Declassified documents from UK National Archive revealing secret dealings of Royal Dutch Shell with the UK Atomic Energy Authority
UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY (UKAEA) DOCUMENT FOLDER CONTAINING DOCUMENTS DECLASSIFIED AT 25 YEAR REVIEW: Handwritten on cover: "SHELL PETROLEUM CO. LTD Heavy Water Access Agreement": "Draft Graphite Access Agreement"
Letter from Shell Chairman Sir Francis Hopwood to Sir Edwin Plowden, Chairman of UKAEA: 17 January 1956: Announces Shell's ambition to broaden the scope of its "research programme in the nuclear field": (see Page 1 & Page 2 below:
UK Atomic Energy Executive internal correspondence: 17 February 1956: Involves Chairman of UKAEE and the Chairman of Shell Transport, Sir Francis Hopwood, concerning visit to Harwell by two members of the Shell Group
Details of discussions and agreements between The Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd and the UKAEA recorded on typewritten note dated 17 February 1956: Subjects included "Isotope Techniques", "Radiation Laboratory Design", "Radiation Chemistry", "Hydrocarbon Moderator and Coolant" and "Ship Propulsion Reactors": The Atomic Energy Research Establishment was represented in the meeting by Sir John Cockcroft, Director of the AERE. (see Page 1 & Page 2 below)
UKAEA internal letter proving further confirmation that the Chairman of the UKAEA and the then Chairman of Shell, Sir Francis Hopwood, were personally involved in the negotiations between the UKAEA and Shell: Concern expressed at the prospect of a Dutch Shell employee attending the next "International Reactor School Course": 23 February 1956
UKAEA internal letter regarding "proposed Shell student at the Reactor School will be a Dutchman...": 8 March 1956
Approach letter from Shell Petroleum Company Limited to the UKAEA concerning "our wish to acquire detailed technical information for the purpose of building a commercial plant for the production of heavy water...": 21 November 1957
NOTE ON AGREEMENT BETWEEN BATAAFSCHE PETROLEUM MAATSCHAPPIJ AND SHELL PETROLEUM CO. LTD: Reveals there are agreements between the Dutch and UK parent companies of Shell "not embodied in formal documents": 18 February 1958 (see Part 1 & Part 2 below)
Shell Thorton Research Centre Report: August 1958: Deals with development of radiation resistant greases for reactor equipment in nuclear power stations (see Page 1 & Page 2 below)
Approach letter from Shell International Chemical Company Limited to U.K. Atomic Energy Authority covering exchange of information on "heavy water": 12 May 1959 (see Page 1 & Page 2 below)
UKAEA internal letter headed "Shell - draft agreement about graphite mentions "making nuclear graphite": 15 May 1959
UKAEA internal letter discusses "heavy water access agreement" already concluded: 22 May 1959
Letter from UKAEA to Shell International: Proposed Access Agreement regarding Manufacture of Graphite: 6 August 1959
