Shell Plc (Royal Dutch Shell)
Profile
Royal Dutch Shell is a fossil fuel exploration company. In the Niger River Delta, the company was responsible for an average of 2,976 spills a week between 1976 to 1991, on the land of the Ogoni people. The Ogoni say that Shell was behind the hanging of nine Ogoni activists fighting Shell, including poet Ken Saro-Wiwa. In Durban, South Africa, Shell is a part-owner of the South Africa Petroleum Refinery, where rates of leukemia are 24 times higher than the national average and children suffer 4 times the respiratory problems. Shell also operates a chemical plant and a refinery in Norco, Louisiana, in a predominately African-American community known as “Cancer Alley.” Seven workers were killed in a 1988 explosion at the refinery. The flares from the refinery burned so bright after Hurricane Ida in 2021 that they could be seen 25 miles away.
Liquefied Natural Gas, Lubricants, Natural gas, Petrochemicals, Petroleum
Violations
| Top 5 Offense Groups (Groups Defined) | Penalty Total | Number of Records |
|---|---|---|
| environment-related offenses | $755,164,078 | 287 |
| government-contracting-related offenses | $264,069,472 | 8 |
| financial offenses | $124,560,000 | 3 |
| employment-related offenses | $117,103,651 | 16 |
| competition-related offenses | $49,101,142 | 3 |
(September 30, 2022)
Stories
- A History of Royal Dutch Shell (a 4-volume authorized history) by Stephen Howarth (2007).
- Behind the Shine: The Other Shell Report by Friends of the Earth and others (2003).
- Dirty Profits 2: Report on Companies and Financial Institutions Benefiting from Violations of Human Rights (Facing Finance, 2013).
- Enterprise in Oil: A History of Shell in the United States by Kendall Beaton (1957).
- Lessons Not Learned: The Other Shell Report by Friends of the Earth (2004).
- Nigeria: Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta by Amnesty International (2009).
- Riding the Dragon: Royal Dutch Shell and the Fossil Fire by Jack Doyle (2002).
- Risky Business: The New Shell by WWF-UK (2005).
- Royal Dutch Shell: Overview of Controversial Business Practices in 2009 (SOMO, May7 2010).
- Also see SOMO's 2008 report. Shell: 100 Years is Enough by Corporate Watch (UK).
- Shell’s Big Dirty Secret by Friends of the Earth Europe (2009).
- The Americanization of Shell: The Beginnings and Early Years of Shell Oil Company in the United States by Harry Bridges (Newcomen Society, 1972).
- The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and the World They Made by Anthony Sampson (1975).
- Use Your Profit to Clean Up Your Mess by the Shell Accountability Coalition (2007)
- Shell Petroleum Development Company, the State and Underdevelopment of Nigeria's Niger Delta: A Study in Environmental Degradation (2005)
- Shell's nightmare: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL by John Donovan (2016)
- Sir Henri Deterding and the Nazi History of Royal Dutch Shell by John Donovan (2016)
- Toxic facts about Shell removed from Wikipedia: How Shell became the most hated brand in the world by John Donovan (2017)
Activism
Greenpeace protests against Shell plans to pollute North Sea
Greenpeace | August 26, 2020
North Sea – Today Greenpeace activists from Germany have launched a protest in the North Sea to call out Shell’s plans to abandon an estimated 11,000 tonnes of oil in the sea.[1] The Greenpeace ship Esperanza approached the 500m exclusion zone of Shell’s platforms in ...
Shell campaign
IndustriALL Global Union | May 22, 2020
IndustriALL is calling on Shell to engage with unions on a global level in a campaign to limit precarious work, improve health and safety, and ensure that Shell applies the same high-level standards at its operations everywhere, including suppliers.
Climate change: Extinction Rebellion end blockade at Shell's Aberdeen HQ
The BBC | January 16, 2020
Extinction Rebellion protesters have ended a blockade at the entrances to Shell's Aberdeen headquarters.
Shell faces lawsuit from climate change activists over fossil fuels
Reuters | April 5, 2019
Environmentalist and human rights groups said on Friday they had started a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands to force the energy firm to cut its reliance on fossil fuels.
Shell ends National Gallery sponsorship – to delight of campaigners
Adam Vaughan | The Guardian | October 19, 2018
Shell has ended its 12-year sponsorship of the National Gallery, to the delight of campaigners who have fought to keep fossil fuel financing out of the arts.
Slick PR can’t disguise Shell's devastating oil pollution in Nigeria.
Amnesty International | November 3, 2015
Shell makes billions of dollars from selling oil and gas every year, and spends a fair bit of it on glossy marketing – including a project called #makethefuture, which asks young people for bright ideas to change the world.
'Shell no': Hundreds take to boats in Seattle to protest Arctic drilling
The Guardian | May 16, 2015
Donning wetsuits and life jackets, ‘kayak-tivists’ gather at a city park for ‘Paddle in Seattle’ as company’s drilling rig sits blocks away
- Milieudefensie
- Sierra Club
- IndustriALL Global Union
- Amnesty International
- Extinction Rebellion
- Corporate Watch
- EarthRights International
- EarthWorks
- Environmental Rights Action, Friends of the Earth Nigeria
- Friends of the Earth Europe
- Friends of the Earth International
- Greenpeace
- International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Oil Change International
- Pacific Environment
- Publish What You Pay
- SOMO-Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations
- Transparency International
- A Community Voice
- Alliance for Affordable Energy
- Climate Reality New Orleans
- Coalition Against Death Alley
- Healthy Gulf
- Justice and Beyond
- Louisiana Bucket Brigade
- Louisiana League of Conscious Voters
- New Orleans Office Sierra Club
- Poor Peoples Campaign
- SouthWings
- Sunrise Movement, New Orleans
- RISE St. James
- 350 New Orleans
& Lawsuits
Milieudefensie's lawsuit against Shell in Nigeria
Milieudefensie | September 25, 2020
Milieudefensie, together with four Nigerian farmers, sued Shell in 2008. We believe that Shell is guilty of causing oil pollution in three Nigerian villages. This case is unique because it is the first time a Dutch company has been sued in a Dutch court of law and held liable for the l damage it caused abroad.
Historic Climate Lawsuit Against Shell Filed in the Netherlands
Center for International Environmental Law | April 5, 2019
Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) filed suit today against Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands to legally compel the company to address its role in the climate crisis.
Shell Oil Loses Arctic Drilling Lawsuit
Anastasia Pantsios | EcoWatch | November 13, 2014
In early October it was announced that the Greenpeace Campaign to get Danish toy company LEGO to sever its nearly 50-year partnership with the oil giant was successful.
Environmental Groups Sue Shell Oil for Clean Air Act Violations at Deer Park Refinery and Chemical Plant
Mike Metzger | Environment Texas | January 7, 2008
Sierra Club and Environment Texas filed a lawsuit today in federal district court against Shell Oil Company and several affiliates.
Shell's shame: FSA spells out abuse
Terry Macalister | The Guardian | August 24, 2004
Regulator confirms £17m fine and accuses group of 'unprecedented misconduct' in oil and gas reserves scandal
Environmental Impacts
Louisiana Shell refinery left spewing chemicals after Hurricane Ida
Sara Sneath | The Guardian | September 4, 2021
Power outages from the storm have left air quality tracking systems out of commission, making public health concern hard to gauge
After Ida, Toxic Smoke From Shell’s Norco Plant in Louisiana Creates Apocalyptic Landscape
Julie Dermansky | DeSmog | August 31, 2021
For over a century, the Shell Norco Manufacturing Complex has dominated Norco, Louisiana’s skyline as it refines up to 10.1 million gallons of oil a day and produces up to 3.33 billion pounds of ethylene a year.
No clean up, no justice: Shell’s oil pollution in the Niger Delta
Amnesty | June 18, 2020
Nearly 10 years after a clean-up was urged for areas polluted by Shell and other oil companies in the Niger Delta, work has begun on only 11% of planned sites while vast areas remain heavily contaminated, according to a new investigation by four NGOs.
The Oil Spills of Ogoniland
Amelia Collins | The Ecologist | May 17, 2019
Oil still contaminates the Niger Delta, over two decades after Shell was first called out for its destruction of the land.
Tons Of Chemicals Leak From Shell Oil Refinery In Deer Park
Dave Fehlings | Houston Public Media | August 13, 2015
This past Sunday morning at the Shell Oil refinery in Deer Park, one the complexes big, spherical tanks over-filled with a flammable and toxic liquid.
PERI Pollution Indexes
Based on United States Environmental Protection Agency data ranking the top 100 worst polluters.
& Relations
Shell Freezing Salaries for Majority of Staff
Laura Hurst | Bloomberg | February 11, 2021
Royal Dutch Shell Plc will not raise salaries for most of its employees this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as it looks to save cash amid an overhaul of the company.
Former Royal Dutch Shell Oil Employee Sues for National Origin, Race Discrimination
India West | March 20, 2019
A former employee of Royal Dutch Shell Oil, who had worked with the company for more than 20 years, filed a lawsuit Dec. 10, 2018 in Harris County, Texas District Court, alleging he was discriminated against because of his national origin, which the multinational corporation wrongly perceived as Indian.
Shell worker abuses in Nigeria taken to UN Human Rights Council
IndustriALL Global Union | March 15, 2019
Royal Dutch Shell violations against contract workers in Nigeria came under scrutiny today at the 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
Shell’s abuse of workers exposed at London green-washing festival
IndustriALL Global Union | July 4, 2018
IndustriALL Global Union is calling on Shell to respect the rights of hundreds and thousands of contract workers toiling at its operations around the world, as the company holds its annual green-washing festival in London.
Shell’s disgraceful treatment of its North Sea workers: production and profits before safety and principles
John Donovan | Royal Dutch Shell PLC .com | February 1, 2008
“…this company is run by a bunch of ruthless bastards who would sell their grannies to improve shareholder returns, along with their ever increasing personal bonuses and pensions…”
Financials
Note: Most recent list is not always the most complete list.
Croctail Subsidiary Tool using the CorpWatch API - This API extracts the subsidiary relationship information from Exhibit 21 of companies' 10-K filings with the US SEC.
- CIK numbers link to SEC database (EDGAR)
- Section 21 links to SEC list of companies.
- Royal Dutch Shell Croctail Profile
Click here for the latest data.
Political Influence
Open Secrets - Tracks corporate lobbying of US politicians.
OpenSecrets.org Profile of Royal Dutch Shell
Import & Export Data
ImportYeti - Shipping Tracking Tool - Bill of ladings are public information that are too cost prohibitive, challenging to obtain and difficult to use for the average joe. ImportYeti's goal is to solve that problem.
- ImportYeti Profile of Shell (USA)
& Evasion
How oil majors shift billions in profits to island tax havens
Tom Bergin & Ron Bousso | Reuters | December 9, 2020
Bermuda and the Bahamas aren’t exactly big players in the oil-and-gas world. They don’t produce any of the fuels at all. Yet the islands are deep wells of profit for European oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporation tax in Britain
Robert Miller | The Times UK | November 18, 2020
Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporation tax in Britain last year, despite paying billions of dollars in other jurisdictions.
Shell reveals it paid no UK corporate income tax in 2018
Anjli Raval & Javier Espinoza | Financial Times | December 17, 2019
Royal Dutch Shell paid no corporate income tax in the UK in 2018 despite the oil and gas group generating pre-tax profits of nearly $731m, after receiving tax refunds related to the decommissioning of North Sea oil platforms.
ATO slugs Shell with $755m bill in fight against multinational tax avoidance
Ben Butler | The Guardian | August 24, 2019
The Australian Taxation Office has hit the British-Dutch oil giant Shell with a bill estimated at $755m as it continues to pursue multinational resources giants over claims they have avoided paying tax on offshore gas projects.
Major Projects
Shell to expand gas business despite pledge to speed up net zero carbon drive
Published by The Guardian | Jillian Ambrose | February 11, 2021
Shell has set new carbon emissions goals to become a net zero carbon energy company by 2050, but will continue to grow its gas business by more than 20% in the next few years.
Shell Plans to Resume Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration in Arctic Alaska
Published by High North News | September 23, 2020
Oil Major Royal Dutch Shell submitted plans to resume oil and gas exploration in waters off Alaska’s northern coast. The news comes about fives years after the company abandoned costly efforts to find oil in the Burger J prospect area further to the west and in much deeper water in 2015.
How Shell is devastating the Niger Delta
Published by Action Aid | November 27, 2020
As Shell faces climate charges in Dutch court, activists in the Niger Delta speak out about the fossil fuel giant’s devastating impact on their communities
Projects Continued
Shell’s toxic legacy, Curaçao
Published by Environmental Justice Atlas | August 18, 2019
Curaçao is a Caribbean island, it is located about 65 km north of the Venezuelan coast in South America, it is an ex colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until it became independent (within the Kingdom) in 2010.
Shell approves plans to expand North Sea gas hub
Published by Energy Voice | Allister Thomas | October 12, 2018
The plans involve modifying Shearwater, which also serves the Arran and Fram fields, with a 23 mile pipeline so that gas is rerouted through the Segal line, rather than the Seal line which currently takes gas to Bacton in England.
Procurement
Royal Dutch Shell contracts with the U.S. Federal Government via USA SPENDING