About a month ago, BlackRock Inc.(NYSE:BLK), the world’s largest asset manager with $9 trillion in assets under management (AUM), sent shockwaves through the fossil fuel sector after it vowed to double down on climate activism by backing more shareholder resolutions on climate change and social issues in 2021.
Around the same time, the $226 billion New York State pension fund and the $5B Rockefeller Brothers Fund announced plans to divest the majority of their fossil fuel investments and also sell shares of other companies that have been actively contributing to global warming.read more
London — The EU should include a “methane performance” standard in its upcoming legislative proposals to tackle the issue of methane emissions to ensure it only imports gas from countries with similar policies, a senior official from Shell said Feb. 24.
Speaking during IP Week, Shell’s head of integrated gas, Maarten Wetselaar, said Europe has a major role to play in helping reduce methane emissions from upstream activity.read more
Published date: 22 February 2021Shell has delayed the startup of the PowerNap and Vito deepwater projects in the US Gulf of Mexico because of Covid-19-related issues.
The first oil date for PowerNap has been delayed to early 2022, and the first oil date for Vito has been delayed to 2022, the company said. Both were expected to start up late this year to coincide with an expansion of the Mars offshore crude pipeline system.
“Covid-19-related delays, including reductions in personnel and the impacts of Covid-19 barriers on day-to-day working, have impacted project timelines,” Shell said.
Vito is expected to reach peak production of about 100,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) and PowerNap is expected to have a peak capacity of 35,000 boe/d.read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell vowed to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050, raising its ambition from previous targets, as its oil output declines from a 2019 peak.
The Anglo-Dutch company is in the midst of its largest overhaul yet as it prepares to expand its renewables and low-carbon business in the face of growing investor pressure on the oil and gas sector to battle climate change.
Shell last year laid out a plan to reach net zero by 2050, in line with the Paris climate agreement and European Union ambitions, but it said the goal depended on its customers.read more
Canada’s Crescent Point to buy Shell’s Kaybob assets for C$900 mln
By Reuters Staff: FEBRUARY 17, 2021
Feb 17 (Reuters) – Canadian oil and gas producer Crescent Point Energy Corp said it has agreed to buy Kaybob Duvernay assets in Alberta from oil major Royal Dutch Shell’s unit for C$900 million ($708.77 million). ($1 = 1.2698 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)SOURCE
The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted an interim Mareva injunction directing commercial banks to block Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd accounts.
A Mareva injunction is a court order freezing a party’s assets, until the determination of a case they are involved in, to stop them from taking it abroad.
The order was in a bid to recover the cash equivalent of more than 16 million barrels of crude oil allegedly diverted by the oil giant from AITEO Eastern E & P Company Ltd.read more
Hydrogen Council members – including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BMW, Microsoft Corp and Sinopec – plan to increase hydrogen investments six-fold through 2025, from 2019 levels.
Europe pulls ahead in race for hydrogen, as global project pipeline grows: report
FILE PHOTO: The new Febus hydrogen bus is seen before a presentation in Pau, France, January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Most of the world’s planned hydrogen projects and the biggest chunk of related investments this decade are expected to be in Europe, an industry report said on Wednesday, as the continent races to scale up the low-carbon fuel to meet climate goals.read more
Shell Deer Park, Texas, refinery and chemical plant shut – company
Reuters Staff: FEBRUARY 16, 2021
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc shut its 318,000 barrel-per-day joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery because of severe cold weather, the company said on Tuesday
The company’s adjoining chemical plant was also shut.
“Shell’s Deer Park facility has shut down due to unprecedented weather in the region,” the company said in an email. “As a result, flaring is expected to increase in the near term. There is no threat to the surrounding community and we continue to contribute power to the regional grid by way of our cogeneration facilities.”read more
Shell has shut down the crude distillation units of its Deer Park refinery due to a malfunction, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
The two crude distillation units have a combined capacity of 310,000 barrels of oil daily. According to the Reuters sources, they were shut down after a seal failed on a pump that feeds crude to other units at the refinery.read more
LONDON — Britain’s Supreme Court said Friday that a group of about 50,000 Nigerian farmers and fishermen could bring a case in London’s High Court against Royal Dutch Shell over years of oil spills in the Niger Delta that have polluted their land, wells and waterways.
The judges said there was the potential that a parent company like Shell, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands but a large British presence, has responsibility for the activities of subsidiaries like the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, which operates in the delta region.read more
Nigerians Can Sue Shell in U.K. Over Spills, Top Court Says
Bloomberg News: William Clowes: Publishing date: Feb 12, 2021
(Bloomberg) — Thousands of Nigerians can sue Royal Dutch Shell Plc in London over environmental damage in the West African nation, the U.K.’s top court said.
The Supreme Court on Friday reversed two earlier rulings that blocked the case from being heard in England. The decision could pave the way for similar claims from the developing world against British companies.
The ruling is the second legal setback for Shell, headquartered in The Hague, in recent weeks after a Dutch court ordered the company’s Nigerian subsidiary to pay compensation for spills that occurred more than 13 years ago. The prospect of more lawsuits in Europe comes at a bad time for the company as it outlines its plans to transition to cleaner energy.The residents of fishing and farming communities in the crude-rich Niger Delta region say oil spills from pipelines operated by Shell’s local unit have destroyed their land and livelihoods. More than five years after filing their lawsuit, the roughly 42,000 individuals represented will be allowed a trial where they can try to persuade a U.K. court to order the energy giant to pay compensation and clean up the pollution.
Force Rethink?
The decision may force other U.K. multinationals to rethink how they operate abroad, says lawyer Rick Munro.read more
Shell plans show steep curve ahead for carbon offset market
By Reuters: FEBRUARY 12, 2021
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has set forth plans for nature-based carbon offsets, derived from forestry and soil stewardship projects, which outstrip the entire global market in its current form, as do its carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity aims.
Graphic: Shell’s carbon offset ambition
Graphic: Big Oil’s 2019 greenhouse gas emissions Big Oil’s 2019 greenhouse gas emissionsread more
Shell LNG Canada’s coronavirus restart plan approved
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Feb 12 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s LNG Canada export project in British Columbia has won approval from health officials for construction to ramp back up with improved coronavirus protection measures.
Work at the site was curtailed last month by an order from the Provincial Health Officer which applied to five major industrial projects in British Columbia, including LNG Canada.
“Our approved restart and measured workforce increase at the project site will continue over the coming months,” LNG Canada and JGC I Fluor, the engineering joint venture building the project, said in a statement on Thursday.read more
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — Shell Oil Products U.S. has paid a $191,000 fine for the release of pollutants from its Shell Puget Sound Refinery north of Seattle in Skagit County.
The fine comes via a legal settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resolve federal Clean Air Act violations, The Skagit Valley Herald reported.
During refinery maintenance on Feb. 20, 2015, several operating procedures were violated, resulting in the release of about 700 pounds of pollutants. Hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, mercaptans, pyrophoric iron and benzene were released over a period of more than three hours.read more
Feb 12th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Jillian Ambrose: Thu 11 Feb 2021 09.40 GMT
Shell has set new carbon emissions goals to become a net zero carbon energy company by 2050, but will continue to grow its gas business by more than 20% in the next few years.
Shell’s goal is to be net zero carbon company within 30 years, including the emissions from burning its fossil fuels. But the plans have raised concerns among green campaigners that Shell may still increase its emissions in the coming decade, which is considered a crucial period to avoid a climate catastrophe.read more
Feb 10th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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EPA fines Shell Oil $191,000 over release of toxic vapors from Anacortes refinery
by KOMO News Staff:
SEATTLE – The company that operates the Anacortes oil refinery will pay a $191,000 fine for violations of the Clean Air Act stemming from a 2015 release of toxic vapors that sickened dozens of local residents of the area.
The fine, part of a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency, is in addition to previous fines of over $420,000 levied by the Northwest Clean Air Agency and the Washington Safety and Health Agency against Shell Oil Products U.S. over the incident.read more
Feb 9th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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How Biden should meet his promise to cut fossil fuel emissions
Full power of US Clean Air Act must be used to cut oil and gas sector’s methane output9 FEB 2021Extracts
It is clear, however, that the oil and gas sector’s concerns over methane emissions have reached a breaking point.
The industry’s shift follows decades of climate denial and obfuscation. The industry eventually turned to voluntary commitments such as the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, insisting they would suffice in place of the force of law. But under immense investor and public pressure, some of the oil majors, including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, and Equinor, have now publicly announced support for government regulation of methane pollutionread more
Feb 8th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Hedge funds bet on oil’s ‘big comeback’ after pandemic hobbles producers
FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos shows the logos of five of the largest publicly traded oil companies; BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total. REUTERS/File Photo
TORONTO (Reuters) – Hedge funds are turning bullish on oil once again, betting the pandemic and investors’ environmental focus has severely damaged companies’ ability to ramp up production.read more
LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s state oil company is renegotiating commercial contract terms with major oil firms, its chief told Reuters, in a move that it hopes will keep investment flowing into a sector crucial for its economy at a time when spending is being slashed.
Africa’s largest oil exporter and biggest economy relies on the oil sector for half of its budget and 90% of its foreign exchange. It wants to raise revenue but also attract investment.read more
Persistent issues with theft and sabotage in the Niger Delta could prompt Shell to take a hard look at its operations onshore Nigeria, the supermajor’s chief executive Ben van Beurden said this week.
“Our onshore oil position, despite all the efforts we put in against theft and sabotage, is under challenge,” van Beurden told reporters, as carried by Reuters, after Shell reported another set of weak Big Oil results affected by the pandemic.read more
Feb 6th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Oil giant Shell follows rivals into huge loss
“2020 was an extraordinary year,” said Chief Executive Ben van Beurden. “We have taken tough but decisive actions,” he said, with Shell having already announced plans to axe up to 9,000 jobs, or more than 10 percent of its global workforce.
Published on: Friday, February 05, 2021: By AFP
LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday became the latest oil major to reveal huge annual losses as the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand and prices in 2020.
Shell dived into a net loss of $21.7 billion (18.1 billion euros) last year as factories shut and planes were grounded.read more
Feb 5th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell makes record loss in 2020 after more write-offs
Published date: 04 February 2021
Shell posted a record loss in 2020 after it booked more hefty write-offs in the fourth quarter.
Excluding inventory effects, Shell made a loss of $4.48bn in the October-December period, compared with a profit of $871mn a year earlier. The quarterly loss was largely driven by pre-announced, non-cash post-tax impairment charges of $2.7bn and charges of $1.1bn mainly for “onerous contract provisions”.read more
New York — Shell Chemical announced that construction at its $6 billion petrochemical complex in Pennsylvania is expected to be completed in 2022, Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden said during an earnings call Feb. 4.
Shell previously expected the Pennsylvania project to start up in the first half of 2021 after suspending work in mid-March 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic concerns.read more
Feb 4th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Oil major Shell reports sharp drop in full-year profit, raises dividend
Sam Meredith@SMEREDITH19: PUBLISHED THU, FEB 4 20212:31 AM EST UPDATED THU, FEB 4 20213:18 AM EST
KEY POINTS
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $4.85 billion for the full-year 2020. That compared with a profit of $16.5 billion for the full-year 2019.
The company said it would raise its first-quarter dividend to $0.1735 per share, reflecting an increase of 4% from the previous quarter.
The results come as energy giants seek to reassure investors about their future profitability, following a dreadful year for the global oil and gas industry by virtually every measure.
LONDON — Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported a sharp drop in full-year profit as the coronavirus pandemic took a heavy toll on the global oil and gas industry.
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $4.85 billion for the full-year 2020. That compared with a profit of $16.5 billion for the full-year 2019, reflecting a drop of 71%. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected full-year 2020 net profit to come in $5.15 billion.read more
Feb 1st, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell ‘on the verge’ of signing Post Office broadband deal
Shell has, this weekend, edged closer to buying the Post Office’s broadband operations, in a deal that would push it further into the UK telecoms market.
The news comes following a weekend of talks between the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) giant and postal service, according to reports from Sky News.
Negotiations have now been in play for nearly two months. In early December, it was reported that Shell had slipped into poll position for the acquisition, with TalkTalk (TALK.L) and Sky also expressing an interest in the business.read more
Jan 29th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Court orders Shell to pay Nigeria farmers for oil pollution
The appellate court in the Netherlands ruled Friday that Shell’s claims of sabotage along the Nigerian pipeline are not supported by evidence.ByClyde Hughes:WORLD NEWS: JAN. 29, 2021 / 8:03 AMJan. 29 (UPI) — A Dutch court ruled on Friday that oil company Royal Dutch Shell must compensate farmers in Nigeria for oil spills that occurred years ago.The Court of Appeals ruled that Shell’s Nigerian branch must pay for spills in the Niger River Delta between 2004 and 2007, which spurred a civil case from four farmers that lasted for years.
Jan 29th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Dutch appeals court rules Shell Nigeria unit responsible for oil leaks
Reuters Staff: JANUARY 2021/ 10:32
AMSTERDAM, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A Dutch appeals court on Friday said that the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell was responsible for oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages farmers.
The decision went a step further than a 2013 ruling by a lower court, saying that Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was responsible for multiple cases of oil pollution.
Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; editing by Jason Neelyread more
Jan 29th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell Is Back in Court for Nigeria Oil Spills Liability Ruling
Bloomberg News: Laura Hurst and Diederik Baazil: Jan 29, 2021
(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc faces the latest ruling in a long-running legal dispute with Nigerian farmers who say the energy giant is responsible for oil leaks that have polluted their villages.
The case is the first in which a company and its foreign subsidiary have been tried in the Netherlands for allegedly breaching duty of care abroad, and it could have far-reaching implications for future suits brought against oil firms.read more
Rating agency S&P has warned 13 oil and gas companies, including the some of the world’s biggest, that it may downgrade them within weeks because of increasing competition from renewable energy. On notice of a possible downgrade are Australia’s Woodside Petroleum as well as multinationals Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Imperial Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, Shell Energy North America, Canadian Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips and French group Total.read more
Jan 27th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell New Energies is to acquire a 51% stake in Simply Blue Energy’s Kinsale floating wind venture.
Kinsale was set up to develop the Emerald project, a floating wind farm in the Celtic Sea, off the south coast of Ireland.
The new JV will be operated by Simply Blue Energy supported by Shell floating wind experts, with the project office based in the Cork City Docklands rejuvenation area.
The partnership combines Simply Blue’s track-record in developing floating wind projects and local knowledge of the Celtic Sea environment with Shell’s offshore experience, floating wind expertise and ability to develop large complex projects.read more
Jan 27th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Work starts on world’s first carbon capture storage plant
“What we are doing is essentially establishing the business of managing other people’s emissions in a safe way and storing it.”
27 JAN 2021
Northern Lights, a partnership between Equinor, Norway’s majority state-owned energy company, Royal Dutch Shell, and the French oil major Total, is responsible for transportation and storage.
Work has begun in Norway to build the world’s first business that aims to capture industry’s carbon emissions and then store them beneath the North Sea.read more
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy Ubitricity, owner of the largest public charging network for electric vehicles in the UK, as the oil major expands its presence along the power supply chain.
Shell said on Monday it would buy 100 per cent of the company for an undisclosed amount. Ubitricity, founded in Germany, is a leading European provider of on-street charging for electric vehicles.
Jan 22nd, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell’s departure was by mutual consent, and the project would continue “according to its existing development plan”, the three parties behind the project said. Immingham could begin supplying its first aviation fuel from non-recyclable household waste within five years.
But Shell’s decision to exit the UK’s burgeoning green fuels industry is likely to compound scepticism over Johnson’s promise that Britain would be in the “vanguard of green innovation” by pioneering zero-emission transatlantic flight.read more
Jan 21st, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Barrett hears climate case against her father’s ex-employer Shell
BY RACHEL FRAZIN AND JOHN KRUZEL – 01/19/21 03:50 PM ESTAmy Coney Barrett was among the justices who presided over a dispute Tuesday that pitted the city of Baltimore against some of the fossil fuel industry’s biggest players, despite her father’s longstanding ties to Shell Oil Company, one of the defendants in the case.
Barrett participated in the case even though as a lower court judge she recused herself from hearing cases involving Shell, her father’s former employer, in an apparent effort to avoid a possible conflict of interest.
Although the case heard Tuesday turned on the narrow question of whether the dispute properly belongs in state or federal court, how that issue is resolved could have an enormous bearing on potential corporate liability for environmental degradation.read more
Jan 16th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell resumes production at massive floating LNG plant
Article by Adam Duckett: 14JAN 2021
SHELL has resumed production of LNG from its huge floating processing plant – Prelude – following a series of project setbacks that halted output for almost a year.
The oil major said this week: “LNG cargoes have resumed from Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility.”
Shell repeated the statement it has made in response to a series of setbacks at the project, which at 488 m long is the largest ship ever built: “Prelude is a multi-decade project, and our focus remains on delivering sustained performance over the long-term.”read more
(Reuters) – Investors are judging how well energy companies have reoriented their businesses to cut emissions as they weigh activists’ calls for divestment, climate finance specialists said on Thursday.
Growing differences between oil majors have clarified when companies are positioned to achieve “net-zero” emissions, becoming more focused on renewable power and offsetting remaining greenhouse gas emissions with measures like carbon sequestration or conservation efforts, specialists said at a Reuters Next panel held online.read more
Jan 15th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell-Exxon aims at $2.5 bln in Dutch subsidies for carbon storage
Thu, January 14, 2021, 6:17 PM
AMSTERDAM, Jan 14 (Reuters) – A consortium that includes oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil has requested a total of 2.1 billion euros ($2.55 billion) in subsidies for a project to store CO2 gasses in empty Dutch gas fields in the North Sea, the Dutch Economy ministry said on Thursday.
The subsidies were requested together with industrial gas suppliers Air Liquide and Air Products for a project which aims to capture carbon dioxide emitted by factories and refineries in the Rotterdam port area in order to significantly reduce emissions in Europe’s largest sea port.read more
Jan 14th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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AskWonder.com: Research on external factors (suppliers, customers, competition, environment, etc) that are influencing Royal Dutch Shell at the moment. Delivered January 30th, 2017.
Links to royaldutchshellplc.com and royaldutchshellgroup.com as reference sources.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A-0.8%) says cargo shipments have resumed at its 3.6M mt/yr Prelude floating LNG offshore Western Australia, 11 months after it went offline because of technical issues.
Prelude FLNG in the Browse basin has been plagued by technical issues since it started shipments in June 2019.
The Symphonic Breeze LNG carrier is scheduled to arrive at Japan’s Himeji port on Jan. 16 after leaving Prelude on Jan. 9, and the Gaslog Glasgow is scheduled to arrive at Prelude on Jan. 21, Argus reports.
Prelude’s restart follows a spike in prices for northeast Asian spot liquefied natural gas as colder than expected weather in northeast Asia has fueled urgent demand for cargoes.
Jan 9th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Fishermen lose out as oil giant Shell delays survey on gasfields off Whitby and Scarborough
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell has postponed a seismic survey on two gasfields off the North Yorkshire coast, disappointing fishermen who were in line for tens of thousands of pounds of compensation.
The energy firm had been looking to conduct the 3D survey on the Resolution – first discovered in 1966 – and Endeavour gasfields in the first quarter of this year, but said it needed more time to “conclude agreements with commercial and other stakeholders in the area”.read more
Jan 6th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell postpones North Sea seismic job due to fishing, environmental concerns
Shell has postponed a 3D seismic survey in the UK North Sea after weighing up the impacts on fishing businesses and the environment.By Mark Lammey: 06/01/2021, 7:45 am
Partner Egdon Resources said the survey of the Resolution and Endeavour gas discoveries would take place in February 2022, rather than in the first quarter of this year.
Operator Shell made the decision following “extensive stakeholder engagement” and the revision of the environmental impact assessment.
The oil giant concluded that the commercial impact on local fishing businesses, along with potential impacts on marine mammalian movements, the breeding season for sea birds and tourism, meant it would be better to do the work in February.
The survey had originally been scheduled for March or April 2021.read more
Jan 5th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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SHELL INVESTS IN QUEBEC’S FIRST WASTE TO LOW-CARBON FUELS PLANT
Jan. 05, 2021
Shell Canada Limited, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”), today announced the signing of commercial agreements to invest in Varennes Carbon Recycling, the first waste to low-carbon fuels plant in Québec, Canada.
Calgary, AB – Shell will have a 40% interest in the plant using technology developed by Enerkem, a leading Canadian clean tech company. Enerkem announced the project in December 2020, subject to finalization of commercial agreements.read more
Dec 31st, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Some extracts from current customer comments posted on Trustpilot: “The broadband service is a joke. Been with them on an 18 month contract, and every single day there has been an issue. Sometimes dropping out 50 times a day. They know they are terrible but as long as they remain unpunished, they will continue their fraudulent activities. Avoid at all costs.”
Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted over the past few days on Trustpilot. Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. This article posted on 31 December 2020.read more
Shell, which started out as M. Samuel & Co. and built the first fuel depot in Singapore in the 1890s, said in November it was shutting half of its refining capacity on Singapore’s Pulau Bukom island, a move signaling the start of one era and the beginning of another for the energy hub.
Shell said Pulau Bukom will become one of its roughly six energy and chemicals parks and part of a “pivot from a crude-oil, fuels-based product slate towards new low-carbon value chains.”read more
Shell plans to begin layoffs for nearly 700 workers in March at its Convent oil refinery, which it expects to fully shut down in August.
The Louisiana subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, Equilon Enterprises LLC, previously had announced layoffs but has now filed an official notice with the Louisiana Workforce Commission outlining its plans.
Shell looks to lay off all 698 workers at the refinery, 340 of whom are represented by a union, according to the letter.read more
Dec 28th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Some extracts from current customer comments posted on Trustpilot: “Don’t buy Shell Broadband. It takes 3 days to download a game! Always buffers on Netflix and keeps stopping films”: “Zero level of customer service and massive price hikes on broadband. Steer clear.”
Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted over the past 4 days on Trustpilot. Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. This article posted on 28 December 2020.read more
Dec 27th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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2020 Was One of the Worst-Ever Years for Oil Write-Downs
Royal Dutch Shell’s Prelude floating facility has struggled to deliver income. PHOTO: ROYAL DUTCH SHELL AUSTRALIA/REUTERS
By Collin Eaton and Sarah McFarlane: Dec. 27, 2020 9:00 am ET
The pandemic has triggered the largest revision to the value of the oil industry’s assets in at least a decade, as companies sour on costly projects amid the prospect of low prices for years.
Oil-and-gas companies in North America and Europe wrote down roughly $145 billion combined in the first three quarters of 2020, the most for that nine-month period since at least 2010, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. That total significantly surpassed write-downs taken over the same periods in 2015 and 2016, during the last oil bust, and is equivalent to roughly 10% of the companies’ collective market value.read more
The government of Rivers state in the Niger Delta sealed off the Kidney Island base located in the Port Harcourt oil hub, saying the facility and Shell’s 30% stake in nearby Oil Mining Lease 11 were “lawfully purchased through public auction ordered by the court.”
Shell says the state government’s statement is “premature and prejudicial,” as the transfer of the oil license requires the approval of Nigeria’s federal minister of petroleum resources, which has not been granted.
Shell has been involved in a long-running legal battle with a local community in Rivers state which has successfully sued the company for millions of dollars in damages for allegedly polluting its land during a civil war in the late 1960s.
HOUSTON, Dec. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — As the number of COVID-19 cases surges across the country, Shell Oil Company (Shell) has announced it will contribute more than one million pieces of PPE to communities and medical care facilities from coast to coast. Extra face shields, non-medical masks and nitrile gloves are now arriving in some of the hardest hit areas of the country.read more
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 60 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner Head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC FAT CAT CEO, BEN VAN BEURDEN, PAID $30 MILLION IN 2014
DISCLAIMER
This is not a Shell website, nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell.
There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations.
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.
This is not a Shell website. Click on Disclaimer link at top of page for more information.
Shell Breaking News
Editorial- As Texas politicians tilt at wind turbines, Big Oil confronts real foe - climate changeFebruary 19, 2021 23:20Texas State News NetAlmost as unconscionable as their failure to prevent the deadly loss of power over the past week is Texas politicians’ haste to milk the misery for partisan advantage.Republican lawmakers wasted no time declaring war on renewable energy, and calling for …
Here’s the best of what international corporate leaders have been discussing on earnings callsFebruary 17, 2021 09:42MarketWatchAs much as U.S. companies have suffered from the pandemic, their global competition has struggled even more. Fourth-quarter earnings per share for S&P 500 companies are on pace to rise 2.3%, while those for Europe, Australasia and Middle East (EAFE) …
Shell (RDS.A) Fast Tracks 2050 Emission Reduction TargetFebruary 16, 2021 18:19Investing.comRoyal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) plc. RDS.A recently expedited its conversion into a carbon-neutral energy product and services supplier, aided by its well-developed customer-oriented operations. The company set new objectives for electric-car charging, carbon …
News24.com | Nigerians given green light to sue Shell over oil spillsFebruary 13, 2021 22:08News24The ruling comes after years of oil spills in the Niger Delta contaminated land and groundwater.
The ruling comes almost two years after a seminal ruling by the Supreme Court in a case involving mining company Vedanta.
A Shell spokesman said the decision …
S’Court affirms right of Nigerian communities to sue Shell in UKFebruary 13, 2021 14:28New TelegraphReprieve came the way of Nigerian farmers yesterday, when the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court allowed a group of 42,500 Nigerian farmers and fishermen to sue Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) in English courts, after years of oil spills in the Niger Delta …
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?
Which Banks Are The Biggest Backers Of Oil And Gas?
Hydrogen Council members – including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BMW, Microsoft Corp and Sinopec – plan to increase hydrogen investments six-fold through 2025, from 2019 levels.
FILE PHOTO: The new Febus hydrogen bus is seen before a presentation in Pau, France, January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo
Shell Shuts Down 310,000 Bpd Deer Park Refinery
Shell plans show steep curve ahead for carbon offset market
FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos shows the logos of five of the largest publicly traded oil companies; BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total. REUTERS/File Photo
Oil major Shell reports sharp drop in full-year profit, raises dividend
Shell resumes production at massive floating LNG plant
AskWonder.com:
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Head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
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.
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: 
MORE DETAILS:
