Investigative journalist Marcel Metze has been following the company for years. Working with a team of researchers, he delved into archives, obtained internal documents and interviewed current and former employees at all levels. The result is an intriguing insight into the company's political history.
Metze demonstrates how the company has adapted to changing geopolitical and social realities over the past 120 years. With the backing of the superpowers, it became a dominant player in the international oil industry. During decolonisation, it learned to deal with nationalist regimes and ambitious colonels. Then a storm arose from the environmental and human rights movements which has never subsided. Shell gradually built up an extensive repertoire of visible and less visible influencing and countering techniques.
Can this seasoned and shrewd political player survive the end of the fossil era? Shell's financial reserves, technological expertise and political acumen will certainly not be lacking. However, the company's relationship with society is plagued by deep mutual distrust, as becomes clear in this book, which reads like a secret history of the past century and a half.
