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March 13th, 2015:

Shell abandons two exploration wells in east Ukraine

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Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 21.18.30LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has abandoned two natural gas exploration wells in eastern Ukraine after they were deemed uneconomical, the oil major said on Thursday.

Shell and Ukrainian state-run gas company Ukrgasvydobuvannya jointly started exploration at the wells in the province of Kharkiv Oblast in 2012 but after evaluating geological data, the sides decided to drop the project.

“Based on the exploration results, the parties agreed that further activity within the project was not economically viable and agreed to terminate the agreement,” Shell said in a statement. read more

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Kashagan oil production to resume in 2017 – Shell

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London, 13 March 2015

Screen Shot 2014-10-30 at 09.22.43(Reuters) – Production from Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan oilfield is expected to resume in 2017, more than three years after being suspended due to a pipeline leak, stake holder Royal Dutch Shell said.

Operations at the major field, expected to reach production of 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent, started in September 2013 and were halted a month later due to gas leaks from the sour gas pipeline.

In its annual report on Thursday, Shell said “replacement activities are ongoing, with production expected to restart in 2017.”

Italian oil service company Saipem said last month it had won a contract to lay the replacement pipelines at Kashagan worth around $1.8 billion. It said it planned to finish the work by the end of 2016. 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 paid £20m for a year in which oil price slumped and group cut UK jobs

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The boss of Shell has received a pay package of almost £20million for a year in which the oil price slumped and the group cut jobs in the UK. The figure is expected to spark a backlash from shareholders…

The oil major (up 25p at 1961p) admitted that the sum handed to Ben van Beurden was ‘unusually high’.

It makes him the second-highest paid boss in the FTSE 100 behind WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell, who regularly faces protests from investors over his rewards.

The oil price, which has halved since last summer, is only considered where it affects Shell’s financial performance, while the company previously announced last year it could cut up to 250 jobs in Aberdeen.

Van Beurden received £4.5million in basic pay and bonus, with the largest chunk of his package – some £8.6million – coming from a top-up to his pension. 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.

USW reaches sellout deal, moves to shut down oil workers’ strike

Screen Shot 2015-03-07 at 15.52.46From an article by Jerry White published 13 March 2015 by WSWS

USW reaches sellout deal, moves to shut down oil workers’ strike

The United Steelworkers (USW) union announced Thursday that it had reached a tentative agreement with lead bargainer Royal Dutch Shell that would be the basis for a four-year labor agreement covering 30,000 workers in the US oil industry.

The deal was reached as the selective strike by 6,500 workers in seven states nears the end of its sixth week. The USW says picketing will continue until local union members ratify agreements presented to them by the rest of the industry.

Any agreement reached by the USW under the circumstances in which the strike has been waged can only be a miserable betrayal. The union has blocked the full mobilization of all oil workers, allowing the energy giants to maintain production while threatening to replace strikers with “relief workers.” It was not the companies that backed down, but the union that decided a rapid agreement was necessary to prevent the strike from getting out of control. 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.

Big Oil’s Broken Business Model

Screen Shot 2014-02-18 at 18.34.00From an article by Michael T. Klare published 12 March 2015 by utne.com

Big Oil’s Broken Business Model

In the wake of collapsing oil prices, Big Oil must alter its broken business model or face being outcompeted by smaller, nimbler energy producers.

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Screen Shot 2014-12-18 at 00.03.23Many reasons have been provided for the dramatic plunge in the price of oil to about $60 per barrel (nearly half of what it was a year ago): slowing demand due to global economic stagnation; overproduction at shale fields in the United States; the decision of the Saudis and other Middle Eastern OPEC producers to maintain output at current levels (presumably to punish higher-cost producers in the U.S. and elsewhere); and the increased value of the dollar relative to other currencies. There is, however, one reason that’s not being discussed, and yet it could be the most important of all: the complete collapse of Big Oil’s production-maximizing business model. 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.

For Shell and Exxon, Timing Is Key For Surviving Oil’s Price Plunge

Screen Shot 2015-03-02 at 19.27.29From an article by Andy Tully posted on Thu, 12 March 2015 22:44 on OilPrice.com

For Shell and Exxon, Timing Is Key For Surviving Oil’s Price

Extracts

When it comes to surviving the plunge in oil prices, timing is everything.

While many oil companies large and small are reducing, postponing or outright abandoning costly future projects to save money, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp. are nearing completion of their most expensive initiatives, and therefore aren’t committed to heavy spending in the future.

Moody’s says Shell and Exxon probably will be able to avoid borrowing to maintain their high dividends as long as oil prices don’t go below their current price of around $60 per barrel. They’ll also have the opportunity to buy valuable assets from hard-pressed competitors at bargain 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.