Heinz Rothermund Managing Director Shell U.K. Exploration and Production Shell Mex House Strand London WC2R 0DX 23rd June 1997

Dear Mr. Rothermund

Thank you for your letter of the 11th June.

Before I reply to any of the matters raised in your letter, and in order that when we meet we do so in "a more open, constructive and cooperative" manner, perhaps you could comment on the enclosed documents.

As you will see, I enclose:-

(1) a letter dated 30th April from the Department of Trade and Industry to the United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association -- aka UKOOA (so far as their records show, your company is a member of UKOOA);

(2) a memo dated 5th May from R.J. Shepherd of Marathon Oil UK to the UKOOA Environment Committee (are you a member of that Committee, Mr. Rothermund?); and

(3) a memo (undated but clearly a response to the two aforementioned documents) headed Subject: DTI letter requests for Environmental Information.

The latter memo states: "Shell admit that in 1996, they have calculated that they flared more gas than the UK had been previously reporting as a total for UKCS E&P Activities, and this is recorded on the database."

Would you answer the following questions, please:

1. How much gas did Shell UK Exploration and Production flare in 1996 (as recorded on the database maintained for the DTI by SCOPEC on the UKOOA/DTI database)?

2. How does this figure compare to the figures reported by the DTI as a total for United Kingdom Continental Shelf Exploration and Production Activities for the year 1996?

3. How long have your company's actual gas flaring figures been kept from public scrutiny?

4. What steps are you taking to set the record straight?

5. Will you log this request (for information) for UKOOA as suggested by Mr. Shepherd? If so, perhaps you will be good enough to let me have a copy of your log.

You state in your letter under reply that Shell U.K. Exploration and Production "implement a range of actions and initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions....reduce the quantities of gas that we flare and vent...." Later in the letter, you say, "We fully recognise the environmental sensitivities of both the development and use of fossil fuel and we will continue to operate in an environmentally sensitive manner and fully in accordance with all national ... regulatory requirements." And "The industry has helped to establish the Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network (AFEN) and the Atlantic Frontier Environmental Forum (AFEF). Both are aimed at establishing more open, constructive and co-operative working relationships between relevant regulatory authorities {ie the DTI}, public interest group [sic] and companies."

Perhaps you will understand, in light of the enclosures, that Greenpeace have great difficulty in taking your environmental claims seriously. The regulatory authorities, in collusion with the industry, are clearly more concerned with warning each other when public interest groups are seeking environmental information and finding ways to hide that information from public interest groups than in disclosing such information. This is despite the current regulations which require disclosure. What information do you believe should be disclosed to groups such as the Marine Conservation Society and Greenpeace? What steps do you intend to take to stop the collusion between the DTI and UKOOA to prevent information falling into the public domain through the offices of, e.g, the Marine Conservation Society or Greenpeace?

I look forward to your considered response to these questions before we arrange to meet. I know you will understand if I make this correspondence fully available to the public, as it may be the closest the public gets to any disclosure of your actual activities in the offshore oilfields where you operate.

Yours sincerely

Sarah J. Burton
Director, Campaign for Sane Energy
GREENPEACE UK