May 31 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it was keeping its exploration and production portfolio in place in Australia, but stepping back from its aviation business.

Shell’s aviation subsidiary in Australia sold to independent Viva Energy Australia for $250 million in line with the Dutch supermajor’s efforts to streamline its portfolio. Shell keeps its brand name visible in the aviation refueling sector as Viva Energy remains the licensee of its fuels.

“Shell’s upstream operations in Australia, which include exploration, production and gas commercialization, are not impacted by this announcement,” the company stated. read more

CALGARY, May 31, 2017 /CNW/ – A statement from Shell Canada President and Country Chair Michael Crothers on the completion of two previously announced agreements that will see Shell sell the majority of its oil sands interests and all of its in-situ interests in Canada:

“Shell has built safe, responsible and competitive oil sands mining and in-situ businesses in Alberta over the past decades thanks to the tireless work and dedication of our staff, contractors and joint venture partners; strong support from local communities, including our indigenous neighbours; and leadership from all levels of government. I am immensely proud of everything we have achieved together and of the legacy we leave to Canadian Natural. read more

May 31, 2017 10:54 AM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) agrees to acquire Chevron’s (CVX -0.4%) subsidiary in Trinidad and Tobago for $250M.

The deal includes CVX’s Trinidad and Tobago’s interest in the 10T cf Loran Manatee cross-border gas field shared with neighboring Venezuela; CVX retains its interest in the block on the Venezuela side of the border.

Shell has been expanding its holdings in Trinidad and Tobago since its purchase of BG Group and is seeking to rival BP as the biggest player in the area. read more

May 31 Shell

Has completed sale of its Australian Aviation Business to Viva Energy Australia for a total transaction value of approximately $250 million.

Further company coverage: (Bengaluru Newsroom: +91 80 6749 1136)

SOURCE

Walker very frankly admitted that Shell “should be scared” during our discussion, where he said that one of his biggest fears is having to go and tell his director that he’d lost a billion dollar business because he didn’t foresee a new business model for Shell, enabled by new technologies.

He said:

That’s not solely my fault, but I think as their CIO, my job is to have some future vision. And you look at what other companies are doing and how easily I could be taken out.”

You only have to think about your own life and how things work, right? If it’s easier to go order what you want here or get it through this route, you will do it. And actually, you probably don’t care if it costs five cents more, or five cents less, you just don’t have the time to piss around on a site that doesn’t take your credit card properly, doesn’t seem to know who you are, and just seems a pain to get around. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 30, 2017, 5:00 PM CDT

Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips struck deals in March to sell Canadian oil assets to two Canada-based producers. In both deals, parts of the consideration for the transactions were shares of the Canadian companies that Shell and ConocoPhillips received.

Although the share transactions are subject to lock-up periods of up to six months following the closing of the deals, Shell and ConocoPhillips are getting ready to sell those shares—possibly months after acquiring them—regulations and agreements permitting. read more

Visit this webpage to view eleven Shell related articles, all by Michelle Rey, published by Market Realist on 30 May 2017.

Shell’s Brazilian Deep-Water Portfolio

Analyst Ratings for Shell: Why Most Rate It a ‘Buy’

How Shell’s Dividend Outflows Have Trended

Has Shell’s Leverage Trend Reversed?

Are Shell’s Cash Flows Getting Revitalized?

In Which Segment Has Shell’s Capex Plunged?

Shell’s Segmental Earnings in 1Q17: Upstream Swings to Profit

Shell’s Upstream Portfolio: Is it Poised to Grow?

How Shell’s Downstream Portfolio Is Evolving

How Widespread Are Shell’s Refined Product Markets?

The Surge of Shell’s Chemical Margin Markers in 1Q17 read more

Shell Todd seek consent to resume offshore drilling in Taranaki

By Mike Watson, May 30, 2017

Marine consents have been lodged by Shell Todd to use a mobile jack-up rig to resume drilling in the existing Maui natural gas field off the Taranaki coast.

The company lodged two consents with the Environmental Protection Agency to put in place and later remove a jack-up rig as part of its potential drilling programme in 2018-2019, a company spokeswoman said.

The rig will be positioned near the existing Maui A and B platforms between 35-50 kilometres offshore from the coastline. read more

By Daniel J. Graeber: May 30, 2017

May 30 (UPI) — Russian energy company Gazprom said it signed agreements with Royal Dutch Shell that could expand on bilateral deals related to liquefied natural gas.

Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller hosted delegates from Shell at his Moscow office to discuss future collaboration on projects covered under strategic cooperation agreements from 2015.

Gazprom holds a 50 percent stake in the Sakhalin liquefied natural gas project on Russia’s far eastern coast, while Shell controls a 27.5 percent stake. Japanese companies hold the remaining interest. read more

By BRIDGET CARTER and SCOTT MURDOCH: 31 May 2017

Australian oil and gas companies that end up missing out on Origin Energy’s Lattice Energy portfolio may soon turn their attention across the Tasman, where energy giant Shell has kicked off a sales process for its New Zealand business that could be worth as much as $1 billion.

Investment bank JPMorgan has been working on a sale for the global oil company for some time, but flyer documents were finally released to prospective suitors this month. read more

By David Matthews: Twitter: @DavidMJourno: May 30, 2017

A row has broken out in the Netherlands over a contract between one of the country’s top business schools and Royal Dutch Shell that appears to give the oil company influence over curricula and admissions.

The Rotterdam School of Management, part of Erasmus University Rotterdam, is also accused of failing to declare that it was paid more than €300,000 (£259,000) by Shell to produce a report that recommended lowering corporate tax rates to stop multinational companies moving abroad. read more

Monday 29 May 2017 14.46 BSTLast modified on Monday 29 May 2017 15.35 BST

Conservationists want oil companies and regulators to consider leaving more old rigs in the North Sea rather than removing them, with the savings paid into a fund to protect sealife. After the Brent Spar debacle in 1995 when Shell provoked public outrage with plans to sink an old storage buoy, international regulations were imposed that work on the presumption that operators will remove rigs. Exemptions can be granted but are rare and on limited grounds. read more

Royal Dutch Shell is a British-Dutch oil and gas company focused on hydrocarbon production, processing and marketing in over 90 countries worldwide.

Gazprom and Shell are jointly engaged in the Sakhalin II project, which includes Russia’s only active LNG plant. The Sakhalin II operator is Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Gazprom – 50 per cent plus one share, Shell – 27.5 per cent minus one share, Mitsui – 12.5 per cent, and Mitsubishi – 10 per cent). In 2015, Gazprom and Shell signed the Memorandum to construct the third production train of the LNG plant, as well as the Agreement of Strategic Cooperation providing for the expansion of the companies’ joint project portfolio, including a potential asset swap. read more

Written by Callum Law – 29/05/2017 8:39 am

Shell’s Make the Future Live took place at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London from Thursday to Sunday.

The four-day extravaganza featured a number of inspiring and thoughtprovoking exhibits on the future of energy and how the world will have to move away from fossil fuels for energy in the future.

Some famous faces were also in attendance. Jason Bradbury from the Gadget Show and comedian Richard Ayoade hosted a podcast asking if London can become the world’s first carbon neutral city by 2050. read more

Sangeetha Amarthalingam: theedgemarkets.com: May 29, 2017 16:01 pm MYT

KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has given the greenlight to Royal Dutch Shell PLC for the sale of the latter’s 50% stake in the 2011 North Sabah enhanced oil recovery production sharing contract (PSC) to Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd’s indirect unit SEA Hibiscus Sdn Bhd.

Hibiscus announced last October that it had reached an agreement with Shell for the US$25 million or RM104.63 million stake buy, subject to Petronas’ approval.

The PSC includes the Labuan Crude Oil Terminal, and the fields of St Joseph, South Furious, SF30 and Barton, all located offshore Sabah. Sabah Shell Petroleum Co (25%) is the operator, with partner Shell Sabah Selatan (25%) and Petronas’ subsidiary, Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (50%), in the PSC. read more

Published 29 May 2017

Shell and partners have commenced deep-water production at the FPSO P-66 in Lula South, in the Brazilian pre-salt of the Santos Basin.

Shell holds 25% stake in the consortium while Brazilian oil firm Petrobras is the operator of the Lula oil field located in the BM-S-11 block with 65% stake.

The remainder stake of 10% is held by Galp through its subsidiary Petrogal Brasil.

P-66 is currently positioned in water depth of 2,150m and has the ability to process up to 150,000-barrels of oil and 6-million cubic meters of natural gas per day, stated Shell. read more

Caracas, Sunday May 28, 2017

MEXICO CITY – “We’re not here to go unnoticed,” said an executive in Mexico of the multinational oil giant Shell, which this year will open its first gas stations in this country, now that the state monopoly in the nation’s energy sector has come to an end.

“Shell operates in over 70 countries and we have more than 43,000 Shell-brand gas stations worldwide… Wherever we are, we play a relevant role and now we’re here to play a relevant role on the Mexican market,” Andres Cavallari, director of downstream operations (refining and marketing) of Shell Mexico, told EFE. read more

Kite Power Systems, known as KPS, is working on a 17-meter device that flies on air currents high above the ground and generates power by pulling at a cable. It raised 5 million pounds ($6.4 million) from the three energy giants last December.

“The reason we are interested in something like this is that it has potential to reduce the cost of offshore wind in the future,” said Geert van de Wouw, managing director of Shell Technology Ventures BV. “Fundamentally, looking at the science, flying the kite at high altitudes so there’s lots of wind, and the cost of materials is quite a lot lower than a normal offshore wind turbine.” read more

By Zainab Calcuttawala – May 26, 2017, 10:00 PM CDT

Royal Dutch Shell’s Brazilian subsidiary BG E&P Brasil and partners began production in a deepwater field in the Santos Basin on Friday, according to a new report by World Oil.

The floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) P-66 sits at a depth of 2,150 meters and can extract 150,000 barrels of oil and six million cubic meters of natural gas per day. The vessel is the first in a series commissioned by Petrobras to exploit the BM-S-11 block within a consortium. read more

FILE PHOTO: Logo of Saudi Aramco is seen at the 20th Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MOES 2017) in Manama, Bahrain, March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

Saudi Aramco plans to spend $18 billion in the next five years to expand its operations in the Americas, focusing on its U.S. oil refining subsidiary Motiva Enterprises, Motiva said on Thursday.

Motiva [MOTIV.UL] called the $18 billion estimate “a general framework of opportunities” to increase refining capacity, branch into chemicals, and expand its commercial operations, marketing and branded presence in the next five years. read more

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: 26 MAY 2017

Royal Dutch Shell is stepping up its drive into the electric vehicle market by developing smart charging technology to prevent battery-powered cars causing blackouts.

The oil major said it had tested the service, which intelligently controls when cars draw electricity from the grid, in London, Hamburg and San Diego, and was drawing up plans for its commercial deployment.

An increasing number of companies are looking at the issue because of concerns that power grids cannot cope with the demand from even modest numbers of electric vehicles charging at the same time. read more

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta, May 24 (Reuters) – Canadian equity markets risk being swamped with oil sands company shares this year as Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips prepare to offload C$6.8 billion ($5.1 billion) worth of stakes in two domestic producers, just months after acquiring them.

The two firms acquired shares in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Cenovus Energy as part of deals struck earlier this year to sell off oil sands assets.

Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Shell has decided to sell its C$4.1 billion stake in CNRL while ConocoPhillips has said it is not a long term investor in Cenovus. read more

Shell, Exxon may appeal over planned Groningen gas output cut

AMSTERDAM, May 24 (Reuters) – A joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil said on Wednesday it was considering appealing against a Dutch government plan to cut production at the Groningen gas field by 10 percent.

The Dutch state earlier on Wednesday confirmed it intended to go ahead with a tightening of output at the massive field from Oct. 1. It said interested parties had until July 7 to announce an appeal.

The 50-50 Shell-Exxon joint venture known as NAM, said in a reaction that the measure was “disproportionate” and ignored previously agreed safety norms, which do not call for such a large reduction. read more

Kristin Stoller:  FORBES STAFF

Though sales at Royal Dutch Shell have been declining, the company’s profit more than doubled in the past year – catapulting it to the top of our 2017 list of Europe’s largest companies.

Shell is one of 469 Europe-based public companies on Forbes’ Global 2000, our annual ranking of the world’s largest public companies.

For the past year, Shell saw $234 billion in sales,$4.6 billion in profit, $411 billion in assets and a market cap of $228 billion. In 2016, the company ranked as the 50th largest company in the world. Today, it ranks 20th. read more

Shell to sell C$4.1 billion stake in Canadian Natural -sources

By John Tilak and David French: 23 May 2017

TORONTO/NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc has decided to offload a roughly C$4.1 billion ($3 billion) stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNRL) that it acquired as part of a deal to retreat from Canada’s oil sands earlier this year, people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Shell has been interviewing investment banks to hire a financial adviser for the share sale, four people said in the past week, declining to be named as the discussions are confidential. read more

Jillian Ambrose: 23 MAY 2017 • 5:28PM

Royal Dutch Shell has convincingly defeated a climate activist uprising after facing down one of its most bitter stand-offs with shareholders over its climate goals.

Around 94pc of shareholders voted down a special resolution calling for the oil giant to set and publish annual targets to reduce carbon emissions at its AGM in the Hague on Tuesday. The board also survived a vote on executive pay which was backed by 93pc of shareholders.

But anger over the group’s focus on fossil fuels dominated the meeting, underlining the mounting pressure facing oil majors to address public concern. read more

Written by Reporter – 23/05/2017 3:08 pm

Royal Dutch Shell has been rapped over its climate change commitments, with shareholders criticising its rejection of emissions targets that would bring it in line with the Paris climate accord.

Shareholders at the oil giant’s annual general meeting (AGM) at The Hague spent hours questioning Shell’s board members, who said that while the company supported the Paris agreement, setting company targets was “not in the best interest of the company”.

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said his company was making progress in lowering its emissions, but that achieving Paris Climate Agreement goals – which aim to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels – would require broader coordination, including active government support. read more

The threat of climate change is real and action is needed, says Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell.

Ben van Beurden also touched on the oil giant’s transformation, millennials, the new Trump administration and more in a May 17 interview with The Washington Post.

It’s been a turbulent couple of years for the Shell chief executive. With the roller coaster in crude oil prices, the company’s stock has lurched from a high of $83.12 a share six months after he took charge to a low of $36.87 a share. The stock has climbed back, but revenues have plunged by a third since 2013. The shareholders’ annual meeting is Tuesday at The Hague. read more

Cravath Can’t Dodge Shell Docs Subpoena, 2nd Circ. Told

By Matthew Guarnaccia

Law360, New York (May 22, 2017, 3:42 PM EDT) — A Nigerian environmental and human rights advocate has urged the Second Circuit to uphold an order requiring Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP to turn over documents related to her planned litigation against Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands, saying the request is narrow and covers information already disclosed in a prior case.

Esther Kiobel’s brief to the appeals court comes in response to Cravath’s argument that Shell, not the law firm, must be the one to hand over the documents. Cravath had also asserted that Kiobel… read more

Oil Giant Shell Warns U.S. Not To Withdraw From Paris Accord On Climate

By Alexander C. Kaufman: 05/22/2017 11:06 am ET

Royal Dutch Shell has issued its starkest warning yet to the Trump administration to not pull out of the Paris Agreement addressing climate change.

The Anglo-Dutch oil behemoth said withdrawing from the historic 2015 deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions “would be unhelpful on a number of fronts,” sacrificing diplomatic leverage in international trade deals and impeding U.S. companies.

“What I think would happen as a consequence of [withdrawal] is that the U.S. would weaken its own hand by basically uninviting itself from a number of [negotiating] tables,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden told the Financial Times in an interview published Monday morning. read more

Fossil fuel company Shell receives special treatment from the publicly-funded National Gallery despite the oil major’s history of climate obstructionism, documents seen by DeSmog UK show.

The news comes as shareholders gather for Shell’s annual general meeting in The Hague today, with the board under pressure to agree to company-wide emissions reduction targets.

Campaigners have long complained about Shell’s relationship with some of the UK’s most high-profile cultural organisations, arguing that the company should not be allowed to launder its reputation through its association with respected national institutions until it makes a firm commitment to tackle climate change. read more

By Laura Paterson: 

A GAS LEAK sparked a major evacuation and shut down of a North Sea oil rig.

The gas detection alarm was sounded on Friday morning on Shell’s Brent Charlie platform, 115 miles north-east of Shetland.

The oil giants said all 176 people on board have been accounted for and a total of 31 non-essential workers were being evacuated from the platform as a precaution.

A Shell spokeswoman said: “Following a gas detection alarm, production was shut down and the platform called to muster. The source of the leak has been safely detected and isolated and a full investigation into the cause will be completed. read more

By Janene Pieters on May 22, 2017 – 11:05

American companies will face detrimental consequences if U.S. president Donald Trump decides to withdraw his country from the Paris climate agreement, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden warned in an interview with British newspaper Financial Times. Van Beurden is one of the first to criticize Trump’s decisions from the business community, which is set to benefit from Trump’s promises of tax cuts and relaxed rules, RTL Nieuws reports. read more

By Lynn Cook and Elena Cherney: May 21, 2017 10:11 p.m. ET

Forecasts for peak oil demand diverge by decades. The Paris-based International Energy Agency argues that demand will grow, albeit slowly, past 2040. And the two biggest U.S. oil companies, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. , say peak demand isn’t in sight.

But some big European producers predict that a peak could emerge as soon as 2025 or 2030, and they are overhauling their long-term investment plans to diversify away from crude oil. Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Norway’s Statoil SA are placing bigger bets on natural gas and renewables, including wind and solar. read more

Written by Energy Reporter – 22/05/2017 6:39 am

The alarm was raised on Friday on the operator’s Brent Charlie.

The oil super major was forced to shutdown production after a gas detection alarm was triggered.

A total of 31 personnel were flown off the platform. The crew were largely associated with production, which remains suspended today.

Investigations into the cause of the isolated incident will be carried out for the remainder of the day.

The Brent field, operated by Shell, lies off the north-east coast of Scotland, midway between the Shetland Islands and Norway. It was discovered in 1991. The field’s lifespan was originally estimated to be only 25 years. To date, the Brent field has produced around three billion barrels of oil equivalent. read more

by Emma Howard: MAY 16, 2017

Shell has a contractual agreement with a major Dutch university, which allows it to influence the curriculum and “the profile of its students”, according to documents seen by Energydesk.

The oil giant also paid Erasmus university hundreds of thousands of euros for conducting research into the business climate for multinationals in the Netherlands, invoices paid in 2008 and 2009 show.

The contract was signed in 2012 between Shell and the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), an international business school which is based at Erasmus university in the Netherlands, where Shell is headquartered. read more

A concept Shell station has a restaurant and collection spot for online shoppers (left), deli (right), solar panels to help power the station, blue-topped chargers and fueling points for electric and hydrogen vehicles—and, yes, gas pumps at back right. PHOTO: SHELL

FULL ARTICLE

May 19, 2017 Sunday Ejike – Abuja

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday fixed July 5, 2017 to hear the preliminary objections to a suit filed by Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd against the Federal Government.

Joined as defendants in the suit are the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Shell Nigeria Ultra-Deep Limited, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd; Nigerian Agip Exploration Company Ltd; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Chief Dan Etete.

In the suit filed on 10th April, 2017, Malubu Oil and Gas Limited is seeking an order of court stopping Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company and Nigerian Agip Exploration Company Limited from signing the Final Investment Decision (F.I.D) for the $13.5 billion Zabazaba Deep water Project located in Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL245) in the second quarter of this year. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 17, 2017, 1:24 PM CDT

In March this year, Shell said that it is proposing a Directors’ Remuneration Policy, subject to shareholder approval at the 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 23, 2017. The policy, if approved by shareholders, will be effective until the 2020 AGM, unless shareholders approve other policies in the meantime.

The proposed remuneration policy for executives includes, among other things, new metrics for greenhouse gas (GHG) management, and these now form 10 percent of the annual bonus scorecard, Shell said. read more

Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday that beginning Jan. 1 it will offer at least 16 weeks paid maternity leave to its female employees worldwide.

The policy will particularly boost benefits for employees in 45 countries where there are only limited paid or unpaid maternity leave benefits, such as in the United States.

On its recruitment website, the oil giant said the policy is designed to attract, and keep, women in the work force. Claire Punins, an exploration geologist for Shell, championed  a maternity leave standard at Shell, according to an article on the company’s website. read more

By Emma Howard | May 16, 2017

Shell has a contractual agreement with a major Dutch university, which allows the oil giant to influence its curriculum, according to documents seen by Energydesk.

Shell also paid Erasmus university hundreds of thousands of euros for conducting research into the business climate for multinationals in the Netherlands, invoices paid in 2008 and 2009 show.

The university, which ranked 69th in the 2017 world university rankings, said it “has nothing to hide”.  It said that Shell has played “no formal part” in the development of its curriculum and would create a publicly available register of its corporate ties, in response to the findings. read more

16 MAY 2017BY LEEN PREESMAN

SSPF, the closed Dutch pension fund of oil giant Shell, has divided its €27bn investment portfolio into three sub-portfolios for matching assets, return-seeking investments, and liquidity.

In its annual report for 2016, it said the liquidity portfolio’s holdings included collateral for other parts of its investment portfolio.

It added that the benchmark for the new liquidity portfolio comprised euro-denominated government bonds and investment grade credit (excluding financials), and US government paper. read more

May 16 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell has started the process to take down legacy operations at the Bravo production platform in the North Sea, which supports the Brent oil field, Wood Group said.

The Scottish oilfield services company said it secured a contract from Royal Dutch Shell to start tearing down the platform. “Effectively immediately,” the company said it was preparing the platform for removal and carrying out modifications so it can “operate on minimum manning mode.” read more

May 16 Nigerian workers from an oil labour union have extended a strike to oil majors Chevron, Shell and Eni subsidiary Agip in protest over the sacking of members from Exxon Mobil Corp, the union’s general secretary said on Tuesday.

Lumumba Okugbara, of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), said union representatives would meet Exxon Mobil management on Tuesday for talks. Members of the union began a strike at Exxon Mobil last week.

(Reporting by Anamesere Igboeroteonwu; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Mark Potter) read more

Gordon Deegan: May 16 2017 2:30 AM

The performance of the Corrib gas field is exceeding expectations, with its promoters recording sales of (Canadian) $241.34m (€160m) in the first quarter of this year.

That is according to a new report by one of the Corrib partners, Canadian-based Vermilion, which recorded that between January and March this year the project exceeded expectations for “well deliverability and downtime”.

As a result of the strong performance, Vermilion has adjusted its field and well performance estimates “and now expects to maintain peak production through Q1 2018 and potentially into Q2 2018”. read more

May 15, 2017 3:17 PM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Saudi Aramco complete the separationof the assets, liabilities and businesses of their U.S.-based refining and marketing joint venture.

Shell now holds sole ownership of the 235K bbl/day Norco refinery, where subsidiary Shell Chemical already operates a petrochemical plant, and the 242,250 bbl/day Convent refinery, which Motiva previously said will be integrated to create the Louisiana Refining System, as well as 11 distribution terminals. read more

May 15 2017

Three activists are being held in custody three days after taking part in a protest at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum to highlight its relationship with Dutch oil giant Shell.

Seven women were arrested for staging an unscheduled ‘performance’ in the foyer on Friday. The activists, barefoot and dressed in white, drank a black liquid from scallop shells. Police were called when they ignored requests to leave the building.

A member of the support team was arrested later in the day. Five of the demonstrators have since been released but remain suspects in the investigation. Police said the three others were being kept in custody because they refused to identify themselves. read more

By Emily Gosden: Thursday 11 MAY 2017

Shareholders in Royal Dutch Shell have been urged to oppose “excessive” executive pay after the oil giant awarded its boss a 54 per cent pay rise.

Pirc, the investor group, criticised Shell’s remuneration report, which showed that Ben van Beurden’s total pay and perks rose to €8.6 million for 2016, up from €5.6 million in 2015. Pirc said this was “excessive at 453 per cent of salary” and urged shareholders to vote against the report at the annual general meeting on May 23. read more

By Gaurav Sharma in Houston, Texas, USA: 10 MAY 2017

A decline in extraction costs is helping the oil and gas industry weather turbulence, or what is often dubbed in the market as an ongoing ‘era of lower for longer oil prices,’ according to oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell’s top lawyer.

Speaking at global law firm Baker & McKenzie’s Annual Oil & Gas Institute, in Houston, US, on Wednesday (10 May), David Brinley, general counsel at Shell, said: “The oil and gas industry is probably at its most turbulent point in its history. Furthermore, the confluence of political, economic and social change is nothing like I have seen in my 27 years at Shell. However, it is fair to say the industry’s commitment to efficiencies is just getting interesting now.” read more