"I don't take money from oil companies or Washington lobbyists, and I won't let them block change anymore," said Barack Obama in a campaign ad last year.
Despite this, he did manage to accept $31,200 from donors registered as Shell Oil employees during his successful run for the presidency. His campaign was also endorsed by Broderick Johnson, president of Bryan Cave Strategies - a lobbying firm representing Shell Oil.
But this is all old news. What's new is that Obama has given a green light to Shell's renewed offshore drilling in the environmentally sensitive Beaufort Sea in Alaska. Permission for such exploration, pioneered by George W Bush as forcefully as it was opposed by environmentalists, was struck down by a federal court amid concerns over its environmental impact.
As Sarah Palin used to say, "Drill, baby, drill!"