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Shell Project Delays

Shell admits fracking failure in Ukraine

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Screen Shot 2014-10-30 at 09.22.43By John Donovan

The Russian News Agency Tass is reporting that Graham Tiley, the country manager of Shell Ukraine has admitted in a meeting with a local high-ranking official that Royal Dutch Shell has failed to achieve the desired progress in the Yuzovka gas field in Ukraine’s east.  Tiley blamed the fracking failure on the situation in the neighbouring Donetsk region.

TASS REPORT

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Sad faces at Shell?

Screen Shot 2014-08-06 at 09.25.26Last month, the suits over at Shell put on their sad faces and went to the White House to ask for more time to burn through another billion or two. I tell ya, these guys are gluttons for punishment. After eight years and more than $6 billion, Shell has come up completely empty on its promise to bring a bounty of Arctic crude to market from the Chukchi Sea.

Jeff Siegel has authored an interesting article:

Shale Oil vs. Arctic Drilling

The extract below sets out his advice to Shell on Arctic drilling.

Last month, the suits over at Shell put on their sad faces and went to the White House to ask for more time to burn through another billion or two. I tell ya, these guys are gluttons for punishment. After eight years and more than $6 billion, Shell has come up completely empty on its promise to bring a bounty of Arctic crude to market from the Chukchi Sea. The plan to tap this Arctic flow was devised more than a decade ago — before the U.S. was swimming in shale oil and before consumption rates started falling. Certainly I don’t fault management for moving aggressively on black treasure in the Arctic. At the time, it made a lot of sense. But today, with $80 crude, a boom in domestic oil and gas production, and little chance of ever successfully producing anything more than losses in the Chukchi, Shell really should just chalk the whole adventure up to an unfortunate face-plant and move on. read more

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Shell’s own goals in the Arctic: Over to you, Ann

Screen Shot 2014-08-06 at 09.25.26US authorities say a desire to avoid taxes lead Shell to move an oil rig in rough seas in 2012, which lead to its grounding.

Extract from an article published in The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 November 2014

When Ann Pickard says how sorry she is to be leaving the Westpac board after its shareholder meeting next month – just three years after taking her seat – there is no doubting her sincerity.

Chairman Lindsay Maxsted says that following the former Shell Australia boss’s “executive relocation to the US and expectations that her commitments in North America (as head of Shell’s Arctic operations) will increase in 2015, Ms Pickard reluctantly chose to retire from the board”. read more

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OSSL Blackmail Plot Against Shell?

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By John Donovan

Since 22 October 2014 I have been updating an article posing the question: “Shell being blackmailed?”

Top people at Royal Dutch Shell  have all spoken directly to a director of a former Shell “Mr Fixit” company in Ireland, OSSL, which has bombarded Shell with money demands to settle a dispute that Shell says it has already settled.

To be specific, Desmond Kane of OSSL has spoken in person to Peter Voser, Ben van Beurden, Jorma Ollila, Michiel Brandjes, Michael Crothers (and other senior people at Shell). read more

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Shell Corrib Gas Project Ireland: The Good News and the Bad News

Screen Shot 2014-10-04 at 13.47.39By Nick Gill

The Irish Independent has published an article providing an update on the delayed progress of the Shell led Corrib Gas Project in Ireland, which has been surrounded by controversy, including alleged corruption and persistent environmental protests from the outset. 

Basically, the good news is that the volume of gas at peak production is projected to be 8pc greater than originally forecast. 

The bad news is that the project is likely to end up 12 years behind the original schedule with the total outlay now expected to be four times the original estimate of €800m.  read more

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Shell shareholders can only wish that they had never heard of Alaska

Screen Shot 2014-08-06 at 09.25.26By John Donovan

Christopher Helman of Forbes has neatly summarised the misadventures of Royal Dutch Shell in Alaska…

“Consider for a second the $5 billion misadventure that Royal Dutch Shell has had in Alaska. Here’s a quick recap: In 2008 Shell acquired the rights to exploration blocks in the Beaufort Sea north of the North Slope. Shell, in 2012 (after years of studying whales and seals, negotiating with the native peoples, and satisfying draconian EPA rules governing diesel emissions in the middle of freaking nowhere) finally floated its Kulluk drillship into the Beaufort, where it only got to drill for a few weeks before having to be towed back to port lest icebergs crush it. On the way out it got grounded on the rocks of Kodiak Island. Shell decided to press pause on its Alaska project, and Shell shareholders can only wish that they had never heard of Alaska.” read more

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ROYAL DUTCH SHELL: Ice buckets, rust buckets and superbuckets

By John  Donovan

According to the the Vancouver Observer, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden, has accepted the ice bucket challenge from Leonardo DiCaprio to oil sands executives. 

The reputation of his predecessor as Shell CEO, Peter Voser, sunk after he faced and failed a challenge in the Arctic.

Voser came spectacularly unstuck as a result of sending a couple of refurbished old rust buckets into Alaskan waters in an ill-fated tax dodging scandal resulting in ship board fire, explosions, pollution, groundings and public humiliation. read more

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The truth about OSSL allegations

 By John Donovan

OSSL, the former Mr Fixit company for Shell EP Ireland, distributed sweeteners (bribes) on behalf of Shell to various parties to ease the tortuously slow progress of the controversial Corrib Gas Project.

The lucky recipients included a senior Irish Police Officer, Detective Chief Superintendent John Gilligan ([email protected])

OSSL has now supplied me with evidence confirming that their allegations against Shell are true.

The evidence comes from a person of high repute personally present when senior  representatives of Shell, including the Managing Director of Shell EP Ireland. Michael Crothers, carried out repeated negotiations in an attempt to agree a settlement of monies owed to OSSL for buying the sweeteners on Shell’s behalf, including alcohol.   read more

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Royal Dutch Shell Files Arctic Drilling Plans

Screen Shot 2014-08-29 at 00.00.49A Shell spokesperson claims that the company’s latest Arctic exploration plan takes into account lessons learned from the 2012 operation (which turned into a dangerous farce after Shell engaged in reckless machinations in an effort to evade tax).

By John Donovan

Royal Dutch Shell has filed a plan with US federal regulators that could result in a resumption of its Arctic drilling campaign in the summer of of 2015.

However, the oil giant still has significant regulatory and legal issues to deal with in the meantime.

A Shell spokesperson claims that the company’s latest Arctic exploration plan takes into account lessons learned from the 2012 operation (which turned into a dangerous farce after Shell engaged in reckless machinations in an effort to evade tax).  read more

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Big Oil Could Be In Big Trouble

Screen Shot 2014-02-18 at 18.34.00By John Donovan

A number of current articles warn of falling oil prices. A zacks.com article says that oil prices have fallen below $100 to the lowest level this year and that natural gas has fared even worse. Nas.daq.com reports that the price of oil has plummeted, and that the fall is accelerating. It also points out that big oil has taken on $106 billion in new debt. A related article warns of $96 Billion of High-Risk Oil Megaprojects. The Russia/Ukraine crisis is partly responsible for the uncertainly and anxiety. read more

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OSSL whistleblower allegations against Shell and the Irish Police

Screen Shot 2014-06-16 at 17.34.44By John Donovan

The OSSL email campaign against Royal Dutch Shell and various parties including the Garda, who accepted ‘sweeteners’ from Shell dispensed by OSSL, continues unabated, 7 days a week.

OSSL acted as a “Mr Fixit” on behalf of Shell in relation to the controversial long delayed and miles over budget Corrib Gas Project in Ireland, before falling out over money. 

As I understand the situation, the OSSL campaign has two objectives.

One is to expose the truth after a series of cover-ups by the Irish Police and Shell. read more

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Shell whistleblower OSSL challenges Irish police officers to take lie-detector test

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By John Donovan

OSSL, the company that admits supplying free alcohol to Irish police on behalf of Shell EP Ireland is challenging senior Irish police officers, who apparently deny receiving the goods said to be worth tens of thousands of Euros, to take lie detector tests. 

The challenge is contained in an email sent earlier today to senior executives of Shell including the Company Secretary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Mr Michiel Brandjes.

OSSL directors say that they are prepared to take lie-detector tests themselves with Shell representatives in attendance.  read more

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Another serious shutdown at Shell Motiva refinery

Reuters article published Tue Jul 15, 2014 under the headline: “Damaged heater likely shut distillation unit at Motiva refinery”

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(Reuters) – A heavily damaged heater on a newly commissioned 325,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude distillation unit is the likely cause of a unexpected shutdown that may last up to five months at Motiva Enterprises 600,000 bpd Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, according to experts.

In late April, Motiva, a joint-venture of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Saudi Aramco, started the new crude distillation unit (CDU), which was the centerpiece of a 5-year, $10-billion project to make the refinery the largest in the United States. read more

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Are Asset Sales the Answer for Royal Dutch Shell plc?

Screen Shot 2014-06-23 at 11.37.41Extracts from a Motley Fool article by Arjun Sreekumar published 23 June 2014

On Monday, Shell announced the sale of a 19% stake in Woodside Petroleum, a deal that is expected to raise $5 billion. On Wednesday, the company announced that it had filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to the proposed IPO of its pipeline subsidiary, which could raise up to $750 million. Due largely to ill-timed investments in U.S. shale, continued security issues at its Nigerian operations, and its beleaguered drilling program in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea, Shell’s return on capital employed, or ROCE, averaged under 15% from 2008 to 2012. Sales of under performing downstream and upstream North American assets are providing much-needed cash and should help the company gradually improve its return on capital. Overall, the combination of asset sales, reduced spending, and higher cash flow should allow Shell to grow its dividend at a stronger pace over the next few years, assuming commodity prices remain high and assuming that the oil giant can bring new projects online on time and on budget. read more

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Call for a Public Inquiry into the Policing of the Shell/Corrib Gas Project

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Screen Shot 2014-06-16 at 17.34.44Call for a Public Inquiry into the Policing of the Shell/Corrib Gas Project by the named eminent individuals and parties listed below

We support the recent demands for an inquiry into allegations of systemic Garda corruption and violence. We believe any such inquiry should include the Shell/Corrib pipeline police operation in North West Mayo. This is one of the longest running police operations in the history of the Irish state and has drawn critical attention from national and international human rights organisations1 since 2006 over the alleged violence and intimidation used by Gardaí against campaigners.

In 2007, campaigners submitted complaints en masse against the Gardaí to the newly established Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). Out of the 111 complaints received by GSOC between May 2007 and November 2009, 78 were deemed admissible and 7 sent to the DPP. The DPP rejected prosecution in all 7 cases. The majority of campaigners have since stopped submitting complaints to GSOC. In 2010, complaints from 400 Kilcommon residents were submitted to Shell’s Belmullet office detailing the “escalating physical and psychological harassment” continuing in the area. In 2012, residents again submitted a mass complaint, this time to Mayo County Council, outlining serious grievances arising out of the project, including experiences of private security and state policing, with no result. Any inquiry into the policing of the Shell/Corrib Gas Project cannot ignore the following extract from the minutes of the Shell Committee of Managing Directors meeting held in London 22/23 July 2002:”It was noted that development of the Corrib field may be delayed until 2004 as planning consent had been refused for the terminal. The committee queried whether the Group had sufficiently well placed contacts with the Irish government and regulators. Paul Skinner undertook to explore this issue further in consultation with the Country Chairman in Ireland”. read more

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Garda Ombudsman Investigation of Shell Corruption allegations in disarray

Screen Shot 2014-02-21 at 16.11.57By John Donovan 

The investigation of allegations made by a Shell whistleblower company OSSL, of alleged Shell sponsored corruption of the Irish police, appears to be in a shambles following ill-judged on-the-record comments by the officer leading the inquiry, Johan Groenewald.

The relevant extraordinary email correspondence with me can be viewed here.

In the exchanges, which became heated on his part, Mr Groenewald denounced OSSL as being untrustworthy, rubbished and disregarded vital evidence, issued a threat against me and denied that he tore up (and has apparently disregarded) statements given to a senior Garda officer by OSSL directors. At some point he seems to have lost his impartiality.  read more

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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

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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

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‘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

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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

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Corrib Corruption Scandal on the Agenda at Royal Dutch Shell AGM

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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

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Garda concerns at whistleblower plan

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Some allegations against the Garda, including from whistlerblower company OSSL, have arisen from the Shell led Corrib Gas Project

Extracts from an RTE News article published Friday 16 May 2014 under the headline:AGSI admits concerns at whistleblower plan

The President of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors has said it is concerned by the decision to assign the role of receiving confidential information from garda whistleblowers to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. The decision was made by Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald yesterday.

Tim Galvin said people would be very nervous about going to GSOC and then whatever issues they might have would not come out into the open. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Galvin also said he believed more garda whistleblowers would come forward. He said: “If we have skeletons in the cupboard, let’s bring them out. Get them out into the open. read more

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Kazakh Minister: All Kashagan Pipelines To Be Replaced

Screen Shot 2013-07-15 at 07.03.50Extracts from a Reuters article by Olesya Astakhova published 15 May 2014

MOSCOW, May 15 (Reuters) – The consortium developing the giant Kashagan oilfield will have to replace the entire pipeline system at the deposit, Kazakhstan’s oil minister said on Thursday, confirming that output there would not resume this year. The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) developing Kashagan said last month that it did not expect to produce oil this year due to the leaks. NCOC includes Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, China’s CNPC, Japan’s Inpex and Kazakh state-run company KazMunaiGas.  read more

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Shell to Sea calls for whistleblowers to ‘expose malpractice and corruption’ at gas project

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Screen Shot 2013-09-12 at 13.51.56Extracts from an article published 15 May 2014 by the journal.ie

THE SHELL TO Sea campaign has made fresh calls this morning for whistleblowers in to come forward to “expose malpractice and corruption” in the Shell gas project in Corrib, Co Mayo.

Shell to Sea’s Terence Conway said the group is asking whistleblowers from within the ranks of An Garda Síochána, Shell, Shell contractors and any State agency involved in facilitation the project to come forward.

One former Shell subcontractor alleged last year that it was tasked with providing local residents with items like tennis courts and television sets on behalf of Shell to keep them on side. The company also claimed it had delivered €35,000 worth of alcohol to Belmullet Garda Station in December 2007. The Garda Ombudsman is now investigating these allegations. read more

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Institutional corruption in the Gardaí

Screen Shot 2013-11-14 at 14.50.09Shell to Sea notes the resignation of Alan Shatter and his replacement by Frances Fitzgerald as Minister for Justice as a long overdue development. Terence Conway, Shell to Sea spokesperson, says “Alan Shatter showed contempt for everybody who raised issues of wrongdoing in an Garda Siochána and it was clear he never had any intention of dealing with institutional corruption in the Gardaí. We ask that his successor takes immediate action to deal with the blatant abuses of power that, unfortunately, are rampant within the force.”

News Release – Issued by Mayo Shell to Sea
May 8th , 2014 – For immediate release

Shell to Sea notes the resignation of Alan Shatter and his replacement by Frances Fitzgerald as Minister for Justice as a long overdue development. Terence Conway, Shell to Sea spokesperson, says “Alan Shatter showed contempt for everybody who raised issues of wrongdoing in an Garda Siochána and it was clear he never had any intention of dealing with institutional corruption in the Gardaí. We ask that his successor takes immediate action to deal with the blatant abuses of power that, unfortunately, are rampant within the force.” read more

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We warned BG Group about Chris Finlayson

Screen Shot 2014-04-28 at 14.28.09“BG Group chief executive Chris Finlayson has been ousted by the oil and gas explorer’s board following a disastrous 16 months in the job….” No one can say that we did not repeatedly warn BG Group about the competence and ethics of Chris Finlayson…

By John Donovan

The news media is reporting that former Royal Dutch Shell executive Chris Finlayson has quit as CEO of BG Group.

Actually, he was unceremoniously fired.

Extract from article published by The Independent: “BG Group chief Chris Finlayson resigns after 16 months at the helm

BG Group chief executive Chris Finlayson has been ousted by the oil and gas explorer’s board following a disastrous 16 months in the job.  He is understood not to have another job to go to… In an unusually blunt statement Gould said: “The board felt that it was in the best interests of the group to accept Chris’ resignation and seek fresh leadership.” Since taking over Finlayson has presided over a succession of profit warnings and a 37% slump in annual profits… read more

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Shell’s bad missteps all but killed off US Arctic oil program

Screen Shot 2014-01-30 at 15.20.51Extracts from an article by Nick Cunningham published Sunday 20 April 2014 by oilprice.com under the headline:”Russia’s Arctic Prize Won’t Be As Big As Many Think”

While Royal Dutch Shell’s bad missteps have all but killed off the Arctic oil program in the United States, Russia is moving ahead, and Putin clearly believes that the Arctic is an essential ingredient in its ability to maintain its position as one of the world’s largest oil producers. In early April, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Canada and the U.S. should form a “united front” against expansionist moves by Russia in the Arctic. She warned against Russia’s military buildup in the region. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell bets on LNG, on an epic scale

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By John Donovan

The comments below are from a Motley Fool article that draws attention to the fact that Shell’s Prelude FLNG project represents a bet “on an epic scale.”  The author is right. The project is an uninsured, uninsurable risk, which like Shell’s Alaskan ambitions, could potentially destroy Shell. 

As to the likelihood of the project being “on schedule and on budget,” we know Shell’s atrocious “misfires” track record on that score e.g. the Corrib Gas project in Ireland: 13 years behind schedule and four times over budget. And “Cash All Gone” (Kashagan), another white elephant.
read more

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Controversial Corrib field to pump gas by next year

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Extracts from an article by Sarah McCabe published 10 April 2014 by the Irish Independent

The development of the field off the north-west coast has been plagued by setbacks, which have delayed it for more than 13 years. Construction of a 4.9km tunnel under Sruwaddacon Bay, a special conversation area, is also progressing, new company documents show. Development of the tunnel was suspended last year after 26-year-old German hydraulics specialist Lars Wagner was tragically killed, following fatal head injuries sustained while working on it. Mayo natural gas find Corrib was first discovered in 1996. It was originally expected that gas would start flowing from it by 2003, meaning the project is now some 13 years behind the original schedule. Reports suggest the cost of developing it has come in around four times as much as original estimates, reaching €3bn. read more

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Interior Dept. Preps for Arctic Oil Spills

Screen Shot 2014-04-04 at 09.49.25Extracts from an article by published 8 April 2014 by USNews & World Report

They’re preparing for the worst. Interior Department officials recently put out a call for “new and innovative mechanical technologies” to help clean up oil spills in the Arctic. Yet even as ice around the Arctic has melted amid rising global temperatures, potentially exposing rich oil and gas deposits, serious hazards remain. Notably, in September 2012, a Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig ran aground in Alaska as workers attempted to tow it beyond the state’s waters. A Coast Guard report released Friday found that the Anglo-Dutch oil company decided to move the rig – and insisted on doing so through dangerous stormy weather – to avoid paying new Alaskan taxes. The report also detailed myriad safety issues. read more

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Shell seeks urgency on Alaskan litigation

Screen Shot 2013-11-01 at 09.31.18Extracts from an article by Alan Bailey of Petroleum News published week of April 06, 2014 under the headline: Shell seeks urgency: Asks court to accept BSEE proposal in Chukchi Sea lease sale appeal case

In an April 2 filing submitted to the federal District Court in Alaska Shell said that it opposes any delay in resolving an appeal against the 2008 Chukchi Sea lease sale in which the company purchased leases.“Because the Arctic drilling season is so short, every day of it counts,” Shell told the court. Shell said that it had already lost the 2014 Chukchi Sea drilling season as a result of the appeal and that the company had begun planning for the 2015 season “in the event the agency (BSEE) re-affirms the sale.” read more

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Shell ignored safety warnings ‘partly to avoid tax’, says US Coast Guard

theguardian.com,

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Damning allegations are made in the report into how Shell came to allow the Kulluk to run aground in December 2012. Photograph: PA3 Jon Klingenberg/AP

Shell has been accused by the US Coast Guard of ignoring safety warnings and moving one of its drill ships in the US Arctic, partly in a bid to avoid paying extra taxes.

The damning allegation is contained in an official 152-page report by the US Coast Guard into how the Anglo-Dutch oil group came to allow the Kulluk to run aground in December 2012.

Shell has recently been forced to shelve any plans to drill in the Beaufort Sea again this summer after a federal appeal court ruled the US authorities had failed to properly consider the potential risks. read more

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Shell Rushed Rig to Arctic Sea to Avoid Alaska Tax: U.S.

Screen Shot 2014-04-04 at 09.49.25 published Apr 4, 2014 5:00 AM GMT+0100 by Bloomberg News

A desire to avoid millions of dollars in Alaska state taxes played a role in Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s decision to move a drilling rig, which later broke free from a tow boat and ran aground on an uninhabited island in Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a report.

Shell had decided to move the Kulluk drill rig to Seattle for repairs because it might have been subject to a state property tax had it remained in Alaska waters beyond Jan. 1, 2013, according to the report released yesterday that offered eight recommendations to improve safety. read more

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Shell was underprepared for ill-fated tow across Gulf of Alaska

Extracts from an article by Suzanna Caldwell published April 3, 2014 by AlaskaDispatch under the Screen Shot 2014-04-04 at 09.24.01headline: Coast Guard report shows Shell was underprepared for ill-fated tow across Gulf of Alaska

A Coast Guard report released Thursday shows that while a series of events ultimately led to the grounding of a drilling rig designed to drill in the Arctic, an “inadequate assessment and management of risks” was the biggest cause of the Kulluk grounding.

The findings in the 152-page report conclude that while bad weather in the Gulf of Alaska was the primary cause of the grounding, “ineffective” risk management and application of towing measures from Shell and Edison Chouest contributed to the grounding. read more

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Poor Management and Tax Dodging Led to Kulluk Grounding

Screen Shot 2013-11-01 at 09.31.18Article by RACHEL D’ORO Associated Press published 4 April 2014 by ABC NEWS under the headline: “Report: Poor Management Led to Shell Grounding”

A Coast Guard report says poor risk assessment and management were factors that led to the grounding of a Shell oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Alaska in 2012.

The report released Thursday also says Alaska’s tax laws influenced the decision to tow the Kulluk to Seattle. Royal Dutch Shell PLC believed the drill vessel would have qualified as taxable property on Jan. 1, 2013, if it was still in Alaska waters.

The Kulluk broke away from its tow vessel in late December 2012 and ran aground four days later on Sitkalidak Island, near Kodiak. read more

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Norway Warns Oil Companies Against ‘Unacceptable’ Project Delays

Screen Shot 2014-02-13 at 00.32.08Extract from an article by

Norway, western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, warned companies that “unacceptable” delays to offshore projects risk damaging the goodwill they currently enjoy from the government. Oil companies from Statoil ASA (STL) to Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) are cutting investment plans as they grapple with rising costs and falling returns amid stagnating energy prices. read more

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Shell undergoing massive sell off to fix its balance sheet

Screen Shot 2014-02-18 at 18.34.00Extracts from an article poublished Monday 24 March 2014 by MarketWatch under the headline: Ghana’s Jubilee Points to Best Offshore Acreage in the World

LONDON / ACCESSWIRE / March 24, 2014 / The oil industry hasn’t started off 2014 with a bang. The oil majors – ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, BP – all posted disappointing fourth quarter numbers. Shell in particular is undergoing a massive sell off to fix its balance sheet. Why are these companies struggling, and why all the gloom in the oil sector? Higher costs are the major reason. The oil majors are not looking all that great in terms of an investment opportunity. read more

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Shattering weekend for Alan Shatter, Irish Justice Minister

In the past few days, there have calls for the resignation of the Irish Justice Minister, Mr. Alan Shatter, who dealt with the OSSL corruption allegations against Shell EP Ireland raised in the Irish Parliament on my behalf and engaged in correspondence with me on the subject. I reached the conclusion that he was incompetent and useless. Many Irish people might even think that he has been part of an establishment cover-up.

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By John Donovan

Chaos reigns in Ireland, with a scandal engulfing the Irish government, the Irish Police (the Garda), The Police Commissioner and the Irish Police Ombudsman –  the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). This follows news relating to police whistleblowers and the discovery that an unknown party apparently bugged the offices of the Police Ombudsman offices.

A retired judge has been appointed to conduct an inquiry to establish the facts about the controversy.

In the past few days there have calls for the resignation of the Irish Justice Minister, Mr. Alan Shatter, who dealt with the OSSL corruption allegations against Shell EP Ireland raised in the Irish Parliament on my behalf and engaged in correspondence with me on the subject. I reached the conclusion that he was incompetent and useless. Many Irish people might even think that he has been part of an establishment cover-up. 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 Drowning in Extremely High Project Costs

Screen Shot 2014-02-18 at 18.34.00Extracts from a Matt DiLallo article published 17 March 2014 by The Motley Fool

Big oil has a big problem. Cost overruns around the globe are calling into question the commercial viability of many megaprojects. When Gorgon was approved, the project was expected to cost about $37 billion. However, late last year, Chevron raised the estimate to as high as $54 billion. That’s 46% higher than initially expected, and it might not be the end of the cost overruns. The project, in which both ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell own a 25% stake, could end up costing the partners close to $60 billion when all is said and done. …big oil is facing big cost overruns in deepwater projects. The poster child for that is the Kashagan oilfield in the Caspian Sea. Partners that include Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil spent $50 billion to develop the field, which was beset with delays, cost overruns, and technical difficulties. Worse yet, initial production volumes didn’t live up to expectations, and more recently, a new problem has surfaced, which is why the field is currently sitting idle. read more

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Shell Corrib Gas 12 years behind schedule and four times over budget

Extract from an article by Nick Webb published Sunday 02 March 2014 by Independent.ie

Screen Shot 2013-09-24 at 18.48.35THE controversial Corrib gas field is expected to come onstream by “mid 2015.” Gas was originally expected to flow from the Mayo field back in 2003. The project is now likely to be 12 years behind the original schedule. The cost of developing the field could be four times the initial estimate of €800m at over €3bn.

FULL ARTICLE

ADDED BY JOHN DONOVAN: “The Bad News” slide appeared in a 62 page Royal Dutch Shell internal PowerPoint presentation prepared in June 2000: “Excom Early Look Business Plan 2000″. Turned out to be chillingly accurate in relation to many Shell projects, including Sakhalin2 and the Alaska debacle. read more

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Campaign to Replace Irish Police Ombudsman

Screen Shot 2014-02-19 at 00.40.57Despite the Corrib Gas dispute being the single largest source of Garda complaints that GSOC have had to deal with, no Garda has ever been held to account for their law-breaking and abuse of powers. In March 2013 the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Margaret Sekaggya, called on the Irish Government to “Investigate all allegation and reports of intimidation, harassment and surveillance in the context of the Corrib Gas dispute in a prompt and impartial manner”. 

Shell to Sea repeats call to dissolve GSOC and to establish a proper oversight body

News release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Tuesday 18th February 2014

Shell to Sea has today repeated calls that it has made previously, that the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) be dissolved so that a new functioning Garda oversight body can be established. Shell to Sea believe that it is impossible for GSOC to operate as a functioning Garda oversight body due to the flawed nature of its founding legislation. Former GSOC Commissioner Conor Brady has stated that he too believes the Garda Síochána Act 2005 “was fundamentally flawed”. [1] read more

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Sinister Events In Ireland

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Screen Shot 2013-08-21 at 21.37.35OSSL and their allegations of Police corruption by Shell in relation to the Corrib Gas Project seems to have become entangled is an extraordinary situation involving the Irish Police Force (The Garda) and the authority responsible for independently investigating such allegations, the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission. In November Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan issued an astonishing warning of ‘mass assassinations’ if the Ombudsman gain access to certain classified files. The latest bombshell development is news that the Police Ombudsman hired a British security company to investigate if it had been placed under electronic surveillance (by the police?)

by John Donovan

OSSL and their allegations of Police corruption by Shell in relation to the Corrib Gas Project seems to have become entangled is an extraordinary situation involving the Irish Police Force (The Garda) and the authority responsible for independently investigating such allegations, the Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission.

In November Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan issued an astonishing warning of ‘mass assassinations‘ if the Ombudsman gain access to certain classified files. read more

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Will Shell’s Prelude FLNG project be another white elephant?

It is to me an example where common sense has been put aside and the herd followed the leader ‘we need elephants’. I sincerely hope for Shell that Prelude does not turn out to be yet another white elephant. …this spirit of ‘Olympic targets, Moonshots, if you can think it you can do it’ has also led to disasters for Shell USA in Alaska, huge write offs in the USA on shaleoil, a nonfunctional EP Europe when it was launched, the reserves crisis of Shell, the cost overruns in Sakhalin, Pearl and Kashagan by a factor 3-8 etc etc.

Introduction by John Donovan

On 10 January we published an article under the headline: Royal Dutch Shell Prelude to disaster?

It was based on information received from a Prelude insider source voicing deep concern over the safety of the construction of Shell’s Prelude FLNG flagship vessel, said to be the biggest ship in the world.

Since then, further information has been obtained, including more information from the same whistleblower.

Shell has to a large extent staked it future on this mega project. read more

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Shell’s fall from grace

Screen Shot 2014-01-03 at 14.32.05In May 2013, when Voser’s retirement was announced, he was described by Reuters as having been Shell’s “renaissance CEO”. Fast-forward eight months and Voser’s successor stunned the market with a profits warning. It was a remarkably quick fall from grace for both the former chief and the company… …the company’s misstatement of its proven reserves early in the century landed it with a multi-million dollar fine from stock market regulators and forced the departure of its chairman as well as shocking investors. Shell has had its own environmental problems in Nigeria. Now it is being severely criticised for overspending.

Screen Shot 2014-01-17 at 08.38.13

By John Kemp

Feb 4 (Reuters) – “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure,” wrote Enoch Powell, a former member of Britain’s parliament who held controversial views on immigration and national identity.

Much the same could be said of business careers, as Shell’s former chief executive Peter Voser has learned the hard way. His strategy of continuing to invest in complex megaprojects through the oil industry cycle is now blamed for the company’s recent profit warning and underperformance. read more

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Ben van Beurden will need more than PR skills to navigate Shell’s choppy seas

Screen Shot 2014-01-21 at 09.07.53Ben van Beurden gave a flawless performance last week as he stepped onto the public stage for the first time as chief executive of Shell and sought to explain how the company had cut its annual profits in half despite a year of sky-high oil prices. He should have been torn limb from limb, but instead City analysts were content to believe his well-spun litany of excuses, mostly blaming outside forces rather than the poor decision-making and performance of the team he now leads. …he could not entirely escape personal responsibility, since he was formerly head of chemicals and, for nine months last year, head of the group’s huge downstream division. Pet projects of Voser’s will feel the axe. Divestments will be made, spending curtailed and writedowns – multibillion-dollar ones, clearly – taken. Van Beurden knows what failure looks like, as he was a personal assistant to former chairman Sir Philip Watts when Watts was axed over the reserves scandal of 2004.

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The new boss put up a brave showing last week, but he faces a battle to stop the oil firm from sailing into more trouble

The Observer,

Ben van Beurden gave a flawless performance last week as he stepped onto the public stage for the first time as chief executive of Shell and sought to explain how the company had cut its annual profits in half despite a year of sky-high oil prices.

The Shell lifer was able to paper over the reasons for Shell’s “loss of momentum”, as he called it, through a mixture of boundless self-confidence and strong communication skills.

He should have been torn limb from limb, but instead City analysts were content to believe his well-spun litany of excuses, mostly blaming outside forces rather than the poor decision-making and performance of the team he now leads. The Shell share price has dipped a mere 3% since a profit warning two weeks ago. read more

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Shell puts Arctic drilling plans on ice as it posts first profit warning in a decade

 Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 20.09.51…van Beurden warned that the pain may not be over, saying it was possible that Shell would make new writedowns on its North American operations.

The US was among the factors that dented this year’s performance, as Shell continued to feel the effects of a shale gas glut that has sent prices tumbling.

Its North American arm is likely to be restructured, with some of its assets there to be put up for sale.

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By Rob Davies

|

Shell’s new boss has put controversial Arctic drilling plans on hold and vowed to slash spending after the oil giant was rocked by its first profit warning in a decade.

Ben van Beurden said Europe’s largest company by revenue would be ‘changing emphasis’ after a tough year that saw pre-tax profits slump 23 per cent to £15.3billion.

‘None of us at Shell are comfortable with these results,’ he said, admitting that ‘we’ve lost momentum and can sharpen our performance in a number of areas’.

Van Beurden’s plan will see spending hacked back from the £28billion of last year to £22.5billion in 2014 – largely by making fewer acquisitions and launching a £9billion two-year asset sale programme. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell Alaska timeline

Screen Shot 2013-01-20 at 09.37.04

Anchorage Daily News January 30, 2014

Royal Dutch Shell’s announcement that it wouldn’t drill in 2014 is the latest twist in the oil giant’s long history in Alaska.

Here are some recent developments:

• March 2005: Shell dominates a federal offshore oil lease sale for the Beaufort Sea with $44 million in winning bids.

• February 2008: Shell is top player in federal offshore lease sale for the Chukchi Sea with almost $2.2 billion in winning bids, returning to an area it relinquished in 1996. read more

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Oil Profits Slump as Higher Spending Fails to Lift Output

Screen Shot 2013-10-01 at 07.56.54Investors are shunning the world’s biggest oil companies as drilling costs surge, major projects are delayed and energy prices stagnate. Shell, the second-largest oil company by market value, will report its lowest fourth-quarter profit since 2009 after The Hague-based explorer was socked with cost overruns on some of its most important new fields. Ben van Beurden, who took the helm at Shell at the start of the year, said Jan. 17, in Shell’s first profit-warning in a decade, that disruptions in Nigeria, weak refining margins and lower U.S. natural gas production brought down earnings.

Screen Shot 2013-12-11 at 00.15.23

Jan 29, 2014 12:00 AM GMT

Investors are shunning the world’s biggest oil companies as drilling costs surge, major projects are delayed and energy prices stagnate.

Crude and natural gas producers from Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) to ConocoPhillips began issuing profit warnings three weeks ago as they tallied the extent of fourth-quarter disappointments. Shareholders have punished the stocks, making the energy sector the worst performer in the MSCI World Index this year, in anticipation of bleak earnings disclosures later this week. 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.

CFO Simon Henry: Just how many lives has this Shell fat cat got?

Simon Henry was CFO when the ship was set on its disastrous course of over-promise and under-delivery, beset by project delays and cost overruns, resulting in the recent profits warning and the dramatic advice just issued by Zacks Investment Research that Royal Dutch Shell Plc is “a risky bet that ordinary investors should exit.” He has had a hand on the helm throughout the long voyage, during the Sakhalin2 debacle, the Corrib Gas Corruption scandal and more recently, Shell’s Arctic ambitions hitting the rocks. As I have previously pointed out, he also had a starring role in the reserves scandal and managed to evade the flak on that occasion as well. Just how many lives has this Shell fat cat got?

By John Donovan

The role of RDS Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry, in the instability that has overtaken Shell, thus far seems to have largely escaped scrutiny and blame?

He is the most senior remaining Royal Dutch Shell executive spanning the tenure of the last three top executives at Shell, Sir Philip Watts (dishonest bullying egomaniac), Jeroen van der Veer (dishonest and out of his depth) and Peter Voser (incompetent and ill-advised).

Simon Henry was CFO when the ship was set on its disastrous course of over-promise and under-delivery, bedeviled by project delays and cost overruns, resulting in the recent profits warning and the dramatic advice just issued by Zacks Investment Research that Royal Dutch Shell Plc is “a risky bet that ordinary investors should exit.” read more

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Shell’s Recent Profit Warning Won’t Be the Last

Thanks to upstream cost overruns and downstream overcapacity, 2013 probably will not be the last year Shell faces low earnings. Not only is Gorgon facing big challenges, the Shell-ExxonMobil-Total-KazMunaiGas-Eni Kashagan project was recently shut down due to pipeline leaks. The field’s current $50 billion cost is more than five times its original price

By Joshua BondyJanuary 22, 2014

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) just issued a big profit warning for the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing its expected full-year 2013 earnings to $16.8 billion. This is a significant fall from its 2012 full-year earnings of $27.2 billion. Thanks to upstream cost overruns and downstream overcapacity, 2013 probably will not be the last year Shell faces low earnings.

Downstream challenges
Shell’s refineries put a hole in its Q4 2013 earnings. Its Asia-Pacific and European refineries are facing margin pressures and for good reason. They don’t have access to cheap U.S. crude. They are forced to buy expensive Brent crude and pay a premium relative to U.S. refiners. Also, U.S. refiners have access to cheap natural gas 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.