Feb 28th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Janene Pieters on February 28, 2017 – 09:41
Dutch oil and gas giant Shell has known about the dangers of climate change for over 30 years, yet still continues to work with fossil fuels and does its best to frustrate an effective approach to the climate problems facing the world, according to a reconstruction done by De Correspondent and published on Tuesday.
The reconstruction is based on confidential internal documents and an investigation into Shell’s lobbying, NU.nl reports. For the reconstruction climate journalist Jelmer Mommers investigated Shell and its environmental policy for over a year. He spoke to dozens of Shell employees about how they perceive the future of the company. The full reconstruction, in Dutch, can be found here.read more
The oil giant Shell issued a stark warning of the catastrophic risks of climate change more than a quarter of century ago in a prescient 1991 film that has been rediscovered. However, since then the company has invested heavily in highly polluting oil reserves and helped lobby against climate action, leading to accusations that Shell knew the grave risks of global warming but did not act accordingly. But, despite this early and clear-eyed view of the risks of global warming, Shell invested many billions of dollars in highly polluting tar sand operations and on exploration in the Arctic.read more
Feb 27 A Nigerian court will rule on March 13 on a request by Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni to lift the temporary seizing of a long-disputed oilfield, a judge said on Monday.
The court last month ordered the temporary seizing of assets and the transfer of operations of the OPL 245 field owned by Shell and Eni, among others, to the federal government on request of the country’s financial crime agency EFCC.
The case is the latest of several inquiries, following those by Dutch and Italian authorities, into the 2011 purchase of the OPL 245 block, which could hold up to 9.23 billion barrels of oil, according to industry figures.read more
Feb 28th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
by Jess Shankleman
28 February 2017, 00:01 GMT 28 February 2017, 08:27 GMT
Taxi driver Theo Ellis, the first person in Europe to drive Toyota Motor Corp.’s hydrogen-powered Mirai sedan for business, loves telling passengers about the technology that emits nothing but water.
They ask him about its costs, greenness, and the majority inquire about safety. To his passengers, the word “hydrogen” evokes memories of the Hindenburg, the airship that was destroyed in half a minute when it caught fire in 1937, or the H-bomb, a successor to what the U.S. dropped on Japan to end World War II.read more
Feb 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
by Rakteem Katakey: 27 February 2017, 14:52 GMT
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is unlikely to take on new oil-sands projects as it maintains a grip on costs after crude’s crash forced competitors to write down Canadian reserves.
While Shell’s existing oil-sands operations generate strong cash flows, the expense of developing new projects discourages additional investments, Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden said in an interview.
Oil sands, the reserves of heavy crude found primarily in northern Alberta, lured investors in the past decade as oil’s surge above $100 a barrel made the difficult extraction process economic. But they’ve fallen out of favor following the subsequent market collapse as companies dump expensive projects amid fears that competition from low-cost crude could strand costlier assets.read more
Feb 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
PR Newswire: Shell And Penske Forge The Future Of Transport Alliances
HOUSTON, Feb. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Shell and Penske Corporation announced today a multi-year continuation of their ongoing business, technical and motorsport alliance. As part of the agreement, Shell and Pennzoil will continue sponsoring Team Penske entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Verizon IndyCar Series through the 2022 season and beyond. Shell and Pennzoil will also continue to be the preferred supplier of fuels, lubricants and related products to the Penske organization.read more
Feb 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Argentina’s state-run oil company YPF SA said it reached a preliminary deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc on Thursday to develop oil and gas assets in the Vaca Muerta shale field, involving a $300 million investment from Shell.
Both companies will take a 50 percent stake in the Bajada de Añelo field to develop a pilot program, which will be operated by Shell, YPF said in a statement. The agreement is subject to approval by provincial authorities, and Shell’s investment will come in two phases, YPF said.read more
Feb 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
CSP: Shell Edges Closer to Full Indoor EMV Deployment
Jackson Lewis: February 23, 2017
HOUSTON — More than 11,000 Shell-branded retail sites—or nearly 80%—are now fully indoor compliant with the Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) payment standard, with the remainder expected to meet indoor compliance by spring 2017, Shell Oil Co. has announced.
As indoor EMV deployment nears completion, Shell looks to reach outdoor EMV compliance by the October 2020 liability shift date, and is moving forward with a pilot program planned for late 2017. The company said it plans to announce more details of its outdoor EMV program in second-quarter 2017.read more
The boss of Shell in the UK has labelled President Donald Trump’s stance on new, cleaner forms of energy as “disappointing”.
Asked whether Trump had cast doubt the need for a global transition to green energy, Sinead Lynch, country chair of Shell in Britain, told The Huffington Post UK: “It’s disappointing. Obviously what we really want is a collaboration and alignment across all governments internationally, regionally, locally.”
Feb 22nd, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
by Jess Shankleman
22 February 2017, 14:23 GMT
Royal Dutch Shell Plc may contract to build offshore wind farms in the U.K. and across Europe, after winning a bid to build one of the cheapest projects on record last year, Shell U.K. chair Sinead Lynch, said in an interview.
Europe’s biggest oil supplier is exploring opportunities across Europe for offshore wind, Lynch said at a press event on Wednesday at a Shell service station outside London, where she was opening the company’s first U.K. hydrogen refueling station.read more
Feb 21st, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Craig Trudell , Yuki Hagiwara , and John Lippert
20 February 2017, 20:30 GMT: 21 February 2017, 00:21 GMT
Royal Dutch Shell Plc will build seven fueling stations for hydrogen cars in California through a partnership with Toyota Motor Corp., laying down their latest bet on the demise of the internal-combustion engine.
The stations will nudge the state closer to its goal of having 100 retail sites by 2024 where hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles can fill up. The California Energy Commission is considering $16.4 million in grants toward the stations, with Shell and Toyota contributing $11.4 million.read more
Royal Dutch Shell has brushed off concern that the burgeoning market for liquefied natural gas is already oversupplied, after paying £36.5bn to buy market leader BG Group.
Shell’s first outlook report for LNG since the tie-up has predicted a market boom as demand from countries including China and India which will outpace the string of new project start-ups.
The market for LNG imports has already grown considerably in recent years but market commentators have raised fears that an explosion of new projects might flood the market. A deluge of LNG could push down prices just as Shell works to pay down the heavy cost of the tie-up.read more
LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) trader following its takeover of BG Group last year, said new LNG customers that will drive demand are looking for shorter and smaller contracts.
Shell expects much of new LNG demand to come from countries that want to replace declining domestic gas production — which has already happened in Egypt and Pakistan — and those countries that are looking at LNG to complement pipeline and domestically produced gas, like China or Morocco.read more
Feb 20th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Laura Hurst and Javier Blas: 20 February 2017
The giant tankers anchored along the Scottish coast in the Firth of Forth weren’t going anywhere. They were just providing floating storage because there was no demand for their cargo, North Sea crude oil.
But the flickering computer screens in the world’s trading rooms told a different story. Prices through the month of April were jumping, showing someone was buying, stunning traders and leaving some with heavy losses. That wasn’t the only bizarre gyration last year in the market for Brent, whose price determines the cost of just about every petroleum-based product, from jet fuel to plastic spoons. Such unusual moves damaged confidence so much that some traders retreated from the market.read more
Feb 17th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
February 17, 2017
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Kineticor, a small privately held power producer, has partnered with one of Canada’s largest pension funds to buy a half-finished oil sands power plant in northern Alberta that was part of an abandoned Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) project, the company said on Friday.
Alberta-based Kineticor said it had closed the acquisition of the partially constructed 690 megawatt cogeneration plant near Peace River that was part of Shell’s 80,000 barrel per day Carmon Creek project.read more
After roughly two years steering the unit through huge changes against a background of the third major oil price storm to rock the North Sea, Paul Goodfellow is taking on a new challenge as Shell’s executive vice president wells based at Rijkswijk in the Netherlands from April 1.
Assuming command in Aberdeen is Steve Phimister, who has for the past year been UK “transition lead” for the integration of BG Group’s business into Shell following the successful £36billion takeover completed early last year.read more
Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration awarded MISC $254.4million in its ruling.
MISC had filed an arbitration proceeding against Sabah Shell in September last year. The firm sought resolution of contractual disputes covering claims for outstanding additional lease rates, payment for completed variation works and other associated costs.
“This adjudication decision is expected to have a positive impact on the earnings per share, gearing and net assets per share of MISC for the financial year ending 31 December 2017 onwards,” MISC said.read more
Norway’s oil and gas powerhouse Statoil ASA has finalised its exit from the Canadian oilsands and is by no means alone in a list of high-profile internationally-based operators to agree a sale of Canadian upstream assets during the past 12 months.
Statoil (Oslo:STL) is selling its interest in the Kai Kos Denseh project to Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSX:ATH) for an initial Cdn$578 million. Analysis of this transaction can be found here.
Other significant sales agreed upon in 2016 by non-Canadian companies include:read more
Feb 16th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said it received notice on Tuesday of a request for indictment related to a 2011 settlement of long-standing disputes over an offshore block in Nigeria (OPL 245) .
The tribunal of Milan has fixed the preliminary hearing for 20 April 2017, the company said in a statement. “We don’t believe a request for indictment is justified and we are confident that this will be determined in the next stages of the proceedings. We continue to take this matter seriously and co-operate with the authorities,” Shell added. Shell and Eni on Tuesday said they have asked a Nigerian court to lift a temporary forfeiture of assets and the transfer of operations of the OPL 245 field owned by Shell and Italy’s Eni (ENI.MI), among others, to the federal government.read more
Last year’s surprise OPEC and non-OPEC oil production cuts were supposed to herald a new area of higher energy prices, but it hasn’t really happened. Oil bulls who predicted oil could hit $60 or $70 a barrel will have been disappointed, with the price stalling around $55. If the price can’t rise now, when will it rise? Or could it even crash?
Oil slip
Any further slippage would spell bad news for FTSE 100 giants (LSE: BP) and Royal Dutch Shell(LSE: RDSB). They are banking on a higher oil price to keep the cash flowing, and ensure their dividends are sustainable in the longer run.read more
Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary has committed US$1 billion for the development of the Niger Delta, the Vice President of the federal government, Yemi Osinbajo, said. Osinbajo is on a tour in the Delta, aiming to appease through dialogue the militant groups that have crippled Nigeria’s oil industry over the last couple of years.
The money will be released in US$500-million annual installments, to be used to provide clean drinking water, conduct health impact assessments, and supply “remediation technologies” to local communities, who tried to sue Shell for failure to clean up an oil spill in the area. The case was heard by the London High Court, which ruled that it is outside its jurisdiction: Shell Petroleum Development Company is registered in Nigeria, so a Nigerian court should be the one to hear the case.read more
Feb 14th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Reuters: Shell and ENI ask Nigerian court to lift forfeiture on oilfield: documents
By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: 0LN9.L – news) and ENI (LSE: 0N9S.L – news) have asked a Nigerian court to lift a temporary forfeiture of a long-disputed oilfield, a copy of the court documents filed by the two firms showed on Tuesday.
Last month, a Nigerian court ordered the temporary forfeiture of assets and the transfer of operations of the OPL 245 field owned by Shell (LSE: RDSB.L – news) and Eni, among others, to the federal government.read more
Feb 14th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Premium Times: Nigeria: Malabu $1.1 Billion Fraud – Shell, Eni Want Nigeria’s Richest Oil Block Back
Although Shell and ENI have repeatedly claimed they did not know the money was going to end up with Malabu, investigations in Nigeria and Italy as well as leaked documents revealed that claim to be false.
14 February 2017
By Evelyn Okakwu
Two multinational oil firms have challenged the propriety of the Nigerian government withdrawing a major oil block from them.
Shell and Eni, through their Nigerian subsidiaries, asked a Federal High Court to reverse an order that revoked the award of OPL 245 to them.
Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court had on January 26 granted an interim order directing the return of the block – Nigeria’s richest, estimated to contain over 9 billion barrels of crude – to the Nigerian government,read more
Feb 14th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
14 FEB 2017
Abuja – Shell Nigeria Exploration and Nigeria Agip Exploration have asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to discharge the order of forfeiture of OPL 245 which it granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice John Tsoho on Jan. 26, granted an order of interim forfeiture of Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL 245) to the Federal Government pending investigation and prosecution of suspects in the $1.1 billion Malabu Oil scam.
At the resumed hearing of the matter on Tuesday, the prosecuting counsel, Mr Johnson Ojogbane, informed the court that he was unable to respond to the two applications filed by the the applicants on the matter. read more
A stagnating oil price has seen investor appetite for Royal Dutch Shell(LSE: RDSB) seep away from recent multi-year highs.
The crude colossus saw its share price strike its highest since November 2014 a month ago, but fresh fundamental fears have seen Shell — like many of its London-quoted peers — retrace more recently.
Shale producers returning
Arguably the biggest driver behind Shell’s decline has been a steady build in the US rig count.
With drillers across the Atlantic becoming ever-more-comfortable with oil prices anchored around the $50 per barrel mark, the number of units in operation has been steadily increasing since the autumn.read more
Feb 13th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell, Eni hit with Nigerian oil deal corruption charges
Joe Sandler Clarke / Energydesk: 13th February 2017
Weeks after a major legal victory in London’s High Court over oil-polluted communities in Nigeria, writes Joe Sandler Clarke, Shell has suffered a dramatic reversal of fortunes as Italian prosecutors charge the company, and Italy’s Eni, on corruption charges over a $1.3 billion oil deal.
Italian prosecutors have charged oil giants Shell and Eni with international corruption offences, as the companies struggle with the fallout from their controversial 2011 purchase of an oil licence in Nigeria.read more
Feb 13th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Timesonline.com: Opposing views need to be heard
The Times: Serving Beaver County, PA since 1874
By The Times Editorial Board
When Beaver County Commissioners Sandie Egley and Daniel Camp addressed a packed house Tuesday morning at the annual State of the County breakfast, the main topic on everyone’s mind was the Shell Chemicals Co. ethane cracker plant to be built in Potter Township.
Egley, when asked to describe the state of the county in one word, chose “exciting,” noting that everyone in the room knew what she meant.
Camp went with “radar,” saying that “Beaver County is on everybody’s radar” and that the area is going to become “the next up and coming place to raise a family.”read more
For much of the past three years, investors have continually questioned the sustainability of the Royal Dutch Shell(LSE: RDSB) dividend payout as the price of oil has languished.
Indeed, as the price of oil has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, Shell has been paying out more than it can realistically afford to investors, filling the gap between income and spending with debt. For example, during 2015 the company paid a total dividend of $9.4bn to investors even though free cash flow after capital expenditure was only $4bn. Last year, including capital spending and the dividend, the company spent $10bn more than cash generated from operations.read more
Feb 10th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Euronews/Reuters: Rio Tinto recruits three energy executives to board, including Simon Henry
By Karolin Schaps: REUTERS 10/02/201
LONDON (Reuters) – Rio Tinto has appointed three former senior managers from the energy industry to its board as non-executive directors, including Shell’s departing CFO Simon Henry, the mining company said on Friday.
Henry, who is stepping down as Chief Financial Officer at Shell after seven years on March 9, will join Rio Tinto on July 1. Former Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw and ex-Sasol CEO David Constable will take up their non-executive posts immediately, Rio Tinto said.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) has come under fire over its plans to decommission the Brent oil and gas field in the North Sea. The move would see the company leave several structures in place, with the oil major arguing that removing them would be risky as well as costly.
The Financial Times reported yesterday that environmental groups had accused Shell of cutting corners to save costs as a public consultation began on the biggest decommissioning project of its kind in the oil industry. The Anglo-Dutch oil major said yesterday that it had submitted plans to the UK government which include removing the upper parts of the group’s four Brent platforms in the North Sea. The company, however, wants to leave behind the concrete legs, as well as 64 subsea storage tanks, and drill cuttings contaminated with oil.read more
An extended 60-day public consultation on recommendations to decommission the Brent oil and gas field in the North Sea has begun today following submission by Shell U.K. Limited (“Shell”), the field’s operator, of a comprehensive decommissioning programme to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The field, located 115 miles north-east of the Shetland Islands has produced around three billion barrels of oil equivalent since production commenced in 1976, which is almost 10% of UK production.read more
Feb 9th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Royal Dutch Shell are likely to take their time over the Brent decommissioning process due to the controversial fallout from a previous disposal attempt, according to one industry analyst.
The energy giant hit the headlines back in 1995 when it first floated plans to dispose of the Brent Spar holding and loading platform by sinking it in the deep waters of the Atlantic.
After getting wind of the plans, environmental group Greenpeace mounted a large-scale media campaign against the dumping of the Shell-owned oil and tanker loading buoy.
Protesters managed to occupy the installation for nearly three weeks before being evicted.
Shell later said the Brent Spar had become of “symbolic significance out of all proportion to its environmental effect”.read more
Feb 8th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
REUTERS: Italy prosecutors ask Eni CEO to be sent to trial over Nigeria – sources
Wed Feb 8, 2017 | 6:36pm GMT
Italian prosecutors have asked for the CEO of state-controlled oil major Eni (ENI.MI), Claudio Descalzi, to stand trial over alleged corruption in Nigeria, judicial sources said on Wednesday.
The prosecutors also asked for 10 other people, including former Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni, to be sent for trial along with the Eni and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) companies, the sources said.
Scaroni was not immediately available for comment. No comment was immediately available from Shell.read more
Feb 8th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
INDEPENDENT: Shell launches bid to leave massive, sludgy oil rig remnants in North Sea for 500 years
‘Oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea have a legal, as well as moral, obligation to clean-up their mess,’ says leading environmentalist
Ian Johnston Environment Correspondent: 8 Feb 2017
Oil giant Shell is to launch a bid to leave the 10 vast concrete legs of three oil rigs standing in the North Sea for up to 500 years after the platforms have been decommissioned.
The company’s proposals also include the controversial suggestion that oil mixed with sediment in 42 out of 64 concrete storage cells – each up to 20 metres in diameter and 60 metres high, taller than Nelson’s Column – should remain on the sea bed.
The decommissioning of the historic Brent field, created during the 1970s boom, represents the Government’s first big decision on what will happen to the main North Sea installations as they stop producing oil.read more
Royal Dutch Shell is to recommit itself to the North Sea as it prepares to dismantle the colossal oil rigs in the historic Brent oilfield, heralding hopes of hundreds of decommissioning jobs.
The oil major will today submit its decommissioning plans to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – including a controversial plan to leave the base of the four giant structures in the sea bed – ending a decade-long project on how to safely retire the ageing field.read more
Royal Dutch Shell may have seen its profits slammed thanks to low oil prices, but its CEO told CNBC on Tuesday that the company’s strategy isn’t reliant on a certain oil price outcome.
“We have to be competitive, rather, at every oil price level, and that means that we have to continue to work on reducing our breakeven price of the company, making sure that we have a competitive sense of projects with a low breakeven price per project so that every point in the price cycle we are competitive,” Ben van Beurden said in an interview with “Closing Bell.”read more
Feb 7th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The oil-trading boom that cushioned the profits of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc through the price slump of 2015 and early 2016 is over.
BP said on Tuesday it made a “small” loss trading oil in the fourth quarter, while Shell last week said trading profits “flattened” in late 2016. The fall off in trading contributed to worse-than-expected fourth-quarter profits at Europe’s largest oil and gas producers.
Although better known for their oilfields, refineries and gas stations, Shell and BP are the world’s top energy traders, handling about 20 percent of global oil demand between them and dwarfing independent trading houses such as Vitol Group BV, Trafigura Group and Glencore Plc.read more
Feb 6th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Mon Feb 6, 2017
HOUSTON Shell Oil Co, the U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, said on Monday it expects to divide the refineries and other assets of the Motiva Enterprises [MOTIV.UL] joint venture with co-owner Saudi Aramco in the second quarter of 2017.
“We are pleased with the progress we have made to date, and anticipate completion of the transaction in Q2 2017,” Shell spokesman Ray Fisher said in an email. “The April 1 date is a target that the internal project teams are working toward.”read more
Feb 6th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Ron Bousso and Clara Denina | LONDON
Royal Dutch Shell is seeking to sell its stake in the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), an offshore oil and gas joint venture, in what would mark the company’s effective exit from Denmark, three banking sources said.
The stake is valued at up to $1 billion, according to two sources.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) is running the sale process, the sources said.
Shell owns a 36.8 percent stake in DUC alongside operator A.P. Moller-Maersk, which has 31.2 percent, Chevron which holds 12 percent, and Danish state-run Nordsøfonden which has a 20 percent stake.read more
Feb 6th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Emily Gosden, Energy Editor:
Royal Dutch Shell’s chief financial officer has criticised rules requiring old oil and gas platforms to be removed from the North Sea, claiming that they will result in taxpayers “spending money unnecessarily”.
Simon Henry said that regulations enshrined in the international Ospar convention should be reviewed because they “could actually create more of an environmental issue by disturbing certain things in the removal process” and should be reviewed.read more
When the company proposed sinking the Spar oil storage buoy in 1995, it prompted protests by Greenpeace, petrol boycotts in Germany and a falling share price. Shell was eventually forced to back down and find a more environmentally-friendly plan.
Feb 5th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Valerie Flynn: Sunday February 5, 2017
An official audit has criticised Mayo county council’s management of an €8.5m fund provided by Shell for the benefit of the local community near the Corrib gas pipeline.
The council allocated €451,000 of the fund to itself, with allocations made by “evaluation boards that were either entirely made up of staff from Mayo county council, or the majority of members on the evaluation board were from Mayo county council”, the local government auditor said.read more
Feb 4th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
MATT CHAMBERS: Resources reporter Melbourne 4 Feb 2017
Shell Australia chairman Andrew Smith has been promoted to lead the oil major’s global trading business and will be replaced in April by the oil giant’s Canadian-based head of oil sands and former Rio Tinto executive Zoe Yujnovich.
Mr Smith, who has been at the helm of Shell Australia since 2013, has been promoted to lead Shell’s Singapore-based trading and supply business as executive vice- president.
During Mr Smith’s tenure, Shell has become the biggest producer of Australian LNG thanks to the Gorgon project in which it has a non-operating stake, and the acquisition of BG Group. Mr Smith played a key role in the deal.read more
Feb 4th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
MATT CHAMBERS Resources reporter: Melbourne4 Feb 2017
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell is looking to invest in Australian solar plants that can switch to gas when needed to deliver baseload power supply as debate rages over renewable energy security in the wake of South Australia’s crippling power outages.
Shell, which is Australia’s biggest LNG exporter and one of the world’s largest oil companies, has revealed that Australia was one of three global locations, along with Oman and Brunei, where it was studying pairing renewable energy with gas, after last year flagging “new energies” would be a potential major source of growth for the fossil fuel company beyond 2020.read more
Feb 4th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell playing long game with Prelude FLNG
2017-2018 startup date will coincide with LNG glut
By Sally Bogle
3 February 2017
Analysts say the Prelude FLNG facility will be used to boost Shell’s global LNG sales portfolio, rather than to target specific Asian customers, and that it will reap long-term gains for the company despite its 2017-2018 startup date coinciding with a glut of LNG supply.
One of Australia’s last remaining sanctioned greenfield LNG projects yet to be commissioned, Prelude will add to Shell’s stakes in other Australian projects – the North West Shelf, Gorgon, QCLNG and the planned Browse project – and become a strategic resource with which to exploit remote gas fields around the world.read more
Feb 4th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell preparing to relaunch V-Power fuel – Forecourt Trader
By John Wood: 2 Feb 2017
Shell UK is preparing to launch the lastest version of its premium fuel V-Power in the spring. The new fuel, which features ‘Dynaflex technology’ will be…
Feb 4th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Written by Lindsay Razaq, Westminster Correspondent – 03/02/2017 7:03 am
Shell boss Ben van Beurden today urged against looking at the North Sea with “nostalgia” – insisting plans to sell off assets in the basin do not signal the end of the energy giant’s involvement.
The chief executive conceded the company was streamlining its portfolio.
But he stressed the exit of larger firms from mature positions was positive from a North Sea perspective.
He also said it would give the sector a “new lease of life”.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Anadarko Petroleum (APC.N) are renegotiating their five-year-old joint venture in the Permian shale basin in Texas, Shell Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said on Thursday.
The 50-50 JV in the Delaware basin, which expires this year, will likely see the operatorship of the asset “consolidated in a different way”, Henry said in an earnings presentation to analysts.
Henry also said that Shell’s position in the Haynesville basin to the east of the Permian, which it acquired through its takeover of BG Group last year, “won’t necessarily stay in our portfolio.”read more
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said Thursday it will reduce capital expenditures in 2017 for the third straight year, while also outlining plans to boost production at one of its light oil assets in southern Alberta.
During a quarterly conference call with analysts, the Netherlands-based company laid out plans to invest in its liquids-rich Fox Creek, Alta., assets as part of a broader US$2-to- $3-billion strategy targeting its highest-return shale plays.read more
Feb 3rd, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Targets and victims of British undercover police operations in Ireland speak out, demand answers and action
— Shell to Sea supports Jason Kirpatrick and other Core Participants in UCPI/Pitchford Inquiry —
A press event jointly organised by Jason Kirkpatrick and Shell to Sea is scheduled for Buswell’s Hotel on Monday 06 February from 11.00am to 1pm.
Jason Kirkpatrick was a victim in Ireland of British undercover officer Mark Kennedy. Mr. Kirkpatrick is a former Deputy Mayor from Arcata, California, and is a “Core Participant” in the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) which covers England and Wales.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 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.
This is not a Shell website. That fact should be abundantly plain from the overall content of this home page and our sister Shell focussed websites, including shellnazihistory.com. Click on the Disclaimer link at top of this page for more information. You Can Be Sure Shell does not endorse or approve of this website. There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations. It is an entirely free to use website drawing attention to the negative side of Shell while also publishing positive news about the company. The Shell logo image with the white text used on this website, as per the above example, is in the public domain because its copyright has expired and its author is anonymous. It can be found on WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. Our shellenergy.websitepublishes Shell Energy customer complaints posted on Trustpilot where there is an ample supply. Use this link for Shell’s own website.
Shell Breaking News
Shell Renewables Head to Leave Amid Fossil Fuel ShiftJune 30, 2023 14:49Financial PostBreadcrumb Trail Links PMN Business Shell Plc’s European renewable power boss Thomas Brostrom has decided to leave the company as the oil supermajor revises its strategy to focus more investment into fossil fuels. Author of the article: Bloomberg News …
Shell and BP take a beating as bank woes hit crude pricesMarch 15, 2023 17:36Proactive InvestorsBP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) shares have taken a hit, dropping over 8%, due to a sell-off in the banking sector.
The natural resources market has been volatile, with Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate falling by 4- …
Shell CEO Pay Up 50%March 9, 2023 21:23Manufacturing Business TechnologyCEO of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Beurden speaks at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Shell paid outgoing Chief Executive Ben van Beurden a total of 9.7 million pounds ($11.5 million) in 2022 as the …
Former Shell CEO's pay jumped 53% to $11.5m in 2022March 9, 2023 11:17Gulf NewsBen van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during the 26th World Gas Conference in Paris, France, June 2, 2015
Image Credit: Reuters
London: Shell's former chief executive, Ben van Beurden, received a pay package of 9.7 …
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?