Royal Dutch Shell Group .com Rotating Header Image

May, 2014:

Fracking Irony

Screen Shot 2014-05-31 at 00.44.39
Extract from a Dallas Observer article by Amy Silverstein published 21 Feb 2014 under the headline: Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson is Suing to Stop a Fracking Development Outside Dallas

Just a few days after the Weather Channel published a damning, in-depth report documenting how natural gas drilling is wreaking havoc on Texas’ air quality, a group of wealthy property owners outside Dallas are dealing with another dark side of the energy boom: a really ugly water tower. And, as the Wall Street Journal just uncovered, one of those angry homeowners trying to stop the tower and its fracking-related business is none other than Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson. The lawsuit already has a winner, and that winner is irony. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron illicit payments

Screen Shot 2014-03-04 at 17.39.57Extracts from a Thomson Reuters Foundation article by Alia Dharssi published Thu, 29 May 2014

US oil firm prosecutions show need for transparency – activists

TORONTO – Oil and gas companies with major US operations have been the subject of at least 30 prosecutions related to bribes paid to foreign governments under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) since 2007, underscoring the urgent need for transparency regulations to tackle corruption in developing countries, activists and researchers say.

Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron Corp. are among the companies that have faced allegations of making illicit payments to foreign officials, according to research by Paasha Madhavi, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Bears move in on Woodside

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from a Sydney Morning Herald article by Angela Macdonald-Smith published 29 May 2014 read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

China gets into bed with Putin

Screen Shot 2014-04-28 at 15.30.36Extract from an Investors Chronicle article published 29 May 2014

In the week in which Prince Charles demonstrated that he had inherited his father’s gift for diplomacy, Russia and China finally signed a $400bn (£238bn) gas supply deal that had been a decade in the making. The timing couldn’t have been better, at least from a Russian perspective. With all the talk centred on the political impasse in Ukraine, and the necessity for Europe to diversify its gas supplies away from Russia, Gazprom promptly turned around and secured a huge new export market at a single stroke. What does the Gazprom deal mean for the likes of BG Group (BG.) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB), both of which have expanded their LNG capacity to tap into Chinese industrial growth? read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell, Iran and 9/11

Basically Shell is holding on to over $2 billion of  funds belonging to an ‘adjudicated terrorist’ – Iran – and is denying those funds to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

By John Donovan

I have already reported how Shell management attempted to exploit the 9/11 attacks for their own benefit.

I have also reported on how Shell disguised oil shipping movements in an attempt to evade US sanctions on Iran and how Shell panicked when I contacted Bill O’Reilly of Fox News calling for a related boycott of Shell in the USA. 

SHELL/IRAN – MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

In December 2011, a US judge signed a judgement finding Iran one of the parties liable for the September 11, 2001 attacks. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell issued with improvement notice after Nelson platform incident

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29BBC News report published 29 May 2014

Oil firm Shell has been issued with an improvement notice after an incident on a North Sea platform led to a partial downmanning of workers.

It happened on the Nelson installation in March.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Shell failed to ensure that a flexible hose assembly, related to a gas turbine, was maintained in good repair.

The company was given until the end of June to make changes.

A Shell spokesman said: “We are working towards the action requirements of the improvement notice.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell BP Mega-Merger?

Screen Shot 2014-01-30 at 00.47.49

By John Donovan

Copy of a self-explanatory email sent this morning to Michiel Brandjes, Company Secretary & General Counsel Corporate, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

EMAIL TO BRANDJES

From: John Donovan <[email protected]>
Subject: Royal Dutch Shell BP Merger
Date: 29 May 2014 09:16:48 BST
To: [email protected]

Dear Mr Brandjes

I have received from multiple sources reports of negotiations/discussions involving Shell and BP.

I intend to publish the draft article below authored by one extremely well informed source. That fact is self-evident. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Insiders Perspective on Shell VP Arjen Dorland

Royal Dutch Shell VP Arjen Dorland

Royal Dutch Shell VP Arjen Dorland

One of few respected IT-illuminati, shortly before he retired, suggested that Dorland was a bit of an animal if not held on a tight leash…

From a Shell Source

Amusing to see Arjen Dorland extolling the virtues of technological enablement of exploration within Shell especially given his limited engagement with and knowledge of this part of the business. One suggests that there is an ulterior motive here and one worth going through in detail. It’s been noted on here previously how Arjen Dorland first rose without trace at the start of the millennium in the battered Shell IT organisation, having originally been identified as a JG 1-2 maximum level employee (the Shell system, as we all know, sets CEP levels for all its staff and this system is rigorously enforced by the myriad HR managers that Shell homes and encourages). He remains to this day intensely bitter about that initial positioning and it explains his character and motivation to a ‘T’. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Ogonis charge Nigerian Federal Government and Shell on UNEP report

Screen Shot 2014-04-28 at 21.53.48
Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extract from a Daily Post article by Victor Azubuike published 28 May 2014

The people of Ogoni are calling on the Federal Government to set up a structure to help facilitate the implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, report following a new revelation by Shell. “Following last week’s surprise announcement by Shell’s new CEO, Ben Van Beurden that the $1billion dollar take off fund for Ogoni clean up was waiting in a dedicated account, Social Action and other British and Nigeria NGOs have demanded that Shell stop playing games with the pains and misery of Ogoni people who are dying in their thousands because of non implementation of UNEP Report.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Oil giant says profits are assured

Screen Shot 2014-04-09 at 00.23.56Extracts from an article published by Eco-Business 28 May 2014

Shell, the world’s largest oil company, believes that governments will not damage its business by taking rapid action on climate change, and says all its oil reserves will be needed and sold at a profit.

In a robust reply to a recent report by the Carbon Tracker Initiative, Shell explains the company reasoning for investing in tar sands and other high cost and difficult-to-extract oil reserves. It says that an ever-expanding global economy, fuelled by population growth and great prosperity, will need more and more oil and gas at least until 2050. This will support high prices. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Traci Alford of Shell confesses ‘not everyone likes us…’

Screen Shot 2014-05-03 at 11.03.56By John Donovan

Interesting Marketing magazine interview published today with Traci Alford, the global head of Shell’s fuels branding located at Shell’s new regional HQ in Singapore.

Traci confesses that “not everyone likes us…” How perceptive.

Talks about Shell’s painful experience online. 

Claims that Shell wants a online dialogue with consumers.

Perhaps she is unaware that Shell once launched an online platform for free and open discussion with consumers called “Tell Shell”.  Initially Shell attached great importance to the innovation, which had the enthusiastic support of John Hofmeister. Shell even tried to seize a related domain name for a competing online forum we had set up – “TellShell.org” – but lost the case read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Interior takes step toward resuming Arctic exploration

Screen Shot 2014-05-28 at 00.53.01Extract from an article by Laura Barron-Lopez  published 27 May 2014 by THE HILL

Royal Dutch Shell may be able to resume Arctic oil and gas exploration if the Interior Department sticks to the timeline it filed to the U.S. District Court of Alaska. In a fling made Friday, Interior set a timeline for conducting a new environmental analysis for the exploration leases in the Arctic waters off Alaska. The timeline calls for the publication of a draft report by October and a final decision in spring of 2015, putting Interior on track to allow companies, like Shell, to resume exploration. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

US BOEM aims for revised Chukchi Sea analysis in spring

Screen Shot 2014-05-28 at 00.53.01Extracts from a Platts article published 27 May 2014

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management told a US District Court in Alaska on Friday it will have a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the 2008 Chukchi Sea lease sale prepared by August and publication of a Final EIS by February. Under the schedule the final action, publication of the record of decision, would occur in March. Whether Shell would have time to mobilize for a 2015 summer drilling season in the Arctic is uncertain, however. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell proposes project at its Martinez refinery to help decrease global warming while enhancing efficiency

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extract from an article by Tom Lochner published by the Contra Costa Times on 27 May 2014

MARTINEZ — The Shell Martinez petroleum refinery, saying it wants to strike a blow against global warming while improving efficiency, seeks approval to process a lighter mix of crude oils and permanently shut down one of two coker units. Starting in 2015, and continuing in phases over several years, Shell would construct a variety of processing equipment, including new heat exchangers to reduce energy use, and thus emit less pollution and greenhouse gases, according to a land use permit application on file with Contra Costa County. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell in talks to buy stake in southern India LNG project

Extract from a Reuters article published 26 May 2014

May 26 (Reuters) – Global energy major Royal Dutch Shell is in talks with the Andhra Pradesh state government for buying up to 24 percent stake in the planned Kakinada liquefied natural gas project on the east coast, GAIL chairman B.C Tripathi said on Monday.

FULL ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell hires drill ship for 2015 exploration off Nova Scotia

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extract from a Herald Business article by Joann Alberstat published 26 May 2014

Shell Canada has a deepwater drill ship lined up to use off the coast of Nova Scotia next year as part of its $1-billion exploratory program. The 228-metre vessel, owned by Stena Drilling of Aberdeen, Scotland, is now drilling for Shell in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell plans to drill up to seven exploratory wells in an area 250 kilometres off southwestern Nova Scotia, starting next spring.

FULL ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

‘Cleaned’ Nigerian sites still blighted by oil as Shell’s efforts to contain spills makes slow progress, says report

Screen Shot 2013-08-18 at 08.30.15Swathes of land and waterways in the Niger Delta are once again blighted with oil only months on from Shell’s clean-up efforts…

Extracts from a This is Money article by Rob Davies published 26 May 2014

Shell’s efforts to contain spills in Nigeria are making stuttering progress, with supposedly restored sites still mired in oil, a new report warns. Difficulty with stopping spills, often caused by oil theft from pipelines, further illustrates why Shell has opted to sell four major onshore blocks in Nigeria. Swathes of land and waterways in the Niger Delta are once again blighted with oil only months on from Shell’s clean-up efforts, claims campaign group Platform. The firm faced protests from several campaign groups over its Nigerian operations at its recent annual meeting. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

A deadly Shell disaster 20 years ago

Screen Shot 2013-08-18 at 08.30.15Shell later agrees to pay OSHA a $3 million dollar fine for federal safety violations and also settles wrongful death lawsuits with the families of the dead workers, making payments in the range of $2.1 to $2.4 million per family.

By John Donovan

On 27 May 1994, almost exactly 20 years ago, a fire at the Shell Chemical plant in Belpre, Ohio triggered an explosion that cost the lives of four workers and polluted the Ohio River with toxic chemicals.

Extract from a pdf document citing multiple sources

…a fire at Shell Chemical’s Belpre, Ohio plant spreads to a nearby chemical storage tank area, touching off an explosion and ferocious chemical fire, causing four of the big tanks to burn and lose millions of gallons of chemicals. Four workers are killed in the incident and 1,700 people evacuated. The fire burns for about nine hours, and chemical leakage from the site pollutes the Ohio River with a 22-mile plume of ethylene dibromide, killing fish and forcing downstream municipalities to seek alternative water supplies. Shell later agrees to pay OSHA a $3 million dollar fine for federal safety violations and also settles wrongful death lawsuits with the families of the dead workers, making payments in the range of $2.1 to $2.4 million per family. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s Exploitation of Gas Station Operators

Screen Shot 2014-05-25 at 21.53.51I confirm that in my experience Shell UK operates oppressively against small business people. Its staff has acted unscrupulously and possibly illegally. The tactics of Shell UK management is completely opposite to the honesty and integrity promised by Shell in its code of ethics. Shell seems to think that it is so all-powerful that it can steamroller over any small business people who complain about its scandalous business practices.

Sheila Gee

By John Donovan

Yesterday I published an article revealing that Shell has been found guilty of fuel price fixing in Italy.

I have now found out more about the background.

It seems that Shell has been up to its old tricks of ruthlessly exploiting and manipulating Shell fuel station managers operating on a semi-franchise type system.

We have seen the same tactics in the UK, the USA, Germany, India and now Italy.

We have already published a letter received from a throughly disillusioned German businessman Peter Wittig, who for several years, operated a Shell petrol station in Germany. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell found guilty of fuel price fixing in Italy

Screen Shot 2014-05-24 at 12.54.49

By John Donovan

An article published yesterday in Italy reports that Shell Italy SpA  been convicted of abuse of a dominant position by using discriminatory practices in the fuel distribution market, affecting retail fuel prices. This was before Royal Dutch Shell sold its Italian retail network to Q8 (Kuwait Petroleum).  

Such manipulation cannot possibly be in accordance with Shell’s claimed business principles. 

Printed below is a Google translation of the article into English. Happy to substitute a more accurate translation if anyone cares to supply it.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell to expand investment in Russia

Screen Shot 2014-04-20 at 14.01.49

By John Donovan

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak boasted earlier today that Shell (and ExxonMobil) are expanding operations in Russia and the Russian Foreign Ministry has said energy cooperation should not be damaged by political tensions. See extracts below from a RIA Novosti article.

What the Putin regime is claiming is in absolute accordance with what the Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden was saying on Tuesday at the Shell AGM. He bluntly made it clear that Shell’s priority is what is in the economic interests of Shell shareholders, not geopolitical concerns i.e. the invasion of Crimea. That explains why he happily bowed to Putin on Good Friday after the annexation. Ethics and moral issues are put to one side.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

‘Shell can celebrate all they want, but the fight is by no means over’

Screen Shot 2013-10-15 at 15.39.36Extracts from an article published 23 May 2014 by the journal.ie

THE COMPLETION OF the longest tunnel in Ireland is being celebrated by Shell Ireland – but the works have not been without disruption or tragedy. The construction of the 4.9 kilometre-long tunnel has been mired in controversy over the years with many residents and activists protesting to stop the building of the pipeline and the tunnel that runs under Sruwaddacon Bay, a special area of conservation. …speaking to TheJournal.ie, Shell to Sea activist Maura Harrington said: “Shell can celebrate all they want, but the fight is by no means over.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Russian Energy Minister says ExxonMobil, Shell committed to Russia

Screen Shot 2014-03-10 at 23.56.16ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil have confirmed their commitment to Russia and are eager to continue their work there.”(They’re) eager to continue work on projects in Russia,” Novak told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Lidia Kelly, editing by William Hardy)

SOURCE ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell cancels costly scrip dividend programme

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from an article published by ShareCast 22 May 2014

Royal Dutch Shell will cancel its popular scrip dividend programme from the current quarter, which had become a high-profile source of embarrassment. The FTSE 100 company said the cancellation meant the second quarter interim dividend and future dividends, forecast at $11.8bn for the full year, will be settled entirely in cash, rather than offering a share-based alternative…

FULL ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

GAS from the controversial Corrib field should begin flowing next year

Screen Shot 2014-05-23 at 07.57.00

Shell’s Irish and German tunnelling team celebrate the completion of 4.9km long Corrib Gas Pipeline Tunnel yesterday.

Extracts from an independent.ie article by Paul Melia published 23 May 2014 under the headline: Gas will flow next year after Fionnuala finds light at end of tunnel

GAS from the controversial Corrib field should begin flowing from next year following completion of the country’s largest tunnel. It was originally expected gas would flow from the Mayo field back in 2003. The project attracted strong levels of local opposition, which has delayed the scheme. “The completion of the Corrib tunnel brings us a step closer to producing first gas in 2015 and to improving security of supply for the Irish energy market,” said Shell E&P managing director Michael Crothers. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BP claimants do not have to prove losses were related to 2010 disaster

Screen Shot 2014-05-22 at 13.24.30Extracts from articles published by The Daily Mail newspaper on 21st & 22nd of May 2014

BP’s bill for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill could rise by billions, after it lost an appeal to halt compensation claims it believes are unjustified. A US court refused to overturn a decision that claimants do not have to prove their losses were related to the 2010 disaster. The defeat means BP’s total estimate of Gulf of Mexico costs, some £25.4bn, could rise even further, depending on the final scale of environmental penalties. 

BP PLC said Wednesday it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether businesses must prove they were directly harmed by the 2010 Gulf Of Mexico oil spill to collect payments from a 2012 settlement. “No company would agree to pay for losses that it did not cause, and BP certainly did not when it entered into this settlement,” the company said in a news release. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell meets target of 25% women directors

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extract from a business times.com article by Ronnie Lim published 22 May 2014

FORMER StanChart Singapore CEO Euleen Goh and chairman, CEO and president of US-based Archer Daniels Midland Company, Patricia Woertz, were unanimously voted in as new Royal Dutch Shell directors earlier this week, bringing the total number of women on its 12-member board to the group’s targeted 25 per cent.

FULL ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell announces sale of Eagle Ford acreage, South Texas

Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.5221 May 2014

Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”) announced today it has agreed to sell its 100 percent working interest in approximately 106,000 net acres in Dimmit, LaSalle, and Webb Counties, Texas to Sanchez Energy Corporation for approximately $0.639 billion, subject to closing.

The sale includes approximately 176 operated producing wells and associated field facilities and infrastructure. Net production in Q1 2014 was approximately 24,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with approximately 60 percent crude and natural gas liquids. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell Saudi relationship in serious danger?

The Washington Post has reported today that the Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans is considering flying to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to defuse the situation, which includes threats of looming sanctions against Dutch interests, including Royal Dutch Shell.

By John Donovan

Royal Dutch Shell Group has had a long relationship with the Saudi regime.

In the USA, Motiva Enterprises is a joint project of Shell and Saudi Aramco. The company owns three refineries and 35 refined product terminals.

Extract from the Motiva website

Motiva markets Shell gasoline in 49 states and the District of Columbia together with Shell Oil Products US. Together we lead the industry in national retail volume and market share in one of the world’s best known gasoline brands. We also refine and market gasoline and other petroleum products under the Shell brand across the eastern and southern parts of the US, providing product to over 8,200 Shell-branded retail outlets. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Kashagan ‘Cash All Gone’ Pipeline Debacle

Shell has been a key participant in the Kashagan project consortium which includes Eni and ExxonMobil. Given its notorious track record of over-promise and under delivery, having Shell involved is a bad omen for any elephant project.

By John Donovan

The latest news from the “Cash All Gone” project (as it is widely known) is that due to the need to replace fatally flawed leaking pipelines, the oilfield may not restart until 2016. 

The project is already years behind schedule and countless billions over budget.

I have received some related comment and questions from a retired Royal Dutch Shell EP expert that deserve to be put into the public domain.

Shell has been a key participant in the Kashagan project consortium which includes Eni and ExxonMobil. Given its notorious track record of over-promise and under delivery, having Shell involved is a bad omen for any elephant project.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Kashagan oilfield may not restart until 2016

Screen Shot 2014-04-06 at 21.01.34Extracts from a Reuters article by Mariya Gordeyeva published 21 May 2014 under the headline: Kashagan oilfield may not restart until 2016, Kazakh minister says

May 21 (Reuters) – Oil output at Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan field may not resume until early 2016, Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said on Wednesday, urging foreign partners to start replacing leaky pipelines at the deposit. Production at Kashagan, the world’s biggest oil find in 35 years, started last September but halted in early October after the discovery of gas leaks in the $50 billion project’s pipeline network. The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which develops the offshore field in the Caspian Sea, said last month that it did not expect to produce oil this year due to the leaks. “It (production) may restart by the end of 2015 if all goes well,” Karabalin told Reuters on the sidelines of the Astana Economic Forum. “Otherwise, it may turn out to be early 2016. NCOC includes Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, China’s CNPC, Japan’s Inpex and Kazakh state-run company KazMunaiGas. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Woodside Scraps $2.6 Billion Israeli Gas Deal as Talks Fail

Extract from a BloombergBusinessweek article by James Paton published 20 May 2014

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL), Australia’s second-biggest oil and gas producer, scrapped an agreement to buy a quarter of Israel’s largest natural gas field for as much as $2.6 billion after talks to complete the deal collapsed.

FULL ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Total oil debts to Iran exceeds $ 4 bln

Extracts from a Trend article by Umid Niayesh published 20 May 2014

Royal Dutch Shell also has not settled its debts without unveiling further details. Previously Iranian media outlets reported that the country’s oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has tasked a working group with collecting $2.3 billion debt from Royal Dutch Shell. Shell lost money trading Iranian crude in 2012 shortly before a European Union embargo and still owes $2.3 billion to Tehran for oil purchases.

FULL ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Says It’s Considering Climate Change Risks And Trying To Reduce Flaring In Nigeria

Extracts from a International Business Times article by Meagan Clark published 20 May 2014

Netherlands-based oil giant Royal Dutch Shell told investors in the Hague on Tuesday that the company considers climate change in its decisions and that its efforts to reduce natural gas flaring in Nigeria, a main cause of pollution in West Africa, are being hindered by a lack of government funding. “We’ve sold assets for $1.8 billion in the last few years, and we have further licenses for sale,” van Beurden said. “This is not an exit from Nigeria. We are still making selected growth investment onshore, and the pace of these projects will be largely determined by continued government funding.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s new pay structure criticised

Peter Voser

Peter Voser

Extract from a Financial Times article by Michael Kavanagh published 20 May 1014

A sharp fall in the pay of outgoing chief executive Peter Voser last year failed to quell discontent among some investors at Royal Dutch Shell over rewards offered to its top staff.

FULL ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s Nigeria Investments At Risk From Corruption Scandal, Investors Warned

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 19.01.01

Extracts from an article by Global Witness published on 19 May 2014 by allAfrica.com

Royal Dutch Shell’s involvement in a deal which saw $1.1bn diverted into the hands of a former Nigerian oil minister could see the company lose a valuable oil block, says Global Witness. The deal for oil block OPL 245 off the coast of West Africa is being investigated by authorities in the UK, Italy and Nigeria. Shell and Eni have denied paying money to Malabu. Indeed they paid the money to the Nigerian government. However court evidence has revealed that Shell knew that the payment was going to Malabu and had negotiated directly with Etete over “iced champagne”. Etete had awarded the oil block to his own company when he was oil minister under corrupt Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha. In effect, he gave himself one of the most valuable oil blocks in Nigeria and, with this deal was now cashing in. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell thinks technology first in preparation for internet of everything

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 18.45.25Extract from a ComputerWeekly.com article by Caroline Baldwin published 20 May 2014  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell boss says refining assets still key despite weak profits

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from a Reuters article published 20 May 2014

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell will hold on to its refining business despite shedding many underperforming downstream assets, its chief executive said on Tuesday. The global refining sector has suffered over the past year from weak profit margins due to rising capacity and increasing competition and Shell’s downstream business has been a drag on its 2013 and first quarter 2014 results.

FULL ARTICLE

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell a possible takeover target: Citigroup

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from a Financial Posted article by David Pett published 20 May 2014 under the headline: HP, Shell and Rio Tinto head up possible takeover targets: Citigroup

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Rio Tinto PLC are all potential takeover targets as M&A activity worldwide continues to heat up, says Citigroup Global Markets. Expecting more deals to come, they came up with a list of potential targets by analyzing company metrics such as shareholder concentration, leverage and free cash flow yield and pre-tax earnings. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Ben van Beurden and Jorma Ollila agree OSSL meeting to achieve ‘a happy conclusion’

Screen Shot 2014-04-18 at 09.24.17

By John Donovan

Printed below is a transcript of a self-explanatory exchange at the Shell AGM this morning involving Desmond Kane representing whistleblower company OSSL and Jorma Ollila (Chairman) and Ben van Beurden (CEO) representing Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Note that Ben van Beurden repeatedly stresses that there is no evidence to support the allegations OSSL is “fond of making.”

What he does not say is that the alleged events never happened.

And what about the evidence of the OSSL invoice to Shell? Is Shell saying that the OSSL invoice is a fake? If so, Shell should call in the police. It would be their duty to do so. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Liquefied Natural Gas Could Come to the Rescue for Royal Dutch Shell

Screen Shot 2014-04-19 at 10.07.44Extract from a Motley Fool article by Bob Ciura published 19 May 2014 under the headline: How Liquefied Natural Gas Could Come to the Rescue for Royal Dutch Shell and BP

Royal Dutch Shell’s core net profits fell by 23% last year, prompting the company to undergo what management delicately termed “hard choices” in its portfolio. Basically, the company is resorting to cutting capital expenditures in light of disappointing upstream projects and sharply narrower refining margins. To that end, Shell plans to reduce capital expenditures by $9 billion in 2014 from $46 billion in 2013 to an estimated $37 billion this year. That represents a severe 20% drop. This is a concern since Shell’s production is already going in the wrong direction. Oil majors across the board are suspending new projects or cancelling them altogether, which could put them in dire straits later on. Fortunately, LNG represents one major area that both Shell and BP continue to invest in, and the potential is clearly compelling. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s exposure to Russia is a meaningful risk

Screen Shot 2014-04-26 at 11.34.57Extracts from a Motley Fool article by Arjun Sreekumar published 19 May 2014 under the headline: Which Oil Majors Have the Greatest Exposure to Russia?

BP, Exxon, and Shell all have significant exposure to Russia. If the U.S. and its allies were to impose a ban on the export of Western oil and gas technology to new projects being undertaken by Kremlin-controlled companies, it would probably dash Exxon and Shell’s ambitions to explore areas like western Siberia and the Arctic seas. All told, BP, Exxon, and Shell’s exposure to Russia is a meaningful risk — albeit one that may already be priced in — and one that investors should carefully consider before investing in these companies. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Will Pension Funds continue to risk Investment in Shell?

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from a Reuters article published 19 May 2014 under the headline: Shell says fossil fuel reserves won’t be ‘stranded’ by climate regulation

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has dismissed the possibility that its proven oil or gas reserves will become unusable as a result of climate change regulation, saying fossil fuels will play a key role in global energy to 2050 and beyond.

Environmental campaigners, activist investor groups and some lawmakers have warned that financial markets could be overvaluing companies with large fossil fuel assets, such as Shell, thereby creating a “carbon bubble” and putting at risk trillions of dollars in pension funds. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell Considers Martinez Refinery Cutback Amid Shale-Oil Boom

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from a BloombergBusinessweek article by Lynn Doan published 19 May 2014 under the headline: “Shell Considers Permanent Coker Shutdown Amid Shale-Oil Boom”

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), Europe’s biggest oil company, is considering retiring one of two coking units at its only refinery in California as the company seeks to run lighter crude at the plant. Shell is considering the shutdown as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling unleash record volumes of light oil from shale formations… “The reality is that we are looking at each individual refinery and making economic decisions as to what is the most optimal feedstock,” John Abbott, downstream director for The Hague-based Shell, said in an interview… read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell shameful record of appeasement

By John Donovan

For nearly a hundred years the Royal Dutch Shell Group has appeased and collaborated with evil regimes including Nazi Germany, Nigeria, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iran, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Apartheid South Africa and with Putin of Russia, despite his annexation of Sakhalin2 and Crimea. Anything to earn a buck irrespective of ethics, human rights abuses and massive corruption. Astonishingly, Shell claims to operate with a set of business principles. Shell’s latest CEO, Ben van Beurden, is shown bowing to Putin on 18 April 2014,  soon after Russia had used force to annexe Crimea. No shame. No morals. Its just business. It is what Ben van Beurden describes as Shell’s “economic interests.”  Following in the foot steps of the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, the ardent Nazi, Sir Henri Deterding.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Oil Giants Set Their Sights on Arctic Waters

Screen Shot 2014-04-04 at 09.49.25Extracts from a Wall Street Journal article by Chester Dawson published 18 May 2014

The U.S. Department of the Interior issued a withering report in March of 2013 that said Shell’s 2012 drilling program “raised serious questions regarding its ability to operate safely and responsibly in the challenging and unpredictable conditions offshore Alaska.” Shell suspended its drilling program in 2013—just before the Interior report was released—and in February this year new CEO Ben van Beurden ruled out resuming the program this year. But representatives say the company remains committed to exploring what it has called the “most promising undeveloped hydrocarbon basins” in the U.S. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Corrib Corruption Scandal on the Agenda at Royal Dutch Shell AGM

Screen Shot 2014-04-18 at 09.24.17
Screen Shot 2013-08-28 at 00.03.05The Corrib corruption scandal and cover-up will  be raised at the Shell AGM on Tuesday. I can state on good authority that Shell lawyers have already prepared a script for Ben van Beurden to use for evasion purposes when confronted by OSSL directors. It mentions waiting for the outcome of the investigation by the Irish Police Ombudsman. Van Beurden can either continue with the cover-up tactics, or pick up the phone and ask Michael Crothers or Brian Foley to tell him the truth. Although unpalatable, it will emerge sooner or later. 

By John Donovan

REPLY TO POSTING ON SHELL BLOG BY LONDONLAD

LondonLad, no doubt by accident, you have misconstrued what OSSL stated. They never said that the allegation was first made 5 years ago. Please read it again. It is not an important point, but if something inaccurate is stated in print, then it is best to correct any such mistake immediately.

The first I heard about any of the relevant allegations was on 10 Sept 2012 when a long detailed email from OSSL to Brian Foley, the Contracts Manager for the highly controversail Corrib Gas Project, was forwarded to me without explanation. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

In Taking Crimea, Putin Gains a Sea of Fuel Reserves

Screen Shot 2014-04-24 at 10.22.16

Screen Shot 2014-03-10 at 23.56.16Extracts from a New York Times article by William J. Broad published in print on 18 May 2014

When Russia seized Crimea in March, it acquired not just the Crimean landmass but also a maritime zone more than three times its size with the rights to underwater resources potentially worth trillions of dollars.

Russia portrayed the takeover as reclamation of its rightful territory, drawing no attention to the oil and gas rush that had recently been heating up in the Black Sea. But the move also extended Russia’s maritime boundaries, quietly giving Russia dominion over vast oil and gas reserves while dealing a crippling blow to Ukraine’s hopes for energy independence. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Is Russia’s Hostility Exposing Royal Dutch Shell?

Screen Shot 2014-04-28 at 15.30.36Extracts from a Motley Fool article by Arjun Sreekumar published 17 May 2014

Shell clearly has significant exposure to Russia. The worst-case scenario for the company, as well as for BP and other companies operating in the nation, would be if the U.S. and European Union sanctioned Russia’s energy sector. Such economic penalties would make it problematic for Shell to maintain relations with Gazprom… As I understand it, such a sanction, if imposed, would not impact Shell’s existing projects. However, it would affect new projects and expansion plans, including perhaps the proposed expansion of Sakhalin-2. It could also hamper Shell’s 50/50 joint venture with Gazprom in western Siberia’s Salym fields…  I remain cautious about Shell’s exposure to Russia. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Seething review of Mark Moody-Stuart book: Responsible Leadership

Screen Shot 2014-05-17 at 17.30.17Extracts from a review by Danny Chivers of the recently published book by retired Royal Dutch Shell Group Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart: “RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP: Lessons from the Front Line of Sustainability and Ethics”

Article originally published under the headline:

“If this is responsible leadership, then I’m an Ogoni”

Reading this book was a strange experience. It was like stepping into a parallel Universe where extractive industries bring overwhelming benefits to communities around the world, with the only negative consequences being caused by corrupt local governments. Again and again throughout the book, Moody-Stuart seems to wilfully ignore the unequal power relations between multinational corporations and the people in whose lands they operate. Perhaps the element of the book that made me angriest was Moody-Stuart’s insistence, in relation to Nigeria and elsewhere, that Shell “did not get involved in local politics”. This ignores the wealth of evidence showing collusion between the company and Nigeria’s military regime that led to a landmark payout of $15.5 million by Shell to the families of nine executed Nigerian activists. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.