Dutch government cuts Groningen gas field production

By Carl Surran: 23 June 2015

Shell’s Arctic drilling plans may hit permitting snag

June 23, 2015 | By Jennifer A. Dlouhy

WASHINGTON — Shell’s plans to bore two wells in the Arctic Ocean this summer may be jeopardized by an obscure permitting requirement that effectively bars drilling operations close to each other in waters off Alaska.

The restriction highlighted by environmentalists opposed to Shell’s Arctic drilling campaign could be a major stumbling block for the company, which has spent $7 billion and seven years pursuing oil in the region.

The provision is embedded in the government’s rules for obtaining a “letter of authorization” allowing companies to disturb walruses, seals and other animals in the region — among the last permits Shell needs to launch activities in the Chukchi Sea next month. Under a 2013 Fish and Wildlife Service regulation, those authorizations are precluded for drilling activities happening within 15 miles of each other. read more

“There does not appear to be any way that the federal government can allow Shell to proceed as the company has planned…”

23 June 2015

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Green groups urged the U.S. Department of Interior on Tuesday to revoke the agency’s conditional approval of Royal Dutch Shell’s 2015 Arctic oil exploration plan, saying it runs counter to established protections for walruses.

A 2013 rule implemented by the Fish and Wildlife Service, a bureau of the Interior Department, prevents energy companies from exploring for oil simultaneously at wells in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska that are within 15 miles (24 km) of each other. read more

The £47bn blockbuster deal has been officially filed with competition regulators in Brazil, a key hurdle and strategic area for Shell’s interest

By Ashley Armstrong: 6:38PM BST 23 Jun 2015

Shell’s £47bn plan to become the world’s biggest gas producer has moved a step closer to reality after the oil giant officially filed its takeover of BG Group with Brazilian competition regulators.

The second-biggest oil and gas deal ever on record still requires the blessing of a number of regulators across the world. Sources have already flagged potential hurdles could come from China’s notoriously opaque Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) and Brazil’s beefed up authority, the Administrative Council of Economic Defence (CADE), as well as European regulators. The companies have indicated that they expect the deal to close by the first quarter of 2016. read more

By Javier Blas: June 23, 2015

By the time the convention chat turned into action, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc, Total SA, Eni SpA, Statoil ASA and BG Group Plc published an unprecedented open letter on climate change. Breaking with their biggest U.S. competitors, they announced their support for efforts to put a cost on polluting, acknowledging they were on the wrong side of history.

“They have massively changed the rhetorical position,” says Charlie Kronick, senior climate adviser at Greenpeace in London. “They know that if you are not at the table, you could end up being lunch.” read more

JOHN DAGGE: HERALD SUN: MELBOURNE: JUNE 24, 2015

ONE of Australia’s biggest plastic makers has added its voice to concerns about Shell’s planned takeover of BG Group, saying further consolidation in the gas industry will likely harm manufacturers. 

Melbourne-based Qenos has also attacked Victoria’s ban on onshore oil and gas drilling, saying the restriction put at risk a new wave of major investment in the nation’s petrochemical and plastics industry.

Chief executive Jonathan Clancy told BusinessDaily Royal Dutch Shell’s $91 billion push to swallow British rival BG ran the risk of increasing consolidation among gas producers at a time when manufacturers needed more suppliers. read more

Royal-Dutch Shell is teaming up with Gazprom on several projects despite Western sanctions on Russia.

The expanded partnerships fly in the face of European and American sanctions which ban joint ventures with Russian energy companies.

23 June 2015

Europe’s efforts to reduce dependence on the Russian energy have been dealt a new blow after reports that the Anglo-Dutch energy behemoth Shell was teaming up with Gazprom on several projects. 

Shell as well as Germany’s E.ON and Austria’s OMV Group signed a memorandum with Gazprom last week to build two new Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea to Germany. They hope to ship 55 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe each year. read more

Anchorage Residents Hold ‘Keep Shell Out of the Arctic!’ Rally

Kirby Spangler Jun 22, 2015

Anchorage, Alaska – Following weeks of demonstrations in Seattle protesting Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic Drilling program, Anchorage residents gathered on the corner of Northern Lights and Minnesota at a local Shell gas station to join the international chorus speaking out about the controversial oil exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. A 30ft long banner held by protesters read “Shell Drills, Oil Spills : 75% chance of Arctic Spill”. 

A coordinated event was also held in Juneau with a hand-built replica of Shell’s drilling rig, the Polar Pioneer, parked in front of the Federal Building, where it dwarfed the gathered protesters. Both events were planned by participating grassroots and non-profit groups concerned about drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic.  read more

Coast Guard clears Shell drillship bound for Arctic

Posted on June 22, 2015 | By Jennifer A. Dlouhy

The drillship Noble Discoverer undergoes sea trials off Singapore in November 2014.

WASHINGTON — As one of Shell’s Arctic drilling rigs makes its way to Alaska, a second is waiting in the wings.

The Noble Discoverer, now docked in Washington state waters, has received a critical “certificate of compliance” from the U.S. Coast Guard verifying it meets a host of safety and security requirements. Since a May 20 Coast Guard inspection, Shell and Noble cleared more than a dozen violations documented at the vessel. read more