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.
Shell’s presence in Australia extends into the natural gas market, operating in the Browse reservoir in Western Australia. The company is in the process of constructing its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas production facility, which is the largest vessel of its kind and can process the equivalent to Hong Kong’s entire demand for natural gas.
In an annual review, the Australian government said demand pressures are weighing on the national energy sector as coal generators retire. That’s leading to higher fuel and energy prices across the country. Citing “difficult market conditions,” the report said the share of natural gas in the power sector has declined from 12 percent in 2012 to 8 percent in 2016, a decline that’s expected to continue through the end of the decade.
Shell’s move out away from the aviation sector aligns with CEO Ben van Buerden’s announcement in first quarter results of a divestment strategy that could eventually pass the $20 billion mark.
The Dutch supermajor maintains a notable presence in the aviation fuels business, announcing last week that it started supplying fuel for the main airport in Brussels.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
