Update from NAM on Shell/Exxon induced Dutch Earthquakes

By John Donovan: 19 April 2016

Printed below in italics is a Google translation of information published in Dutch today by NAM, the Shell/Exxon Joint Venture company.

It is about the earthquakes inadvertently generated by NAM gas production activity in and around the Groningen Gas field in the Netherlands.

The damage arising from the earthquakes, which are expected to increase in intensity, will cost untold billions to deal with.

Maintaining current production level of 27 billion m3

On April 19th NAM published its proposal for future gas production from the Groningen gas field. It is the first step in a stepwise decision-making process that should lead before October 1, 2016 to a final government decision on gas production from the Groningen gas field. Given the complexity and societal concern about the earthquake record, the Minister of Economic Affairs has decided on extensive consultation with authorities, experts and residents for gas production decision. read more

By John Donovan

Today came news that Shell is slashing its panel of international law firms by 97%.

It therefore seems appropriate to reflect on the views about lawyers expressed by the extraordinary Dutchman most responsible for building Royal Dutch Shell into a global business: Sir Henri Deterding.

For some reason, although he was the undisputed head of the Royal Dutch Shell Group for almost 40 years, and said to be The Most Powerful Man in the World, his name now seems verboten at Shell.  read more

LONDON | BY DMITRY ZHDANNIKOV, FREYA BERRY AND RON BOUSSO: Business | Tue Apr 19, 2016

Chemical giant ChemChina approached BG Group with a possible bid late last year, just as Royal Dutch Shell was preparing to close a $52 billion deal to buy the British energy company, seven banking and industry sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Working with investment bank HSBC (HSBA.L), China’s most acquisitive company of the past year flew a delegation to Britain in December and approached BG Chairman Andrew Gould with plans for a full cash bid, two sources close to ChemChina said.

Shell and HSBC declined to comment. ChemChina did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not reach Gould for comment.

That trip was eight months after Shell announced the energy sector’s largest deal in a decade and just weeks before the BG purchase received final anti-trust and shareholder clearances. read more

By Nick Goodway: 19 April 2016

My eye was caught yesterday by a document from Royal Dutch Shell snappily entitled Report on Payments to Governments for 2015. (I know, I don’t lead a very exciting life.) This is one of the myriad new reports that corporates are forced to release each year in the interests of greater transparency and good governance.

But for once, alongside the hundreds of such reports I have binned, there was some interesting stuff here. In short, the report details how much Shell paid to each government in the countries in which it operates in terms of their share of production, royalties, taxes and fees. read more

Shell slashes global panel from 11 to six post-BG merger

Shell scraps 97 per cent of global panel

On the final letter received from Simmons & Simmons before they retreated from the melee, we ended up with someone too timid to even disclose their name. Weren’t they supposed to frighten us?

19 April 2016

Simmons & Simmons is one of the law firms given the boot by Shell.

I have no idea if this is anything to do with my correspondence with Simmons & Simmons a while back.

They were brought in by Shell, no doubt at great cost, to fend off our applications to Shell under the Data Protection Action 1998.

The information we were obtaining was causing immense damage to Shell. For example, we found out from Shell internal communications about the cloak and dagger activity directed towards us by Shell Corporate Affairs Security.    read more

Shell and Iberdrola have been found guilty of fraud and market manipulation in California’s energy market: MAURIZIO RELLINI/CORBIS

Marcus Leroux: 19 April 2016

Britain was the only country where Royal Dutch Shell enjoyed a negative effective tax rate last year, according to a report released by the company.

While the second-largest oil group in the world paid billions to governments from Nigeria to Norway, the payments it received from the British government indicate the toll taken on Treasury coffers by the collapse in the price of oil.

Shell received a net $123 million (£86 million) from the UK government last year, largely because of changes to the tax system that entitled it to a rebate relating to its historic Brent oilfield. read more