* LNG supply soared over past year, excess cargoes sent to Europe
* Shell sees supply growth easing from mid-2020
* Expects impact of coronavirus on Chinese demand to be temporary
* (Updates throughout with outlook for 2020, quotes from webcast)
By Ekaterina Kravtsova and Nina Chestney
LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Asia will be able to absorb most of the growth in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply from the second half of 2020, with Europe ceasing to be a balancing market, Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday.
Excess cargoes have been sent to Europe in the past year as global LNG supply has been soaring, in particular from projects in the United States and Australia.read more
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday called for a peaceful solution to end rail blockades by indigenous rights groups protesting the construction of a natural gas pipeline.
Indigenous communities across Canada have blocked key rail lines for nearly two weeks to oppose construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, which has forced Canada’s biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway Co, to shut operations in eastern Canada.
Trudeau, who called off a planned Barbados trip to resolve the escalating pipeline protests, told his top cabinet ministers that this “urgent situation needs to be approached in a way that builds trust and respect toward an immediate resolution with all parties.”read more
At the close of Egypt’s Red Sea bidding round, it is clear that international oil companies see opportunity in the country, and its growth is just beginning to swell. Egypt awarded Shell, Mubadala, and Chevron exploration rights in the Red Sea. Chevron and Shell each won one block, and a third block was awarded to Shell and Mubadala.
The three concessions cover a combined 10,000sqkm, and will require a minimum investment of $326mn. The licensing round started in February, following Egypt’s gas boom in multiple regions. The Red Sea bidding round included ten exploration blocks, each approximately 3,000sqkm. Saudi Arabia has also discovered large amounts of gas in the Red Sea, and is planning to conduct feasibility studies. It will use its autonomous subsea seismic acquisition fleet for its Red Sea exploration efforts, which are expected to intensify in the next two years.read more
Liquefied natural gas is selling at the lowest price on record in Asia, a troubling sign for U.S. energy producers who have relied on overseas shipments of shale gas amid a weak domestic market.
Asian LNG prices fell to $3/MMBtu today, plunging from above $5/MMBtu as recently as Jan. 15, as a glut in the commodity spreads from the U.S. all over the globe.
“The fundamentals were already really weak” even before the coronavirus outbreak stalled economic activity in China, says Ira Joseph, head of gas and power analytics at S&P Global Platts. “The whole market is really oversupplied.”read more
(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell, which plans billions of dollars in spending on shale drilling projects, boosted output in the top U.S. shale field to 250,000 barrels per day in December, the company’s Permian Basin head said on Wednesday.
Shell plans to spend about $3 billion per year for the next five years on shale projects, said Amir Gerges, vice president of Permian assets for Shell, at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston. Its Permian Basin production rose more than 100,000 barrels per day in the last year.read more
Jan 7 (Reuters) – Construction of the C$6.6-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline in western Canada resumed on Tuesday, after an indigenous group that opposes the project had ordered its workers off their territory.
Coastal GasLink, to be operated by TC Energy Corp, will move gas from northeast British Columbia to the Pacific Coast, where the Royal Dutch Shell-led LNG Canada export facility is under construction.
While less contentious than oil pipelines, Coastal GasLink faces opposition from some leaders of the Wet’suwet’en people, who say the project interferes with their hunting and trapping rights.read more
by Andreas Exarheas: Rigzone Staff: Monday, December 23, 2019
Shell Australia has announced a “significant” gas and condensate discovery in the Browse Basin off the North West Coast of Western Australia.
The find was made through the Bratwurst-1 exploration well, which was said to be successfully concluded after a 78-day campaign. The discovery is located 99 miles north east of the Shell operated Prelude FLNG facility and presents an opportunity for a future tie-back to Prelude, according to Shell.
No figures were released in connection with the discovery, but it was said to support Shell’s growth plans for “more and cleaner energy, with LNG being the predominant focus for Shell in Australia”.read more
London — Global energy producer Shell is betting on LNG as the first step in ridding shipping of its greenhouse gas emissions while cleaner fuels are still in research and development.
Beyond next year’s tougher sulfur emission limits, the next big regulatory challenge for shipping will be decarbonization. The International Maritime Organization has set an initial strategy of cutting carbon emissions per ship by at least 40% by 2030, and total greenhouse gas emissions for the shipping industry as a whole by at least 50% from 2008’s levels by 2050.read more
When Shell bought BG Group for $53 billion in 2016, becoming the largest gas company in the world, it attracted a lot of criticism. Now, thanks to its natural gas exposure and specifically its LNG exposure, Shell is one of the best-performing stocks in the industry in the year to date. It is also the biggest public oil company by production, which stood at3.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day at the end of the third quarter.
The Anglo-Dutch major is not just one of the biggest LNG producers, but also one of the biggest LNG shippers globally. It is also among the top performers in terms of revenue, ranking second in the world after China’s Sinopec. Shell is also actively expanding in renewables and energy storage, preparing the ground for future domination in the energy industry, too.read more
Shell is pushing forward a long-delayed liquefied natural gas export project in British Columbia, making it the first Canadian LNG terminal to get the financial green light.
Shell‘s decision on Tuesday to move forward the $14 billion LNG Canada project — the largest of its kind in years — signals confidence that global demand will rise quickly enough to sop up growing supplies of LNG. It also opens a new competitive front for the U.S. terminal developers lining up to take advantage of booming demand for natural gas super-chilled to liquid form, particularly in Asia.read more
(Bloomberg) — A slowdown in gas demand growth in China, the driver of global use over the past two years, is expected to slacken further, adding to investor concern as supply continues to build.
Consumption in 2021-2025 will grow at a slower pace than it has in the current five-year period, a researcher at China’s economic planning department said at the BloombergNEF summit in Shanghai on Wednesday. Furthermore, a weaker economy and rising imports via pipeline could shrink the share of liquefied natural gas in the overall Chinese market, according to gas utility ENN Energy Holdings Ltd.read more
Energy Transfer LP (ET) announced today that a comprehensive commercial tender package has been issued to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors to submit final commercial bids for the proposed Lake Charles LNG liquefaction project being developed by Energy Transfer and Shell US LNG, LLC (Shell). The project, if sanctioned by Energy Transfer and Shell, would modify Energy Transfer’s existing LNG import facility located in Lake Charles, Louisiana to add LNG liquefaction capacity of 16.45 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) for export to global markets. The commercial bids are expected to be received in the second quarter of 2020.read more
By Kevin Orland: 14 November 2019, 12:00 GMT Updated on 14 November 2019, 16:38 GMT
*Shell Canada head Crothers points to LNG project, gas stations
*Company has no plans to divest remaining oil-sands stake
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is reassuring investors, workers, and anyone else who will listen that it’s the international oil major that’s staying in Canada as others pull up stakes.
Shell’s future in the country is largely as a natural gas producer and exporter focused on the $30 billion LNG Canada project, though the company is also committed to its local chemicals and retail businesses, Shell Canada head Michael Crothers said in an interview.read more
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has promoted its current Australia chief, Zoe Yujnovich, to the role of executive vice president for conventional oil and gas from Jan. 1, based in the group’s headquarters in The Hague, Shell Australia said on Friday.
In her new role, Yujnovich will report to Shell’s upstream director and be responsible for delivering growth across 18 countries, including Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Oman, the UK and Iraq.
Yujnovich, an Australian, joined Shell in Canada in 2014 from the mining industry and since February 2017 has run its Australian business, which accounts for about a quarter of the group’s invested capital.read more
Qatar Petroleum and Shell in LNG marine fuel venture
Reuters: 18 Sept 2019
DUBAI, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Qatar Petroleum and Shell agreed on Wednesday to establish a partnership to accelerate the development of liquified natural gas (LNG) fuelling infrastructure around the world.
“The joint venture between the two companies will invest in LNG marine fuelling, bunkering vessels and other infrastructure in key locations to meet the needs of marine customers and help to reduce emissions of the global shipping industry,” a Shell statement said.read more
LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers, has asked U.S. regulators to extend the time by which it should complete an LNG export project in Louisiana by five years to 2025, regulatory filings showed.
The project, a 50-50 venture with U.S. midstream company Energy Transfer, envisaged converting an existing import and regasification facility in Lake Charles into a multi-train, 16.45 million tonnes per year (mtpa) facility.read more
*Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) asks U.S. regulators to extend the time required to complete the Lake Charles liquefied natural gas export project in Louisiana by five years to 2025.
*Shell says the delay is due to its takeover of the project after its 2016 acquisition of BG Group caused it to re-evaluate and strike new agreements, according to a letter dated last Friday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
*The project, a 50-50 venture Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET), would convert an existing import and regasification facility in Lake Charles into a multi-train, 16.45M mt/year facility.read more
NEW YORK — A 40 billion Canadian dollar ($30 billion) project in British Columbia led by Royal Dutch Shell is on track to start exporting liquefied natural gas to Asia as early as 2024, having received a significant financial boost from Canada’s federal government.
Ottawa will provide C$275 million in subsidies to help finance the LNG Canada export project, whose partners include Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and two other Asian energy companies.read more
CALGARY, Alberta, June 26 (Reuters) – Canada’s Pieridae Energy will buy gas assets in Alberta from Royal Dutch Shell for C$190 million ($144.77 million), Pieridae said on Wednesday, securing supply for its planned liquefied natural gas plant in eastern Canada.
The deal will consist of all of Shell’s midstream and upstream assets in the southern Alberta Foothills area, which produce 29,000 barrels of natural gas, natural gas liquids and condensate. Pieridae is also buying three sour gas plants.read more
After Shell’s exit from the project, Gazprom reported that they were considering technologies of Shell and Germany’s Linde AG for the LNG integrated complex project in Ust-Luga
ST.PETERSBURG, June 24. /TASS/. Shell decided to withdraw from the Baltic LNG project because it does not agree with the change in its concept, Cederic Cremers, Shell Russia Chairman, told TASS on the sidelines of the forum of future leaders of the World Petroleum Council.
“The reason is that we don’t believe into an integrated concept. We were discussing the initial concept which was to separate LNG project from the chemical plant. That was the concept that we believed would be properly technical and economically investable. So that is why we decided to exit because we don’t have the same view on the integrated development,” he explained.read more
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd has announced that it has executed a master agreement with Shell Eastern Trading (Pte) Ltd for the supply of carbon-neutral LNG. This is a first for Japan.
Under this agreement, with regard to the supply of carbon-neutral LNG, Shell’s carbon credits will reportedly be used to compensate the full carbon dioxide emissions generated – from exploring for and producing the natural gas to use by the final consumer. Tokyo Gas claims that the carbon credits are bought by Shell from a global portfolio of nature-based projects, and each carbon credit is subject to a third-party verification process.
By receiving the supply of carbon-neutral LNG, Tokyo Gas claims that it will strengthen its effort towards a low carbon society, as well as providing a new low carbon product.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) is moving to sell its stake in Indonesia’s $15B Abadi liquefied natural gas project, Reuters reports, part of its ongoing asset disposal program to raise cash to help pay for its $54B purchase of BG Group in 2015.
Shell hopes to raise ~$1B from the sale of its 35% stake in the Abadi project, according to the report.
Project construction was due to start in 2018 but was delayed in 2016 until at least 2020 after Indonesian authorities instructed a switch from an offshore to an onshore facility.read more
London — Shell expects to ship its first LNG cargo from its Australian floating LNG production facility, Prelude in the second quarter, its CFO Jessica Uhl said Thursday.
Speaking after the release of its Q1 earnings, Uhl said the first LNG would follow the shipment of the first condensate cargo from Prelude last month.
Prelude FLNG is one of the most anticipated LNG projects in recent years due to its deployment as the world’s largest floating facility, though it has experienced delays due to unspecified production issues.read more
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has decided to exit the Baltic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project led by Russian state gas giant Gazprom in the Leningrad region, the chairman of Shell’s Russian unit said on Wednesday.
Shell, which has a long history of energy cooperation with Russia, said earlier on Wednesday it was studying the possible implications of a recent decision by Gazprom to move toward the full integration of its Baltic LNG and gas processing plants.read more
Japan’s JERA says it signed an agreement with a Mitsubishi unit to buy as much as 1.2M mt/year of liquefied natural gas from the Royal Dutch Shell-led (RDS.A-0.6%) LNG Canada project.
The heads of agreement is for ~15 years starting from April 2024, says JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power (OTCPK:TKECF) and Chubu Electric Power (OTC:CHUEF) and the world’s top buyer of liquefied natural gas.
Buyers from the project so far include trading house Vitol as well as Asian utilities such as Tokyo Gas, Toho Gas and Korea Gas.read more
The liquefied natural gas arm of oil giant Shell has become the first customer at NextDecade’s proposed $15 billion Rio Grande LNG export terminal at the Port of Brownsville.
NextDecade announced the 20-year sale and purchase agreement at the LNG2019 conference in Shanghai on Monday night.
Under the deal, Shell will buy 2 million metric tons of LNG per year from the proposed Brownsville facility starting in 2023.
“We are honored to have Shell as the first foundation customer of our Rio Grande LNG project,” NextDecade CEO Matt Schatzman said in a statement. “Shell is not only the largest portfolio LNG company in the world, Shell is also a recognized pioneer in the global LNG business.”read more
Shell has loaded the first condensate cargo from Australia’s Prelude FLNG project, the company said Monday.
“We can confirm that the first shipment of condensate has sailed from the Shell-operated Prelude FLNG facility. This is another step towards steady state operations,” a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed response.
The Shell-controlled Aframax tanker, Advantage Atom, departed from Prelude FLNG on March 20, S&P Global Platts vessel tracking software cFlow showed.read more
MELBOURNE, March 25 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell on Monday said it had shipped the first condensate cargo from its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project off northwestern Australia over the weekend.
“We can confirm that the first shipment of condensate has sailed from the Shell-operated Prelude FLNG facility. This is another step towards steady state operations,” a Shell spokeswoman said in emailed comments.
Shell had hoped to start generating cash flow from Prelude in 2018, but has yet to start shipping LNG from the project, which was to have been the world’s first floating LNG facility but was beaten by Malaysia’s Petronas.read more
Russia could become the largest natural gas producer in the world, Ben van Beurden, the CEO of Shell, wrote in an article for RIA Novosti.
“The world needs more natural gas to meet rising energy demand, to complement renewables and to replace coal in power generation. And the opportunity for Russia is huge. It is already the world’s largest exporter of natural gas and it enjoys the world’s largest commercial gas reserves. It is the second largest producer of natural gas. It could be the largest,” van Beurden said.read more
March 18, 2019, 10:36:00 AM EDT By Zacks Equity Research, Zacks.com
Royal Dutch Shell plcRDS.A and its partners in the major LNG Canada project intend to decide within 2025 whether to boost its capacity via doubling it, per Reuters. Shell is building the LNG export terminal on the west coast of the country. The facility is located in Kitimat, British Columbia.
The Canadian energy sector, which used to be a booming market, has not witnessed any major milestones over the past few years. Industry downturn, coupled with infrastructure deficiencies and U.S. shale revolution had hit the country hard. With the cancellation of major projects like Northern Gateway, Pacific NorthWest and Energy East, along with uncertainties associated with the existing ones, things had been quite dispiriting for investors in the Canadian oil energy space. The $31-billion LNG Canada project, thus, brought a ray of hope to the country’s energy industry’s plight.read more
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and its partners building a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Western Canada will decide by 2025 whether to double its capacity, the head of the project said.
The $31 billion LNG Canada project last October became the first major project in five years to be approved, with first exports of the super-chilled fuel planned for 2025.
The second phase of the project will include two new processing lines known as trains that will double the plant’s capacity to 28 million tonnes of LNG per year.read more
The agreement was signed by Maarten Wetselaar, Shell’s Director of Integrated Gas and New Energies together with Harib Al Kitani, CEO of Oman LNG in the presence of Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell.
March 3, 2019 | 1:55 PM by Times News Service
The agreement will combine Shell’s experience of implementing technology and developing innovative solutions to support Oman LNG’s digitalisation drive to better equip it for the future.
Maarten Wetselaar said, “With energy transition and more demand for digitalisation, we are seeing the evolution of the industry. Innovative technology and data is creating an incredible opportunity in the energy industry, giving us the ability to track trends and make better decisions. We are delighted to collaborate with Oman LNG and explore new ways in which they can improve their asset efficiency and profitability, reduce operation costs, accelerate production and speed.”read more
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina joint venture Arrow Energy on Thursday was granted leases for a A$10 billion (5.37 billion pounds) project to develop Australia’s biggest coal seam gas resource.
The Queensland government said it had granted 14 leases to Arrow Energy for the Surat project, which holds 5 trillion cubic feet (140 billion cubic metres) of gas. Arrow agreed in December 2017 to a 27-year deal to sell output from Surat to the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project run by Shell.read more
Dmitry Zhdannikov: FEBRUARY 27, 2019
LONDON (Reuters) – Russian gas giant Novatek and oil major Shell said on Wednesday Russian gas would remain more competitive in Europe than U.S. gas, as Moscow pursues new mega projects that would be insulated from any new U.S. sanctions.
The United States has already imposed numerous sanctions against Russian individuals and companies over Moscow’s interference in Ukraine, alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and accusations it was behind a nerve agent attack in Britain. Russia denies the allegations.
Washington is mulling new sanctions that could put further strain on Russia’s economy and companies. So far, there have been no sanctions affecting conventional or liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in Russia.read more
More developments are underway that show just how far global liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets have progressed in the last five years. Until recently, the super-cooled fuel was mostly bought and sold via restrictive long-term off-take agreements where the buyer usually signed up for 15 or 20-year deals that helped producers finance massive capex projects.
However, in the last few years, as more supply hit the market, a long-term supply overhang developed that not only put downward pressure on prices but gave buyers more options as well as more leverage in contract negotiations. In addition to more supply flooding the market, a robust spot market for LNG in Asia has been developing which has seen buyers, for example, Tokyo Gas and several others, also become traders.read more
Royal Dutch Shell’s new LNG outlook report projects that global liquefied natural gas demand will continue to rise in the years ahead – led by Asian growth – as Shell seeks to solidify its stake as the world’s LNG leader.
With natural gas continuing to replace coal as a cleaner-burning power source from the United States to China, Shell expects annual LNG demand worldwide to surge more than 30 percent from 292 million metric tons in 2017 to 384 million tons in 2020. Last year, demand grew by 27 million tons, or more than 9 percent, to 319 million, and this year demand should spike by another 11 percent or 35 million tons, Shell said.read more
In its 2019 Outlook for LNG, Shell said demand will continue to rise next year, with “supplies to tighten in the mid-2020s”.
Shell warned that more new projects are needed.
Demand for cleaner fuels to improve air quality in Asia saw demand rise by 27million tonnes to 319million in 2018, with demand expected to reach around 384million tonnes in 2020.
Supply is expected to rise by 35million tonnes this year but it will not be enough to offset demand, with the additional supply to be absorbed completely by Asia and Europe.read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade will rise 11 percent to 354 million tonnes this year as new facilities increase supplies to Europe and Asia, Royal Dutch Shell said in an annual LNG report on Monday.
Shell, the largest buyer and seller of LNG in the world, said trade rose by 27 million tonnes last year, with Chinese demand growth accounting for 16 million tonnes of those volumes.
Shell’s forecasts, which see LNG demand climbing to 384 million tonnes next year, reflect a burgeoning industry with new production facilities opening in Australia, the United States and Russia and more countries becoming importers by constructing receiving terminals.read more
MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina are at loggerheads over gas sales pricing at their Arrow Energy joint venture, holding up development of Australia’s biggest coal seam gas resource, three industry sources said.
PetroChina, the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), is eager to start developing Arrow’s 5 trillion cubic feet (140 billion cubic meters) of gas in the Surat Basin in Queensland to turn around loss-making Arrow Energy, one of its key overseas assets.read more
Singapore — Shell’s first condensate cargo from the Prelude FLNG project in Australia has been delayed further from its original February load date and possibly to March, due to production issues, trade sources said Friday.
Shell did not immediately respond to an email query seeking comment.
The first Prelude condensate cargo was originally scheduled to load over January 31-February 2, shipping reports showed at the start of January. Later reports subsequently showed this was delayed to February 12-14, and then to February 24-26.read more
Shell and its joint venture (JV) partners are officially seeking approval to develop the Crux gas field off the coast of Western Australia.
With JV partners Seven Group and Japan’s Osaka Gas, Shell has submitted a proposal – estimated to be worth more than $2 billion – to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority to develop the field, located approximately 160 km northeast of the Prelude field in WA’s Browse Basin.read more
Shell aims to increase LNG exports from Egypt -executive
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
CAIRO, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell aims to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from Egypt this year as it ramps up production from a West Delta field, the company’s country chairman Gasser Hanter said on Tuesday.
The company shipped 12 LNG cargoes from the Idku plant last year and is “hoping for more” this year, Hanter told reporters in Cairo, adding that the West Delta Deep Marine field Phase 9B project should be completed by the end of this year.read more
Royal Dutch Shell has fuelled the world’s first cruise ship powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Trend reports citing the company’s Twitter page.
Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with an average of 86,000 employees in more than 70 countries. Its operations are divided into the company’s businesses: Upstream, Integrated Gas and New Energies, Downstream.read more
The Prelude project will be fired up 475 kilometres north-east of Broome, ready to liquefy natural gas straight from the ocean floor and ship it around the world.
Peter Milne: The West Australian:
Shell has struggled through a series of safety missteps as it readies its cutting-edge Prelude floating LNG vessel for production.
Shell reported 17 incidents to the offshore safety regulator NOPSEMA between May and October 2018 that the regulator classified as dangerous occurrences.
The reports, obtained by WestBusiness through a freedom of information request, show the challenges facing hundreds of WA workers that have helicoptered about 500km back and forth between Broome and the 488m-long giant since it arrived from South Korea in July 2017.
One difficulty with floating LNG vessels is that an LNG carrier must berth alongside as the two vessels bob about in the sea, unlike floating oil production facilities that offload oil to a tanker a safe distance away through long flexible hoses.
In early May 2018 Shell tried to bring the LNG carrier Gallina alongside.
A tow rope to a tug failed when the 290m-long carrier was just 50m from Prelude and the operation had to be aborted.
That problem was caused by a tow rope that was incorrectly assembled.
Nine days later something as trivial as wrongly shaped plastic thwarted another attempt to load LNG on to Prelude.
It was thought the Gallina was safely secured to the Prelude by 16 mooring lines that ran through guides on the Prelude called fairleads. As the crew prepared to connect the LNG loading arms a mooring line failed and the Gallina was released and pulled away.
Afterwards it was found that all 16 lines had been significantly damaged by rubbing against sharp edges of nylon liners in the fairleads.
This seemingly trifling detail could have caused a “complete mooring failure” with “potential for serious consequences” if it had occurred later while LNG was being transferred.
Two weeks later the Gallina successfully offloaded its LNG and Prelude had gas to power itself and test its processing plant.
However, having gas on board the Prelude increased the risks Shell had to manage.
A flange leaked near the LNG loading arms as super-cold -162C LNG sitting at the bottom of a pipe caused it to contract and bend.
Another type of gas, hydrogen sulphide, was released when construction debris from the Korean shipyard was being removed from a tank and the area was evacuated.
In July a fire damper intended to keep gas from entering the air-conditioning system for the accommodation quarters failed to close when tested but was repaired quickly.
In August, Prelude lost all its power supply when a pump sending water to a gas-fired boiler tripped.
All workers on the Prelude and the attached 750-bed Posh Arcadia floating hotel went to their muster stations as the diesel emergency generators powered up to supply essential services.
But a transformer failed and the system to cover the deck with firefighting foam was left without power and unable to operate.
Other problems included a test of a system to cover the top of LNG tanks with a deluge of water in an emergency that found it delivered only half the planned amount of water as the system used undersized valves.
There was a small fire when dust in an oxygen cylinder valve ignited, leading to a muster of all personnel.
Newly installed insulation on a hot high-pressure steam line was seen smouldering and when the insulation was pulled away it caught fire. The insulation had been secured by combustible tape.
A Shell spokeswoman said the company had a rigorous program on Prelude to identify and manage risk in a controlled way.
“It is not unexpected for issues to arise during this phase of a project and it is standard practice to notify NOPSEMA,” she said. “We are proud of our safety and reporting culture.”
She said Shell encouraged workers to raise safety concerns.
TEETHING PROBLEMS
2017
July: Prelude arrives from Korea
2018
May: Tow line to tug fails, mooring lines fail
June: LNG loaded onto Prelude, gas leak, flood detection not working
July: Hydrogen sulfide leak, flooded machinery room, fire dampers did not close
August: No power to fire-fighting foam
September: Smouldering insulation
October: Small fire
December: 750-bed accommodation vessel for additional workers leaves, wells opened and gas flows to Prelude.
2019
February: Preparing for first export of condensate
The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.read more
Energy giant Shell has brushed off persistent talk about technical problems dogging the start-up of the huge Prelude floating LNG project off Australia’s far north-west coast but has signalled the first LNG cargo from the closely watched venture may still be several weeks away.
VANCOUVER, Jan. 21, 2019 /CNW/ – Today, LNG Canada announces the value of contracts and subcontracts approved as of December 2018, following the first three months of the construction phase of the large-scale LNG export project near Kitimat, British Columbia.
LNG Canada has thus far approved over $937 million (CAD) in contracts and subcontracts with First Nations enterprises and other businesses across Canada. This includes $175 million (CAD) to local First Nations businesses and, with the addition of contracts awarded to local Kitimat area businesses, including First Nations businesses, that total increases to $330 million (CAD) and $530 million (CAD) with the addition of BC businesses outside the local area.read more
(Repeats with no changes to text. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)
JANUARY 17, 2019
By Clyde Russell
LAUNCESTON, Australia, Jan 17 (Reuters) – The spot price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia has completely missed its usual winter peak, with much of the blame being laid at the door of milder-than-usual temperatures trimming demand.
That sounds perfectly plausible, but doesn’t quite tally with the fact that delivered volumes into the major consuming region of Northeast Asia hit a record-high in December.read more
A truce was reached in a dispute over a natural gas pipeline in western Canada, easing tensions for now as government leaders remain wary of intervening on the side of either the company or indigenous protesters.
Hereditary leaders of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in British Columbia reached a tentative deal with police late Wednesday to effectively allow work to resume on part of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s $31 billion gas export project.
Coastal GasLink workers will be able to access a bridge that had been barricaded, so long as a nearby protest camp isn’t dismantled, the Canadian Press reported, citing comments from one of the chiefs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said Wednesday there had been a resolution. “This is how this is supposed to work,” he told a town hall event in the Pacific coast province.read more
Shell buys out Total’s 26% stake in Hazira LNG and Port
By Rachita Prasad: ET Bureau: Updated: Jan 09, 2019, 03.01 PM ISTRoyal Dutch Shell has completed the acquisition of Gujarat-based Hazira LNG and Port Ventures from French energy major Total Gaz Electricité Holdings, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Shell Gas, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, acquired 26% equity interest in the Hazira LNG and Port from Total, to complete the acquisition. We did not disclose the financial consideration for the deal.
“The move allows Shell to build an integrated gas value chain: supply from its global LNG portfolio, regasification at the Hazira facility, and downstream customer sales. It further enables Shell to contribute towards India’s long-term need for more and cleaner energy solutions,” Shell said in the statement.read more
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SHELL’S ROLE IN NIGERIAN OPL 245 BRIBERY SCANDAL
Whatever fig leaves they might be trying to use to hide the truth, Shell and Eni paid over $1bn to a company called Malabu for the OPL 245 licence. Even though the payment was channelled through the Nigerian government, it was clear that Shell knew that the ultimate beneficiary was Dan Etete, the former minister of petroleum. Etete is the owner of Malabu, to whom he awarded the licence when he was Nigerian Minister of Petroleum.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
MORE INFORMATION
Shell appeased and collaborated with the Nazis. The oil giant instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Shell used slave labor and was a close business partner in Germany of I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that also used slave labor and supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children. Shell continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri and even after his death. It was money generated on Shell forecourts around the world, profiteering from cartel oil prices, that funded the Nazi party and saved it from financial collapse. Evidence about Shell's Nazi connections can be found in extracts from "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" Volumes 1 and 2 authored by historians paid by Shell, who had unrestricted access to Shell archives. There are 67 pages in total, so takes some time to download.
Photograph (full size here) shows a Swastika flag flying at the head office of Royal Dutch Petroleum, 30 Carel van Bylandtlaan, The Hague, during the Nazi occupation of the in World War II (From Image Database Hague Municipal)
Sir Henri Deterding, the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group - known as "The Most Powerful Man in the World" - who became an ardent Nazi and financial supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party.
Reading between the lines in various legal documents, it seems that the allegations are that after the technology in question had been disclosed to a Shell company in the USA, the information was passed to Shell in the Netherlands in breach of confidentiality. And Royal Dutch Shell subsequently exploited the technology without payment or credit to the company holding the rights; Newton Research Partners. The inference seems to be that Twister B.V. was founded by Shell partly on trade secrets stolen from Bloom/Newton.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Originally co-founded by the late Alfred Donovan and his son John, it is now operated by John, Shell's "No.1 Enemy", aided by an expert team, with invaluable support from retired Shell senior executives and officials as guest contributors and leaked information from Shell insiders.
(JOHN DONOVAN, WEBSITE OWNER) For nearly a decade, we have operated globally under the Royal Dutch Shell Plc top level domain name, dealing on Shell’s reluctant behalf with job applications, business proposals, Shell pension enquiries, shareholder enquiries, complaints, invitations to speak at conferences, an approach from the Dutch Defence Ministry and even terrorist threats. All meant for Shell. Prospect magazine has aptly described this website as being:"An open wound for Shell": WIPO proceedings by Shell to seize the domain name failed. NO SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES: All of our watchdog activities monitoring Royal Dutch Shell, including operating this website, are carried out on a non-profit basis. Any advertising revenues generated are used to recover and/or defray operational costs. We are a news aggregator and original content website. All information is available free for educational and research purposes. SHELL TACIT ENDORSEMENT: WHAT A WELL INFORMED SHELL OFFICIAL SAID ABOUT US:
"John and Alfred Donovan well known in UK/Hague. They perceive Shell played them and so have made it their mission to embarrass,belittle and criticize Shell, which they do quite well. Their website, royaldutchshellplc.com is an excellent source of group news and comment and I recommend it far above what our own group internal comms puts out."
WARNING TO SHELL EMPLOYEES: Shell Global Affairs Security "CAS") is spying on Shell employees globally trying to trace who is visiting, posting, or leaking information to this website from Shell premises. Threats, including death threats, have allegedly been made against conscience driven Shell whistleblowers supplying us with information. The worlds biggest leak of employee details as part of a claimed corporate revolution by 116 Shell employees, suggest the espionage operation, threats and draconian litigation have not been entirely successful in cutting off the supply of information to this website. The insider leaks had already cost Shell billions on the Sakhalin Energy project and the loss of SEIC Deputy Chairman, David Greer. We publish our own carefully researched articles about Shell e.g. "How Royal Dutch Shell saved Hitler and the Nazi Party". MEDIA COVERAGE: Prospect Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian, have all published major articles about us: "Rise of the Gripe Site";"Two men and a website mount vendetta against Shell' and "92-year-old's website leaves oil giant Shell-shocked”. SHELL PETROL STATION images displayed in the website header panel are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Information on copyright issues here.
John Donovan can be contacted at [email protected]
SHELL’S $500,000 WEDDING GIFT TO CORRUPT BRUNEI ROYAL FAMILY
EXTRACT FROM ASIAN JOURNAL ARTICLE IN LIST OF LINKS BELOW: "Fireworks will light up the sky for three nights. The local unit of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has donated 500,000 Brunei dollars (US$292,400; euro 243,700) for the display, and for cultural events to be hosted by popular performers from Malaysia."
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS:
THIS IS WHAT IT SAID:
Subject: This could be the most important whistleblower email you have ever received.
Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake.
My name is Bill Campbell. I am a former Group Auditor of Shell International. I am writing to you on a matter of conscience in an effort to avert the inevitability of another major accident in the North Sea. The consequences could potentially impact on families in many constituencies, including your own.
As Royal Dutch Shell and the Health & Safety Executive would acknowledge, I am an expert on safety matters relating to offshore oil and gas platforms. In 1999, I was appointed by Shell to lead a safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform. The audit revealed a platform management culture that basically gave a higher priority to production than the safety of Shell employees. To our astonishment we discovered that a "Touch F*** All" policy was in place. Worse still, safety records were routinely falsified and repairs bodged.
I personally brought the shocking situation to the attention of senior management including Malcolm Brinded, the then Managing Director of Shell Exploration & Production. I revealed that ESDV leak-off tests were purposely falsified, not once but many times and that Brent Bravo platform management had admitted responsibility for the dangerous practices being followed. In response to my team ringing alarm bells, management pledged to rectify the serious problems which had been uncovered.
When I later complained that the pledges were not being kept, I was removed from my oversight function.
Four years later, a massive gas leak occurred on the platform. Two workers lost their lives. I have no doubt at all that the inaction of the relevant Asset Manager, the General Manager, the Oil Director and Malcolm Brinded, contributed in some part to the unlawful killing of two persons on Brent Bravo in September 2003.
Shell subsequently pleaded guilty to breaches of the HSE regulations and a record-breaking £900,000 fine was imposed. I thought this would bring about a real change in policy to put the emphasis on safety.
Unfortunately I was wrong. Although I supplied the evidence related to 1999, and the fact that there had been a collapse in controls of integrity from 1999 to 2003 on all 16 of Shell's North Sea offshore installations covered in a post fatality integrity review to the HSE for review by the Procurator Fiscal, none of this evidence was presented before the Sheriff at the subsequent Inquiry. The situation is explained in a letter to the Procurator Fiscal and the Sheriff (on 24th February 2007).
Shell management has engaged in spin to try to pretend that it is getting to grips with its safety problem. However, its atrocious safety record - the worst in the North Sea in terms of accidental deaths and absolute number of enforcement actions – tells a different story. This fact has resulted in a number of newspaper articles.
I have had meetings with senior Shell people including its CEO Mr. Jeroen van der Veer. I regret to say that I have found him to be economical with the truth. He prefers to support cover-up and deceit rather than confronting the underlying problems. Brinded is now Executive Director of Shell Exploration & Production. He believes in burying evidence.
My family and friends would probably prefer me to give up on this matter and enjoy my retirement after so many years working for Shell.
However, by writing to every MP in the UK, no one can ever say that I did not do my best to avert an inevitable further major accident event in the North Sea. When it happens (I pray that I am wrong) I will make this warning communication available to the media together with the vast amount of evidence in my possession.
At least my conscience is clear. I have done everything possible to ring the alarm bells about Shell management and its unscrupulous attitude to the safety of its employees.
Yours sincerely
Bill Campbell
ENDS
(Malcolm Brinded and Jeroen van der Veer are no longer with Shell. The Oil Director referred to in the email is Chris Finlayson, who left Shell to become Chief Executive of British Gas before being fired - his photo immediately below)
SIR PHILIP WATTS, THE GROUP CHAIRMAN OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP, FORCED TO RESIGN IN 2004
Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves. US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits. Sir Philip Watts
and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal) were among the Shell executives forced to resign. More details at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: The Shell reserves scandal brought about
the end of the Royal Dutch Shell Group in its original form as an Anglo-Dutch partnership.
Shell Transport & Trading Co and Royal Dutch Petroleum were unified into a single Dutch owned company - Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Sir Philip turned to religion and is now a very wealthy priest after receiving a payoff/pension package from Shell reportedly worth $18.5 million. Walter van de Vijver in contrast was the victim of a sadistic sacking by his Shell senior management backstabbing colleagues.
Displayed below are some of the spectacular promotional campaigns my company Don Marketing created for Shell in the 1980s and 1990s. This was before the series of SIX high court actions we brought against Shell for stealing ideas (4) and for defamation (2) - all settled by Shell. This website is a permanent response by me to the malicious underhand tactics, including treachery, espionage and intimidation, used by Shell during and after the bouts of litigation. More information is printed at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: After a solicitor acting for Shell threatened to make the litigation "drawn out and difficult" with the intention of draining the resources of a financially weaker opponent, my late father (Alfred Donovan) and I decided to mount a wide-ranging campaign as a counter-measure. We jointly founded the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, which nearly 15% of Shell UK retailers joined. We regularly conducted ethical surveys involving up to 1500 Shell petrol stations. All responses were opened and authenticated by an independent solicitor who supplied Affidavits confirming the results. In whole page announcements in trade magazines (examples above) we challenged Shell to commission and publish the resuits of independent research asking the same questions and offering respondents GUARANTEED anonymity. Shell never took up the invitation. Instead it asked the UK Advertising Standards Authority to investigate our Shell surveys. No problems were found. The head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
SHELL CONTROVERSIES
selection of memorable warnings/articles/images associated with the controversial track record of Royal Dutch Shell.
WARNING: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR IDEAS TO SHELL GameChanger OR SHELL Ideas360 WITHOUT TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION. Shell management has ample funds to pay for intellectual property but prefers to steal it from small businesses and in our experience, gives its full backing to dishonest managers willing to do its bidding. We have sued Shell repeatedly in the High Court for the theft of our Intellectual Property. It is doubtful if anyone can match our dire experience in dealing with this ruthless unscrupulous serial poacher of other parties ideas. Expect threats, legal machinations and sinister action from Shell and its spooks if you object to having your ideas stolen.
Some years ago extensive documentary evidence was brought to the attention of Malcolm Brinded above, when he was Chairman of Shell UK, proving beyond any doubt that Shell executives had conspired to rig a tender for a major contract. A number of innocent firms were deliberately lured into signing confidentiality agreements and disclosing Intellectual Property to Shell under false pretences, in a carefully contrived plot. The firm which was awarded the contract never took part in the tender. One objective of the Machiavellian plan was to stop/delay IP trade secrets owned by the participants in the tender from being disclosed to Shell's rivals. This was achieved by outright deception, without paying a cent to the firms involved, who wrongly believed they were participating in an honest tender. Instead of sacking the ring leader, AJL - who had a personal relationship with the firm which miraculously won the race in which it never ran - Shell senior directors, including Brinded, gave AJL their full backing. Some of the Shell executives involved, including for example, Tim Hannagan, still hold high positions inside Shell - in his case, Global Brand and Visual Identity Manager. If Shell does not accept that this is a true, provable account of what happened, then it should sue for libel. How on earth is such predatory conduct compatible with Shell's claimed business principles?
OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
JOHN DONOVAN, THE OWNER OF THIS AND SEVERAL OTHER SHELL FOCUSSED WEBSITES
SHELL PRELUDE TO DISASTER
The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell above, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.
The campaign waged on this website by John Donovan to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte - which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS - has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name - Pioneering Spirit.
GLOBAL NEWS COVERAGE: FEBRUARY 2010
MORE INFORMATION: Contact details for over 176,000 employees and contractors of Royal Dutch Shell reached John Donovan and some environmental and human rights groups, ostensibly from disaffected Shell staff calling for a “peaceful corporate revolution” at the company. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, contained names and telephone numbers for all the company’s work force worldwide, including some home numbers. It was supplied with a 170 page covering note, explaining that it was being circulated by “116 concerned employees of Shell dispersed throughout the USA, the UK, and the Netherlands”, to highlight the harm done by the company’s operations in Nigeria. John Donovan brought the leak to the attention of Shell. Tests proved that the data was authentic and he destroyed the database after being informed by Mr. Richard Wiseman, the then Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, that the confidential information if publicly disclosed, could put Shell employees and contractors in real danger.