31
-
Nowrooz says:
July 20, 2009 at 07:38
-
Golden Triangle Watchman says:
July 18, 2009 at 12:18
-
conventscum says:
July 18, 2009 at 04:08
-
scapegoat says:
July 18, 2009 at 03:53
-
eyesore says:
July 18, 2009 at 01:47
-
Uncle Tom says:
July 17, 2009 at 23:37
-
John Donovan says:
July 17, 2009 at 21:53
-
motivasux says:
July 17, 2009 at 21:29
-
John Donovan says:
July 17, 2009 at 20:06
-
johndoe says:
July 17, 2009 at 18:23
-
John Donovan says:
July 17, 2009 at 08:21
-
motivasux says:
July 17, 2009 at 04:58
-
uscitizen says:
July 16, 2009 at 23:53
-
motivasux says:
July 16, 2009 at 22:29
-
John Donovan says:
July 16, 2009 at 10:20
-
motivasux says:
July 16, 2009 at 07:18
-
John Donovan says:
July 15, 2009 at 22:27
-
uscitizen says:
July 15, 2009 at 21:35
-
uscitizen says:
July 15, 2009 at 21:30
-
motivaman says:
July 15, 2009 at 20:08
-
MUSAINT says:
July 15, 2009 at 17:38
-
John Donovan says:
July 15, 2009 at 14:39
-
uscitizen says:
July 15, 2009 at 14:15
-
scapegoat says:
July 15, 2009 at 12:07
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
July 13, 2009 at 15:37
-
AsiaDragon says:
July 13, 2009 at 14:33
-
IT4me says:
July 13, 2009 at 09:13
-
1998 says:
July 13, 2009 at 03:46
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
July 13, 2009 at 00:50
-
MalaysiaBolih says:
July 13, 2009 at 00:34
-
AsiaDragon says:
July 13, 2009 at 00:12
-
Paddy Briggs says:
July 12, 2009 at 16:08
-
JanBlauu says:
July 12, 2009 at 12:17
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AsiaDragon says:
July 12, 2009 at 12:09
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downunder123 says:
July 11, 2009 at 16:37
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Paddy Briggs says:
July 11, 2009 at 12:34
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Paddy Briggs says:
July 11, 2009 at 10:30
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guest1 says:
July 11, 2009 at 10:05
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JanBlauu says:
July 11, 2009 at 09:21
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Russia With Love says:
July 11, 2009 at 02:36
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AsiaDragon says:
July 11, 2009 at 02:20
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Outsider says:
July 10, 2009 at 09:35
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IT4me says:
July 10, 2009 at 08:28
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John Donovan says:
July 8, 2009 at 18:25
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motivasux says:
July 8, 2009 at 15:06
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Norco historian says:
July 8, 2009 at 12:11
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conventscum says:
July 7, 2009 at 22:22
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AjitShah says:
July 5, 2009 at 13:56
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MalaysiaBolih says:
July 5, 2009 at 01:09
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John Donovan says:
July 4, 2009 at 18:19
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John Donovan says:
July 4, 2009 at 18:05
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MalaysiaBolih says:
July 4, 2009 at 17:55
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downunder123 says:
July 4, 2009 at 15:41
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conventscum says:
July 4, 2009 at 14:59
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scapegoat says:
July 4, 2009 at 13:59
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AsiaDragon says:
July 4, 2009 at 13:18
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MalaysiaBolih says:
July 4, 2009 at 02:33
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motivaman says:
July 4, 2009 at 01:39
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downunder123 says:
July 4, 2009 at 00:48
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Jo Blow says:
July 3, 2009 at 22:26
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John Donovan says:
July 3, 2009 at 16:17
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MalaysiaBolih says:
July 3, 2009 at 15:17
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AsiaDragon says:
July 3, 2009 at 13:09
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IT4me says:
July 3, 2009 at 10:13
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John Donovan says:
July 3, 2009 at 00:01
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scapegoat says:
July 2, 2009 at 23:35
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John Donovan says:
July 2, 2009 at 21:07
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Deeply Concerned says:
July 2, 2009 at 17:44
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motivasux says:
July 2, 2009 at 16:18
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scapegoat says:
July 2, 2009 at 03:07
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motivaman says:
July 2, 2009 at 01:01
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uscitizen says:
July 1, 2009 at 22:10
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Jo Blow says:
July 1, 2009 at 04:15
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John Donovan says:
July 1, 2009 at 00:46
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Guest 401 says:
July 1, 2009 at 00:03
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motivaman says:
June 30, 2009 at 19:52
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scapegoat says:
June 30, 2009 at 19:51
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uscitizen says:
June 30, 2009 at 18:20
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uscitizen says:
June 30, 2009 at 18:17
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guyzmur16 says:
June 30, 2009 at 17:37
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motivaman says:
June 30, 2009 at 17:19
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motivaman says:
June 30, 2009 at 16:53
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uscitizen says:
June 30, 2009 at 15:25
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motivaman says:
June 30, 2009 at 00:53
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uscitizen says:
June 29, 2009 at 15:30
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motivasux says:
June 28, 2009 at 21:34
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workinman says:
June 28, 2009 at 00:39
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Russia With Love says:
June 27, 2009 at 13:49
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motivasux says:
June 26, 2009 at 21:07
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NorcoScum says:
June 26, 2009 at 18:02
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motivasux says:
June 25, 2009 at 23:47
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guest1 says:
June 25, 2009 at 14:16
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1998 says:
June 25, 2009 at 13:06
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Outsider says:
June 25, 2009 at 12:39
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Paddy Briggs says:
June 25, 2009 at 12:12
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Outsider says:
June 25, 2009 at 10:58
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realman66 says:
June 25, 2009 at 09:07
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Lady of Justice says:
June 25, 2009 at 03:05
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motivaman says:
June 24, 2009 at 21:43
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uscitizen says:
June 24, 2009 at 16:57
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motivasux says:
June 24, 2009 at 03:41
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AsiaDragon says:
June 24, 2009 at 00:27
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scapegoat says:
June 23, 2009 at 16:56
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motivasux says:
June 22, 2009 at 23:49
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John Donovan says:
June 22, 2009 at 23:10
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MotivaReject says:
June 22, 2009 at 17:52
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uscitizen says:
June 22, 2009 at 16:08
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Nowrroz says:
June 21, 2009 at 19:54
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John Donovan says:
June 21, 2009 at 19:45
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jane_doe says:
June 21, 2009 at 19:25
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Stuart says:
June 21, 2009 at 18:42
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guest1 says:
June 21, 2009 at 17:04
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scapegoat says:
June 21, 2009 at 02:18
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MotivaReject says:
June 21, 2009 at 00:54
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Russia With Love says:
June 21, 2009 at 00:46
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NorcoScum says:
June 20, 2009 at 21:12
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MotivaRetired says:
June 20, 2009 at 17:36
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Malcolm Van Lies says:
June 20, 2009 at 16:58
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MalaysiaBolih says:
June 20, 2009 at 16:37
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downunder123 says:
June 20, 2009 at 16:09
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NorcoScum says:
June 20, 2009 at 14:51
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AsiaDragon says:
June 20, 2009 at 14:10
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MotivaReject says:
June 20, 2009 at 13:44
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Sakhalin says:
June 20, 2009 at 13:35
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Witchy woman says:
June 20, 2009 at 13:17
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downunder123 says:
June 20, 2009 at 12:43
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PAR REJECT says:
June 20, 2009 at 05:17
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Guest 24 says:
June 20, 2009 at 03:30
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AsiaDragon says:
June 20, 2009 at 02:29
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motivasux says:
June 20, 2009 at 00:13
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Dmitry Lisitsyn says:
June 19, 2009 at 22:37
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Korsakov says:
June 19, 2009 at 19:29
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IntelAgent says:
June 19, 2009 at 17:28
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scapegoat says:
June 19, 2009 at 17:20
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Sakhalin says:
June 19, 2009 at 12:59
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Russia With Love says:
June 18, 2009 at 22:52
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monkeyfish says:
June 18, 2009 at 16:35
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AsiaDragon says:
June 18, 2009 at 11:57
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MotivaReject says:
June 18, 2009 at 02:58
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Stalin says:
June 18, 2009 at 00:04
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fred says:
June 17, 2009 at 18:13
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Russia With Love says:
June 17, 2009 at 17:00
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AsiaDragon says:
June 17, 2009 at 16:11
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motivaman says:
June 17, 2009 at 02:46
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harley says:
June 16, 2009 at 22:39
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John Donovan says:
June 16, 2009 at 14:00
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motivasux says:
June 16, 2009 at 01:04
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grim reaper says:
June 16, 2009 at 00:02
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Paddy Briggs says:
June 15, 2009 at 22:38
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fred says:
June 15, 2009 at 15:34
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Paddy Briggs says:
June 15, 2009 at 12:36
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downunder123 says:
June 15, 2009 at 01:07
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motivasux says:
June 14, 2009 at 18:40
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Russia With Love says:
June 14, 2009 at 16:23
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shellwaarbenjijnu says:
June 14, 2009 at 10:00
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John Donovan says:
June 14, 2009 at 09:20
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AsiaDragon says:
June 14, 2009 at 06:30
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shellwaarbenjijnu says:
June 14, 2009 at 05:54
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downunder123 says:
June 13, 2009 at 17:22
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Witchy woman says:
June 12, 2009 at 20:31
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JerrBear says:
June 12, 2009 at 13:32
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motivaman says:
June 12, 2009 at 02:50
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stuckinbrasil says:
June 10, 2009 at 07:44
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guest1 says:
June 9, 2009 at 17:01
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motivasux says:
June 9, 2009 at 02:36
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John Donovan says:
June 9, 2009 at 00:59
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Jorge says:
June 7, 2009 at 21:42
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fred says:
June 7, 2009 at 16:57
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AsiaDragon says:
June 7, 2009 at 04:10
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John Donovan says:
June 6, 2009 at 00:22
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motivasux says:
June 5, 2009 at 23:31
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Jim Hartsock says:
June 4, 2009 at 02:47
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royallyshafted says:
June 2, 2009 at 20:12
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Paddy Briggs says:
May 31, 2009 at 14:05
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Iain Percival says:
May 31, 2009 at 11:16
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Paddy Briggs says:
May 30, 2009 at 16:19
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guest1 says:
May 30, 2009 at 09:21
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1998 says:
May 29, 2009 at 10:24
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"Buck" says:
May 28, 2009 at 18:42
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guest 4 says:
May 28, 2009 at 17:15
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Shellwaar benjijnu? says:
May 28, 2009 at 07:30
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Guest_employee says:
May 27, 2009 at 16:03
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John Donovan says:
May 27, 2009 at 15:16
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Paddy Briggs says:
May 27, 2009 at 15:02
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John Donovan says:
May 27, 2009 at 14:37
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guest1 says:
May 27, 2009 at 14:12
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Fonzy says:
May 27, 2009 at 13:04
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John Donovan says:
May 27, 2009 at 11:07
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Nowrooz says:
May 27, 2009 at 05:56
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Karel says:
May 26, 2009 at 21:29
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Stuart says:
May 26, 2009 at 20:51
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Karel says:
May 26, 2009 at 20:43
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Stuart says:
May 26, 2009 at 19:16
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Fonzy says:
May 26, 2009 at 16:00
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guest1 says:
May 26, 2009 at 15:36
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fred says:
May 26, 2009 at 15:28
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Paddy Briggs says:
May 26, 2009 at 13:52
-
fred says:
May 26, 2009 at 13:37
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John Donovan says:
May 26, 2009 at 12:54
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Nowrooz says:
May 26, 2009 at 12:20
-
Fonzy says:
May 26, 2009 at 11:31
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guest says:
May 26, 2009 at 07:06
-
Guest says:
May 25, 2009 at 17:44
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MUSAINT says:
May 25, 2009 at 15:08
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Guess from Asia says:
May 23, 2009 at 07:05
-
guest says:
May 21, 2009 at 08:50
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MUSAINT says:
May 20, 2009 at 18:44
-
Paddy Briggs says:
May 20, 2009 at 18:25
-
guest says:
May 20, 2009 at 09:27
-
MUSAINT says:
May 18, 2009 at 09:30
-
Visitor says:
May 18, 2009 at 08:27
-
vikramhd says:
May 15, 2009 at 19:49
-
Guest says:
April 28, 2009 at 12:51
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John Donovan says:
April 28, 2009 at 09:08
-
DC says:
April 24, 2009 at 16:35
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Big P says:
April 22, 2009 at 12:18
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Guest says:
April 11, 2009 at 09:46
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Zoltan says:
April 2, 2009 at 22:45
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Paddy Briggs says:
March 31, 2009 at 17:07
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guest says:
March 31, 2009 at 16:41
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MUSAINT says:
March 31, 2009 at 14:50
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John Donovan says:
March 30, 2009 at 20:12
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John Donovan says:
March 20, 2009 at 18:02
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MUSAINT says:
March 20, 2009 at 17:52
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MUSAINT says:
March 20, 2009 at 17:50
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Guest says:
March 20, 2009 at 10:25
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Guest says:
March 20, 2009 at 09:42
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MUSAINT says:
March 19, 2009 at 20:51
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Gueszt says:
March 19, 2009 at 19:48
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Guest says:
March 19, 2009 at 09:50
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MUSAINT says:
March 19, 2009 at 09:37
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Guest says:
March 18, 2009 at 23:53
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MUSAINT says:
March 18, 2009 at 18:26
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Guest says:
March 18, 2009 at 16:47
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insider says:
March 18, 2009 at 13:37
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Paddy Briggs says:
March 16, 2009 at 11:57
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guest says:
March 14, 2009 at 09:51
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John Donovan says:
March 14, 2009 at 09:40
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MUSAINT says:
March 14, 2009 at 08:57
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John Donovan says:
March 14, 2009 at 00:34
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MUSAINT says:
March 12, 2009 at 19:24
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Paddy Briggs says:
March 12, 2009 at 10:33
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John Donovan says:
March 11, 2009 at 20:54
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Guest says:
March 7, 2009 at 19:28
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MUSAINT says:
March 5, 2009 at 19:06
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Nowrooz says:
March 4, 2009 at 22:49
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Guest_001 says:
March 2, 2009 at 15:05
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GUEST says:
March 2, 2009 at 09:51
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retiree says:
March 1, 2009 at 11:06
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Big Jake says:
March 1, 2009 at 10:28
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Guest says:
February 27, 2009 at 09:35
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Paddy Briggs says:
February 24, 2009 at 12:45
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Promise Keeper's says:
February 23, 2009 at 20:09
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Guest says:
February 23, 2009 at 14:41
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Guest says:
February 23, 2009 at 14:01
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retired shellee says:
February 23, 2009 at 09:50
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MUSAINT says:
February 21, 2009 at 11:50
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MUSAINT says:
February 21, 2009 at 11:45
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rick_lkc47@hotmail.com says:
February 20, 2009 at 20:39
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rick_lkc47@hotmail.com says:
February 20, 2009 at 03:07
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Guest says:
February 19, 2009 at 16:05
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John Donovan says:
February 19, 2009 at 02:03
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in the business says:
February 19, 2009 at 00:48
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Guest99 says:
February 16, 2009 at 06:45
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guest says:
February 15, 2009 at 14:22
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Guest says:
February 13, 2009 at 19:10
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Insider says:
February 13, 2009 at 17:16
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Nowrooz says:
February 13, 2009 at 16:46
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Guest says:
February 13, 2009 at 14:21
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cor herkstroter says:
February 13, 2009 at 12:20
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Guest says:
February 13, 2009 at 09:41
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guest ABC says:
February 11, 2009 at 12:13
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guest says:
February 10, 2009 at 09:06
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John Donovan says:
February 9, 2009 at 19:21
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Nowrooz says:
February 9, 2009 at 18:05
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John Donovan says:
February 9, 2009 at 17:56
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MUSAINT says:
February 9, 2009 at 15:04
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MUSAINT says:
February 9, 2009 at 14:55
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Nick says:
February 9, 2009 at 12:53
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Guest says:
February 9, 2009 at 08:37
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MUSAINT says:
February 8, 2009 at 12:29
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A says:
February 6, 2009 at 18:33
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Guest says:
February 5, 2009 at 14:34
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budget cutter says:
February 5, 2009 at 03:17
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guest says:
January 30, 2009 at 17:17
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Nowrooz says:
January 30, 2009 at 15:34
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John Donovan says:
January 30, 2009 at 15:32
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MUSAINT says:
January 30, 2009 at 11:41
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Guest says:
January 29, 2009 at 10:52
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Paddy Briggs says:
January 23, 2009 at 15:19
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John Donovan says:
January 23, 2009 at 14:53
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Nowrooz says:
January 23, 2009 at 12:36
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Jerry NECIMOGLU says:
January 22, 2009 at 20:18
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adzy says:
January 22, 2009 at 18:16
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halkin says:
January 21, 2009 at 20:56
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Guest says:
January 19, 2009 at 12:37
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Paddy Briggs says:
January 18, 2009 at 12:58
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MUSAINT says:
January 14, 2009 at 09:34
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John Donovan says:
January 10, 2009 at 11:33
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Paddy Briggs says:
January 10, 2009 at 09:58
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John Donovan says:
January 9, 2009 at 23:34
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Paddy Briggs says:
January 9, 2009 at 12:04
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Guest says:
January 9, 2009 at 10:26
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guest says:
January 8, 2009 at 22:49
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John Donovan says:
January 8, 2009 at 22:08
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MUSAINT says:
January 8, 2009 at 20:57
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m.m.mccarron says:
January 8, 2009 at 15:19
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Mike says:
January 5, 2009 at 11:32
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Guest says:
January 4, 2009 at 01:52
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Paddy Briggs says:
January 2, 2009 at 15:36
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hollymp says:
January 2, 2009 at 12:07
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Iain Percival says:
January 2, 2009 at 08:32
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a fellow pensioner says:
January 1, 2009 at 11:44
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Iain Percival says:
December 31, 2008 at 23:47
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Alek says:
December 31, 2008 at 19:32
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MUSAINT says:
December 31, 2008 at 18:35
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Guest says:
December 31, 2008 at 17:54
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Iain Percival says:
December 31, 2008 at 12:00
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MUSAINT says:
December 30, 2008 at 16:19
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John Donovan says:
December 25, 2008 at 11:52
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Guest says:
December 22, 2008 at 12:44
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guest says:
December 22, 2008 at 00:31
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MUSAINT says:
December 21, 2008 at 10:27
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Guest says:
December 20, 2008 at 16:41
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Guest says:
December 19, 2008 at 13:37
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Guest says:
December 19, 2008 at 12:17
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Guest says:
December 15, 2008 at 09:11
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Peter says:
December 14, 2008 at 20:29
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MUSAINT says:
December 13, 2008 at 16:13
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recent pensioner says:
December 13, 2008 at 12:47
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Guest says:
December 12, 2008 at 14:48
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another pensioner says:
December 12, 2008 at 12:42
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Shell pensioner says:
December 12, 2008 at 12:28
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Nowrooz says:
December 12, 2008 at 09:37
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Ex-Shell/SE staff says:
December 11, 2008 at 17:36
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MUSAINT says:
December 11, 2008 at 17:19
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Shell pensioner says:
December 11, 2008 at 13:37
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Paddy Briggs says:
December 8, 2008 at 11:35
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MUSAINT says:
December 8, 2008 at 10:35
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Paddy Briggs says:
December 8, 2008 at 09:50
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GUEST says:
December 7, 2008 at 18:45
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John Donovan says:
December 6, 2008 at 07:17
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MUSAINT says:
December 5, 2008 at 20:11
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Canadian says:
December 4, 2008 at 23:29
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Paddy Briggs says:
December 1, 2008 at 11:20
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Nowrooz says:
November 30, 2008 at 23:35
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MUSAINT says:
November 30, 2008 at 18:40
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Paddy Briggs says:
November 29, 2008 at 11:00
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MUSAINT says:
November 28, 2008 at 12:21
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Paddy Briggs says:
November 28, 2008 at 10:42
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Guest says:
November 28, 2008 at 10:17
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Paddy Briggs says:
November 28, 2008 at 09:54
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Guest says:
November 27, 2008 at 16:01
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shtshl says:
November 24, 2008 at 18:06
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John Donovan says:
November 23, 2008 at 13:44
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Paddy Briggs says:
November 23, 2008 at 11:43
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John Donovan says:
November 23, 2008 at 10:00
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fan of the site says:
November 23, 2008 at 05:54
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Visitor says:
November 22, 2008 at 09:39
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MUSAINT says:
November 21, 2008 at 18:29
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Visitor says:
November 21, 2008 at 18:18
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Guest says:
November 20, 2008 at 19:16
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Shell employee says:
November 20, 2008 at 15:04
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MUSAINT says:
November 19, 2008 at 20:08
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Guest says:
November 19, 2008 at 10:33
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Guest says:
November 17, 2008 at 17:51
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Guest says:
November 13, 2008 at 09:55
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Guest says:
November 13, 2008 at 09:16
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John Donovan says:
November 12, 2008 at 22:09
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European says:
November 12, 2008 at 21:11
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Paddy Briggs says:
November 11, 2008 at 12:22
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uscitizen says:
November 10, 2008 at 23:32
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MUSAINT says:
November 5, 2008 at 18:07
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Canadian says:
November 4, 2008 at 20:16
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Guest says:
November 4, 2008 at 08:44
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Nowrooz says:
November 4, 2008 at 07:50
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Canadian says:
November 3, 2008 at 18:24
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Lorraine says:
November 3, 2008 at 14:03
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Guest says:
November 3, 2008 at 08:54
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Canadian says:
October 31, 2008 at 23:09
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MUSAINT says:
October 31, 2008 at 11:25
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Canadian says:
October 29, 2008 at 21:31
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Linda says:
October 29, 2008 at 20:07
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shareholder says:
October 29, 2008 at 16:45
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Nowrooz says:
October 28, 2008 at 16:12
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Guest says:
October 28, 2008 at 08:30
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MUSAINT says:
October 27, 2008 at 17:36
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uscitizen says:
October 27, 2008 at 16:08
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MUSAINT says:
October 26, 2008 at 09:43
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MUSAINT says:
October 24, 2008 at 18:45
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MUSAINT says:
October 24, 2008 at 17:49
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John Donovan says:
October 24, 2008 at 00:01
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Smell says:
October 23, 2008 at 04:31
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MUSAINT says:
October 21, 2008 at 10:20
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None says:
October 21, 2008 at 10:16
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assusnell says:
October 21, 2008 at 09:10
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None says:
October 20, 2008 at 23:22
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veonte hightower says:
October 20, 2008 at 17:58
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Guest says:
October 20, 2008 at 09:19
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Guest says:
October 19, 2008 at 16:48
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Rob says:
October 17, 2008 at 21:50
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A Sri Lankan says:
October 17, 2008 at 17:37
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MUSAINT says:
October 17, 2008 at 15:37
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MUSAINT says:
October 17, 2008 at 15:33
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Nowrooz says:
October 17, 2008 at 13:10
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Guest says:
October 17, 2008 at 11:11
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Guest says:
October 17, 2008 at 10:31
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None says:
October 16, 2008 at 23:34
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Sibir-o says:
October 16, 2008 at 16:43
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Nowrooz says:
October 16, 2008 at 09:57
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John Donovan says:
October 15, 2008 at 15:16
Sure glad all of the folks at Shell plants have found some work to do and stopped posting grievances on this biased gripe site!! Has slowed way down as it should!!
Drill a relief well simultaneously? Peoples brains must have frozen over in Alaska. A relief well is a exactly the same as a ‘normal’ well, just harder. The odds of a blow out are the same. To drill one in the remote chance a blow out occurs would be to double your exposure?? We can argue over the merits or intrinsic safety of arctic drilling but lets not be stupid.
Infantile? It’s a pity the energy invested in creation & maintenace of this site would have been focused in a more productive venture. As a retiree, I remember joking with other colleagues that if we lost an email, we could probably find it on this site – so this site actually does have some intrinsic value.
REPLY TO “NIGERIA”:
I have provided volumes of evidence including a leaked 93 page Shell internal document containing admissions about Shell’s track record in Nigeria. Also information about a $15.5 million settlement by Shell of long standing litigation by a Wiwa family member and other Ogoni. Plus links to countless independent articles about Shell’s conduct in Nigeria. In response, not a single piece of evidence, just an infantile comment.
as usual: Donovan equals no clue
Both of you seem to have migrated to far on your points of view. Shell is by no means the evil corp that it is made out to be here. In my opinion its biggest fault is that it tries to hold it self to a standard that frankly is beyond it (or any other major). Its record in Nigeria is poor, however, I don’t think any other major would be different. Indeed I wonder why Shell refuses to leave, it makes little profit, has a terrible safety record just as bad press. However, a large amount of blame must rest squarely on the country itself for their own corruption and waste.
On the other hand, I think Shell continues to be profitable despite itself. It is for the most part run these days but a bunch of yes man (and women) that have no balls or convictions. I doubt whether there is a coherent strategy anywhere in management. In my opinion Transition 09 (what a joke) will make things worse as they methodically removed experienced people and disenfranchised the rest which will result in the departure of the remaining competent people that refuse to work in such a company.
REPLY TO MUSAINT:
It is remarkable that you continue to defend Shell’s dreadful track record in Nigeria when even Shell has admitted that it has contributed to the fighting and corruption in that much plundered and polluted country: See CNN Report: “Shell admits blame in Nigeria” published on 11 June 2004. Two other revealing articles about Shell were published on the same day: “Bribery and corruption put fresh dent in tarnished image of Shell” (The Independent) “Memos expose Shell’s years of lying” (Daily Telegraph). And returning to Nigeria, an article published the following day by The Times: “Shell’s gas burn-off targets in doubt“. And here is a leaked copy of a 93 page report prepared and paid for by Shell containing admissions about Shell’s track record in Nigeria: “PEACE AND SECURITY IN THE NIGER DELTA“: You have also conveniently forgotten Shell’s settlement for $15.5 million of the Wiwa case in June last year: “Shell’s blood money settles the Wiwa case“. Here is a link to many more reports about Shell’s conduct in Nigeria. To top it all, here is a list of admissions and apologies by Shell. And yet you persist in trying to defend Shell? With regards to events surrounding Sakhalin2 leaks, continuing to stand by your conclusions and allegations based on ignorance of the facts and related ill-considered assumptions, does you no credit. I would have thought more of you if, under the circumstances, you had apologised.
Your article “Allegation of death threats surrounding Shell leaked emails”, should ideally be read on a stand alone basis. As is I stand by what I said. Your add-ons in response do not change my opinion of the danger you put the informer into. The Russian mob/secret police (whatever you want to call them) are not stupid, but, they are thugs. Yes again I use the word “alleged” as many of your financial statements on how much you’ve cost Shell are not factually proved. Yes I do attack this website and some of its contributors for nonsense reporting on Shell in Nigeria. Fact is that Shell performs far better than many companies throughout the world.
REPLY TO MUSAINT:
With regard to the snide comment about exaggeration “again”, here is the link to the Argus Media article containing an interview with the so called “Kremlin Attack Dog”, Oleg Mitvol when he states in the clearest possible terms where he obtained the evidence supporting the then $10 billion dollar lawsuit (later raised to $50 billion) he was threatening to bring against Shell: http://www.shellnews.net/images/Mitvol.pdf The source had genuine concerns about the project on ethical grounds supported by evidence. I did exactly what the source asked me do to. I have never released anything about the source which might allow them to be identified and have no intention of doing so now. Mitvol did give a subsequent interview to The Sunday Times confirming my involvement. The article was read to me over the phone hours before the Sunday Times was being printed. However, it did not appear in the paper. When I subsequently made a SAR application to Shell under the Data Protection Act, I obtained a copy of a Shell internal email discussing the pending Sunday Times story which said that my actions had cost Shell
“Evidence I provided to the Russian government cost Shell billions of dollars” – perhaps true, perhaps an exaggeration again. One thing I would not be proud to put into print Mr. D is that “the source disappeared without trace” – most likely (I believe the inference) as a result of your disclosure to the authorities. They are a viscious group in Russia and it would appear that your source may well have lost his life as a result of your actions. I would hold my head in shame. These death threats were from Russians and not Shell I would hazard a guess. I hope you sent the sources’ family a letter of condolance.
A few spare minutes, so I used them to browse the last 9 months since last looking in. The big industry change is the DW Horizon and there is plenty of speculation about similarity in Shell – could it happen here etc. I have moved on a couple of years ago, but in Houston 2005-8 I don’t believe that the Shell well engineers would have ever allowed the scope changes and shortcuts that were made by BP. I remember clearly that a “long string” option in one of our wells was categorically refused and we had to run the liner with tieback at cost >$10mln. Safety at stake, and good engineering practice.
What finally drove me (and a good chunk of the Americas exploration leadership) away from Shell was GoM related, however: the inability to hold to a strategy and the imposition of personal agendas from global leadership. For all Bichsel’s faults (and there are many), once he was convinced you had a valid strategy he left you to get on with it. He had a certain trust level. Once he was kicked upstairs Americas completely lost any independence in both strategic and tactical direction and lease sales were micro-managed from The Hague by people with almost no hands on knowledge of the prospects. many man-years of careful effort to prepare for lease sales were over-ruled by telecon by failed explorers sitting across the atlantic who fancied they knew a thing or two about the GoM. Yes, we won plenty of leases, but never the right mix to build a balanced portfolio of opportunities. After this dispiriting experience, plus the parachuting in of the failed explorers back to Houston, it was definitely time to be off.
This Corrib business is starting to get a right old bore!! Firstly the locals should be thankful for the business that it brings and secondly others (such as Tom McAndrew) should realise what benefits Shell provides with it’s donations to the community / schools. NOT everything that Shell gives should be seen as a bribe or sweetener!! The Greens and Tree Huggers on this planet should realise that Shell, and other companies, do add value to the lives of communities throughout the world.
Memo to “Wilt Staph” : Most of the pollution in Ogoni Land (and other areas) is down to malicious pipeline damage caused by locals trying to steal oil, not Shell.
CEP – there was no problem with the concept as originally designed, but unfortunately was blighted (corrupted??) by the short termism and “worship thy boss” ethos which came into Shell in the 1990’s. The result is a devaluation of CEP to mean “crass exaggeration of performance” or “continual erosion of profitability”.
Well done to BP for getting rogue well under control at last so that it poses no further threat. Shouldn’t have happened at all – but in the end it is safe. Good!
Memo to Shell: Why not pretend that your operations in Nigeria are actually onshore USA and apply the same environmental rules and concerns as if it was millions of Americans at risk not millions of Ogonis?
The summary here re HR all rings true from where I sit. It has been documented here well the work of Tom Purves in the Gulf coast. He was able to change people’s performance factors and make them low enough that , when the severance packages came around, they would be eligible to be let go. Tom knew that the packages were coming because of his relationship with HR, specifically the now retired Glenn Gilchrist. Both he and Tom were able to advocate for the severance packages and also customize and pinpoint those that they wanted to get rid of. This is all well known and will always be Uncle Tom’s legacy, not the screwed up CEP project. Ultimately, Glenn retired because HR likes to feed off anyone, including their own. And ultimately, Uncle Tom will get a nice payoff and ride off, or walk off , into the sunset with his little ice teamaker and enjoy his life all to himself. Not the legacy he wanted to end with I’m sure. And for HR, they haven’t served the people in a long time. They are there for senior leadership and somehow through Hofmeister, Dalzell, Gilchrist, and others, fancy themselves as having the ear of the top brass helping to create and develop the future leaders of the company. What a sad state of affairs our company now sits in with HR’s help. Their own brand of competency mapping for leaders ( aka CEP) ended up creating the 600-750 ( or whatever number Voser landed on) of senior executives to get the heave ho…. Makes you wonder what the CEP is really all about. Gilchrist has now gone on to start another business. Glenn, enjoy yourself and hide behind your web page. Uncle Tom, tell Funkhouser to roll over and get you a glass of tea.
Remember, we’re watching….
retiree, no doubt, the recent pension pay-out savings scheme, executed by the very subjective, ‘relative performance’ sentencing, was hatched from one of the latest HR-inspired soup-of-the-day, organizational-performance-improvement plans. When you hear a manager comparing site performance tactics to McDonalds and Starbucks, clearly someone was led to the wrong seminar… and hasn’t the sense to distinguish the difference.
On the HR business in Shell: after that evangelical Hofmeister wormed himself into the position of head HR, things went downhill rapidly. He kept traipsing all over the world to all the nice and expensive spots and invited planeloads of HR folk to discuss whatever HR discusses. He made statements that he would be proud to see someone at an airport and see immediately ‘this is a Shell HR person’. He destroyed all good systems we had such as evaluation, development and resourcing of staff. The same staff lost their senior focal points whom they could trust to discuss personal matters and instead the HR circus was swamped with outsiders who only could deal with computer systems and told all staff that they were responsible to look after their own career.
Open resourcing became the biggest farce of Shell and I believe it is now called MOR (Managed Open Resourcing). Few people dare say that Open Resourcing never should have introduced because it feeds on the ‘me first’ principle. Nobody would do anything for the company if he or she would not get personally better from it. Where all that led to has been obvious the last 10 years or so.
And then HR people were being promoted into very senior and overpaid positions that were dealing with business. The development of staff had started to crumble and we got a prime example of the blind leading the blind. He received help from Gary Steel who as director for LEAP had the whole CMD dancing the macarena and when he noticed it all went belly-up, left Shell to go and wreak havoc at ABB. Carol Dubnicki came (for a hideous salary caused by a simple mistake of the senior resourcer who keyed in the wrong number) and left in disgrace having achieved nothing apart from leaving more wreckage. And then Hofmeister started to tour the USA as a royal, pretending to know the business. I am convinced he promoted that other silly woman Cook into several levels beyond her competence. She was so bad, she would have made a good modern HR person in Shell! As Shell employs above average intelligent people, these soon followed up and saw what was rewarded: promises over performance, agree with the boss and ‘me first, never mind the company’. A great many low and mid level HR folk are now employed and hired from outside. Presumably for diversification but more likely for ensuring there is no more corporate memory. And these outsiders have no feel for the business nor its people. Neither do they care!
I believe I have said enough. I am very glad to have retired and can look back on the good old days…. I wish all current employees success in dealing with HR (Human Remains according to Sir John Jennings), but always beware of false or silly information, double check yourself and keep looking over your shoulder.
John Dear
My comment on Shell HR. USELESS
Other synonyms . . . .
Non-Existent, Know Nothing, Won’t Help – Keep Redirecting, No experience, Every Question looked upon as Confrontation,
Should I say more! Why have a local HR group who is useless? Bottom line, you end of getting frustrated and quit asking questions after going thru all that BS!
Would anyone like to comment on the HR organisation within Shell? I’ve had a fair few run in’s with them so far- they all seem to be blimmin’ useless! But perhaps that is like most HR organisations in big corporations (?). It seems like they really do not care about the individual. I’ve been pushed from pillar to post when I ask for clarification on a particular policy. We are told to contact the outsourced help desks sitting in Poland, KL etc. as HR in the business don’t seem to either have the time or skill to deal with local employees. What has Shell become?? Any advice please on how to deal with HR and actually get them to help me would be most gratefully received.
Pensioner 009, First, I am a long time user of this web Site myself. Second, I am sure I am not not the only one who has not taken kindly to his condesending and obviously inflated opinion of himself and his put downs of others on this site. His so called “advice” was more of an insult than advise. His “advice” to “primoregggazz” and his Range Rover were thinly disguised insults, not advice. This was not his first time to do this. If you like and respect him, that is your choice but I am sure there are others that do not agree. Read back on how primoreggazz responded to his co called “advice. I will not be commenting further on this issue or Musaint. those that respect his opinion and methods can read his comments. I will not.
Musaint, those who have been viewing this blog for longer than just a few weeks know you as a respected contributor, so pay no heed to the recent comments.
As to Shell Diesel quality, I got shot of my Disco years ago – far too unreliable always breaking down. For 5 years now my deisel X5 has run on nothing but Shell Diesel and is just fine.
I would more likely suspect contamination in the filling station tanks – possibly water in the tank. This is far more common than many people realise. Trouble is you only find out after you have driven away.
As for new formulations of diesel – that’s driven by EU regualtion – the UK should NEVER have joined.
GSAP/GPMR and the HOUSE OF CARDS
When the GSAP project started up in 2003, we were soon drowning in Powerpoint slides. One image in particular stood out. It depicted the existing Legacy MI systems as a “house of cards”, on the point of collapse. And here was GSAP, to the rescue !
The next stage is well documented. GSAP got nowhere trying to replace the MI, and within 4 years had to be rescued itself. The saviour was a new MI project called “GPMR”, which curiously set off using almost the same methods and technologies that had just failed. You can’t keep a good “strategy” down.
3 years later, GPMR itself looks in need of rescue. Delivery to date consists of 2 humble ‘pathfinders’, both plagued by performance problems, and using different client technologies because of an architectural cock-up. The rising sense of panic is unmistakeable. Developers desperately clone whole chunks of legacy structure without really understanding it, while their seniors trim scope and push back delivery dates – in spite of which efforts, published plans still show GPMR finishing the rest of job (a magnitude more than they have done so far) in little more than a YEAR.
Meanwhile, the original MI (the “house of cards”) is still there. 7 years on death row have done some damage, but systems are still running and generally outperforming GSAP/GPMR. Almost nothing has been decommissioned.
Credit where it is due. 7 years of pitiful delivery would have sapped the morale of lesser teams, but GSAP/GPMR have remained true; true to the sense that “strategy” is what counts, not results; true to the belief that if you continue spending shareholders’ funds for long enough, success will one day come your way. And they are still on-message: open a GPMR 2010 slide pack and you find the original 2003 “house of cards” graphic is still there !
I am sure we were all suitably impressed by your condescending attitude and your bragging about your car. Frankly, sir, if you are trying to impress folks, you might want to try a different tactic than condescension and bragging.
Oh yeah, you do not help your credibility by bragging as most who do that do it to cover their shortcomings. From the way you write, i am convinced you must have many to cover.
Well my poor little munchkin (EXSF), my comments were aimed at someone who (a) spouted on about poor performance with a Shell product, for which I merely asked some questions to help understand his problem, (b) on his response & pontification about having a Landrover tractor, merely explaind what car I had and that it had improved with the Shell product. We don’t all dislike Shell on this website.
Musaint, it is only fair to tell you that the reason I found your remarks offensive was your clear strategy of casting aspersions on others comments. You give them no respect at all by casting aspersions on the intelligence of people you do not even know. I am giving you the same respect that you gave them. If you want your comments to be respected, then you should try treating others with the same respect you might want. Right now, you seem like a Shell Troll to me.
Het Musaint, does doing commercials for Shell pay well? Just wondering and I would guess I am not the only one.
Forgot to add that my car is a Audi Q7 V12 TDI. It’s well tuned and runs on Shell. Any time you want to test your tractor against a Shell run vehicle please let me know.
Just offering advice – fact is that others, like myself, have found the Shell product extremely good. Mine is a well serviced vehicle – is that your problem perhaps?
MUSAINT – what on earth are you on, if you haven’t got any decent advise to add…don’t comment, yes i do have a diesel motor, if i would have filled up with unleaded, the motor wouldn’t work, surely any dimwit would know this! decent car? well i think my landrover discovery tdv6 hse is a prestige model, not some run of the mill family car that you probably drive…..with reference to 3-4 tanks to work the shell fuel out of the system, well my landrover mechanic filled his range rover up with bio fuel and that took 3-4 tanks of normal diesel to clear out the the bio fuel so it was an approximation!
I have worked in Nigeria and the much used expression there was: ‘You pay small dash, finish palaver’. I see this still holds true. But I am not certain whether this palaver will disappear. The country as a whole is simply too corrupt and all the poor citizens are victims.
Posting made on behalf of “Jon Alpert”:
One summer, I worked for Shell Chemicals
Well “primoreggazzo”, I can only offer up some suggestions to your problem. (1) make sure you really have a diesel and not an unleaded car, (2) make sure you buy a half decent vehicle – this could be your main problem. That said, who said you would need 3-4 clean tanks to solve the problem – some cowboy garage?!? “I have refilled the tank after almost running empty” – that’s plain stupid you should check the fuel guage!! My car has absolutely no problem with this product, infact its performance has improved dramatically.
POSTED ON BEHALF OF “primoreggazzo”: I have recently filled up with Shell diesel
Well Uncle Tom has shown up now over here at PAR. I guess the mourning over his demotion is now over. He is able to get the Funk to cut off the alarm clock in the morning and they both ride to work to save the day at Port Arthur. Tom, look deep in the mirror, keep looking, deeper… and listen to the voice that keeps telling you that you screwed it up… the whole gulf coast… people’s lives… because of your controlling ways and the fact that the RVP job was over your head….. Now you can manage the Funk…. have Funk tell little boy Forrest and the brit on the project how to eat the cabbage. You and Jeff deserve each other…. I would just watch the knife in his hand and make sure it doesn’t end up in your back…. remember you taught him well.
Boy I can’t wait to see how you finish up doing SPI-100 on PAR since that became your passion over the past few years.
Remember, I’m watching…..
I know that I have commented on this age old story about Shell selling their Rajasthan acreage before (this story and my comments are probably like a cracked record), but, the issue should be put at the doorstep of 2 Shell individuals – namely Messrs. Wildig and Parsley. I know I have been corrected by somebody previously, but, these two individuals killed off Shell’s E&P presence in the sub-continent (that includes Pakistan which has also proved a money earner for Premier Oil). Probably the Swiss inbred & nodding-donkey Bichsel signed the final death-knell for the sub-continent but Parsley and Wildig were the real culprits. Why oh why was an idiot PE (Wildig) by background given the responsibility to defend exploration decisions?? Hard-nosed that he was, I liked the genuine ability of someone such as Murris to decide on entry or exit on a country. The likes of Bichsel / Parsley and most especially Wildig had absolutely no idea.
Musaint, ‘Geismar thingy’ is probably across the pond from you in the southern US. Just not the same morale and energy as there once was. Probably still a better place to be than many other Shell sites. Some of the most committed folks in the organization are disappointed by some leadership decisions.
What, where, is this Geismar thingy that a number of posts are moaning & minging about. Must be a lousy place to work if there’s so many mingers “working” there!!
Useless PTL, I think that the recent change in VP leadership is important. some other things that are important:
1. Some newer employees do not have the respect for Shell and the work ethic that we once knew at Geismar.
2.Some first line leaders are playing the destructive,force ranked competition game and believe in it. The top rated folks are thriving, and love it, no-one else is inspired. This ONLY works in sales groups or piece-work production.
3.Some of the key folks who really understood and believed in the culture of which you speak, have been removed.
4.Some folks currently in key leadership roles,do not believe in that culture, or have no idea of what we are talking about. “Task oriented supervision is better”.
5.Some of the changes in recent years have been good for the site. It would be critical to not destroy all of the changes for the sake of ‘a better culture’.
6. Many of the supervisors currently in place were selected because they are more capable of task supervision and have no idea of what empowerment of their work teams looks like.
I think that your question goes much deeper than this; just wanted to share some thoughts.
hey geismar gator, history says, many were given over-extended periods to qualify, or to ‘get comfortable’, or to re-take tests and walk-throughs. It doesn’t matter what race you were. Technicians in training are now being held to more standardized, specified time frames to demonstrate progressive success in learning and skill development.
For the Geismar Folks…. Do you feel that the “culture” at Geismar will return to what it has been in the past, or is the damage too deep to reverse itself??? I personally see no benefit in staying at a plant that treats supervision the way that we are treated in Geismar. Are the Motiva sites any better? Is there any place in the organization for someone who actually cares about his direct reports and not climbing over the backs of his peers just to get to the next grade??? If so, someone please point me in that direction, I fear that Geismar is a lost cause…
Agree 100%. A Japanese log carrier built in 1965, with a drilling package added in 1975 is not exactly the state of the art in drilling vessels (and I’m sure the cabins don’t measure up to Norwegian standards of luxury!). But I’m also sure it’s cheap (if 300K/day is cheap?). Maybe with the cancellation fees Frontier Drilling (owned by Shell and the Carlyle Group at the time the contracts were awarded) will be able to afford a refit – after ten years it’s well overdue.
I seems to me that there is one Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary that is well acquainted with the stringent and successful Norwegian ‘rules of engagement’ for drilling and production in the North Sea and Arctic. That would be Norske Shell, RDS’s Norwegian subsidiary.
I am certain those folks can operate in the US Arctic far more competently and safely than Shell USA’s Gulf of Mexico ‘run and gun’ gang. And I am dead certain Norske Shell would never approve of Shell USA’s current choice for a drilling operator for their Chukchi exploration campaign.
Shell USA spent $2 billion on leases and now apparently wants to use an obsolete, but refurbished ‘rust bucket’ to drill their exploration wells to ‘save a little money’. Why not contract a Chinese rig? They are ‘dirt cheap’ (if they don’t sink).
Seems to me Royal Dutch should think seriously about how it staffs and manages its US Arctic exploration effort. It may be time to import some operational and managerial competence. It could pay huge dividends down the road. One screw-up on the part of the ‘junior varsity’ and the gig is up.
Just a thought from a former Shell Oil USA employee.
hey justthefactsmaam i guess you represent the historic geismar family. You know how it goes out here in geismar. If you are part of the family you get the best training and all the time you need to qualify. You even get unlimited chances at taking the test. Black technicians don’t get the same treatment. Blacks have a certain time frame to qualify and a more diffucult time during training.
Absolutely False, While I agree David G. is a clown, the two technicians in question were dismissed because of their competency. It has nothing to do with their race, in fact, if the truth would be told they were hired because of their race. The people who should really be terminated are the people in HR who hire some of these “slugs” and send them to an operating unit, where they arent capable of learning and performing the duties of an operating technician. Then someone like a David G. is forced to make a very tough decision, Fire a black tech. or let his/her continued incompetency reflect on his performance.
This is a lose/lose for a Mgr. But in these two cases David G. made the right decision.
Geismar Gator, word is that the first one of which you speak did not receive due process;he/she was even held accountable in a job they were not yet qualified in.??? The word out there also has it that this most recent one of which you speak, just could not meet the requirements, and that due process was followed, via progressive discipline process. If the ‘fly on the wall’ has this wrong, please share it here.
racial tensions brewing over in geismar, David Gates is at it again this time a one of the only four black female technicians is his victim. That’s two black technicians in a year. There’s also been other problems with blacks not gettin promotions over here also. I guess you can say another one bites the dust.
CORRECTION TO MY LAST POST
an important correction to my use of the word retribution. The statement should have read: Forced ranking is subject to favoritism and RETALIATION, not retribution..
CorporateHR, too bad Mr TP will take this as a move in his favor. It seems unfair for those whose lives were changed, some after 30+years of service, that TP gets moved around instead of out. Severance payments do not replace the additional years that some would have worked. Reduced Pensions do not compensate for the years of life that were given to Shell. Retirement and financial plans and goals were destroyed for some. My personal opinion is that there is no reasonable cause for the way that some of these staff reductions were executed. Many team leaders that were terminated were far more effective than some that were kept.
Word is out on the street….. Tom purves moves back to Port Arthur to take the lead on the project, rathweg replaces Tom, Farid moves to west coast, and unbelievably a Mark Byrd takes the helm at The flagship. My thoughts….. Clearly a demotion for Uncle Tom but he won’t look at it that way. This is where he wants to be, buried deep in motiva central where he can hide out in a small office on Savannah with his little tea pot barking orders to funkhouser and helping(?) out. Trust me uncle Tom doesn’t look at this as a demotion. He just gets to drop his knapsack off full-time now in the apartment with Jeff and ride to work together instead of playing MLT boy. Big win for uncle Tom. Re rathweg, good move for Steve but boy he has his hands full…. This isn’t geismar. Uncle Tom leaves him the keys with 4 years of baggage and mistrust. Also uncle Tom has been clear that he thinks Steve is a doofus saying it public ally many times. No love loss between these 2. Now Steve on his trips to port Arthur has to get in the middle of Tom, Forrest, and da funk on issues. 3 is a company 4 is a crowd and Steve will see first hand what that relationship looks like. Re farid, he gets to move home to the west coast so he is happy…. Not sure his Martinez replacement will find it the same way. Re bird, ……good luck.
CorporateHR,thanks for affirming this for me. I would have been shocked to hear if the SR that I knew had compromised his values and morals.
Some very welcome news just out on reassignments of SR and TP will help to re-instill some trust, collaboration and energy in the gulf coast sites. Too bad this took place after we suffered through TP’s rank & yank slaughter. Those who no me will probably recognize me when I say that the dedicated, energized morale that we once knew can only be returned by rebuilding the reciprocal loyalty that TP’s tactics have so efficiently destroyed. The biggest challenge for SR will be dealing with TP’s minions that have been advanced and rewarded for their subservient dirty work under TP. They are still in place and the working folks in the organization will have a hard time being inspired by these cowards that they have watched execute the humiliating destruction of the personalities and lives, of the first line leaders that they respected and admired.
Hopefully the adage, ‘good Shell, bad leaders’, evolves to ‘good Shell recognized bad leaders’.
…..bad leaders will ultimately destroy an enterprise…..
Bware….. These 2 men are 2 totally different men and everyone knows it. SR tries to lead thru his people the right way. TP never will have a f2f discussion as he is not comfortable with conflict, yet he will write a book in an email. TP is also a long lived control freak who gets lost in the details trying to make decisions. Those that are his minions such as j funkhouser, Forrest lauher, Jim hart sock, etc all know this and just march to his beat because they prosper. Funk has done so many incredulous things he ought to be in jail. TP allows him to get away with it and so does the HR leadership. SR has more credentials as a leader than TP will ever have and clearly more morals. Shell can double it’s profits but it can’t run from the lack of leadership currently happening.
With all of the criticism on here related to downstream VP, TP, I have often wondered about the state of affairs in the other Americas downstream sites, with the other VP, SR. I may be wrong, but I would bet that MR. SR’s organization does not suffer from the demoralizing, narcissistic, autocracy suffered by VP TP’s poor minions.
Mr Voser, Congratulations, the second quater results has improved by 94%. We are proud of you and Shell.
Most are attributable to the better oil price fortunately. Our latest feedback to you is there are still too many Global EVP/VP in the Centre and Regions. They are all very smart people however they donot have very challenging jobs. As such, they have to travel to the Regions/Opcs ..some add values while most creat work for themselves and creat work for the operating units and others. Its not their fault, its your fault for putting them there.
Try a simple survey with staff ( either through People survey or faster mean )…Even some of the EVP/VP during casual drinks admitted that they are not challenged sufficiently but they are put in their current jobs. We could use this smart people better to drive production up, cost down,etc. My estimate is you have around 30-50% of this LC/SEG available to your team. Give these LC/SEG real accountability and you will see even much better results next quarters.
QUESTION FOR USCITIZEN: Do you see any merit in any aspect of this website? Have you ANYTHING positive to say about it? You said: “Too bad you have had to pull so many posts lately because even you, as biased as you clearly are, had to admit they were full of garbage.” Please provide examples of the articles that you say have been withdrawn? Should be easy given your claim that there have been so many. Please also point us to any admittance by me that any article we have authored was “full of garbage”. If you are unable to substantiate your allegations, other visitors will be able to draw their own conclusions.
Right John. I am obsessed and you do not hate Shell. Got it. See ya later.
USCITIZEN
Just thought I’d post a couple of my thoughts. Firstly the use of the word “chiefs” seems to of upset you. I apologise if this is the case. I didn’t mean it as a prescriptive term for all managers.
Unfortunately my manager is not as open as you seem to be.
He unfortunately seems to be indicative of the kind of manager that Shell has these days. A few factual examples as follows:
1. He refused to greet any staff members within our division for an extended period of time. He has since rectified this after several complaints from a number of staff.
2. He routinely attempts to extend people’s 3-4 years windows with zero consultation by stealth on the flimsy HR systems.
3. Once staff make it clear that their future lies within another division of Shell he consistently gives them very low scores on their performance reviews. This has happened on a number of occasions.
4. Despite appalling results in the widely encouraged Shell Survey and strong encouragement from management above him he has flatly ignored the survey results. Sadly the division seems to be heading for another extremely poor, even by Shell standards, set of survey results.
5. He carved out a “dream team” within the team to surround him to work on special jobs. These people have all subsequently quit for other large oil companies. He described this failed venture as an experiment which he was happy failed.
6. He has a healthy level of disrespect for people undertaking post graduate studies as he took the school of hard knocks straight out of Shell.
No doubt there are many great managers but sadly working under two at Shell I can honestly say that within Shell but my impression is that many managers within my particular area of Shell in 80 Strand London have extremely poor management skills and have progressed because of one the following:
1. Nest sitting within the organisation succeeding because of their ability to hibernate for extended periods of time. ie 10-20 years in a sort of mexican standoff. These people seem to lack any sort of genuine ambition or will to progress the company. They project a will to advance the company but a more than cursory examination of their behaviour shows that they demand much higher standards of those below them than they do of themselves.
2. People who are able to resist all temptation to point out mistakes being made within the organisation. The sort of yes sir men that will always tow the company line. These people will never rock the boat even when doing so is the right thing to do. This makes them gatekeepers of the sloth like Shell way.
3. Good technical people who become managers because it is an avenue to higher rewards even though they don’t have the necessary skills to manage others. I believe this is a real problem at Shell as these people in many cases neither do much work or management.
So in closing I’ll say this. I believe this site continues to exist for a number of reasons:
1. There is not much tolerance for criticism within Shell. The biggest mistake I made in my short and soon to end Shell career was identifying genuine problems and trying to be honest with those senior to me. This doesn’t pay. It pays to tow the company line no matter how ridiculous that is.
2. This site offers an outlet for people to voice their constructive criticism as this is not allowed within Shell.
3. This website offers more than just the blind drawl rolled out by PvdV and PV. The sort of we must try harder…. mindless we must improve safety… these results are satisfactory (even though they are record breaking)…. I have reduced the bonus structure because of the downturn (even though there are clear rules on how these bonuses are calculated not just because I fancy breaking the rules which were created in aid of transparency).
So rant almost over. It seems apparent to me that anyone who hasn’t become totally comatose after life within the Shell should realise the following:
1. This company is extremely reluctant to celebrate it’s success. This is very sad and seems to be the result of pain caused by the previous scandals and that admitting success may mean the wretched mid and low level employees may want a slice of the action. At least companies like BP offer a 1 for 1 share bonus scheme
2. The company lacks imagination and has lost it’s desire to innovate and lead becoming a shadow of BP. Those ays may now be gone.
3. Short sighted. The company seems to be a wet lettuce unable to hold the course of actually deliver change. In my part of the company they’ve been talking outsourcing first to Poland then to India for the last 5 years. Very little has actually happened. My impression is this is done to appease others rather than as a result of strong convictions.
etc etc
Sorry for the length of this. Just got carried away.
Cheers
REPLY TO USCITIZEN:
You really ought to calm yourself down Chief. You should be concerned about your own health, not mine. As usual, baffled by some of the things you say. What articles have been pulled? I also note that you are twisting the truth again. I do not believe that Shell is a Nazi loving company. What I do contend is that Shell is still willing to deal with the devil and does, in Iran and Libya. It may be of no interest to you, but the close association several decades ago with Hitler and the Nazi is a matter of historical fact. I will, in the near future, publish extensive further evidence on the subject and explain why it does still matter. Bet you can hardly wait. I note that you call me John. Nothing wrong with that but why don’t you tell us all who you are? I doubt you would be so bold in your real name as you are when hiding behind an alias to make your comments. How on earth can I attack you “personally” when your name is not declared? Contrary to your allegation, I don’t hate anyone or any company. I do intend to go on campaigning for Shell senior management to abide by its own business principles. As you said, freedom of speech. I also have the right to choose to spend my time as I wish. If you don’t like me, or don’t enjoy these exchanges, why do you keep returning? I can only assume that you have become obsessed with this website.
Wilt Staph
on May 25th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Strong rumors that Shell is frequently making employees redundant; paying them off
PS – I do not have to provide examples of hate, you do that yourself. Your campaign to show that Shell is a Nazi loving company, stuff from 70 years ago, is very entertaining and has a lot to do with today huh John. Noboby but an obsessed hater would post what you do over and over again! You have insulted many many hard working high integrity people who work for Shell. Their families wonder how someone turns into such a hater as you have. I simply point out that a biased obsession is not healthy for the heart and mind and you just have to ignore people like you. You of course can ingore me! Is free speech not great John?! Oh year you like to use that phrase. Too bad you attacked me personally, you have no clue about my brain power and neither do I about yours. But I do no know that you spend a lot of time, hating! Not healthy John!
Well John you have once again displayed how little you really know. Read the persons post, they called people JG4 and above Chiefs. Now let me tell you something John, this is why you can not take everything people tell your little site as gospel. Too bad you have had to pull so many posts lately because even you, as biased as you clearly are, had to admit they were full of garbage. Got some news for you, there are many more posts, including yours that are full of hot air. I come on here every once in a while and try to inject some sanity, a losing endeavor, but I do try.
To edcuate you and to point out how full of hot air the post was about the under the table bonus escalators, a person who is JG4 has had 2 promotions since they hired into Shell. They are 2 grades away from being an entry level manager, so I would doubt many of these people feel like Chiefs. But I would not expect you to know because you sir are an “outsider” and I am so glad you are. Sorry your scratch off campaigns are no longer your passion, but your obsession is indeed entertaining! Bring it on John, I have a life, do you?
“uscitizen” if you really are one of the Shell “chiefs” as you claim, then Shell has lowered its standards. I say this based on your overall postings on this Blog. Why have you been wasting your time for over a year now visiting and making regular postings on what you describe as a “hate site”? What does that say about you? Completely brainwashed and not a lot to wash. If you want to be taken seriously, provide examples of the alleged “hate” so that people interested in this website have an opportunity to consider whether your blanket condemnation has any substance. At the moment the only obvious hatred on display is yours for this website and us, made under the cloak of an alias.
jg6
on Jul 22nd, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Hoping someone can set me straight. Earlier this year it was announced by Peter Voser that he was unilaterally reducing the group scorecard for bonus purposes. This was done at his sole discretion.
I understand that at the same time those employees classed job group 4 or above (the chiefs) would get a behind the scenes 25% escalator on their bonuses effectively negating the effect of the scorecard reduction.
Can anyone confirm this to be the case or dispel it as an urban legend. Thoughts?
Please – as one of the “chiefs” as you say – I can tell you this is just urban legend. Why on earth would you waste your time posting this on this hate site instead of simply asking one of us, would be glad to discuss this with you.
Matula has a gift for taking and getting credit for some of the bigget busts ever…GID, GID2, GSAP, SAP MegaCentre,…..
And for all his focus on cost cutting has anyone looked at the Downsteam IT folks from the US an expat now? Interesting that most previously did their jobs from Houston, but it was time to get the lucrative expat assignment.
Posting on behalf of a former Shell employee:
Corrib Emails:
I don’t know what you want to do with those emails, but if published they could cause problems for Shell and their partners. It sounds like a bureaucratic botch job on the part of the oil companies. Nobody minding the store. It happens from time to time.
I have done some reading on that particular gas discovery. The gas is about as ‘clean’ as you can find. It has to be dried and maybe enriched a little bit to mean heat capacity standards, but it is good, clean gas. In the States, that discovery at current well head prices would be worth about $6 – $8 billion.
From what I read about the geology and the hydrocarbon source rocks it appears they may be older Carboniferous age coal bearing rocks. These older rocks could eventually be tapped for their ‘tight’ gas, as is currently occurring here in the States. The amount of exploitable gas in those source rocks could dwarf what is in the current discoveries. US gas reserves are exploding because of the new drilling technologies that makes getting the gas out of these types of rocks economical.
In any event, it would be wise for the Irish government to take a hard line w/the oil companies on royalties. They own the gas, for god’s sake (and hense, it is the property of the Irish people). Why give it away to ‘big oil’.
Hoping someone can set me straight. Earlier this year it was announced by Peter Voser that he was unilaterally reducing the group scorecard for bonus purposes. This was done at his sole discretion.
I understand that at the same time those employees classed job group 4 or above (the chiefs) would get a behind the scenes 25% escalator on their bonuses effectively negating the effect of the scorecard reduction.
Can anyone confirm this to be the case or dispel it as an urban legend. Thoughts?
Bware, you make all good points. Eveyone over here at PAR knows that Purves, even though he was promoted to RVP, never could give up the site manager role at PAR. He, even today, likes to hide out in Motiva with an occaisional visit to DP and Geismar. We see him more and more at PAR supposedly working on the project even though he hasn’t a clue how to help. He just cuts his boy Funkhouser loose to wreak havoc. We see the Funk more in the base plant than any time he spends on the project. Poor Forrest. He should have been let go after the fiasco on the project but had his job saved only to be left dangling like a puppet while Purves and Funk do their damage at PAR. People just salute because they know what happens when they disagree. Tom this will truly be your legacy, not what you wanted. Everyone knows that Purves sets all the IPFs in the organizations he manages, not his direct reports. Part of the massacre that happened at PAR and Convent was due to Purves freewheeling and setting the IPFs low enough so that when the packages came through, he could finish the job.
And what is even worse is that Botts /Lang/ others know this has happened and just turned their head. Good Shell…bad leadership…..
Beware of narcissistic, autocrats
I think that ‘Improving_Shell’ has a valid point that retirees, ‘refirees’ and current employees, do not want to see Shell fail. Income, pension, and benefits, are important to all of us.
What I disagree with is the statement that management styles and personalities are not useful in determining what has to be improved.
BP has just demonstrated (again) where autocratic, shortsighted, low-cost at any expense, management styles and personalities can affect the health and survival of lives, profits, and perhaps even the entire enterprise. Many of us have seen this through the years, especially after the Texas City disaster. We now have in front of us a mega-example of how these ‘styles’ determine the health of the enterprise. Shell has moved closer to these styles and behaviors in the past three-four years than I have seen in 35 years. The very folks that need to be listened to, and who were promoted to their humble positions in supervision because of their ability to see the big picture and to keep shift teams focused, are being discarded because they are an interruption in the establishment of the new autocratic, ‘classist’, Voser-Purves, regime. And yes this all from the same culture as BRITISH Petroleum.
So if you want an opinion on what has to be improved; re-empower supervision and the folks that do the work, stop the subjective, disconnected (rated by Purves rather than by my manager), competitive performance rating games, and re-establish a governance where moral behavior is as important as performance-by-the-numbers.
Posted on behalf of a former Shell employee:
I read the article on Shell and the offshore drilling in the Chukchi Sea. This is ‘deja vu’ all over again. 25 years ago Shell spent the equivalent of about a half billion dollars leasing Arctic waters. Oil was discovered, and lots of it. The problem was nobody could figure out how to produce safely. It cannot be done because of sea ice. The problem is not the sea ice directly but the pressure ridges that form due to wind drag. These ridges aren’t very high on the surface, maybe 10 meters at most, but that means there is an underwater mountain of ice extending over 100 meters below the ridge. These mountains of ice can bulldoze into the mud on the ocean bottom 15 -20 meters. They would literally scrap away well heads, pipelines, and production platforms like a bulldozer. They are unstoppable and they preclude oil production in the Arctic Ocean. Shell eventually abandoned those leases. And head office had screwed up. They had thrown away almost a billion dollars on some ignorant moron manager’s lame brain idea. The notion that oil can be produced ‘safely’ from the Arctic Ocean is DUMB.
Shell planned to use a vessel originally built as a log carrier in 1965 for their Arctic drilling campaign – probably the oldest offshore drilling vessel in the world. The drilling package on the vessel dates from 1975. Since 1975 huge advances have been made in drilling and subsea technology. The Deepwater Horizon incorporated many of the newest technologies, in spite of which the current tragedy occurred. The only reason for using a 45-year old drilling vessel is that the costs are significantly lower than would be the case with a purpose built Arctic vessel incorporating current technologies. Shell claims to have invested “billions of dollars” in their Arctic concessions, but nonetheless planned to use a vessel long overdue for the scrap yard to avoid the costs of using current drilling technology. And Shell think they have “nothing to learn” from BP?
Shell is selling their Legacy assets?
A sensitive topic (and slightly ‘off topic’) but I must say I’m having trouble with all these references to Al Megrahi as “The Lockerbie Bomber” (without the quotes). I’ve followed this case for some years and have pondered the comments of Paul Foot, Gareth Peirce and Dr Hans Koechler (UN legal observer). I’ve also read the entire Defence Team case papers for the aborted appeal (which takes more than a day). Yes it’s all one-sided, but that’s unavoidable. Even the 2003 appeal findings remain unpublished to this day. I’m not normally prey to conspiracy theories, but it’s clear to me that this was a miscarriage of justice.
We often have reason to reflect on US/EU cultural differences on this site, and this appears to be another example. Many US citizens are outraged at the suggestion that the FBI’s Thomas Thurman might have manipulated evidence. In their experience, law enforcement officers just don’t do that, and yet that is precisely what their UK partners in this case (RARDE) were found to have done in a series of parallel cases whose convictions were reversed on appeal. US citizens likewise seem comfortable with the “rewards for justice” program under which Tony Gauci was paid millions for his testimony (undisclosed at trial but confirmed by the SCCRC). Europeans tend to regard this as ‘witness bribery’. Interesting differences.
Releasing Megrahi was indeed a mistake in my view – not because he was guilty, but because his release sabotaged the upcoming appeal. Now there can be no ‘closure’ for anyone, not least the victims, many of whom never swallowed the Libya story.
John, Perhaps on this fantastic website we can find ways to discuss what Shell does well and what its competitive advantages are vs peers (XOM, BP, ChevTex)in addition to its failings since these strengths will be critical to its survival and sustainability.Discussions of management style or personalities is not that useful in determining what has to be improved in future in Shell? There is no doubt that senior leadership figures are rarely popular with everybody. Can we not have part of this site having Shell performance data or even an intrinsic value calculator, like the have for Berkshire Hathaway elsewhere on internet?
GID: THE LONG FAREWELL TO WINDOWS 2000
Talking of Matula/Crotts, is anyone tracking the progress of “GID”, the centralised windows desktop that is the supposed flagship of Shell IT ? GID1 started in 2000, took 5 years to stabilise, cost a fortune, and reached the finishing line just as Microsoft was ending support for Windows 2000, so was immediately in need of replacement. SUSTAINABLE ? We were assured it would all be quicker next time around, with infrastructure now in place and updates done by wire. GID2 (VISTA) duly started mid 2005. The calendar on my Windows 2000 (GID1) PC says it is now mid 2010, so GID2 has already taken as long as GID1, cost a fortune, and isn’t over yet.
When will it finish ? Published plans say mid 2011. “We’re well ahead of schedule in our current rollout” said Alan Matula in a recent presentation. That’s interesting because original plans suggest it is several YEARS late, but in this looking-glass world, plans just get “reset” whenever they slip. So in a sense, every project is automatically on schedule.
It’s interesting to reflect that before GID came along RDS already had a windows system (“SDE”) that delivered centralised licencing and updates by wire at a fraction of GID costs. SDE wasn’t ‘locked down, so direct comparison is unfair – but how many extra billions is the lockdown worth, and how much is pure control-freakery ? Pinch yourself and you might notice that a ‘PC World’ customer with a Windows CD and no formal training can upgrade their home PC inside 1 day while GID takes 6 YEARS. Then remind yourself that INFRASTRUCTURE is Shell IT’s core business, arguably the ONLY area in which they have any competence. You can guess what the rest is like.
A Shell Executive surrounding himself with “yes men / women”. See Mr. Matula for the best example of this. Mr. Crotts hasn’t had an original idea in his years at Shell, but spouts the Matula mantra as if he had conceived it himself. Matula doesn’t have the time of day for anyone with a varying viewpoint.
Since his big reorganization and outsourcing, you now his loyalists (SG2 and above) making key decisions like who gets smartphones, how much disk space each user gets, etc. (these were decisions that were mangaged by SG6 & 7 in the previous model.
Like a true dictator hanging on to power, Brinded is once more surrounding himself with yesmen and removing those that may be or become a threat. Everyone knows: disagreeing with Brinded means removal. Mafia dons and dictators like Stalin work in a similar fashion. I wonder if there are other similarities? Power corrupts. And we all know Brinded has power. The Board of Shell is failing once more. Failing to step in now means that corrupt people once more get their way. And all this is bad for business.
What is going on in Brinded’s inner circle? First, Brinded’s big ex-buddy Roly Poly Finlayson quits to go to BG; then ex Brinded Boy ,Mark Carne gets sacked at BG by Chapman only to be taken back on at Shell by Brinded (no doubt with a promotion) and he in turn gets the Italian ex-stallion Restucci demoted to go to Oman! Clearly all cannot be well between Brinded and his friends but the re-hiring of Carne in particular is a gross insult to all those who have recently been displaced as result of Voserification!
Totally agree with your comments Shell waarbenjijnu. Sears used to “work” for me when he was in Houston (under Bichsel) and he most certainly was a most devious character. With that in mind why oh why have the US officials used him in this tragedy?
So, the “spill commission” seeks to benefit from the input from Richard Sears, ex-Shell and close to Matthias Bichsel and Marvin Odum. The New York Times writes of Sears being a Royal Dutch Shell scientist, engineer and offshore drilling expert. Richard Sears has spent many years as an exploration geoscientist, is not an engineer and cannot be described by any stretch of the imagination as an offshore drilling expert. He has been involved in the management of deep water drilling activities, but this does not qualify him as an “expert”. There certainly should be no problem with partiality; Richard Sears was known to be intensely Houston centric in his time as a senior Shell manager and lost no opportunity to “whack a Brit or European” in ensuring the bolstering of his empire in Houston – so there is little liklihood of any benefit of doubt going to BP. However, one outcome is certain. Richard Sears will do well out of this his latest latest project. He was known in Shell as a past master of using any opportunity (reorganisation, crisis) to his personal advantage. It would be no surprise to see him emerge in no time at all as some offshore drilling czar in a remodelled MMS – not bad at all for someone who is not by any stretch of the imagination an offshore drilling expert.
Saw a post today that the S. Texas Legacy assets around McAllen are being put on the market…
BP stake to Kuwait,Saudi, Lybia? What will that do for the safety performance???
Musaint, all blowouts result in some public scrutiny, especially when people are killed or injured. However no previous blowout has ever received the amount of publicity that BP’s has received. It is a matter of public record that Shell has used well designs similar to that of MC252. Neither safety cases nor QRA’s can ever completely prevent accidents occurring – indeed, a poorly conducted QRA may actually obscure the magnitude of the risks of a well design.
A little mischief making I think “outsider”. To state that NONE of Shell’s blowouts have been subjected to public scrutiny is simply incorrect. Examples or a complete list from yourself would be helpful to back up your statement. Shell does not use the same approach as BP in GoM. A safety case for example is always used by Shell, but, not by BP.
While BP’s shortcomings on MC252 are now well documented, none of Shell’s blowouts have been subjected to similar public scrutiny. However, Shell has had a few blowouts too, the only difference being that they took place outside the public eye. And there have undoubtedly been cases when Shell have been saved from the consequences of their own cost saving schemes by nothing more than luck (or partners and governmental agencies). Shell also uses similar well designs to BP in the Gulf of Mexico. And Shell’s staff are fallible too. So watch out Peter, it could well be Shell’s turn next.
Whilst I cannot find fault with much of what has been said in regards to the people at the top I feel that there needs to be a little bit of balance in terms of the professionals who are tasked with making sure that Shells operated wells do not suffer the catastrophic failure which we have seen in the Gulf. Both prior to and subsequent to the incident in question much has been done to ensure that the processes and design do not put the well, people and environment in jeopardy. Those checks and audits are still ongoing and once the details of the incident are known factually they are due to be revisited again. As much as I personally dislike the ‘top table’ I feel that the Guardian has blown the comments out of proportion. As has been commented on this type of incident could have happened to anyone and it is an anomaly but the risks taken by BP seem to have contributed to the disaster. By no way is Shell complacent on this matter though I think there has been some over reading of Vosers lines to suit that papers agenda.
Voser is an arrogant (and therefore presumably an ignorant) beancounter. Some humbleness in this sad blow-out of BP would be called for.
BP indeed has made a great mess of things. They pushed the envelope just a little too far with too little technical competence. Their culture was changed by Lord Browne in the early 90s when BP had their back to the wall. It was all business and ‘stealing ideas with pride’, all at the cost of technical know-how.
They cannibalised on the rest of the industry to provide the much needed technical input and that worked for a while. Their business model in the North Sea was very simple: ‘investments only if they pay back within a year’ and ‘we will not break the law’. Everyting else was allowed to achieve their goals. But in the meantime most other majors reduced technical competence and would also rely on the service companies. And the service companies kept doing what they were good at: provide decent service for scandalous prices. They were NOT going to rescue the whole business sector that shed over a million jobs between 1980 and 2000.
The Macondo well was just a disaster waiting to happen and has all the signs of an absolutely classical blow-out:
1 pushing the design too far by being too greedy,
2 hope over reason to get away with this (no proper business controls in place) and return to the old finger pointing,
3 when things did not go according to plan they did not stop and think but started to do things and work in the dark. This thinking before doing is a piece of american culture and it sometimes works. But sometimes not. The rest is history.
I know of a network of professionals that is providing free advice to BP and the US government. Some channels of communication go via Shell who is also helping BP. But the team in Shell that is trying to help and liaise took quite a while to understand the dangers of what BP is trying to do and which this network is trying to stop. This is proof that the Shell technology has reduced to the rest of the industry or is even below that.
And therefore is is absolute crap what Voser is stating, he presumably is merely parroting what that micromanager Brinded is telling him. But we all know what the track record of Brinded is. And would anyone buy a second hand car from Brinded? Brinded is also known for his overpromise and underdelivery or in other words: hope over reason…
So Mr Voser, please some more humbleness and you better start to redress the situation within Shell on many fronts. More reserves, more production, better management of pension funds, resume technical excellence, reduce influence of HR, lawyers and accountants etc etc. And factual improvements, not forecasts that it will be better in a few years time. In fact you don’t even have the time to waste your energy on articles in the Guardian!
And off-topic: if you decide to go buy BP, you perhaps can buy the domain name of ShellBPplc.com from the Donovans…..
Such Arrogance from Voser! I hope you are proven wrong. Anyway, what do you know about drilling. You are just another Swiss gnome bean-counter. Stick to the bean counting and yodelling!
Agree with Wilt Staph and I’m sure that a lot of internal checks have been made and requested within Shell – insiders must indeed “report” back truthfully on this. However, lets face it, as you say Mr. D. it is only an implication about Shell and is somewhat tabloidal titilation with such “headlines”.
Surely the question Voser should have asked Brinded is “Please thoroughly investigate with your best people what happened to Deepwater Horizon and report whether Shell is anywhere running comparable risks”. Even if the answer was “No sir” Voser must surely have then asked Brinded to examine all of Shell’s current and planned offshore drilling activities from an HSE perspective in the light of the disaster. To do any less would be culpably negligent.
The details of the sale of Frontier Drilling to Noble fail to mention that one of the largest shareholders and almost the only client of Frontier Drilling is Shell itself. Selling an old FPSO and four antique rigs (dating from 1965) for over $2 billion seems a little strange. Some of the rigs involved had previously been sold for scrap.
Well found, Shellwaarbenjijnu. Corporate schmaltz at its finest ! Almost to the standards of the legendary ‘Comical Ali’…
IT4u / me – you must be commenting on a different company! I have just read an interview with Mr Matula in the McKinsey Quarterly, March 2010 and everything is wonderful, the users are happy, the enterprise is humming. I quote his closing remark:
“IT is more important and intense to the enterprise than ever before, and that essentially requires an ongoing effort to transform IT; there is always another phase. To support that mental model, the first thing is to never lose the perspective that you
Couldn’t leave IT4me without some challenge on his remarks. Unfortunately they are spot on, the systematic destruction of value adding functions (IT, Finance, HR, procurement etc.) has taken about 5 years, and is now almost totally achieved. Offshoring and consolidation of staff into single ‘functions’ has led to a LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR approach. Whatever country had the dumbest IT, Finance, HR, staff got to become the baseline that everyone else had to sink down to, and that all the rules were introduced to protect against. Much easier than trying to improve the teams in a few countries.
Separately on Voser’s new vision – the fundamentals for changing actions (and results) is to change peoples experiences and their beliefs. This has been unequivocally ruled out by Voser this week, and hence not a single project that goes against his new vision is being stopped or reassessed. Another disappointing implementation of something that actually has a great foundation. If only senior managers were smart enough to stop all the projects underway and review which are still inline with Shell’s newly verbalized vision. If people saw projects being stopped that are in direct conflict with the new vision at least beliefs would start changing, and there would be some chance of embedding the new culture… as it is Shell staff are doomed to be rewarded in 2010 performance assessments for doing the exact opposite – cutting costs, reducing headcount (more offshoring) and definitely not investing any money to make the customer experience better. Oh well, lets hope by 2011 the staff have updated performance goals in line with the vision (only 6 months to go!)
THE CHANGE CONTROL DIKTAT
To make any change to a Downstream MI system today you start by filling-in a stack of forms. Each contains a multitude of questions, including some risible ones of the “are you a terrorist?” variety. You collect signatures, pass the forms to your resident Kremlinologist, then wait for a verdict from the “CAB” (Change Approval Board). This takes a minimum of 10 days, more usually 1 MONTH.
Some emphasis on CONTROL is understandable in the wake of the scandals of the last decade (Enron, RDS Reserves, SocGen…). But look more closely. No EXCEPTIONS are allowed, so a 1-HOUR change now takes 1 MONTH. This is MI, so we are dealing only with HISTORICAL transactions with no scope for a “SocGen”. MI uses lightweight/disposable engineering, not “production grade” stuff, so it simply doesn’t warrant this level of asset protection. A “one size fits all” approach to Change Control has effectively been dumped on MI without the slightest regard for the consequences.
Misjudgements on this scale do not occur every day, and in this case the reason appears historical. It is only a few years since Matula’s tanks came rolling back into Business IT areas from which they had been expelled a decade earlier (and for good reason; anyone remember MIOS?). So most of the Apparatchiks now enjoying power have no competence in MI. They are not alone. For good measure, the CAB itself is offshored, so those making the scope decisions haven’t a clue what they’re looking at.
I was struck by a recent posting from IT4U reminding us of the behaviours Peter Voser would like us to aspire to: External Focus, Commercial Mindset, DELIVERY, SPEED, and SIMPLICITY. Who could argue with that ? And why do I feel a migraine coming on ?
REPLY TO “FREQUENT FLYER”:
We have named the relevant person many times. His name is in court documents which are in the public domain. He no longer works for Shell. He was at the heart of all of our breach of confidence actions against Shell. In discovery, there was a Shell internal email from him to a colleague indicating that he had taken an illegal action on behalf of Shell, and explaining the excuse Shell would use if the act was discovered. We no longer use his name because the relevant events happened long ago, between 1992 and 1999. He was a young executive whose unfortunate activities were condoned and even encouraged by senior management until we and other agencies, including a retained agency, threatened legal proceedings. When we first brought this matter to the attention of Sir John Jennings, the then Chairman of Shell Transport, he promised to intervene and did so on more than one occasion. I met with him twice and have nothing but praise for Sir John, who upheld Shell’s Statement of General Business Principles. Regrettably, after he retired, subsequent Chairman, including Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, failed to stand by Shell’s ethical code. We were besieged by undercover activity and even received a threatening letter from Sir Mark. While he was Group Chairman, Shell put posters on display at Shell Centre containing defamatory allegations against us. This resulted in one of the two libel actions settled by Shell. Just before the June 1999, High Court trial, my father received an extraordinary handwritten letter from the Quaker wife of Sir Mark – Lady Judy Moody-Stuart. We replied and received an acknowledgment from her wishing us well for the trial. We have no ill feeling towards the young executive whose actions ended a mutually beneficial business relationship with Shell stretching back over 50 years in the case of my father. We blame those people still at the top of Shell who gave him 100% backing after the retirement of Sir John Jennings. Some of the same people involved in the reserves fraud.
John,
Story sounds fascinating, perhaps you should consider selling the movie rights!
Seriously though, if all this is true then why don’t you name the guy involved? Your site is a testement that you seem to do well in court cases and so i’m sure he wouldn’t dare sue if all you say is true? Lots of people have been named/shamed/defamed on this site over the years – if this guy is the genesis of the whole project…we should know who he is. Does he still work for Shell?
REPLY TO “ROFLMAO”: I asked Shell for
The Donovans wanted a million from Shell for their promotional marketing ideas like tie-ins to movies? They didn’t get it so now they embark on a personal vendetta via this website? Sounds like they’re greedy and need to get a life.
For those who would like to read my original piece (gone missing here!) on BP please click here:
Paddy’s Blogger News Article
Some interesting comments. I repeat my strongly held view that Obama and the American Congress have handled this matter well. Tony Hayward, on the other hand, has been abysmal.
The posting addressed to “Leaders of Shell Oil Company” has been deleted. It was received from someone using the name of Brent Waguespack. We have now been contacted by a person with the same name, using a different email address and claiming that he is the real Brent Waguespack and was not the author of the posting (that was critical of Shell). He says that someone was impersonating him.
SHELL WANT TO CLOSE THE MONTREAL REFINERY INSTEAD OF SELLING IT PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO HELP US SAVE OUR JOBS AND SUBSCRIBE AT THE FACEBOOK GROUP TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT THX
71077345 – I’m not entirely sure what point you are trying to make wrt Codgers and Shell running the world outside USA. The fact remains that many (if not most) of the “codgers” now retired from Shell knew their business backwards and collectively were responsible for a large number of the advances made in the industry. One of the Shell codgers for whom I had the utmost respect, Mark Moody Stuart wrote a letter to the FT on June 11 (subject, BP & GOM) and I suggest it is worth encouraging people to read – give it a go 71077345! It can be found on this Financial Times Article
IT4me makes a valid point, but as with many aspects of Shell, a lack of knowledge (and internal transparency) amongst staff is the real problem. There are actually over 30 approved niche IT suppliers, and these provide services at much lower rates than the 4 Big KAS suppliers. It is also possible to get step-outs/approvals for additional IT service suppliers via the Contracting & Procurement Board. The problem however is a lack of knowledge, few people know the processes/possibility to use niche suppliers, and many Project Managers (PM’s) default to using who they are pointed to. I believe this is due to a growing SILO culture, that is being enforced by a huge focus on costs since the beginning of 2010. People are more and more concerned with meeting their own targets to even have a chance at seeing a paycheck.
On a separate note – for those not aware, on 1st of June Peter Voser announced Shell’s new “5 Behaviours” (External Focus, Commercial Mindset, Delivery, Speed, and Simplicity) that replaces everything that has come before now (ie. Enterprise First and LAT). Unfortunately the only real target left for anyone to get a bonus in 2010 is to meet cost & Staff reduction targets. But the shareholders don’t need to worry, with BP taking all the flack and Transition 2010 only a few months away we should see a nice boost in share price into the fall (unless the yanks figure out that Shell is British owned too!).
Hi John, here’s a link to a Houston Chronicle story about the US & BP not taking advantage of Dutch expertise in the early stages of the current crisis.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/deepwaterhorizon/7043272.html
You might consider reposting it, it will be better than Viagra for the codgers who think Shell still rules the WOUSA.
Regards,
710 77345
Paddy – I also cannot agree with all of what you write. BP has a serious case to answer; 11 deaths and extensive marine pollution is a dreadful situation. However, the whipping up of anti BRITISH Petroleum (excuse me, I believe the company’s registered name is BP) hysteria does Obama and the US no credit at all. In the aftermath of the 167 deaths caused by US Oil company Occidental in the North Sea in the 1980’s there were no calls by Mrs Thatcher to place a boot on Oxy’s neck or to vilify Armand Hammer as a mass murderer. In fact, although Oxy was found guilty of gross negligence in maintenance and safety procedures at the public enquiry no legal action was taken against any of the company’s officers – in contrast to the shrill utterances of members of the US administration and government. At the time, Mrs Thatcher had enough political problems of her own (including a rise of populist nationalist sentiment in Scotland) but she chose not to use the tragic event to divert attention by flaying a US company and its CEO in public. Recently, we have all seen the outcome of the Bhopal trial of local former Union Carbide company officials – not a single US citizen amongst them. The deaths of anywhere between 4000 & 15000 individuals and the continued leakage of around 400 tons of toxic chemicals into the ground water warrants no hand wringing in US political circles. It would appear that bad stuff occurring to non US companies, environments or citizens is measured by a different yard stick. To paraphrase the “low punch” observation made by the Guardian’s John Vidal on BP ” If industrial accidents occur in a developing country, say off the east coast of Scotland or in India, the US media would probably ignore it, some government officials may mutter some platitudes in public and in general conspire to escape starting a clean-up for ever.
Paddy, I cannot fully support your comments concerning those made by Obama over the BP oil spill. Certainly BP have a less than acceptable safety record which needs to be immediately addressed. However, I believe that Obama is using this spill as an ideal way to deflect the problems he has in America and his very low support ratings from the voters there. (Bad news is Good news when it is used to hide major political problems.) What I sincerely hope is that Transocean and Cameron-Hydril also start to get their long overdue bashing from Obama and the American public.
IMPORTANT CORRECTION IN RELATION TO THE POSTING BY “MUSAINT”
(CORRECTION SUPPLIED BY GE OIL & GAS)
Please note that:
1. The blowout preventer (BOP) and controls for the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico were not manufactured by Hydril.
2. Cameron International is an entirely separate company and entity to Hydril (which is part of the Drilling & Production business within GE Oil & Gas).
IT COST SAVING IDEA #317: STOP FIDDLING WITH THE SUPPLY SIDE.
If you’re a CIO and you’re bored, one of the things you might do is to fiddle with the supply side. Changing all your suppliers overnight makes a nice splash in the media and marks you out as a thrusting and dynamic leader.
Thus we learned a few years back that Shell IT now had just 4 ‘Key Application Suppliers’ globally: IBM and WIPRO for the ‘oily rag’ stuff (sourcing mainly from India) plus LOGICA and ACCENTURE to talk persuasively and rack up impressive dry-cleaning bills. They how I understood it, anyway.
This setup fits the CIO’s vision of how the world should be, but it’s not how the world is. Most adventures in ‘Matulaland’ run years late and some never work at all. In the meantime, ‘legacy’ IT experts are needed to keep systems running and fix the damage done by unqualified (and constantly churning) offshored workers. Legacy IT experts are mostly locked into earlier supply arrangements – reinvoicing agencies that operate on margins of just 3%, so couldn’t be any cheaper.
How are these 2 worlds reconciled ? Easy ! The legacy agencies are forced to work through LOGICA or ACCENTURE to maintain the illusion of 4 suppliers. The policy makes these workers an eye-watering 30% MORE EXPENSIVE for no discernable gain, least of all in the dry-cleaning department. ‘It’s only transitional’, you might argue, but some of these arrangements are now in their 3 year.
COST-SAVING is clearly a tricky businesss. With charades of this sort tolerated at boardroom level, what chance does Peter Voser have further down the tree ?
You are so right, retired shellee. I too remember this period well.
Some bright spark (with a reputation to create for himself in HR)
decided that all he needed to do was to persuade the CMD (especially Cor Herkstroter) of their the lack of ‘leadership skills’ that he saw and envied in corporate America.
And so arrived LEAP (LEadership And Performance) to transform the financial performance of the Group. The only winners in this stupid exercise were ex GE sychophant Noel Tichy and his S&P 500 boff Larry Selden from the University of Columbia, who were flown in at huge expense on Concorde to London and Amsterdam to evangelise (almost literally) about their ideas on how to create shareholder value US style
I am ashamed to say that, at the time, we were all taken in by this bullshit and went along with the CMD’s show. Not only did we dance the Macarena (led by some brainless but suddenly important and motivating secretary) but we were even ‘bussed’ to some women’s refuge in down and out London to behave like some New York Pastor to listen to others’ woes and offer our guidance and advice on how to deal with their problems. What a joke!
So, if you are looking for a point at which RDS began to lose the plot in terms of understanding and nurturing its core skills, then this must be it – and if you are reading this and still working in HR in Shell, then you have a huge legacy of self-indulgent and destructive behaviour to answer for.
Shame on you!
Seeing Steven Newman performing a bollywood dance does not bode very well for Transocean. Nearly 15 years ago the CMD of Shell danced the Macarena and soon after RDS went into mortal decline. Chiefs of large corporations must remain focussed and not become sun kings surrounded with sycophants. They do represent their corporations in words and actions. Dancing the macarena or making bollywood moves has nothing to do with the core business of either company!
There’s a certain irony in the fact that the unauthorised actions of one low level US employee at BP seem to have a greater impact in the public perception than systematic, board approved, actions at Shell which have resulted in a comparable number of deaths, a significant number of oil spills, and environmental destruction on a far greater scale (in Nigeria for example).
Mountain Sprout song: Petro Lords LISTEN and LEARN the EVIL of my FORMER family’s Ugly Empire. I despise what they have done to this planet and humanity as a whole. Y’all deserve whatever “comes down the pipes” for support of this disgusting Capitalistic Sociopathic Corporation founded by my sick-and thankfully Distant-relative. I am ashamed to be related to such a man!
A pity that Shell is not able to show any better safety approach than BP. I hope management realises that this could also have happened to Shell; the safety systems of Shell and BP are near identical. Shell was just lucky, and let’s not get too cocky by preaching internally that we are so much better! If we can’t even control our wells in Africa onshore (lucky (again!)for Shell in a country with no free press!), why should offshore Alaska under much more difficult conditions be without risk? Time to clean ship and get rid of the politicians (there are just too many in Shell after TO9), and get back the technical and engineering minded staff.
Man Shell Geismar has jumped on the bandwagon with the packages they’ve been offering. It’s turned into a package party over here. Rumor is David Gates, who single handedly ran off a technician about six months ago has lost his job management position. I guess youcan say what goes around comes around. That was an awful thing he did and he thought he cold get away with it, but it ended up costing the company some money. Gates is a jerk anyway and he was run out of another department at geismar, so im guessing he will have to try his antics at another site.
get this, with all these job cuts and consolidations happening, Motiva Convent has decided to make a band! “time on tunes” is the name of it. This is just pure idiotic! Shows how much our company really gives a crap. The kicker is that they are full funded, paid, and have a $14,000 per year budget. On top of that, the company has even given them their own “studio” to practice in. Come on people, this is just down right insane! Brignac is such a friggen idiot! How is this justified? Sounds fishy to me.
Motivaman for president!
Odum’s letter to Birnbaum fails to mention that the rig being used in Alaska (Frontier Discoverer) was built in 1965 as a log carrier, and was converted to a drillship in 1975. The Frontier Discoverer is one of the oldest offshore rigs still operating in the world.
In spite of being patched up over time, it is still a 45 year old vessel being operated long after the end of its design life.
BP were paying about $500,000 per day to use one of the most capable rigs in the world. Shell’s subsidiary, Frontier Drilling currently operates just four rigs, all of which have been in use since the mid-1970’s. The dayrates for these rigs are about one tenth of the cost of current rigs.
In spite of costing so little, Shell/Frontier’s only clients are Shell and Petronas. The reason for using a 45 year old rig is that the cost is far below that of a current vessel. 45 year old vessels were not built to the same standards as current vessels, and do not incorporate the same safety or environmental features. 45 year old equipment is not as reliable as current equipment. Most rigs of this age have long since gone to the breaker’s yard.
Strong rumors that Shell is frequently making employees redundant; paying them off – and then re-hiring them as contractors. It’s to do with the staff numbers game. Contractors don’t count apparently. It’s happned before so it sounds quite likely. What a farce.
I can not see how you say that. Look at the GoM, Brazil, Arctic, thermal, tight gas … the US (or Americas) is not only at leading edge of Shell but really still of the oil patch. I have worked in many parts of the world and still would defend this point.
There are worry signs in Shell that there technical know how is in danger of significant erosion. Through a combination of retentions, retiring and excess of new graduates. However, this is not limited to Shell but Shell does compound it. I agree Shell management leaves a lot to desired. FYI I am not a redneck, a newbie, or brainwashed. I have not always worked for shell and have only worked in the US for a small period in my entire working life.
Well John, you are now making valid points that we can have a conversation around, albeit I still don’t agree. The question you posed is can Shell be trusted and I still contend that yes Shell can be trusted and out of all the majors they would be the ones I would trust the most to drill this well. There is another question of weather this well should be drilled at all and in light of BP recent blow out maybe we should have that conversation again, even though it has been argued to death at this point. Look at Perdido, look at Shakhalin, whilst neither of these projects have gone without setbacks (major at times) they are both well beyond what had been done before and were both executed successfully and safely.
My dear Daniel, the times when US was ruling the design world of the oil patch is long gone. You guys rely on API so you get away with murder and sloppy designs NOT fit for purpose. And your american managers who occasionally come to rule the North Sea honestly believe that North Sea standards are way over the top and API is better. Much time is wasted to educate these idiots and try to bring them up to standard.
So, you are either very young or brainwashed or simply a redneck. Americans cannot design and build anything anymore. They are good at consuming and hoping the rest of the world will give them money to keep consuming until kingdom come. That maybe quite soon actually.
REPLY TO DANIEL: Isn
I have to say that whilst this site can be a good source of information at times, it can also be a place for grown men to whinge and “spit the dummy”. I found Donavan’s last entry a tad much with wild claims of Shell selling Iranian crude to the US (as if the US state department would need your help). Citing obscure paragraphs from unknown sources dating back to the 1930’s as reason why Shell ought no be trusted … Also WIkipida is not a reliable source, specially when referencing pages you are most likely the main contributor. Why should the US trust Shell, as Donavan says actions are louder than words. Shell has an outstanding record in the US. They pioneered deep sea drilling and opened the entire Gulf for exploration and production. The US arm of shell is run by Americans and it is Americans that will be designing and executing the arctic wells. Not sure what you are implying but, having worked with these honest hard working americans I can assure that there is NO ONE else I would rather be drilling these wells. Yes Shell management has its shortfalls (great in some cases) and it is a painfully bureaucratic company. However, these continued links back to WW2 and Iran heavily undermine your credibility. In my opinion Mr Donavan it is time to grow up.
Re the article of Shell and Iranian crude, Motiva, a subsidiary of Shell, has 3-4 cargos a week coming from Ras Tanurah to their facilities Convent and Port Arthur. It would be easy to move across the Persian Gulf and squeeze a load of Iranian crude in with the Saudi crude and make it look to the US public as Saudi crude.
Does anyone know if exist an official blog from shell?? because i’ve been looking in the internet and i can’t find it.
thanks
Dear John, I can save both Richard Wiseman and yourself the time, the video of the Niger Delta apology is a fake done by the Yes Men activist group.
A quick search of the web for the name “Bradford Houppe” reveals that the date of the press release is April 1st.
Hello all, OSHA is at the convent site and will continue to be there for the next few months. Its pretty funny because now they are trying to rush to fix things in the plant so OSHA won’t see it. I never seen the amount of work going on as I do now.
In some different late breaking news, A motiva convent employee was caught red handed, by an entire shift, secretly recording conversations. A person on the shift seen the employee turn the recorder on and hide it under a keyboard and walk out. 5 members of the shift went to look at the recorder to verify this and they all seen the recorder recording. They called their PTL and he reported it to H.R. Well needless to say, H.R. swept it under the rug and nothing happened to the employee. This is pretty amusing considering all the rules he broke and laws that were violated. Wonder how long this has been going on? I wonder what the purpose of the recordings were? May have been terrorist for all we know. Another fine example of the lack of knowledge, ethics, and education of Motiva’s H.R. and their management. I hope they call the Feds and report this.
Motivaman for president!
It is just not true for Shell in Ireland to say that they
Although we do not want to engage in censorship, we have deleted the last sentence in a comment posted on the article
Not directly related to Shell but an interesting piece on the oil spill which will have implications for Shell
http://oilprice.com/Environment/Oil-Spills/The-Cover-up-BP-s-Crude-Politics-and-the-Looming-Environmental-Mega-Disaster.html
I note that there is no denial from
REPLY TO JOHN JOHNS:
Mr Johns, or should I call you “Mr X”, bearing in mind correspondence by email in 2007 and 2008 with Mr X using that rather unimaginative pseudonym. The correspondence was odd to say the least with alleged incriminating Shell internal communications and documents dangled as carrots, but never supplied. Could be a good time to engage in some transparency. I still have the emails and can publicly point out certain common features if needed so that those interested can draw their own conclusions. Or we can cooperate if you are genuine and prepared to act accordingly. A paragraph from my email to Mr X on 26 February 2008:
Hello. Thanks to this website and Mr Donovan Jnr for acknowledging the RDS Forensics website and our existance!
Clearly your question on your comments on your page could have more rightly been –
What has Shell been involved in to restort to the need to fire a Audit Chairman in 2003?
We all need to look at the questions that investors and others may have close to their heart.
We all feel for the many in the 6000 were fired for reasons yet to be fully explained by Shell.
There are people out there who have many good matters which rightly need to be brought up.
Welcome to the forum at RDS Forensics.
We don’t see any need to moderate!
And we welcome all Shell people who have issues of fact and on evidence (what RDS Forensics is focused on)and where they seek matters to be addressed.
Let us all work together.
Have a blessed day!
John Johns
RDS FORENSICS
Hope somebody can help! Will receive my stage 2 letter as part of Transition 2009 this month and was hoping somebody could give me an idea on how the severance payment is calculated in the UK. For some reason this is a closely guarded secret up there with the Coke Cola recipe but hoping someone has some insight! Thanks in advance.
Reply to USCitizen: Shell have been very lucky not to have had a major blowout in the news recently (but they have occurred in Brunei, Syria and other places). In other cases, Shell’s partners and government agencies have successfully blocked plans by Shell which would almost certainly have resulted in ecological disasters on a far greater scale than the current BP blowout.
REPLY TO USCitizen.
I see from your posting that you are still hopelessly misinformed and blissfully ignorant of the facts about Shell employee safety issues. Check out the Wikipedia article Royal Dutch Shell safety concerns and the information available via the evidence verification links. It was not long ago that Shell lifeboats at a North Sea oilrig were found to be unserviceable. Despite all the pledges by Shell, including setting up a safety Czar, its safety track record, including fatalities, is horrendous. And what does it say about you repeatedly visiting a website you allege is run by crazy people? Why would you keep returning again and again, insulting other contributors, as you have done since October 2008? And you say we are crazy!
Perhaps the angry Donovans should find another target – as much as we hate to hear companies struggle, you two clowns keep trying to convince the world how evil Shell is and how incompetent we are and now some Shell folks who are mad at the world also try to convince folks how bad we are, but meanwhile – we operate with integrity, technical savvy and focus all of our work processes on avoiding accidents – and meanwhile the company with the broken culture keeps having big accidents – wonder why Shell has not had any the last several years? Maybe it is because we are doing things right!!
Retiree: Firstly, I suggest you look at the size of the flames (200ft high) which engulfed the rig – there are plenty posted on the web – and compare these with well tests which you have undoubtedly seen. Secondly, you are flowing a 20000ft (ie 10-15000psi) well through a 9 5/8″ production casing. Compare this with Bonga, for example. Also turbidite, similar water depth, reservoir depth just 10000ft MSL, and pressure perhaps 5000psi. Bonga Well flowrates are 50000 b/d through a 7″ production tubing.
Outsider, your figures cannot be correct. I know there is a big pipe in the hole but such rates would certainly lead to sandfailure of the turbidites and choke itself. Furthermore I cannot believe the BOP is wide open. Something must have partially closed or starting to close. However, the technical staff will have a hard time fixing this thing with all those hyperventilating politicians breathing down their necks and wanting progress reports. The green parties are very happy. But I predict that before too long the oil pollution is gone. Light stuff in a warm and choppy environment soon disappears. The crawfish etoufe maybe a little less tasty for w while.
Confirmation: The flow rate of at least fifty to one hundred thousand barrels/day given in my previous post is NOT a typographical error.
In 1969, Unocal had a blowout off Santa Barbara resulting in severe restrictions on offshore drilling which are still in force today. The current MC 252 blowout is far larger (at least 50000 to 100000 barrels/day), and threatens the entire Gulf Coast. Shell may come to regret their heavy investments in US offshore leases in environmentally sensitive areas. If the reaction to the Santa Barbara blowout is repeated, it may be 50 years before Shell are able to drill in their new leases.
I was told by Shell HR (The Hague and OpCo) that they always shared remuneration numbers with their “competitors” so that they (Shell) were never too much out of line with their peers. This comment from Shell HR was always used to defend the pay rises offered up each year. This “sharing” of company information was certainly going on back in the early 90’s. That said, I don’t have a major problem with this as it makes sure that indeed salaries within a certain industry don’t get blown out of the water every year by a certain Major.
A couple of decades ago Shell had five refineries in the United Kingdom
Today is a new day – RDS Forensics
hello all,
Its been a while since my last post. I just want to start by saying that the consolidations at Motiva Convent are starting. Management says we will have to deal with it. They said we should learn to do more with less people. I believe these people are hypocrites because just a few months back they were shoving fatigue management down our throats. This is the same thing, more work means more fatigue and more stress. It will also cause more injuries and accidents, hope fully none will be fatal. I heard that Port Author had a fatality recently. With all thats being done to run our company in the dirt, its only a matter of time before we experience the same.
We recently had a visit by the accounting department to give us a pep talk/lesson on waste management. They seem to believe this is what will save our plant. I can tell them that they are stupid because this will not save our company. At best waste management will make us more efficient as a company and may save us a few dollars here and there. They should look at the real problem and stop trying to put the blame everywhere else. It is MANAGEMENT! They should look at themselves. If you want to make money, let the workers make you money. Start fixing things and stop threatening everyone. We can run this plant better without you. Moral at Convent is at an all time low. People are more worried about H.R. hunting them down for stupid things then they are about their jobs. A happy workforce can make a company! What don’t you understand about this. Motiva is running their refineries with fear. How about you go ask Hitler if that worked out for him. Oh, wait, Shell did get a few tips from him didn’t they! Work with us, stop fighting us, boost moral and the profits will come. Stop bullying us, cutting people, cutting jobs, stop micromanaging. We all can see that what you are doing isn’t working. Go put you PPE on and pick up trash and stay out of our hair. Quit looking for reasons to run good operators off. We made millions a few years ago with the same amount of people, even a monkey can tell you thats not the problem. The only difference between then and now is our management! Can you see this? Quit blaming others, admit you have problems! Its just like going to AA or counseling, to fix the problem you have to admit you have a problem. MANAGEMENT is the problem. From Purvis on down, all the way to our job scared PTLs. Moral is the key to making money. If the employees love their jobs and are proud of their workplace, nothing can stop us. Until we all unite, we will fail. I want to be the best in the world! I want us to succeed! I don’t believe putting lives in jeopardy with consolidations is the way to go. Start with the simple things, take care of your employees, care about them. The rest will come.
Motivaman for president!!
The cost of capital for manufacturing/petrochemicals will always be lower than for E&P simply because the market perceives the risks to be lower. Burdening downstream operations with Upstream’s cost of capital guarantees that downstream will not be able to compete with their specialist peers. For gas utilities the cost of capital is even lower than for manufacturing, justifying BG’s break-up.
There is a palpable sense that Shell is at the crossroads in so many ways at the moment. The broad strategy, “More Upstream, Profitable Downstream
American expats are indeed about twice as expensive as European expats due to the US taxation scheme on worldwide income. Likewise both are more expensive than any local staff equivalent (not just in Asia). I do however disagree that Asian’s (in Shell) work twice as hard on a direct comparison with the expat in a similar position. I never experienced this when working in Asia for Shell.
So much about American vs European pay, how about their capability and competency in this challenging World. It is outdated model. It is also a case of a Pot calling a Kettle black. The Asian’s pay are 30-50% lower or even more but working twice as hard. Look at both the Top and Middle level management in the last 1 year, who has delivered more businesses. Shell should learn from the Asian and put them in key positions but instead they are sending more Americans and European to Asia. It only increases the cost and reduces productivity. So much about diversity, why not include an Asian in the EC to start with. Time to wake up. Vision 2010.
Wilt Staph, good story, I could not have worded it better. But you were incomplete, the story is worse. What of Boynton who was sacked albeit with a large severance payment. Was she an incompetent and token woman like Cook, or an incompetent american or both or simply corrupt? We will never know. And what of our friend Botts, the cowboy from Wyoming? He ruined EP Europe with his silly ideas and was not sacked but kicked to do something managerial in downstream. All the while raking in humongous american pay. He has gone quiet and this is worth a lot of money! One midlevel engineer american expatriate (say graduate with 10 yrs experience)in the Netherlands costs as much as 4-5 dutch PhDs. The latter ones may not be so flamboyant and gung-ho nor always in agreement with the boss, but they certainly could provide value for money.
The days when Shell Oil would provide good old technical competence are long gone by.
But occasionally there is a good one in the senior ranks, I think I know both of them. One retired, one resigned from Shell as he could not take the crap anymore.
So WIlt, thanks for your heads up, perhaps others can complete this staffwork on crooked and overpaid americans? Personally I think you were far too kind on that idiot Hofmeister. He ruined Shell for good and spent enormous amounts traipsing around with the HR community and on himself. All the while pretending to be a sober living Amish. Pretending is an understatement…
Brinded’s lecture will be either on ‘Ali Baba and the 40 robbers’ or ‘Aladdin and the King of thieves’. Most likely the latter if he still thinks of his old pal evil Watts.
Posting by “xintrance” on the article: “Todd Monette departure:
PAR/SDPR may have something to do with a helicopter and rebuilding a beach house!!
Shell International to power Growth….
Adding 600,000 bopd sounds a lot but will not be sufficient to bring back the production level from 3 to 3.5 mln bopd. The reason is very simple: the current production declines by 10-15% per annum, so in 2012 the existing fields will produce (optimistically speaking, we are all followers of Brinded) not more than 2.4 mln bopd. Adding 600,000 therefore merely keeps the production level constant. We all know that Brinded is so smart he thinks he can defeat laws of nature. But oilfields are very stubborn and may not do what Brinded wants them to do… So, he better starts adding a lot more bopd if he wants to reach his earlier stated goal of 5-6 mln bopd in 2013. Time is running out fast.
I suggest that we from now on start every speech or statement of Brinded with “Once upon a time, long ago…..”. Lawyers will like that too.
Anyone know when the PIR on GSAP is scheduled to take place?
If the rumours are to be believed, the alleged fraud in Brunei reported on this site in February were also attributable to misuse of SAP.
GSAP DATA QUALITY
“X” works in the Nordics and holds multiple positions in the GSAP Sales Hierarchy. A stack of reports are regularly produced on the Sales Performance of “X” and subordinates. The reports look plausible. So what’s wrong ?
“X” LEFT SHELL A YEAR AGO. Not only has GSAP failed to spot this, but the error remains uncorrected even after multiple escalations. “X” is a complete fiction. But in the zero-diligence world of GSAP, nobody acts and nobody cares.
What does this tell us ? My reading is that the business are often boycotting the million-dollars-a-day GSAP solutions dumped on them from above, and using local workarounds instead. This suggests a reality-disconnect that won’t be resolved without a proper inquest (requiring more self-honesty than RDS seems capable of). So we blunder on. And GSAP’s nation-builders start work on a “data quality tool”…
X’s name and the working context are quite distinctive, so even a simple GOOGLE search verifies this person has left Shell, and traces them to their new firm. There really isn’t any excuse !
And my last comment for Today . . . . .
Shell is/was a good Company with a lot of good hard working people.
Unfortunately in today’s world, there are also a lot of useless unworthy people in the organization too, and with today’s short term focus (I want results now!), things won’t change for the better anytime soon.
A strong house is built upon a strong foundation and plans, and ours have been crumbling for some time now.
Hope it gets better . . . . . eventually!
Shell Management . . . . . .
Reducing Costs . . . . (at least where they say to!)
What a Joke ! Wish I Could Laugh About It ! But Its Not Funny.
Lets start with these “Preferred Vendors”.
Companies that “partner” with Shell to sell us their products and services at a “preferred” price (Shell thought that meant lower?) so that we don’t have to go to other Companies (usually called COMPETITION) to buy these items.
How many items are we overpaying for? ALL of them!
We create books of documents for some of the simplest purchased items and wonder why we pay 2X, 3X, 4X, or more for that product. Its this way from office supplies to production equipment to contract labor and services.
The only “preferred” part of these deals are the Companies collecting these premium prices for all these items.
Now when someone at a location tries to buy the same item for an advertised cheaper price, what do you think happens? The Purchasing Nazi come out and fight diligently to prevent that from happening, because somewhere up the ladder someone else made that sweet deal and might be benefitting from that agreement.
How about a game of Golf? Dinner? Oops
I have personally seen 25 cent items purchased for $1.25, other items for $2.25 purchased for $6.00 and was frowned upon and fought against to stick up for what I knew was right (and wrong).
Now can you imagine in the entire Shell Company how much that would add up to at that magnified expense!
That my friend, is just the tip of the iceberg of things like that. Waste and Greed
Shell Management . . . . .
How about this statement from a few years ago. We’ll pay average salary for our people, but expect top results.
Hmmm, I’ve seen the people we hired in the last decade, not quite the Top Talent out there, the Top Talent has been hired by the Companies paying the Top Salaries!
So we’ve hired average talent in the last decade, and we’re finishing up the process by laying off experienced (aged) talent. Now where will that leave us?
But we can expect better results . . . right?
Expect and Attain don’t mean the same thing in my book!
Shell Management . . . . . .
In years past Shell looked at the long “cycles” in the business. Staying diversified meant when one part of the business wasn’t doing well, the other side of the business was. Being diversified kept the Company afloat.
Today’s Management Philosophy is a short term 1 to 2 year focus period, if results are not achieved in that short span of time, make changes quickly and expect better results. Change, change, change, change.
Peoples heads have been spinning so much from changes in the past 15 years they don’t even know what their job scope is anymore!
No Company will ever be successful with this type of Management Philosophy. But seems people running this Company for the last several years can’t see that?
Really interesting series of posts – particularly on the role played by over-centralisation and sprawling IT initiatives in bringing Downstream to its knees.
But the board just don’t get it, do they ? Perhaps in the end, RDS just has one problem: its inability to hold senior people to account.
There’s no difference between socialist system and Shell management in our region. Only posters and loud applause are important.But what will happen with the business?
Wilt’s comments are really interesting, and certainly sound as if they come from someone with a decent grounding in the issue and the organisation.
For me, I wonder whether they point to a simple turning of the chapters in Shell’s history.
The difference in income terms now between the Upstream divisions and the Downstream is significant, even at low oil price (where perhaps in previous years the ‘hedge’ came into play) and although there is clearly an advantage to having a strong brand for relationship building, in an era of NOCs and host governments who are more experiences and powerful than 30 years ago, pehaps the Downstream needs to wither.
The materials issued on the Group’s strategy were pretty clear on this i think, losing a bunch of retail businesses that between them make a profit that is a tiny fraction of the company’s overall, then why would Shell keep it on?
Totally agree that standardised IT systems imposed from the centre have made life more difficult not easier. Of course in order to centralise and remove power from local operating units it was necessary to have centralised IT, accounting, management information etc. As I point out the degree of aggregation that results from ever higher levels of decision making compounds the problem. One CEO of a highly profitable Shell Marketing company (a local not an expat) resigned when he found that his business
Personally, I would be very sad to see Shell pull out of the Downstream business – and it doesn’t have to be that way.
Traditionally, one of the advantages of being an ‘integrated’ oil company is that it can offer a ‘hedge’ against volatile margins e.g. a sudden drop in crude oil prices can lead to a corresponding improvement in refinery and/or marketing margins (or vice versa) as the industry adjusts to the new supply demand dynamic.
Nor is there nothing intrinsically wrong about being in the downstream as long as you can keep your margins healthy.
I see no sign of Exxon/Mobil (Esso) or BP pulling out of the Downstream business and there are plenty of independent players who seem to make a nice living out of it. The problem is that it is increasingly difficult to charge a premium for your products where consumers don’t perceive there to be any added value – which simply means that, unless your costs are on a par with the pacesetter in each market, you will be unable to compete effectively.
If Shell is considering exiting (say) mature markets where it is unable to operate profitably, this is, in effect, an admission that it is unable to reduce its costs sufficiently. If BP, Esso and others can make some of these markets work for them, why can’t Shell?
I suspect that the IT initiatives mentioned below were an attempt to reduce local IT spend through standardisation – the problem is that Shell has an appalling record of managing these large projects and they end up costing way more than they could possibly save – and when these huge costs are set off against the revenue generating parts of the business, hey presto, you are worse off than you were before! Then it’s time to do some ‘tail-end’ analysis and get rid of those parts of the business (or countries) that are now less profitable as a result.
What happens then is that the fixed costs of running a Global retail network (say) get shared by fewer and fewer real businesses, whose profitability suffers as a result… and so on with the Downstream ‘death spiral’.
My suggestion is for Shell to ‘swallow its pride’ spend some time and money finding out EXACTLY how Exxon makes its business model work for them, shamelessly copy it, and implementing it flawlessly.
That shouldn’t sound a ridiculous suggestion to even the most humble economist, but I suspect that to most readers of this blog, it is no less than ‘pie in the sky’.
Why? Because the people with the responsibility and power to make such an audacious move have the most to lose from it i.e. by virtue of being in the ‘centre’ (including Shell Centre of course!). So it’s back to death by a thousand ineffective cuts and yet another round of open resourcing, which gives the appearance of going through radical change… but without actually changing anything at all.
Ho Hum….
I do not take issue with any of your points, but would suggest that part of the problem stems from working practices dictated by the imposition of standardised IT systems (SAP?) by the centre rather than local business logic. Smaller, local competitors are unencumbered by IT systems and the associated “processes” developed to reflect US or European business needs and accounting practices.
The slow demise of Shell
Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) is a Nigerian Joint Venture Company whose Shareholders are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (49%), Shell (25.6%), Total (15%) and Eni (10.4%).
There is a culpable short-termism about Shell at the moment. But we have seen it all before. It is mind-blowing that one of the world’s largest corporations cannot:
(a) Decide what its strategy is
(b) Use its huge resources to stick with that strategy over the medium to long term.
I would humbly suggest:
(1) Concentrate exclusively on upstream and midstream oil and gas.
(2) Get rid of activities that fall outside the competances of those at the top (Refining and Marketing especially).
(3) Don’t kill the downstream with a thousand cuts – sell it as a going concern (which it is). There will be plenty of willing buyers.
(4) Get out of petrochemicals – again plenty of willing buyers.
(5) Consolidate to one Head Office. Close Shell Centre.
(6) Look for good upstream acquisitions.
(7) Really learn from the failures in Nigeria, Ireland and Russia… Get out of delusional mode. Try always telling the truth!
(8) Never, ever again make the same mistake that you made with Linda Cook. It’s a scandalous story which the shareholders ought to tear the Board to pieces about.
(9) Create a culture at the top which is less about Lottery-win type rewards (Cook again!) and more about pride in achievement. Shell was like that once. Is Voser really worth ten times what M M-S was paid? I doubt it…
Musaint, you dispute that most top technical staff was dutch. Your memory appears to be fading, there has been a time when all the top echelon in EP2 under that bastard Jan van Dam was Dutch. I know, I was there. True that many explorers were swiss. And Sprague was indeed an American but he did Operations first although he could have done any other job equally well.
REPLY TO MUSAINT: You really do seem to have an obsession about the Royal Dutch Shell Hitler connection. Another dark chapter in Shell’s history that it would prefer to forget. We did not work it into the Fortune magazine article. It was already there. We have not added or deleted a single word. You complain about the article being a rehash of old stories yet felt sufficiently stirred to comment on what it said. And you were not alone in deciding that the article merited comment.
If there’s limited news then rehash old stories, e.g. those of Shell from umpteen years ago. Of course the (now tediously repetitive) connection to Hitler had to be worked into the story!! I dispute that “all technical directors were Dutch” – most exploration ones were Swiss, Sprague was American etc. I do however believe Shell was more successful in this period because there were far, far, less non E&P “initiatives” that now suck in so many technical staff and take them away from their main job of finding and producing hydrocarbons.
Nice to read a 13 year old article again and see it confirmed what many said during the heady transformation days: this is not going to work. The article is well written and the writer very well informed. But he fails to state that it was common knowledge that one of the few who could really think in the top, Bob Sprague, was dead against the transformation. He was loyal enough to go along with it but internally he was written off by the politicians at the top. And in came the useless characters such as Boynton (token woman, fired), Malcolm Brinded (most clever but only overpromise and underdeliver), Cook (useless czarina and mother of all token women, finally dumped with a big bag of money; this should have been solid gold tied around her neck and… the mind starts wandering). Watts the evil bully boy came in and was fired. Ethics went out of the window. Reserves scandal was a direct result. Royal Dutch was sold off to become a British company. And the performance never recovered after the golden period of mid 70s to mid 90s. It may have been a coincidence, but in this period all the technical directors in EP were Dutch while the Brits handled HR and Finance. And in the process the in house technical ability was destroyed. When is someone going to write a book or good case study about all this???
Thanks John for refreshing our memory again!
Your somewhat illogical thinking would make me think you would like to see Shell withdraw from all operations where there is a corrupt government in force. This would also include the likes of the UK, USA, Nigeria etc. etc. Not an option unless of course you want to shut down Shell completely then what would you do with you time? Sorry Mr. D. I cannot agree with your logic on this, albeit that some governments should be shut down (e.g. Nigeria and the Labour party in the UK).
I agree with Mussaint, we have seen the Nazi party story and the far fetched link between Shell and roadside bombs undermines the credibility of the site.
The continuing use of the Nazi story at the top of the page and now the tabloid add-on about “hinting” Shell is involved with Taliban and road side bombs is a story too far Mr.D. Way over the top and downgrades this website very badly indeed. Yes it’s your website but trying to taint Shell for all the worlds problems by linking them to governments they operate in is ridiculous.
Dear IMBer, or IBMer, or whatever – if you can explain to me the difference between the two quoted press release examples of geophysical applications in reasoned scientific terms, I shall be more than happy to admit to being a amateur geophysicist (not geologist). Perhaps it is you who is confused. Geophysics and Geology are not the same – close bed fellows, yes – but not the same. If so, then it is you who should get out your needles, wool and get on with “one plain, two purl” rather than embarking on such a commentary.
Shellwaarbenjijnu has no clue what he/she is talking about. Probably some amateur geologist who wants to be important on the blog. Try to stick to your knitting!
Paying over 7 mln $ to get rid of this monster of a woman shows how deeply Shell has sunk. She was a stealer of ideas. She was the ultimate token woman, a disgrace to her gender and it has put off many high quality women to pursue a career in Shell. Her disgusting behaviour of being the slave of Watts was evident to all. This latest scandal makes it clear she should never have been promoted to were she ended up. Another costly mistake of Shell. And the top echelon? They know no shame anymore and carry on with more spin stories as usual.
Perhaps Voser will pull the same trick on Brinded as Watts did on v.d.Vijver. Watts announced that reserves would grow by 5% and that Walter would explain how…. The rest is history.
I can only hope that history will repeat itself and Brinded finally gets fired for his gross underperformance and sustained bullshit. Perhaps I have said so before: never trust a man with facial hair…. I shall be watching the announcements how they will increase production with great interest.
THE ARTICLE “Donovan email to Gavin White, Shell International Limited: 10 March 2010” has been updated with a self-explanatory email reply received on 11 March from Richard Wiseman, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
The Forbes article implies that by stopping sales of gasoline to Iran, Shell is complying with US sanctions. Shell’s investments in the upstream sector in Iran are not mentioned, even though these are of far greater significance for both Shell and the Iranians.
Amnesty International has been an informed and courageous critic of Human Rights abuses around the world for many decades and they are certainly not adverse to criticising governments in Nigeria, Burma, Zimbabwe and all around the world. The point about international companies like Shell is that they have a choice. They are not obliged to operate anywhere if they find that the local conditions are in conflict with their principles. Amnesty
Same old, same old. Amnesty International and their human rights again go for the soft underbelly of the international companies rather than the real problem in Nigeia which is their corrupt Government. Good on Shell for attending and agrreing to being questioned. BUT, surprise, surprise nobody from the Nigerian Government (perhaps they didn’t get enough of a bribe to appear or perhaps Amnesty knew they would get nowhere with them). Pollution in the Niger Delta remains a problem, albeit that conditions are slowly improving. Living conditions, infrastructure and most other normal day-to-day things should be the responsibility of the corrupt Government not international oil companies. These evil governments such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Burma need to be bought down by the UN so that their people might have a better chance of a reasonable life.
Very polite correspondence between Wiseman and the Donovans. I estimate Wiseman’s hourly internal tariff at around 500 U$ per hour (his salary plus support plus extensive overheads). Over the years Shell must have spent a fortune discussing the Donovans, putting the most expensive lawyers on the case, and developing policy how to battle them. It becomes Churchillian: ‘we will fight them on the web, and in the courtrooms, and in their own offices and on the streets. But we wil NEVER surrender. With unlimited funds this maybe so, but it is wasting shareholders money and it solves nothing. I do not see the Donovans give up anytime soon. So perhaps a new paradigm needs to be developed? Any ordinary man or woman at the coalface would solve this problem within minutes and for less money than what is being burned now. But the Shell kings are no ordinary people, they live in cloud cuckoo land.
I will keep following with great interest how all this develops, it is even better than the daily Dilbert!!!
W.E. Pratt knew it already a hundred years ago when he said “Oil is found in the minds of men” But he was one of the founders of the Standard Oil company, whereas the people who try to make us believe that IBM can come to the rescue of Shell appear to be only good at getting rid of their most experienced minds.
Oh dear, regarding this collaboration between Shell & IBM – it does not appear to have started off very well if I read the press announcement. I refer to the following: “Shell can reduce the educated guesswork and extract natural resources with more certainty and efficiency, thereby optimizing the recovery of oil and gas”. Shell used to employ geoscience & petroleum engineering expertise. Is reserve estimation and production forecasting now in the hands of “educated guess workers”? That ought to really worry shareholders.
The fundamental lack of understanding of the business gets even better with comments on geophysics: “For example, geophysicists must examine time-lapse seismic data from subsurface rock formations; reservoir engineers receive well and laboratory data, and geophysicists receive information – sound waves – covering wide spaces between the wells”. Errr – what’s the difference between the two geophysical activities quoted? Is this some IBM person speaking who has just bought a book “E&P for beginners”, or is it the level of understanding within Shell now much of the real technical experience and expertise has been cleared out?
Agree completely with Guest1. IBM once bought (and subsequently sold at a huge loss) a company called Tigress, and had plans for integrated Corporate Data Bases based on POSC. Unfortunately Schlumberger and Landmark know that part of the business rather better than IBM ever will. If Shell can’t find oil with the help of Schlumberger and Landmark, what hope do they have with IBM?
What a load of nonsense in the Forbes article. Shell and IBM to team up etc. We HAD all the expertise but that was removed by the HR and FN idiots that run Shell now. What does IBM know about oil and gasfields? This surely looks like another project, doomed to fail, whereby IBM is going to suck a lot of money out of Shell. Presumably Brinded bought a lot of stock in IBM. RDS appears more and more like an overweight blob, unable to move, being sucked out by the service industry and governments and waiting to die. The sooner someone takes over RDS, splits it up and gets on with the business, the better. The fact they accept all the abuse by the Donovans and are unable and unwilling to defend themselves speaks volumes. If RDS cannot even handle two old codgers with a website, how will they handle real competition????
John and Alfred, perhaps you have to increase the pressure and speed up the demise of RDS.
A number of people both inside and outside Shell seem to share your view. A commonly held view inside Shell is that while decisions often turn out with hindsight to have been wrong, a far greater problem for Shell is their inability to make timely decisions when required.
I read this site and others all the time as I am a retired employee and an owner of RDS stock.
Question: Is it just me or does it seem like management is graduallt selling off assets whilr making one bad decision after another? that is the sense i get from my reading. Thanks for your comments. EXSF
REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF THE PERSON WHO SUPPLIED THE POSTING
REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF THE PERSON WHO SUPPLIED THE POSTING
The Ormen Lange reserves that have been downgraded are predominantly on the Shell side of the field, so the 25% cut is much worse than it sounds – at least for Shell.
Ann Pickard’s comment about Angola’s production exceeding that of Nigeria sounds like an attack on Bichsel et al who pulled Shell out of Angola a few years ago…
REPLY TO MUSAINT: Contrary to your assertion, there was no expansion, but rather a shortened version of this sentence from the article in question: “Today, Shell, Chevron and others talk about cutting offshore incidents to zero.” Shortened so that it was appropriate for a headline on a Shell related blog. According to the source article, Shell has talked about cutting offshore incidents to zero. So I don’t know what you are complaining about? Shell could make a start by ensuring that its production platform lifeboats are all seaworthy!
Hmmmmm. Me thinks that well known peddler of news (The Houston Chronicle) was aiming it’s article at helicopter incidents (hence the concentration on HUET exercises etc.) and not incidents as a whole. You / the newspaper are going somewhat over the top if offshore targets are (“in the future”) going to be set at zero. Let’s be realistic here Mr. D. and not “expand” some of the statements again!!
I’ve said many times on this website that the Shell slogan (no doubt thought up at an expensive HR away day) that “staff are our greatest asset” has absolutely no truth in it whatsoever. Nevertheless, it is a fact that staff numbers in Shell still remain high in some functions that contribute little to the bottom line. I also have to say that even in high profile and major contributing functions & OpCo’s there are staff who contribute little and need the Shell expat to cover for them (e.g. Shell Nigeria).
Information I have is that the package in the UK has been slashed when compared to only a year ago which in itself was a major reduction on that offered prior to 2005.
People are our most important asset and that’s why we kick out 6000 of these “assets” (and alienate a large percentage of the rest of the workforce) in an attempt to boost the share price after our exorbitant profits have come down to more normal levels. Newsweek of 15 February carries an interesting article on the generally negative effects of mindless mass redundancies on longer term company performance.
With 6000 or so redundancies announced worldwide does anybody have any idea of the sorts of packages people will be receiving and whether these are uniform across the Group and across salary/job groups etc..? If you do know the basis of the paclkages, what are they..and how do they compare with the bonus deals Shell execs have been paying themselves?
Corrib for sale…any takers?
What interests me about the Directory Leak story is that any competent scripter could have done this at any time in the last 10 years using just NOTEPAD and maybe 20 lines of VBS code. That’s because Active Directory (parts of it anyway) have been left open for use by RDS’s diverse collection of systems. So why didn’t it happen before ? And why doesn’t this sort of thing ever happen at GOOGLE ?
probably the biggest Joke company in the canadian oilpatch. I love the hyprocracy in the CEO saying we didnt meet targets and when the board defined them. this jackass then goes on to say profits werent as good as 2008.. wow good point sherlock! and then had the audacity to say we are capital constrained and then goes off on a 4B deal in brazil ( in a market that is saturated but developing) , gives himself and the exec commitee a huge raise and increase thier massive dividends ( which are higher than any other growth oil and gas company)
Atleast we turned a profit.. if he had any balls he would axe the HR and soft areas of the company, reduce Overhead because Transition 09 was a Major dissappointment and make the bonus scheme more vague like a bonus pool at the discretion of management. then it wouldnt be such a joke. I for one have a week left here then its off to EXXON who do what they say and agree on.
Is it my imagination or does Wiseman start to look a bit more tired than usual?
Fully agree with MUSAINT…the performance is very poor; we are lucky to get some bonus. People who complain should look around.
Do please excuse by poor spelling Itchy Woman but the point still remains you/team/Group clearly failed on targets. Be grateful to have a job, and no I did not get released but did work for Shell for 30 years with them. I do not always try and condone / agree with what is on this website either. I believe your minging in this present economic environment is poor. Consider those who hae lost jobs (not just with Shell). If you don’t like Shell then just leave or is that not your real problem?
REPLY TO ANONYMOUS: Even Richard Wiseman, not known as our greatest fan, has acknowledged that we have acted responsibly on this matter. Related correspondence is still in progress. As will become apparent, Shell is trying to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted. The situation is already dangerously out of control. It is Shell that has acted in a cavalier way with other people’s personal data, otherwise the Shell Address Book could not have been circulated to hostile parties, including Nigerian activists. So the situation is much more serious than you were aware. This news should ring alarm bells with Shell employees in Nigeria. More will be revealed when the current round of email correspondence has concluded.
John appears to have acted responsibly in alerting Shell and their employees to the availability of this sensitive data outside Shell. What more would you ask?
John, given your oft-expressed criticism of Shell’s supposed lack of concern for safety and disregard for its legal responsibilities, can you explain why you chose to trumpet the theft of Shell’s employee database on your website and even made facetious offers to pass it on to others? You must surely know that this information is a) stolen property and b) a potential threat to the privacy and safety of the thousands of people whose personal information it contains. If Shell had behaved in such a cavalier way with other people’s personal data, you would no doubt have jumped all over them. So why the double standard? And since the database is stolen property, will you be returning it to Shell and will you provide information to the authorities to assist them in investigating the theft? After all, you can’t expect Shell to respect the rule of law if you aren’t prepared to do so yourself.
Musaint
It always shows lack of class when you have to resort to name calling, but I suppose that’s your misogynistic upbringing.
Once again you get the facts wrong, you should apply for a job in Shell, or as I suspect by your anger you were one of the ones released.
A cynical view might be that Voser has deliberately used his first year to create an atmosphere of crisis within Shell to justify the lay-offs and salary cuts, and to “encourage” those remaining. Some 2010 costs will have been accrued and booked in 2009, while some 2009 income will have been deferred to 2010. This time next year Voser will be
Just a comment on those that think we are being denied an extra 15% on our bonus due to Vosser’s downgrade – your math is wrong. We dont actually get 15% less on the bonus as a whole – that factor is a multiplier.
we are lucky to get a bonus at all. in fact, we should not be getting any bonus until we reach top 3 on tsr. so those who are moaning about the reduced bonus should shut up or move out.
Bitchy Woman why should the plan be wrong just because you got a lower than expected bonus? Your Shell Group sector may have met most plan criteria but not all. Otherwise was your OpCo or yourself underperforming? In this day and age count yourself lucky to receive any bonus – many do not depsite performing very well. Some even loose their jobs – perhaps time for you to jump ship?
Related to SafeyPro’s comments.
I read the following article with great interest by Bobbi Mooney. Ms. Mooney has been a leading diversity advocate within Shell for 10+ years now. Despite all the professed advances, you can see in her article that it’s still not enough.
http://www.bnl.gov/diversity/linkable_files/pdf/Newsletters/Div%20Man%20Newsletter%20final.pdf
Musaint
Next time get your facts right before spouting off. You seem to make a habit of that.
Actually, the group scorecard was 1.25, so it did in fact meet the plan in many cases. The results tell me there may be something wrong with the plan… and even more so, whoever made the plan.
The company set the targets, we hit them and more, but Voser has taken it upon himself to reduce that result by 15%.
He wonders why staff fell sceptical that leaders routinely tell the truth.
It has nothing to do with respect Witchy Woman. If you, your team, your company all fail to meet targets you’re lucky to get a bonus at all!!
Thank you Peter for cutting my bonus by 15%.
Where does that figure on the “respect for people” scale?
Tip for Voser: if production is declining for the seventh year in a row while predicting all those years it would increase, thereby justifying the enormous investments, what does this say of your head of upstream? You know the bald fellow with the facial hair? Him with the same senile smile as Tony Blair? The mother of all micro managers? The one who did the same when he was the boss of Expro? The one being accused of criminal behaviour resulting in the death of two workers on Brent? The one who ‘manages’ some 200 projects personally? The one who surrounds himself with sycophants? (FYI a sycophant is a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite). Yes, I mean Brinded. And to be more explicit: you should fire him asap. Shell will next year probably go below 3 mln bopd if we extrapolate your performance. And you think so too with the remarks of freezing the dividend. Firing another 1000 is not going to help, you should fire Brinded. It is quality that counts, not quantity!
Or does Brinded know something about you and is he blackmailing you? I almost start to think so.
Is anyone knows what are the plans for Downstream in africa? in case Shell expects to move out from the continent, is any communication from the company possible, like for Greece, Australia etc??
John, it would be a good idea to send Bill Campbells “final statement” not only to the English MP’s but also to the Dutch MP’s, especially with the court case against Shell for polution in Nigeria coming up.
Shell now growing in biofuels? A few years ago Shell was going to corner the solar cell business. That has been closed down. Then Shell was growing the hot air of the windmill business. They also withdrew from a huge UK project. Shell needed reserves so expanded in the tarsand business. The (negative) environmental impact is beyond belief. So that project is scaling down as well for some obscure reason. Of late oilshale is becoming popular again, Shell even recruited a corrupt US official for it so they must be serious. But I predict this will also soon fizzle out. And now strong growth in the biofuel. This will destroy Brazilian rainforests, pressure from environmentalists will be mounting and before too long this will also be scaled down. Billions of capital destruction and no consequences for the people at the top. They resemble exactly like modern day politicians, only good at surviving and reaping personal benefits while it lasts.
Why doesn’t Shell learn from Exxon: remain focused on producing oil and gas and do it profitable. Every year a bit better than the year before. Steady and relentless. But I fear the internal know-how has been replaced by woolly language, political correctness and dependence on contractors who will steal Shell blind because if you cannot do it yourself anymore, you also cannot manage it. There has been no coherent policy for future business for years. About time Voser wraps it up and sells off Shell in large parcels and get it over and done with.
John, pardon me for posting to the front page and here but I know that my co-workers that read this site link directly to this blog and may or may not read the home page.
Safety is #1! Goal zero! Life Saving Rules! I
Does anyone know what is happening with Shell’s exploration porgramme in Libya? All seems very quiet.
Bitumen Bob
It would have been more but they wasted too much money tearing down newly built offices to make them cubicles.
Well, well, the severance packages keep flowing over here in Port Arthur.
But this time, the packages were handed to a couple of good ol boys, Ted Thornal and Leroy Royer, both disciples of Uncle Tom Purves.
Looks to us over here on the ground that Tom is just taking care of his boys one last time….. possibly?
This clears the last of the Texaco leadership regime, other than Mr Poulter as we like to call him over here.
This gives the Funkhouser open door now to run his operations the way he wants, which will show his lack of capability ultimately on the start-up. It’s hard for Jeff I’m sure being a start-up manager and a de facto plant manager, since we don’t have one over here.
Tom just keeps doing his thing, spends alot of time over here in Port Arthur. Doesn’t he have other plants to watch…..
I do…
Shell follower, this interview may provide the information you are seeking: Shell
Can somebody point to where the Vosser Plan is located :
– International and USA EP,
– Less people and costs
– where is the future HC business is it DW, Middle East, unconventionals…
– It must be laid out somewhere in some shareholder or other documents I just cannot find it ?
So can some other shareholder or staff memeber show how these bits fit together ?
NEWS: Shell donates $100,000 USD to assist Haiti.
As a 30 plus year Shell employee I am so disappointed in Marvin Odum’s announcement. Sure times are tough for us and we might not make $10B this year. 100K is an embarrassment and an insult. UPS donated a million and they are not making as much these days either.
Shells announcement went on to say they would organize employee contributions to help Haiti.
The people of Shell are good people and will do the right thing. The corporation is showing signs of moral bankruptcy.
I’d like content articles and commentary beyond the Qatar (U-tube), share of Gorgon and Iraq stuff around where Shell is managing to add new EP businesses to replace the steep declines in N Sea, Asia, GoM DW and apparent planned divestments in Nigeria etc. Is Shell steadily slipping towards 2.5 MLN BOE/D of equity production rapidly, its not clear yet? Contracting an EP business is not difficult, in contrast growing one or sustaining one profitably at the 3 MLN BOE/D
is! Maybe this site could have more discussion of this critical topic for staff and shareholders ?
Witchy woman, In Asia we send staff to HSE for “confinement” in order to rejuvenate them.
Clearly the Scots are the safest race in the world, why else would three of the top 4 HSE people in RDS be from North of the border. Unless…….no that is unthinkable.
Seven continuous years of falling production. And Brinded has been in charge for about the same period. But this is obviously just a coincidence. He will certainly start to explain to everyone that after the 7 meagre years, the 7 prosperous years will commence. But anyone who believes this also may believe that pigs may fly. Presumably Brinded still received huge benefits because he tried so hard.
Have not seen a full listing of the business leaders for Americas Upstream – saw the HR one on December 8th but am interested to see who has been given the “honour” to do all the non HR jobs….
Has it been posted somewhere and I just missed it?
As a long term Shell Canada employee who got punted in an earlier reorganisation it is sad to see the continued discarding of so much experience and talent. Guess the expats are just better…..
I remember the performance of Herkstroter in 1995 or thereabouts when business TV became the thing to do. This autistic banker sat there in a dark (prime teak) and empty boardroom, telling everyone about the future and that we ‘must have fun’. Never blinked an eye or even attempted a grin on his face. Bichsel must have studied this performance in detail. My theory that gorillas breed gorillas is proven once again.
very greatful to shell, this is an institute which taught us how to screw people and get benefited. How to talk about people, SGBP’s, honesty, integrity and responsibilities for almost a decade and just run away one fine COB on a telecon.
I think the video is a good example what happens when management does not tolerate corrective critisism. This is like the emperor and his clothes, everybody involved in the production of this tape must have seen the terrible product and performance, but most likeli told Matthias this was his best performance ever.
Although just 2 minutes and 30 seconds, I lost track after 1 minute and 15 secs, but woke up again when he said with the saddest face ever “I am truly exited…”. At least now I know how he looks when he is exited.
Having seen the crap by Bichsel I have little to add to the others. He also looks like a worn out old fart, ready to get a heart attack any moment. He lives a stressful life: always lying and manipulating so always looking over his shoulder who may attack him and always remembering what he said to whom and when. Very tiring. The only politically correct words this swiss idiot forgot were ‘sustainable and/or green’ and ‘diversity’. Could this mean a turning point in Shell’s thinking?
He read the words from a teleprompter and it was clearly all written by a young snotnose with an MBA who has never in his life done any real work, and all straight from the thousands of textbooks. I must admit it was an achievement to use so many politically correct words in such a short space of time. Bichsel could be working for General Motors or any other major corporation that is collapsing when you hear ‘his’ story. And if Mahdi Hassan is the real Mahdi Hassan, we have a genuine project manager speaking who has delivered and better on major projects. And all without this jargon bs. But then Mahdi was one of the last proper project managers in Shell. I know of only one at the moment so let’s give Shell the benefit of the doubt and assume there are 3 great project managers around. Is that enough?
What a happy and close bunch this top echelon of Shell must be with characters like Bichsel and Brinded around, pity the Cook woman has gone, she would have added more happiness. This is meant cynically. And bastards like this are looking after the interests of millions of shareholders, responsible for over hundred thousand staff and dealing with governments, both decent and corrupt ones. It is worrying.
Thank you Donovans for posting the video!
Musaint – sorry, wrong; the decision was made by Bichsel; Parsley was gone from the scene by then. The You Yube video featuring Bichsel probably reflects why the decision was made. When you come across as so unbelievably uninspiring there is a fair chance you will make incredibly uninspiring decisions. It is a long time since such a bad advertisement for Shell has come out. This one will become a classic and will be referred to when the inevitable birds flock home to roost as witness to the destruction of subsurface cabability “engineered” by Bichsel and his sycophants. Mahdi – you hit the nail right on the head.
REPLY TO USCITIZEN: The brief postings relating to the alleged wrongful dismissal at Shell Geismar have no relationship to the substantive postings from several separate individuals making allegations about Tom Purves and his alleged cronies. We do not normally try to trace the origin of Shell Blog postings. We only do so if we become suspicious. The person responsible for the multiple postings under different names about the alleged wrongful dismissal was engaging in deception in an attempt to damage Shell
The decision to sell the Rajahstan oil field in India rests totally with Alan Parsley and Tony Wildig. The former as head of exploration had no balls to take risk even though the geophysics was brilliant. Wildig as a petroleum engineer hadn’t got a clue and hadn’t the courage to defend explrers on the ground who wanted to keep the field. Wildig was one of the most slippery characters you could ever meet in Shell – totally untrustworthy and unsupportive.
We tried to tell you 8 months ago when the disenchanted 2 % of the hourly workforce started whining on this page that you were posting stuff with no credibility – told ya so!! Libel is your middle name!!
Bichsel’s video is a joke! The man has never managed a project in his life. Seems like he swallowed a lexicon though! What a crock of techno-bs from the Swiss gnome!
We have received another posting relating to an alleged wrongful dismissal at Shell Geismar, this time from “Pitbull”. All of these postings under various pseudonyms actually come from the same source and consequentially will no longer be posted.
thanks john donovan shell lost a good man because of that termination. I’ve heard the termination has torn his life apart. He was a intern who came out and busted his but while he was in school. We are still shocked at what happened
Musaint: as a Shell Nigeria veteran I agree wholeheartedly. We did a lot of good, one could always do more and better but on the whole standards were kept as high as feasible. Never have I seen or condoned deliberately damaging the environment. But the endemic corruption in Nigeria effected everyone. I know many Nigerians who fled their own country since they could not stand the corruption anymore. But I also have seen a decline of % of quality expats going to Nigeria. After Brinded, v.d.Vijver, McFadyen and many others simply refused to go there, the rest followed and only the dregs remained. This is obviously a bit of an oversimplification but Shell should never have allowed this to happen. I am less worried than you about the invasion of the Chinese. They will bring economic activity which will benefit many. But in the end the Nigerians have to sort themselves and their government out. They are high energy and very capable people. Look at all the great gangster running the real estate in London. The whole taxibusiness in Houston is Nigerian. If led properly, they can do great things. Otherwise they remain corrupt and only care for their own extended family, at the detriment of the rest of society. I have no idea how to solve this puzzle.
Well said chedderc – I have long said that Shell is blamed for all the sins of the corrupt Nigerian Government. Shell is much easier to attack (physically and verbally) compared to Governments, e.g. NNPC, DPR etc. having worked myself there for 6 years it is the oil industry (particularly Shell) who donate millions of dollars every year to the communities, where NNPC and other Government organizations provide nothing. Truth will show when Shell slowly but surely withdraw from the Delta, then seehow the locals suffer. All the bleating by Amnesty etc. is poorly thought out with scant evidence of truth behind their arguments. People should go to Nigeria and stay for more than a few days before pontificating on about Shell. Shell provides a great benefit to the communities that the Nigerian Government (and Amnesty etc.) do not.
musaint – it is the same across the globe.
Just a question, Shell in Nigeria gets bad press sometimes righlty and sometimes wrongly, yet looking at wiki SPDC is composed of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (55%), Shell (30%), Total S.A. (10%) and Eni (5%). NNPC are the main shareholder…why are they not tarred with the same brush?
I worked in Nigeria recently for NNPC and was very suprised at the lack of gripe against them…and also fully understand the issues in the delta .. some due to lack of initial investment in setting up wells (oil rather than oil and gas capable) causing the flaring..but also the fact that the locals cause alot of damage by trying to hook into pipe lines etc
I do not blame anyone other than the nigerian goverment in not sharing wealth in nigeria
I have also worked in many countries around the globe with Shell uscitizen and my experience is that US staff were overpaid in comparison to what they delivered and compared to other nationals. Your last sentence also highlights some of the American euphemisms that continually irritated folk as being incomprehensible – a translation please. My real point is that once Shell Oil (as was) was incorporated into Royal Dutch Shell the Shell Group was suddenly inundated with poor US performers, many of whom still survive to this day and then complain bitterly when challenged over their performances.
The whiners are mainly the hourly folks at the plants – and they simply do have a very small vocal minority. I managed many of them for over 20 years and the vast majority are bright committed folks. I have worked all over the Globe Musaint – and you have shown alot of your ignorance with your generalizations. I will tune you out more on the future.
Wish Shell would sell it’s US components – it just might stop some of the whinging and moaning from the overpaid Yanks. On a person by person basis they cost far more than almost all nationals in the Shell Group and provide a somewhat limited added-value in many instances. Too often they are stuck in the pre-takeover ideology with an attitude of “we’ve done it like this for years and we’ll continue that way”. “Over paid and over here – unfortunately.
John, your comment on the Bloomberg news was BULL’s EYE. As a CEO Voser has to say something, so he sticks with platitudes. Good he is not a leader in the military, he just might get hit by some friendly fire. I predict he is preparing Shell to sell off a large part, e.g. the US bit, cash in a humongous amount and retire to the Suisse mountains. The man with the beard is praying daily for this to happen, because he is the gordon brown of Shell…
The employee fired at Shell Geismar could either send an email to richard.wiseman@shell.com seeking his intervention, or obtain advice from an attorney dealing with wrongful dismissal.
im a employee at shell geismar my ex coworker was wrongfully terminated 3 weeks ago, how can I help him
REPLY TO MUSAINT: The extract is taken verbatim from the Business Week article. If you feel that it should not have been in their article, feel free to take it up with Business Week. Anyone in the least bit interested can easily look at the whole article from which the extract is taken. This site is focused on Shell. Hence if there is a reference to Shell in a news story, I am automatically alerted by Google News and will likely feature that reference as an extract. That has always been our standard practice. Surprised you have taken up that minor issue rather any of the more controversial issues brought up in the Voser BS story?
“Suspected terrorist tried to blow up plane US says” – then all you show under this headline is something about MEND terrorists attacking a Shell pipeline. MEND has nothing to do with the Nigerian who tried to blow up the plane – he has admitted to being a puppet for al-Qaeda. So why attempt such a “link”? – rather cheap shot in my opinion. It is as cheap as inserting under the headline “Manchester United thrash Chelsea 4-0” and immediately talking about Stockport County beating Colchester United 4-0 !!
More results on how Mr. Matula’s outsourcing is working.
Data center in Houston suffered power outage this weekend. The three service providers spent most of the time trying to ensure Shell management knew it was not their fault.
Total chaos.
But I’m sure Mr. Matula will chalk it up as another success story. Or at least that’s what his mouthpieces (e.g., Mr. Crotts, et al) will be doing.
hey desi what you think about that incident that happened at geismar where a black technician was fired 3 weeks ago
REPLY TO DESI: Earned what money from what shady business? All of our website activity has always been entirely non-commercial. No subscription or any other charges. No advertising revenues. No donations solicited or received. We have never sold a domain name. All our services, including access to over 25,000 articles, are entirely FREE. There is no business involved. I retired from business years ago and have never worked from home. This is an unpaid hobby. We operate this way to avoid any allegations of the kind you make – that we are out for commercial gain. Shell is free to take legal action if anything we say is untrue. They could have the site shut down tomorrow by obtaining an interim injunction on grounds that we are making allegations which have no foundation. It should speak volumes, even to an ignorant person such as you, that Shell does not challenge us in the courts. One other important point. Our comments about Shell are made openly under our own names. You on the other hand are a coward, making totally false allegations under a cloak of anonymity. Others can judge who is unhinged and lacks integrity. On your last point, I do not need to visit Nigeria. I have insider sources and documents to keep me well informed. For example, a confidential Shell internal report in which Shell admits that its activities have fueled corruption, poverty, violence and pollution in that Country. Have you forgotten that in June of this year Shell paid $15.5 MILLION to settle a lawsuit alleging that it was responsible along with the then Nigerian military regime for the torture and murder of Nigerian activists who engaged in a peaceful campaign against Shell. This is the company you wish to defend. You should hang your head in shame or stick it back in the sand.
John Donovan is loosing his marbles, he has earned enough money by this shady business working from home all his life. This continuous, filthy attack on Shell is pissing me off. I am a Shell exp hire and have worked in many different companies in my life. It is all same elsewhere; no oil or engineering company is doing charity. If J.Donovan has balls then he should go and live in Delta (Nigeria) to understand the problems & stop his addiction of Shell attacks
what grounds does a non union shell site have to fire an employee still in training
REPLY TO MUSAINT: I am pleased to see that you are not contending that Shell does not act in breach of its own ethical code, only that others do likewise. That is not an acceptable excuse. And as you know, my interest as a long term Shell shareholder, is in Shell. Leaving that to one side, your efforts over recent years to provide balance are much appreciated and very welcome. All the best for Christmas and the New Year, when we both hope we see the back of Gordon Clown – your description I believe.
I guess all / most companies should scrap their Business Principles as most transgress their statements, not just Shell. Have a Happy Christmas, I am off for a couple of weeks now.
Why does Shell have business principles that it does not abide with? They are a sham and have been so for many years, designed to fool the gullible, including ethical investment funds. Scrap the ethical code and get on with business. Or keep the code and enforce the rules. Shell cannot continue to have it both ways without attracting continuing criticism.
I would have thought that most serious companies have a form / type of Business Principles or equivalent. I know that Exxon and Agip had. My point is that Shell and other companies who have dealings with Governments (particularly sub-Saharan African countries) will invariably been seen as doing business with corrupt Governments despite have certain written principles in place. How are they supposed to progress? – 1. pretend they do not have principles in place OR 2. just stand still and stagnate? I for one would prefer that Shell and others did not have to sign signature bonuses (which merely go into the “big boys” Swiss bank accounts) but shareholders are key when they turn the blind-eye on this.
But MUSAINT, Shell is different. It has the Shell General Business Principles. This is the introduction:
“Mounir Bouaziz, Shell’s VP for making deals with corrupt Governments” – so what? I reckon this is Sunday tabloid titilation Mr. D. – let’s face it ALL governments are corrupt to varying degrees, just look at our bunch of bandits in Whitehall. I also guess that ALL major oiul companies have such a VP, so Shell is no different.
With regard to the postings by Sceptical Joe, I note there is no denial of past sinister activities directed against this website from the same party. I also note that once again the postings come from more than one IP address. Same questions, same tactics, same extremely hostile source. Same response on realization that we have taken action.
I was only asking a question!
Ok, never mind.
Skeptical Joe: In order to view any website, the IP address of your PC must be known to the website – how else would it send you data? If John chooses to pay his suppliers in cash that is surely his prerogative? With Shell’s reputation for underhand activities many suppliers might prefer not to be on record as working for John – especially if Shell is amongst their other clients.
REPLY TO SKEPTICAL JOE: Since you are asking precisely the same questions as a person or team who made multiple postings on our former Live Chat facility around March 2008 on a 7/24 basis and got up to all manner of trickery and deceit, you are clearly one and the same. We do not track incoming postings unless we believe the site is being subjected to an organised attack. As you will recall, I wrote to RDS Plc Company Secretary Michiel Brandjes on 28 March 2008 bringing the attack to his attention. The correspondence is posted on the site. You will have read it before. As Mr Brandjes is aware, related information has been brought to the attention of a UK police force. A High-Tech Crime Unit has made enquiries. Special Branch and Covert Investigations have considered certain matters in the light of revelations
also, i found this on your site:
“On 27th October 2005 my son John was the victim of an assault and robbery in Chelmsford a few minutes after £3,000 in cash had been collected from inside a Lloyds TSB Bank in the Town Centre. The cash was intended to fund our campaigning activities against Shell”
I think you have told people regularly that this site merely costs a few dollars a month to run – so could you explain what you needed 3000 in cash for? I wonder what inference you would draw if a Shell exec was to pay someone 3000 in cash for “services”…
Surely an internet operation uses electronic transfer etc?
Look forward to hearing from you as I know you publish all comments.
Great to hear you don’t delete legitimate postings.
Can you tell me, in line with the stories about Shell’s spying activities (alleged) – do you track the identities (e.g. locations etc) of your users via their IP addresses?
Thanks.
“Shell to move jobs from US & Canada to India etc.” No major story if true anyway! Many, many, major companies have and are doing this to cut costs. Been many comments about how Shell should cut costs and as soon as they do people still moan! About time they indeed got rid of some of the excess US staff, most of whom are overpaid.
Skeptical Joe: I have posted many times and never was one letter changed or the post rejected. I assure you the Donovans are not a secret branch of Shell…
REPLY TO SKEPTICAL JOE: We changed to the current system in August 2008. All postings related to Shell, the Donovans or this website are posted unedited. The only exception in the past year being two postings from the same sick individual who made threats of violence against Shell in Nigeria mixed with unprintable profanity. We delete all postings submitted which are adverts, not comments. This includes daily postings of Russia origin, often in Russian language, promoting pornography sites etc. We will not allow our website to be used for such purposes.
Contributors to this site used to be able to post their comments instantaneously. Now all submissions are apparently ‘moderated’ by persons unseen. Just out of curiousity, what was the reason for the switch to a ‘moderated’ discussion? How do visitors to the site know that you’re posting all contributions? How many contributions have you rejected in the last six months, and for what reasons?
Howdy, its been a few since my last post, but I guess its time. Motivasux, you forgot the most important pieces. First we kept an entire shift over to work 18’s to help out, but David said it was not neccessary. We didn’t need to do that. During that upset, a SO2 release occured, which they called a level 1, but was reported outside our gates which would be a level 3. Wonder if it was reported to the correct agencies. This release also made some operators sick and had to be deconned and went to medical. But David said all this didn’t happen.
Finally, after all of the time we have been waiting, the time for the consolidations is here. I said it months ago that it was coming, it was even put on the front page of this site as RUMORS. Well its here and it sucks. We will be working at one of the most dangerous places in the world after this change finishes. People like OSHA and other agencies are quick to point fingers when people get killed, but will do nothing to prevent accidents from occuring. We WILL have a major accident with many fatalities if the company is allowed to do what they want. We will be operating a time bomb because we don’t have enough people there to properly run. Shortcuts will be taken, people WILL die. Where is our democratic working mans president now? He sure doesn’t care about us. If these consolidations occur and MR. PURVIS gets his way, I don’t think that Shell will survive after the accident that WILL occur. I just hope I’m not there when it does happen. We cannot operate a 300 man refinery with 150 people.
I’ll help out the FBI and OSHA and NIMSHA and DEQ and LDEQ and everyone else with their future investigations. It was David’s fault, He was to scared to stand up to Tom Purvis!
Motivaman For President!!!
Interesting last couple of weeks. Convent has avoided disaster by the operators staying over for 18 hour shifts and calling people out because the plant continues to have problems. The whole plant either cut back or went down last week and reports are that last night the alky had major problems with an acid leak. Can’t wait until the job cuts that Brignac is doing come in. The future looks grim for Convent with this regime in place.
REPLY TO MUSAINT: Shell has apparently involved the US government in its spying operations against Shell employees, many of whom you have acknowledged (probably the vast majority) are not bound by confidentiality. And whistleblower legislation in the U.S. and the UK might take precedence over any such confidentiality, subject to the matters being disclosed. Covert activity is totally at odds with any claim to openness. Why bother with an ethical code if the core principles are set aside when it suits Shell senior management. As to Shell turning a blind eye, there is no evidence whatsoever in the Shell internal communications of any interest in investigating the serious allegations made against Shell Motiva VP Tom Purves and his alleged cronies. The only interest is in blocking postings, stopping leaks and closing down this website. In other words shoot the messenger. Does it not speak volumes about the incompetence/impotence of Shell executive directors that they have allowed the Internet activities of two old codgers in Colchester to result in Shell being caught red-handed spying globally on its entire workforce. And as promised, there are more astonishing revelations to follow.
Although not particularly pleasant, the fact that Shell is attempting to find out who is leaking information is not unreasonable. Most companies, governments etc. would for sure do likewise. The fact that you suggest it is against some of its principles does this mean that Shell should turn a blind eye to those who leak information??? It titialtes and helps fuel this website, but, Shell is well within its rights to unmask some of the people leaking information, some / many of which have signed a confidentiality clause in their contract.
So Shell will go develop a huge field in Iraq but they have just fired all the competent oldtimers who had experience in these remote areas. I predict many of them will be hired as a contractor. The current generation is good at talking about diversity and sustainability but to go to hardship postings is something for others…. Have we seen this before?
After 6 years working for Shell I have made the decision to leave the company. My manager did not even say goodbye. I wish everybody all the best.
As the names emerge of those who have not secured a position in the no doubt careful, honest, open and un-biased open resourcing process for the new Swiss Shell you cannot help but suffer a frisson of doubt. Has the company made a determined effort to retain a diversity of view and opinion within its ranks? Is there still a place for committed employess to express a personal opinion at variance with that of infallible (by definition) management? There is just a suspicion, no more, no less that an article by John Kay in the Financial Times of 8 December may be closer to the truth. In his article “Reality Check for Fiscal Pollyannas” he writes:
“But loyalty is today valued more than competence. Advancement is better achieved by telling your superiors what they wish to hear than being the bearer of unwelcome news. The economic world is necessarily uncertain and there is usually a range of estimates that can be defended. But always to choose the best from that range is to create bias, and the bias may be very large”. Let us hope this is not so in the new transformed Shell.
Talk about SSB, I have recently decided to leave despite being in the company for a relatively short period of time. You would not believe how bad I was treated. I submitted the resignation on Monday and HR already contacted me the next day to arrange for my repatriation! No exit interview nothing. The department manager played like I was invisible when he walked up and down the corridor. They didn’t even want to act like they care about losing a person in an already lean team. “Employees are our greatest assets” my foot! More like “Employees are bags of garbage that I can’t wait to get rid off”.
In response to AsiaDragon, one should not be surprised by the current situation in Shell as it was well planned since the EPA (Europeans Punishing Asians) era some years ago. In a way, the transformation was somewhat accelerated vide “Transition 2009” due to some local selfish traitors within the organisation. The “divide and rule” tactic was clearly used amongst Malaysians! Shell’s top leaders have poor judgment in many ways – unfortunately they can only judge people based on first impression and not on technical contents anyway. What is currently in the system are politicians than technocrats and naturally there is the sure way to extinction. Perhaps 5 years is too long a time frame to expect this once upon a time great company heading towards extinction! Good luck to the stayers as you may get a fat payout sooner than later – be patient as 99% of Shell trained staff possess the attribute to screw the company for personal gain and glory.
Fred and Rockdude- It has nothing to do with age. It’s pure discrimination of Asian. I believe you are Asian. Asian are known to be patient and tolerant. With Asian power, we shall rule the World. As Shell doesnot need you now, it has chosen to retire you early, just leave and make the best use of your time to groom the younger generation. There is also greener pasture out there. Just give Shell five more years to realise their mistakes. It takes time, however it may be sooner than later.
IT espionage. Great reading. “We do not want to give him more ammunition and aggravate the situation further…”. So there are still dinosaurs around who believe one can stop information in these modern times. And should dirty laundry not be washed and then dried in the sun? The incompetence within Shell is becoming pervasive. This is understandable because the staff that is allowed to stay usually follows the “leaders”, this has been beaten into them for many years. Well done John, keep up the good work and I hope you just shrug it off that Shell thinks you are a naughty boy!
I fully agree with rockdude1950 since I have been observing all this from the sidelines and also find myself in that position. Having been with Shell for 31 years (and being 55) I find that my performance has for the first time in my career deteriorated from high to below average in the short space of 6 months. I have also been unsuccessful in obtaining a position at EC-1 to EC-3 level. I would also like to add ethnicity to the equation since it has also played an important part in the decision-making process regarding retention of staff. After all just look at the ranks of EC-1, EC-2 and EC-3. At least 95%+ are white. Just shows what an ethnic diverse Company Shell is and what decisions were made at EC level. The Swiss after all are not known for their racial equality.
At this late stage in my life it will be difficult to find another job. I have no choice but to take the package when it gets offered but I am contemplating legal action. Anyone know any good lawyers? There is a very good chance that they can make a bundle out of this. Maybe we should pool together and have a class action suit on the grounds of discrimination. Any takers?
Shell encourages anyone with knowledge of activities that go against the company’s code of conduct to step forward and bring those activities to the attention of the Ethics and Compliance manager. The reorganization has provided many examples of actions that violate not just the code of conduct, but the laws of several countries in which Shell operates. I use this way to bring these actions to the attention of the Ethics and Compliance manager since I do fear retribution and a witch hunt, even with all the assurances to the contrary. The violations permeate throughout the process and come down from the high level in the EC.
Now that a new round of open resourcing has finished and that the annual ranking sessions are in full swing it is even more clear that one of the objectives of the reorganization is to weed out everyone over 54 years from the ranks of higher management, EC-1, -2, and -3. Since openly discussing age is not polite and it is in violation of the code of conduct, the HR organization and the hiring managers use code words. The marching orders are to take potential, meaning youth, and demographics, meaning youth, as criteria that can trump experience, performance, skills, expertise, and ability. I have witnessed the manipulation of information to move youth up the ranking scale and into coveted management positions. Some HR managers have been so dumb as to publicly acknowledge that rebalancing the demographics means moving younger staff to higher positions and trying to off-load the older generation.
Age is not the only blatant discrimination that I have witnessed. As someone has already pointed out, diversity of opinions was the first casualty in the early resourcing rounds. The new command and control structure needs people that will tag the line, and anyone that can challenge the EC has no room in this structure. But while seeking uniformity is bad business practice, age discrimination is also illegal. Many old timers decided not to fight it and take the packages. Bless their souls! Not all are happy to become redundant because of age. I expect many court challenges if this policy is not reversed.
If the Ethics and Compliance manager monitors this site, you are now aware of what is going on. If you look at your own HR statistics you will see a disproportionate number of people above the 54 year barrier that have been let go or have seen their ranking dropped. If you think I am wrong just publish the numbers and let an independent assessor look at the factors that determine chances of success in getting high performance ranking and higher grade jobs.
To Norco’s finest, don’t know this Joey character… but I’m sure if Jeff Funkhouser is involved, it is as you say. We saw this relationship between Jeff and the Purves for many years even up to the point when Jeff couldn’t last with Conoco and Purves saved him by bringing him back into Shell. We saw how the Purves undermined his own managers up here by staying connected with those up under him, we remember the breakfast club where Tom would have the gang of merrymen meet him for breakfast so that he could get the scoop on his managers and who weren’t following his command. The bottom line we took from all of this is Tom really has no stroke with his peers or his direct report because they don’t respect him. So… he goes down a level, hides it by saying he is staying connected with the people on the front line, and then uses their need to please him with getting information and controlling decisions from behind the curtain. When he gets caught or is called out, he calls that person an idiot and gets rid of him.For Tom, he likes the FUNKs and the Joey’s of the world because they listen to him, not because they are worthy of leadership roles. Same old Tom…. but man it must be getting old.
Well it seems my getting canned was a good thing. I don’t have to put up with all the BS thats going on at Convent. The workers are miserable, moral is the lowest it has ever been, and I hear that the managers are scared of their own shadow. I get calls from former workers complaining about how bad its gotten, and I’ve only been gone 3 months. They tell me how much they miss us, and by us I mean the real supervisors who stood up for their people, not the self serving liars that took our places. I can only say that those of you who took a staff position after our departure are fools, and only have yourself to blame when shit hits the fan and you are gone, we warned ya’ll. I’ll tell you straight up, no one is hiring anybody over 50 years old, Marathon as much as they were looking for experienced operators, is practicing age discrimination and so is Dynamic Fuels. Roxane, and her cronys screwed a lot of good people and I only hope that one day they too get screwed like we did. David’s legacy will be the man who turned Convent into the worst place to work, and he is suppose to be so religious and rightous, he’s like all the other false prophets if you ask me. I rank him with Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, etc.
Well, having read a few post a few weeks ago about Joey D at Norco, I can also attest to what was said is true. Joey skated along through his career at Shell by kissing ass and using his “Gift of Gab”. That man can talk the panties off of a nun. He did get promoted cause he kissed butt to Anne Marie, she was the his only backer, and now she is gone, everyone is hoping he gets what is coming to him “THE BOOT”. He has no degree and definitely does not belong in the position he is holding (Refining East CAM). He doesn
Staff, people should check out your PCs and see what files are on their PCs drives (do a search). Look for files with the name ‘msg*.*’. Have found files with SITI staff names in the code and with copies of my own Shell confidential emails using some code . Is Shell spying on you too?
Presumably the flotilla of storage tankers off Southwold is just another mechanism by which Shell and others reduce the supply of oil to the spot market, forcing up oil prices. But what happens when all the tankers are full, if demand does not increase?
Stu, read the comment more careful. It says one TOKEN woman only. As it happens there also are women who have earned their place. But not enough. Hence the ranks are filled with token women.
John, not just one female. Maybe check your knowledge of non british names before making sarcastic comments
THE CORPORATE HACKER
The story of Gary McKinnon (the Scottish hacker who penetrated US defence security) reveals different attitudes on either side of the pond. The prevailing US reaction might be caricatured as “Guantanamo is too good for him” while in the UK, it’s more like “OK it’s a crime, but remind me again why all those military computers didn’t have passwords ?”. If tried in the UK, McKinnon would likely face the judicial equivalent of a chinese burn. Extradited, he faces a lengthy jail sentence.
What’s this got to do with RDS ? Well, the case may worry those for whom “hacking” is now part of the day job. Many Business Applications need “administrator” access to the GIH servers on which they are forced to run. The CIO’s empire denies this access, one of many “Big Rules” enforced with total rigidity. Faced with business systems failing, support staff resort to “hacking”. One little trick is to turn temporary administrator access (granted for an install or a problem-fix) into permanent access. Another is to borrow a powerful “service account” who password is known but which can’t normally be used “interactively” (by a human). A quick hack makes the account “interactive” and gets the job done. This trick is favoured because it leaves no trace – unlike Garry MicKinnon, who was caught not by some brilliant CSI-style forensics operation but because he left his email ID on screen.
What you think about ‘corporate hacking’ may depend on whether you sit above or below the fault line where top-down “strategy” meets bottom-up reality. Arguably, it is counter-productive because it hides the failures of strategy. On the other hand, it does keep local systems running. Even if misguided, this kind of hacking is at least well-intended.
Those tempted to send the the corporate hacker to Guantanamo at might save some of their outrage for the really bad guys. In March this year, 661 GIH servers were wiped out by a mystery “virus”. Word has it that this was actually not a virus but insider vandalism, hacking of an unambiguously hostile kind whose perpetrator did not obligingly leave their email ID on-screen.
You like to titilate just as the UK tabloids do Mr.D. – perhaps in the new “senior” positions of the EU division only one female deserves a senior place in the new organization. Why should Shell pretend and try and be politically correct just to get some substandard female?
I think that these are really nice pages, but is it possible to get short list about Shell language.
For example these job levels 1-5 what they each include.
I follow these pages because of my friends. And sometimes it is difficult to read Shell’s insiders stories.
Stu
I’ve been an active blogger on a variety of sites over the years and I always use my own name and there are links to my own website for anyone who wants to follow them. This has never caused me any problems. I can see that some people might like to be anonymous – but it is quite surprising that many, many blogs, not just this one, are populated by anonymous bloggers. If you want to say something why not say who you are? Obviously whistle blowers who have something to lose are exempted!
John – to be fair, you and Paddy Briggs do use names before posting strong statements, criticisms etc. The majority of the negative (if not borderline harassing) comments are made by people called “golden triangle watchman” or the charmingly titled “NorcoScum”. Thus, I think the “Journalist”‘s point is a fair one.
Some fair comments Mr. D. (as usual I cannot agree with them all), however, who is this Michelle Obama?
REPLY TO ANONYMOUS: What kind of journalist would make derogatory comments without having the professional integrity to reveal their identity? We have the courage to make our comments about Shell senior management in our own names and are prepared to defend them in court if challenged. If you want anyone to take your comments seriously please reveal who you are. I challenge you to do so, otherwise some readers are likely to speculate over your identity if they have not already done so. To be frank, I don’t believe that you are a journalist. Prove me wrong. One final point. Censorship on the Internet is not an easy subject. It is extremely difficult as Google Images has just discovered in relation to Michelle Obama.
John, the fact that you and other participants on this site apparently believe that any excess can be justified in view of what you believe to be the far greater excesses of Shell says much more about your own integrity and reliability as a source than it does about the company. Journalists like myself and other watchers of the site will draw their own conclusions.
Anonymous, re your post….”Important matter of principle called living by the values you would hold others to”…. I’ll make sure to pass this onto the wives and children of the ones that Purves / Lauher let go so that they could save the jobs of some of their boys that came back off the project, which by the way had been screwed up because of their lack of skills on big projects. I’m sure that will make them feel better and accepting of the whole thing. Thank you for your kind and assuring words.
REPLY TO ANONYMOUS: Do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you lecture on transparency while hiding your own identity? That really is the height of hypocrisy. I have no intention of revealing any information/evidence supplied to us by insiders. This site thrives on Shell leaks. We have not spent millions as Shell has over many years pledging honesty, integrity, transparency, etc. Shell cited its Business Principles on the FORM 20F returns filed with the US Securities & Exchange Commission which led to the reserves scandal. This was done to instill confidence in the information provided. The SEC later declared that Shell had committed securities fraud in respect of the filings. The SEC and the UK FSA fined the company $150 million for fooling the markets. I have already commented on the personal remarks and raised the subject of the intimidating tone of some postings, which you have now mentioned. Regular visitors are free to draw their own conclusions about who is most transparent and holds the moral high ground – ruthless, unethical, greed driven fat cats at Shell (such as Malcolm Brinded), who have a track record of deceit, exploitation, putting profits before employee safety, arming militants and creating deadly pollution on an epic scale (and support/encourage IP theft and corrupt practices), or my father and I, who have always operated royaldutchshellplc.com on an entirely non commercial basis.
John and the other contributors to the discussion are either missing the point or simply cannot bring themselves to admit that they apply one standard to Shell’s conduct and another to their own. The tone of the language used on this site. from the personal attacks based on supposed ‘evidence’ which no one but John and the anonymous accuser seem to have seen, to the mention by name of totally unconnected family members, to the veiled warnings of ‘I’m watching you’ is clearly intended to be menacing and intimidatory. It’s not about individual cases at all, it’s about an important matter of principle called living by the values you would hold others to. If this site is afraid to embrace basic standards of integrity and transparency and simple common decency then you can hardly expect to be taken seriously when you demand it of Shell.
NorcoScum — couldn’t AGREE with you more — no doubt the poorest management I’ve seen during my career. Like you, I am also able to look myself in the mirror — knowing that my actions on the job always adhered to company policy, procedure and what was best for the company — that’s how we were taught. Scary to think of the company’s future under the present regime.
To Anonymous:
I’ve provided a lot of the information on Mr. Funkhouser, so I feel compelled to offer a response.
First, as to having a personal vendetta against Jeff or Mr. Purves, that is untrue. I’ll readily admit I would not be sorry if Jeff were dismissed, but only because I believe it would be a step in the right direction for this company and for all the Gulf Coast refineries.
Much has been written and reported here regarding the unethical and corrupt practices of people in this company, and I offered facts on similar behaviors and actions at a lower level than much of what I read on this site. My only intent was to offer the facts and perspective that it is not only at the top of the company or “other” parts of Shell / Motiva, but is pervasive throughout and at every level. I included information that went down to the hourly (relief staff) level when I discussed Camp Mo, and included information about how Human Resources is complicit. And be sure you understand that this is not hearsay, it is all factual and can be proven very easily in a court of law if necessary.
As a long time employee at Norco I can tell you that I have seen some questionable dealings, but when found out were dealt with appropriately. Those days are long gone, and the real deterioration began with Mr. Funkhouser’s arrival. And they continue today because he still has his hands in much of the goings-on at Norco. Mr. Purves is responsible for this continuing ethical problem because he is Jeff’s sponsor and has shielded him from disciplinary action.
I did mention his wife in one of my posts, but thought it was relevant to the topic, that of his sleeping with an OSE and then promoting her twice after. It was never my intention to besmirch his wife or any of his family – they are not responsible for his actions or behaviors. If it was perceived any other way then I sincerely apologize.
Finally, if anyone had told me five or ten years ago that this company would become as unethical and corrupt as it has, I would have called them liars. Maybe I’ve been naive for a long time, but I was proud to say I worked for Shell / Motiva. This is no longer how I feel, and I can’t wait to get out of this snake pit. It is a struggle to go to work every day feeling the way I do. I get no satisfaction from being part of the “team” that makes Norco and Shell / Motiva successful as I used to. I have to be satisfied with knowing that I have maintained my ethics and do my job very well and see positive results from my efforts. Not succumbing to the “new” unethical way may have hurt my career, but I can look myself in the mirror every morning and feel proud of the decisions I make.
John is very clear re the purpose of this website. Anonymous, if it is as you say, then just click to another site. You don’t have to read the information placed on here. The sad part or broader message is that Shell has created a culture that no longer feels like they can raise these issues within the company. We have some bad managers and Shell leadership is not dealing with it. Examples of this are helpful and like you, the HR leaders, a major part of hte problem, find themselves reading this blog quite frequently. My hope is someone finally wakes up and deals with the right issues. We have lost some excellent talent b, not because of performance issues or share price impact. They left because of dirty handed tactics by the likes of Purves, Funkhouser, and Lauher. At all levels. These guys are losers, there is no leadership out of this trio, and the sad part is we just continue on like business as usual.
Anonymous, the point is The Donavan’s are clear re their intent and purpose. I have been clear re my intent in my postings. What is your intent? Surely more than protecting the likes of Funkhouser. Surely you have a better example to highlight than this one.
To Anonymous and John: you are both right. But I do side with John, if he would start to be selective in what gets posted or censure only a little bit, the barrier of free speech is broken and then you are on a sloping path. I fear in modern society we have to put up with ill adapted people. Or in clear english: people that are too stupid to see what they are doing. Apologies for the blunt language to some contributors to this post.
But John, don’t you see that justifying your attacks on these individuals on the basis of ‘a trusted insider source’ smacks of precisely the kind of lack of transparency for which you regularly criticise Shell? It’s not enough to hide behind high minded expressions of regard for freedom of speech – wittingly or unwittingly you are complicit in the kind of tactics that sites like these are supposed to stand against.
REPLY TO ANONYMOUS: Your allegation of character assassination centers on postings about Jeff Funkhouser. If you look through the Shell Blog postings you will see that there have been countless postings from multiple sources directed at him and his sponsor/protector – Tom Purves. We receive more negative comments about this duo than any other Shell managers/executives on the entire planet. I have had extensive private correspondence with a trusted insider source – a person of high integrity – concerning these two individuals. The insider has worked closely with them. I have invited Purves and Funkhouser to respond to the many allegations made against them. It is against this backdrop and with high regard for freedom of speech under US law that such postings are allowed to remain on our Shell Blog. You say that I have made a “career” of highlighting the gap between Shell’s words and deeds. I don’t think that “career” is the right term bearing in mind that our so called anti-Shell websites have always been entirely non-commercial. No subscriptions, no paid advertising, no donations accepted. In short, there is not a penny of income. And we say what we think under our own names. Just to make it clear, I do not dismiss the main thrust of the points you are making. I would prefer if the intimidating tone of postings about these individuals was dropped along with the gossip. Both elements do downgrade this blog, which does contain some highly informative postings.
John, the responses to my post simply underscore that for many of the participants on this site the name of the game is character assassination rather than serious analysis Shell’s business. You say that anyone mentioned on the site has the opportunity to defend themselves with an unedited response, but of course what you are suggesting is that a named individual defend themselves anonymous critics brandishing innuendo and hearsay. You seem to think that there mere fact journalists scan the site for gossip about Shell justifies an anything goes editorial philosophy. In fact, it is precisely because this site has such a profile that you have a special obligation to fair play, especially when it comes to smears against individuals and their families. You have made a career of highlighting what you say is the gap between Shell’s words and deeds, but frankly the way you allow debate to be conducted on this site is no less hypocritical and abusive.
Anonymous, I find it interesting that you focus on Jeff Funkhouser when you mention your point. Firstly, everyone knows that Jeff is nowhere close to being a senior executive. He has been able to move up to JGA level only, and I repeat only, because Purves, through others, was able to get him promoted up to the level he is now. Jeff is actually frustrated, as he shares quite openly, because he wants to run one of the plants and he knows that the HR gods will never let one “up through the ranks” sit at a JGB level. He even states that it is because of him that Purves is where he is…. I have always laughed when I hear him state that because, and it doesn’t take much to watch this play out, that the only reason that Jeff, and Forrest Lauher for that matter, works for Shell/Motiva and has the opportunities they have is because of Tom Purves. He worked behind the scenes to get Jeff hired at Global Solutions and then worked him into a plant leadership role when he had the opportunity. He brought Forrest in directly off the street, which is where Conoco was getting ready to place him, and through the Motiva leaders created a role for Forrest leading one of the largest projects in Downstream’s history, only to see him ride it over the edge. You are not going to find anyone in the plants that Jeff has worked at feeling sorry for the Funk. He is a bad man, lost his family due to not staying at home, and only cares for himself. No tears here. The sad thing is the length of time that it takes our senior leaders to cut through the BS and deal with the issues at hand, while others take the heat or get forced to leave the company.
Tom and Jeff, I’m watching you. Forrest, no need to.
I just saw that Shell stated the costs vor Pearl are estimated to fall between 18-19 billion dollar. And now it comes: this is in line with the planned budget! I do not have the stamina nor inclination to look back in the files or on the Donovan site, but I remember that the plan was around 4 billion. Exxon was bigger for a similar project, but they withdrew in time. Nice spin: 4 fold increase of project cost and then with a straight face say this is in line with the planned budget. Must be invented by the Brinded the Beard.
Greetings!
Anonymous, you bring up a valid point in regards to bringing Shell Managers families into a discussion. I do however disagree with your assertion that this site has become nothing more then a place for disgruntled office workers to air their beefs with Managers. When you have managers and executives such as Mr. Funkhouser, and Mr. Purves running amuck within Shell with such apparent disregard for the code of ethics and business principals that these two have displayed. Where else do people voice their contempt and displeasure in the hopes that Mr. Botts, Mr. Williams, or Mr. Voser might finally wake up and put a stop to their gestapo type and totally un-ethical behaviors? What other forums exist? Many of us have expressed these concerns to The aforementioned leaders of Downstream in emails with no response.
Adolf Hitler and Royal Dutch Shell: I mentioned Shell
John, it doesn’t say much for the credibility of this site that you allow contributors to pursue what are obviously personal vendettas against individual managers. The insinuation about Mr Funkhouser (stooping so low as to bring in his wife, who has nothing to do with Shell at all) indicates to me that for all your claims of providing a useful public service you are really just becoming the vehicle for unhappy office workers to pursue petty grudges, not a place for serious commentary about Shell.
Would be nice to know your background Mr. Salmon before trying to defend the woefully outdated requirements of the SEC. I believe that Iain Percival has also mentioned that the SEC move away from their rules for reserves replacement.
Mr.D, your article “Shell jobs restructuring mess” based on an “insider” is all fine and dandy, HOWEVER, why add the irrelevant (to THIS article) the bit about Adolf Hitler. I feel you should stick to the headline of the article as some who visit this site and are 50:50 Shell might think what has A.H. got to do with JGA/B job losses. Anyway, cronyism has been widespread in Shell (and other large businesses) for eons unfortunately. A clear example is Bichsel who loves nodding donkeys all around him.
Regarding the discussion on Open (i.e. behind closed doors) Resourcing, the cat was out of the bag already in July when Voser said “an interesting exercise because we could really select those we are keen on”. If ever there was an indication of selection based on “who you know rather than what you know” – this was it. In Voser’s e-mail to staff sent whilst Jeroen was actually still in charge he referred to a number of Shell “firsts”. In his next letter in similar vein, he may wish to consider including another first “the devaluation of the notion of open, fair internal resourcing based on skill, competence, capability, and track record of delivery”.
John
As a MOR applicant, I can confirm the number of lobbying and cronyism. Its so time consuming and wasteful. The telephone bills in the office would surely increase these few months. I hope there is no fatality or major safety incidents as almost all staff lost focus.
At the end of the day, it is the incumbent or those who has higher up “Friends” who get the job. Its who you know and not what you know! I am applying outside at the same time. If I get both , rest assured, I shall go. If I do not get a job outside, I stay till I get a job, how about that! In worst case, I get a Christmas bonus.
Musaint, we have news alerts set for Shell, not for any other oil companies. We published articles a year ago, which named Shell in connection with the Buncefield explosion e.g. accurately reporting that Shell faced related HSE charges. I assume that Shell
Might have missed it in the small print Mr. D., but, I did not notice any reference to Total being found guilty of the Buncefield disaster. I remember that a number of times you liked to link Shell in articles on this awful disaster, but, not when found innocent!!
Whilst I’m having a Victor Meldrew moment – I for one am absolutely pleased that Shell IT has been farmed out. I do not believe much has been lost with this move as Shell IT always thought that contributed to the bottom line however all they contributed to was their own bottom. For the most part they are / were lazy and self opinionated.
Does anyone know why Jeff Funkhouser would be meeting with Sabrina Cox, Motiva HSSE lead, in a secluded restaurant up in Beaumont, all by their lonesome? Jeff, eyes are everywhere dude. How would Heidi look upon this? Sabrina, tsk tsk.
Morale at the Convent site is at an all-time low. Job consolidation among the operators has really turned things topsy turvy. Again, I have to reiterate the credibility of the Shell/Motiva Core Values, or should I say, the lack of credibility to these hollow words?
Eliminating board jobs, where 2 operators have always been required should be viewed as a statement by Shell/ Motiva that they are more concerned about saving money than they are about worker’s safety.
And to prove it, they’ve located the new control house well away from the refinery’s blast zone…as well as the new administration office. Could it be that they value only certain lives?
If I had my way, I’d locate the admin. offices within a 50-foot perimeter of the units- then we’ll see how many operator jobs are abolished for the sake of money. I’ll bet their perspective would be a lot different in that case. I am ashamed that I accepted a staff position and have to wallow in the mud with these infidels!
Shellwaarbenjijnu – No argument from me! Obviously knowledge loss in EP is a much more worrying than IT (a background service function you wouldn’t normally even hear about). It’s perhaps even a shareholder issue.
IT4me – interesting post but in response to your point regarding “destruction of all that knowledge” my question is – so what’s different with the rest of the business? Shell is about to dispose of several thousands of staff with heads full of knowledge and in any case appears to have developed a view that development / preservation / dissemination of petroleum knowledge is of secondary importance in the great scheme of things. I have heard it said by disappointed recently retired Shell staff that the company has no interest whatsoever in enabling transfer of their knowledge to less experienced staff despite all the blah blah about the “big crew change”, loss of knowledge, etc. The reason given that of cost & contractor management. In terms of knowledge destruction then does that indicate a company which knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing?
IT OFFSHORING: AFTER THE GOLDRUSH
You might expect Shell IT people to bitterly resent their offshored rivals. The reality is more subtle. Many of those expecting to be replaced actually weren’t. They were quietly absorbed by the business, or re-engaged further up the food chain as “architects”, a new IT role which seemingly emerged just in time. Also, RDS was once 40% British and many Brits have an odd attitude to India – a lingering sense of guilt from the days of empire nicely caught by comic Alexei Sayle when he apologised for the massacre at Amritsar while ordering a takeaway curry. Offshoring may be India’s just reward.
When the goldrush started, there was immediate concern for Shell’s Business Systems. These depend a great deal on KNOWLEDGE held in people’s heads, a quirky Shell-specific mix of business/technical understanding gained over years. The CIO’s empire had never run Business Systems before, so did they even understand this ? Their answer was “KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER”. To this day, nobody knows how it works, yet all the “KT” boxes were ticked after just a handful of international phone calls. I suspected use of the “Vulcan Mind Meld”, but according to the Star Trek website, this requires face-to-face contact, which almost never happened.
These box-ticks anyway count for little, given the phenomenal offshore “churn” rates. Half of any Wipro/IBM team you put together today will be gone within 2-3 months. Insiders are now fearing the demise of “FASTER”, the cheap and effective publisher of Downstream Financials since around 1998. The knowledge needed to implement the annual structure changes in 2010-Q1 has apparently been lost.
Back among the marble palaces of Bangalore’s business district, trade continues despite the recession. A hotel-night here can cost USD 400, more than almost anywhere on the planet. Indian Offshoring is no longer cheap, and now depends on sub-contracting to China and elsewhere to keep prices down. In 2007, Wipro made the headlines and brought us full circle by announcing a new development centre in a low-cost location nobody had ever thought of, one where the inhabitants even speak pretty good English: Atlanta, Georgia !
Can we blame the CIO for not thinking beyond the goldrush ? Perhaps not, given so many other execs had the same idea. But the destruction of all that knowledge is another matter…
Not just Shell refusing Poppy Appeal collections. Also heard that Costa Coffee have refused at a number of their outlets.
Poppy Appeal.
Disgraceful. The Company should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Pathetic.
‘PC’ ness gone mad!
I served 21 Years dealing with Shell Company owned and Dealer forecourts and NEVER any trouble. Whoever thought this one up should be sacked immediately!
Joey D is starting to sound alot like our own gab meister, Mr. Jeff Funkhouser. Jeff can spin more yarn and lay it on more it thick than many, which says alot for a boy with no degree who has come up through the ranks with his main skill being to suck on to Tom Purves and then let everyone know he is connected. Not much of a talent if you ask me but works none the less with the big ego Tom has.
Speaking of Tom, sure see him over here alot. Is he just working for Motiva or does he still have responsibilities with Shell? He always seems to be parked between PAR and La. Hmmm
Tom, I’m watching you.
Well in Norco as many of you may or may not have heard, we have a glove policy that is different throughout the refinery. In Refining East Mr. Joey D (CAM)(Got here cause he has the gift of the gab not because of what he knows) decided that after someone burnt themselves on steam tracing that every operator in refining east has to wear the long cuff gloves. Not maintenance, just operations. This was done in an attempt to show upper management – hey look someone got burnt so I will make them operators where these long cuff gloves- In Refining East only that is (Why not make us wear Fire Fighting Gear when we are working an outside job). The site procedure was not changed and this is only applicable to operators in refining east. Now let me as you operators do work in the unit, but who does more in the unit… Maintenance right? Well they only have to wear work gloves. Over the past month or so it has been brought up to CTL’s and Mr. Joey several times by several employees that these gloves are causing a safety hazard. When climbing, the cuffs get caught in the ladder cages and caused a few near misses (operators almost fell down the ladder cage). Now the operators did not put in a FIM because FIMS of this nature puts a HUGE Mark on your forehead and you are looked at as a troublemaker. You will never get an assignment or be looked at as a good operator again. This is just one of many things Mr. Joey is doing in refining east that is bringing it back to the days of 4-5 years ago when no one wanted to work in the east. He says tell him what
Shell Media Release
The important words in the media release below are “We apologise”! Well done Shell!
“Having reviewed our policy and listened to customers, we are happy to immediately endorse collection boxes for the Poppy Appeal at Shell petrol stations.
We realise our customers have been upset by our original policy. We apologise.
Our policy for some years now has been to have no collection boxes on site. The main reason for the policy was to reduce the risk of robberies that sometimes occur at site and hence minimise on-site risks for staff and customers, as we take HSSE very seriously.
We support The Royal British Legion and the Poppy Appeal. We have collections in our offices. Furthermore we had already arranged with The Royal British Legion for a projection of poppies onto our building in central London to help publicise the Poppy Appeal.”
Reply to jlmfrance: Thanks for the kind words. For more information about the Poppy Appeal, click on the link placed at the foot of the Paddy Briggs article.
Paddy: well said, all your arguments are spot on. It proves the top of Shell has lost it completely.
Has Shell forgotten that many of their worldwide E&P operations are directly supported and protected by HM armed forces? In Nigeria, Brunei, Oman and Iraq, Shell’s operations are protected by the Gurkhas, SAS and military secondees. Shell’s E&P operations would be severely curtailed without their support.
Inasmuch as I enjoy reading your blog, it is sometimes difficult to understand.
Now, for example, what is is this poppy story all about? Could you post a small explanation for non UK readers please.
Thank you for your understanding and keep up the good work
Gl
SHELL IT’s ‘IDENTITY CRISIS’
One of the more intriguing IT projects running at the moment is “IAM” – IDENTITY and ACCESS MANAGEMENT. Shell has always had poor quality ‘people’ records. Identity Theft is all around us. So an idea now exercising senior minds is that that “Corporate Identity Theft” could become a reality.
Far-fetched? Remember that computer viruses started in science fiction. Many Shell people now work from home and never meet anyone face-to-face. Some have never even met their bosses. So “IAM” sounds like an idea whose time has come, and is perhaps even overdue. Could this even be chance to enforce a set of standards on ALL Shell systems ? Even those that persistently ignore them?
Reader, how did you know I was talking about SAP? And what have they done this time?
The “I” in IAM is for IDENTITY. Every new Shell SAP system creates its ‘people’ records from scratch. SAP is foreign to Windows, so its reconciliations with Active Directory (Who’s Who) are occasional and half-hearted, like 3rd world crackdowns on crime. Open SHELL PEOPLE and you see hundreds of identity errors. Open GSAP and you see sales figures for reps who left months ago. Escalate either and you are a troublemaker. Shell/SAP culture institutionalises poor data quality and low diligence. Nobody cares.
The “A” is for ACCESS MANAGEMENT. Walk into any Shell office with a laptop purchased 45 minutes earlier and you can access live SAP servers without a SMARTCARD. This arises because:
(i) Network security is turned off to allow Global Roaming, allowing foreign laptops in.
(ii) Smartcard protection itself only covers Windows systems.
(iii) The Shell/SAP community are ‘above the law’.
There is still a significant password barrier to overcome, but security standards the Group claims compliance with deem this insufficient. What’s more, this security hole has been there for the best part of a decade, known about and ignored. What we have instead is a ban on foreign laptops, effectively a sign on the chicken coop saying “No Foxes Please”.
Conclusions ? I would suggest that IAM is a good idea provided no SAP technology is involved because in Shell’s hands, it’s sloppy, insecure and ruinously expensive. And errm, guess what…
From what I hear while I’m out and about at Convent, the union members respect and appreciate their local chairman, Padu.
His dedication to his members is exemplary and his integrity should be envied by Motiva staff employees. Core values at Motiva is a joke! Respect for all and honesty/ integrity are all elements that have faded into oblivion. Management lies constantly and accuses the union leadership of creating disharmony. How can anyone with a fraction of common sense buy into this management bs?
My advice to hourly workers at Convent: Save your money and don’t get into a lot of debt because you will need it for the next contract negotiations…That’s when we draw the line in the sand with a STRIKE!
Someone wrote:(1): Is it true that Shell has invested heavily in downhole electric heating technology for heavy oil to the tune of at least $800 million plus the cost of mega licences in Canada, only to find that it does not work in practice? Is this another case of the technology lunatics running the asylum?
This should not surprise you. If they have ten projects they would like to put in and each project cost 5 million nbut they only have 20 million in their budget, they will spend 2 million on each project knowing none will work so they can get it in. Next year they will spend another 2 or 3 million getting the project to work because that comes out of the run and maintain budget and not the project budget.
Does anybody have any dirt to dish on two senior Shell so-called senior managers w*****. Im referring to Eric van der Meer(Retail whose only interest is his own career and two fingers to making the right business decision) and the other w***** Nicholas Chong (Supply & Distribution in Singapore (has a tendancy to falsify HE records when people get killed so he can keep his performance reviews relatively clean. The reason for asking is that both of these guys are up to their old tricks while the axe is about to fall on 5,000 of my colleagues. These buggers need to be front off the redundancy line … if only I had the power…
POSTINGS RECEIVED FROM “guesswho”:
(1): Is it true that Shell has invested heavily in downhole electric heating technology for heavy oil to the tune of at least $800 million plus the cost of mega licences in Canada, only to find that it does not work in practice? Is this another case of the technology lunatics running the asylum? (2): You would think that Shell Upstream being run by a facilities engineer (“TFA” Brinded) that they would get their major facility projects right. The major project track record over the last five years is abysmal – Bonga offshore Nigeria, Sakhalin Russia, Khashagan Khazakstan, even Harweel Oman all have huge cost blowouts totalling $billions and delays in both first production and in reaching plateau and country stakeholders dragging back ownership and control from Shell.
While project managers are getting shot, does no one on high realise that the system is broke, that Shell just cannot manage such projects as most of its senior people grew up in the low cost era 1987-2000 when very few of these projects happened.
When will it appoint managers who understand the business and not just how to climb the Shell ladder?
I am interested in Buying Canadian Refinery
Who can sell it to me.
I have a good relationship with Quebec Government in the past they have provided funding for Projects of over 2.2 billion dollars.
Please contact me
Roger Langille
Nicklan Resources Ltd
rglangille@gmail.com
First off…very interesting site, I enjoy reading the commentary. I am not a professional with a degree. Just a contract supervisor (Not for Shell) in good times and a lowly worker that worked for a wage through a contractor that has Shell work when times were not so good.
I am posting because although the commentary is interesting there seems very little of it that deals with the lowest rung on the Shell ladder; that being the workers who actually do the hands on work. It may or may not be interesting to some, but if anyone wants to know about how the average worker feels about Shells’ HSE program then read on.
Several months ago I had the opportunity to work on Shell jobsite. I was orientated and introduced to the 12 rules. It seemed like common sense and I agreed with them all. As part of our work proceedure a daily morning safety meeting is held and the crew submits Job Observation Cards. In my alternate work for other Oil entities I assumed that these cards would be for near misses or to point out opportunities to improve on worker well being or performance. One day at the morning meeting our Shell rep reiterated that the 50kmph rule on Shell operated road systems would be strictly enforced and any violators (meaning every single crew member in the vehicle would be terminated). A few days later I submitted a card that said: “I warned my driver that he should slow down as we could be terminated for going over the speed limit”. Within 2 hours that card was scanned and sent to the head office in this particular country and the word sent down was: Find out who was driving and terminate their employment. When asked by my foreman who it was I refused and offered my own dismissal instead. Long story short I remained onsite and never revealed who the driver was. At some point my ethics and my own moral judgement and experience in dealing with hazardous situations would not let me be the “rat“
As a crew (or team) we all agreed that the Job OB cards were to be considered “rat” cards and nobody ever took them, or Shell in general, seriously again. I was later told by my manager that Shell had a sit down meeting with them before the job started and stated that if an unsafe act or violation was corrected by a fellow worker that no further disciplinary action would be required. Well lo and behold we found out that Shells’ word doesn’t amount to much.
While I agree with the 12 rules, it is Shells heavy handed corporate management of their safety program that makes them the laughing-stock in the industry. The Shell reps I have seen have their hands tied and are constantly in fear of their position and untimately their jobs. As a contract supervisor I had heard of some ridiculous HSE strategies by the larger Oil Companies, but in my opinion Shell has one of a kind and it is not repected by the workers so how can it be a good one….
And like I told senior managers (much to their annoyance): SAP is like concrete, extremely flexible when it is in the mixing phase, zero flexibility after it has set. Companies like Aera adjusted their organisation to suit SAP, not the other way around. Not necessarily bad, but in the long term it wastes good money. The 10 billion dollar I estimated is money to SAP and the various consultants. The in house effort at least doubles that amount but is easily hidden.
Guest1, my apologies for the jargon ! I think the Herkstroter decision is interesting because 1994 is 15 years ago, a long time in the ephemeral world of IT. The ravenous SAP “BW” didn’t even emerge until 1998. So you might suppose that any decision taken back then has limited validity today, but the SAP habit seems unshakeable !
You also touch on a serious weakness of these big “lock-in” deals, the suspicion that senior people might hold shares in suppliers like SAP and Microsoft. I have no idea if this happens, but the scope for abuse is considerable. And, by the way, I would guess your USD 10 Billion is not far off !
Hello IT4me, I recognise all you state! Since Herkstroter decreed in 1994 that Shell would go completely over to SAP, he had no idea how it would pan out. (Perhaps he had shares in SAP? As a banker he had no scrupules. He even tried to push Shell out of Petroleum Engineering because ‘we have Schlumberger’. Only a minor coincidence his son worked for Schlumberger? I nearly start to digress in his extremely poor role in ING so will stop here). And nobody in Shell is willing to make an estimate of the costs todate or the benefits todate. I bet the costs are a magnitude higher than the benefits. And costs are tangible, I would not be surprised if Shell had spent more than $10 billion on SAP related nonsense alone over the past 15 years but perhaps IT4me can be more specific?), benefits much less so. It all appears very similar to what is happening in the Dutch politics. Some politicians want to know the cost/benefit of all the immigrants in this country. Other politicians want to be silent over this at all costs. The ‘silent’ majority who has a lot of common sense simply knows what it is. Just like in Shell. Your great posting would even be better without some of the specific jargon.
GSAP/GMPR: THE MARCH OF THE DINOSAURS
With COST-CUTTING now everywhere, where are the cuts in IT spending ? The ‘dinosaur in the room’ of Downstream IT has long been GSAP. Why after 5 years of heroic spending for such pitiful results has GSAP not been stopped ?
One reason is undoubtedly the “Star Wars” effect. But another factor may be that GSAP was a pet project of the current CIO Alan Matula during his Downstream days. Mr Matula has a fondness for IT ‘spectaculars’, vast schemes in which everything changes at once and nothing ever has any track record. Mr Matula is also something of a Dick Fuld, a man with whom disagreement is unproductive. So GSAP blunders on.
Ingenious ways are found to bury costs. One simple trick is pushing work into the future. Another is to manoeuvre difficult bits into the “Connected Application Portfolio”, the family of systems that GSAP was supposed to replace, but which is actually still growing. But the most flagrant example must surely be the “GPMR” system. GPMR was launched to provide a NEW layer of Management Information – except it wasn’t NEW ! GSAP was originally going to replace all the MI with fossilised reports, dramatically sweeping away an entire portfolio of “Legacy” systems (which were mostly working just fine, and something of an embarrassment to the strategy). The GSAP MI plan failed comprehensively, so GPMR is a disguised 2nd attempt. Lessons learned? No. A new approach? No. Another dinosaur? Seemingly.
If you must build Jurassic, then MI cries out for a Velociraptor: fast and adaptable ! Instead, we have the full T-rex, built around SAP BW. GPMR’s one innovation was a new package from Business Objects, recently acquired by SAP so a small opportunity to simplify supply. Brilliant ! Trebles all round ! BO XI was duly crowned as the new MI standard, just in time for the first project to discover that it didn’t work with BW. Nobody had checked, and there was no track record. As GPMR approaches its 2nd anniversary, hundreds of millions have been spent with little to show for it.
Is there any escape from this Strategic Disneyland ? We desperately need the CIO’s self-serving empire pruning back, and the business to re-assert control. Neither seems likely. Perhaps the estimable Paddy Briggs is right: this a good time to start selling Downstream !
Tom Pain, I agree with you if you you mean that it’s time to get rid of those staffers and managers who can polish a dog turd and sell it as a fine piece of art. Risk is that these people somehow still manage to hang on to their jobs, but I think we should give the new CEO a chance…
I went through the demeaning re-application process in 2004. Decide to take a package and leave.
After so many years of laying off others (which I realize is an unpleasant duty) your time finally comes. Can’t say I feel too sorry for you. You took care of your buddies and suck-ups as long as you could, now it comes down to them or you, or them AND you. What did you expect? Making work for your mangement buddies can only go on for so long. I dodged lay-offs for 15 years when the Dutch took over in the States before it finally caught up to me, so don’t expect too much sympathy for your poor “office floor atmosphere”. You middle managers must have known for a long time that there were too many of you for too few jobs. Of course this is a bad time to be kicked out into the real world, but no time is good. What goes around comes around.
John,
I dips me lid to you for your email to Voser yesterday; an accurate reflection (I believe) of the office floor atmosphere here in Perth. Damn right the comments contained in your message should be of concern. Last line of your email is a minor classic; it’d be funny if it weren’t so tragic…
I Have been reading the blogs regarding the poor workers on grade 5 and above having to reapply for there jobs. As one of the lower grade workers who has gone through this process 3 times in the last 5 years I actually agree with the way this is being handled. For many years it was the lower grades that always took the hit when jobs were culled.The management were never effected and were just moved to another position. Most of these jobs never really existed and were created to keep the “boys club” going.
As the song goes “Dont fear the reaper” its about time he came to shell.
Good letter John. To let everybody re-apply in order to get rid of only 5% of the jobs sounds like a ridiculous, and potentially self-destuctive solution for a (real) staff “over weight” problem. Most likely designed to spare some gutless leaders from having to tell the poorest performers face to face that they are selected for the cull. Bad news for 5% of course but at least you allow the other 95% to focus on their jobs.
John, your letter touches on a real concern. vd Veer tried to introduce a “business first mentality”. Peter Voser has managed in less than 3 months to change this to a selfcentred survival mode for most of the current Shell employees. Politicians and buddies clubs survive under the new HR recruiting policy of “no interviews”. I wish all my colleagues who have to post for their own jobs, all the best in these incredible stressful times.
Looking at Hayward’s achievements over the last two years at BP, it’s easy to see how he might just be the man who could turn Shell around…
WTF, what you speak of is true and happened. Brignac has done nothing and if you read what Padu put out, it covers all of this.
So glad to have found this useful informative, trust worthy site..
lets keep snapping at the heels of company’s and corporations and government’s who go about with no care of law, humanity, environments, people…….. greed, control, power are the true beliefs for the ruling rulers of this world.
IT NEEDS TO STOP
I read with concern that apparently the use of President Obama’s name might cause confusion? Here’s hoping people wouldn’t seriously think that it was the real man himself?
REPLY TO “PRESIDENT OBAMA”: The posting was not from Gale Norton but someone using her name. The person in question claims to have evidence relating to the U.S. investigation involving former U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton. Hence the use of her name, which unfortunately causes confusion, as your posting in the name of President Obama is also likely to do.
I wonder whether some people actually believe that figures in the public eye would reach out to a gripe-site to ask for advice and protection? Surely nobody would be taken in just because of the name the person used? Surely?
Oi WTF read your first sentence – what does a “simple” E&P man (or even a refiner) make of that gobbledeegook?? Speeky plain English please so that more can enjoy your contributions!!
Word on the street is Convents newest East A PTL (RB) may be fired due to breaking a makor SI during the H-Oil pitstop. Seems RB was in such a rush to save time that safety took a back burner and he told Ops to cut locks and chains off of isolation points instead of following the rules and unlocking the safety devices with the proper keys. Words is Jeff M found a pile of chain and locks on the slab and wanted to know why. Now will the uppers and Convent do the right thing, or will this be sweeped under the rug? Hate to see someone loose there job but this person is known to have the attitude that rules are not for him and he knows better than the ones making the rules. If they let this one go it will strengthen the others cases that where fired for breaking the cardnal rules.
Bill Cambell’s findings are applicable to large parts of the oil industry and are certainly not limited to the North Sea. Just a few years ago a shell senior HR manager proudly reveiled that 70% of all senior safety positions in Shell were filled by high potential candidates who had to do 2 years in HSE. Unfortunately high potential and competence are not linked, and the minority 30% competent professional HSE staff, have a hard time keeping the safety performance at a level that is more or less acceptable. The other 70% work hard re-defining incidents and updating statistics. And in the end we all got a nice big bonus in 2008 for our excellent TRCF performance…(just don’t ask questions and take the money please)
Gale Norton. Your best beat is to talk to a Lawyer who gives you protection. Any discussion with anyone else allows Shell to sue for defamation by obtaining emails and meeting notes which can not be held back. I advise all to seek legal counsel and not to trust non lawyers. Mr Donovan can not give you any “protection” as he has no legal rights in law to such.
REPLY TO “GALE NORTON”: Please contact me by email as suggested. I am sure you will be completely reassured with what I have to say. I look forward to hearing from you.
To Gale Norton: I have posted a few times on this blog and outside this blog I have had contact with the Donovans. Initially I was extremely careful and holding back. After meeting John I can tell you: have no fear!
Before taking that step John, can you please confirm that I will be plugging into an existing relationship where trust between you and the US authorities has already been established? That situation, if the speculation has foundation, would greatly encourage me, as does your reputation for protecting sources. There must be less risk in supplying evidence through you than trusting my security and future to US authorities with their own agenda.
“Nigeria offers ‘revolutionary’ oil deal to the Delta” – oh that the money would reach the coal face in the Delta!! Those of us that have worked there will readily realise that of the 10%, ALL 10%, will go to corrupt local officials and State Governors and their cronies. Meanwhile the likes of Shell will continue to pay milions & millions of US$ every year to communities who will (via the rebels, who I am sure are stirred into action by Government officials) still complain that Shell does nothing. Corruption in Nigeria is a cancer. Unfortunately it also is a problem within SPDC & SNEPCO.
REPLY TO “GALE NORTON”: I am of course very interested in what you are suggesting. You are welcome to email information to me via john@shellnews.net. Alternatively, for enhanced security, start a free hushmail account at hushmail.com and send your information to johndonovan@hushmail.com. It will then be encrypted. I think its best we continue this discussion by email.
John, love your site and your leaflets. I have seen your article about issues surrounding the award of oil shale leases, the hiring of Gale Norton and the current investigation. I have what may be important information but being a shell employee puts me into a hazardous situation, I am not protected by US whistleblower law. There is speculation here that you are the source of shell emails supplied to the investigators. Since I do not want to put myself in jepardy by supplying information direct, can I use you as a conduit to pass on evidence while retaining my anonymity?
I agree with you Guest1, but, there was / is always the proviso that you had served 27 years service so that you were able to maximize your pension. I also feel empathy with your comment on “difficult” people being forced out.
On the dirty little secret: Shell has always made allowance to preferentially remove older people (i.e >50) for two reasons. The first: it improved the age profile (traditionally the workforce was relatively old). And second, it was MUCH better for the incumbent as the redundancy package was much better if above 50. At least until a few years ago when a redundancy above the age of 50 was often seen as some form of early retirement. And the closer the incumbent was to retirement, the cheaper it was for the company and pensionfund too.
Yes, one could call this discrimination but the bulk of the staff was very happy to be discriminated in this way! Many times the redundancy was held up a while to enable the incumbent go over the 50 year line. What was much worse in my humble opinion was that in the ranking criteria ‘attitude’ started to play a very dominant role and was the vehicle to remove ‘difficult’ people. You know those people that were right but not politically correct. Or put the directors in a difficult spot. Now that I call genuine discrimination!!
Musaint… no waffle here, the only thing you probably couldn’t interpret was GT, which stands for Golden Triangle. The rest is just fact. Tom, we’re watching you.
REPLY TO INTERESTED: We have not contacted the LA Times or the US authorities in relation to the Gale Norton matter. The LA Times contacted us.
“Unloveable Shell, the Goddess of Oil” – why are you now digging up age old news items (in this case from that lousy left wing paper). Surely there is more recent articles both in favour and not with Shell activities?! And, whilst on my soap box, can I again request the contributers such as “norcoproud” write so that more of us can understand some of the pseudonyms etc. I’m sure there might be something relevant “norcoproud” but I can’t see through the waffle.
Mr Donovan, you confirmed that the Los Angeles Times had been in contact with you regarding the Gale Norton scandal. I also read the recent postings about the Shell emails you supplied to the Russian government which cost Shell its ownership stake in Sakhalin2. Have you also supplied Shell internal information to the US government relating to the Norton scandal?
Ref. “The dirty little secret of Shell’s reorganization” – I can very well believe that age has / does play a part in choice of candidate. I know for a fact (as I was involved with it) that in the reorganizations / redundancies of 1999 & 2001 age most certainly was a criteria that we had to include in the ranking of all staff.
Dear norcoproud,
Thanks for the response. I had already similar about Motiva. Though it seems, many folks in Norco will not have a choice – if the rumors are true, it would become an all or mostly Motiva site. I am interested in seeing how the site consolidation plays out.
What really irritates me about the Amnesty International call for action in the Niger Delta is the fact that there is no mention of the 70% partner in all the onshore operations – namely the Nigerian Government. We all know Shell could do better in Nigeria – but I am getting sick and tired of all the campigns that just target Shell – the operator, but NOT majority shareholder in the Niger Delta – that is NNPC – the Government owned oil company!
JohnDoe, I would recommend that you do not even think about Motiva. Firstly, it is cash strapped with all the money they are throwing into Port Arthur. They can spin the news stories like the recent one here all they want. The bottom line is they had lost control of the project due to inept leadership of Forrest Lauher and his team to keep it in control. The project was almost cancelled and now it moves forward on an “adjusted timeline”. Only because Uncle Tom sold the Saudis on an 8.5B project instead of 7B. My sources tell me it is not a penny less than 9-10B. Albeit with a new project director.
The leadership in Motiva is weak. The 3 stooges who are plant managers have been covered here already. No “upside” with this group. Forrest “Lie”her deserved to get fired and only got to stick around because he knows the Uncle Purves and is his little boy, actually roomed with him for awhile and on weekends still does at the lakehouse. You have Brignac, who is just in over his head. And you have Hermie, nice guy as pointed out,…but cmon. Hermie only has a job because he worked with Uncle Purves as a peer over in the gold old GT area and got saved when Huntsman dumped him.
You got Uncle Tom Purves, the biggest liar of them all driving the ship. This man is juts down right dirty and has no ethics, he is a control freak who thinks everyone else who doesn’t follow his lead are “idiots”, and oh by the way has never delivered results anywhere he went. Just look at the scoreboard of any site he went to. Never delivered a dime. Yet somehow he moves up.
Peace and the rest of the clowns supporting Tom are just jokes.
Stay where you are until Shell senior execs fix the leadership problems in Motiva.
Dear all,
What do you make of working for Motiva as opposed to Shell? I am looking for differences in culture, differences in leadership and overall viability, and differences in opportunities for career progression. Can anyone weigh in?
Dear Mr Wiseman can you please let me know if Shell used asbestos in their coal gasification plant in Dong Ting. If yes, did Shell decided to remove the asbestos (providing a safe working environment) or did Shell decided for cost reasons to take no further action? Who will take care of the asbestos during operation and maintenance?
Following on from the post by Iain Percival the observation by Peter Voser in an address at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars on the (implied) importance of petroleum engineering is of interest “Improved oil recovery rates also will be increasingly significant, he predicted.
I am somewhat bemused by the fact that although Shell has always been regarded as an industry leader (at least internally!) that so many of the key jobs are being taken by folks from outside who are not career Shell. Those that particularly come to mind are the top PE and Drilling positions, Daly came from XOM in 2006, and Sharpe from a position as a consultant in the late 80’s I believe. As you look across the EC-2 positions the number of folks with 10 years or less with Shell is staggering. We are either a) Clearing house of the old empires, or b) we are unable to fill these positions with candidates of a suitable level from within shell. Either way not particularly reassuring.
Iain’s article captures not only the PE community’s concerns. I wish we had such a strong advocate and champion in my discipline. Unfortunately in my area you only make promotion and VP jobs if you know how to handle mirrors and blow white smoke (and of course the creative adaptation of definitions also helps ..). When vd Veer told the investment community that the Reserve issue was the only optimistic reporting problem in Shell, I couldn’t stop laughing for two days! Anywhere you look in Shell there is “optimistic” reporting, in HR, IT and of course HSE!
dutchdude – and your real point is………?
At the working level there are no problems between Americans and those from across the pond, it is just that management from both sides, including Brits and other continental managers, have a terrifying lack of knowledge how to run a business. I am willing to bet that 90% of them would not even be able to run a dry-cleaner with profit. Let alone understand how to operate a washing machine and what the true cost of detergent is. Too much time is spend in nice conferences and workshops…when was the last time any of them visited a construction yard or production site in earnest (say for a week or so)and actually got oil on their hands….
Uncle Tom… A very simple analysis you make. Yet if that was the full truth, we might be able to live with it. The reality is your true Unlce Tom has used the guise of market conditions and need for competitiveness to “rid” the house of people that actually had a head on top of the shoulders and knew what they needed to do. When it wasn’t in the same controlling direction that TP wanted, he writes them off as “idiots” and moves to replace them. It is well know all the way back to his tracks at WR when he got his first big job, he wanted total control and is willing to undermine his direct reports to get it by going around them to their direct reports. Then up from the ashes come the likes of Funkhater and Hartsock who haven’t a clue other than to satisfy the controlling one. He then rewards them all the while eliminating the true leaders under his wake
What is very clear from the comments below is that both RDS and Shell Oil sustained significant damage from the efforts to merge their incompatible cultures. Perhaps this has even been understood by the people who are now trying to reorganise Shell on the basis of distinct entities for the Americas and the rest of the world. The question is whether it is too little, too late.
Shellwaarbenjijnu: Well said, I could not have improved on your post!
Well the ways of “Hitler Heidi” are back in Refining East at Norco from what I am hearing. Evelio put a stop to that when he took over and let the operators operate and the CTL’s be CTL’s. Joey already put a stop to that. He is “MICRO MANAGING” the department just as Heidi did (the only way he knows). He is doing what he always does, talks to the Engineers before meetings, and brings back what they say to the big meetings and says it like he actually thought of it…. YEAH RIGHT JOEY… You are not that bright! He also is doing what he did best at Norco “LIE” straight to your face. That man can lie with the best of them. He is also a good smooth talker. That is why he is in the position he is in, He has the gift of gab if you will. Hopefully this will not last long now that Anne Marie is gone. She was his only backer and he knows it. No one else in the plant likes him and it is surely showing. Hopefully with the shake up in upper management they will see what an IDIOT Joey is and how he is not deserving of the position he holds. Maybe Hermie knows Joeys past and will take care of it before the new leader comes in or the new leader will take care of him when he gets in. In closing, keep lying Joey, it will definintely catch up with you.
Uncle Tom – you are obviously an American to make such a comment about the arrogant Dutch taking “you” down the tube. History will record that the robust, strong, technically superior RDS was totally derailed by the Americanisation of the company as a quid pro quo for the buying out of the remaining Shell Oil stock in the 1980’s. The dreadful “transformation” of Shell was driven by Shell Oil parented personnel who brought in the short termism and such nonsense as Kotters “7 Habits of Successful people” and Senge’s “5th Discipline”. True insights such as those of Charles Handy were not only discouraged, they were essentially banned. Almost overnight Shell was turned away from being a successful technically strong company functioning on a core of motivated, loyal employees, a long term vision and core beliefs to being a Enron Wannabee. Many of us who had grown up in Old Shell were appalled by the arrogance, hubris, hype, hypocrisy and crass greed of the new breed of colleagues who were focused on one thing only – the end of year merit rise and bonus. Ridiculous and unsubstantiated claims on performance were the norm – a far cry from the modesty, even humility of the traditional RDS employee. The seeds of the what became the proved reserves issue were sown at that time. So please Uncle Tom reserve the word arrogant for the Americans who truly believed that they and only they knew about the oil business and had to come over to teach the hapless, ignorant Europeans what to do and how to do it. The once strong company has never recovered from the insights and assistance foisted upon it during the transformation years and, as you put it, has been going down the tubes ever since.
My comments on a few things . . . .
I like this website, its amusing to read as time permits.
Its full of facts, fiction, lies, gripes, belly aching, and some revealing details about people in Shell and Motiva that they thought no one would ever know about. Amusing!
Fact #1
Since the arrogant Dutch took over command of Shell USA some years ago, we starting going down the tube. If you work with many Dutch people in Shell, you will soon realize that they think they own the Company and rules are not made for them, but for everyone else. I watched them discriminate, lie, cheat, and steal from the Company because they (because they were a Dutch employee) owned the Company.
Fact #2
3rd World Countries, wise up. Shell is there because you are cheap, and that
We all know why Anne Marie left. Tom Purves had a vendetta out against her because he thought she was the link to his old boss. Elsenhans never respected Purves and he knew it. So in typical Tom fashion, he used the Funkhouser to undermine what Anne Marie was trying to do at Norco. She finally learned how to accept it and just live with what she had. I guess she finally got tired enough of the disrespect she got from Tom. So now Tom really has his Motiva team set…. the A team….. We have Lost in the Forrest Lauher at PAR( and trust me, he is lost), Convent has the Purves child David Brainiac, and now Norco has the interim site manager Mr. Hermie Bundick. Last time we saw Hermie over here in the Golden Triangle, he was getting run off by Huntsman because of the plant explosion in 2007. Now that is the A team….. of course don’t forget the bench…. Jeff Funkhouser( wonder how he is doing in China or if he even was able to get a passport) and the bag carrier Jim Hartsock…. watching pipe modules from his little old home in St Louis….. I wonder what the boys in St Louis think of Hartsock now….. Big time Jim…..
Tom, you suck. And I’m watching you.
Thanks “
EXTRACT FROM A SUNOCO PRESS RELEASE: Sunoco also said that Anne-Marie Ainsworth would rejoin the company as Senior Vice President, Refining, effective November 2, 2009. Ainsworth most recently served at Motiva Enterprises LLC, as General Manager of the Motiva Norco Refinery in Norco, Louisiana.
Maybe you can ask Mr Wiseman if Shell is still using asbestos in new plants or have they banned these kind of practises (all according the SGBP).
….. and so the good news (for other IOCs) continues. BP announces the 19th deep water hit in deep water Angola. Where is the Shell name associated with adding reserves from real exploration and appreciating material volumes from real petroleum engineering? It would make such a refreshing change from the association with scandal – real or imagined.
The core issue is touched on by ex-insider in his observations on Botts. He is typical of the men in charge now. It’s all talk (US inspired “MBA B/S” which is bringing Shell to its knees. He is the one who announced the 25 mln pound global centre to be built at Tullos, Aberdeen. He was the one who talked up the mythical “yet to be produced” 25 bln barrels from the North Sea at Offshore Europe in 2007. The first vanished as quickly as it came, the second lives on as a silly pipe dream of those (like Botts) who confuse hydrocarbon molecules in the subsurface with “reserves”. In addition, he has bequeathed a legacy of over promoted yesmen to Shell whilst causing competent staff to resign in disgust. He was one of the worst “my way or the high way” types (and there is a lot of competition for the title “worst”) ever to have been visited on the company.
Interesting topics.
I find some of these blog-comments about petroleum and reservoir engineering quite interesting. As I reported in my last issue, TAQA expressed great hopes at the Pelican field where recovered reserves to date have been just 11% of reserves in place. Although it seemed surprising at the time, reading these comments puts it all in perspective.
Anyone with any other comments can send them directly to sen@btinternet.com
In jan 2006 Botts stated EPE was a cash engine for the Group. Strange that with much higher oilprices Expro will be posting quite a loss this year. Could it be that his policies have not achieved what he wanted? This is bad news for the Downstream which he can go and wreck now. And only 2-3 years ago McFadyen was telling all the british politicians how much Aberdeen would grow with their unique skills and talents and therefore we needed another building of 25 million pounds. That also has been quenched in the meantime. Could it be that our leaders suffer from a lack of vision? Could it be they prefer delusional targets and hollow words? I believe so. Expro people better watch out for their jobs. McFadyen and Botts have looked after themselves and forgotten about the masses.
Yes Anne Marie did a great job. I am just wondering what Joey D will do now that she wont be there to suck up to her every minute of the day. Yall all know that he did get the job with NO DEGREE and that when he was in operations he had TONS of trouble qualifying on any job that he trained on. By the way all of you complainers out there if you think it is that bad just LEAVE already, I did it and LOVE BEING OUT! The grass is greener and very fluffy if you were wondering!
Outsider: well spotted! In Henry’s presentation he mentions a 5% decline from existing fields. This is hope over reason. Just look at viewgraph 8 of the famous overpromise-underdelivery presentation in 2000. I am sure you can get hold of a copy. In those days the decline of existing oil assets was 10% per year and this was based on very detailed and thorough work by professionals.
If anything, the decline will now be steeper because Shell has trained and developed people good at behavioural skills and preferably working in finance or HR and much less in the mundane fieldmonitoring and dreadful reservoir engineering. That is something the service contractors will do for us. (Remember that Jennings was of the opinion HR meant Human Remains, a scandal ensued and he apologised. But we were all wrong and he was right!!!).
So, if Henry thinks we will decline by 5%, this means gasassets are infinite and will not decline. Therefore I humbly suggest Simon to go speak (or more important, LISTEN) to some reservoir engineers who will explain it slowly to him. These should be reservoir engineers who are close to retirement and have nothing to fear. There should be one or two left… And don’t tell Brinded you spoke to a reservoir engineer because he might blow a fuse!
Couple all this highly optimistic forecasting (other people might call it lies) to the recent inability of Shell to deliver on major projects and the 3.25 mln boe/day becomes very dodgy.
No doubt we will be following the production endeavours of Shell on the Donovan site.
How much did Shell pay Bloomberg to misquote their production forecasts?
It is unbelievable that two of Bloomberg’s journalists have put out a story, reprinted around the world again and again, which is completely false. Shell’s own forecast in the Deutsche Bank presentation is that they will be producing 3.2 MMBOE/day in 2012, while BP expect to produce 4.1 MMBOE/day.
Shell overtaking BP? I don’t think so. Some of the articles even attribute yesterday’s increase in Shell’s share price to the claim that Shell will increase their production by 30% – could it be that someone is deliberately trying to manipulate the share price?
Anne Marie, you did good. We will miss you. At the same time, we here knew this was coming if you read the “tea” leaves. Tom Purves in the last few months has replaced the GM at Port Arthur( Monnette) with his buddy Forrest Lauher, he has allowed his buddy Jeff Funkhouser to run rampant here at Norco while Anne Marie had to protect her job by giving in and letting Jeff run the show. You obviously have read all the posts about Jeff. Bottom line, he is no good. Tom then moved Jeff into Port Arthur to as Jeff says put a fork in it. People get wise to Jeff and then he mysteriously needs to go overseas and help on the Houdini start-up for an olefins plant that the Funk has no clue how to run. Hmm, how does that work? Tom brings Brainiac in at Convent and we all see the mess that he has created there almost daily. David, you sent out any emails lately? And now Anne Marie has left the company.Anybody want to guess why?Is HR tracking the impact this guy is making across his region? or are they allowing him to run amuck via GG. Tom, you are really making a difference. Wait until the formal complaints start happening. Tom, there is alot out here that people know and will come forward with if the company shows it will act. You stink Tom and you know it.
I see Downstream assets in greece are for sale…following on from the imminment sale of same in New Zealand. Paddy Briggs I think is right…Shell is slowly getting out of the Downstream business.
Outsider: your remarks are right on the money! If you have heard lies for many years, why should you trust them suddenly now? Any company embarking on those major projects would be keeping technical staff. Voser et all are just hoping the shareprice will go up based on hard cost cutting and nice stories.
The Bloomberg article of September 25th seems to echo a very familiar concept from the Watts/Enron era – promises, promises and more promises. But where is the additional production promised by Brinded repeatedly over the past few years? A remarkably prescient presentation entitled “Overpromise and Underdelivery” was published on this site a few years ago. We seem to be repeating the process. Shell is shedding staff precisely because it does not have enough projects to justify current staffing levels. In the medium term a lack of development projects can only lead to a decline in production.
Nice hoax on the Pectina Devastatis!
But do not forget it was true then and it still is true today! And history always repeats itself, also in Shell.
Remember the heady days in the early 2000s when Reservoir Engineers were deemed to be a bunch of overly conservative
intellectuals and evil Watts and his bully boys were going to sort them out and teach them what ‘real’ business
meant. The process of rewarding promise and penalising realism was implemented with great vigour. We all know what
happened next. Watts fired in disgrace but with a handsome pension. Huge fines by the SEC etc.
One would hope we had learned from this. But not so. Of late bad man Bichsel is sending out his hit squads to all
operating units to sort out those same stupid Petroleum Engineers who are not increasing the reserves quick enough.
Threatening language is used and this just before there will be mass redundancies. This will make many reservoir
engineer more open to suggestions from on high. Naturally all looked upon with approval of very bad man Brinded. No
written instructions, they have learned…..
And it will work to a certain extent because the formal reserves reporting is solidly in the hands of lawyers who
have no clue and only insist on a piece of paper -preferably 1 A4 – stating that the reserves might be higher and
signed by anybody. This signature is important to pass blame sometime in the future.
The exodus of the younger and better petroleum engineers is now in full swing and there is hardly anyone left to put
the brakes on. Until the next scandal breaks.
Just a comment on Insiders post: I attended a meeting with an EC-2 appointee, and his comments were directly 180 degrees from what we had been given to understand about the staff reduction. His comment was that ALL Contract positions were 100% safe, and 100% of the staff reductions would come from Shell Staff. Quite a change from what we had heard previously….
Having seen all the EC-1 and -2 appointments and from many discussions I have with colleagues, it has become clear to me that Voser and Brinded et all want to get rid of critical thinking people in general and Petroleum Engineers in particular, i.e. just the people who have know-how on essential matters such as reserves and production forecasting. The reserves reporting is now solidly in the hands of lawyers so easy to manipulate for Brinded. The overoptimistic production forecasting, a great hobby of our beloved and surpreme leader in Upstream, will now go unchallenged by people with genuine know-how.
Mr Percival wrote a while ago he had full confidence in the technical capability of Petroleum Engineering in Shell. I am curious if he is about to change his mind.
And as Shell goes deeper in dept and the gearing goes up, the rating can only go down. It is very obvious that Voser is trying to sell off Shell in bits and pieces to prop up his cashflow.
Anyone out there taking bets on how long Shell will exist?
First off Nomad comments are ridiculous! There are alot of people at convent that might not like Todd, but he is ther to help us. He and Padu are NOT fighting! He is not campaigning against Padu. Sounds to me like “NOMAD” is a salary person posting comments on here to try and stir things up!( oh i forgot they dont do things like that ) I sure hope that the other people at convent do not believe the trash that some people say. Your Brother at Motiva!
Nomad, As for the Obama thing, Yes, unions did get him elected. I never said everything the Union does is correct, sometimes they do things some of us don’t agree with just like the company. The union is a democratic organization and it wouldn’t have mattered whom the warm body in that position would have been, the Union would have endorsed them. But that is exactly the power they have when they unite! If everyone pulls together, things will happen on our terms.
As far as the other comment about our committee, You have to realize that the union belongs to us, the workers. Not to our elected leadership. They are like other elected officials, they are here for us. No matter what they are doing among themselves, this is our union.
Lastly, I will never give up, if we roll over, do you really think you would still work here? Our wages and benifits would be no better than a burger flipper( no offense to anyone). Every company, which meets together every year or so, would start dropping pay rates and benifits.
Friend, you can roll over and give up, but its people whom stand up and fight who made the workplace what it is today. I stand for something,I will not roll over like a spinless jellyfish. I have morals and ethics, I know right from wrong, I will continue my cause to make my company one which I enjoy to work for.
I hope I didn’t offend you because this was not an attack on you, only I was stating my position on everything going on.
Motivaman for president!
Reply to “Interested”: Given our reputation as a source of inside information about Royal Dutch Shell, it would be surprising if the Los Angeles Times had not contacted us about the Gale Norton situation.
The LA Times broke the Gale Norton story. Mr Donovan, has the newspaper been in contact with you recently on the subject?
For MotivaMan in Convent. Give up, brother. The so-called union at Convent Refinery is dead. How can you truly expect the membership to “unite” when the Vice-Chair is undermining the hard work of the Chairman? It is no secret Todd desires to become Convent’s next Chairman, and he is actively campaigning and working against Darrell in order to get the job. Unity starts at the top. When the Committee can unite, maybe the membership will unite. Unlikely to happen because as you stated, no one cares unless they are directly affected.
Next, I would like to comment on your Obama health care statement. When YOUR president obama (bought and paid for by the unions) creates an opportunity for our company to “get out of the insurance business”, please look into the mirror for someone to blame. The unions helped in no small part to install barry as the prez. Now the unions should lay quietly in the beds they made and take everything the democratic party has to offer.
Now I have to ask. Where should an employee turn for direction and support. Our company has made it very clear that it does not care about its employees. The union is busily squabbling amongst itself (membership and committee). Our company and union are at each others’ throats. Maybe, just maybe, if we all focused more on the jobs we were hired to perform, Convent may actually stay in business.
Somtimes we may have to juct eat the turd sandwich in order to continue providing for our families.
MMM…tastes good.
Now with the most senior Malaysian WYH leaving the company, (more will be leaving), Shell has chosen another high potential Malaysian MAT to be MD in Shell Malaysia EP. He has no executive power whatsoever. His main task is to help Shell explain its policy and actions to Petronas and Government. The other Expat VPs are all hiding behind the scene in Singapore.
Shell- Remember it is no longer the colonial days. We have been patient long enough. We also like to remind Malaysians- do not be used as puppet only. Malaysian Bolih!!!
I don’t understand why it is so difficult to prove madam Norton is guilty as hinted. Shell must keep records and it is absolutely certain that somewhere on some harddisks there is email correspondence of discussions with and/or about madam Norton. Those emails will have a date. And only corrupt lawyers (most of them) and corrupt politicians (all of them) will find incomprehensible prose to point out why she is totally honest…. But somehow I still have hope they will get her in the end. Maybe time to also go look into the records of Hofmeister, he must have been involved too.
LOL Shellwaarbenjijnu! I learnt enough dutch in my 5 years at NAM to get your drift. The point I was making was that eventually nearly anyone with the real explorer mentality in the GoM (yes there were a few left!) finally got fed up with the “ant fucking” you rightly refer to and walked. Not pursuing prospects like Tiber, where we actually owned a slice, was a typical “last straw”. Shell explorers can be divided into two fundamental groups: a small one, that has discovered oil & gas, and a large one (including most of the new EC2/3 folks) that has not.
And Rajasthan was sold for US$7mln (not 10mln pounds)!
Whatever about that lady’s culpability I think we will be waiting a very long time before seeing Shell make ‘hundreds of billions of dollars’ from oil shale. The world leaders in oil shale technology – Estonia- who generate 80% of their power by this means – are having to shut down their whole industry by 2016 on pollution grounds. Scotland closed its last oil shale refinery – back in 1963!
The decision to give Rajastan away was given during the Parsley reign. Both he and Wildig didn’t have the balls to progress much beyond the first exploration well. Why a unsupportive and weak character as Wildig (a PE through & through) ever got involved with exploration decision making beggars belief. I do agree that Bichsel is a waste of space as an explorer and should have been retired years ago or parked in Siberia.
ah Wooble – you mean world class explorers in the vein of blundering Bichsel (he who gave away the Rajastan potential to partner Cairn for a reported “massive”
The irony of shale oil is that the energy required to extract the oil is comparable to the energy contained in the fuel produced, the environmental implications are horrendous, and the requirements for water far exceed what is available. The only reason that Shell pursued shale oil was that it was perceived as a quick fix to their reserves shortage…
Interesting site! I finally left Shell last year after a >20 year (mostly) satisfying career. Now I hope and pray for the sake of my pension that things can be turned around. After the reserves crisis there were so many oversight committees, decision review boards (that’s a laugh itself), value assurance reviews etc., etc., that it failed to be fun any more to be a senior experienced professional wanting to apply experience and skill to solve problems and move business forward. I watched in EP Americas as the whole leadership of the Gulf of Mexico exploration group walked out one after another, mostly true geologists and explorers who could no longer stand to be micro-managed and second guessed by Dave and his cronies. Not many will be aware that Shell owned a slice of BP’s Tiber prospect (announced alst week as a giant discovery), I don’t know whether it was sold or given away, but the team that bought it was heavily criticized by the “new management” in any case for buying the prospect in 2006.
Norco Scum, hopefully your wish will come true. From what we can see her at Port Arthur, he seems to be packing some duffle bags and heading out the back door on 73 to go to Singapore to “help” out with some start-ups in Far East. According to the Funk, he will then move through the Kingdom and help SRI as well. All of this extra work for the boy that was planted in here by Purves to undermine the past GM and help get his foothold in place. Tom then found him a cush jobon the CEP as he was going to be the start-up and commissioning manager for CEP. Only to see him as a JG A have 1… let me repeat 1 direct report. I guess when the news about the real Jeff Funkhouser began to come out from Norco posts and the posts of our own inside Port Arthur, the brass may have felt like a little time away would help Jeff and more importantly help them quell the rumors. Jeff, enjoy yourself overseas. Hopefully it is a one way ticket! Tom Tom, you are a joke dude. I’m just waiting for Hartsock to be commisisoning manager next.
Regarding the “Jo Blow” comments on Tom Purves’ note of 8-29 and the Norco site integration, I agree completely with his analysis. The integration should help advantage Norco’s cost structure and chance for ultimate survivability and profitability. And it is also true that in this economic environment there will be some harsh realities that some have had to face and more will have to face in the next few months.
However, the devil is always in the details and the process used to determine who will stay and who will go. And this is one of my concerns – the process to be used and the politics that will play out. The last round of cuts identified were passed through Jeff Funkhouser. Whether it was for his concurrence, his comments, whether the list was revised basis his input/direction, etc., I don’t know. But having him involved will always make the personnel decisions suspect.
Jeff has his own “enemies list”, so one could logically assume that he could punish these people through the next round of reductions. It could take either of two forms. First, those that were not ready to leave but were or will be told to do so anyway and find employment elsewhere. Second, those that want to leave and an incentive package would make it possible for them, but he knows it and won’t allow them to get the incentive.
I don’t know the answer here, but hopefully the next round will be voluntary and not leave the doubts re: his involvement.
Whilst in a moaning mood, I also wish to say that I am aghast at the comments written by Bichsel (the prime prat of Shell) when he yet again compliments and pushes forward the new reorganization of 2009. I remember the git doing likewise with the van der Vijver led change of 2003. His support of this 2003 “initiative” was incredible – terms like “all exploration managers will be hot-wired at the hip” (his hip that is) almost destroyed exploration at the coal face. I also remember sitting next to the man in 1993 prior to changes then and he was “very supportive” of these! I think he is the prime example of a Shell nodding donkey. These changes in Shell remind me of Mao Tse Tung who felt change / persecution was necessary every few years in order to stay in power.
Some of these blog writers don’t half go on about American issues rather than some of the bigger issues. Some of the acronyms (e.g. from “scapegoat”) make the story they are trying to put across as total gobbledegook. Use terms we can ALL understand.
Paddy, hope that now you are one of the Trustees of the pension fund you can help some of the poorer members and change the unfair methodology of how they calculate / fix the annual increases. Using the BoE / Govt. index for the cost of living is unacceptable as almost every analyst agrees that this is way below what retired / pensioners have to use.
I want to post my feelings to all of my union brothers and sisters, mostly at Convent but also to all the Motiva sites.
Brothers and sisters, I attend my union meetings and sit there and look around. The same 30 people attend every month.
Brothers and sisters we need to wake up. We at Convent have a membership meeting every month. It is easy to remember the day, it is always the first Tuesday of every month. At Norco it is the third Tuesday.
Earlier this year we ratified a new contract. Some of you didn’t even read it, but voted for it. Yet you sit there every day and whine and complain about it. Shut up, its what the membership wanted, even if a few of us knew what it really was. I don’t blame you, it is our heritage. We along the river are all very friendly and most of us would give our shirts to help others. Some of us came from poverty and had to rise up to get the job we have. We love to ride in our new cars and have our big houses and all our other materialistic things. Some do not want to rock the boat and some think that they are lucky to have a job. Some just want to do the best for their employer.
Some people never go to THEIR monthly meeting, but show up only to ratify a sub par contract. You might as well stay home then too!
You did not read anything or attend any meetings during the year.
People we need to wake up, You need to go be an active member of YOUR union.
In a perfect world we would not have a need for a Union. Employer/Employee relationships would be wonderful and we would all be treated fairly and just! We do not live in a perfect world. Think about it, if you owned a company, wouldn’t it be to make money? Wouldn’t you try to reduce your costs to increase profitability? If you say no, your friggen stupid. So why wouldn’t Shell/Motiva do the same?
Every day that goes by, management is in their offices figuring out ways to reduce costs. Job consolidations, job cuts, less samples, more work on operations, contractor cuts. Believe me, they can’t wait for our president to pass a public option for health care, because then they can either drop what they offer or raise the employee cost and tell you if you don’t like it, go get goverment insurance.
We need to stick together! If we all do the same, no one can beat us.
If you do the math, we only have 12 regular meetings a year and shift workers might make 8 or 9 of them. You trying to tell me that you can’t go for 2 hours 8 times a year? Yet you sit and whine and complain. Everything the union does may not be right, but at least go to the meetings and express your discontent. You can make time to go to football games, basketball games, go to concerts, or other things, but how do you pay for these things? Your Jobs!
This is how we earn a living and have/do the things we do. When we hear about layoffs, a few others come to the meetings. Its ashamed that it takes a person being directly affected to make people wake up. If we are not proactive, it will be to late by the time people wake up.
We have about 300 union members, so 150 are able to be at these meetings, yet we get 30? I can understand 50 having legitt things to do, so we should bring in 100 ever month.
We need to start educating ourselves. Read a little about shell. Read that they said refineries break even at best and how they make their money at the well heads. Think your jobs are secure, believe that we should be happy with the constant headaches we get at work everyday.
Brothers and sisters wake up. Don’t sit at home on the first Tuesday and never attend a meeting, but come running to the union when you are affected in some way. Come to YOUR meeting, express your approval or disapproval. Think about the futures of our children and their children. Don’t wait until you need help and then come crying. Come stand up for our safety and rights!
Motivaman for president!
OK, lets talk a little about a few things going on at Motiva, Convent.
First, my last post, which was over a month ago, was about a salary person violating a few of the 12 rules and nothing being done about it. Well another salary guy was caught violating the 12 rules, he was caught taking pictures in a unit without signing in or having a permit. This time Motiva terminated the employee. He was caught violating only one rule unlike the prior incident. Why was this treated different? No one knows. We have a definite inconsistency in the discipline of these rules. I hate for anyone to loose their job, but I think this the handling of this is more along the lines of what should have been done with the prior incident. I have heard the guy whom was let goo last week has lawyered up and will sue because he was fired while others were not. Motiva management is playing favorites and I’m glad they are about to get burnt!
Second, A guy by the name of Ray Blank was forced into retirement because he questioned management on why he didn’t get a certain job he put in for. He was told that he could either retire or he would be retired.
Lastly, A employee by the name of Darren Miletello whom worked in PHA, quit his job after alot of his findings found that their were many unsafe and dangerous processes and equipment present at Motiva, Convent. He pitched alot of Ideas of how to fix these problems, but Management refuses to listen, they are just sweeping these findings under the rug. Darren Left and said he would rather quit than be sent to jail when something bad happens. He left on his own and doesn’t have a plan yet on what he will do, but at least he won’t be rotting in a cell and he had the gutts to do what he did.
Motivaman for president!
Hello MUSAINT, good to see you posting again. The photo (now changed) was my fault, it was relevant to the tankers drivers dispute, not the current situation at Stanlow Refinery, where no one is on strike.
I just love the picture showing striking union members at Stanlow with the caption “Shell squeezing drivers dry”. Seems like a couple of the fat so-&-so’s pictured could do with a little more squeezing!! With this awful Labour Government still in power it seems that these stupid unions continue to believe striking over everything and anything will help – it will only help increase the dole queues.
Time for another page in the history of Jeff Funkhouser at Norco, and the entrenchment of what I consider “corruption” at the site.
I referred earlier to a relationship between Jeff and a process engineer named Heidi (no longer with the company), who everyone considered an average to below average engineer. Their relationship started when she was an OSE (Operations Support Engineer). While the relationship was ongoing Jeff promoted her to a JG3 Refining East Capacity Assurance Manager, then two years later promoted her to JG2. Unethical as it gets!
During her tenure as CAM she was known as the Little Hitler of the refinery. She was literally a dictator, verbally abusing people with foul language, and would ignore any work process she did not agree with. Just do what she said to do with no questions. She was allowed to act in this unethical and abusive manner protected by Jeff. Everyone knew not to cross her or you would be in serious trouble, supposedly Jeff would take care of you.
HR was not ignorant of what was happening, and a number of complaints were made, but swept under the rug. However, one HR person (Patti T.) did some investigating of the relationship between Jeff and Heidi and supposedly had the “goods”on them. My understanding is that when she presented her findings and wanted to take them further, she was suddenly told she would have to find other employment. Patti subsequently accepted a job offer in California.
This doesn’t encourage anyone to raise legitimate concerns to HR or Shell Resolve (which is another issue that maybe sometime later I’ll comment on). Definitely not the company I once knew or want to be a part of any longer than I have to.
It seems clear that they are clearing the decks. But are they removing the bean counters so they can hit targets? Shell has a bad history of targeting to remove blocks. ala the ‘value teams’ of watts era. Is this just some scam to remove the good the boss can get his bonus without the shareholders scalping another elderly lad?
As one who went to E&P as technical support in the 90s, just in time for the bloodbath and dodged lay-off for 15 years, its amazing to see that it continues today. I guess its good that I am out of that mess.
What really amazes me is that these people can look at themselves in a mirror every day. There seems to be no limit to how much they can deceive themselves. When all of the E&P managers got up on stage to tell us about the beginning of the lay-offs it was amazing to me that they were all white men who had gone to the same college (South Dakota School of Mines) and belonged to the same fraternity. I knew then Shell was doomed. Linda Cook was seen as the one light in the darkness. Now she has been passed over and quit. It amazes me no end that with production off and exploration needed they select a bean-counter as CEO. Also the board set modest goals for themselves to be middle of the pack in profits and still reward themselves when the fail to achieve even that.
A long informative Shell internal email from a member of the Executive Committee will be published on this website later today, Monday 14 Sept.
Well well the drama at Convent continues. I heard A.D. got fired for using a camera without a permit, and the FCCU specialist quit. Engineers can’t manage people, and as long as they keep doing extra work on their own time for the company just to get ahead, doesn’t mean the the rest of the workers who aren’t engineers want to do the the same. How can someone be on vacation and be expected to be called out when there is a problem. They don’t do it at Norco so why is Convent different. K-Rob you are setting a bad example, let people enjoy their vacation that is what it is for. Didn’t you just promote S.H. because of his vast knowlege of the cat, why did you need to call Ray, can’t S.H. handle it. Now that one of your best experts on the FCCU quit, who is going to step up?, No one in operations if they have any sense. Ya’ll deserve being in a bind now for promoting S H over R. B. . Convent will experience lots of unplanned shutdowns in the future, especially when the control room moves and some of the dumbest board operators are on duty when shit hits the fan. Big mistake moving it offsite like that with the inexperience and stupidity within the plant. Quiit hiring and promoting based on race or gender and go back to experiance and knowlege and everyone would be better off. I’m so glad I’m no longer there. Looking from the outside in I realize that I hated working there and putting up with the idiots I had to deal with everyday. God did not create everybody equal no matter how society wants to jam diversity down our throats. If that were true everyone could be brain surgeons and no one would be working at McDonalds. Wake up people before its too late and you operators need to stick it to those idiot engineers who want yall to be like them because in their minds they are always right. I can’t wait to get all my money, then I will name names and events so if you did something you weren’t suppose to and I know about it, I will rat you out. May even report some inappropriate behavior, best hope your spouses don’t read this. The company screwed many of us, and now its going to be payback for those who contributed, so if you thought you got away with something, think again, I kept records.
Re the email about Purves andShelltiva Norco, this is so typical Purves. He throws crap out as premises, thinking he is providing leadership. When the premises become BS, he will be the first that creates distance between himself and those he leads. He just disappears in the background and you won’t hear from him while his leadership teams have to mop up the mess. Tom, if you are the best Shell has to offer, Voser should just pack up the goods and put it all on the market. Jo Blow, you are being way too balanced. You well know what Purves is capable of doing obviously. If you think he even cares about engaging with the employees on this one, forget it. My prediction…He leave AM there long enough to do the deed and then dump her like he does those he doesn’t like or that questions his tactics and ethics. She knows she is gone and has been even though her numbers are some of the best of late. We already know with some of the other moves that numbers and delivery doesn’t matter to Purves.
Tom, just give it up. You stink like a bad egg and you know it. Pack up the trail wagon and hook up your horses( Lauher, Hartsock, and Funkie Funkster) and get out of Dodge.
Based on the Times Online article (“Heavyweights of the black stuff…”) consolidation of the industry appears inevitable. Neither Exxon nor Shell are replacing reserves, and both face falling production. Exxon at least has enormous capital reserves to fund acquisitions if it needs to buy production and reserves. Shell’s capital resources have been drained by Sakhalin, Pearl, Bonga and the pension fund, and it faces a falling credit rating. Total has a strong reserves/production position and is almost the same size as BP and Shell. Conclusion: Exxon, BP and Total could all undertake acquisitions, and Shell, BG or Chevron might be interesting targets.
We will be publishing updated information on pending Shell Job Cuts later today.
Details from the Sun Newspaper after reading that 2000 Shell staff may be about to lose their jobs here in the UK and a possible 24,500 would be affected in some way throughout the organisation says the CEO Peter Voser.
Last year I was being made redundant from a training company because of the cut backs to our social funding and I was directed to this company called TEREC by a person who had just left prison who had said that they had helped him return into society by helping him start up his own buisness. He now runs a successful paving and decking company and employs 6 people.
I contacted them and they helped me plan my redundancy and I now have a better job and one which suits my needs and skills.
Maybe you should look into what they have to offer and it may help these people who are about to lose theirs.
The website is http://www.terec.org.uk I hope that this will give you some help.
You have nothing to lose to just go and look at what they have to offer and how they could help you if you feel threatened by being made redundant.
David
EXSF is correct about more cuts coming, particularly at Norco. The site was told to be at the Shell benchmark of SPI 100 by the end of the year. The cuts that were made a couple of months ago were to be followed by more at the end of the year.
The site just this last week got the okay from the Saudi’s to go ahead with the combination of SCC and Motiva into one complex again. This was to lead to the additional cuts from the duplication of staff. Now Purves has demanded an additional $2 million in personnel cuts from each of SCC and Motiva at the site by the end of the year, beyond the SPI target.
So, hang on, more to come.
SeeMeNo:
There have been numerous non management employees in downstream that have been terminated from their jobs. These jobs include technical, professional, support staff, operations and maintenance jobs and other non upper management jobs. Read earlier blogs from this Web Site and you will learn more. These cuts started before the4 upper management cuts and are a work in progress with more to come. The 15 to 20 % cut in Exploration and Production will, you can be sure, also include others besides upper management. I am sure we will hear from those affected on this Web site in the future. Regards, EXSF
Posted on behalf of “Norco Insider”:
I work in Norco which is a combined Motiva/Shell location. Tom Botts gave a town hall meeting stating Shell/Motiva has 41 manufacturing location across the globe. They are all up for sale. They want to reduce their assets to 25 locations. Each location must add more value to Shell’s assets then it does to someone else to remain a Shell assets. Look in the future for more surprises like Stanlow across the globe.
What staff cut are you talking about? Its just those high level managers in the Centers and those who have been feeding on Shell salaries doing nothing but generating wastes going. It should have been done long time ago. The new organisation is still too fat. It should have been less centric, reduce by 30% and job group is too high. For those of you in these positions, I am sure you know what I mean. Buckle up.
Outsider, perhaps Stu thinks that since those Folks were not upper level Mnagement types, they do not count??
That would explaing why he repeated denies their existence (even after several fellow bloggers on this web site have testified about their treatment.)
I guess there is also the possibility that he thinks all those Folks are lying?
Just some potential explanations. Perhaps stu would like to enlighten us on why he obviously intentionally ignores what these fellow bloggers say.
Regards, EXSF
The FT comment about the Shell projects recently started or coming on stream in the near future (to which I would add Sak2, BC-10, and perhaps Bonga) fails to point out that there is little in the project pipeline beyond these. Tar sands and oil shale might one day come into their own, but where are the next round of developments – the projects that will be coming on stream 5-10 years from now? BP seem to have found an answer to that question.
Stu, you have already jad others that were part of the redundant package in the current re-org tell you that they were escorted off the sites, namely in Motiva and namely at Port Arthur and Convent. Why do you keep asking this? Drop it. You’re not getting the point. These folks were called in early in the morning, given a package, told to gather their car keys, their personal belongings would be mailed to them and they were walked to the gate with police sitting there to make sure nothing rowdy happened. For many, this was a disgrace. Severla had family momentos left in their office that was mailed to them weeks later, in some cases damaged. Now that is a class company( Motiva) led by class people( Purves, Pease, Liar, Briganock) Poor AM, she is trying to do good but is stuck in a place with bad boys.
Guest 1, nice try. I even had the hat in the microwave warming through….but I was talking about people being made redundant in Shell’s current reorg, not people forced to resign. Thanks for the sauce suggestion though
Stu, better start munching. Watts was not escorted off the premises because someone tipped him off and he never appeared. But v.d.Vijver was escorted out, not allowed use of his car and driver. His wife came and picked him up. He had to leave all behind.
I suggest some worcester sauce goes well with your hat.
John, We can warmly agree that Shell, and others, shouldn’t deal with Gadaffi, no challenge to you at all. I wouldn’t trust wikipedia as it can, on occaisions, be hijacked by people with biased viewpoints. As I’m sure you know.
If you check your blog history you’ll find I’ve made the consistent point about brinded, and was right. You could make my day by demonstrating just a hint of humility and admit that, but I do agree with you it’s become a bit tedius now.
I would eat my own hat if anybody who has left Shell so far under their redundancy programme (all senior leaders who will presumably get huge payouts) has been escourted off of any premises…and I suspect you are too intelligent to think they have either.
You asked a question ages ago about whether I could say anything positive about the site – I don’t like the tone and direction which is mean spirited and trouble making (and far too pleased with itself for doing so) but you have a brilliant offering of news on this industry which makes for interesting reading.
Stu, other contributors
Hey good stuff…keep up the good work! 🙂
John, ok, my final attempt.
You wrote a piece which suggested that people who were laid off had been “escourted” off the premises just like – according to you – Phil Watts. I just challenged you to say which person had been escourted off the premises. Your original points were in the Nazi connection article.
I don’t agree that Nazi Germany and modern day Libya are the same, or even similar. The extermination of a race and the desire to colonise 250 million people across Europe put’s Hitler’s Nazi party in a different sphere to Gaddafi, even though as we’ve agreed, he is hardly a pussycat. Your logic is that in both the Shell/Nazi and Shell/Libya relationships, it was “all about oil”…Well given that Shell is an Oil & Gas company, that’s hardly odd! If you accuse the USA of dealing with rogue nations over Oil then it’s news, but if an Oil company deals with anyone…it’s only ever about Oil!
You are,for what it’s worth, factually wrong about Brinded. There are three members of the “EC” who sit on the Board. One is the CEO, one is the CFO (a requirement I believe of UK Listed PLCs) and the third is Brinded. Thus he is the only employee who is on the board other that the 2 that have to be there by law. My point was, and still is, that he clearly isn’t out of favour – but if you’re going to be pedantic, you have to at least be correct.
Thank you for taking down the other message. I find you to be needlessly agressive sometimes, and slightly pompus, but your standards on this site are far too high for comments like those, good on you.
I’ve taken enough of your blogging space here, apologies to others who are bored of it!
Reference the posting by Stu strongly objecting to the comments of an offensive personal nature made by “Scapegoat”, I have deleted the relevant comments and apologise for posting them.
Stu, dealing with your numbered comments: (1) I still have not got a clue why you raised the issue of people being escorted from Shell premises. (2) Self-evidently you made your comment without bothering to check that you were using the correct spelling of the person central to the matter being discussed. (3) What you stated about Brinded was incorrect. Now you try to inject more confusion. (4) You were indeed trying to defend current day Shell from the past Shell connection with the Nazi. I have pointed out the connection; Shell is still willing to deal with the devil and for the same motive: oil. Only the name of the devil has changed. Just swap Gaddafi for Hitler. (5) So we agree on something. With regards to the Scapegoat posting, I am sure many people will agree with your views. As you may be aware, I try to avoid censorship. The posting was made by an American and was submitted for posting onto this website, which is located in America. The right to freedom of speech on the Internet is an important principle, particularly under American law. Bearing this in mind, it is sometimes difficult to make a judgment when deciding if a posted comment should be censored. The comments you refer to are unpleasant and over-the-top. It is therefore fair comment on your part to make your objections known. Stu, you are so consistently critical of this website that it seems appropriate to ask why it appears to have a magnetic attraction for you. Can you please indicate some of the positive aspects, which explain its hold on you? So there is no misunderstanding, we welcome regular visitors who take the trouble to post comments, even if they are almost always critical.
John – Happy to clarify and then i’ll drop it.
1. You asked me to show you where, in your articles, you had claimed that people being laid off where being “escourted off the premises”. I copied and pasted the piece from one of your stories to show you.
2. Detterdink must be my mis-spelling of the Shell CEO’s name, the guy with the Nazi links.
3. My point about Brinded was that he is clearly still in favour, that’s all. One way in which this has been shown is that he is the only employee on the board who is NOT in a role that requires board presence (the other two being CFO and CEO). For example, the guys/gals that run the other business lines – e.g. his peers – are not on the board as I understand it.
4. How dare you suggest I “defended” Shell’s nazi connection. What a silly statement. I said that it was already known, nothing more. Of course I wouldn’t “defend” such an association.
5. On Libya we’re in agreement, I’m more depressed about the UK government’s role to be honest, but I agree no-one should do business with that administration in my view.
So, no riddles I assure you and if i have been unintelligible then my apologies.
I trust the “moderation” that all posts go through means that you don’t object to your site publishing the individual’s views, in the same way you ask Shell lawyers to object or not to leaked emails etc and then when they don’t stop you, you infer they don’t disagree/challenge them. If this is true, then the decision to allow Scapegoat’s post in which he names 3 individuals, cites their damnation to Hell and mocks the infertility of one of them is one that should shame you John.
Russia with Love – if you don’t understand then learn.
For those of you who have lost your jobs, you have my deepest sympathies and prayers.
Some would say this web site is not for those who would air their personal issues with Shell. My response to that follows:
If not here and now, where and when are the appropriate places foe these issues, given the chance of a subsequent payback by Shell Management?
Some say that even Executives are human and I would agree with that. However, just because they are human does not mean they deserve sympathy or even understanding when they use their position in an overtly non- justified manner.
Waiting for Shell to realize their mistakes and be a self correcting corporate entity will probably be an exercise in extreme patience but it is what it is and you can only do what you can do and hope for justice (forgive the cliche).
I frequently told my children as they were growing up when they felt they had been treated unfairly they may have to wait get to heaven to be treated fairly. I hope and pray this is not the case with Shell Management.
I wish all of you the best and only wish I could say or do something to make you feel better. Regards, EXSF.
Well today is the day that some of the best people will get there final screwing from Motiva. The money that was supposed to be in our accounts last week has yet to be given as promised. The HR department is still clueless as to how to help us, and what seemed like a good package was good for some but bad for others. I am still pissed off about the way we were fired. Whether some want to believe it or not, it was a conspiracy by 3 Convent females, and I believe it was personal because of having dealt with all three of them on issues that we disagreed on has resulted in the termination of many who crossed them and let their opinions be know. They didn’t like that we took up for hourly workers, didn’t support stupid corporate programs that didn’t work, and voiced our opposition openly in meeting with them. I woke up from a dead sleep realizing that today was my last day, and that I still cannot tell these 3 sorry ass people what I really think of them in person because they are still can keep us from getting our severence package and or retirement if we said what we really wanted to say to their face.
Shell Senior Executives are also human. It is site like this that gives them and Shell open and free feedback to keep them or bring them back on track. This is more valuable then the 360 degree feedback in Shell internally as you can choose your raters and Shell has to pay for it.
The several exchanges between STU and EXSF have made this blog uninteresting. So whoever you are, please stop. Its becoming too personal. This site is for those who would like to express freely on Shell. By the way, I donot understad most of what you say.
Stu, I am a Shell Employee and have been for decades but that is all I will say. I am not one to say who I work for does not matter as you have in an earlier blog, especially when you have taken such an interest in this web site.
If as you stated in an earlier blog, it does not matter who you work for, why would you be concerned about me so much? I hope I have put your worries to rest.
Yes, I am a real Shell employee but I frankly am not sure what you are. However, your Management bias and twisting of information in favor of Management in this blog is obvious to even a casual reader.
Finally, I also think that you forfeit some credibility by saying your employer does not matter. Disingenuous is the word that comes to mind. Regards, EXSF
Stu, the way this is going I will have to give up trying to communicate with you because I don
John,
You asked where i got the quote about staff being escourted off the premises. Read the Nazi article…
“Like some Shell employees being culled in the Vosification process, Sir Phillip was escorted from Shell premises”
Shell’s (mainly the detterdink guy) connection to Nazi germany is a well known historical fact. I know that not being the centre of the universe is a struggle for you, but it was published before you came along.
No riddles in my posting (what an odd thing to say!) I meant Brinded was the only employeee (as oposed to a non-exec director, who legally isn’t an employee) who was on the board. A riddle, really?
Why you keep posting on behalf of the “EXSF” person I don’t know, but why is it that anyone who disagrees with you is “attacking the site” or works for Shell? I love the idea that the only two types of opinion that exist in your world are either: 1.Your opinion or 2. Lies, Corruption and some kind of conspiracy!
Claire, many people have ‘merely’ a job. But believe me, in large corporations where one makes a career or at least tries to make a career, a ‘mere’ job becomes a way of life. The same holds true for politicians, activists and the many who want to contribute to society or the corporation. That IMHO cannot be done by treating it as a ‘job’. So I conclude you are flipping hamburgers somewhere or have a parttime secretarial job. Perhaps even a husband with a good income? What you obviously do not understand is that many people develop a passion for what they are doing and passions are more difficult to walk away from. It also is true that deciding to devote oneself to a company, the possibilities for escape reduce somewhat, often this is a perceived threat rather than a real threat. And then it is stressful if you are in your mid 40s with a family, mortgage and good income to wake up that there maybe a big change lurking around the corner on which you have no influence. That leads to frustration and those frustrations also find outlets via sites like the Donovan’s.
Would you go fight with whatever means possible if your country would be under attack? Or would you simply walk out?
Coffee Bean in Shell Malaysia office is still booming with business, best sale ever. Business is as usual despite new EC-2 announcement in Asia. Singapore office is still open. Michel and few EC-2 members still like it there for personal reasons. So much lip service about cost savings and building relationship with Key stakeholders.
So nothing has changed except everyone distant themselves from Paul M and his cronies. ( Paul-you know who your friends are now ). EC-3 organisation will be out next week but the chart is already filled with names. The only small change maybe is in New Zealand where Rob J has to look for greener pasture. The good jobs are all taken up. Just to reassure everyone, business is as usual. Nothing has changed. Its so uneventful and boring. We thought we shall get a new Energised Shell with Vroooooom. sob sob!!!!
Claire, your superscillious and condescending attitude will be sorely missed by all.
I personally will miss you as much as some members of Shell Management with the same attitude that I have had the pleasure to work with in the past.
Please say it ain’t so!
2ndGen, I think we can safely leave others to read the relevant comments and draw their own conclusions on the points discussed (and the full stop). I cannot speak for Shell employees, but personally I would much prefer to know sooner rather than later about any decisions that could affect me. And if I worked for Shell I would rather get the basic facts as circulated between the top brass, rather than the same information at a later date, almost certainly in a less straightforward form, after it had been through the Shell HR/PR spin machine (what you describe as “filtering”.
John, I don’t want to get into a semantic argument, but there’s a full stop between the responsibility part and the Stanlow comments. I’m confident that gramtically, that’s important. Nor was I critical of the site – as I said already I like to have the data to hand. Just offering an observation on the consequences of breaking news before management are ready. Just to be clear though, are you claiming that you brought any benefit to either the staff or the public from “stealing Voser’s thunder” and breaking the news before it was filtered through the staff channels? Otherwise, back to my original question, why do it? Again – not criticising – just questioning…
That makes three visits Claire all within a matter of hours. I think its too late, you may be hooked. If not, I am, sure we will all miss your condescending comments.
Oooh, “counter attacks”, all sounds very exciting. This is quite an odd little forum really.
I’m just trying to understand what drives you all – not questioning the legality of the site, counter attacking, etc.
I may drop by from time to time John, but won’t add it to my list of hobbies I dont think.
Hope you all find whatever it is you are after (a wonderful Shell again, new management, greener grass, big payoff, someone to talk to, better pension, etc). You only live once remember.
Comment from EXSF posted on the article “Wow, just stumbled on this site and blog”
QUOTE: The current notes from Stu and Claire make me suspicious that this Web site is being counter attacked by Shell. I think they are attempting to use the Web page against its sponsors and at the same time make it appear as if Shell is not connected to the acts.
This kind of attack is well within the the limits of ethics and accountability not to mention transparency that Shell has shown in the past while bragging about those same values. EXSF UNQUOTE
Claire, thanks for your comments. Fortunately we live in a Country where we are free to do as we please providing it
Stu, I have not posted anything to show Claire is
Greetings,
Interesting round of discussion this morning!
Stu, you asked the following question “Also, which member of staff has been
Some quick responses there – must indeed be a 24×7 operation.
In reply to Guest1; perhaps I am being simplistic, but it is a fairly simple situation in my view. This is just your job, not your life, your family, your health, your religion, your vocation (which would be harder to just walk away from). I agree you should try and improve things if they are that bad, but constructively and working with your company, rather than these public attacks. And if that really is not possible because your company no longer wants to listen, then what exactly is stopping you leaving? I don’t buy this “pride and wanting to stay to make it great again” line, so perhaps you are all hanging around for a big payoff? in which case surely all this restructuring talk is actually good news for you?
On my second point, I hope you are right John that this is just a “hobby” and that you do have something else very positive in your life to balance all this with, as to me it does appear like a rather drawn out bitter obsession that should have been put to rest many years ago. Whilst I’m sure you’ll get some satisfaction and support from the few vocal disgruntled types, there must be thousands more who read or hear of this life long campaign and just feel pity that you have not managed to move on.
Sorry to hog the blog…one last point. The Shell/Germany linkages are well known and clearly have no link to current day or current staff. Your attempt to somehow link that behaviour to Watts and Reserves crisis is weak and silly in my view. Also, which member of staff has been “escourted from the premises” under their current restructuring. Please name one.
Claire is a great example. She posts a view, so you produce an article to show her how she is incorrect.
As to your question, I don’t think the Brinded “wanted” poster is that clever or witty. Also, my understanding is that they have just had a golden chance to get rid of him and yet he is the only ‘normal’ employee (aside from the CFO and CEO) to be placed on the PLC Board – this tells me that Shell supports him and if he’s committing any offenses then he’s hardly hidden away from the authorities is he.
Clair.a, my response is posted as an article headlined: “Wow, just stumbled on this site and blog”
Dear claire.a, your solution is a bit simplistic. If everyone walked away from something they did not like, there would be a lot of walking and not much improvement. Shell employees indeed have lived very sheltered lives. But that was for a reason: to be able to concentrate on doing a good job and living by the Business Principles of the group. But now, as the Donovans rightly keep pointing out, Shell has got into the hands of many bad people and it is very difficult to have those replaced. You could walk away, but you could also try to change the system. It has become very dangerous in Shell to voice a differing opinion so the ideas naturally find other ways to vent the anger that exists. There always are people who always complain, do nothing and are just frustrated. But this site provides an excellent open forum for any views (good or bad!) and I hope in the end it helps sort out Shell so it becomes again the decent company it was in years gone by. And that would be a good epithaph for the Donovans: ‘We devoted our lives to improve Shell’.
Wow, just stumbled on this site and blog. Whilst I’m impressed with the way it has been set up and maintained, I’m amazed by two aspects:
Firstly, those of you who work for Shell and are seemingly so disgruntled, why not just walk? You must be so unhappy in what you do to resort to these postings – so why not show some conviction and leave? I have heard that people who work at Shell tend to forget what the real world is like, but you can just leave you know and rejoin the real world out here!
Secondly, to the Donnovans, I’ve just read some of the background and understand some of the history, but really, when are you going to live your lives?? Do you really want you gravestones to just say “had a pop at Shell for most of my life”.
Stu, complain about what? Kindly provide an example of what I am alleged to have complained about. Or if you are fed up of the leaked information subject, what is your view about our wanted poster on Malcolm TFA Brinded?
John, Thanks for your response.
Just to be clear, what I was saying was that your tone is one that is closed and risks smacking of arrogance, that’s all.
I’m happy to accept there are different views here, I just feel that if you’re going to encourage the leaking of sensitive data then you are part of the cause, and can’t stand aloof and complain about it.
Right, what else would you like to talk about?
2ndGen, the bad news is that you can
John, you’ve mis-read what I said. I didn’t state anywhere that you broke the Stanlow news first – my comments on Stanlow were separate. However, my comments on your taking responsibility still stand: eg “In May, we were first to break the news of major restructuring at Shell by Voser”. I would argue that that’s not neccessarily anything to be proud of. Either it had no effect on what Voser intended to do (in which case no need to mention it), or it forced his hand and led to the insanely rushed restructuring. I don’t think it could be claimed to have led to a more considered approach from management. I, personally, like to have access to all the information sources, but I also acknowledge that a lot of staff would rather have that sort of revelation given in person, and internally, before it’s splashed accross the internet.
Stu, you said the following in yout blog.
“If you want to feel sorry for people who have read about sensitive issues on the web…you can’t wash your hands if your website was the place they read it. That was all I was saying, and I think it’s fair.”
If the news had been out for 6 days, how long should John or anyone wait before bringing it up on a web site that is intimately involved with that issue? If you follow your scenario to its logical conclusion, the answer would be never. After all. could not someone read it ten years from now and get hurt by it??
Besides, I interpretated the quote in your blog as criticizing John for breaking the news (and I am sure others did as well). If that is not what you meant, then perhaps you are failing to clearly communicate what you meant??
Just a thought for your consideration. Regards, EXSF
Stu, you are twisting the truth. I have not corrected any opinion expressed by you. I pointed out that your suggestion about the source of the leak being the author of the relevant email was wrong. I pointed out that The Sunday Times broke the “sad news” not this website. What you said was untrue. Make no mistake, we welcome lively debate and pro Shell comments, but when something stated as a fact is untrue, I will not hesitate to say so.
John,
Maybe you could consider whether, given your PR success lately (I think you may have mentioned here somewhere about your sunday times piece, i know you’re a bit shy about it) you have started to become a little dogmatic, and just a touch power crazed. You invite discussion (which is good) but then seek to “correct” other people’s opinions. Opinions can’t be right or wrong, they just exist. I understand that the Times broke the Stanlow story first, my criticism was of those people who chose to peddle in gossip and “leaks”. As you yourself said – you would have leaked it if you could have. What you’re doing is legal I suspect, but is one of the pieces on the jigsaw that leads to staff getting bad news through the media. The companies who don’t talk direct are to blame, but so are organisations like you.
2ndGen, I will respond in detail later today to what you say, but with regards to the Stanlow Refinery auction, you have presumably read, but apparently not grasped, the facts of the matter as set out in my response to Stu. We did not break the bad news to Stanlow employees. That happened 6 days earlier when they read The Sunday Times article. On the Stanlow issue, it is not a matter of opinion or interpretation, but one of plain fact and what you and Stu have said, is simply untrue.
I fully agree with Stu – this site has to bear responsibility for its actions too, and one of the outcomes of any site of this nature is that staff don’t receieve news (bad or good) face to face from management, they get from an external and unregulated website. Now, that’s obviously part of a wider argument about the merits of the internet, but to pretend it’s not the case is frankly disappointing, John. With regard to the sale of Stanlow, I was recently involved in the North Sea asset divestment – everyone wants to leave on their own terms, and it’s sad and hurtful to be “sold” – but the comparison with slaves ends there. You’re simply transferred to another operator – for the majority, the day to day work and salary won’t change (pension scheme may or may not – depends on who buys it) but you won’t lose your Shell pension. It’s a sad reality of capitalism that companies owe nothing to their employees. To be fair, though, most Shell senior managers will also tell you that you owe nothing to Shell – just take what you can get and get out…It’s practically on the recruitment ads.
To Stu: I think it is very curious that you think that Outsider has Shell connections and that is evidently very important to you (in determining his motivation and bias?) but you believe your own Shell or non-Shell working status is not significant? To quote you {“Thanks for the other surrogate posting
Stu, Stanlow employees did not become aware of the auction as a result of our publication of a leaked email. The Sunday Times broke the story on 18 August, 6 days earlier. Our publication revealed the disgust of Shell employees at the way they are being treated.
John, think you may have the wrong end of the stick. I wasn’t suggesting outside was posting “under a different name” at all, you posted a message on behalf of someone else (EXSF) and that was what I was referring to.
With regards to your response about leaking, I stand by my point: If you encourage and facilitate the publication of confidential material before it has been shared with staff, then you are – and i repeat, only partly – implicated in any distress caused by staff reading this material in public.
If SKY news were to run an article on how people shouldn’t pry into the private lives of celebrities, they would have to make sure they didn’t do so from outside the house of a popstar! If you want to feel sorry for people who have read about sensitive issues on the web…you can’t wash your hands if your website was the place they read it. That was all I was saying, and I think it’s fair.
Stu: I’m not a Shell employee and never have been, but frequently meet Shell employees – usually over a beer. So I hear about IBAS, UBAS, EBAS, MOR and many other Shell acronyms. And, as John suggested, I haven’t posted here under any other names. And just in case you hadn’t noticed my comment was intended to highlight the rather idealistic approach to their work of the Shell staff that I have met. I just wish that idealism, professionalism and high ethical standards were given a higher weighting on scorecards.
Stu, so you want us to take a share of the fall out arising from Shell senior managements ruthless actions that are incompatible with Shell claimed business principles. Shell management is responsible for its deeds, not us. With regard to the Shell Business Principles they are a complete SHAM used to fool the public and Shell stakeholders (and the SEC in the reserves fraud). You are also wrong in your speculation about the source of the latest leak. The same applies to the allegation that “Outsider” posted a comment under another name, if that is what you were suggesting.
As for the SEF leak story…I think if this site encourages (actually pleads in letters to new VPs) for material to leak, you have to take a share – albeit just a share – of the responsibility for the sadness and insult caused when staff read materials that are leaked to the public domain. Also, if i understand your latest leak, I think it’s unlikely that any of the receipients of the email would have leaked it to you, and so should we assume that the man elected to represent worker’s interests is now sharing “private” emails with you and potentially other outlets? If so it would make his outrage at staff reading this stuff online first slightly hard to swallow…
“Outsider”…interesting that you write about Shell and use that name and yet used the term IBAS, which refers to the current expat pay system. Also, you make the assumption that all staff receive IBAS, whereas I suspect that massive majortiy are not expats and thus receive a more moderate salary. That said, you seem to be agreeing with me. Remuneration isn’t about pay but rather the whole package, and that’s my point – getting it right in totality is critical to a company succeeding.
Thanks for the other surrogate posting – my employer’s name isn’t important i think..
A great site for all folks to post negative or positve comments on Royal Dutch Shell. Very interesting facts on Shell, have been an employee for 20 yrs and have learned a lot from reading all these posts. Keep it up will let other employees know about this web site.
Stu: I would question whether remuneration is really the driver for the majority of Shell employees. In the past it was generally something less tangible, as Shell’s salaries have never been high by industry standards. Security of employment, a satisfying, rewarding, professional working environment, defined benefits pensions, and school fees for children are more often the key drivers. Try asking anyone in Shell what they earn. They may know their base pensionable salary (generally a very low number) but are usually very surprised when they find out the true value of their IBAS package. If short term financial gain was a priority, I would expect Shell employees to be far better informed about their benefits. Of course, some are more mercenary than others: names that spring to mind include that of Phil Watts…
POSTED ON BEHALF OF “EXSF”:
I assume Stu is a non-Shell employee from his comments about “companies like yours” in his blog. Am I just paranoid or does he not have a lot of info about Shell executive changes to be an outsider? Thanks. EXSF
Shell and the other oil majors who are still doing share buybacks must be the only people in these straightened times who don’t know what to do with their money! They don’t work. It’s an admission of failure not success. Are you really so devoid of investment ideas that you haver to burn our money Mr Voser?
This whinge about HRVPs is old now. The reality is that there are fewer senior HR, Finance etc roles than there were in the old organisation – all they’ve done is standardise the job titles.
VP remuneration and reward? don’t know, but if Shell employs 100,000+ people then I’d ask myself what’s the main thing most people care about (their reward, benefits, pension, shares, bonuses etc) and so the guy who’s accountable for that has quite and impact on the firm.
I love the idea that if you’re not a spanner-wielding engineer, or reservoir engineer then you don’t add to the bottom line…the number of commercial people, traders and others who make or break companies like yours is huge.
Doesn’t really matter if there are a number of female VPs in the HSE organisation. If they are there by merit, then fine. What’s important is the number of VPs full stop. Same with the number of HR VPs in this Voserfied Shell. Frightening. How on earth can a “VP HR Remuneration and Reward” be benchmarked at the same level as the Technical VP of a large E&P operating unit? Once again, shows the focus received by these “peripheral” support functions. Thought Voser might have cut out or rationalised a lot of this “non-job” cancer and given a shot in the arm to Shell’s once-unsurpassed technical capability. After all, it’s the technical side of the business that generates the revenue… if you don’t find and produce oil and gas… you don’t make any money.
Witchy woman – maybe you need to work on your spells or crystal ball. I see a number of female VPs in HSE (far more than before), and the Group’s VP Environment isn’t an accountant…Still, let’s not let the facts get in the way of a rant..
Dont be surprised Witchy Woman. The new head of HSE in Russia, Mr Jaap Guyt, was accountable for more than 20 fatalities on his pipeline project in Sakhalin and now he has been promoted to Head of HSE ! ! !
So the EC-2 settles down to do their magic on the rest of the organisation.
Remarkable how the non interviewed selection processes threw up so many old buddies back together irrespective of ability or cv !
I just hope the ploy employing friends and people who won’t criticise you really pays off.
So if you are male and have worked in Expro then it appears that you have a good career in HSE ! I mean how many other companies would employ an accountant as their main Environmental Lead !
I agree with scapegoat that it wont be soon enough for Roxan and her puppy Keith to leave. I wonder what foxy Roxy’s husbands title will be now? I also agree with scapegoat that Jesus is not happy with you David because Jesus doesn’t like people who lie, cheat, and steal. David, you picked the wrong mortal to follow in Tom. My source tells me that motivaman is right in that there are some more layoffs coming, in the neighborhood of 45 – 50 in Convent, this includes contractors and staff people. And I found out that Mark Townsend has gotten off scott free. He is the third staff person to break a cardinal rule and receive no punishment even though sHell says if you break one you will be fired. And janblauu, please elaborate on what point you are trying to get across to me.
1 Million dollars a day. That is roughly the sum that Downstream continues to spend on its “GSAP” system, IT flagship of the “Downstream One” (globalisation) project. So how is it going ?
GSAP was launched in 2004 to the dismay of many experienced IT people. Here was an IT project straight out of the 1980s, with a sprawling bureaucracy, 10 year plans, propagandist newsletters, and all the baggage of the mainframe era. RISK factors were off the scale: a massive IT build, a revolution in the business, experimental offshoring, and no fallback plan ! Hadn’t we learned to stop doing things this way ?
Well, no, we hadn’t. And 5 years on, we are still doing it – but the business keep on signing the cheques (so they must be happy) and dissent has largely faded away.
So I was surprised in a recent corridoor conversation to hear a contrary view. I was talking to a senior person outside of Downstream – someone with specific intelligence about EXXON MOBIL and their Global SAP system (which I understood we had set out to copy). The view being expressed was that GSAP had been a monumental blunder. A blistering critique followed, the gist of which is as follows:
(1) EXXON MOBIL realised many functions are best kept LOCAL; we instead GLOBALISED almost everything.
(2) THEY kept their SAP system simple; WE built a huge data warehouse using SAP “BW” (a notorious piece of “bloatware”).
(3) THEY deployed their SAP system all over the world. WE can barely afford to get halfway.
(4) Because of our “SAP BW” decision, we are quietly having to build a lot of (non-SAP) gap-fillers…
…and so on. Not only was this said out loud, but the tone was rather “doesn’t everyone know this ?”
Well, no, they don’t. Back in Downstream, the newsletters are still flowing, and the business are still contentedly signing the cheques. But I do wonder if we may be at a turning point ? With COST CONTROL now back after a 5 year holiday, might we see an end to this kind of IT project ?
Anyone have any insights into this ? Can it really be true that we set out to copy Exxon Mobil, only to get it so fundamentally wrong ?
If I remember rightly Shell’s ‘marketing’ department actually was called the Product Disposal Unit back in the 1950s or 60s.
Having read Mr. Donovan’s letter to Bob Pease and Tom Purves, I would like to make one rebuttal to a claim made about Mr. Purves. While I am certainly one of his harshest critics I don’t think it is fair to blame him for the CCU explosion at Norco. It is true he was the process manager during that time but the cause of the depropanizer overhead piping was not directly his fault. It was more the failure of the inspection programs in place at that time, and has led to processes such as CCD’s and others that attempt to prevent another failure like that one.
Sadly it is the only rebuttal to his management style and actions that I can offer. His current management style is no different than it was after the explosion and he left Norco, just more visible now because of his current position and the effects on larger numbers of people.
POSTING BY “JO BLOW” ON THE ARTICLE “An email to Shell/Motiva Vice President, Tom Purves”: My My, Interesting turn of events over the last couple days. When I first read this, I was elated at the thought of a response by Mr. Purves, then the stark realization came to me that there is no possible way Mr. Purves will respond. How could he respond? What could he say? How would any response be received? I expect that this is one heck of an Uncomfortable position for Mr. Purves and his inner circle.
A POSTING BY “JO BLOW”:
Greetings,
I appreciate the kind comments regarding my article. I wanted to further comment on some of the comments posted recently on my article.
Paddy, as usual a very insightful response. I agree that in a vertically integrated oil company refining is truly a cost center and not a profit center.
MotivaMan, I was not deeply offended, I was really hoping to point out how others might receive your message in the hopes that as you post it does not detract from the validity of your message.
Golden Triangle Watchman, Thanks for the kind words regarding the quality of my article. I do realize that I have let the current leadership off lightly in my article. You and I both know the truth in Tom
When Shell decided to replace its “Marketing” co-ordination with a new name and a new structure David Varney, in whose Shell Centre Division I then worked, burst into a large office where we were having a meeting and said, “You will never believe what they’ve done now”. We calmed him down and he revealed that “They” was the CMD and what they’d “done” was to create a new organisation to replace Marketing and Refining which they were going to call “Oil Products”. David was incensed. He had his detractors of course and he wasn’t always the easiest of bosses or colleagues but David understood marketing. He knew that the name “Oil Products” suggested that what marketers were about was disposal – i.e. getting rid of the things that the refineries produced. It reduced the gentle arts of marketing to the simplistic premise that it was about the products and getting rid of them. Not the customer. Not the brand. Just commodities. David illustrated his point with the memorable line “Can you imagine Macdonald’s calling themselves “Beef Products” ?” Looking back that was the beginning of the end for Marketing in Shell.
Re Paddy’s view of the disengagement from the downstream – Shell is of course only now discovering what T.Boone Pickens discovered 30 years ago – it’s much easier to make money as an oil trader than as an oil company.
Just a quick point of clarification, I understand from the Q2 results presentations that Shell has used significant cash payments to close any gaps in pension funds? Whilst newspaper articles have run with data from before these payments were made, it’s worth making sure that people know that this isn’t like BA or BT (in the UK) where the shortfall is something that persists. Also, it’s pretty obvious that any fund that is largely invested in stocks will dip dramatically when the market dips, and likewise will rise in time. I recall a period a few years ago when media commentators pointed to the excessive surplus (and thus power) of the leading funds…
Jo Blow
Thanks for your excellent article and for your kind remarks about my recent piece on Shell and the downstream. My own interest is more beyond the refinery fence rather than what happens to the refineries. I also, perhaps simplistically, find refining very straightforward! In a vertically integrated structure refineries are cost centres not profit centres. Jan Blauu is right in a way to say that Shell is selling Stanlow because it is “unprofitable” – but he and Shell are both wrong to use the “P” word. Stanlow is a cost not a profit centre – in my view. The so-called “refiners margin” is a myth. The margin comes not from the refining activity per se but from the difference between crude costs and market realisations for produced products – both of which are market driven. Obviously refineries that are efficient, which can process a wide range of crudes, which have flexible upgrading capacity etc. will be preferable to simple refineries or high cost plants. But in essence refineries are manufacturing plants and as such cannot be seen as profit centres. The challenge is not to try and make a refinery make more “profits” but to try and make it lower unit cost or more efficient.
To MotivaMan: I wanted to clarify a point in one of your earlier posts, the item in question is quoted as
“Did I also mention that the salary employee in question
Hey JoBlow…. Enjoyed your article… I respect that you can be that balanced in your assessment of the situation when in your own words” had a disgraceful exit” from one of the plants. You described the macro picture extremely well. What you didn’t mention is what happens with the leaders when the chips are down and they have to show true leadership? In the case of our piece of the company, that would be the failure we have seen with the one they call Tom Purves. He has lost all credibility and will never regain it. He lied, has cheated some out of their careers, and treats a core few like they are his peers…when he can’t even compete with his true peers on the leadership scale. Tom, how was the weekend up at the lake with the little boy they call Jeff?
So Jo, don’t take this personal. You are letting this so called leadership off by rationalizing this into the “big picture”.
Jo Blow, you wrote…
“I remain proud because I will and many others will always know the truth.”
What is the truth?
Jo blow,
On the contrary, I did not take offense at all to your post. Actually it made me see that I was making mistakes in my post. I am very sorry. I have been posting about our managers/leadership, but I guess I need to be more specific in what I am saying. I know there are a bunch of great people that make up our management. Alot more good people than are bad!
If you knew me you would never expect I would be posting these things, I grew up Shell! Almost everyone I knew while growing up was shell managment. One of the main points I was trying to get across was that in the past 5 or so years Shell has been on the wrong path and needs some serious changes. The Shell I once knew would have never stood for the types of things going on now. Most of the people I knew are retired by now, but they still are in the loop. Most of them tell me they are glad they left when they did. I think Shell can be the greatest company in the world.
The management in the previous posts were mostly Motiva, Convent Managers. David, Curtis, Roxan, Connie, and a few others. Along with Mr. Purvis. These people are nothing but a bunch of liars and the people whom had the vision of Shell long ago are probably rolling in their graves because of the lack of respect by these people. They do not have any morals or ethics. They respect no one but themselves.
Contrary to what I may have led you to believe, but I was deeply saddened by the dismissal of almost all of the managers that were let go at Convent. These people were not let go because of performance, I would know because before these evaluations were even done, I was told the names of people whom would be let go. Most of these people did value others and did live up to the old Shell expectations.
I do see both sides of everything also, and do believe cuts were necessary, but the process was flawed and good people lost their jobs. I said a few years back that this run of “luck” would only last so long. The margins would only last so long and only the best, most efficient plants were going to survive. While we were making money hand over fist, things should have gotten fixed so when these time come, we would be ready.
I think they hit the wrong ones with the layoffs, they should have got the pirates and his maties. These people will ruin this company.
So what I am saying is I know things have to be done to run a business, I know that not all management are bad, and I am sorry if I offended any of the great people that did attempt to make a difference. I hope good things come to those good people.
Motivaman for president!
Thanks for that Outsider, the headline has been corrected.
The Shell pension shortfall is UKP 5.6 Billion (1000 times greater than your headline suggests)
12 Life Saving Rules violations…….
Ok, so Mark admitted to breaking some of the Life Saving Rules. He ?ucked up, and should be held accountable to whatever degree. But do you really know what burns my butt more than a three foot hydrogen flame? It is the fact that our worthless, safety preaching plant manager who wants to sweep this under the rug! So much for keeping us safe. It is people like him, who can talk out of both sides of his mouth and whistle at the same time, that really scare me to death.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news Mr. Plant Manager, Sir David…….but, if you are truly concerned about our safety and well being, then lick your wounds, or whatever, and say goodbye to all the good, hard working people at Convent. We have survived many years without your help. So without your help, we stand a better chance of surviving many more.
Just MyTwoCentsWorth
Dear Motivaman, MotivaSux and Conventscum-When a business doesnot make money, it has to be sold. Shell is also selling Stanlow and several other refineries in Europe. Donot expect other businesses to subsidize you. Sorry to spoil your Sunday. Be real, man.
Now the EC-2 has been announced. We in the EC4-5 are being kept in the dark. The standard answer by the bosses are , it is confidential and designed in the Centre. The potential EC-3 claim they donot know either and are busy looking after their own interest. We wonder what does the Centre know on what to design without talking to us. We know now how Shell treat its staff when in Crisis. From now to 1 Jan 2010 is along time to wait in s Hell. The Shell Transition communication Team didnot work this out well. Dont treat us like Mushrooms in the dark , fed with shit for so long. One thing for sure, our loyalty will never be the same again. We donot expect this from the World No.1 Company.
Guest 66, thanks for letting us know about the Nazi Swastika flying at Shell HQ. That’s another gem. I don’t think many people knew that Royal Dutch Shell funds had saved Hitler and the Nazi party. That particular nugget was buried in the news vaults for nearly 70 years.
I heard that the Shell hospitality tent at the 18th hole of the Shell Houston Open Golf Tournament is called The Eagles Nest. Is this true? If it is true, is it just a coincidence?
This Shell Nazi thing is not new news. Shell even has a photo in their 3 volume 100 year history book of Shell HQ in the Hague with a Nazi flag flying out the front. Don’t think Shell has ever tried to hide the unfortunate linkage between Hitler and RDS, although you can’t blame them for not yelling about it 60 years later! be fair guys!
Shell’s communications positioning:
If the truth isn’t potentially damaging tell the truth.
If the truth is partially damaging tell half truths.
If the truth is damaging – lie!
Shell does read and listen to the Donovans news. See Jon C and Paul M is in the latest casualty list. Next will be their cronies, Bob P, Scot F, Jonathan H, Dennis D, JR…and more. List has also been provided to Michiel and Petronas. The list includes people who “work” from home, frequent coffee bean ( >30mins ), Boulevard, Lutong cafe and Malaysians who are puppets and has business outside and the 3pm golfers. So watch out for EC3-5.
I retired from Shell three months ago. As I reflect after 32 years in Shell, what went well n what went wrong. Shell has alot of smart people however the move towards Globalisation some ten years ago actually change the culture, it did more harm than good. While the Globalisation gives more control ( and employment ) to the Centre in Europe and Houston, it has created the matrix and functional organisation which requires alot of internal alignment, engagement,etc before the ideas get to fruition. Therefore some 50-75% of the time is due to working with internal stakeholders. This also resulted in shared accountability and risk taking is spread out and practically not there. I believe in single point accountability. But then who am I? A small fish in the Ocean.
Voser is falling into the same trap , so are the analyst and everyone. However time will come when the Pendulum will swing back. Its not only Shell, the whole World is into this. The World is like Shell, a big company, a dinosaur. To turn things around it takes 10-20 years. My advice to those staying, make the best use of your time in Shell. Do what you can to improve yourself. If you are a young graduate who just join Shell, it is a good company with lots of smart people. Time will come but then do expect a different set of challenges. There is no real business case to change yet. U$2.3bil for a quarter is a very healthy sum.
For me, I enjoy everybit of Shell and I am beginning to enjoy my Life after Shell by travelling round the World. ( No more meetings, late night telecon, video conferencing, deadlines , infightings, backstabbing – most of these activities would not be present in a small business which need to survive ).
To my colleagues, I miss you all.
Johndoe,
I know a few people in some pretty high up positions throughout the organization. I didn’t really ask about layoffs, I was on a call about some Life Saving Rules violations and before I hung up, they said “oh yeah, by the way”. But I can tell you judging from our new organization, I wouldn’t doubt that this will be happening throughout Shell. Don’t know for sure, just guessing. Sorry I couldn’t help, but if I do hear any more, I will be sure to post asap!
Motivaman for president!
Dear motivaman,
How did you come by that information? Is the reduction specific to Convent? Any more that you could share would be great, thanks…
Chadwick is a caretaker for a short while until he presumably gets the boot himself. Designated to go replace Cook, but that job no longer exists. It would provide the dato more time sorting out the Donovans, there are few people in this world he hates more. And this is a great achievement. So the Donovans must have done some good!!!
Can anyone tell me what has happended Jon Chadwick. I have not seen him in any of the appointments to date, or have i missed something?
Time to reflect on the integrity of Jorma Ollila, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. In his time as Chairman it seems, if we judge from the actions of Shell’s new CEO Peter Voser, he has allowed Shell to become an over-staffed, unfocused, top heavy bureaucracy. A company that requires urgent and invasive surgery. A Company that no longer has confidence in its staff at the top to the extent that it makes them re-apply for jobs
ATTENTION
Shortly after posting my last post about the 12 Life Saving Rules, I made a few calls to some people I trust dearly within the Shell organization and this is what they told me.
Motiva Convent will release (sever) at least 45 more contractors and salary people by the end of the year!
Remember the e-mail Brignac sent out a few weeks ago about more layoffs? He said there was to be no more severence packages. Guess that meant that people will be laid off without a package. He really side stepped that question!
What a Liar!
Motivaman for president!
OK everyone, here is a little more information about the 12 Life Saving Rules violation by a Motiva salary employee at Convent.
A Motiva salary employee was caught red handed blatently violating not 1, but 2 of the Life Saving Rules. Two operators and one contractor witnessed this violation, plus the salary employee admitted to 3 other salary employees that he did the violation in question.
So you ask what happened? NOTHING! A investigation had been done and many, many different excuses were made for his violations. A big coverup is underway. The company has also threatened that if this issue continues to be persued, the witnesses will also be terminated.
This is the problem with the situation, when these rules came out, the company said that just knowing that a violation occured and not reporting it will cause YOU to lose your job also. So this was turned in and the company has done nothing but made threats toward these people. Also, according to the 12 rules management outline, anyone whom does report a violation will be positively reinforced, the guy whom reported this was told by management that he just did it because he hated management. That is far from positive. The company is intimidating everyone whom witnessed this act, telling them that they will have to be fired along with the salary guy. Also according to the 12 rules outline is that the HSSE department is supposed to be doing the investigation, but from what I’ve been told, Its a manager and a HR person, not HSSE, so is this investigation even legal?
Why does Shell put out these 12 rules and enforce them strictly when a contractor or hourly employee violates them, but when one of there own violates 2 of them, the LIE, and INTIMEDATE people? They just as well flush them down the toilet because they mean nothing!
Did I also mention that the salary employee in question’s father was a past Shell plant manager.
Motivaman for president!
Joblow – you posted some very insightful thoughts – I do agree that you have some valid points with respect to DP handling of the severances vs other sites. Thanks for making me rethink this some. I have to find out what the facts really are at PAR and Convent – the way it was handled does not sound like Shell. But???
You cannot possibly blame HR. They cant even look after themselves. They have outsourced everything. When you ask them how many staff is the company, it will take awhile before they can give you the answer. The business has to do everything themselves. They just serve as Advisors. But then, they have the most VPs in the new restructure. Surprise! Surprise! Well done, Hugh! Maybe we should have a temperature check..lets do the temperature check – Shell people survey now.
A major criticism of Shell in recent times has been the immense gulf between the rhetoric and the reality. There is an assumption that if someone crafts some elegant and sympathetic words then that is enough. There is no need to deliver reality that matches the words so long as the words ring around the public domain. We saw this with the disingenuous corporate advertising that claimed that Shell had imperatives that those of us close to the organisation knew to be untrue. And we saw it also with the ritual annual bullshit about “Shell people”. Take the 2006 Annual Report for example. In it Jorma Ollila said, “Across Shell I have met dedicated and committed people working in a productive corporate culture with very strong values. I have been particularly impressed with the way they are responding to the pace of change in the energy industry; how they are delivering strong results; and how they are putting in place plans to secure the future growth of Shell
I resigned from Shell E&P to join another company 2 years ago. In recognition of my 7 year contribution to the business, I was given not only a paid-for and very well attended leaving “do”, but also a gift. Be cautious in generalising. I think sometimes, some colleagues are just “unlucky” with the teams they end up in.
Well Tom must be happy, his people are following his leadership like the little sheeple they are. I see now that Roxan will be promoted to EC2 GM-M she can leave Convent, before the shit hits the fan. How does it feel Roxan to know you sold your soul and screwed a lot of good people. Tom, Roxan, and David can’t even walk around and look some of them in the eye when they see them. Tom the other day didn’t even have the courtesy to say hello to the people eating at Tezcuco. What a dick. Roxan you have to know also that they are keeping you cause they need women to be promoted cause they rather have a woman than a protected race in the leadership. The sooner you get on your horse and leave Convent the better. David, Jesus is not happy with you.
I left a short time ago – after working for he company 6 years. No goodbye or something similar.
IT4ME, The way the people let go were handled in Manufacturing within the Gulf Coast was horrible in Motiva Port Arthur and Convent. People were told early in the morning and then walked to the gate. They weren’t even able to get their personal belongings and take them home. They could not even get pictures of their family or children and take it with them. Fundamentally, Shell has lost track of what it is as a company due to a few bad managers. The plants above have defaulted to a low standard because of Tom Purves and his approach to “make a difference”. His leadership teams do what he wants them to do because they are either part of his inner circle or they are scared for their job. They each got the loyalty talk when the past GM left PAR. They know what they have to do to keep their jobs. Convent just has a weak leadership team. No real surprise. And the senior leaders that Tom has to answer to don’t weigh in and just let him do what he chooses….. well there you go. Maybe this tells us more about Shell in the broader sense.
With Voser’s organisational changes filling the headlines, I wonder if we perhaps lose sight of what all this means at the personal level ?
One of my IT colleagues left Shell a few days ago. Just another case among thousands, but the manner of his parting struck a chord. He worked in the “BAM”, a part of the IT organisation that is drowning in “process”, and where little meaningful work has been done for a year or more. Bombarded by endless top-down initiatives, his hapless line management couldn’t even manage a farewell card, nor a handshake, nor even a simple “goodbye” after what had been 20 years of dependable service. An embarrassed colleague escorted him from the building at the end of his last day.
How hard is it to show some respect ?
Paddy- You hit the nail head again. I wonder why we in Shell never learn. Some advise to spend more when cost of services and material is low. Cashflow doesnot impact of profit nor ROACE. But we are like a herd of sheep led by a shepherd. There are few who go against the grain and want to be different to bring Shell to the next level.
Unfortunately most of these have left cos they are seen as “negative”. We are now a Centre-led ( Global ) organisation run by so called Strategist who has never accountable or run a busines before. Most of the businesses cannot be run by “Remote Control”. There is always a personal touch to business which we in Asia call relationship.
Wonder how Exxon does it so well?
The oil and gas business is not a short-term business. Investments made today often don’t start earning for nearly a decade. Strategy has to be long term – Shell is not running a sweet shop. True there will be peaks and troughs but Shell should resource at a level consistent with its long term strategy and weather the troughs when they come. Contracting out can cover the peaks. Knee-jerk reactions to current difficulties (whilst not new) are depressing. And the fact that the head honcho who got the company into its current difficulties is luxuriating with a seven figure pension whilst most of us have to make do with a derisory 0.9% is a scandal!
One month has past since Voser take over. Nothing exciting has happen except profit is down due to low oil price. Jon Chadwick is still out there making press statement ( Sunday times ) talking about Floating LNG. Shell response to the economic downturn is far too slow! To Shell , 740 SEG applying for 650 jobs is a shock. This is not a drastic change. You need to have at least 30% changeout to make a difference. There are some company who cut 50% of management staff one year ago.
To Voser , you are still very “Shell” . You need to change the whole renumeration package. Dont just look at numbers, do look at bottomline($$). The alarming number of Expats in Shell need to be reduced especially in Asia. Some are not as good as local. I wonder why there are here in the first place. Is it they are not good enough in Eurpoe or US? or is Asia a training ground or holiday camp?
Voser- when you are next in Asia- find out for yourself. These costs are worth trimming without risk or impact to the business. Every knows this. But nothing gets done. You know why.
The challenge for Shell and other major Corporations is everyone is a salaried employee. I once chanced to meet a billioniare businessmen and ask him the secret of his success.
His advice is ” Run the business as if your own”
Shell will not be able to do that as everyone will not want to engineer themselves out of work. Look around Shell, how many employees work to rule from 8-5, work from home, ? Travel only when required? The global travel bill is US$800mil , 80% is in the three(3) Centres ( Houston, Hague and London ).
Infact everyone in Shell is a “Mini businessman” trying to get the most out of Shell with the least effort from Top to bottom in their own way including Peter, Malcolm, Mathias, even the bean counter Simon. It will change if the EC and Shell staff are given a very low basic pay and the rest is depends on profit not the current high 95% basic and 5% performance bonus. Lets dare the EC to lead by example.
Gamechanger, STV, and the rest are mostly about acquiring technology and IP from others and providing lucrative directorships for redundant senior Shell employees… Schlumberger know how to commercialise technology, but Shell rarely succeed.
Ref Peter Voser, you’re quite right of course. One of his proclaimed positive attributes is that he’s a Shell man but was “out of the building” during their reserves problems. However I think it is fair to describe somebody on the Supervisory Board of a Bank as a “Banker.” Is that detrimental? I think not. However you’ve got to wonder what the Board was doing given the issues UBS has now.
Anyway, cutting layers from most older multinationals is probably a good thing, Shell’s unlikely to be an exception; done well it may help to remove outdated cultures and practises. As always though there’s a possibility that it may simply be a means to cull “dissent.” Given that Shell has apparently already lost approx 150 snt jobs in 1 month of Mr Voser’s tenure you wonder if haste is a priority – let’s please the analysts.. Time will tell 🙂
I’ve seen comments here referring to Peter Voser as a banker & having worked for UBS. As far as I know, he’s never been a banker & his UBS appointment is/was as a non-exec. He’s spent all his career in Shell, apart from the two or three years when he left to join ABB.
I stand to be corrected but that’s the position as I understand it.
I suspect that some of the comments expressed here are the usual engineer’s prejudice against finance people. I always remember being on a job evaluation panel when an engineer commented that the only profession he recognised was that of engineering. Plonker.
Regards,
Pensioner.
Ref the gamechanger question, yes they do and yes they will but don’t expect to be given anything, they’ll want their pound of flesh. There’s also Shell Technology Ventures (just search) with pages of details of “gamechanger” companies funded this way.
With respect to the 70% dip in profits, that’s obviously just the lower oil price, primarily, and cutting jobs will have a negligible effect; far better to produce more.. sadly production is down mainly due to issues in Nigeria, so it’s pretty clear that Shell needs to develop resources in more stable environments. Finally, Shell now have a CEO who knows a spreadsheet inside out and understands the need to please blinkered self-important analysts, so is a short termist. Having being with UBS (which is in the midst of its own multi-billion dollar mess)he know financial woes; how’s this going to help the long term future of a company where projects can take 10 years to mature?
POSTED ON BEHALF OF “Jo Blow”:
It has been awhile since my last post, so I thought I would share some of the observations that have come to mind in the last couple weeks.
First, I find it very interesting as to Mr. Voser’s approach to restructuring the SEG grade, I suppose there are many out there hitting their knees in prayer as to the fate of William T. Purves and his henchmen… This in itself is a testament to the legacy Mr. Purves will leave when he departs stage left. I mean really how many of the people out there are of the character that would actually wish ill will on anyone? Personally I never thought I would see the day that I would actually wish this on anyone, There I go thinking!
Second, We have heard so much on the staff cuts coming out of Convent, PAR, and Norco, but nothing out of Deer Park…..HHHHMMMMMM I wonder why? Is it that maybe the GM there is actually taking pains to ensure that he carries the difficult process through with Fairness, Dignity, and Respect? (Mr. Williams, Mr. Botts, you really should pay attention here it does speak volumes!) You see, Deer Park has approached this whole ordeal with Integrity, up front and honest communication, and compassionate dignity to those affected. There was no escorting of long term employees out the gate, there was no disgraceful handling of employees by a ruthless management team, consequently when most employees are handled this way, they tend to accept the whole situation as what it is, a tough business environment with Tough Business Decisions!
Lastly, I cant help but wonder what Mr. Voser and the Manufacturing Leadership Team think of Mr. Purves’s behaviour that has come to light on this site. I mean, I am a realist and do not believe that everything posted in regards to Mr. Purves is 100% factual, so lets just for the moment assume that it is only half true. If you add it all up at half truth it is still a shocking display of unethical behaviour, vindictive manipulation of a sensitive HR process to ensure legality in staff reductions, and total disregard for the company core values in most if not all of his business activities.
Very good point about the upstream in the last post. My ex Boss (sort of) Tony Wildig had the vision to move Middle East E&P substantially to Dubai to make relationship management with key resource holders in the Region easier and more locally focused. I hear now that the Dubai office is being run down and people are being hauled back to the Hague. Big mistake! Also the magazine that I launched, “Shell in the Middle East” which focused on decsions makers in the region has been stopped after more than ten successful years. Some people know the cost of things but not their value!
Paddy, if David Pirret gives freedom and make Country VP or GM accountable , what is left for him to do. In fact it is even more applicable for Upstream where Key stakeholders are the National company who are the custodian of country oil and gas resources. These days even stationery are procured globally. Isnt it a joke, but then what else do you expect the Global Managers to do? Malcolm talk so much about Accountabilities.
Unle Tom, wasn’t it you that ran the FCCU at Norco back in 1988? Shell missed a chance to correct that problem when they left you in your current job. Tick Tick.
Is Shell Gamechanger for real? If you meet the criteria such as novelty and adding
value, will they really
consider funding new
tech? Has Shell Gamechanger funded
any gamechangers?
Anybody hear about Global Solutions Engineering VP (Bonino) stating during a recent townhall which US plants are “safe”?
PSR, SMR, DPR, PAR are suposedly in the “safe” category. No mention of Norco….no mention of Convent.
Where are all the articles out there Dononvan comparing RD results to Exxon Moobils? Try google!
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/6555432.html
“Make the Country VP or GM accountable”
Spot on. That’s how it used to be. Define the business geographically and especially at Country level. This applies particularly in the Downstream. Take decisions for Malaysia in KL – not in Houston or London or even Singapore. Ask David Pirret how much freedom he is prepared to give to the managers in KL, or Melbourne, or Sao Paulo/Rio, or Calgary to run their own Lubs businesses responding to the local competition and the local customers and the local markets? All markets are local…
Dear “Shell Shocked” – We can tell you it is not a shock. 650 is still too many. Look at the number of VP in HR. How many businesses does Shell has- less than 10. If we have 3-5 Think tank ( Strategists and accountable party ) per business that only works out to be less than 100 ( including EC).
For example in Asia, we donot see why we need a VP Production. We have VP Malaysia, VP Brunei, GM China, GM STOS, GM Philippine. So why do we need a VP Production. These gentlemen are very senior people LC/SEG), shouldnot they be made accountable for Productions? Shouldnt they be made accountable for HSE? We still have EP and a separate GP in Asia. We thought we want to combine the value chain. or is it because we donot have competent people?
So there is so much duplication even in the new structure. We can see this coming. All the staff are talking about this at Coffee Bean, Coffee shops. The Centre is still fully occupied with all the VPs already have office spaces and to keep the EC and EC-1 company.
As insider, we see the number of infightings and the number of Empire building. Why? because these senior VPs has so much time but nothing much to do. They will call for meetings, visit the regions and come up with actions. The processes are very complicated . ( still is ). Every site is so worried sick of of such visit because it creat more work for them. But they cant stop this because thes VPs are their bosses or future bosses.
Make the Country VP or GM accountable. If they are not capable they should be removed. Donot not add VPs to creat more work. What standardisation? Each region is so much different now. It is up to whim and fancy of the EVP. This means all the processes in different regions will be different.
If we are serious about rationalisation and cost savings, we should be bringing the Capable Malaysian overseas back to fill in critical positions in Malaysia. But we still see the Brits, Scot and the Dutch etc. An average Expat cost more than 5 X of an equivalent local. Of course Americanos are more expensive. We think the $$ game is more important than the number game. Furthermore the Malaysian are more capable then the Expat when come to engaging their own Stakeholders in their respective countries.
Dear Shock- We can tell you this is not a shock. We can still see the Empire being built and unclear and fuzzy accountability in the new organisation. 740 applying for 650 jobs is not a challenge. If Peter Voser meant what he said, the 740 should only be apply for 100 jobs.
As insider we can tell you , the way it is developing, it is still going to be too FAT and MESSY, maybe evnn worst. Those who donot get a job it is because they asked to be released or they donot want the jobs. There are so many horsetrading going on as we speak. We donot feel Chilly but we are HOT because nothing will change. We shall still end up with 300 Expat in Malaysia. Watch the Space.
COLD BLOODED VOSIFICATION:
It was chilling to read the comment by Voser that requiring 740 senior managers to reapply for 650 jobs is “an interesting exercise”. The senior managers involved may view the experience as something more frightening than an exercise. To make such a comment is very revealing about Voser and it is not to his credit. The man is an accountant with ice water running through his veins. He may not have been tainted by the reserves scandal but do not forget that he has since 2005 been a non executive director of UBS, the Swiss bank mired in fraud and scandal.
Who would thought it would have took this long? Wondering what I’m talking about? Shell’s 12 cardinal rules.
Yesterday one of Motiva Convents salary employees was caught red handed breaking not 1, but 2 life saving rules. Working without a permit and not verifying isolation(because it wasn’t isolated).
Well don’t you know it,those silly wacky, people we have running our wonderful refinery are trying to sweep it under the rug. Nothing is going to happen to him.A slap on the wrist. Anyone supprised? Oh yes, they are quick to run off hourly people and contractors, but not salary. I’m shocked it took this long.
If anyone that was fired because of these rules just happens to be reading this post, they might wanna keep a watch on this the next couple weeks, I will post more as I get news from my source. Maybe your future lawsuit will set you up forever. I believe you would have a good case now!
Motivaman for president!
What Brinded should have said:
Success for Shell means that we have to find, develop, transport and trade more oil and gas and secure the highest margins we can consistent with the long-term security of our business. This means we must eschew the short-termism that has sometimes characterised our behaviour. To pursue our growth strategy we need the best people – the most skilful and experienced practitioners all the way along the chain. The best geologists. The best engineers. The best practical scientists. The best negotiators. The smartest traders. And of course we need good people to do the bookkeeping as we go along. But our distinctive strengths are not the men in the accounts departments. They lie in our highly skilled professional practitioners. So we must keep them and reward them and not berate them. We must offer them long-term job security and not threaten them. That is how we will secure competitive advantage – not by facile cuts of staff and costs – that never worked in the past and it won’t work now.
Just read: “We are in the middle of a programme to build 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe) of additional Upstream capacity”. But Brinded has been in the middle of building extra production capacity since many years. So why would we now believe Shell? If Voser has any sense he fires Brinded asap. And all the sycophants around him. Thereafter he may hear the truth and bad news occasionally….
Running an organisation by numbers and spread sheets with no fundamental understanding of the business is just what Robert McNamara did as US secretary of defence during the Vietnam war. The man himself judged the episode as not his greatest success and in his memoirs admits there is more to decision making than “numbers”. There is just a bit more to the oil business than NPV calculations. The fervent hope must be that Voser appreciates this – but one cannot help but be concerned…..
Cost cutting has its place, but in 1999 and 2000 whilst BP and Exxon had decided to rule the world, Shell were busying themselves with building a business through “Strategic Cost Leadership”. Yes, the great and good of Shell honestly imagined it to be the right approach to ensuring a bright future. The result – a loss of much of the better technical talent, a catastrophic emasculation of technical ability and a propensity to “talk things up” instead of facing reality – and we all know where that took the company. However, who knows – perhaps Voser’s reign will lead to a redefinition of the Peter Principle – but then again, perhaps not.
To Peter Ankers: I wrote the posting from the heart and there is a misunderstanding. I meant Brinded and Bichsel who are surrounding themselves with likeminded yesmen. For a banker Voser is fine.
POSTING BY PETER ANKERS ON THE ARTICLE “Shell insiders toxic reaction to Vosification job cuts”: It may be reasonable to question the job reductions being reported. However you totally devalue the discussion you are trying to initiate by allowing implications that Peter Voser is a crook to be broadcast on your site.
I had much contact with Mr Voser in the years before I retired in 2000 and I have the greatest admiration for his integrity and honesty.
maximising shareholder value by selling the company…maybenot such a bad idea if your core business has shifted from exploitation of oil and gas fields to
Voser cutting 600 top jobs. Nothing new, we could read that quite a while ago on the Donovan site. But what does this really mean? The head honchos are now expected to all combine two jobs. This is a nice recipe to get them overworked and overtired while the official explanation is ‘better coordination’. But they will be so exhausted that they cannot challenge projects that hit their desks for approval and so must rely on completed staff work by the underlings. The last few years this system has been tried and failed.
Therein lies the problem. Remember Herkstroter, the other banker? He had no use for geologists anymore since ‘we have Schlumberger’. This Voser is another banker and he is going to do the same, except that in the mid 90s there was still a lot of petroleum engineering and exploration expertise around. Now there also is a lot of expertise, not necessarily on exploiting oil and gasfields but certainly on ‘sustainability’, ‘Diversity and Inclusion’, ‘behavioral attitudes’ etc.
So we go to a slimmed down oil company with insufficient emphasis on technical expertise. And anyone who starts to claim that technical expertise is now at the forefront with Bichsel reporting to Voser is so mad, ill informed and stupid that I will refrain from even trying to point out why he is wrong. Crooks like to surround themselves with other crooks…
With the last Dutchman ethnically cleansed from the top, the road is now wide open for the Promise rather than Performance methodology of Brinded and all his english and american lackeys.
With all the gorilla like actions of Voser I am totally surprised that Brinded is still around. Although a useless and ineffective manager, he is a clever englishman with many friends in powerful positions and they all band together. Even a Swiss gorilla cannot break those old boy networks!
It appears Voser is preparing Shell to be taken over or merge. That will make the biggest killing for him and the rest is not important.
We should all be helping Voser and his EC out in their new job to make Shell the No. 1 Employer- We can be Proud of Shell!
Send suggestion to him – peter.voser@shell.com
Dear Eyesore, Shell has been in Malaysia for almost 100 years and yet today we still have expat running logistics, offshore platform and finance where there is not much Technology required. We acheived 100% localisation in 2002 ( with 100 Expat in Malaysia and 100 Malaysians working outside Malaysia in various Shell location – so 5% of total staff ) but then came Globalisation. The whole Malaysianisation programme was thrown out of the window. We donot see whats so special of those expat working in Malaysia. They spend lots of time in Coffee beans, have local girlfriends, never meet Petronas stakeholders, live in beautiful Camp houses.
Our advice to you, if you are a young man, is to Work hard, make yourself skillful, donot be too materialistic and move on when the Right Company comes along or else , you only have yourself to blame. Believe us.
World largest Company , Shell is expected to report profits of about $2.4 billion (
Re IPFs at PAR, they basically get set where Tom wants them set. That was Monnete’s problem at the plant.He was trying to make a difference by changing our culture and driving the accountability of the team. This was ruffling the feather’s of some of Tom’s boyz down in the trenches. Monnete had a mind of his own and Tom didn’t like it. Down goes the IPF. Look at Forrest… he sat there unknowingly I guess and let the project get out of control. His punishment should have been a pink slip. What did he get? Slide over Monnete and let me drive… because Tom said I could. Wonder what his IPF was? Mr Botts, go back and look at the many of the ones let go for “performance” or “redundancy” and you will find an IPF trend that doesn’t make sense and you will find that room for Tom’s old team was made at the expense of people who were trying to take our plant to a new place. Now we have all of Tom’s inner circle running the place and doing exactly what Tom wants done. Heck, it’s like he never left….. I read with embarassment the stuff posted about Funkhouser. How can he still be on the payroll? And yet, go look at his IPF. I wonder what you would find. I agree with outsider, we have some hard working people on this team that an make a difference and some that were that have been punished for some who don’t have a clue. And for USCITIZEN, why do we have to come on here and voice our concerns? Well that ought to tell you about the state of affairs with the current leadership in our region. They all basically march to the drum of the Purves waltz either because they are scared or because the koolaid was good. I wait for the day when our leadership fixes this fiasco and allows us to getting back to feeling good about our company and who we are as a team.
As one senior Shell employee put it,”95% of the people at Shell are honest, ethical and extremely competent. Unfortunately the other 5% are in top management positions”
johndoe, it seems the IPF’s were fabricated to get rid of certain people. Most did a great job, but bucked the system. One had a super award last year, yet got a .6 on his ipf. It doesn’t add up, if you look at who was let go and if you knew them personally, you would understand why they were on the chopping block. Most didn’t support the sHell way and actually thought for themselves. sHell doesn’t like people like that. It was sHell’s way or the highway. Jill said she was told to give lower evaluations to some, and I know she did some on her own. She bragged about all the people she got fired at her last job. Its like notches on her gun. She had it in for certain people. Ever notice how them eyes are so close together she looked like and owl? It must be a trait because look at some of the others a-holes and the distance between their eyes.
Wake up America, Obama Health care plan is like Motiva GAME-ME. Look at how long it takes to fix pumps, and that could be you waiting to get fixed if we let these idiots in Washington pass this health care bill.
They should send out an email announcing who got what jobs at Convent tomorrow. Funny how some people were cut so others can take their jobs. Will post a list of those cut and who replaced them later and some commentary. Look at all the moves that really pissed off some long time people that are now stuck here. Some wish they were offered a package, but they weren’t on anybody’s shit list. Look at all the unit upsets in the past month. I guess reliabilty is really working at Convent. The drama continues…
Reading a post that discussed IPFs in it below…..does anyone know how these are work? Speaking to a recently terminated employee (terminated during the cuts of the week of June 16), the employee mentioned his IPF went from 0.8 1 year, to 1.2 the next, and then to 0.7 . The average resulted in the employee not making the cutoff…are IPFs really established so arbitrarily?
John I found the Sunday Times very interesting and I have to admit I didn’t know how all this started. I’m a 40+ years Shell man and have great managers like Bill Campbell to look upto. Keep up the great work.
To the true Uncle Tom, Hope your bed up at the lakehouse isn’t too full. It must be a tight squeeze with Cubbie Hartsock, Jeff Funkster, and lost in the trees Forrest. I’m sure you only bring him up every now and then now that he is a big successful plant manager running a big plant, that he never deserved. The sad part Tom Tom is that your bosses let you do this. Oh well, yours is coming. Have you looked in the mirror lately? When they find out how you personally played into reducing IPFs enough so that packages could be given out, let’s see what happens to your IPF? When it is said and done… Hartsock will just slink back into his cubbie hole, Forrest will need to update resume.com, and the best for last Jeff….. you will find out what Shell really thinks of you… AGAIN. You were already sold once and somehow allowed to sneak back in a side door thanks to Uncle Tom. He won’t be able to help you. I guess your next move will be to slide down I-10 and see if Casey needs you at BP. Tell the young girlfriend Ms Hobbs we said hello. Andjust know….. I’M WATCHING.
Motivasux, you are right on the money, thanks for exposing David’s sidestepping the questions or as he said rumors. We all know that when we started a rumor, it came through 90% of the time. I’m going to miss my shift coordinator, but at least I know he cared about me and my coworkers safety. He said a long time ago not to trust management, and now I see why. He was a great leader, very knowlegable, and always there to help when we had problems whether it was work related or personal. You know who you are, and I just want to say it was a pleasure working for you. I know you can’t post right now, but I look forward to seeing some post later cause I know you won’t hold back on anyone. Let us know all the dirt on the backstabbing scum so everyone will realize who they can’t trust. Good luck to all you guys leaving in Aug and Nov. Ya’ll will be missed.
Well Motivasux, you beat me to the post that David sent out. I was planning on posting it myself, but got sidetracked. You forgot to mention, that PAR is going to offer another round of packages, and if you remember, David said no packages were going to be offered at Convent, and 4 months later we got them. Also at PAR, there is only one guy left that went there with Monet, another one was let go this week. When they are finished at PAR and Convent, there will be no more old Texaco people on site. Unfortunately I have to agree with a few things that Uncle Tom said. True there is no one left with balls to take up for what is right. Look at all the Shift Coordinators let go, everyone of them were pro-union and took up for operators when they thought the company was wrong, and look what happened to them. The ones left, are the ones that bad mouth operators in meetings, and several of them weren’t great operators themselves. You are left with bullshitting butt kissers, and incompetent managers that lack people skills. Uncle Tom, its easy for you to say that if we don’t like our job to bite the bullet and quit, but who in their right mind can quit a job they have been working for years when they too have bills to pay just like you. I’m sure if they were engineers they could easily find another job, but operators, and former operators don’t have that luxury. I don’t blame David or Roxan, after all they drank the Koolaid a long time ago, and sold their sole to the Devil. David’s was and aZZ when he first started at Norco and we all know you have to be one to get promoted. Jill fabricated bad reviews at the request of others, and modified some that were already done before she took over. Every one of those got a .7 on their IPF except 2 which got a .6. How could they go from 1.1 to .7 in 2 months when Jill redid the reviews. They said Connie had a shit list and if you look at who they say were on it, I personally know of 4 that was informed last November about their name being on the list. Just so happens they got bad reviews because they opposed Connie, isn’t that very coincidental? Yes there were a couple of low performers, but in who’s opinion. There was no 360 feedback from peers, just some who happen to be in the same money pool as them. I have never gotten a 360 request from any manager since I’ve been here. They select who to send it to and won’t send it to people they know would be critical of their performance. David, Roxan, Connie, and the rest of you people who had a hand in canning good people, I hope God punishes you when the time comes.
Guys take a look at the number of expat in China! What business do they contribute. Worst is a lot of them do not even speak or read Chinese! At the end, they need another PRC to accompany them to meetings! How to be cheap and efficient? Worse is some are not even smart, but they use English to bully the PRC. The europeans do that to the Asians and now even the Malaysians do that to the PRC. I think the expat should be reduced to about 10-15 and the rest can be taken over by PRC. Give us a chance to prove and you will be surprised! I ask the EC to look into this with big eyes. Look at big team of expat in EP, what do they do that the PRC cannot do, except speaking and writing good English? If we look at these expat in a PRC company in China, they are not worth one yuen. But we must get real if you want to be efficient and profitable in a big country like China. You better learn fast or you will be left behind by the aggressive Chinese soon……Can you all not see this coming? And very soon! If you are nto careful, one day Shell will be taken over by a PRC! We will treat you the way you treat us now, example by torturing you to read and write Chinese!
Well Boys, you found you a web site!
Everyone’s got an opinion . . . . . right!
Seems like there’s some good comments here and some whining! Not surprised to see both, we all have one, don’t we.
We all make our own beds, and have to live in them!
Good people are leaving Shell, some wanted to, some didn’t. Should some of them really be surprised? Not!
Good performers who didn’t “dog” the Company still have a job.
Good performers (some) who “dogged” the Company are on the way out, no surprise.
Poor performers (some) are leaving the Company, should be no surprise to them. Some were good people who just couldn’t cut it. Those people sometimes survived in the past, but with this darn economy, no one gets a free pass at times like this.
Can you fight it! Let’s be real, who’s got more money?
What’s the bottom line, Shell is a fairly good Company, but its the bad people in some positions in Shell that make things sour. Just like in any Company. That’s life, it’ll never change, not here, or any other Company.
If you dislike your job so bad, bite the bullet and jump ship. At least you might be happier? And that may be worth more than staying and being miserable!
And sometimes good people have to carry out bad actions, or face the music themselves. So who is really to blame?
Which of you would really face termination for not carrying out decisions from upper management that might not be very popular in the people you supervise?
Let’s face it, we’re a foreign owned Company, and the direction is being set from there, not here. Every business is in business for one reason, . . to make MONEY!
It’s Big Business . . . . . Don’t You Understand?
REPLY TO JOHNDOE: Since there are conflicting signals coming from Shell, there is bound to be uncertainty in news reports and more importantly for refinery workers having to put up with Shell management double-talk.
Thank you John. I just want to do my part to make sure that all of the information, both good and bad, gets out to the public. Thank you for this site as I am able to see what is happening elsewhere in the world with this company as well. I wish I could say that I was surprised that it is about the same everywhere.
POSTING BY “JMJPFus” (Supplied by email):
I would hardly classify the ones posting as
John,
The recent article you posted entitled “Shell weighs staff cuts at U.S. Gulf refineries” on July 17, 2009 – does this mean they are considering making additional cuts (in addition to those on June 16 that sparked a storm of activity on the blog)? Can anyone elaborate on the meaning of the Reuters article?
Motivasux, we make a great team. Thanks for the email quoted in a Wall Street Journal article within hours of it being circulated by David Brignac. I don’t think that was what this hapless Shell manager had in mind when he sent it. There is no need to use initials when referring to Shell managers. Please feel free to name names providing we are talking about recent or current events relating to Shell.
I don’t have to take a pay cut, I am hourly. And I sure do wish you would tell all of us what David’s note says. And let me know why the staff infection maintenance man refused to repair the problem today on the cat unit. Tell me that what he said about having to go through all the procedures and meetings was to much of a pain is not what he told us. Then you can tell me why the company won the battle and didn’t repair the leak. Hey uscitizen, get over it. LOL
motivasux,
Let me know when two things happen
1. When you take your paycut, I will take mine. What makes you think I am above you in the ogranization?
2. Let me know when you quit – we do not need people like you working for Shell. And when you do quit, lets compate benefits.
See ya – can wait to see where you end up.
PS – Davids note told you quite a bit if you will read it!
David’s email to ease people. Just wanted to share. You will notice that he never answers the questions. This is typical of management in sHell.
—–Original Message—–
From: Brignac, David G
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 8:16 AM
Subject: Rumor Mill
Like most of you, I hear many rumors around the refinery. I want to share some of the rumors I have heard recently and take an opportunity to address them. If you have any questions about this or anything else, please ask your supervisor or manager or ask me when you see me around.
I heard that there was going to be a second round of severance packages.
While none of us can predict what happens in the future, I can tell you there are no plans at this time for a second round of severance packages at Convent Refinery.
Is it true that the E&I craft line will be cut from 30 to 21 people?
There are no plans to reduce the number of E&I crafts. Rather than decrease the number of Motiva crafts, we are making plans to add a new Motiva multi-skill craft line later this year. You will see the bid poster for these jobs in the near future.
It seems that we are cutting costs at Convent in order to better position the refinery for a sale.
We are getting our costs in line at Convent in order to become competitive in a tough business environment. While operational performance at Convent has been good, our income performance since July of 2008 has been dismal. Convent is a strategic site for Motiva and Shell. However, whenever we as a business entity are not generating income, we are not in control of our own destiny. Thus, the need for us to get our costs in line and start generating positive net income.
I heard that we will be cutting the number of panel operator positions.
We have made reductions in maintenance contractors, support staff, and operations staff. Also, we are currently evaluating reductions in operator positions. We are doing in-depth evaluations to ensure we have the right staffing to execute stabilize, slowdown, and shutdown of facilities in the event of emergencies. In addition, we are evaluating operator staffing levels to ensure we execute the work processes that are so vital to safe and reliable operation. So, we are considering reductions in operator positions, but no final decisions have been made on operator staffing levels.
It seems that we are cleaning up the maintenance backlog so that we can then cut the number of craftsmen needed.
Backlog management is an important part of the maintenance process, and is critical to ensure reliability. It has been a long time since we have cleaned out the backlog. Many of the items in the backlog have been there for months, or even years. So, this was an attempt to get old notifications out of the system. Many of these had already been fixed. I want to be clear that our intention is to fix equipment that breaks, and work very hard to understand how we can prevent equipment from breaking down in the future. We have made significant reduction in craft numbers since January 1st as part of our maintenance transformation work. This work has focused on increasing craft tool time and craft productivity. Because we have improved craft productivity, maintenance backlog has not increased as a result of craft reductions.
Is it true that one of the company strategies is to promote hourly employees to staff so that they can then be given a severance package?
Company strategy is to promote hourly employees to staff who aspire to a leadership role, who live the Convent values and deliver results.
I heard that all operator V&I will be taken off of shift and assigned to a general helper pool to do all kinds of different work.
Establishing a general helper pool would require discussions with USW.
Is it true that management has approached the Union about laying off hourly employees without using seniority?
There are no plans for laying off hourly employees.
Again, if you have questions, feel free to ask.
David G Brignac
I have removed the posting by “Dr No” containing a threat against a Shell executive.
John, thank you for the site. I wish I would have known about it sooner so that I could have posted what has been going on here in the states a long time ago. Uscitizen, you obviously enjoy the site and I would like to thank you for your continued reading as well.
I know that scapegoats post is hard to make out but once the check clears it will be all cleared up. Some of us that work in Convent know what those initials stand for and scapegoat would have put the names but there was some question a couple of weeks back about a post with names. The truth is coming out though, don’t you worry.
I know that we were told in Convent that there is a cost strain and that is what is causing the company to make some moves. So 25 are fired and 10 – 15 are promoted. There is another 5 – 10 that are being brought in and we have already discussed the numbers of people from Norco that Brignac and his people have brought in. The reliability engineers Scott and Mike, were told that their jobs were redundant about 3 weeks ago. Yesterday Brignac promoted two people into those redundant jobs.
People, sHell is a piss poor company to work for. Uscitizen has told us how good we all have it but it is not that good. We are trying to make it betterr by exposing the underhanded and shady dealings that sHell does. If sHell is in this big money crunch and times are so bad, why don’t the two Toms, the gm’s, and the Roxans take a pay cut for this company they love. How about you uscitizen? Why don’t you take a pay cut to help out this great company. None of you will, you just want the people who are below you to suffer. You all are greedy and selfish.
I can’t wait for the day I can post under my name. Unfortunately, I have to keep this job until something comes along. I just hope that I stay alive long enough to find something else.
uscitizen, others can judge for themselves whether my polite factual comments amounted to an attack. If you know of other websites providing a forum used constantly by current and former Shell employees, as this one is, please list them here so that we can all visit and participate. How about some credit for posting all major news stories about Shell, whether positive or negative in nature? And why not refer to me as John, rather than Donovan? That would be more friendly.
Oh yeah , Motiva Man – I started out as a craftsman, got a degree and started my 2nd career. NO – this is not a Shell site???? Donovan is an upset contractor???? Geez I am so glad you educated me! First time on Blogs?, get used to the debate!
I was attacked by two people, oh lord where is Motivaman the savior of all downtrodden!! Sorry dude – the point of Blogs is to share viewpoints – and ours do not align. I feel compelled to let folks know there are other view points and they are not all negative. And when folks spin the facts to paint their negative view, I will get in your face, Deal with it. Dononvan is the king. Notice How he never voices an editorial opinion on the positive articles that he posts! No surprise!! PS see Musaints response to scapegoats post – it was meaningless to anyone but a Convent employee! Get it?
Donovan – I clearly did not get thru to you. The many many many folks who are satisfied with Shell do not post on these sites, deal with it!! They do not feel like wasting their time on the whiners, and I probably should not either, but I am very stubborn! The whiners are more likely to post and they do, deal with it. Read some sociology and psychology books to learn the facts here! And I hate to hurt your big ego feelings Donovan, but there are other forums where folks can share their opinions about Shell, it is the world wide internet!
Aww, come on USCITIZEN, I thought we worked through this. Everyone that reads this uscitizen loves his company! Now, is that good enough? we all know you love Shell, many people do and many don’t. Why don’t you just let people say what they want to without constantly telling everyone their wrong. People have a right to their opinion just as you do.
I personally believe Shell has its good points along with its bad. The only thing is, its constantly getting worse.
Let people speak without attacking them everytime you don’t agree, please.
In case you don’t know, Shell does not own this website and WAS made by an upset contractor.
WE GET IT, YOU LOVE SHELL.
This only reaffirms one of my prior posts to you, that you are corperate shell, probably HR, here for damage control.
Can anyone please translate the passage that “scapegoat” has written. It’s hard to comment as they may be poistive / negative / hieroglyphics. Or has my old friend “twaddle master” returned to the forum?
USCITIZEN, as you can testify, there is nothing to stop people from posting positive comments here about Shell. There appears to be a shortage of people who share your views. As has been pointed out, Shell closed down its own online forum for supposedly open and lively debate – Tell Shell – after it attracted a heavy volume of negative comments about the company. Consequently this is the only Internet forum where former and current Shell employees can speak freely (and without fear of reprisal).
Scapegoat – yeah we are all just shocked!!!??? You have reinforced that the Motiva folks need their own forum for voicing their frustrations. This site is not where Shell folks should bash Shell, save that for the uninformed outsiders and the disgruntled ex Shell folks who have biased viewpoints and a clear agenda.
We never hear from 99% of the inside and outside folks who think Shell is a great company, as I do. But that is the nature of whining , it drowns out sane voices most of the time.
Get ready for a shock. The annoucements should be out today for Convent positions. SH over RB on FCCU, LL and TS to OMC, PO over KB who will get have 3 units, 2 he never worked. DH to maint., TM to PTL and the rest of them. Maybe SH will come to work on time now………..BS staying put in H4, DL and BS to PUL, SB still BSing as usual. I feel sorry for all of them and the idiots that took staff positions know how we were treated. Good luck.
No ! No! IT4me. The Shell People ( IT and HR ) is not linked yet. It is still Hell.
You need at least 20 mins to start up GID and another 20mins to shut down everyday ( with no upgrades ). If there is upgrades, it gives you time to go for meeting first. Since 2002, our Malaysian IT Manager rose from JG3 to JGA. Not a bad progression, considering he managed to convince Petronas to approve part of US$60mil GID costs and of course he knows his IT bosses well.
IT4Me- The HR and IT in Shell People is not linked yet.
One still have to key in many times for one HR personnel information. I thought this could be done by any database system. We in Asia never go into the system in the afternoon when Europe is up ( morning ) . I suppose Europe has to do it in the morning before US is up. This is really a “Follow the Sun Concept” going live. Welldone IT and HR.
One area where IT and HR cultures meet up is of course the famous “SHELL PEOPLE”, the Group’s Personnel Records system (written in SAP). Last I heard, they had spent an extraordinary 500 MILLION USD, and were still plagued with data quality problems as well as having some pretty major omissions (no contractors, no temporary assignments, some countries missing..)
At the time, IT developers of other systems wanting access to Personnel records were tempted to step around SP, and make do with the more basic “Who’s Who”. Although much less comprehensive, WW has a pretty good ‘people catalogue’ developed at barely 1% of the cost ! If you did this, you had to keep quiet though ! There was a 3-line whip to use SP because “we’ve spent so much money on it”. Nowadays, I gather the 2 systems are linked, which probably helps to hide the embarrassment.
In the “good old days” you wouldn’t be put in charge of a coporate function like HR or IT unless you had actually been moved outside to run a business first – usually a country business. Sadly, this didn’t usually apply to Finance, and of course this sort of development has become more difficult because of organisational changes. I don’t believe Mitchell has been outside HR and ever run a business, I am not sure about Matula. Being in charge of “strategy” doesn’t count though ..
By the way, I have given a fair assessment on Jon. Now our focus will be swithed to Michiel. Michiel is not known by Petronas, Petroleum unit, Petrochina, etc. Spex and Stos can be left to the respective MD. In fact all can be left to a capable country MD. Since we have Michiel, why not use him.
Voser/Malcolm- if you donot believe- just ask them whether they know Michiel when you next vist them? If so, how many times has he visited them?
He need to go out more and be seen by key stakeholders.
and not delegate to Mr ” No Use” Paul who is also not known and not respected either.
Free tip No. 6
Shell has highest Sales turnover more than ExxonMobil. However the profit is only half. Shell has 5000 Expat ( in fact more as they have expat contractors ) whereas Exxon has 1000. Shell is the most loved company by Expat and Contractors alike. Most of the Expat gathered around Malaysia , Brunei, Brazil, Nigeria , Middle East. Of course there are Dutch expats in London and US whereas Americans and Brits in Holland. Shell cannot even get Dutch to work in their homeland,Holland and American to work in US. Does it not say something about Shell? By the way, these are the relatively good ones. Most of the second rated Expats are sent to so called developing Countries above. One knows why Shell cost is so high and not No. 1.
Voser- this is free tip No. 5 to you from me.
Paddy you are Right. The introduction of Scorecard ( another consultant’s favourite – Kaplan started it I think ) resulted in very short term focus as the executive pay depended on this. ROACE is a year focus while Shell Share options are three years in duration. No wonder everything is so short term and without strategy or Vision.
Lets dare Voser and his boys to put stake on the ground by declaring Vision 2020 ( copied shamelessly from former Malaysia Prime Minister , Mahatir ) as Shell will acheive
1) Production increase by 50%?
2) Cost down by 30%?
3) No.1 Employer ?
Then all the EC, SEG and LC who steer the company should be measured by this.
Asia Dragon, and others
Corporate speak could almost have been invented in Shell (perhaps it was). Huub was right in a way when he decried our (my) use of the word STRATEGY. But what was comfortable about the idea of strategic targets was that they took the short term out of the equation. In the short term it
Downunder123, for information I am a Snr project engineer. It is not those IT or HR executives we should go after. We should ask ourselve why they are doing this? So imagine all their work have been outsourced so how can we have a happy motivated lot. I understand the trend is reversing so I am optimistic that the day will come where we have real value adding IT and HR colleagues. Give it another 2-5 years. Be patient.
Dear Paddy, during Van Engleshoven and probably your time, “Strategy” belongs to the military or political campaign. But today, Business Strategy is the “in” term. You donot get to meet one consultant ( or LC ) who donot use it.
It is just another word for “Managing for Results”. I prefer the later as it is so simple. Strategy always give one the impression that it is not well thought through yet and therefore it is not quite ready to execute.
Shell has too long being managing safety and Production with not much success. High time, they switch to “Managing Costs”. One cannot use those highly paid executives in the centre to do this. You will see the power in making every country a Profit Centre. Make sure the Centre overhead is less than 5%. Currently the overhead of over 30% is force into respective profit centre.
It is quite apparent that JanBlauu is either from HR or IT – living in a comfort zone of himself. Let me ask Jan not to visit this site as he will be disappointed by the continued disclosure of gross mischieves committed by senior Shell personnel. One must agree that the combination of current HR and IT is the perfect receipt to ruin Shell, already in an advanced stage of heading into the extinct phase.
Guest1
One of my party pieces is the story about how when I was working in Hong Kong and China we had a visit from Van Engleshoven. I was the Planning Manager and had to give a presentation which included a summary of the company’s long term plans in the region. I put up a slide on which the heading was “STRATEGY”. Van Engleshoven exploded at this. In his heavily accented English he shouted at me “Strategy is a shit word” !
Jan Blauu
The reason that I contribute to this site is that Shell, despite its self-proclaimed interest in listening and responding to stakeholders, does not have a medium where this can take place. There used to be an online forum called
AsiaDragon and IT4me, you are both hitting the nail squarely on the head. As Hub van Engelshoven used to say: ‘Strategy is just an excuse to waste money’. And those novel HR systems look fine to the outsider but it creates havoc with the staff that generate income rather than spend it on hobby horsing. Only strong leadership can fix this. And I do not see that. Political correctness is still the norm, all the way to the top. Too long did the ‘leaders’ of the 90s let Hofmeister run away and create the current HR monster.
I just learn about this website from a friend. My advice to those who do not like Shell, please quit and find yourself another job. Do not make life miserable for yourself, family and others. This is a free Enterprise. I have worked for Shell for almost 15 years. I like everybit of Shell.
Dear Outsider- It is just creative accounting. Oil companies explore oil and gas. In return they are reimbursed with oil and gas for their costs. These oil and gas are then sold and treated as sales turnover.
By the way, 45bil and 26bil is alot of money. Wish there is transparency for Oil company as part of their Corporate Social responsibility to give (or invest) major portion of money back to the Country and the people where it belongs. Shell is planning to do this in Sakhalin.
IT4Me- IT is not only IT. It is worst in HR. Look at HR on line.It has created such a huge mess. Handshake,Leave application, travel, you name it. Where is the saving? and cost efficiency?
All these used to be so easy and simple. Now it hits my nerve everytime I think of using them. I wish and dare Hugh Mitchel and other member of EC get to just try out his own HR services. or did he give his password away?
Shell’s turnover slightly exceeds that of ExxonMobil, but Shell’s profit is roughly one half of that of ExxonMobil. How can anyone see this as anything other than confirmation that Shell’s demise cannot be far away. Profitability is a far better gauge of management performance than turnover. It is profitability that will determine who will survive, and who will follow the other dinosaurs into extinction.
If Peter Voser wants to save some money, he might just lean across the boardroom table and ask his CIO (Alan Matula) a few questions about IT.
Why are IT costs so high ? Where are the promised savings from Offshoring ? Are these lock-in (no compete) deals with SAP and Microsoft commercially wise ? What’s going on with IT Infrastructure (661 GID servers wiped out by a virus in March 2009) ? Why has IT taken control of Business Applications, where it is clearly not competent ? How sustainable are these huge SAP systems like “GSAP” (~USD 1 million PER DAY since 2004, years late, and heading for a “Star Wars”). Isn’t “Big IT” just rebuilding the self-serving empire it had in the 1980s ?
Pertinent questions you may think, but it’s unlikely Mr Voser even knows about the issues. “Big IT” has thrived since 2004 with the business distracted by compliance/reserves issues, and where the management of APPEARANCES has become what counts. In this poisonous culture, the whole IT hierarchy now understands they must hide their mistakes, and make sure only good news travels upwards.
So by the time Mr Voser hears anything, it’s all blue skies and larksong. And if questions were ever asked, we can probably guess the CIO’s answer: “it’s STRATEGIC”. So that’s alright then.
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An acid leak on the Alky that the hourly people outside of the unit were not warned about and a blown transformer that resulted in a small fire. I wonder how much of this will get out to the public. This is what goes on everyday in the states and this is why so many of us from the states are on here now. We didn’t know about this site before but now that we do, it gives us a platform to be able to get the information out there.
John, anytime you want us to stop posting, just let us know. All we are doing is putting up the facts of what is going on to let people know that sHell is garbage all over the world. In the case in Convent, we want Texaco back.
Hang in there Convent scum. Truth will prevail where Mr Purves is concerned. The bottom line is he is not the leader that we thought we had, hasn’t been for awhile, and will not ever be the senior leader we need to make our company be the best. As long as he keeps feeding his favorites and taking care of them at the expense of some very good people around him, we will never get to the level we need to be the best. He needs to go. Jeff is no good, everyone but Tom knows it, if you listen even some of the insiders will confess that it is true, and yet Tom keeps feeding him opportunities. How can Motiva leaders pass the ethics test by letting him represent their company with all the known issues he has created since 2004? Tom sweeps it under the rug and we move on. And then you have Forest Lauher. Has anyone read this guy’s resume? He is a joke. How did he not get the boot for the project? Where is the senior leadership holding Tom accountable for these decisions?
Tom, I wonder if they know about the lakehouse meetings you have and who attends?
Bottom line, Thomas, you have lost your credibility with the people if you had any left with the decisions you personally made on severance and ultimately the way you allowed your puppets to handle their people as the gate opened for them to leave.
Tom, you are not a senior leader and I hope your bosses wake up and recognize this soon to help us all.
PS… See if you can run this one down and you might find an answer to some of the other open questions that have been asked….. Back in 1988, when our FCCU blew up, who was the operating manager on at the time ultimately responsible for the safety and care of our unit?
Reading all the articles about sHell’s unethical practices overseas made me realize what I knew all along. They tell us that we are required to complete a code of ethics course, yet us operators are in no position to pose a threat to the supposed ethics of sHell. I don’t understand why hourly people even do them. What hypocrites we work for. They need to put the money spent on all these ridiculous programs that don’t add value. Here’s a hint, you want reliabilty, fix the dang pumps that have been out of service for months. Convent has been running on a wing and a prayer for years, and one day out luck will run out. Get rid of some VP’s and deadhead outside the fence and use that money for maintainence. Mechanical equipment break, and thats just a fact of life, putting the repair off cost us more in the long run because of unplanned outages. Its all about coverup, creative paperwork etc. to make the numbers look good, if I were the Saudi partners, I’d put pressure on Royal Dutch to do the right thing. I know Saudi Aramco didn’t mind fixing stuff, the people running Royal Dutch only care about what they can make as far as bonuses and profit for some share holders. We need to publish every BS email they send to us to show the public how these idiots spew their ignorance.
If I were Voser, I would spend my first 90 days defining the Roadmap for success, doing things differently and not doing what Jereon and past CEOs had been doing. The success or failure is decided in the first 90 days ( Obama has 100 days ).
Sucess criteria includes,
1) Transition acceleration
2) Match Strategy to Situation
3) Creat more Blue Ocean space ( uncharted territory )
4) Change drive and reward Blue behavior – Reward Risk Takers
5) Build the leaders of tomorrow by drastic changing the way we recruit.
To win in the future, companies must stop competiting with each other. the only way to beat competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.
John Donovan, The 399 lost their retirement benefit case and even have to pay for their legal fees as expected. But wait, they donot give up easily.
Shell is no longer the once Prestigous Company Malaysians and their parents would like their sons/daughter to work for. It is just another company.
By the way, Jon is not popular in Shell Malaysia and neither is he well respected by the Government especially Petronas. He has lost quite a few big deals for Shell in Malaysia but being a cunning fox, he managed to twist the fact and got away with Shell internal management in the Centre ( but everyone in Shell Malaysia know this ). If I were Jon, I would quietly give back the Datukship as to the Malaysian he has not earned it. ( John Donowan- for information, there are many ways to gain Datukship )
MalaysiaBolih, we have raised the question before about whether Shell is a racist company. Why is it that Shell employees in African Countries and Malaysia have found it necessary to sue Shell in respect of retirement funds? In this connection, do you know the outcome of the 399 case as news from Malaysia seems to have dried up, I assume as a result of a government crackdown. Shell has had for many years a special relationship with the thoroughly corrupt Malaysian regime which apparently got on well with “Datuk” Jon Chadwick when he was Country chairman.
If you are the person who supplied us with a Shell letter this morning, please check your email.
Downunder123- Unfortunately it is a hard truth. In Malaysia, we call it “Kulitification” and not qualification. ( literally translated, it is the “Skin color” that matters ). If you are not white, you cant rule the World. Our ex Prime Minister is right about Colonialism. There are still here to “conquer” even downunder cos there is nothing left back in their home. Come to think of it, it is their Company or not?
Unfortunately AsiaDragon the hard truth is the really qualified Asian talents have either left or retired! What is left are those “politically bred” and “brain washed” remnants who are not going to make any difference.
Look at Singapore, there are countless Asian talents, many folds better than the the Voser of this world. Just look at the elite institutions of higher learning, who are the top students? Definitely not the Swiss!
In any case, given time, not very long though, the Chinese will dominate this world like it or not, and I am surprised if anyone does not see this coming!
July 4th Independance Day, maybe we need a revolution here at Convent against the Dutch now. Scapegoat you are right on the money and I am in total agreement. Boy don’t we miss Texaco now. I’m sure all the old bosses are rolling over in their graves knowing what sHell has done to their beloved Convent. We used to be the Pearl of Texaco, ya’ll remember how they used bring visitors to our site because we were the cleanest and best refinery they had. People who worked here took pride in the way it looked, were friendly and proud to show off what we did. Now look at us, all I see is rust color, no more beautiful silver as you drive down the road. We look like the old Good Hope refinery in Norco. Morale is at its lowest, operators are scared that management will one day cause a major catastrophy at our site, and all those engineers will optimize us out the door. I too believe Convent is being used like a dirty dishrag, and when sHell is finished stripping it of all it can get out of it will sell it. Who would want to buy a delapidated refinery like Convent will be? Someone worse than sHell of course. Like someone else said, you can’t get 1st quartile performance with 4th quartile managers. You don’t start cuts at the bottom like sHell has done. Convent was a great safe place to work for many years, now our future is uncertain, and safety is going to go down the tubes until we have a disaster like BP did. I hope that if that happens, all the managers responsible goes to jail for a long time. Their is no-one willing to take up for us operators like the old Texaco bosses did, HR is a joke, man do I miss Joe, and the RLT and ELT suck so bad they could pull a vaccumm on an onion sack. DB who claimed to be our Saviore, is a Devil in disguise, Jesus wouldn’t approve of your actions would he DB. Salaried people have no balls when it comes to standing up for what right, and want to blame operators who complain all the time now about fixing things. Operators aren’t the problem, they are the solution. If they would listen to all the experienced operating people, and not the azz kissing scum staffers, this plant would run great. If I could change things I would would have a plant manager with balls, HR staff that knew their jobs like Joe did, and let the operators who know whats going on run the refinery. Engineers would only be consultants, I’d hire more maintainence persons, and fix everything that was broke before I started worring about our reliabity numbers. Maybe Valero will buy us and fix us like they did Good Hope, and we are once againg working for an American Company concerned with American Jobs, and American Workers. I hate that I work for foreigners who hate us, and hope I can’t make it another year before I can finally retire from this sHell hole.
The Demise of Convent. When I first started working at Convent, it was owned by Texaco. The bosses were tough, we did our jobs well, maintainence was great, engineers needed premission from the division forman to come on the unit, or make change recommendations, and the front office stayed on their side of the fence. Then we became Star Enterprise. Bosses were still tough, front office stay out of our business, and we got the help we needed from the Saudi side when things went wrong. Then we became Motiva, the division forman (people who worked their way up from stillman to forman) we replaced by Module managers ( Engineers) then head operators were eliminated, operator jobs were reduce on certain units and maintainence was cut. Module managers in an effort to improve their raises, and put a feather in their hat started promoting unqualified minorities and women, and maintainence was reduced because budget cost was tied to their raised also. They came up with a test for promotion called the London House test, after the failure of that because certain people couldn’t pass it, those they wanted only had to take it, not passed to be promoted, but those of us who did pass it got bypassed to promote a minority or woman. More engineers were hired and took over key positions normally held by people who worked their way up, more staff was hired, but operators and maintainence was cut. Now we are operating with minimal operators, inexperienced control operators, equipment reliabilty is in the toilet, and we have more mechanical equipment out of service because we don’t have the manpower or money to fix them. Shell has replace the Motiva workers and brought in some Shell workers from Norco, most of the people let go are former Texaco or Motiva, and lower evaluations were purposely given out to justify cutting someone. The backstabbing began when everyone in the same pool of money for raises gets to give feedback on their peers and subordinates to make them look bad so more money was available to them. All of this from a company thats supposed to be big on its Core Values, and Respect all people. Convent will eventually be sold due to Shell’s bad management and they will claim it wasn’t profitable, but Convent was set on a path for failure ever since Shell’s involvement.
Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP quoted as saying,
We
Jo Blow-you are right again. It is happening in US and Asia. In fact it is worst in Europe. What Top quartile? This is just consultant speak just to tell you there is further room for improvement and they can help. Lets get the Basic Right lah.
For example, a VP Production in Asia. He is not accountable nor influence for any of the productions of the respective Countries. Why do we need a figure head? We already have a EVP Asia who can steer the Country VP. Of course unless we have no job for the current incumbent. This is what we call “Cronic Waste” .
John, I work at one of the “lovely” refineries and I heard these rumors also from an electrical and instrumentation contractor there. He told me that shell did send down the pipe a cut in pay. I was told that if this happened, they along with a few others will pull out from our plant. I don’t blame them, why take a pay cut when they can go to elsewhere and make more. I have alot of stroke with some of these contractors from the past. I should be able to get my hands on said e-mail if it exists. I’ll see what I can do.
Motivaman for president.
Cannot agree with Jo Blow and MalaysiaBolih more! Can anyone tell me when had Shell ever drastically restructured its organisation with changes of top leaders in the past 10 years? You noticed that everytime the changes are as what Jo Blow descibed – creating new job titles and shuffling the top guns around, maybe paying handsomely for a handful of the better SEGs to leave voluntarily.
Although these are changes rightly so, they are completely inadequate to transform a sluggish elephant organisation like Shell. Look at the response in the share prices, and you can well predict the outcome of this paper exercise, designed to fool the outside world. My chinese friends correctly told me what was being done is akin to saying of “changing the soups without changing the medicine”.
It is so amazing to see the numbers of VPs that makes one wonders if Shell is now in the business of producing cheap and incompetent VPs (of course with apology to some exceptions as I always believe there are still probably a dozen of good credible VPs in the select pool)!
You must be a fool to expect a transformation in Shell. But, one thing for sure, more costs will be spent to set up the new organisation – new laptops for examples and more renovations for larger offices! My question is why waste money for something that does not add value? HOW do you measure success and if not, WHO is ultimately ACCOUNTABLE? Goodluck to those happy stayers, happy in the sense that there will be no or less work in the coming months for many in the process of onboarding, away days, travelling for communications.
Thank goodness I am retiring soon and cannot give the hood anymore…….In any case the demise of Shell is imminent, if not accelerated now with the lastest set up!
In my opinion Voser is not doing anything that will cause any more then a token improvement, if even that occurs. Fundamentally all he is doing is re-arranging names and titles. To cause change, you first must drive accountability, you do not drive accountability from the bottom up, you drive it from the top down. You have Williams sending message after message speaking of our 4th quartile performance with 1st quartile people in downstream, yet the only people getting the boot are lowly JG3 and lower in the organization. These folks are not accountable for setting direction, they execute the direction given them. In the Motiva world, you have a project that escalated out of control in regards to cost and schedule, yet the person who SHOULD have been held accountable moves on to a promotion. None of the senior leadership of that project were held accountable with the exception of D.B and J.J, and a couple lower graded managers. It was not Forrest or even Tom who were held accountable. These are prime examples of why our culture drives us to 4th quartile performance. If people are not held accountable for their respective jobs and actions then the culture will spiral to where Shell is today. Nothing I have seen of Voser’s plan seems geared towards fixing this so do not expect much change.
If anyone has any email relating to the cutting of IT contractor rates, please supply precise quotes from the content, or even better, send it to me after taking appropriate precautions.
Jo Blow. You hit the nail right on the head. Unfortunately Voserisation is not going to change anything but instead creating more VPs. Organisation is designed based on people we have. sob..sob….In EP Asia, Paul M you will get to keep your day job. With you in, BP n SF will still keep their jobs in EC-3. Wonder what you will be busy with apart from NOVs.
Michiel , surely you can do better than that. Buckle up.
IT4Me- it has been known IT cost has been very high. When benchmarked with the industry it is around 2.5 times. However cutting the cost of contractors’ salaries maybe the wrong thing as these are the people who actually worked. Voser is right by putting under Finance. We should be critically reviewing the overhead itself, that is those responsible in putting the contract in place and doing nothing after that. Of course their bosses as well. We have a JGA boss plus few JG1s now, 20 years ago, we had a JG3 as our boss. So it is now or never. However agree maybe the way it is done. We still have “Respect for people” as our core values.
A small but amusing turns of events in IT last week saw the entire contractor workforce (in Downstream anyway) receiving the same announcement via their agencies of an immediate 12% cut in rates. IT contract rates have softened during the downturn, so cuts are understandable. What’s unusual is that this was done at only a few days notice, across the board, and mid-contract. Some recipients of this broadcast had 6 months or more left on their current assignments (whose duration was specified by Shell to secure their availability and rate) while others where in their final weeks of handovers to offshored replacements. In both cases, this was eyebrow-raising: early termination of contracts is normally only for misconduct or non-performance.
Within a week, the smoke cleared. Contractors appear to have overwhelmingly said NO, ie most were prepared to stay for the full term or leave immediately, and nothing in between. The prospect losing large number of contractors on the same day sensibly prompted a rethink, and clarification emails were duly rushed out explaining that the cuts were … um, OPTIONAL (I’m summarising over 300 words in one here, so that’s approximate).
So that’s alright then. Not an earth-shattering event, but perhaps another small insight into declining standards within this great company ?
Scapegoat, you have hit the nail on the head. If Shell management acted at all times in accordance with its claimed core business principles, there would have been no reserves fraud, no fines for price-fixing, no fines for safety breaches which have cost Shell employees their lives, no $15.5 million settlement for misdeeds in Nigeria or multiple settlements of claims for IP theft from the Donovan’s. If Shell management was not rotten at the core, this website would not exist. We look forward to the day when you are able to supply information in your own name. When you are ready, we will be very happy to publish any incriminating/embarrassing documents relating to Shell/Motiva operations.
In regard to deeply Concerned, and to our host, I appogize for using certain name but the intent was to show what happens when we hire certain people without a thourough background check. In the future I will only put initials, but when all the checks clear, I will re register with my real name. That way those reading and those whom I am speaking about will know where it came from. Those who know me know I only speak the truth. If in the future they want to deny certain actions they can take it up with me. Sorry if the truth hurts, but hiring unscrupulous individuals only serves to let them ruin the careers of longtime employee’s who tick them off. If the corporation really practiced its core values we wouldn’t be here blogging today.
Reply to Deeply Concerned: The site traffic has increased since the
….. and highly irritated! John, you have to step in with respect to the US centric rantings. Shell was not able to close down your site but if this nonsense continues (the last postings are very close to the bone) the site will die of its own accord as folk will just not bother to look / read / post.
I saw it Motivaman and I agree with you. It will be interesting to see how all this turns out. I witnessed a staff person talking on the cell phone while driving in the plant yesterday but couldn’t catch him to confront him. I know who he is and will try and have a conversation with him today. Wont matter though.
uscitizen must know XXXXXXXX well, so does the two girls at two different schools. Maybe she can explain to people why she can’t go back to teaching school. I what she did 20 years ago happened today she’d be on the LSP sex offender sight.
Now David, I thought grew up Catholic, but isn’t now maybe its because he’d have to spend too much time in the confessional.
Lets not forget Roxie. If she wasn’t a woman, she’d be out like Todd. Females, Minorities, and Gay/Lesbians have an advantage right now cause the bonuses are tied to their promotions corporate wide I think the goal is 10% . And look how they have been placed in high power positions, and what’s happening to people they can screw over. You can’t get the Shell Help line to help you if you are reporting someone in Management. But God don’t sleep, what goes around comes around.
ok uscitizen, have a good 4th!
Jo Blow, you speak well. I totally agree with you.
Did anyone see that e-mail Botts sent out today about the 12 lifesaving rules? I kindnof took offense to it, seemed threatening.
Motivaman for president.
first of all uscitizen, your the one full of yourself and the one who cannot repect others opinions. You are the one attacking everyone on here. No I am just attacking you!
You and alot of people would love to know who I worked for so you can figure out who I am. You might be that stupid, but I
Folks,
The truth of the matter is simple, Shell is a really good company, with some pretty Pathetic Managers and Executives at this point and time. History has seen the good and the bad times for this company and for is its employee’s. For vesting sakes, let me qualify with my 40 or so years of experience first hand. I remember times when the pride in me was strong for the company that in truth was really good to me for 35 of my 40 or so years. And now I sit with a tinge of bitterness as I see how this company, or more specifically a regional management team is behaving. Gestapo like behaviour, Total lack of communication, and transparency in its actions, and the list goes on and on. I am not bitter for my sake, I had a long and rewarding career, although the ending is not how I pictured it, I still make peace with myself for I know the truth. My bitterness is for those that I have worked with that are now suffering, not for doing a bad job, not because they are redundant, but mainly for more insideous personal reasons known only to one specific VP and his inner circle of henchmen.
Regretfully, most of us know, whether we agree or not, that cutbacks are inevitable. It is easily understood when you examine cost structures that we simply are not competitive with the other majors, and most of the independents kick our tail in benchmarking cost structures. Fortunately at this point the hourly folks arent suffering, at the end of the day they still have to run the plant. As I got wind of who was cut and where, I was struck by one singular noteworthy point. All of the cuts that I have heard of were JG3 and lower, and quite a few JG3s at that. You see fundamentally these are not the folks responsible for building the cost structured organization each manufacturing site is running under. These are the guys that enable in the field. We can use FTE counts, or Shell People Index, or just plain ole US Dollars, and if you think hard, maybe a few less VP’s in the DS organization, 1 or 2, maybe even three less JG-As on the RLT, and that equates to probably 10-15 people in the field actually helping to implement some of the value added processes. I mean seriously, has anyone observed that oh towards the end of last year that there was a move to add an additional RLT manager by splitting the duties of the Engineering Manager in to two roles? Hmmmm, Margins in the toilet, cost are un-competitive and yet we need one more senior manager in each plant. At Convent a Maintenance Empire is being built in a site that is primarily a contractor supplied maintenance force, and yet they are building a maintenance supervision organization that when combined with the contractor management equals double and even sometimes triple redundancy. I expect when complete you could send someone in the maintenance staff ranks with every two man pair of crafts you send on a job. At Port Arthur, Engineering seen a job that was traditionally a one manager department, now being managed by 2 people. You seen the splitting of HSSE in to one HSS, and an E RLT managers. Okay, so maybe I am rambling and should proceed to a point. My point is around accountability! The people that are being laid off are not the folks making the bad business decisions to build empires rather then high performing work teams. Who is holding these folks accountable? NO ONE and that is the whole problem in a nutshell. Yes some of the folks that got laid off were no brainers, but at the same time, how many shockers did you folks just say WOW to.
All postings relating to Shell or this website are welcome whether positive and negative in nature. Unlike the defunct “TellShell” forum supposedly for open and lively debate about Shell, there is no secret censorship here – yes Shell did secretly censor postings. This was confirmed to us by Richard Wiseman in an email. Shell management could not deal with the truth so it shut down the site. It tried to do the same with this website, but failed.
I’m confused, I thought this website operated with a mission to ensure that top Shell executives were held accountable? Instead it seems to have become a complaint line for local employees at a couple of sites to grind their axes with local management. While your issues may be valid, perhaps another venue is more appropriate for that type of venting… if the mission statement is accurate then there are other topics more relevant here.
I don’t work for Shell and never have, so I can’t speak to that. But the truth is there are so many misguided things being said here that unfortunately the site is starting to become uninteresting except to a specific group of people.
What’s MOST interesting to me is the number of Shell employees who are here bashing the company and making anonymous personal attacks on people that cannot defend themselves, yet they continue to stay and receive a paycheck from the company. Paychecks which are paying bills and feeding mouths. Why would you bash a company that is providing for you? In these challenging economic times, if your company goes under, do you realize what a hard time you will have finding a new job? And if you want to argue that’s not a true statement, then why are you still with a company you so despise? Go somewhere where you feel valued and be happy!
If you read any blog on any company you will find a consistent theme… management doesn’t care, executives are crooked, layoffs are wrong, benefits are no good, etc, etc. We are in difficult economic times where layoffs are sadly often necessary, more companies aren’t even matching 401k anymore and tough decisions have to be made. Every company has bad managers, the goal here at this website should be to point to specific corporate actions and executive decisions that should be made public to increase accountability.
first of all uscitizen, your the one full of yourself and the one who cannot repect others opinions. You are the one attacking everyone on here. You and alot of people would love to know who I worked for so you can figure out who I am. You might be that stupid, but I’m not. Its easy for you to sit in back of the computer bashing people, but I bet you don’t have the guts to stand up for yourself in person.
You have the perfect Shell mentality and you are only proving my point. You think no one except yourself is worth listening to.
I am 3rd generation Shell, and have many, many, people currently in my family working for them, both management and operations. they all say the same thing, Shell is falling apart. I have been working for them for 15 years. So go ahead and tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about if it makes you feel better.
What happened with Mobil by the way? They get sick of your communist ways like Shell and sent ya packing?
Seems you have a chip on your shoulder.
I was born into Shell, I know how great they were and they can become.
You sit here and bash on people, just because people think that we can be a better company doesn’t make them angry or disgruntled. MAybe you need to grow up. I guarantee that 99.9% of the people that work for Shell has something they don’t like about it.
How bout ya listen a little and stop judging people.
As far as teamwork, I am all about teamwork because this company is about more than just me or you. It takes everyone working together! Get a clue, this is not happening right now, and its not because of the operators or crafts people.
P.S… Seems like you know Connie, I figured you would. Guess I got ya! Just like a salary person to tell us what we should believe!
Just a few comments for uscitizen. One this site does not belong to sHell. It is owned by a former contractor. As far as sHell finding out who post, they can’t. For one my ISP won’t give anyone our IP address, two, when I do post I usually do it from someone elses unsecured WIFI. I’m holding my name calling until after the check clears, then you will see a whole lot of activity here with names emails, and documents. I think it is chicken crap that some people let go were within a few months of making 30 years and getting their insurance fully paid. Most were older Texaco employees that don’t fit the sHell don’t rock the boat or you’re fired attitude, or were vocal in union support during strike talks. Core value’s what a crock. That’s nothing more than a politician talking out of both sides of his mouth. Life saving rules, now that is just so they can fire hourly employees. Tom will go to jail or be forced to resign within the next year after the Dept. of Justice gets hold of his azz. How many will follow him. sHell was a much better company to work for before the Dutch got hold of it. They won’t succeed in running U.S. refineries like the Europeans do. We are a different culture. And yes I think uscitizen hasn’t worked for the company long probably is an HR type and don’t really know about team work in the field. Most of the people in charge at Convent have less than 5 years there. Jill only had 5 with Shell and she screwed over lots of good folks, but word is Roxan forced her to do it. I’m sure a lot will come out in a few months, and if any of you who got canned wants to sue, you can. Don’t believe that BS that after you sign and accept the package you can’t sue, you can. Just wait till the check clears. Also get a good lawyer to look at your package before you sign just so you know your rights. Keep records of all correspondance and make notes of conversations with any RLT, ELT, or HR members.
Oh yeah Motivaman – President of what – any one who can not value all team members and objectively compare something so simple as benefits is not qualified to be President of anything. Oops – I was wrong – maybe you can be President of the US!
Right – tell me what contractor matched up to 10% dollar for dollar and had a defined pension that can be worth 50% of your last years salary – go ahead tell all of these folks so we can all look it up. We all know Shells benefits, we work here, but every time some blowhard says they had better benefits and you dig into it, the total package is no where near as good as Shell’s. Go ahead tell us who you worked for!!
Oh I see – you want to be a team player but the attitude is that we can run it without you but you can not run it without us, give me a break. We are all very replaceable, grow up. Oh yeah cowboy, we all understand the dollar for dollar matching concept, we are starting to wonder if you can do math or have done any retirement planning.
For your information – this is my third company – contractor, Mobil, now Shell. No comparision. I think Connie was corrrect, you are spewing nonsense and lies. Go ahead – tell us all who the contractor was. NOT!! We need people like you to leave, and now.
Realman66… ha.. I dont think you are retired. I dont think you are white. I dont think you are smart either. Play the race card .. so typical of an underachiever blaming white men for your lack of effort and then throwning a label like KKK out there. Get off your ass and make something of your life. Also u should know that if Shell really wants to know who you are they can find out.. so keep throwing your KKK bs out there
Hey connie, you may want to be informed and also may want to tell David and the Pirate this.
Ten years since Supreme Court upheld Internet freedom of speech
The Supreme Court’s first Internet case, Reno v. ACLU, was decided 10 years ago today and established robust free speech rights on the Internet, giving it protection equivalent to print.
This is taken straight from a source! The supreme court has ruled many times that the internet is covered under the 1st amendment! It has been upheld.
No one is posting lies, people have a right to know the truth. We are tired of being threatened.
You may be able to ban us from looking at this, or posting at work, but what we do at home is our business!
Since the court has ruled so many times in this way, I suggest you stop threatining us for our freedom of speach or you might just end up on the stand.
Motivaman for president!
uscitizen, I worked long and hard when I was a contractor, I became the best in my craft and have the proof to back it up. I became managment for a few contractors. You say shells benifits are the best, you are wrong. My insurance was slightly better with the contractor, and my retirement was way better. Yes, it is true that shell gives me 10% no matter if I give or not, but I do give! I give 25% as a matter of fact, which is why I’m saying it is not the best. While working for these other people, a few of them matched me 100% up to 50%. Shell has NO match, only a percentage per years of service. So for me I am actually getting way less from shell. A mere 10% instead of 25%. Can you understand this?
It sounds like to me you are a person who came out of college and got hired on by shell and never lived in the real world. And yes their are 1000’s of people who apply, but how many are actually qualified? Not many. Didn’t you get a job?
I kinda do see where your coming from though, In an perfect world, I would love to see everyone working together as a team, but this is not going to jappen with managements current philosophy. We currently have 2 teams, salary and hourly. And contrary to your beliefs, hourly people CAN run these plants without salary people, but salary cannot run these plants without hourly.
I do enjoy my job, and I am not disgruntled or angry. I just wish that we would be treated better by this company because we can be better than anyone else, but changes would have to be made. I would love to be able to say I work for the best!
Motivaman for president!
Motivaman – then you need to leave also if you are that unhappy. See – being part of a team means that you do your thing to make it better and not be a cancer about things you can not control. If you have it that bad, go back to your contractor company. Give me some facts – who was it and I will compare benefits. Tell me what other companies you worked at as a contractor and we will compare notes. See I have been talking to many many contractors, over 1,000 over the past several years and the resounding message is that these folks want to work at Shell. That is why we get 1,000 applicants for craft and operator jobs. Nice style on your message, very people oriented. PS – you are wrong about benefits, if you worked in the world of retention you would know why certain benefits are maintained and some are adjusted down. Shell could have reduced the provident fund years ago or eliminated the pension, but they realized it was an attraction for getting good talent. I bet you have even bragged about your benefits but would never admit it. I am not a suck—, just a team player. The only way we improve as a company is to focus on what we can impact and control, my best operators and crafts do that! Hope you find something that makes you happy some day!!
uscitizen, you have to be either stupid, or a company sucka@@! Evrything shell gives us, including our benefits IS because of Unions. You actually think that they would give this to you if they didn’t think they had to? Maybe not directly from today or even from our own local union, but during the labor movement! people stood up and fought for everything they have. Sounds like your the angry scab! Think about it dummy, if their shell is so great and they want to give you such good benifits, then why are they always trying to take it away, little by little. Just like they took away the retirement insurance within the last few years. Go ahead and tell the new guys why they don’t have it.
And another thing, I personally work contract work for many many years before working for Shell and by no way was shell atop my list. actually it was way down on my list.
MAybe your the one that needs to get your facts straight and stop atacking other peoples beliefs. Oh wait, your a shell sucka@@, no one has the right to their opinion except you!
Motivaman for president!
Nice try Motivasux. After 9 years with the company Shell gives 10% to the provident fund and you do not have to give a dime. No one, no one else has that good a fund. Shell still has two pension systems the 80 point system and the portable system, run the math on both of them. New employees have a choice – they are both very good pensions. You want to talk safety – geez wake up and visit with your contractors about other locations they have worked at compared to Shell. They want to work at Shell because of our work practices, which you by the way as an Operator should be setting very high. The operators I work with do.
Newsflash – the company has many many employees that are not union – and many of the benefits have nothing to do with union negotiations – I know that is hard to comprehend, but it is fact. But you are clearly biased and unhappy so I have an idea – go get another job if you are that unhappy! Then come back and talk about how great you have it compared to Shell – benefits and safety culture – you will not be back by the way , you will find you had it very good. Have a good life – try to get over your bitterness, you have it so much better than 90% of America and 99% of the world. Do some real research and not just accept what others tell you! Ask some questions to those you interact with outside Shell and the contractors inside the gate. But you will not I know! Later – smile!
Hey workinman, you sure you understand what I am writing. I am an operator jackass. So I still have a job and I am not bashing the union. I am actually taking up for what those guys do. Read the post first and then reply.
hey motivasucks if you wernt such a suck ass you probly would have a job. un like us operators we work our ass off and we do get paid good, and our USW is great. what i mean is you probly sucked your way to salary and had no one to protect your ass when the cuts came. now you are discruntled and have nothing better to do than bitch about the real workers and our union. oh, by the way mcdonalds is hiring.
Iain Craig- you have done us in Shell proud. Not many Country will invite an International oil company back to work with them if they see the IOC adding values. Fortunately there are still very good people in Shell.
Putin and people of Russia- You can be sure of Shell and have faith in us in bringing you to Nigeria.
Some information has been shared with me from some of the lower level managers that I found interesting. sHell/notiva Convent is in the process of trying to figure out how many operators they need to run the plant “safely”. So upper management put a team together to take all of the emergency procedures, pick the top 4, and then figure out from there how to change the procedure to ensure less folks are required. I called bs on this and then was shown some paper work. I tried to get it so I could post it but the informant was unwilling to share. This blows my mind that this would go on. I sure hope that someone can stop this before something really bad happens.
Lady of Justice and Jane Doe have both alluded to the relationship between Tom Purves and Jeff F., and mentioned a couple of things Jeff was involved in, such as the DUI. But not many know that supposedly it was Jeff’s second DUI – his first one was supposed to have been taken care of by Keith Casey. And the second one probably would have been taken care of silently except that his arrest hit the papers.
Jeff has a long string of what I consider unethical behaviours at Norco. Shortly after he arrived he is rumored to have begun a relationship with a divorced female engineer. He then promoted her to Capacity Assurance Manager (JG3) and two years later promoted her to JG2. She was allowed to rule the department as a dictator. But she did post his bail for the 2nd DUI. It is my understanding that this relationship is what led to his divorce, especially when he wanted his wife to agree to buy a lot just down the street from the female engineer. She has left the company to work for Keith Casey at the BP refinery in Texas City.
He was investigated by HR (what a joke!) for putting his hands, or rather his foot, on an operator. He regularly threatened to “gut them like a fish”, one time brandishing a knife to show how he would do it. He treated those not in his inner circle with contempt and absolutely no respect or regard for their knowledge or skills.
Then there was Camp Mo. This was one of the travel trailers bought by Motiva after Hurricane Katrina where those inside his circle and honored guests were invited after work to visit and drink and eat. He had one of his favored temp. staff purchase the alcohol, soft drinks and catered food put it on his expense statement, then approved by the temp. staff’s manager. The temp. staff has since been promoted.
The reason he left? Strong rumors about a sexual harrassment charge. Supposedly the female got a promotion and Jeff left Norco for Port Arthur.
There are many more examples, all what I consider unethical and corrupt. Yet he survives because of his relationship with Tom Purves. Anyone else would have been booted with one of the above.
The relationship with Tom is almost unnatural. Tom just seems to not let his friendship interfere with anything Jeff does. Oh, and they also own property together.
And the latest rumor is that when SCC and Motiva complex again Jeff will be back, maybe as plant manager? But I don’t know this as fact, may be just pure speculation since he has stated he didn’t want to leave Norco.
I never thought I would see actions like this go on in either Shell or Motiva. I can’t wait to get out of this snake pit.
uscitizen, LOL, I am telling the whole story. Yes I make about $68k base and I am topped out. Yes with overtime I make about $80k. ALl of these things that this company gives is not because they want to. So you want the whole story huh?
Well, sHell/notiva has changed the retirement so if you have come in in the last three years you better hope you die soon after retirement or have a lot of money because you don’t have enough. They contribute to the 401 but so do all the others in Big Oil. They have decreased coverage with insurance and have increased the price, although some contribution is appreciated, they do not “give” anything as this is negotiated.
Now on the safety front, LOL, sHell/notiva is a freaking joke. We are lucky and that’s it. I am surprised that nobody has gotten seriously hurt or killed in the plant. There has been so many things that were close calls and now with the savior placing all his buddies in place and making it look like 1988 in Norco, the big one is more of a threat than ever for us.
As for the money we make. Well, it is good money and if the company lived up to the things they force us to do like diversity, value and respect all people, integrity and honesty, there would be no need for a union or this whinning as you put it. For all of this money you say that I am given by the company I am working nights, weekends, and holidays breathing in all these toxic chemicals for you to be able to drive your car and thanking GOD everyday I leave work that the big boom didn’t happen today.
And as far as the union people working days, that was a benefit for the company as well. I have been with my chairman and have personally witness the phone continually ringing with the likes of Curtis, Connie, David, other chairman, the members, etc. This happens all of the time. I have called him at 10pm on a Saturday and he answered so it is not a part time job. What more of the story do you want?
good if SHell and BP merge, at least the Donovans already have the domain name so this website can continue without a hiccup!!!!
About what … consolidation? Merger or joint venture activities are ongoing with the large miners. Shell needs to “bulk up” and re-invent itself, but has traditionally been slow and awkward in this area. BP and Total remain logical partners, if not totally complementary. I wonder how a new Shell CEO, probably not (yet) a candidate for the combined job, would feel about consolidation, even if it made financial sense?
And who could be better than a Swede to negotiate with a Swedish led EU…
“Obviously Ollilla’s success at reforming Shell …”
Which bit of the reform would that be then? The reform of Ogoniland and Rossport? The reform of Pensions (0.9%)? The reform of the run of disingenuous corporate advertising under his stewardship? The reform of executive pay (ever upwards)? The reform of brand mangagement – selling the retail brand to third parties to make a buck? And so on. With reforms like these give me the status quo any time!
Obviously Ollilla’s success at reforming Shell has convinced the powers at BP that they need to do the same. It cannot be a coincidence that two major oil companies each recruit Scandinavian chairmen from telecoms companies – or could this simply be the strongest sign yet of an imminent merger?
I recently worked for Shell Geismar and let me tell you the leadership out there is a joke. The AOID module is the most racist part of the plant. Al Gray has been passed over so many times for a promotion for module manager it’s not funny. He obviously damn near runs the whole module. I guess just another blackman that has to work ten times as hard to achieve the same level of respect as white workers. I guess since Shell pays so well we are just supposed to overlook these ” minor oversights.” If you are a minority working at Shell Geismar you will only get so far as the racist plant manager ” KKK Buckholtz” will let you get, or whatever plant manager from the brotherhood they decide to hire. It has been that way for the thirty years I have been there, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. Hang in there Al, karma is a bitch.
Interesting fact…. Both Jim Hartsock and Jeff Funkhouser were sold by Shell in the Wood River deal. How did they end up back on Shell’s payroll? Guess who the GM became when WR deal got finalized and the 2 stooges left the payroll? Hmmm it wouldn’t be Forrest Lauher now would it? Hmmm.. Common denominator in all of this… WT Purves.
Hartsock has been billed all over the GC as a maintenance professional. Ask anybody who has worked with him if he is… So how did we end up with him on the CEP project when we were cutting back and only wanting the best? Is Hartsock really the best field supervisor we could hope for?
And poor Jeff…. His charisma probably cost him his marriage. He lives out at the plant, much like he did at Norco because he has little left at home. Someone mentioned about his meteoric rise to the higher grade levels with the support of Tom. This wouldn’t be to help with the proceeds he lost to his lovely bride now would it…. Surely not. Because we know Tom is a wise man, a solid man, one who only does what is right, …. is that right Tom??? Be careful … the mirror is watching. Might see you blink.
Hey uscitizen, i have a little news for you, the only reason that these people make this kind of money is because during the labor movement, the union and its members had the courage to stand up for its rights! your compairing apples to dog crap! the $25,000 jobs you are referring to are people flipping burgers. They may get a little grease burn every now and then. These industry people, regardless if they are craft or operations put their safety at stake every time they report to work. Between all the accidents, incidents, and the outrageous cancer rates; these people should make more. They are supplying you and the rest of the world with a necessary product. Everything you use, every day comes from some kind of plant where people have died. Whether it be chemical or oil.
You come on here and tell another person your beliefs, but can’t respect anothers. Sounds like your the kind of scum that are sitting behind a desk making descisions that has no bearing on you!
I completely agree with motivasux and anyone can see that these people we have running shell today are the most greedy people ever. They are trying to take their employees voices away from them. Its a classic case of divide and conquer! They are mad at the unions and trying to make it difficuly for these people to be heard! Its plain to see that its union busting at its finest!
The problem is that the people who work in the gulf coast and southern parts of the U.S. do not realize what knid of power they have. The union is not as strong as it is up north. But thats a completely different story.
The fact of the matter is that Shell is heading in the wrong direction and just because someone is an operator or craft person does not mean they are not smart or cannot tell right from wrong! These people are some of the finest people and they MAKE the United States!
No one deserves to be treated like a number, regardless of how much or little they make.
Motivaman for president!
Motivasux – geez tell the whole story. These USW day guys you refer to are operators or crafts. They are paid bt Shell to do these jobs. They have managed to turn their part time Local union jobs into full time union jobs, paid for by Shell. Give me a break. Do your jobs and stop whining about a company that pays you nicely, addresses your safety concerns, pays into your 401k, gives you a pension, gives you first class insurance, etc. And you want to whine about your local union guys having to actually do their primary job which Shell pays them to do!! Get a grip. Folks we are talking about jobs that pay $70,000 – 100,000 based on how much Overtime they get. Get out in the real world and talk to some folks struggling to make 25,000 and have none of the benefits you have. Go do some volunteer work and find out what bad really looks like. Talk to your contractors and find out how good you have it as a Shell empployee!
If all these moves that sHell is making is supposed to be so great, why is my stock in the toilet? Naw, just kidding, I don’t have any of that stock but it is in the toilet.
The latest move that the Purvis pirates have made is to take everyone that is usw on days and put them back on their tools. I know for sure that both Norco and Convent have done it. I have a note from my Chairman that states the company is placing him on shift in July and that his counterparts in Norco are of the same fate.
I wasn’t able to get in touch with him today but will try tomorrow to see if he is willing to share any information. He usually is pretty open with sharing information and will even share his notes if you want to see them. He also post on usw750.org. He doesn’t do it everyday but every couple of days or weeks depending what is going on.
So thanks purvis pirates. Why don’t one of you answer some of these questions. You pirates read this everyday. I bet this blog will get interesting in September. Can’t wait.
Is this the same Ceri Powell who drilled many dry holes in Asia?? Come Shell Voser you must have better Vision and aspiration in Exploring.
David, what would Jesus do?
Motivareject is right on. I watched one person get escorted out. Uscitizen, you must be one of the motiva mafia in Convent to post that.
We were told by our supervisor that if we are the people coming on this site and posting and management finds out, we would be in a lot of trouble. He said that management frowns on this site and they are monitoring it. He encouraged us to make sure we are not writing anything at work.
So I would say that these post are being looked into by sHell/notiva. The truth hurts huh Tom, David, and Roxan?
It appears that this Blog may be under some form of cyber attack again as we are receiving coded postings every few seconds. No comments, just code. Whatever the purpose, they are being deleted immediately they are received.
uscitizen: You may believe what you like to believe. I was made to turn in all my company equipment, i.e badge, smart card, cell phone, pager, etc. I was then instructed on who my HR contact would be, and was then escorted to the gate by a manager. And I was not laid off for performance reasons, but due to job redundancy
No one was escorted out right after getting their offers at any Shell site, anything you hear to the contrary is not the case.
What’s the low down with Charles Watson who taking over Russia/Capsian from Finalyson.
Stuart can you point out any place on the open Internet which has published the email and all of the appointments? As stated before, it would save time if Shell did kindly include us on its circulation list for important emails. That would cut out the middleman. The leaked emails cost Shell billions of dollars on the Sakhalin 2 project and the loss of the Deputy Chairman of SEIC, General David Greer. Stuart please feel free to contribute to the transparency which Shell management boasts about from time to time while actually engaging in all manner of cover-up of misdeeds – you may recall the securities fraud which cost shareholders almost a billion dollars in class action settlements and fines from regulatory authorities. We look forward to you becoming a supplier of leaked Shell senior management emails.
When Lynn Elsenhans left her Shell position for Sun Oil Co. last year, some of us celebrated. However, the celebration was short lived. Little did we know that an individual by the name of Tom Purves would fill the void created by her departure. It is obvious to me and many others that he has NO ethics and does not treat those who may have a different opinion than him with respect and dignity. Values that are at the core of Motiva.
What is at the core of Tom Purves is delivery of results, obedience, and employment /IPF
Guys, you must stop claiming to have “leaked emails” as if somehow you’ve tapped into Voser’s home hotmail account….your “leak” of the 60 senior roles was from an email sent to 104,000 people and about 2000 external (valued) stakeholders and media outlets….I guess yours got lost in the post?
Ceri Powell EVP exploration??????????? Not long ago Linda Armstrong refused to report to her in the ME so an extra line of communication was created to keep these two cats (kittens?) from fighting. Ceri is a friendly, good looking, even cute girl that carried the bags of v.d.Vijver well but no great intellect. This is a baffling move.
And why reducing the duties of Restucci? He is one of the few really capable and decent ones, so I hope he quits and starts running BG or another company, the headhunters must be lining up for him. Ideal man to replace the evil Brinded actually but probably too clever for Brinded! And I count a lot of EVPs. They all will have their own support staff…. Voser is not making it more transparent like he claims. But then we had Tony Blair implementing Tory policies under the name of socialism. What you see is NOT what you get!
How many people were let go at Norco? Didn’t here of anyone escorted out at Convent.
In response to MotivaRetired:
I have heard of two different Severance dates, August 30th and November 30th. Most that I have heard of are not allowed back in the plant, they were escorted out moments after being notified of their dismissal. A select few were allowed to collect their belongings, while most were not. I have heard that there is a few folks who are continuing to work up until their severance date. The folks that have until November 30th, are free to utilize open resourcing to post on internal jobs through two managed resourcing sessions. It appears that the folks given the earlier August severance date are those with perceived poor performance and thus are not afforded the opportunity to search internally for a job. Everyone will receive three weeks pay per year of service with a minimum of 12 weeks, and a maximum of 78 weeks I believe.
Personally, While upset over the turn of events, I am grateful that I am afforded several months of pay, while being able to devote 100% of my time to finding a suitable job to support my wife and 6 children. This could have been very bad for me had they not allotted the lengthy time before my severance date for that I am thankful.
MotivaRetired, I do appreciate your thoughts and prayers, and I reaffirm to the other folks like me, Keep your chins up, the local management teams may be able to take our jobs from us, but they can never take our dignity and respect.
I told you before. The SEG are the Boros. Boros breed Boros. What do you expect?
Voser I suggest you put SEG in a job for 5 years instead of the usual 1-2 years. Get their hands dirty and they will develop a longer term view ( not just shit and fly off ). I guarantee you, it will make alot hell of difference.
All received 3 weeks pay for every year of service up to 1-1/2 years maximum severance.
Some were unceremoniously escorted out by Security the same day they were told (I have heard some were not even allowed to collect their personal items), some were given until August 31st, and others were given until the end of the year.
I have also heard at least one person was told that while they will be employed until August 31st they are banned from the refinery effective immediately.
Gotta love those core values, huh?
I was wondering what was offered to the employees that were let go from the Gulf Coast area. How long before you are off the payroll. I retired from Motiva years ago. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
I am surprised that no one here makes reference to the CEP process in Shell.
Once you have been elected “SEG potential” the rest does not count any longer. People knowing that they have been “Chosen” starts behaving with the same arrogance observed at the top of the corporate ladder.
HR under the reign of Hugh Mitchel has even increased this trend
Now with Michiel chosen to lead EP Asia, Paul Mann, you will finally get a real job. Please make sure you assign Bob P and Scot F some key tasks as they have been on honeymoon far too long. In return, you finally get your Piasau 100 and LSEPR at expense of WYH. Pity it is not going to be for too long.
AsiaDragon I admire your gut of being so patriotic and passionate.
Unfortunately there are not many of your type who subscribe to the old school of thought left on the ground.
After so many round of reorganisation, I am finally convinced that Shell will NEVER EVER change. Voser had indeed missed the golden opportunity to flush out the bad and incompetent leaders. Instead, of focusing of selecting those with superior technical, commercial and business acumen and with integrity and respects, the system chose to elect predominantly those with political excellence to occupy the key positions. Having said this, my apology goes to a handful of indeed excellent leaders who had been picked on personal quality (probably half a dozen).
Yes indeed I am planning an exit and have already secured a good job outside Shell, more money, less politics and holding much more resources than Shell.
As a word of advice, I will strongly recommend those who cannot see their future in Shell now to seek other opportunities rather than wasting precious time and continue to be frustrated by the system. Please do so before the window of opportunity is shut. Good luck to you AsiaDragon. Good to keep on trying…..before Shell is eaten up by someone more efficient and organised.
Voser I urge you to be ruthless and fearless if you want to turnaround and survive. Otherwise you will be no different than Jeroen apart from nationality.
I just found this site, and I’m glad I did. It’s nice to have a place where we can discuss what is going on in this company, and maybe even vent a little about the direction it is headed.
As you can probably tell, I am a Norco employee and have worked there for a lot of years. I’ve worked with both Purves and Funkhouser and really believe these two will drive Motiva into the ground and continue to ruin the careers of many good people.
I am especially disappointed with Purves, particularly since he allows and protects the unethical things that Funkhouser has done and continues to do. Anyone else would have been fired long ago, but Tom continues to not only protect Jeff but continues to elevate his position and power in the company.
Motiva Mafia is a perfect representation of how these people conduct business. Speak one word of disagreement and your career will be destroyed – I’ve seen numerous examples of it, and yes, I feel like I am one of them. You can be 100% correct but you have disagreed so you and your career must be destroyed.
Appeal to HR or Shell Resolve? Try it, a number have but HR is a partner in their unethical behaviors. I have even seen a HR person fired for trying to do the right thing re: Jeff. HR has no interest in protecting or helping employees when they bring legitimate issues re: senior leadership to them. They have one mission – protect the company and their leadership at any cost. And Resolve is an absolute joke. I know a couple of people who tried that route and you wouldn’t believe the things they were told. They know what is going on, but again, they are generally trying to protect the senior leaders, they don’t seem to have any real interest in helping employees.
As for the recent packages and dismissals, keep your ears and eyes open. This isn’t over by a long shot.
Downunder123, I beg to differ. I really enjoyed my Old Shell days. I learn as each days passed by. My bespectabled boss guided me well ( those days “Coaching” or “Mentoring” were not required ). Today, my salary tripled but I am not as happy. I sincerely hope it will change.
From your tone, I believe you are an old Shell schoolmate.Thats why you can tell the difference. A young 1st Class honours graduate always wonder these days what is so good about Shell. The first few years, he was made APE. Assistant to Powerpoint Engineer. He is thinking of leaving almost everyday with his peers.
These are the future Project Managers whom we expect to deliver project on schedule with budget safely. Something need to drastically change. We recruit the best crops but we have not nurtured them well.
Downunder123-lets do this together to make Shell it once was. Unless you are planning to an exit ?
My Comments to PAR REJECT, and to all the other folks that were cut this past week or will be cut in the near future.
First I would say that I know how you feel it is most likely the same way that I feel, anger, fear, bitterness, sadness, these are but a few of the emotions that are pouring through me a thousand times a day. I know the natural tendency in these situations is to lash out at the person or people that we perceive have brought this on us. For that I want to caution you all, I don’t know in this computer age whats possible in terms of tracking these post’s, but I do know that when I read the paperwork I received in the monotonous green folder, The company can use this against you to withhold your severance payment. The statement is something to the effect that: To be eligible for the severance payment that you must meet all of the criteria, one of which is not being terminated prior to your severance date. The reasons mentioned for termination include dishonesty, insubordination, or violation of company policies.
I mention this above just as a word of caution to us all. If you are like me then you need the severance and the time allotted prior to the actual severance dates.
Secondly, I am interested in organizing a discussion group of the folks that were laid off. I have made a list of those that I know of from my site, and I am working towards finding a secure method of contact. I myself am interested in comparing notes, I personally have not decided whether or not there is basis for challenging this or not, so I am interested in others stories.
If you were laid off from Motiva and are interested in this discussion group concept, indicate your interest by posting a reply on this site and I will work towards a secure method from there.
Please take care and keep your heads up in these tough times.
Shell is actually a very good company. It is the people that make the difference. I joined Shell in my mid career. I have worked in other oil majors around the World. I have seen worst. Majority of the people I met are very nice and caring people in Shell. Sometimes it is greed that cloud certain individuals and fortunately only a small minority.
For those who cannot withstand these minority, I suggest you take a break or leave. Dont always think the grass is greener on the otherside of the fence. However I suggest you stay on as we have a good family in Shell. Just just leave because of some individuals. People come and Go. You can be sure of Shell.
So Pickard gets a great reward for poor HSSE Performance. Seems they (Vosser and Co) felt they needed to boost their credibility after all the other female members at senior levels in Shell walked right out.
But Pickard???? I just donlt get it
First of all, welcome Ann Pickard to Australia. We anxiously await your arrival and hope you are not another of the same kind as your predecessor, the popular name that appears in this blog now and then! Time will tell
Would like to share a comment that the current GM, Forrest Liar, shared with the community re the state of affairs for the site…
Glad to find this site. With all the people getting axed, I’m sure there’s going to be some good reading and some interesting facts posted in the next few weeks! Stay Tuned ! I can’t wait!
I really agree with IntelAgent, it is happening in US and it is happening in Asia and everywhere. The globalisation and matrix organisation concept is the best con job sold by the Consultants next the SAP. The Country stakeholders are not organised this way and they only know the most senior person in country.
The days of the old Shell is over. When I joined as a young man, my manager was bespectable and very knowledgeable. He knows actually what I ask for and guide me very well. He was only JG3 and promoted to 2 just before he retired. Today in the same department , we have 1 JGA, 2 JG1 and several JG3. Its not only cost got inflated but Job as well. The JGA does not come from the same discipline so he knows f***all, if we continue with this trend, no wonder salary cost gone up and we have managers who know nothing but only pleases the boss and do PE (Power point engineering ). Their bosses are brought up the same way, so what do you expect. No wonder our project got delay, cost over run. If there is a safety incident , we do lesson learns and blame the contractor and his staff and threaten to blacklist them.
So my colleagues in Motiva, think carefully. Is this the company you want to work for. You can be sure of Shell. There is an exodus of departure in Asia, because management choose to divide and rule. Why do you think our Malcolm talk about “accountability” and “spend as if your own money”? Because it is just not there. The Top blame the Middle, the Middle blame the Lower. The buck stops at the bottom like us.
Scapegoat is right on. I sure hope I am not there when the kaboom happens. Everyone that was fired, I mean severed, had all or most of their years in Convent. All of the people that were brought in from Norco that worked for David or Tom at one time are safe. David’s little Lutcher connection is strong as ever.
I am glad that this site is catching on. Here folks can write the truth. It is amazing to watch David and Roxan in action. I never thought that people could lie like that and smile at the same time. You two people are disgusting human beings. How can you sleep with yourself at night?
Harley, I think you were right on as well. What does Roxans man do? I am gonna have to spend some time looking into that. He was on a team but now he is doing something else. Not sure what that is but I am sure that he will be safe.
The sadest thing about all of this, David Roxan and Tom, is that you all fired 30, brought 30 in from Norco and you are in the process of interviewing for newly created jobs, which will most likely be populated with Norco folks. I don’t hate Norco folks, only the ones that are coming in that worked for David before and are taking jobs away from people like the 30 that got fired to make room for you. In fact, these folks are not from Norco but from Davids home town of Lutcher, St. James Parish, and they have a history.
David, that video you sent out to us. Did you watch it? Did you listen to it? You are a lying piece of garbage. You told us you were going to help us but instead you, Tom and Roxan are tearing us apart. I hope that Tom’s visit was a crappy one. I wish that I could have had some time with him so I could have told him what I think about his dumb azz.
David, Tom, and Roxan, I hope you have nighmares after you kill one or many of the hard working men and women in Convent. That is exactly what you are going to do. Cutting the samples out, I am sure that will help getting product on spec. Consolidations and cutting out job sections, that will be fun for you. But when it happens, GOD I hope it doesn’t but it will, I hope you pieces of crap get thrown in jail and spend the rest of your miserable lives there. I bet your mafia will get its azz kicked in there. That is when you will find out who I am. I will visit you one time so I can look into you lying eyes and tell you not to worry that change is a necessary thing and that I will look into your situation and do my best to help you out. I hope they bring Connie Boswell with you but then again, she has gotten out of sticky situations before. Better take a few notes from her book.
scuzzy
What??? Craig “has said the changes were tied to insufficient and overly optimistic planning by previous managers”. Well, why dont you own up Gspdn Craig and admit how much over budget you are in relation to the magical $Us19.624 billion budget you approved and signed everyone up to including YOU in your own insufficient and overly optimistic style. I hope you get all you truly deserve in Nigeria. Good Riddance from Sakhalin and the Russian people
Oh really Sakhalin? What on earth did Ian Craig do for Sakhalin Island??? Korsakov, Yuzhno, Nogliki and Smyrnik are still deprived dumps like they always were. He’ll be right at home in Ogoni land
Regarding comments on Motiva: Sad, but for the most part, true. Many of the Motiva leadership laughingly refer to themselves as “the Motiva Mafia”, and are quite proud of their cut-and-thrust tactics of manipulating personnel. Not so long ago, Norco were changing staff so frequently one could not keep up from month-to-month of who was in what position. Clearly, certain people in key leadership positions can and do manipulate staff to get who they want on their “team”. Leave no doubt, that the “Good ‘Ole Boy” network is alive, well, and thriving in Motiva. Woe to the person who actually articulates an original thought that is not in line with the current leadership. You will be slashed and burned, pigeon-holed, maybe even discharged.
Mr. Tom began his march in Wood River, where he prepped the site to be sold, followed closely by his short tenure at Bakersfield which was also subsequently sold. One has to wonder about the future of Norco, which has recently been robbed of its budget to subsidize the debacle that is the Crude Expansion Project at Port Arthur. It’s interesting that at one time Shell had only one Regional VP of Manufacturing, but after Rudy Joetzee left, two were needed and Mr. Tom somehow ended up with only his beloved Motiva to manage. Steve Rathweg gets the larger area to cover, including Canada and South America.
This is not the Shell of the past, where employees were truly valued and in return were very loyal. More good people now atrophy in their jobs or are pushed out of the company than ever before, while the “Good ‘Ole Boys” and henchmen remain. One of the most recent examples is Todd Monet, previous GM of Port Arthur. We’ll probably never know that whole story, but one who can see what’s going on can speculate fairly accurately.
Perhaps Shell executives will someday (soon) see what is happening and make course corrections to get the company back on track towards doing what they have been capable of in the past: executing solid business plans, being respectable, and having integrity. But as long as senior executives (Jeroen V d Veer) vote to award themselves their annual performance bonus even though their performance targets are not met, there may not be much hope.
Motiva Convent let 30 long time employee’s go, I am one of them. I pick a username that suits how we are treated there. We are all scapegoats for Roxan and Jill, and David. When there was an incident on the VPS, Lynn Detillier was Roxan’s scapegoat he had all the facts to back up his claims and they made him work another job he warned them what would happen and they refused to fixed it till it bit them in the azz. He was the best performance specialist they had, but he couldn’t rock the boat. Jill Sayers, well that was a useless piece of work. That quote in the T.H.Kelly handbook about engineers being bad people managers was right on the money. Can’t wait to see Roxan and her dead head husband get on their horse and ride back to Kalifornia. David, well I thought he would be a good guy, man was I wrong, and you are supposed to be so religious. No wonder you and Reserve Church had your differences. You are a disgrace to Lutcher, Motiva Convent, and all the people who supported you when you came to Convent. Tom Purvis, I hope to see you in public one day. No one else had the balls to tell you to F@#K off in the Control Room the other day, but I sure would have, you useless piece of Corporate scum. I feel sorry for the operators who will be effected the most from these stupid moves. Someone is going to die in an incident because of inexperienced and stupid board operators, especially when they move the control room and no one can help them. I pray for the poor outside operators who will suffer. Some shift coordinators that were let go where the only ones with balls to stand up for their people, and do whats right. The other azz kissers better wake up before its too late. I hope everyone in the hourly ranks takes this as a sign to never accept a salaried position no matter what they promise you. The lie like a rug. Maybe Curtis needs to make some earlier rounds and wake up his hard sleeping coordinators whom I won’t mention their name, but everyone knows who I’m talking about. I have another job, so I will bide my time and collect my check till Aug 31st, but after that, the gloves come off. No one is going to risk loosing the severence money right now, but I know one person they best be glad he couldn’t risk loosing the money that’s the only reason everyone canned didn’t cause a ruckus. We all need that money to survive, and they know it. David, Roxan, K-Rob (I’ll comment on you later), Jill Sayers, and all the ones that railroaded us, I hope you rot in sHell.
Heartiest Congratulations from Staff of Sakhalin Energy to Ian Craig on your recent appointment to EVP Sub Sahara Africa
Monkey Fish – Right on the Spot.
At US150 per barrel, Shell got away with it. 95% the Bozos are LC/SEG. Only 5% can analyse and understand financial statements. Bozos breed Bozos.
Cost has gone North, Production and Performance has gone South.
Voser – you are still using the same leaders from West – I guarantee the above will sustain.
I thought you are going to be different and fearlessness,
Why donot you try East Leaders. The Cost Culture is different.
Look at the Economic crisis, who has created it? Who is turning it around. Time will tell.
For a comparison of staffing in Shell:
ExxonMobil, 79,900 employees, B$45.2 Revenue
Shell, 102,000 employees, B$26.3 Revenue
On a prorated basis need to cull 55,500 bozos!
Remember 5,000 bozos can generate enough work between themselves to keep busy fulltime reporting to each other.
Michiel- Congratulations to your appointment as EVP Asia. You are very soft spoken men, well liked by everyone. ( abit like Ian Craig ). Less talk but more actions. Now the challenges for you.
How do your remove those NATO ( No Actions Talk Only ) SEG. Its easy just do a survey on Paul, Wouter, Tim H, Dick, etc. You will have the results to support you.
How do you transfer those “square peg in round hole” ? e.g. a Strategist in a LSEPR job. Look around you will know who I am refering to.
How do you remove those snobs?
Dont forget my earlier suggestions to Voser ( see below ) on closing the Singapore office. It will be a real test on you now. Move to KL and this will send a very powerful message to the troop. Furthermore you will be closer to Petronas. Do not forget you still have to recover the US$1billion. Thats why Malcolm put you there. Malaysia is the only Country you have control over anyway.
Do make safety implementation “fit for purpose” If you do, you can remove at least 20 FTE in Asia and 200 FTE in the Group.
Goodluck in your selection. We are confident you will deliver if you listen to us. Make sure you have an energised team. or have Malcolm selected them for you already.
Greetings all!
I wanted to comment on the downstream manufacturing cuts along the US Gulf Coast. The crying shame in this whole approach to staff cutbacks is in the manner that they are being carried out. It appears that it is totally MR. Purves’s game, time to grind his petty axes, and exercise his vindictive agenda. Mr. Purves must have stepped out of class when the discussion on ethics was carried out in school, he must have overlooked the respect for people piece of the leadership framework. These things were apparent to me when I received the news that I no longer had a job with Motiva. Where is EC-1 in defending the framework that they indicate they support, where was Mark Williams and Tom Botts when Toms decision to replace the plant manager at PAR with Forrest Gump…err Lauher, you guys remember this guy, he was in charge of the expansion project that had the costs escalate by some 2 bln, and the schedule slip ridiculously. I mean did that move make any kind of sense? Especially since Gump’s only other plant manager gig ended with him being sent packing. I recognize that we are overstaffed, I get the fact that to be competitive in good times and bad times that we need to run leaner, these things do not escape me. The thing that gets me is the rationale for conducting the cuts, Voluntary severance packages would have accomplished the cuts and then some. I hear MR. Purves is making his rounds to the site to try and ascertain the source of the aggrivation that results in the derogatory press on this site. To MR. Purves I offer this, if you want to understand, just stop and look around at what you are doing, use your intellect to recognize the impact you are making, and if you think you are making that impact, standby because the bad press is only beginning!
Mr Fred and Mr Russia with Love: You dont know what you are talking about with regards to Ian Craig. as k anyone at Enterprise, Malaysia or Sakhalin who worked with him. A more uninspiring, introverted man could you ever meet. He should have stuck at being a diver- a dumb waste of oxygen
Well the EC-1 is out and is basically the same faces. No change at the top so whilst Voser wanted with the reorganisation to get changes to be structural, behavioural & cultural, he has managed only the structural changes. Same faces in different jobs means same behaviours and same culture with tacit support of the EC. A real pity that this golden opportunity has been missed by Voser, so I dont think he will be a good leader. I will not be re-buying my shares.
Jon Chadwick is out in Dec 2009 and I don’t think that there is a hidden agenda on that. But Charles Watson is still in, so Russia good luck. Ian Craig may have been good (I have not worked with him) but Charles Watson is another Jon Chadwick…. You could not have got anyone worse.
We in Russia is happy that Jon is out and Ian Craig is in. Ian is a good man who listen more than he speaks. Being an Ex Enterprise man, he is great unlike the Shell breed of NATOs.. ( No Action Talk Only )…Wish there were more of the Ian in Shell…..our loss is Sub Sahara Africa’s gain.
Warm welcome to Charles Watson ..hope you are as good and sincere as Ian.
Voser-donot forget to nominate at least 1 Russian for EC-2
Fred, you are right and I am wrong. Jon is not in EC-1.
I do smell a rat though as the mere fact that he still keep the Aussie fort till Dec 2009. Hope he is not lined up to be Malcolm successor at year end.
By the way the EC=1 line up is boring. There is no change. Still the same old faces except poor Dominique Gardy who is retired.
Any change consultant will tell you for any change to be successful, there must be at least 30% changeout.
So I am going back to do my normal 8-5pm work.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just stupid! I guess for many reasons including working for these people. I cannot believe a billion dollar corporation would have a man like Purvis in charge of things. If all the stockholders would know whats really going on, we would probably do an Enron! Everyone would be grabbing their money and running! I’m sorry that all these good people are getting fired this week. I would hate to have to explain this to my children. Sorry lil Suzie, daddy can’t buy you anything for your birthday this year because I got fired because work decided that they needed to cut jobs by 20%. But don’t worry darling, when you grow up, be an engineer or an accountant for Shell and you may get the chance to get treated like crap too!
Hmmmm, I wonder what their gonna tell the public? Sorry we make millions, but we need to make billions! we’re gonna cut staff 20% and increase productivity by 50%, but we assure you that the few people left to run the refineries are first aid, fire and rescue trained so when something happens we will be ready.
Sounds like Shell needs a corporate bailout! I know the last thing this economy and our local community needs is for hundreds of people to loose their jobs!
But it must be me, I must be stupid! thank you Purvis the Pirate!
WOW, motivasux was right. The heads have started to roll in Convent and Geismar. I watched grown men cry today as most all had 17 years or better. Most all had the same person evaluating them, Jill Sayers, who has sinced been moved out due to her poor performance. She had 3 or 4 jobs in 4 years or so and none of the jobs were the ones she put in to get. I bet that Roxan’s man wont lose his dead head job. What is it that he does now………wait a minute……….let me think……….it is potential conditions……….no that is not it……….what is it now……..heck I really don’t know what it is he is supposed to be doing. Hey, thanks Roxan and David for keeping him on board. He sure is a great asset.
And Jill Roussel, what the heck are you thinking? You want a contractor to come out and do bargaining unit work because you don’t want to staff the plant. Tell the public that you want to cut the number of jobs because emergencies don’t happen. Tell the public about the results of the audit around the standing instructions in which your managers said that if we allow our folks to do the job correctly, we don’t have enough today. Don’t be shy now. Tell the public what you told all of us last week. Come on now, you on the fast track.
And Kelly Richardson, please tell the public about your plans to cut the night shift completely out of the lab. Tell them who is going to do the sampling that you are going to drop from your department. Tell them what your plans are for the 10 slots, 2 of which are not filled today.
And Mr. Savior Brignac. Please enlighten us home boy. Tell the public about your video in which you said you had integrity and you had the best in mind for the people in Convent. Then tell them how all of the people you fired today have all of their time at Convent. Them tell them, Mr. Integrity, how you just brought in all of your boys from Norco that worked for you when you were there. Tell the public what you will tell the families of the people you just fired. Tell the public what you will tell the families of the people when you end up like Texas City due to knowing absolutely nothing about the process you are in control of. You stated how you will stand up for the people but that is not true is it? You give in to Mr. Purves just like a good little boy now don’t you.
David and Roxan, I hope I get the pleasure to watch you get fired. Don’t worry though, I will help you write your resume.
POSTING BY WILLEM ON THE ARTICLE “Gas Station Lease Dispute Will Get U.S. Supreme Court Scrutiny”:
Instead of operating according to their
Today has been termed as “Black Monday” in Port Arthur as the Purves regime has let go 15 folks. What is funny is that all 15 were brought in by Mr. Todd Monette who fell out of the good graces of Purves because he wouldn’t say yes sir to everything.
Tomorrow will then have to be called “Black Tuesday” as Convent, and their savior David, follow in Port Arthurs footsteps with the same fate being dealt to some folks that are not in the clique. Roxan says that this is the hardest thing she has ever had to do. Maybe because this is the only thing she has ever had to do.
Norco, get ready cause you’re next on the hit list. You already got the Purves treatment when they “worked” with the union to get rid of your 10 hour shift. Purves’ definition of “work” is that he told the committee that he is canceling the letter of agreement. And the membership blames the union and Purves gets his way. Just remember Purves, we all have to pay our dues when it is our time. We all have someone to answer to and HE is much bigger than anyone in shell.
I have to agree with reaper that there are too many folks that kiss the booty that will be saved. Nobody will stand up anymore in fear for losing their job. When savior David speaks you better do as he says or you will have your fate handed to you. Of course if you are a “yes man”, you will be fine as is evidence from the recent moves. Esther found out quick that inhumane resources was a hinderance and not a help. She didn’t “fit” in and got moved to Canada. Keith finally found out that you can only get by so long if you actually know nothing and only kiss booty. Monette found out what happens when you stand up for your people. Tomorrow, some good folks will find out how much shell cares for them and their families as they sever them. Inhumane resources says that this is necessary because these folks are not cutting it. I want to know who is responsible for their evaluations as in the last 3 – 4 years, all that Connie and Deidra have done is fire people or hand out discipline. Don’t call them and ask them for information about benefits or anything to do with your job. They both do really well getting by because the last two plant managers knew zero about what their jobs were and in the saviors case, is. The savior has Deidra and Connie “coaching” him. Look how well that is working out.
Mr. Purves, thanks for nothing today in Norco. Your visit was just as I thought, useless. Can’t wait for the visit in Convent and Giesmar.
Have a crappy day you shell swine
Scuzzy
Sorry I pushed the button before i was done. Now for the way Shell/motiva rate their employees, if you dont know how we come up with non performers. Everyone in the same paygrade are evaluated, a certain percent has to be top performer (usually those under desks) and a percent has to be low performer whether they are or not. A Bell curve if you will. A lot of these people, shell dont call them people they refer to them as positions or staffing numbers it helps them sleep at night, who will be let go tomorrow were rated by a non performing manager that was told to leave Convent after 5 years and 3 different job titles. These rating will not be question even though they are worthless. Some good people will be shown the gate some bad. What we will be left with is all the butt kissers that have been skating by Jeff, and those others scared to ask anything for fear of their jobs and no one left will stand up and question any bad decisions. So I ask for ya’ll that read this to say prayers for those that are left. Nothing will be fixed because no one will fight for its importance, they’ve been shown to the door. Hopefully we don’t become the next Texas City. Also say a prayer for those PEOPLE who live and families live that will be destroyed so the stakeholders can make MORE money. As said before by someone else the plant manager is sure saving his desk jockies for norco and he preaches how much integrity he has HAHA. If he reads this here is the definition– : firm adherence to a code of especially MORAL values. You might want to rethink what you have, its sure not integrity. Sleep well and don’t forget Church on Sunday.
If Amnesty is going to adopt Corrib as a campaign they support that is very significant indeed.
Well the grapevine is that the appointments for EC-1, almost all the EVPs (level below the Executive Committee) will be announced tomorrow. I really do hope that AsiaDragon is mistaken and that Jon Chadwick will not be nominated. Although, I’ve already sold my Shell shares but will definetly rebuy some if the nominations are truly of the deserving and meritocratic and does not smell of cronism. Tomorrow will tell.
What an extraordinary run of stories over the past few weeks! This website really is a service to all of Shell’s stakeholders and to the public at large. Keep up the good work!
In response to AsiaDragon, I am surprised Shell at the top is now so devoid of talents that Jon Chadwick is regarded as one of its cream in pool of SEG. This cannot be possible! In this case, we better dispose of our shares before the announcement is made as there could be further surprises of cronism…..
News spreads that this website is here and the truth is being spoken. Alot of staff folks at the local level for Convent, Norco, and Giesmar are wanting to put something up on here but are afraid for their jobs. I know this because I have family at all three places that are both staff and hourly. Nobody likes the direction that old purves is taking but nobody that can wants to stop him.
In tom’s latest strike he has canceled the letter of agreements that have the maintenance force working 4-10 hour shifts. Now I know for a fact that Darrell Heltz, Convent USW Chairman, offered a 4-10 hour schedule that actually covered the weekend as well. That means 70 hours of coverage for 40 hours of pay. He showed me the notes from negotiations and there was at least 3 schedules proposed by the Union to help both the company and the people. Tom and Brignac said that the 10 hour schedule cost to much. Yep, 70 hours of straight time coverage cost more than 40 hours of straight time coverage and if there is work to be done on the weekend, which there always is, you have to pay overtime with Tom and Brignacs schedule but it is cheaper than paying the straight time. These are the decisions that will bring shell/motiva down. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Now let’s talk about the buddy system. If you want to be promoted you have to have one or more of the following:
1. have worked for Tom Purves
2. have worked for one of Tom’s good buddy’s
3. have been through Norco or Port Arthur
4. can prove that you can lie, cheat, and stell and still sleep at night.
I walked into my charimans office and on his board there was a list of people who have been promoted or put into jobs in the last year. All except two of the folks have ties to David Brignac who has ties to Tom Purves. All except two of them have come from Norco and have had a stint under Tom or David. The two exceptions were folks who did not belong to the Union and according to Darrell, he says that there were at least 20 people that were qualified that paid dues that got told no. One of the two didn’t have the qualifications as the company said you needed 5 years experience and this guy only had 2. But Darrell told me that his father in law was a boss here and he came from, you guessed it, Norco.
I went to my chairman for some help with a problem and we sat down with the company to discuss it. The company told us that I had to get in touch with Fidelity. Darrell had told me before we went in there that this was going to happen. I didn’t believe him but he was right. He said that this group was the worst he ever had to deal with and that he misses the days of Joe Hymel and Tanya Hooper.
So everyone knows, Tom will be in Norco on Monday and in Convent on Wednesday. If any of you want to visit with him, send him an email or try to catch him when he is on his tour. In Convent, you will know where he is going to tour by whatever David and Roxan sent out for a cleanup area. You know the two have no clue about the operational side of things but they sure do know how to make you clean up an area so that they can say look how good we are. We make people do clean up. Why don’t you spend some of that energy and stop changing rules around permits and lock out tag out. Wonder when the next big change is coming.
Tom, I sure do hope your visit is a crappy one. I hope you are as miserable as you and your cronies have made all of us. I really hope that when this all comes crashing down, you don’t take all of the hard working men and women who really would like this place to get better. But people like you don’t think like that.
Scuzzy
Its Voserisation era, let not talk about history. This recession will change the course of Shell. Its downfall or success will depend on its leaders. The behavior of its leaders will determine its future for along time. There are few great qualities required of a leader during recession.
First being to 1) Act fast. Voser lives up to this by announcing EC before he assumes duty on 1 july.
Lets hope Voser will show “fearlessness”, not “fearless”. The choice of EC gave him away somewhat. Although he picked up courage to tell Linda he has no job for her, he has kept Malcolm and Simon Henry.
Anyway, just do not forgot to include a Russian in EC2 in the near future. Sakhalin is a major contributor to Shell coffer. I note with interest the comments by AsiaDragon, Fred, et al. We do not mind to keep Iain Craig but definitely a No No for Jon Chadwick.
Good luck, Voser.
“plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” – presumably Voser being the good multi-lingual Swiss he is will understand and possibly, just possibly will actually do something that will make a difference. In particular it is critical that he promotes those who can be shining leadership examples.
Unfortunately Jeroen is not an honest man nor is he an innocent in the reserves fraud. Please read the last three articles in the section “OUTSPOKEN ABOUT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC”. Although not responsible for the fraud, he was a participant in the cover-up. Former Shell International HSE Group Auditor Bill Campbell concluded after a meeting with Jeroen about the “Touch F*** All” safety culture that Jeroen is an outright liar. Jeroen publicly complained about the criticism from Campbell – he said that he was hurt by it – but the shocking fatality stats at Shell continue to tell a different story than Shell propaganda. Only a few days ago, Shell was fined for massive safety breaches at Shell Centre which put employees lives at risk. The propaganda continues but nothing changes. Good riddance to arrogant reluctant Fat Cat Jeroen as CEO. He calls for pay reform after saying he doesn’t actually need several million pounds received as his retirement package but is hanging on to it all in any case. Like Brinded, all talk and spin, no performance. Overpromise, Underdelivery.
Sorry Fred, Jorge and Downunder123, , the EC-1 nomination has been made, due to lack of Aussie candidates, Jon has to assume the leadership role in Australia temporarily. Let Jon try it out and redeem himself and leave Asia alone. Jon- we wont give you another laptop if you throw it again. Furthermore Malcolm has no choice for now.
Asia will be led by an Asian for once. It goes to say at least Voser listens. For Asia there are few key focus areas in the next one year.
1) Select E-2 well – based on expertise not based Cronism.
2) Close Singapore office. This is a no brainer but has been an going study topic for last five years. Paul-what happen? If we are serious about cost competitiveness.
3) Remove Regional roles except keep a small core team to be the Strategic Think Tank to be advisors to EVP Asia.
Easily, one can get rid of 200 expats. Malaysia used to have 100 Expat, today it has 500. Production has not grown 5 times. There are so many LC/SEG doing non value adding things. Some US$1billion is still unrecovered from partners ( isnt this a BCI? Unless Simon H is burying his head in the sand)
4) Set up a new Risk vs Reward renumeration structure – Reward Risk taker. Do away with DRB. Interestingly enough there are many full time DRB members. Make the EC-2 leader have single point accountability.
Introduce regional pay system, while encouraging mobility and sharing of expertise and we donot end up paying expat 3-4 times their local equivalent. With the development of IT & Technology, the specialists can be based in his or her Country to provide specialist advice. There are so many Brits and American in Holland and Dutch in UK and US. Look at the Exxon model.
5) Revisit the Exploration and New Business development strategy and portfolio. Like at Exxon Mobil, they drill and invest more when the cost is down.
5) Revisit Global support services- HR, Finance, CP, HSE, IT. We must have fit for purpose processes. What works in Europe and US does not necessarily work in Asia, For example outsourcing of IT, HR and finance services. We end up paying more. We donot need a SEG HR VP in Asia who has not delivered anything except lot of “Hot Air” since he came.
Lets be No. 1 again.
Finally let Jeroen retire peacefully. At least he tried his best and is Honest. I like him.
Downunder123 – point 1, I agree and point 2, I hope so (but don’t hold your breath). As for point 3, add staff who had the extreme misfortune to work for JC in Argentina (Shell CAPSA). He was resposible for nervous breakdowns and resignations. In addition, the business plans he “drove” (over the objections of unfortunate subordinates who knew better) indicated either igorance of or disregard for the basics of reserves estimation. In the light of recent history, that alone should disqualify him from further advancement.
1. Jeroen was a forced victim born out of the Shell’s reserves crisis – he was never groomed to be the CEO in the first place! So please forgive him for taking the job and let him retire in peace. We have more faith for Peter to deliver a much better job!
2. Totally unrelated, can someone from Malaysia tell us more about this gentleman Jon Chadwick. He certainly looks genuine first encounter but heard many negatives about him – track records had not been good especially amongst Malaysians and for Shell – need not mention his reputation with Petronas…….
Surely Malcolm will know how to deal with him objectively and with courage and justice.
So Jeroen signs off with a flourish and a freduian slip in an email to staff entitled “taking stock……” Now there is irony for you.
I’m sorry to say that Jeroen has, in my opinion been one of the most lacklustre chairmen of Shell in its history right up there with Cor Hoekstrotter.
He has taken the company from mediocrity to…..well mediocrity.
The share price still struggles and our fatality rate is the worst in the industry by a long long way.
So goodbye Jeroen, we will remember you, but probably not what you would like us to remember you for !
PS enjoy the millions of dollars in stock options and reflect if you really earned it?
MotivaMan, the guy you have running Convent was another one that Mr Tom Purves put in place. Tom has a habit of taking care of his own, the Motiva mafia as I have heard them called. The original Mafia is now gone with Casey leaving and Doug Quinn going to run his own company. Doug, you found a bank yet that will loan you money?
The man to watch is Purves because he has long lost his ethics. The sad reality is everyone sees the moves he has made of late and those that still had some sense of belief in his values no longer do. Bottom line, Tom is bad.
Stay tuned for the severance packages next week and watch who gets the boot and who gets to backfill. Tom came in to take over the project back in December because his little buddy Forrest Liar lost control. so the first thing he did was make sure that Forrest didn’t become a redundancy. He had only worked for the company for 4 years and all of a sudden he is a GM. No project background so it shouldn’t surprise us that he blew the big project. Ask yourself who put him in that role in the first place… good ole Tom. Well we’ll see how he does with running the base plant. He got fired from his last GM job running a small plant in St Louis for Conoco Phillips. Maybe he will stick with Motiva.
Then you got my good friend Jim Hartsock. A down in the rank maintenance planner that seems to show up whereever Tom does. always getting jobs thanks to Tom. Well found it interesting that Convent wasn’t working out for him due to his boss over there wanting him to actually work. Tom comes in on the project stating that we have to reduce and cut. You then see through the backdoor that Hartsock gets a job on the project. So we have too many people on the project, time to prune and get some of the PAR retirement center off the payroll, and Jim comes in. Well well, there is your cost control.
Then don’t forget the most obvious one….. Mr Jeff Funkstenhouser. This man has an ego thie size of Texas, thinks he is God’s gift to Shell, thinks he should be the GM of Port Arthur, and oh by the way, follows Tom whereever he goes. You seeing a pattern. Boy the time in Wood river must have been a cozy time for these 4. The Funk gets to come in and dictate to the site because everyone knows that he is connected to Tom. Without that connection, he would be a pile of trash on the doorstep that we would throw out with the Monday trash. And by the way, Tom elevated him to interim GM at Norco and Casey jumped ship. Tom threw him in to the mix at PAR to lead the BASICS campaign. Little does anyone remember that the Funk got caught up in a little old problem at Norco with the Superdome and oh by the way, the DUI he got sure didn’t help. But once again, Tom comes to the rescue.
I sure hope that Shell leadership gets their head out of the dirt and looks at what Tom is doing. He is singlehandledly ruining the manufacturing gang with his antics.
PS. Wonder who is Toms next roomie?
Thanx Motivasux! I’m going to comment about what Motivasux posted about the OSHA violation that was reported. I personally know and have talked to the person responsible for reporting the violation to OSHA.
OSHA sent a copy of the letter it sent to Motiva, Convent about this violation to him. They also were kind enough to send him a copy of Motiva’s response to the violation, which was responded to by J. Cancienne. In his response he states that this violation was no occuring at this refinery and that the person reporting it did not know what they were talking about. He then had the nerve to challenge OSHA and say that OSHA was not correct themselves and that the OSHA standard in reference had no bearing on them because it was a contractor standard.
I know these things because I read his response.( I can post it if anyone wants to see the lies by our company). Now, lets talk about HONESTY and INTEGRITY! Management at this refinery has none, I mean ZERO! This man is saying that the person whom is reporting this is lying. I know of at least 50 people whom can verify that this violation was real and occuring! Our management has no Honesty and Integrity themselves and will do anything to cover their own!
I know Shell! I have personally seen what Shell can be. We can be the best and the greatest company on Earth! But not with the type of management we have. Its the buddy system at its finest. Most of these people are a joke. I can tell you that I know I can put this company on top! Not only can I, but I would for my measily 5 figure salary, with no big bonuses! We need a swift and immediate change in management! I’m not talking about 3-4 people, I’m talking about 50-100 people at my refinery alone. Lets send them to our competitors so they can fall from greatness and we can retake whats ours!
I stated years ago, when we were making money hand over fist that before long only the best, most efficient will survive. I am saddened to see that this is already starting to take place. With new government standards and a push for alternative fuels, only the best will survive. The way we are going now, we WILL fail! We will become the next G.M. unless drastic changes are made!
Motivaman for president!
So….Shell is the most micro-managed EP business to ever have had the pleasure of cooking the books? No??!! lol. I have hit the bricks for every major EP operator since 88′, whether it was an offshore or office position. I have worked in operations, logistics, engineering and finance for the majority of their full field subsea developments. I have had the pleasure of working with some of Shell’s best over the years…..most of which got smart and took packages during the last big shakedown. The rest got smart, out of the way and took a window seat to watch some Scottish/Dutch rocket scientists try and revolutionize the EP business sector.
But with Shell, more than ever, managers/super’s know less about the industry now than I have ever witnessed in my short EP career. I have sat in daily telecon’s, leadership team meetings and marveled at the before/after comments of mgrs/supt’s concerning the most basic concepts in the industry. You know the one, the guy that sits the closest to his right hand “blue collar” office gopher. Sometimes I think these guys spend 25% of their time reading/answering emails, 50% researching the terminology/subject of the last meeting, so they can feel less moronic when they nod their head during the next meeting. And the remaining 25%…..planning the next meeting and/or leadership lunch…..MS Outlook can be so confusing sometimes!!
Budget controllers at every level know zero about the work performed, or the contracts that are in place and require an over abundance of “on the fly” advisement when AFE supplements, as well as explanations, are needed……yeah, but they’re busy planning that next meeting to shine for Marvin!!
But Shell’s joint venture partners (at least the latin american client reps) have got to be the dumbest in the industry. How their auditors never catch any ill-managed financial boo-boo’s has always intrigued me. Then again, you’re dealing with accounting mgrs that can barely read a SAP ledger, much less an hi-level operations report.
But what do I know??!! lol…
So hello Pete Voser!!……how’s it hangin’ with UBS these days??!! Wow!!
Brinded, there you go again! Promises, promises, promises, all far away and never to be achieved. Producing 300k in oil equivalent in 2020. You better start gearing up and produse your promised 4.5-6 million bopd for Shell in 2013. That is only 4 years away…..
Here is some more insight into what Shell/Motiva has done/is doing. A complaint was file with OSHA around loading of tank cars in which Motiva told operators to tie off to a crash bar. Per OSHA, you can’t tie off to the crash bar but Shell/Motiva has come up with the 12 life saving rules, one which says 100% tie off all of the time. Before the roll out of the 12 rules, GOD only had 10, it was brought to the attention of local management, 3 months in advance, who didn’t even capture our concerns. OSHA was called and Motiva’s response was that they didn’t tell anybody that and would not do that to folks. My Union President was then questioned by local leadership as to why OSHA was called. He doesn’t know who called, or at least he is not supposed to, but he did bring it up in a meeting with the rank and file and commended us, whoever it was that reported, for doing so.
Want some more. Well, Shell/Motiva is cost cutting and says that they are going to lay off some people. There will be some good people in that will get caught up in this because they are not “friends” with the top management. Yet Motiva has just purchased 60″ tv’s for the conference rooms and has brought at least 5 folks, “friends of the new regime”, from the plant down the river to take jobs in Convent. So we have no money and we are laying off but we can buy new tv’s, for no good reason, and we can bring in folks to do jobs in Motiva Convent from the plant down the river but we have to lay off.
My Union leadership has assured us that we will fight this every step of the way. The company outlined their new plan when my president and vice president were out of town on vacation. At the Union meeting, my Recording Secretary read from notes, complete with dates, of when the Union Committee asked the company to wait until both the president and vice president got back from vacation. Total lack of respect for any of us who don’t make 6 figures.
Oh, and don’t make the mistake and think you can ask inhumane resources anything. I can tell you the answer you will get. It is that you have to talk to Fedelity or Houston. Houston and Fedelity will tell you to speak with inhumane resources and the wheel starts to spin. You think I am kidding? Call them up and you will see.
Will report again later. I am sure if they do read this that they are going to ask the president who, what, when, and why. I haven’t told him yet but figure he will get around to reading the site before long. Word is spreading like wildfire. It is nice to finally have a place that knows about this company.
Scuzzy Operator at motiva
In the article “Shell’s blood money settles the Wiwa case”, I have added links to the settlement documents filed with the New York court a few hours ago in relation to the Wiwa vs. Shell litigation.
I agree with you Fred. Chadwick is a cheating, lying, warped and despicable individual. It was Chadwick who falsified oil reserves when he was our boss in Argentina-one of the biggest reserves write-downs ever before of course the great Shell reserves debacle and the subsequent mess he made of Camisea with Alan Hunt the Shunt. Other slime who have similar characteristcs are his SEG bum-chums expenses cheat Peter Warda, Arrogant Andy Calitz and Retard Ian Craig
I read with interest the comments of AsiaDragon regarding Jon Chadwick and what he stands for and what he has done in the FE. I have had the misfortune of meeting him a few times, and yes, he is very arrogant, downright rude and disrespectful of the locals. He did such a good (sic! sic!) job as Country chair for Malaysia that Shell as it normally does, promoted him to the GPLT as Exec VP for Asia Pacific. I think he has always been a ‘yes’ man and that is the biggest problem facing Shell. Another individual with similar traits and who shares Jon Chadwick’s passion for arrogance and poor performance is Charles Watson of Shell Energy Europe.
The plan in the new Voser organization is to nominate the next layer below the EC, by the end of June. Now the operative word here is ‘nominate’. So I don’t expect the EC members, for example, Malcolm to nominate anyone apart from his own cronies and ‘yes’ man. No reason to do anything different. So what will change, absolutely nothing. We will see the same faces, but they will now be singing a different tune. The flavor of the day is more Leadership, more Accountability and less (consensus) teamwork. Why would these guys change their culture on the 1st July 2009, when for the past 5 years they could have worked and behaved differently and improved significantly the morale and the bottom line of the Company. I think we would have had a chance if Voser had changed out the whole of the EC and at least the majority of individuals in the 2 layers below the EC.
Shell only provides lip service to ‘Diversity and Inclusiveness’ as is witnessed by the new EC. Although the Company is Global, and has significant business interests in Asia and Africa, with significant reductions in Europe, the new EC has an all male, anglo-saxon Caucasian cast of 3 Swiss, 2 British and 2 Americans. Whilst the EC or the Board of Royal Dutch may consider that diverse, it lacks ethnicity and is gender biased. The message is clear – irrespective of their nationality, there are no Africans, Indians, Chinese, Arabs or Asians, who are capable in this Company. Even the Women have not been spared!! .
I read with interest the news on Berlin funeral , so called SEF09 and the followup comments by many dedicated Shell colleagues and ex colleagues.
From Asia, I see this as a positive change provided Peter lives up to expectations. Thre is lots of opportunities to tap in Asia especially China, Malaysia, Australia if we have the right aproach.
I agree we should change out some of the top leaders ( layers ), the amount of overheads generated by the PE ( Powerpoint Engineers ) is indeed frightening. Shell has lots of brains and if this is channeled properly, I am sure we can we can be No. 1 again.
Initiatives like Life Saving rules are just mere lip service and take up so much of everyone’s time. Donot get me wrong- I subscribe to safety, but lets focus on the right community- the contractors.
There are many more global processes which creat work and does not add values. Hope the new Shell Management will do away with all these non value adding stuff and focus on bottom line ( afterall Voser has a bean counter background )
I support Iain Percival and John Burn call for change.
By the way, Shell has a very capable snob called Jon Chadwick who donot respect locals. How can he go so far to the top today is anybody guess. Now, with Linda leaving Jon will have to look for his next apple to polish. ( Malcolm – Watch out ). If Jon is appointed the top man in Asia, Voser/Malcolm will have to plan for an exit strategy in Asia. By the way, it is hearsay that Linda had the American job carveout for her as a face saving, she fetlt it is an insult and left.I respect her for that. Malcolm is handling the situation differently. You will all see.
Voser will have to remove all the NATOs ( No Action, Talk Only ) managers. It is also high time Voser appoint an Asian to the top post. There are many to choose from if he cares to open his eyes wide instead of limiting his vision to the West.
Motivasux, if you have more information to share about Tom Purves, Motiva, Convent, or related matters and want to bring it to the attention of Royal Dutch Shell senior management and the news media, this is the place to post it.
Postings are closely monitored by Shell top and journalists covering the oil and gas sector.
Jim, it is more than Purves that is the problem. Most of the leadership is in a fantasy world that someone else has to pay for. It is a shame what happened over in Port Arthur and it is a shame what is happening right now in Convent. Shell has little regard for the people that work for them and the management is horrible. You have a human resources department that does nothing but spread rumors. If you call them for help they tell you to call fedelity or tell you to bad so sad. Convent has a plant manager that claims to be the savior and says he has integrity yet he can’t tell the truth. Shell claims to be losing all kind of money yet every report that comes out to the employees boast about the profits. Shell is about to send some good people who did what they were asked out of the gate because they are not “buddies” with the new management team.
I agree with you that Purves is a problem. He is a joke. He couldn’t spell it if you spot him the i. The project in PA, one guy got the blame for that. The guy that got the blame, he wasn’t at fault. He did what he was told to do. His only mistake, in the shell world, was that he actually cared for the people that worked for him. The lies that were spread around Convent and Norco by human resources and upper management were wrong and should not have come from them.
There are so many things that I could share but it makes no difference. I have called OSHA and been to the labor board and both agencies have done nothing. The “life saving rules” will have the same end result as the fallen “cardinal rules” because shell will not fire a manager for breaking them. This is a fact with me as a witness on two counts. Human resources said it was an oversight. They sure don’t have any oversights when it is not one of their own.
I can’t stand shell motiva as they have ruined everything that we had in Convent. From the less than par management to the bass ackwards hiring process they have, shell motiva has put the employees and the community at risk. We are another BP waiting to happen. We have gotten lucky but we all know that sooner or later luck runs out. I just hope nobody loses their life or a loved ones life due to the unsafe practices in the refineries. I do what I can everyday to make things right but I am losing the battle. Nobody wants to listen until it is to late. People are selfish and care about nobody except for themselves.
Scuzzy Operator at motiva
I have worked for Shell a long time and have always upheld this company as one of utmost regard and high ethics; one that is willing to do what is right and serve its people. Unfortunately, I no longer see this company. The leaders currently in place are only worried about themselves, especially now that many of our esteemed SE colleagues will get the boot. One in particular that needs to be watched as he is singlehandedly ruining the reputation of leadership in Shell is Tom Purves. I wonder if anyone sees the behind the scene employee moves he has made of late in Motiva ville. Many of these moves were advertised as needed changes when in fact it was to take care of his friends, some of which were on the bubble of being released once they didn’t manage the expansion project appropriately and let it balloon from $7B to north of $10B. This same guy is now the plant manager of the site. How does that make sense? Stay tuned for other moves he has made that smacks of cronyism. Right now, it looks like Shell leadership is about taking care of friends instead of results as Mr Vozer states we should.
There is a person who has had extensive dealings with the Brunei Royal Family and naturally Shell is an integral part of Brunei prosperity. Information has been provided giving details of a substantial sum of money that was transferred from a Shell account so that a couple of the Brunei Royals could settle a court order that had nothing to do with Shell. Some of this information can be viewed at http://royallyshafted.co.uk/introducing-hamish-no-actually-im-michael-mcgurk/ (Copy and Paste)
Iain
Terrific post. If only Shell tapped the goodwill, the experience and the downright commonsense of the Pensioner community they would be rather better off than they are!
I have now caught up with the news / comments having returned from a most refreshing break at my home in Scotland – no internet connection which is good, for a while at least 🙂
My two pence of observations are as follows.
1. I have written on several occasions that Shell upstream is populated by many, many seriously good and dedicated technical professionals who wish for nothing more than (i)an interesting and rewarding career coupled with recognition for good / original / innovative contribution , (ii) progression based not on WHO you know but on what you know (capability) and demonstrable delivery of technical and / or commercial contribution, (iii) courageous, knowledgeable & honest leadership, (iv) minimal burden of dealing with “stuff”, (v)association with a well respected company name (brand Paddy??).
2.The challenge for Voser et al (those left standing) is to deliver on these five wishes. My perspective is;
(i) “no brainer”; there is just so much to do for the technical community. However, the Company needs to bring back to the “coal face” the supervisors who busy themselves with non core activities – ref comment by Guest 1.
(ii) Take the company back to one which progresses real technical capability. It appears that PE now stands for Powerpoint & Excel rather than Petroleum Engineering. However, Guest 1, I can testify to the fact that there still are reservoir engineers doing reservoir engineering in Shell. I am fortunate to remain a mentor to some Shell staff. Good, capable, competent geoscientists, petroleum, well and facilities engineers do indeed create value!
(iii) This one will be a bit more of a challenge. Unfortunately, a generation of leadership has grown up believing Hype, Hyperbole, Hypocrisy, is accepted practice forgetting that what staff and indeed the outside world appreciate is Honesty, Humility and Hard work. There are of course numbers of honorable exceptions and let them be retained as the example and inspiration for the many who hunger for such leadership.
(iv) There is no problem with well constructed and rigorously enforced process (just look what such an approach has done for Exxon!). Unfortunately, my experience within Shell was to take what started off as a fit for purpose approach and grow in into a beast often by incorporating the opinions of numerous bogus stakeholders. Even worse, the process was elevated into an end in itself rather than a means to an end. The management of a plethora of inflated process has bred the growth of senior “apparatchiks” referred to by Guest 1. More amazingly, one can find untold examples of “local exceptions” to the application of global process. One can ask ligitimately just what have the apparatchiks been doing?
(v) Never underestimate the pride still felt by staff current and past in being associated with the Pecten. I remain active on university campus in the UK as an ambassador for Shell and can report the brand is held in high esteem by students. I revelled in the opportunity to talk about Shell at a SPE young professional event at OTC in Houston three weeks ago ago. In addition, my consulting activities since retiring from Shell have given me the opportunity to see the high regard with which the Pecten is still held in many parts of the global oil & gas business. There is a genuine opportunity for the company to build on this and to minimise further damage.
The dedicated, hard working staff in Shell deserve not only outstanding leadership but also the support of those of us who (think they still) know the company and wish it well.
I have written enough and it is a beautiful day outside.
Just wondering whether a company so dominated by accountants and lawyers, and whose CEO designate seems not to know that they have customers, will be able to find a way of caring about motorists visiting their Petrol Stations…
So, many people will go. This is inevitable since the numbers in the senior ranks grew out of all proportions. Since
Herkstroter and Moody Stuart claimed in the mid 90s we were going to manage rather than do ourself this all started
and now the ranks are swollen with self acclaimed managers who do not know what they are managing. So they are at
the mercy of the consultants and service companies. And not only the numbers have swollen, there has been an
inflation in the level of the jobs. Because if you have to manage rather than do, you are more important. Shell is
now full of pointy haired bosses. And to top it all off: the number of senior jobs has increased, the levels of
these jobs have increased but also the reward of the same levels has seen a dramatic increase in the more senior
ranks. Couple that with the steep increase of especially american expatriates (the most expensive but also the most
pliable ones) and it is obvious why costs have escalated beyond control. The corporate functions are now full of
jobs with strange names that only shell insiders understand. A total disconnect with the rest of the outside world.
(Example: Shell has no more reservoir engineers but ‘value creators’.) Drilling was the first with Drilling in the
Nineties. Slogan: ‘When the rig goes, so goes the overhead’. The rigs came and went, the overhead only grew and the
knowhow decined. Some 20 years ago the most senior driller was jgA. And good old Coen was on every brake in the
world! Now there are umpteen jgB around who manage processes. After drilling, the rest followed. The results are
evident.
The growth of corporate functions is publicly always frowned upon by the top but secretly they love it: more status,
more jobgroup, less accountability because one can always blame someone else and the confusion grows exponentially.
Ideal for politicians and people looking after self interest. The Parkinson principle demonstrated again! We see the
same with politicians and civil servancies all over the world. They just grow whatever is stated by the people in
charge.
Hofmeister was a master at remunerating the top. He tried first in a blunt way to increase the salaries of the CMD
but was stopped by van Wachem and Jacobs. It maybe that van Wachem had already left as chairman but his views on
this were known and still taken seriously. But Jacobs vetoed some salary increases (actually the only good thing he
did). But Hofmeister knew how to operate the system. He increased the salaries of the subtop to the maximum and
more. Injected willing americans. And soon he could go to the CMD and show that the minions were making more than
the boys themselves and this would not do. Then the stampede for ever more money started seriously and we all know
what happened on the reserve crisis, extremely poor project management, promises rather than performance. I hope
someone will later write a book on all this corporate corruption. I have no other word for this. The top and their
lackeys have been as bad as the worst examples amongst the bankers. Maybe good that Shell gets a banker at the top,
it takes a thief to catch a thief?
So, Voser is right that something must be done. I hope he has the guts and stamina to transform Shell back to what
it used to be in the successful years between the early 70s and the mid 90s. Could it be like fashion? If you wait
long enough, it always returns? Somehow I have little hope because there are simply too many people with different
self interests.
And the bad thing is : Shell definitely has the brains in the ranks and they can sort it if only they are let
loose. They are merely very poorly led by people with the wrong norms and values. It really is that simple. If Voser
has real guts, he will fire immediately after he is in charge a large number of people who were in charge and made a
mess of things. Start with a clean slate and chose decent people. They exist. But the task to find them will be
frustrated by all who have something to lose.
I will be watching it on the Donovan site. Thank you for providing this platform!
It’s a generalisation, but I’m always concerned when a finance man get’s the CEO’s job – they haven’t usually got the right breadth of operational or life experience – their focus is often too narrow and one-dimensional. And when they try and be multi-dimensional we end up with a Herkstroter. Maybe Voser will be different – then again, may be it will again be a situation where Shell is re-hiring on contract 18 months from now the people they let go. And what’s the logical premise for apportioning the world into two parts – North American and “the rest”? I think it’s fair to say that shareholders and staff are getting very restive, and unimaginative cost cutting won’t deliver.
Do agree with guest 1; Brinded should have been removed” Shell will be sorry for this mistake.
Interesting priorities since Shell is spending 150 million plus euros on 3 state of the art Dassault 7X business jets for the EC and continues to run a regional airline in Canada for a very costly project – Oil Sands. Wonder how this fits into the restructuring? BP uses a timeshare for their EC business jet needs. Maybe it is time for Shell to start spending smarter at the top.
There used to be a “Swiss Mafia” running exploration in Shell. It now appears there is a Swiss Mafia just running Shell – full stop. I would like to know how Bichsel is uniquely qualified for his new position. He has absolutely no track record in project delivery. However he does have one of non-delivery. As head of the now defunct Deep Water Projects entity based in Houston he missed milestone after milestone with the Bonga project whilst his staff produced endless powerpoint slide presentations on what an outstanding success the entity was. He would brook no challenge whatsoever and was protected from criticism by the leadership cabal (who of course knew Bichsel was a favored child destined to join their ranks). On taking over the EP Technology organisation in 2006 he made life hell for the then head of Upstream R&D – a genuine (real Shell as was) technical professional – but who had the temerity to disagree with his new all-knowing superior.It appears the ethnic cleansing of the Dutch at the top of the company is mission accomplished. Are we expected to believe that there are no Dutch nationals in the company with the magic Shell “X Factor” required to lead the organisation? I can think of at least one better qualified to lead the Projects and Technology organisation. However, I will be generous and believe Bichsel is merely keeping the position warm for him! Finally, attempting to mirror ExxonMobil will not work. That organisation only promotes individuals into leadership positions on the basis of proven track record of delivery and genuine expertise in the domain they have been asked to lead.
A quote from Financial Times. This is the first time this year I have heard an exec come right out and say what we all know to be true (there will be layoffs): “Jeroen van der Veer, Shell
In case you have not noticed Paddy, one of your comments here is quoted on the London Evening Standard website today. I don’t know if it is in the newspaper.
Voser’s message contains 924 words but two words conspicuous by their absence are “Customer” and “Brand”. As a statement of internal navel-gazing obsessions Voser is in a class of his own – even in Shell’s recent ignoble history. But to send a message to staff, which totally fails to recognise that reinvigoration of the Shell brand and reputation (another missing word) is vital just shows how far the company has gone from the good old days of “You can be Sure of Shell”. And the failure even to hint that it only customers that make pay-days possible just shows how much contempt Voser holds for the world outside – the world that writes the cheques which makes his gravy train income stream possible.
In a few minutes we will publish a leaked email which Peter Voser sent to Shell employees at 10am today…
Always worrisome if new chief makes big changes. He says with this: this outfit is not good! Any properly run organisation will not change in major ways but over long periods improve a few % each year. One only makes a massive change if the outside world changes dramatically or if there is a mess. I know that the outside world has not really changed for Shell, so…
The proposed model resembles the one of some 15 years ago. But does Shell still have the right people? So much effort has gone in modelling the clones along the lines of promises, behavioural skills, attitudes, me first company later, politically correctness etc etc and not along the lines of deep skills that I doubt whether it will work this time. Good that Cook was removed, great missed opportunity they forgot Brinded. And like all reorganisations, this one will make the company less bureaucratic, more entrepreneurial, more accountability, better self employment, faster, better etc etc. We all have heard that time and again, so Shell must by now be like an Olympian champion ready to break records. Or am I wrong?
I’m hearing top 200 are meeting in Berlin. That 24,000 will be restructured not sacked (they hope!) but some of those will lose their jobs. Come on you lot we need more gossip!
Stuart, the breaking news from Shell confirms that our crystal ball is in good working order…
Exciting day today, news will come out of the Berlin get together.
..but it should be Stuart.
Karel appears to have mistaken Peter for Simon Cowell, this isn’t “Shell’s got talent”
Probably a bit too progressive, but to avoid the problem that the good managers get layed off, Peter Vosser could maybe organise a poll where staff can vote which top managers should stay and which ones should go. I hear that there is still enough passion for this “once great company” in the ranks that this may work out quite well.
Come on the Paddy, chance for you to prove you connectivity to the system – name the next departures ahead of any future announcements – let’s see how good your crystal ball is. Same goes for Mr D – let’s here your inside scoop
Who else will be on their bikes Paddy, d’you know?
Paddy, well said, fully agree. And Alfred/John, thanks for making all this public. The cook woman walked before she was kicked. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall when some very brave man told her to piss off. Tsarinas do not like to be told to piss off and she is certain to be looking for revenge! Images of spitting cobras or angry puff adders, often described by John Cleese come to mind. But in all this hoo-haa we should not forget the poor performance of Brinded for many years, the excessive salaries and bonuses they fixed for themselves and the generally arrogant and disconnected behaviour, not in line with their stated business principles. Bunch of hypocrites they are. Some good ones, many bad ones. Great loyalty to their own purse and political correctness. The rest is unimportant. I guess Hillary will get competition from the cook woman. A sight to be seen!!!
I fully agree with Paddy. The problem in Shell over the past 10 years has been on how well you have played the game politically. If you were ‘well connected’ and mediocre or incompetent you made it. If you were competent and not connected you were bypassed. Cook was very good at that policy. The culling, unfortunately, will be for the ‘competent’ ones who are not well connected. Ironically I regard that as a win-win for the competent ones, since they will leave and pick up jobs elesewhere. For Shell that is the price it will pay and the situation will have to get worse, with incompetent replacements, for the Company to hit rock bottom. Unfortunately that is an evolutionary process. The vision that Voser needs to have is to ensure that the connected (and mediocre) members are culled. I would be surprised if he has that vision.
There is a curious paradox at work here. The people on their bikes like Cook are mediocre (at best) – but the people that replace them are mediocre as well! The cull is not a triumph of the good over the poor or the competent over the incompetent. It is a victory only for those who played the political games better than those who didn’t. Amongst those to be culled are (I suspect) many who are not only competent but who also realised that Shell historically was a bit different from the rest of the (American) oil major group. No more. Sadly Shell is now the worst of the oil majors by far in almost every respect. And for those of us who in our small ways helped build a company that we were proud of its is not just regrettable but a scandal.
Well finally there is justice. Champagne will flow today on the departure of Cook. She has single handedly institutionalised the promotion of incompentent and inexperienced women. Don’t get me wrong I think it is excellent that women are in senior positions in the Company, and diversity not only in ethnicity but also in gender is excellent for the Company but it should be on the basis of meritocracy, competency and experience. Cook has promoted individuals on the basis of their sex, both in Gas and Power and Global Solutions, the two businessess she was in charge of. Well I hope that the leadership in Shell realises how demoralising this has been for a lot of staff over the past 5 years and hope that Meritocracy in Shell, which under her tenure was dead will now get a new lease of life!
We were first to break the news about the departure of Linda Cook. There is more news of important developments at Shell which we will put into the public domain shortly unless taken up by a news agency.
Well, what’s the reason that Linda has bolted? Gas/Power and EP merging and Brinded got the nod.
Why has Cook stepped down? Was she pushed? Is it really over the CEO appointment?
Linda Cook is stepping down. Peace at last, peace at last. Now there is room for talented women instead of token women. Will she return her stay-on bonus? Very curious what bullshit story she wil now come up with!
Musaint: you are undoubtedly right in saying that there are other companies who pollute, and I believe that Shell’s staff care more about the environment than many of their competitors. However, that does not excuse Shell from responsibility for their releases of gas/CO2 in Nigeria (hot/cold flaring in contravention of Nigerian law), nor the impact of shale oil and tar sand projects in North America. The Brent Spar story was fabricated by Greenpeace, who have never fully regained their former credibility. Shell’s advertising tries to create an illusion of a company whose practices are environmentally sound and sustainable. Unfortunately this is no closer to the truth than Greenpeace’s story about Brent Spar.
Greenpeace & Friends of the Earth describe Shell “as the most polluting oil company”. Does this : (i) take into account that Shell is a larger worldwide operator than most? and (ii) take account that Shell has partners in most ventures? (i.e. is their partners % deducted from Shell’s numbers?). I bet as usual (aka Brent Spar) that Greenpeace have “expanded” their numbers to try and make a point!
At the end of the day the biggest polluters by a long long way are China, India and America. What about attacking their policies rather than the usual onslaught at oil companies? – the usual reason perhaps? …… they are easier to get at (e.g. Shell Nigeria vs Nigerian Government).
The likes of a left wing dross newspaper such as the Guardian really does write such nonsense. It’s a shame that again you have “expanded” your title to infer that the summit was hijacked by Shell. The Guardian states “polluters” in their title – I think you have again added more spice!!
As I’ve said before our recent summers have been cold, wet and generally awful – a little warming up of the weather will be a nice thing.
Hope this stirs up some response on this blog which has been rather quiet of late!!!
Shell is so slow in response.I have written to Jeroen and Vosser on some suggestions to improve. They choose to keep quiet or ignore. One of which is Shell is too too heavy and like dinosaur.If the dont act today, they will not be any tomorrow..Greg
One shareholder apparently asked Job: ‘why reward failure?’ I will explain. Brinded has been in a top job since 1998 (MD of Expro until current position). He EACH year has promised more than he could realise. And as top dog his behaviour gets copied, Shell has been very hot on behavioural attitudes since many years. Those attitudes better be in line with the top or else! Remember the famous presentation in 2000 ‘Overpromise vs Underdelivery’? This attitude has become ingrained in the corporate culture of Shell. So Job is to be forgiven, he did not know better, he thought this was how Shell wanted it….
I wonder why nobody can raise the issue of pension payments at the AGM – or can they? Such derisive increase for this year really requires an explanation.
It is I think unprecedented for Shell to lose a resolution at an AGM – it tkes the institutional investors really to rebel for that to happen. Well done to them! Whatever else we have learned in recent times there are three things that stand out. First Shell leaders are shameless in their pursuit of personal wealth. Secondly that they don’t give a toss for Pensioners who (in the UK) received a pension rise of 0.9% – equivalent to
Once a greedy pig, always a greedy pig. The top of Shell (and this top is now broad and deep) knows no shame anymore. And you know: gorillas breed gorillas, so what will greedy pigs breed? Where are the days of van Wachem? Loyalty, professionalism, hard work and fair pay. And the norms were decency and honesty, the system corrected or weeded out the bad apples. Now it stimulates these bad apples.
The 79,000 shares given to vd Veer – were they share options? If so, they’re worth a lot less than the quoted
Shell is but another example of the greed culture which has undermined public trust in business and politics.
Hi, I am into Litigation Support Services in USA. I am looking at a contact person for these services in Shell Oil Company, Houston, Texas, USA. Can someone help me with this information.
Nowrooz: Not that too many people were lining up to go there. In spite of the spin, there is still a severe global shortage of good E&P staff, few of whom would choose to go to Nigeria anyway.
Posted by Nowrooz: Looks like manpower cuts for Shell in Nigeria during 2009
hmm anyone know where i can find shell’s info on the no. of branch plants they’ve got around the world?
I know it’s off topic…anyone got gossip on the next BP chairman?
Shell should perhaps be congratulated on the fact that they are now considered to have achieved mediocrity…
So, Sakhalin Phase 2 is finally completed? Or is it?? It is only 2.5 years late and cost +/- 2 billion dollars more than the 9.624 billion dollars that was originally sanctioned by Brinded and Van de Vijver back in 2003. Lets drink a toast with Mr Craig as he drinks his vodka with his Russian “friends”. What was the last project that Shell completed on time and on budget without killing anyone in the process?
Musaint
Unfortunately I could only afford to put my clocks on 0.9%…
Can any brit please explain to me why it is that very bad people seem to be knighted time and again? Is the process perhaps flawed? Sir Phil and Sir Fred. Why not Sir Scargill? Now that would have been good english humor…
1st April is tomorrow Paddy – you posted your RBS-RDS story too early!!
Readers may be interested in the comment by Paddy Briggs on news that Shell
Musaint, this proves that you can’t blame Shell for every unfortunate event in the oil industry. Sometimes it is innocent.
See that Total have been made liable for the Buncefield explosion – not Shell!!!!!
Thanks for the reasoning why the CFO “signs-off”. My ppoint is that he’s doing so “blind” as he has no technical nouse to back up his signature on such matters.
Musaint – you should refer to Oil Sand reserves in Canada, not oil shale. Shell does indeed hope to reap major benefits from its oil extraction technology in shales but not in Canada. The Company’s massive acreage position is in the US interior (and a deal has recently been signed with Jordan!).
The reason the CFO has to sign off to PROVED reserves is because of the intimate link with DDA (Depletion, Depreciation & Amortization) and the “pure” financial side of the books.
Now, much more of this and I will have to conduct on-line seminars for which I will charge 🙂
Gueszt: I have no knowledge of another reserves crisis, but the issue of reserves is far more complex than it might appear. A low oil price reduces the economic viability of marginal fields, but also increases the volume of oil to which a company is entitled under cost recovery contracts
Well done Shell in dropping wind, solar & hydro power. Not your core business, and recommended many times by contributors to this site. I’ve said before that English summers are too cold and wet so bring on the heat…..
To other `guest`. Is there another reserves scandal brewing re ur reference Shell being flexible on reserves definition. U seem to have insight.
Musaint: Shell are always flexible on the reserves definitions applied to different circumstances, and certainly don’t use SEC figures internally – I’m sure that at least one of Shell’s reserves definitions would support Greenpeace’s numbers. Don’t forget that SEC reserves excluded oilsands until very recently.
Screw Greenpeace until they get their facts correct – e.g. Brent Spar numbers!! e.g. is there SEC numbers that confirm that the Canadian oil shales make up one third of Shell’s oil reserves??
Musaint: I may be wrong, but I understood that Shell bought Fletcher Challenge several years ago. Elf were famous for providing “fringe benefits” – hopefully Total is slightly better behaved
A “major oil company” operating in Brunei could also be Total (TFE/Fletcher).
A “Major Oil Company” in Brunei is currently advertising vacancies for flight crew for a Boeing Business Jet (an executive jet based on the Boeing 737). How many major oil companies in Brunei can afford $50 million jets? Another little gift for the Sultan and his family perhaps?
Mr Donovan, I read this on your site: Of the five
Shell Pensioners in the UK will have received today a letter telling them that their pensions will go up by 0.9% w.e.f. 1st April 2009. To help the many thousands of Shell pensioners on pensions of
Musaint, the reason why the CFO signs off on things he does not understand is simple. It is part of Corporate Governance, he is the ultimate Controller. He has to verify that the process followed is correct and that no laws have been breached. The idea is to have an independent view. And just go back in your memory: who triggered the opening of the reserves scandal? Exactly, it was the Controller who stated ‘until here and no further’. Sad he was subsequently removed for presumably lack of loyalty.
You persist in wanting to let Shell executives off lightly by blaming SEC rules. Whenever you do so, I will remind Live Chat readers about the documented facts and leave the smoke and spin to you. Shell management still engages in breathtaking hypocrisy and deceit, as correspondence currently in progress will confirm when published. The outrageous machinations continue.
Think you missed the key part of my posting – it certainly wasn’t meant to start your rant over Watts et al. It was aimed at why does the Chief Financial Officer and in the OpCo’s the Finance Manager sign reserves numbers off?
REPLY TO MUSAINT: Saying something many times does not mean that what you have said is correct. Watts and Walter van de Vijver knew their actions were in breach of SEC regulations. You may recall the incriminating email from Van de Vijver to Watts saying “I am sick and tired about lying about the extent of our reserves issues and the downward revisions that need to be done because of far too aggressive/optimistic bookings.” There was also evidence in the emails of intent to destroy evidence of the fraud. These and other Shell executives, including Jeroen van der Veer, all signed Form 20F Declarations containing false claims in relation to Shell
Stated many times that Shell AND others were kicked for stupid antequated SEC rules. However, why was it (and probably still is) the Chief Financial Officer always the person to sign off reserves numbers. This person (in The Hague and the OpCo’s) has no knowledge to do this. Surely the likes of Bichsel etc. in Exploration and his equivalent in PE should be the ones to sign-off. Thereafter, head of the CMD. Pitty the likes of that prat Bichsel wasn’t more harangued.
You couldn’t make it up! Simon Henry who did his utmost to talk down the reserves scandal and to fail to recognize the culpability of senior executives at the time accedes to the top Finance job in Shell. And Jeroen van der Veer, who was a full member of the CMD at the time of the scandal and who has subsequently presided over one of the most disingenuous corporate communications campaigns ever seen from a multinational becomes a member of the “Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee” of the Board of Shell on his retirement. No further comment necessary!
Content of an email received today from an SEIC insider source:
From SEIC today:
“The End of Contract Bonus programme is currently under review of Shareholders. Therefore processing of the bonus payment has been suspended until further notice.”
So much for all of us that stayed on to see the project completed and based on a signed contract by SEIC to pay the bonus.
This is just the tip of the iceberg re the cost cutting that is underway.
Regards
I can’t help wondering if Nowrooz’s bonus is related to the acquisition of Shell by Exxon or Total… Maybe John Donovan should get a bonus too, for facilitating a takeover!!
Nowrooz – you’re not Brian Clough in disguise?? He was called “old big-‘ead”. No doubt you thoroughly deserved the money from Shell but what a prat!!
Just been confirmed, I’m getting a massive bonus this month from Shell.
The downturn is here… YES! From the same company that brought you record profits and shareholder returns in 2007 AND 2008.
It has gone from the petty to the ridiculous… How can a company that for the last two years has boasted the largest profits in British history now go on to be cutting sandwiches and fruit… and encouraging their employee’s to get their own lunch.
How is it possible that the company is run on such a day to day basis that you cannot plan for a 3 month downturn… Exxon foresaw this in April last year… why could we not? Now there are job-cuts and cost cutting exercises all over the place!!!!
EP New Business 30% reduction, Gas and Power 20% reduction, Shell Global Solutions 10% reduction in staff…. and Shell is doing it in a very clever way, making everybody re-apply for their own jobs…and if you don’t get a job internally – its your fault!
So in the next 6 months you will see massive numbers of very quiet redundancies going on in Shell… when only 6 months ago we were paying many of these same people retention packages to keep them IN the company… it makes no sense at all to be managing your business in this much of a short term way!
Mr Donovan, I have sent you the latest cold wind rules email setting out further belt tightening measures. Shell top is now moving on to the more petty stuff. I expect they will soon be rationing tea bags and toilet tissue. Will the fat cats Brinded, Cook and Voser set an example by giving up their golden handcuffs? Fat Chance. Same applies to the gold plated pension of van der veer. One set of cold wind rules for our greedy ruthless bosses and another for the people like me working at the coalface.
On ‘Gold plated retirements’: just for the record, Watts did not lose his job, he was fired.
Why shouldn’t there be a Christian mafia? It seems they have Christ on the books se link. On this site. Dundee, City of Discovery, Hill of God, Fort of Fire, Gift of God are other names and horror of horrors it has a population of 144,000, …. something is definitely going on. http://royaldutchshellplc.com/2008/01/06/crackpot-or-genius-has-a-shell-boffin-stumbled-on-a-scientific-breakthrough/
A lay preacher who surprised one member of his flock by saying that it was Shell’s practice to steal intellectual property as required
Clearly any employee of Shell or any other organisation /company should be entitled to adhere to whatever religion they like. But as various recent posters suggest if religious adherence becomes a means to control/influence company decisions then something is very wrong.
I was aware during my Shell days that there was a Shell Christian group operating in Shell Centre in London
Thanks for the article. In case any of the critics are interested, I have been subject to religious arm-twisting by supervisors and received cute little scripture quotations attached to company e-mails. I’ve also stood by while a married, womanizing manager held weekly Bible Study classes during extended lunch hours. Innapropriate and hypocritical, yet these individuals piously wear faith on their sleeves and get away with it. I wonder how long it would last if I were to wear Atheism on my own sleeve. Enough! This does not belong in the workplace.
The dominant role of members of specific churches within certain businesses in Houston is well known: unless you attend the right church you are likely to be “out of the loop” in one of the key decision making processes – the Sunday meetings. The fact that the churches involved expect a contribution of around 10% of their members’ salaries is also well known. The churches involved are usually very keen to recruit new members, especially those who are well paid. So the best advice for the ambitious is to join the appropriate church.
The dominant role of members of specific churches within certain businesses in Houston is well known: unless you attend a specific church you are likely to be “out of the loop” in one of the key decision making processes – the Sunday meetings. The fact that the churches involved expect a contribution of around 10% of their members’ salaries is also well known. These are not secrets. The churches involved are usually very keen to recruit new members, especially those who are well paid. So the best advice for the ambitious is to join the appropriate church.
Musaint, it is good that Mr. D published this story about the Baptist Mafia. We had some 30 yrs ago a similar group of borne again christians running KSEPL. And precisely as you point out, it would attract a bunch of rabid lawyers in the US if this got published in a paper there. So much for freedom of expression in the land of the brave. I am very glad he provides a virtual Hyde Park Corner. Many good stories, some bad stories but it is teh reader that decides for himself!
Surprised and somewhat disappointed Mr.D that you wasted space showing the story about the “Baptist Mafia” in Shell Houston. I have to say that there are several American Shell staff who add very little value to the bottom line. However, a bigotted rant from the disaffected individual is nonsense. I’d love to see this nutter try and print this in a local (or national) paper in Houston and see how many lawers would be crawling over him!!
I suppose that Shell (and others?) have to “lend” the Nigerian Government money to help all parties in the end. (Very much along the lines that Greedy Gordon’s mob have had to bail out the UK banks rather than let them fail.) However, shareholders must surely want some guarantee that the funds will be repaid in some form or another. With such a corrupt Government in Nigeria I wonder how much of the “loan” will actually be spent on projects – little I bet with most going into the overseas bank accounts of corrupt officials. Shell has “lent” funds to Nigeria before, but, with little impact.
Mr.Donovan, sir,.Thank you very much for granting my request(malaysian judiciaryand corruption)Deep appreciation for your kindness.Thank you very much. Sir.
good day ,sir.requesting your post dated 2007/09/27 Malaysia-judiciary-and corruption for obvious reasons-the legal jurisdiction of choice.Hope my request will be granted.Thank you very much.
shell dubai HR talk – one to one – with HR of other companies to fix the salaries ( via HR forum off line discussions) is unethical…ask HR folks and conduct an independent process audit… truth will surface ….
REPLY TO
Salary surveys are common in every industry. HR folks participate to ensure that tney are paying market price. Any attempt to portray Shell’s involvement in this effort is a blatant attempt to twist the truth by a hate site with a clear agenda. Nice try. Oh a leaked email about managing 3rd party costs is unethical? Get real Donovan, you are so eat up with your obsession you have lost all objectivity and credibilty.
It seems the Cold Wind is already blowing at sakhalin Energy with a number of consultants having contracts cancelled – at no notice – whilst on rotation.
Is shell leadsership as honest as it claims to be ? year on year assurance letters are signed but truth is buried …. by those who are greedy and manipulative leaders…Comments from forum welcome…
Shell HR community in dubai has been engaging with HR folks of other companies. they call it HR Forum, which has been used as a platform to fix the salary of the local employees . Is it ethically acceptable and in line with SGBP? Shell Dubai country coordination team is well aware of it …..
Now we see how Brindeds “rally the troops” New Year message is being implemented. Between the lines it is clear to see a frenzied attempt to shift the responsibility and blame everyone else. Where will the people come from when the downturn eases. History repeats itself.
Ask Paddy, I believe he was in Dubai, don’t know what he was doing
In dubai most of the HR costs are coming from western expats who are having the best time pushing papers, hiding reality and achieving little. Is someone in Shell leadership taking a note of this ?
Guest: what you say is right. It just shows that I had a great vision in 1994. We do not need geologists, we have Schlumberger. And everyone is now politically correct. I have returned to my beloved world of bankers. Much more refined people, no dirty hands or complex designs. Only a small unintended oversight on the riskmanagement of all those complex derivatives that engineers had designed. It is clear we should stop designing.
Fighting talk from Shell, but without the contractors no useful work would ever get done – Shell’s own staff are too busy checking boxes and attending meetings to actually do anything useful – many of those that tried have long since taken their skills elsewhere in frustration. Shell will now pay the price of 15 years spent following the mantra that management presentations, business school buzzwords, and manipulation of numbers is all that is required to produce oil.
I hear rumours that Shell has borrowed money from the pensionfund to finance some projects. This deal was cheaper than getting credit from the banks. Can anyone confirm and if true is this ethical??
Restucci is simply too nice a guy to go and fire a few hundred or thousand people. But they must go in Dubai. They add no value and stop operating units from producing more oil and gas for lower costs. And to speak with Jennings on his farewell tour: Human Remains is totally overstaffed and over paid. He did apologise later, but there was no need for me to do so, the truth must be said!! My bet is that Dubai will reduce by 50%, all covered in nice stories. And just wait until the axe is wielded in the HSE community worldwide. Many, many will go.
It seems that the information given to Reuters today by Raoul Restucci could be significantly at variance with what he said to Shell employees. If anyone has a recording of what he actually said, please let me know. Your identity will not be revealed. If he lied to Reuters, we would like to expose that information.
Always wondered what the Shell people actually did for the business in Dubai. When I was there most of them were on the golf course everyday.
REPLY TO MUSAINT: We had no input into the headline you are complaining about. It was devised entirely by Reuters. The story may take an embarrassing turn for Mr Restucci in the light of further information received following publication of the article. I do not want to say anything further on the subject at this time. With regard to Dr John Huong, both cases remain active. I do not want to say anything further on that subject either because if I do so, it could result in the imprisonment of Dr Huong in line with injunctions obtained by Shell that remain in force. Personally I am appalled that as we approach the 5th Anniversary of Shell issuing defamation proceedings against the former Shell production geologist Dr Huong in respect of material published on our website (which was authored by us), Shell still had not progressed the action beyond the initial stages. The snails pace litigation has not even reached the discovery stage. When are Shell executives going to work up the courage to sue me for defamation instead of suing an unfortunate surrogate in Malaysia, who, as you will be aware, is a man of the highest integrity?
What’s the status of the Dr. John Huong case in Malaysia – seems very quiet on the court case. Knew John many years back – please wish him well.
For sure you will say otherwise Mr.D but the dramatic headline about “to cut some jobs” in Dubai is very tabloid!! Jobs in HR and Finance will be relocated that’s all and not cut. (That said, the truth is that in the Shell world HR, Finance and HR positions should be cut full stop.) Scare-mongering by people does not mean jobs will indeed be cut. Brinded’s email (also an add on to the story) I believe reflects reality – use this opportunity to release some non-performing staff & contractors. Hopefully core functions will not be decimated as in 1999 and which clearly is regretted by many in Shell now. I was involved in this and the subsequent cuts 2 years later – poorly thought out with senior managers from The Hague with clear, poorly thought out numbers, which they often refused to budge from. Of course HR merely behaved like nodding-donkeys througout, adding very little value as ever.
I heard at the weekend that Tom Botts is/ has taken over the EVP role in Manufacturing – correct?
It’s surprising that nobody has commented on Raoul Restucci’s announcement of staff cuts in Dubai (up to 50%)
I wonder what this Governor Amaechi has done for his River States people/ Very very little is my guess. He’s just blaming Shell and other companies for his and his Governments own inadequacies. I wonder what his many overseas bank accounts have in them and how the money was obtained.
how come no one from asia comments on Shell here ? are they scared or all is green out there ?
How many barrels of oil has Shell’s legal department produced? Where is the added value? How can any legitimate enterprise justify spending UKP150 million per year on lawyers?
Its interesting that while Malcolm Brinded is reported to have told employees in an email to make
Musaint, you apparently still believe in the tales of bankers and analists: ‘as do the so called expert investing banks’… And I like to take a bet that a great culling of staff at the jg1-B level is imminent. The dutch will be culled even more to complete the final ethnic cleansing. If I win the bet, you will read here an ‘I told you so’ and I will have a beer. And vice versa of course.
MUSAINT I agree about the deadwood, but I must say a lot of deadwood has already gone.
REPLY TO MUSAINT: This site has not made any comment on Shell’s results announced yesterday.
Damned if they do, damned if they don’t. If Shell had continued to make a Q4 profit they would have been berated by the usual greenies (who understand little about oil company profits). As it is some, including this site, appear to want to hammer them for the Q4 loss. Fact is they made a good yearly profit (best seen by a UK company), dividends are good again and Greedy Gordon can rake off yet more tax for this Government to squander. Must say that looking through todays papers the majority appear to be favouring Shell as do the so called expert investing banks. “Guest” there does not appear to be any redundancies as a result of the Q4 losses – that said there is still plenty of deadwood throughout the worldwide organization that needs pruning.
Is Shell’s Q4 “loss” an accounting exercise to ensure that some of this year’s profits are carried forward to next year, or could this be a taste of what we can expect in each of the four quarters next year? Or perhaps, just a cynical attempt to persuade employees and suppliers that there is a crisis requiring cost cutting, and reductions in headcount and/or salaries?
Nowrooz
Just a moments respite from my traditional activities of sullying the environment, conspiring with military governments, fabricating “facts” about oil reserves, obfuscating about the business, firing people and screwing pensioners – oh and paying myself a seven figure bonus. Once a Shell exec………
If I had known that Vince Cable was the guest on Desert Islands Discs I would have listened to the programme. He is the only British politician who warned years ago about the pending financial disaster. Brown poured scorn on his comments. Look where we are now.
Paddy,
Pretty sad that have to listen to Desert Island discs during your retirement.Nothing to do anymore exciting.
We are looking for refineries which can support us for unlimited amounts of Petrocoke Please mail to tr@dnnint.com
Did anyone see the interview with Van der Veer on Shell.com that appeared on Friday but has now been taken down? He talks about cutting capex in it…we are wondering what happened to it.
I have a question that I’d like to ask this community. It relates to the behaviour of major EP’s (Shell included) and their investment towards growth strategies.
I work in the western Canadian energy industry and so this is contextual to investment in oilsands plays but I’m sure relevant around the world.
It
If Shell’s offer to provide seed funding for the development of new ideas sounds too good to be true, it probably is… disclosing novel ideas to Shell (or anyone else) without appropriate legal safeguards (patents or confidentiality agreements) is not recommended.
Excellent “Desert Island Discs” with Vince Cable today – Vince was formerly the Chief Economist of Shell. Interesting that Vince didn’t mention his Shell days at all – perhaps he is trying to forget them! He was, I recall, very good but I guess the rest of his life glistens more than the Shell years!!
“Nigeria is staring into a $5 billion budget hole due to the oil price swoon” – the author clearly doesn’t know too much about Nigeria or factual reporting. The real problem is due to the cancer of corruption that includes the President, State Governors, NNPC/DPR & Government officials. These are the cause of Nigeria’s ills, including this $5 billion black hole. Other Governments should freeze their overseas assets and investigate.
Blagboy
Thank you for your interest in my Shell investments. I have approximately
The following comment has been posted by “Blagboy”on the Paddy Briggs article “How will Shell respond to the threat of an ExxonMobil takeover?
Paddy, I would be interested to hear whether you are prepared to declare your interest in Shell shares and, if you hold any – how many (as, for example, does Guido Fawkes on his website). If you were to do this then I could evaluate this story far more objectively, but from the first read it seems as though you have a vested interest and that this is nothing more than an effort to ramp up the share price. (Apologies if you have already posted this elsewhere on this site.)
Musaint
You don’t need to be a a “left wing, tree hugging trouble maker” to be able to spot the lies and confusions of Shell’s corporate advertising! See my many learned articles on the subject over the years… Jeroen knows that his people have been peddling porkies and he has now all but said so.
Paddy
Greg Hill – hmmm, I am sure the relatives of the men who were asphyxiated in the Brent field and had to deal subsequently with Hill could have provided good references wrt job requirements relating to a CEO’s HSE responsibilities. Possibly Bill Campbell could have provided additional input, as could Grampian police , procurator fiscal, etc., etc.
Great pity Greg Hill left Shell. One of the few americans with a heart for people and not solely focussed on his own bonus. He has done exceptionally well in all his previous jobs because he can genuinely motivate people AND knows what is good for the business. And when needed he is tough as nails, but always honest. Hess really scored here!
REPLY TO MUSAINT: The headline was obviously meant to be read in conjunction with the selected extract printed immediately below it. If the headline appeared in isolation without the
vdVeer “admits Shell was dishonest”. Sorry Mr. D. that is NOT exactly what the article states !!! The words used are “seems to admit”. Nothing more than that, albeit vd Veer (as with many) avoided some questions. Clearly Moniot, as is the Guardian, is a left wing, tree hugging trouble maker, and I’m afraid even your headline expands the truth of the interview.
Corrib Pause Button. Shell would not see it as it sees so little else. In recent weeks it pomotes a shining progress report in the irish print media. It sees no problems. Everything going to plan – down to a commissioning date for 2009. Even though it has yet not secured a pipeline from well to half built refinery. It does not sit around a table with 2 Irish ministers to set up a community forum. Why would it be involved since everything is going so well. Shell does not see. Van der Veer would need to check out the Dhell Corrib press releases sice he admits to monbiot that he would rather see Shell say what it is and what it is about.
A great resource – many thanks!
Interesting suggestion from Business Week…however, Shell might not be able to come up with the necessary finance, while BP might just be able to do so…. the question then becomes whether Total would be willing to act as a white knight to save Shell from BP’s clutches.
hollymp
Email me at paddy_briggs@yahoo.co.uk and I’ll be pleased to help you.
Hi, really great site.
Im currently doing a piece of work for my degree regarding the effectiveness of Shell’s communication functions, both Internal and External. I would be really gratefull if someone could provide me with any expert information or guidance on where to find any good literature.
Thanks.
Dear Fellow Pensioners (includes you too Paddy as we are all in the same boat!)- I have a couple of (final?)comments. To pick up on the “right on the nail” comments from fellow pensioner the real scandal in Shell EP has been the departure from the tried and tested practice of only having people at the top (leaders) who actually knew the nuts and bolts of the EP business. This started with the disastrous decision to appoint Cor (if you need geology go to Schlumberger) Herkstroter to the top job. He oversaw the destruction of a E&P organisation which was second to none, the envy of its peer group and a source of pride to all of us working in it. This massive error was compounded by importing huge numbers of US staff totally clueless as to the way the business worked in the many operating units of the world and were typified by an astonishing focus on their year end performance bonus requiring a declaration of success long before the “final result” was actually known. The modus operandi quickly became one of preaching from on high, intolerance of questioning (it’s my way or the highway) and a continual reference to a number of “management guru bibles” – US author only, please. (We were not to know then, but it was all terribly prescient of the US Iraq misadventure). Remember, Mission Accomplished – all Hype, Hypocrasy & Hyperbole with Honesty and Humility totally absent.
PE (petroleum engineering) became Powerpoint and Excel.The virtue and necessity of time consuming solid technical work became a luxury the company could not afford! Ten years on a massive effort has been expended to recover the situation – but of course in the meantime so much has been lost. That is the real scandal. I will never be an apologist for the truly dreadful Watts and his acolytes but in my more generous moments I honestly believe they did not fully understand what they were doing. I once asked him not to use the expression “economic reserves”; by definition reserves ARE economic and the look he gave me was one of “what on earth are you talking about?”. I will leave the matter there but continue to grieve for the company that lost its way.
Iain
Good analysis but a bit lopsided and I must react! Of course you are totally correct that the SEC was way behind modern technology and is now making some amends. But to conclude that Shell EP has been an industry pathfinder and somehow the whole world has erroneously dumped on Shell goes a bit too far. I know you very well and I am convinced that your words come from your heart and were not drafted by some Shell PR spindoctor. But you know that we started to lose the battle around the mid 90s on technology development. Until that time we were very good at inventing new technology, a bit less at implementing it quickly and globally and we dithered perhaps a bit longer than really needed. And our internal bureacracy could also be a bit improved at that time. And we were by far the biggest operator in the world and as such earning the money for many of our competitors. We outperformed many (most?) from the early 70s to the mid 90s. But after the mid 90s, all had to be changed in a major way and we lost basic business controls and created a new attitude in the workforce whereby short term views prevailed, promise was better than performance, open communication was a thing of the past and the ensuing cultural revolution led to many disasters. The breaking of SEC rules was just one of them and in my view a minor one but this point was magnified by everyone. It was fodder for the lawyers and easy to find a culprit that could be sacrificed. But there was something bigger going on behind the scenes, less obvious to the general public. We all know (and you certainly better than anyone) that companies like Schlumberger have a lot more know-how and technology development than we have. They
Dear Guest – I have no problem with your comment; infact I agree with it. The SEC “uniform set of rules” to which you refer will now reflect the technologies and techniques of the 21st Century instead of those of the early part of the second half of the 20th. All EP companies will estimate and report accordingly – to the ultimate benefit of the investor community. As I wrote in my previous posting this notable advance is a direct result from the trials and tribulations of Shell and the so-called great reserves scandal. I use the term “so-called” because if all the volumes recategorised had vanished like the money of those investing with the unsupervised, unregulated Madoff, the word scandal would be justified. However the volumes have not vanished inspite of the tsunami of bogus indignation which washed over the company and the many affected employees.
I wish all who contribute and read the contributions on this site a very Happy and spite-free New Year 🙂
Hi. Good site.
Have to generally agree what Iain has said, some of which I have voiced earlier. I never realized that the SEC rules for reserves calculation were just for company to company comparison. If true then what a idiotic group the SEC are and the reason why companies such as Shell got nailed with the reserves scandle in 2004.
Iain, with both Brent and WTI both under $40 the SEC rules still won’t allow too many barrels of shale oil or tar sands to be booked. And at the risk of repeating what has been said many times: the SEC rules do not pretend to give an accurate estimate of technically/economically viable reserves, but only a clear set of rules to allow the reserves figures of one company to be compared with another. Annual reports don’t give an exhaustive financial analysis either, but use a uniform set of rules (GAAP) to ensure a degree of consistency between companies. That doesn’t mean the numbers are “right” – just consistent. As a PE I would also almost certainly differ from the SEC figures in making technically sound estimates. But the SEC does not pretend to produce technically sould estimates, just consistent, comparable numbers, prepared according to a uniform set of rules.
So – the SEC have now adopted new “rules” on reporting of hydrocarbon reserves and in doing so recognising the advances in technology used by the Shell petroleum engineering community to which I belonged for many years. In other words we had the confidence based on modern technology and our professionalism to call the volume “proved”. It is no surprise that the vast majority of the volumes were were obliged to “recategorise” is back in the proved category and would not have moved under the revised SEC “rules”. What a shame for all of us (especially the pensioner community) that the SEC had not spent more time overseeing the genuinely corrupt & greedy financial community instead of beating up the “corrupt & greedy” Shell EP business. At least Shell’s misery has led to reserve rule revisions which will benefit all those wishing to invest in EP companies. Infact, I can state that Shell has been proved to be an industry pathfinder (again) inspite of all the opprobrium heaped upon it.
Strange that only 3-4 years ago OPEC were stating they had a preference for a stable oil price around US$30 / bbl. Now the greedy Arabs, left wing Venezuela, corrupt Nigerians and Russian Governments want prices >US$50 / bbl. Let ’em rot I say. Low oil prices will hopefully get the corrupt rich Sheiks out of English football.
We would like to wish all visitors a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – as happy as it can be given the bleak economic situation. Our thanks especially to regular contributors, Paddy Briggs, MUSAINT, “Guest” and a disillusioned Dutch Shell pensioner.
Musaint: it might sound like a cracked record, but Shell has focussed on high capex projects recently, apparently believing that $100 oil was here to stay…I’m told that the “low case” used in screening exercises until very recently was $50/barrel.
How come I have NEVER heard a Shell executive say ‘we (or I) should have done it differently’ or ‘we were wrong’. It is the same with politicians. And bankers. What does this tell us?
I think your comment “Guest” is all too familiar – just like a cracked record I would say.
Presumably Jeroen’s comment about the viability of high capex projects improving as costs fall will be taken as justification for massaging the economics so that reserves can be booked even when sub-economic…in the vain hope that costs will fall sufficiently to solve the problem sometime next year…does this all sound rather too familiar?
WTI is now at $33.70
With the oil price at $36, a lot of SEC reserves will disappear…I guess Shell will be renting a lot of tankers in the next few weeks to keep oil off the market
Peter, we have not reached peak oil production yet, although we may not be far away from it. However, the recent high oil prices have resulted in many projects being undertaken by the oil industry which will increase supply over the next few years. At the sane time, many other projects (generally outside the oil industry) have been undertaken which will reduce demand for oil (wind poower, wave power, nuclear power, improved fuel efficiency of vehicles, more energy efficient homes…). Most significantly, the rates of growth of many countries have been slowed by the price of oil, limiting the growth in demand for oil (and encouraging the use of alternative fuels). At $50 per barrel there is little incentive for the investments required, but at higher oil prices it becomes much more attractive to invest in existing fields (almost all of which still contain more than 50% of the oil originally in place). If the oil price is high, it becomes economically viable to increase the percentage of oil recovered.
What is Shell’s status with regard to peak oil?
Well written article Paddy. I seriously hope that Shell does get rid of its headquarters in London as indeed the amount of cost savings must be beneficial to the company. It will also reduce Greedy Gordon’e cut of the cake, so I expect him to kick up a fuss. That said, is there a requirement to have an “HQ” in the UK for some legal purpose? If yes, why not some sleazy office in Soho?
Paddy, good story, I agree mostly. But two flaws: Upstream is now run centralised since about 10 years. Have you noticed the results? We used to have the best brains at the coalface (in the opcos) and could deal with local circumstances. The other flaw is that you think Shell has become more Dutch. Ha ha ha ha, the dutch have been ethnically cleansed many years ago and with the retirement of Jeroen, they will all have disappeared. Perfidious Albion has struck many moons ago and in the process brought in their american brothers. Don whatever his name was (predecessor of Louw as head HR in EP) gave many speeches in the late 80s and early 90s pointing out that the Dutch only were doing reasonably well in the engineering sides of upstream and downstream but Finance, HR, Marketing, Commercial etc i.e. where all the bullshitters were/are, were firmly in hands of the brits. He said so much more eloquently than me of course.
But other than that your story is fine. Just change the word central office to head office. It shows your age (I often do the same…)
So now we know where the funding for the share buybacks, the dividends…and all those high capex projects came from… the name Robert Maxwell springs to mind
Refer the posting of the Reuters article. The spokeswoman could not say how much it would cost Shell to bring the fund from 85% to 105%. Apparently we have yet another ‘token woman’ in this position. No doubt with a cute smile and very friendly. Maybe I can help. It is very simple: the obligations are around 12 billion euros, so Shell will need to cough up something in the order of 2 billion euros to repair it all. Same magnitude as the fines and moneys that had to be paid after the reserves scandal. Perhaps this sweet ‘spokeswoman’ should pick up the phone and call the pensionfund. They should know exactly Shell needs to pay!
Dear Mussaint and Nowrooz, your postings warrant a short reply. Have no fear, I am not suffering and have my private finances taken care off and zero worries there. Mussaint, I believe that they dropped to 85% (under 105% all alarm bells start and they need to go hat in hand to the authorities and do things) because they overinvested in stocks. And this brings me to the point I tried to make: Shell was endeared some years ago to the MBA jargon of consultants and other idiot gurus and introduced a.o. ‘Olympic Targets’. You remember them: ‘citius, altius, fortius’ (faster, higher, stronger). Couple this to the preferred attitude as fostered by Brinded et all of ‘Promise is better than Performance’ and you have a recipe for disaster.
And all the old codgers are still around and looking innocent. They simply do not feel shame. And yes, I have sent a letter or an email two years ago to the pensionfund asking them why not hive off the surplus and invest that in super safe and dull bonds. The pompous reply was that I need not worry, should look at their track record, they employed the best professionals in the world, were way within the legal limits and basically told me politely to piss off and mind my own business, all was well and I should look at the long term. Unfortunately I don’t have a copy anymore.
And Nowrooz, I hope I sufficiently explained why I posted this chat? I am not moaning about my own pension, I indeed have more than enough. But if you still take exception: I noticed many postings from you on this chatbox. My question to you: there are a few billion people who are hungry every day and yet you are wasting your time on posting chats on Donovan’s site! Why don’t you spend your time better and relieve some of that suffering?
And Mr. Donovan, you seem to have a direct line to Wiseman. Perhaps you could ask him to confirm or otherwise the rumour I have picked up a few weeks ago that Shell in this credit crisis has borrowed money from the Pensionfund or made the Pensionfund invest in some projects. If that is correct, I would like to see the opinion of Mr Wiseman on the ethics of this. No doubt it is within the law, but is it ethical?
Shell Pensioner, stop moaning think about the pensionioners who haven’t got a private pension to fall back on.
A quote from the blog at http://www.pacificenvironment.org/blog/
“We are struck time and time again by similarities between Shell
“Shell Pensioner” – couple of points / questions. Firstly if the Dutch legal limit is to have 105% coverage how come Shell has got away with 85%? I am sure that many, many, pension funds of large companies are suffering badly due to the collapse of world-wide markets, not just Shell. (Agree that a shift to bonds may have helped, however, hindsight is such a powerful tool!!). I’m not sure that the pension funds are that bad compared to others, and anyway I’m sure you’re not suffering because the “coverage” has come down – no doubt your monthly pension paid has not dropped has it?
I just received a letter from Shell Pensionfund (dutch) that the coverage has dropped to 85% (Dutch legal limit is 105%). About a year ago it was around 170% I believe. Some amateurs have been gambling with the fund and now there is a huge shortfall. I still have the letters of the past where they were congratulating themselves with the good management and strategies… And no doubt cashing in big bonusses. Why did nobody convert shares to bonds when there was this enormous surplus? That would be good husbandry. But like other shell functions, it always has to be better and more. First the stupid reorganisation of the nineties, then the reserves scandal, then the projects scandals, now the pensionfunds. And as a retiree there is nothing one can do.
Musaint
Don’t be silly! Haven’t you seen Shell’s latest Shell World magazine? On the cover we have the claim “Smiling customers, every site, every visit, every day”. That’s the rhetoric. The reality is, as ever, totally different.
I think it is unfair to point the finger at Shell stations only. Last Thursday for example I failed to ge windscreen wash from two Total garages near where I live. So I think it unfair to target Shell (do they actually own these garages?) as it would appear many others fail to keep their stocks updated.
Retail is detail
Mr Donovan. Like many colleagues I enjoyed your email discussions with Richard Wiseman. His ego needed deflating. Are you aware that it was his blunder that allowed you to grab the domain name for Royal Dutch Shell Plc? He boasted in an article in ManagingPartner magazine (10 October 2005 Volume 8 Issue 5) that he personally headed the legal team handling the unification of the group following the reserves debacle. Blowing his own trumpet Richard described himself as the
MUSAINT, we will make the declassified documents available to the news media. Shell knows th documents are authentic and has not challenged this fact. We will be pursuing the Shell Al Yamamah oil-for-arms story as will become apparent.
I know that you were involved with the Shell pensions “system” at one time Paddy. I am absolutely sure that your facts are correct, so have Shell ever commented / responded to the basic fact they are not looking after their pensioners? Couls Mr. D. write an email aka the “Shell Saudi” story? Better still, if these facts can be backed up with documentation, why not a letter to the tabloids?
So what is the view on Mark Williams appointment? So much for the rumours of the demise of a downstream executive director position!
Each to his own indeed! Having lived in a few places where freedom of speech is, shall we say, “limited” I’ll never take our freedoms for granted!!
Paddy Briggs: Musaint The conventional prejudices of the privileged of the saloon bars of leafy suburbia and the blue shires
Each to their own view, but, I will take bets from all and sundry that no Government will go ahead and lead the way viz renewables / oil shale etc without a desire to benefit themselves and not mankind as a whole. As for the UN, don’t get me started.(P.S. don’t frequent bars!!)
Musaint
The conventional prejudices of the privileged of the saloon bars of leafy suburbia and the blue shires
Nice idea to leave it to the likes of the UN, unfortunately they are very often as useful as the present Arsenal defence. Even if left to a Government they would each be strongly tempted to go the route that most proffers their own selfish desires (e.g Greedy Gordon would want it only if he could tax the hell out of it, Nigeria only if they could get the revenue into their overseas bank accounts). Apart from international oil and some Arab states (who are unlikely to be too interested), no Government / person will have the skill / money to go into some of the renewable areas that oil companies will go into. For sure when oil prices creep back up over many years as peak oil etc. is reached / passed then oil shales etc. will very definitely become viable. Then and only then will Governments truly step in for the pickings.
Fully agree. My guess is that oil sands will have a significant part to play along with all the other energy sources – sustainable and renewable. I want to see global energy supply and demand co-ordinated at the very highest level
Paddy, fair comment – and since all the majors follow the same policies to a large extent we have a never ending cycle of boom and bust. However, it’s worth remembering that BP was looking at the oil sands 40 or 50 years ago, recognising that they contained more oil than was known to exist in the Middle East. At that time they were sub-economic and technically challenging, but even after the oil shock of 1973 nobody tried to exploit them on a large scale. On a small scale oil sands are economically viable, but on the huge scale envisaged until a few weeks ago they may never be viable. On a small scale the environmental impact is manageable, but on larger scales the impact is unsustainable – and in terms of emissions of CO2 and other pollutants the environmental impact is comparable with China’s use of coal for power generation.
It
Shame about the oil sands: just when Shell thought it had solved it’s reserves problem by getting the SEC to change the rules, the falling price of oil has wiped out the economic case for the new oil sands projects…the capex of the existing projects is sunk, but the opex of these projects is also astronomical (in both cash and environmental terms)…how long the existing projects continue is anyone’s guess. Are oil sands going to go the way of the huge open cast lignite mines/power station projects in Germany??
Agree, Shell HR is lousy and they are liars!
I am an experienced Hire and less than 2 years, have had 2 job changes! It is the WORST corporate culture ever seen. The HR come and give conflicting statements, even if all are in same location – Shell Center.
Advise: DONOT JOIN SHELL – Shell treat external experienced hires BADLY, especially ones who question the rife cronyism and corruption!
Interestingly, one of performance measures in CEP (a leadership rating measure) is ‘Relationships within Shell’ – read that as ‘degree of closeness established’ with cheats and liars in the Top management.
Cheating, Lying and Bullying is in Shell’s DNA. I heard people are often Bullied and the Bully stays in Shell and victim forced to leave. That is how Shell manages Talent pipeline.
Well said Paddy. The entertainment and some very serious matters are all in the pipeline.
Curios that the “Fan” should want to be entertained on this site! I wouldn’t have thought that it is the purpose of the site to cater for such short attention spans. I think that over the past few weeks the site has come even more into its own. Some very good chat here, as well as the fine selection of news stories that the Donovans do for us. Even my own “blather” (not hiding behind a pseudonym!) has been well received judging by the positive Emails I have received – including some confidentially from surprising sources!! But I don
Fan of the site? Nonsense. It is obvious from the rest of your comment that you are flying under false colours.
I am really a fan your site, Donovan, but it has become stale and boring. No news, nothing. Briggs continues to blabber on – no idea of the real issues. Ditto your other guests. Get some fresh stuff. This site is becoming obsolete rapidly. I used you for my research, but your no good to me anymore.
Musaint: I agree that many of the projects have a long lead time and you may well be right in your assertion that the oil price will have risen when these high capex projects come on stream. But the same arguments were being made in 1986/7 in the North Sea, and it took 20 years for the oil price to recover. In the meantime, huge capital investments are required, which have to be funded – perhaps no problem while interest rates stay low and money is easy to find. But it will not be possible to maintain the quarterly figures, dividends and buybacks on which the market is focussed, if the oil price stays low.
The speed with which some projects take to get to first oil etc. because some rather poor project management skills in Shell, they should be OK as by then the oil price may have come back up again.
Looks like Shell bet the farm on sustained high oil prices, while Exxon waited… How long can Shell survive with oil prices at ~$40/bbl? Many new projects were being screened at $50-$70/bbl prices. Increased prices will return, but with a deepening recession it may be a few years before we see $100/bbl again. In the meantime, where will the cash for the dividends, buybacks, and investments be found?
Ed Cooks of the FT paying compliments to Linda Crook…
Ed Crooks of the FT: who are your sources? Claiming Linda Cook is admired for her knowledge, I wonder which knowledge? She may have some dirt on many because she surely does not have great know-how on the business itself. She can smear many for the old Tejas Gas debacle. Believe me, she is the most senior ‘token women’ in the business world. And Brinded used to be a nice guy but the last few years he does not like anyone holding a different opinion. Those who do are removed swiftly. He has a huge brain but at the same time is the ultimate micromanager in the whole world. He also is a true believer of optimism and promising more than one can deliver. He has done so since his days as MD Expro. Never once did he meet his business targets… So, mr Crooks, better check your sources more carefully!
At $30 – $50/bbl many deepwater projects are likely to be still profitable (even afetr the likes of Greedy Gordon & corrupt Nigerian officials have taken their cut). Others may wish to comment on the other “White Elephants” you mention. My humble view is that not all will be turkeys as the service industries / rigs / construction yards now have to drop their rates to reflect this present economic environment and thereby lower the break-even $ price.
It looks as though Brent is about to fall through $50… Tar Sands? GTL? Shale Oil? Deep Water? These might be long term investments, but in the short term they are “white elephants” – the days of record oil company profits are now behind us.
If Total has $15bn to spend on a friendly takeover, they should perhaps visit The Hague… with Shell’s US liabilities now under control, and friendlier relations between France and the US, Total’s historical concerns about such a move would seem to have been addressed…
It’s noticeable that some of the large movements in Shell’s share price over the past couple of weeks involve relatively small quantities of shares being traded – are Shell’s repeated share buybacks being used to (mis) lead the market? With oil below $60 there will be far less free cash available for this kind of market manipulation.
Anyone who thinks that the euphemism “reclassification” somehow justifies the fraud that was perpetrated on the market should read the attachments to the depositions published on this site.
The intention throughout was to paint a rosier picture of Shell’s reserves in comparison with those of their competitors than could be justified by the facts (Shell’s primary competitors had to work with SEC rules too).
The fact that Shell provided incentives and bonuses to those who complied with Watts’ directives, and suppressed the views of their own reserves auditors should be evidence enough. Walter vd Vijver summed it up when he said that he was “sick and tired of lying”
Annual reports are supposed to be prepared according to a unified set of rules to allow comparisons to be made between companies. Deliberately inflating a company’s asset base (whether its oil in the ground, widgets in the warehouse, or cash in the bank) is fraud.
There was a reserves scandal. It wasdescribed by the US SEC as a securities fraud. The fraud by Shell executive directors cost Shell around $850 million in fines by regulatory authorities, class action settlements, and legal costs of suing parties. Add on Shell’s own legal costs and the whole bill would probably amount to over a billion USD. Of course this is not a major problem for an oil giant making obscene profits.
uscitizen – there is no relationship between remuneration level and “more reserve scandals”, your logic escapes me. Massive salaries (in return for competence??) did not prevent genuine scandals at Enron,Worldcom, Parmalat. By the way, there was no reserves scandal; there was a reserves reclassification.
USCitizen
Paddy – as usual your logic mystifies. You need to do some research before making comments like;
“As far as Director
“Taking on the oil barons” – Paddy some reasonable points you put across. However, Obama will for sure fall away from some of his promises to do this that and the other (they all do). As for the usual tax oil companies due to their huge profits I just cannot agree with you on that. You know that to continue to try and find new oil costs vast sums of money, e.g. deepwater wells >$30 million which if dry …… Just cut the taxation on all oil products might help more. You also state that the Shell top man gets 10 times more than his predecessor of 10 years ago. That’s the norm I would expect for most companies after a period of ten years (Shell top boys are not high in the salary league). You have to pay to keep the top people even if you think they’re of limited use (vdVeer generally has had good reporting in the papers for turning Shell around and his successor is also well rated by the papers in the UK. As for Global Warming, well this summer in the UK has been bloody awful – cold and wet, so bring on global warming I say.
Guest – you raise the fundamental question that is so often missed in discussions of resources such as the tar sands. That is what is the relative “value” of “pristine environment” versus “economic benefits” – and we can add “social” to complete the classic SD deabte. The Alberta, and in fact Canadian, economy overall has been well served by the hydrocarbon extraction business for many years – however there are legitamite questions as to the “cost”. Governments have failed to provide strong balanced rules that lay out the trade off that is expected. Governments are the tool of the people who have to provide this “policy” input. With no balanced framework for industry to be held within (including for example limits on water use, social support requirements in small communities or…) we see industry push their view of acceptable. The fact that Shell “committed” to a GHG target for its first tar sands project of “5% less that the displaced imported crude” (on a wells to wheels basis) is lost in all the projects with no commitments. Likewise water reuse commitments and socail investmnets are quickly dismissed due to a lack of overall vision. The Alberta Government has begun a land use framewrork process that is designed to create policy rules on the trade offs and limits. Perhaps this is a limit on total amount of projects – time will tell. Some will say this is all too little too late but, in my view, we must get the framework fixed. There are many benefits and many costs – an all or none approach from either side of the spectrum is not tenable. We need to start working together with parties on all sides of the issue to seek a middle ground. The world will continue to produce and consume hydrocarbons for a significant time yet. Canada – both conventional oil and gas and oil sands will be part of it.
Canadian: While your comments about the energy balance and CO2 emissions are justified in some cases, much of the tar sand/shale deposits are deep and require huge energy inputs to develop/extract/process. I note that you did not respond to the most egregious failing of the tar sands developments, that of environmental impact. What price a pristine environment?
Notice that Safety was low down the list of priorities during Gordon Brown’s visit to the Pearl GTL plant, no Safety Helmets or any sort of PPE. Andy Brown should be given a rocket for that.
Guest – Pembina Institute (hardly a friend of the tar sands)has suggested that as little as $1 to 3 / bbl would be all that it would cost to deal with CO2 emissions. We can argue if amount is right but even at $10/bbl the delta against the base breakeven cost of development is still within error range. My view – can have both. By the way comments stating no net energy value are factually challenged.
have you heard of someone named Harry Lowe who presented a speech on the 10th of Nov in Nigeria? On the Climates and it Effects on the Environment.
In calculating the breakeven point for the tar sands, what price do you put on the environment? And what price on the CO2 emissions from the extraction/refining process? Production of hydrocarbon fuel from tar sands requires the use of almost as much energy as is contained in the fuel produced
Musaint – depends on what you mean by “break even project costs”. YTD operating costs alone are in the $35/bbl range (for Syncrude – largest producer). Clearly if you are looking at new projects and want a return on capital break even will be much higher. Current view here is that new projects probably require greater than $70 oil to break even. Recent cost overruns would suggest that a number nearer $100 might be more appropriate.
Is the break-even project costs for oil sands production still around $30/bbl ??
Now that the first domino has been placed, who will replace Routs? Isn’t he due to retire around year end?
Surprised Peter got the job
Voser will succeed Jeroen v.d.Veer. Great relief it is not that silly woman Cook or the mother of all micrmanagers, the man with the facial hair, Brinded.
MUSAINT: When I reached 40 unbroken years and I’m still working, the milestone was not even mentioned at all. I pointed out the milestone to Head of HR in the region I work and he just said Shell don’t award 40 yrs service which wasn’t my question to him anyway.
The article discussing teh relative sizes of BP and Chevron omits to say that the market capitalisation of Shell is currently $134bn – Shell, BP, and Chevron are now essentially the same size and each is less than half of the size of Exxon. Which two of these three might we reasonably expect to merge?
“uscitizen” – you infer that I (and most others) post on this sort of website only when we feel wronged. In my case this is incorrect as I defend Shell far more than I attack them (Mr.D could confirm this or just look back in the archives). You also state that you do not get to see why the person complaining is upset or if their comments are based in reality. I believe in my posting I clearly gave my reason for complaint and I would ask you to check with many other E&P expats if they got a final thank-you (email, verbal, letter, phone-call etc.) from their bosses in The Hague upon retirement. I certainly did not after 30 years and ending up in a senior position. So my point that Shell regards its staff as its greatest asset most certainly does not apply to those about to retire. “Staff is our greatest asset” remains about the worst Shell HR driven statement ever – its there to look good. To say that my posting is dishonest seems somewhat over the top – all statements are what happened to me and what I feel about a poor HR feeley-feeley statement. Shell is a reasonably good company, it does provide a great deal of help to communities it works in, but, some aspects regarding its own staff are poor. Pensions for some are awful (see Paddy Briggs articles on this).
Musaint – it is a well proven fact that most people who post on these type sites feel they have been wornged and will post about that. What folks do not get to see is why they are upset or if the comments are based in reality. You will not be able to discern that about me either. But I am always telling people they must also talk about what they are proud of, I am proud of Shell. I have worked here over 28 years and see them treat people as their number one assett over and over. We take care of people during rough times, like a Hurricane. We took care of our peoples needs and the communities needs. So for you folks you wander to this site because you are mad about gas prices, remember this, Musaint has some reason to feel the way he does, what is it? I respond to his post by saying it borders on dishonesty and does not reflect my company! Ps I am not a Vice president, rather a working hand at a refinery!
People and especially the press (headlines, even if nonsense, can sell papers) who believe that Shell et al make their vast profits at the pump are stupid. Why does this story forever get printed. The pumps produce a very small amount of profit for oil companies. As for Greedy Gordon blaming them he is a moron. He taxes at the wellhead, at the pump and adds VAT on – he is the person to blame for pump prices.
Not too keen on “Mission Statements” – they often are there just to pay lip service to shareholders or “powers-that-be”. Just be honest and realistic – and that includes this site. I remember Shell clearly stating that “people were their greatest asset” – I have to unfortunately admit this was / is total bull-shit. After 30 years in the company and not one word of thanks from Central Office (telephone, fax, face-to-face, email etc.) such a statement from Shell is verging on typical HR dishonesty.
Great to see that oil prices are now at $63/bbl and falling – great for just about all I reckon. I wonder what Shell’s screening criteria is now? (Anyone in Shell going to supply this?!?!) I remember when it was 10-15-18 (Low-Medium-High) in scenario planning, and some projects still were tested at $7/bbl. Halcyon days!!
We are delighted to announce that the website is now operational on a new more powerful dedicated server, which will speed up site function and hopefully provide a reliable service. There is also an integral News Feed automatically updated with breaking news about Royal Dutch Shell on a 24/7 basis. All services including free access to a library of over 22,000 Shell related articles continue to be available free.
Musaint, do you know how to breed corruption? Ask those involved in the Corrib project
I see the corrupt Nigerian Government is yet again raising taxes and trying to get great cuts in the profit of oil companies (mainly under the guise of the mismanaged and corrupt NNPC). You can bet that in 2 years time or so there will still be no money to spend on communities, schools, roads, basic welfare etc etc. Why – because once again the fat greedy corrupt bastards that are the cancer of Nigeria (Government, NNPC, DPR, State Governors etc.) have all pocketed the countries oil revenue in their foreign bank accounts. No doubt the likes of the Chinese will come in and bail them out in return for oil. Nigeria could be such a great country but are screwed everywhere by corrupt officials.
What a cool site.
You site very good and interesting . Thanks
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
why don’t you have iraq oil system
E&P staff cutbacks in Canada, Nigeria, Assen, Rijswijk, Aberdeem. Does this mean that Shell has finally accepted that its role has been usurped by the NOC’s?
I have read your mission statement and the Wikipedia article. Your website provides an invaluable service to Shell stakeholders by holding Shell senior managers to account. Keep up the good work.
Does anyone know how big the staff cuts in Aberdeen and Assen will be? Have the staff been notified yet if there staying or going?
We are not all crooks you know…
“Another Shell card scam” – not the fault of RDS. In most of the cases that I’ve seen recently they are a result of corrupt workers at Shell petrol stations – often Sri Lankans.
I wonder how goodd the package is this time round. Rumour has it that it’s not too good.
Guest. I hope you are correct
There are rumours of imminent large scale cutbacks in Rijswijk – good news for those who have been waiting for a package!
Any updates on the cancellation of Shell’s Canadian tar sands projects? With the current financial crisis and oil prices in free fall, these high capex, high environmental impact projects must be marginal at best
Hey, nice site you ve got!
What happened to Sibir today? Down 33%? Anyone know?
“Technical Glitch” sounds like a “cock up” to me.
Due to a technical glitch when carrying out security upgrades to the website, all postings on the new version of Live Chat had to be deleted. However, they can all be read by running a search on our internal search facility for “Live Chat Postings”, then select the article: LIVE CHAT POSTINGS 19 SEPT 2008 UNTIL 10 OCTOBER 2008