by Laura Hurst , Javier Blas , and Rupert Rowling: 10 May 2017, 11:14 BST

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the world’s largest oil trader, said the time has come to debate using Russian crude to help determine the global Brent benchmark, in what would be the most radical shift in how European prices are calculated since the 1970s.

Mike Muller, the head of crude trading at Shell, told a Platts forum in London that he wants a discussion about calculating the price in Europe using not just crude oil pumped in the North Sea, as has been the case since the 1970s, but potentially including Russian crude and even grades pumped in West Africa, the Caspian Sea basin. read more

10 MAY 2017

Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K., whose planned merger is being blocked by Idemitsu’s founding family, said Tuesday they will increase collaboration.

The collaboration between the two Japanese refiners will include joint procurement of crude oil and equipment, mutual supply and joint transportation of oil products, and integrated refinery operations.

The two will also step up personnel exchanges.

Idemitsu and Showa Shell aim for an annual synergy effect of over ¥25 billion ($220 million) within three years, including by reducing costs. read more

Shell and BP under fire on boardroom pay policies

MARK WILLIAMSON: 10 May 2017

CAMPAIGNING group ShareAction has called on shareholders in Royal Dutch Shell and BP to vote down the oil and gas giants’ boardroom pay policies, which it says reward environmentally risky high-carbon strategies.

ShareAction said the remuneration policies of both groups were ‘misaligned with the interests of long-term shareholders’ as they did not do enough to encourage the firms to respond to the move to a low carbon economy.

“A cocktail of policy, technology and market-driven factors are brewing up a storm of uncertainty over the future of fossil fuels. To encourage oil executives to focus on ‘business as usual’ seems an imprudent approach to remuneration,” said Juliet Phillips, campaigns manager at ShareAction. read more

The suggestion marks a shift from two years ago when Shell said adding Urals would not be “worth the trouble”.

May 10, 2017, 05:38:00 AM EDT By Reuters

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> on Wednesday urged oil pricing agency S&P Global Platts <SPGI.N> to protect the dated Brent crude benchmark from declining North Sea supply by including other grades, such as Russian Urals, in its price-setting process.

The suggestion marks a shift from two years ago when Shell said adding Urals would not be “worth the trouble”. The benchmark, based on light North Sea crude grades, is used to price about two-thirds of the world’s oil but a decline in North Sea output has led to concerns that physical volumes could become too thin and prone to large price swings. read more

May 9, 2017 8:26 AM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) is testing Nigeria’s Trans Forcados crude export pipeline for a potential restart, with the Astro Perseus tanker expected to load the first cargo by the weekend, Reuters reports.

Forcados had produced 200K-240K bbl/day before attacks damaged the pipeline in February 2016 and again in October.

A full resumption of Forcados could complicate matters for OPEC, which meets later this month to determine whether to extend production cuts beyond June, or potentially deepen them; Libya and Nigeria were exempt from the original cuts. read more

Graphic from a Financial Mail On Sunday article published in Sept 2015

Campaign group ShareAction on Tuesday called for investors to oppose remuneration policies at oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell as the policies were not tied closely enough to targets to reduce carbon emissions.

ShareAction said this meant both companies’ plans were misaligned with the interests of long-term shareholders.

ShareAction said it had contacted shareholders at both companies and was helping pension savers to write to their funds about voting down the remuneration policies. read more

Japanese oil refiners Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK said on Tuesday that they have signed a deal to form a business alliance ahead of Idemitsu’s takeover of Showa Shell.

Under the deal, the companies will cooperate more closely on crude purchases and transportation as well as production plans, they said in a statement.

The closer cooperation will result in cost savings of at least 25 billion yen (170.5 million pounds) within three years.

The companies said they will still achieve costs savings of 50 billion within five year of the full integration of the two business. The full merger has been delayed indefinitely due to opposition from Idemitsu’s founding family. read more

Zoltan Ban: May 8, 2017

When I decided to position for a coming oil price recovery towards the end of 2015, I decided on buying Shell (NYSE:RDS.A), alongside Suncor (NYSE:SU) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX). My investment strategy always has a longer term horizon, therefore Shell was an obvious choice, given the very generous dividend. When deciding to hold a stock for a number of years, it really makes a difference, as long as the dividend is sustainable, of course.

There were other factors which I saw as positive long term prospects that makes Shell stock worth holding on to for a while. Shell’s leadership in the LNG sector, in large part thanks to the BG deal is one of the things that attracted me to the stock. As I stated many times before, I believe that natural gas will eventually become the number one energy source on the planet and as such it will have to become more flexible in terms of delivery. LNG shipments will most likely become a globally strategic industry, which is likely to grow a lot in coming years and decades. read more

Michael Klimes: 08 May 2017

“We recognise that BP have taken action to reduce executive pay and link incentives more closely with carbon reduction targets, which is positive in our view, but we’re looking into whether it goes far enough. We’re more concerned about the lack of similar progress at Shell. It’s important to us that we’re reflecting all our members’ needs as best as possible so we welcome them raising issues with us.”

FULL ARTICLE

The investment thesis for Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) (NYSE:RDS-B)radically changed back in 2015, when the company acquired BG Group. The idea of combining these two companies held a lot of promise, but investors would only benefit if management could successfully integrate the company, divest itself of some lower-return businesses, and lower the debt load it took on to get the deal done.

It wasn’t an easy task, but Shell’s most recent couple of earnings reports suggest that management has pulled it off. Here’s a look at its latest earnings release and what management has done recently to get the company one step closer to realizing the potential of that investment thesis laid out a couple of years ago. read more

By Daniel Adugbo: 5 May 2017

Houston, U.S.A. — The net profit of Royal Dutch Shell more than doubled in the first three months of 2017, surpasing predictions by analysts as rebounding oil prices and refining gains helped to boost the company’s revenue.

The company’s first quarter 2017 financial results released yesterday showed that net income attributable to shareholders in the quarter, based on a current cost of supplies (CCS), rose by $2.2 billion.

CCS is a number similar to the net income that US oil companies report. read more

Shell to invest $25 billion in Nigeria, other countries

May 5, 2017: Agency Report

Oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, has announced plans to invest about $25 billion this year in Nigeria and all its oil and gas operation across the world.

Shell made the announcement in its first quarter 2017 financial results released on Thursday.

The report revealed that Shell netted an income of $2.2 billion and was expecting to generate $10 billion in cash flow from the delivery of some of its new projects by 2018.

The company recently announced the resumption of oil production at its 225,000 barrels per day (bpd) Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) field in Nigeria’s deep-waters. read more

MARK WILLIAMSON: 5 MAY 2017

ROYAL Dutch Shell’s new finance chief has said the company will continue to invest in the North Sea where it is making good returns but declined to rule out selling off more UK assets.

Speaking after Shell posted a 140 per cent increase in first quarter profits, Jessica Uhl said the North Sea remains important to the firm although rationalisation moves will leave it with a much reduced presence in the area.

The oil and gas giant agreed in January to sell a portfolio of mature assets which account for around half its UK production to Chrysaor for up to $3.8 billion. read more

Martin Farrer and agencies: Friday 5 May 2017 05.39 BST 

Oil prices have fallen sharply along with other commodities as the prospect of slowing growth in the US and China blunts optimism about the global economy. Stocks fell across the Asia Pacific region for the third day running thanks to a 5% drop in the oil price on concerns of a supply glut. Analysts have forecast further losses amid signs that demand will not be strong enough to soak up the excess production.

FULL ARTICLE

4 MAY 2017

Oil prices collapsed on Thursday to their lowest since late November as investor worries about the world’s stubbornly persistent glut of crude erased most of the gains that followed last year’s OPEC’s output cut.

The slide worsened after OPEC delegates downplayed the chance that their group and other producing countries would deepen their output cuts when they meet on May 25. They did say current output cuts were likely to be extended.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended trading down $2.30, or 4.8 percent, at $45.52 a barrel. Brent crude oil futures were down $2.53, or 5 percent, at $48.26 a barrel by 2:53 p.m. (1853 GMT). read more

Royston Wild , CONTRIBUTOR: 4 May 2017

Royal Dutch Shell moved away from multi-month lows in Thursday business after announcing a sharp earnings bounceback during the first quarter of the year. The stock was last 1% higher from the midweek close.

Shell — which moved to its cheapest since late November in recent sessions — reported that earnings on a constant cost of supplies (or CCS) basis leapt 315% during January-March, to $3.4bn thanks to a steady recovery in the oil price.

In particular, Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden noted that ‘we saw notable improvements in Upstream and Chemicals, which benefited from improved operational performance and better market conditions.’ read more

Divestment, retooling strategy has paid off, Shell says

By Daniel J. Graeber: May 4, 2017

May 4 (UPI) — A divestment and retooling strategy has paid off considerably with first quarter profits more than doubling on improved oil prices, Royal Dutch Shell said.

Shell joins industry peers like British supermajor BP in declaring a first quarter success. Crude oil prices and market conditions have improved since first quarter 2016, and Shell CEO Ben van Buerden said the debt load was cut in part by a free cash flow of $5.2 billion.

Shell in March announced plans to sell off its entire onshore interests in Gabon to Assala Energy Holdings, part of The Carlyle Group, for $587 million. In the fourth quarter alone, the company unloaded more than $1 billion in assets, in large part from North America. In January, it sold off its interests in a package of assets in the British waters of the North Sea for $3.8 billion. read more

by: Andrew Ward and Anjli Raval in London

Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday rounded off the strongest set of quarterly results from “big oil” for over two years, even as a fresh slide in crude prices raised doubts over the sustainability of recovery from one of the deepest downturns in industry history. Brent crude fell below $50 per barrel on Thursday to its lowest level since November as confidence in Opec’s ability to overpower a resurgent US shale industry and ease a global oil surplus faded. read more

May 4, 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is defying skeptics and showing that it can afford its dividend. Investors just need to believe it hasn’t made too many compromises to do so.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant generated $9.5 billion of operating cash flow in the first quarter, ample to fund $4.3 billion of investment, $2.7 billion of cash dividend payments and an $850 million interest bill. It even managed to cut debt without the benefit of big asset sales.

This is the third consecutive quarter where Shell has shown it can live within its means. The accounting result was impressive too: $3.5 billion of net income, up from $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter. That’s well ahead of expectations, and without the distortion of lots of one-offs. read more

by Rakteem Katakey
4 May 2017, 07:14 BST
4 May 2017, 08:01 BST

Royal Dutch Shell Plc showed it has adapted to a world of lower oil prices, generating a surge in cash flow that allowed it to pay dividends while reducing debt.

The Anglo-Dutch company’s performance helps validate Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden’s $54 billion purchase of BG Group Plc — for which some shareholders complained he overpaid — and the deep spending cuts and asset sales he undertook to protect the balance sheet. read more

3 MAY 2017

The Federal Government says the Zabazaba deepwater project in Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 will continue in spite of controversies surrounding the oil block.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, said this in Houston Texas, U. S. while addressing journalists on the sidelines of the annual Offshore Technology Conference.

According to him, the project, which is to be carried out by the trio of the Federal Government, Shell and the Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE), will go on as scheduled and the protracted dispute on the block with Malabu oil will not affect it. read more

4 May 2017

The Anglo-Dutch giant said profits on a current cost of supply measure – which strips out price fluctuations – jumped to $3.4bn (£2.6bn) from $1bn last year.

A 55% rise in oil prices in the first quarter of 2017 compared with a year earlier was the main driver of profits.

Shell joins rivals BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Total in reporting better-than-expected results.

More than $1bn in cost savings and budget cuts made over the past three years from cost-cuts and assets sales have also helped to increase cash flow and boost profits. read more

By Collin Eaton: Business Reporter, Houston Chronicle: May 3, 2017

The recovery in energy prices won’t produce a mad rush into deep-water fields anytime soon, but drillers are still spending billions this year on more cost-efficient projects that can outlast cheap oil, says the executive who leads Shell’s deep-water business.

Over the next two years, Royal Dutch Shell plans to spend up to $14 billion developing new and existing deep-water projects in places like the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, but it’s trying to keep costs nailed down with myriad initiatives that have, for example, reduced its offshore staff by nearly a third. read more

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) plans to focus on three bidders this month for its downstream oil assets in Argentina after drawing eight non-binding bids of $1B-$2B, Bloomberg reports.

The shortlisted suitors will enter the next phase of the sales process in the next 2-3 weeks, with Chile’s Grupo Luksic among the most appealing of the companies making offers, according to the report.

Shell put the assets, which include an oil refinery near Buenos Aires and ~600 refueling stations, up for sale earlier this year after a strategic review under the company’s $30B divestment plan to reduce debt. read more

Royal Dutch Shell reported a sharp rise in net profit on Thursday, beating analyst forecasts and joining its peers as stronger oil prices and improved refining margins boosted revenue after nearly three years of downturn.

A billion dollars in cost savings and budget cuts made over the past three years, as well as around $20 billion of asset sales following the $54 billion acquisition of BG Group last February, also helped increase cash flow and boost profits.

After completing the integration of BG Group in the third quarter of last year, the company and investors are turning their focus to increasing revenue and reducing debt as oil prices appear to recover. read more

Can a natural disaster be a crime? That’s the question in The Netherlands, where an investigation has been ordered into whether Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. are criminally responsible for earthquakes triggered by production at Europe’s largest natural gas field, Groningen. Some of the earthquakes have been strong enough to damage homes in nearby farming communities. Though Groningen is a mainstay of the Dutch budget, its output is gradually decreasing to protect residents. read more

by: Chris Tighe, North East Correspondent

While the Brent Delta decommissioning is not controversial, Shell’s proposal to leave the concrete and steel structures that support the four Brent topsides in the sea, as well as other materials, are being opposed by environmental groups.

FULL FT ARTICLE

Royal Dutch Shell Plc halted the restart of the heavy oil hydrocracking unit (HCU) at its 235,000 barrel per day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana, refinery on Tuesday due to a leak, sources familiar with plant operations said.

A Shell spokesman said operations were stable on Tuesday at the Convent refinery.

The refinery began restarting the 45,000 bpd hydrocracker, called the H-Oil Unit, over the weekend. Shell was planning to return the unit to operation by the end of this week.

Shell became the sole owner of the Convent refinery on Monday when it and previous refinery co-owner Saudi Aramco divided the assets of their Motiva Enterprises LLC [MOTIV.UL]joint-venture. read more

Shell assumes ownership of Norco, Convent refineries in Motiva deal with Saudi Aramco

• Advocate staff report
• MAY 1, 2017

Royal Dutch Shell has assumed sole ownership of refineries in Norco and Convent as part an agreement with Saudi Aramco to split up the assets of their Motiva joint venture.

Shell, which also has a chemical plant in Convent, also assumes ownership of 11 distribution terminals and Shell-branded markets in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, a portion of the Florida panhandle, and the Northeast.

Saudi Aramco, through its Saudi Refining Inc. subsidiary, assumes ownership of the Motiva Enterprises LLC name, the refinery at Port Arthur, Texas, and 24 distribution terminals. Motiva has the right to exclusively sell Shell-branded gasoline and diesel in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., as well as the eastern half of Texas and the majority of Florida. read more

MATT CHAMBERS: Resources reporter: Melbourne: 2 MAY 2017

Shell has written off $390 million worth of newly acquired coal-seam and other gas exploration and evaluation ground associated with the Queensland Curtis LNG plant at Gladstone because of poor drilling and testing results.

Raising more questions over long-term production from Queensland coal-seam gas fields that are supposed to feed Gladstone’s three gas-hungry LNG plants for the next 20 years, the writedowns were revealed as part of $1.2 billion of impairments logged this month in local accounts for Shell’s Queensland subsidiaries. read more

BP and Royal Dutch Shell are expected to report a dramatic recovery in first-quarter profits this week, boosted by oil prices rising from their nadir a year earlier.

BP, which updates the stock market tomorrow, is expected to say that its underlying profits more than doubled to $1.26 billion, from $532 million in the first quarter of 2016, according to a consensus of analysts’ forecasts.

Shell, which reports on Thursday, is expected to announce underlying profits of $3.05 billion, up from the $1.55 billion it made in the same period the year before. read more

‘Very impressive’ first quarter results predicted for BP, Shell

An analyst has said “the numbers are going to look very impressive” for oil majors Shell and BP when they publish their first quarter results this week.

Written by Mark Lammey – 01/05/2017 6:51 am

Iain Armstrong, divisional director at Brewin Dolphin, said most companies could look forward to good year-on-year comparisons, considering the depths oil prices plunged to during the same quarter last year.

Brent crude slipped to below $30 at the start of 2016, having been above $110 in mid-2014.

Shell suffered pre-tax losses of $642million in the first quarter of 2016, while BP recorded pre-tax losses totalling $865million. Both firms achieved multi-billion dollar profits a year earlier. read more

Rhonda Duey

Monday, May 1, 2017

When it comes to the offshore industry, people need to hear a good story once in a while. The segment has been hammered in recent years, particularly since the 2014 downturn. But there are still positives coming out of this difficult sector.

One such case is Shell’s Stones Field, the deepest production facility in the world. “I’m on a number of industry committees, and one of the things that people keep saying is, ‘We really need to hear the Stones story because it’s such a positive story,’” said Curtis Lohr, project manager for Stones. “The industry needs to hear that story and wants to hear that story.” read more

MELBOURNE, May 1 (Reuters) – Arrow Energy, owned by Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and PetroChina <601857.SS>, has been granted a license to build a natural gas pipeline in Australia’s Queensland state that could contribute to easing the country’s gas supply crunch.

Queensland issued the pipeline license last Friday, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Mines said on Monday.

The 420-km (260-mile) pipeline is designed to carry gas from a coal seam gas project in Queensland’sBowen Basin to the Gladstone area. There has been no final decision yet on the pipeline because the coal seam project has not been developed. read more