SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 / 11:49 PM

SAO PAULO, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Raízen Combustíveis SA made a binding offer to acquire the fuel distribution unit in Argentina controlled by Shell Overseas Investments B.V. and B. V. Dordtsche Petroleum Maatschappij, said Raízen in a securities filing.

Raízen said it could not disclose any more details about the possible deal, adding there are other companies competing for the asset.

Reuters reported on August that Raízen was in talks to buy the fuel distribution unit. read more

PITTSBURGH — Gas industry insiders got their first close look at the $6 billion Shell cracker plant beginning to take shape on the banks of the Ohio River during the second day of the Shale Insight conference.

While considering that pending economic bounty, they also got a look at parts of the world that lack basic, reliable electricity and pondered how natural gas might help those poor nations advance.

The $6 billion Shell plant in Beaver County, 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, will produce 6,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs, said Michael Marr, Shell’s business integration leader. read more

By Michael Bradwell: September 28, 2017

PITTSBURGH – Within the next two to three years, the region should start to see additional plastics manufacturers arriving in the region to take advantage of cheap polyethylene pellets being produced here, an economic development official said Thursday.

Pittsburgh Regional Alliance President David Ruppersberger made the comment while participating in a panel discussion during the second day of the annual Shale Insight conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

The conference is sponsored by the Marcellus Shale Coalition, Ohio Oil and Gas Association and West Virginia Oil & Natural Gas Association. read more

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is opening the first Chinese office of its venture capital fund and recruiting three local investment staff there to tap a market where it sees “explosive” growth, the head of the business told Reuters on Thursday.

Shell Technology Ventures (STV), internally known as “Stevie”, is the oil major’s vehicle through which it seeks to stay on top of technological changes in the energy market that could threaten its business, and provide new areas for growth. read more

Lefteris Karagiannopoulos: SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) are working to remove unodourised gas that entered the network from the country’s Corrib gas field and has curbed output since last week, Shell said.

Due to a technical problem at the Shell-operated Bellanaboy Bridge gas terminal in Ireland, unodourised gas entered the network, forcing GNI to ask local customers to switch off their gas meters on Sept. 22-23, a Shell spokesperson said. read more

Shell, one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, is going electric. Photos uploaded this week show how the company’s new electric car chargers look in reality — and it looks like something out of a sci-fi film. 

The Shell Recharge stations, as they are branded, are 50 kWh direct current chargers that can recharge a car’s battery to around 80 percent in 30 minutes. The stations will initially be available at 10 service stations this year in the United Kingdom, around the London, Reading and Derby areas. They support Chademo, CCS and AC Type 2 charging connectors, and the company plans to provide Tesla adaptors in the future. read more

A class-action lawsuit filed in 2015 accused PREPA of more than $1 billion in fraud, claiming it had taken kickbacks from oil suppliers including Brazil’s Petrobras and Royal Dutch Shell.

By Alexander C. Kaufman: 28 Sept 2017

Puerto Rico plunged into darkness last week after the second major hurricane in a month crippled its aging, debt-laden electric utility. The island is projected to be without power for six months or more, as people swelter and lifesaving medical equipment saps generators in what House Speaker Paul Ryan declared “a humanitarian crisis” on Tuesday.

But it’s not just old, storm-vulnerable transmission lines that need to be replaced.

Forty-seven percent of the power the troubled Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority generates is from burning oil ― one of the most polluting and least efficient sources of electricity. An additional 51 percent of Puerto Rico’s energy blend comes from a mix of coal and natural gas. Just 2 percent was drawn from renewable sources last year. read more

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 / 12:10 PM

* Karoo is vast area famed for scenery, wildlife and fossils

* Study says previous gas estimates were “speculative”

* Authors say they used gas content measurements

By Ed Stoddard

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 28 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Karoo basin probably has a 30th of the shale gas deposits that some estimates had suggested, deflating expectations of an energy bonanza, a study published on Thursday said.

The findings by the South African Journal of Science have been published shortly before the expected award of the first shale gas exploration licences in the region. The government had said an award could happen by the end of September. read more

Flaring and excessive black smoke pouring into the night sky after explosion and uncontrolled shutdown

By Greg Fischer Editor-in-chief: Sep 26, 2017

Around 8 p.m. on Tuesday night a huge flash could be seen in the sky in the direction of the St. James Motiva plant on Highway 44 and Highway 70.

Many people shared sightings of the explosion on social media. The St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office has stated that a transformer exploded, causing an electrical fire at an Entergy substation near the plant.

The substation is the main electrical source for the plant, commonly called Motiva. Entergy has reached out to clarify that the transformer is owned by the Shell Convent Refinery. read more

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 / 8:20 AM

AMSTERDAM, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is working on developing new energy technologies like ‘smart’ electric vehicle charging and models to reduce customers’ energy use, the head of the oil company’s new energies division is set to say on Thursday.

Shell intends to invest up to $1 billion a year through its New Energies division by the end of the decade as the oil company adjusts to an energy market that is moving towards more electrification, decentralised energy use and cleaner fuels. read more

Callum Turcan: 27 Sept 2017

Summary

• Royal Dutch Shell bought into the Permian back in 2012.
• An overview of its JV with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.
• Where its acreage is located.
• Operatorship controversy and probable split from Anadarko.
• What to expect going forward.

Back in 2012, Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) teamed up with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) to develop the Permian Basin. Royal Dutch Shell plc purchased all of Chesapeake Energy Corporation’s (NYSE:CHK) 50% stake in the joint venture for just under $2 billion, a steal compared to where prices are today. Centered in the prolific Delaware Basin, this part of the Permian is home to some of the most economical unconventional horizons in the world, including the Leonard/Avalon, Bone Spring, and Wolfcamp plays. Let’s dig in. read more

Step aside OPEC, diesel is now driving up oil prices.

And just as demand rose faster than expected, diesel supply was hit, prompting a rapid tightening. First in Europe: the Pernis refinery, owned by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and considered one of the region’s diesel machines, suffered a fire in July and shut down for several weeks. And then in the U.S., where hurricane Harvey in late August temporarily knocked out a dozen refineries, disrupting both domestic supplies and distant export markets.

“The oil market is currently driven by four letters: It’s ULSD, not OPEC,” said Olivier Jakob, managing director of consultant Petromatrix GmbH. read more

• It would not be “unreasonable” to forecast oil at $60 a barrel at the end of the decade, said Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden
• Oil supply was more unpredictable than demand, van Beurden added

Cheang Ming | Christine Tan: 27 Sept 2017

It’s “not unreasonable” to expect oil prices at $60 a barrel by the end of the decade, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden told CNBC’s “Managing Asia.”

To be sure, that’s not a large rise from current levels.

Brent crude rose 0.38 percent to trade at $58.66 a barrel in Wednesday Asia trade, after hitting a 26-month high on Tuesday, while U.S. crudewas higher by 0.5 percent at $52.14 at 12:00 p.m. HK/SIN. read more

Corrib flaring ‘frightening’

CLOSE ENCOUNTER RIGHT: A still of the flare from a video by Rossport resident, Mary Corduff.

By Áine Ryan: 26 Sept 2017

COMPANIES selling ‘potentially dangerous energy products’ are obliged ‘to ensure that there is no risk to the customer’. That was according to Minister Michael Ring in the aftermath of news breaking last Thursday night about the fact that odourless gas from the Corrib refinery had entered the network for Galway and Mayo. The crisis, which involved a 36-hour flaring operation at the Bellanaboy refinery in order to push the odourless gas back out of the network, has since been resolved as two State inquiries continue into the potentially dangerous situation. read more

By Robb M. Stewart and Rob Taylor Published September 27, 2017 Features Dow Jones Newswires

The decision, which followed a meeting between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and energy companies, came just days after an Australian regulator warned that gas shortages in 2018 could be three times worse than previously thought. Experts had warned that the curbs risked damaging the country’s standing as a destination for investment, while having a limited impact on local gas supply and prices. read more

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 / 5:32 AM

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Wednesday gas companies have agreed to a two-year domestic supply deal to plug a projected shortfall in the country’s east, preventing threatened government intervention in the export market.

The agreement heads off the possibility of Australia forcibly curbing exports from Australia’s three east coast gas exporters – Royal Dutch Shell, which runs Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG), Origin Energy, which runs the Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) together with ConocoPhillips and Santos, which operates the Gladstone LNG plant. read more

By Ian Pollock Business reporter, BBC News: 26 Sept 2017

Dyson, the engineering company best known for its vacuum cleaners and fans, plans to spend £2bn developing a “radical” electric car.

The battery-powered vehicle is due to be launched in 2020.

Dyson says 400 staff have been working on the secret project for the past two years at its headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

However, the car does not yet exist, with no prototype built, and a factory site is yet to be chosen. read more

Jeff McMahon , CONTRIBUTOR: Sept 25, 2017

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden made headlines worldwide when he told an interviewer in July that his next car would be an electric vehicle, but he stopped short of a full disclosure: van Beurden’s new car is part of a company-wide conversion of the corporate fleet.

Shell Technology Director Harry Brekelmans clarified this month that he too is getting a plug-in vehicle, though it’s a hybrid:

“Indeed Ben’s next car is electrical, but what he also says time and again is that fossil fuels will remain a part of the energy mix for decades to come, so his next car’s a hybrid, not a full EV,” Brekelmans said in appearance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “And I know because my next car also will be a hybrid, because we’re changing the corporate fleet.” read more

UPDATE 2-Gas export curbs loom as Australia’s east faces gas shortfall

By Sonali Paul

MELBOURNE, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and Santos face curbs on exporting gas from Australia’s east coast in 2018 if they fail to plug a projected local supply shortfall, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned on Monday.

Eastern Australia faces a gas shortfall of up to 17 percent of market demand in 2018, the nation’s energy market operator and competition watchdog projected in reports submitted to the government on Monday that will be the basis for a decision by Nov. 1 on whether to limit exports. read more

OPEC and its allies need to extend their crude production cuts beyond March 2018 to rebalance the global oil market, a top executive at BP Plc’s trading arm said.

“Rebalancing is already on the way,” Janet Kong, Eastern Hemisphere Chief Executive Officer of integrated supply and trading at BP, said in an interview in Singapore. But OPEC needs “definitely to cut beyond the first quarter” to bring inventories down and back to historically normal levels, she said.

The view from BP follows a gathering in Vienna by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners that concluded with no decision on an extension or deepening of supply cuts. Oil has struggled to hold above $50 a barrel in 2017 as investors weighed signs of a whittling worldwide crude glut against concerns the U.S. will boost oil production. read more

Statoil ASA is among producers involved in discussions with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. about joining offshore production in the emirate, according to a Norwegian diplomatic dispatch.

“All the major oil companies, including Statoil, are positioning themselves for a cooperation with Adnoc in the offshore segment,” Norway’s embassy in Abu Dhabi wrote in a message to the Foreign Ministry in Oslo dated Aug. 17, which was obtained by Bloomberg through a freedom-of-information request. read more

OPEC’s commitment to cutting production to clear a global glut is working, but the group needs to address rising output from Libya and Nigeria, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. 

Compliance with the output cuts is “acceptable,” Zanganeh told reporters in Tehran. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should focus on “the situation with Libya and Nigeria,” he said, referring to the two countries exempted from capping production due to their internal strife. read more

FILE PHOTO: A view of Iraq’s Majnoon oilfield in Basra, 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad, October 6, 2013. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2017 / 11:54 AM

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Sunday talks are continuing with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) on the Majnoon oil field that the company is said to be seeking to quit.

“There are still negotiations, things are not clear,” Luaibi told a news conference in Baghdad. “We haven’t initiated talks with other companies.” read more

Jillian Ambrose: 23 SEPTEMBER 2017 • 7:30PM

Royal Dutch Shell is preparing to open Britain’s first “no-petrol” service station in the capital next year as part of its drive towards cleaner motoring.

The forecourt is expected to offer motorists biofuels, electric vehicle charge points and hydrogen cell refuelling instead of traditional petrol and diesel pumps. Meanwhile, the buildings are due to be powered by ­renewable energy from solar panels on the forecourt roof.

Sources close to the Anglo-Dutch oil giant told The Telegraph that a central London site had been chosen, but the project was still at a very early stage. A spokesman for Shell declined to comment. read more

The rise of battery-powered cars threatens disaster for Houston’s oil and gas economy.

Houston Chronicle: September 23, 2017

Halfway around the globe, a storm is brewing that will pose a greater threat to our oil and gas industry than Hurricanes Harvey or Ike, or even a massive storm surge right up Houston Ship Channel.

The danger: China wants to stop buying gasoline. Specifically, at an automotive conference in Tianjin, the nation’s vice minister of industry and information technology stated that the government is planning on a total phaseout of vehicles powered by fossil fuels. This announcement follows similar plans from Britain and France to ban sales of diesel and gasoline cars by 2040. That’s decades away, but the world is undeniably moving towards a future where the internal combustion engine is a thing of the past. read more

€400,000 worth of gas burned off and safe supply restored to some customers

Corrib gas plant flaring incident from 32 kilometers away

Lorna Siggins: 22 Sept 2017

Two State investigations are under way into the release of odourless gas into the natural gas supply in the west of Ireland after a “technical fault” at the Corrib gas refinery.

More than 9,000 customers in counties Galway and Mayo were advised to shut down supplies on Thursday until further notice for safety reasons, and the State’s national gas emergency plan was invoked.

Gas Networks Ireland said it had restored a safe supply to 60 per cent of those affected by Friday evening, mainly in Galway city and parts of the county. read more

Natural gas customers in Galway city, Headford, Castlebar, Tuam Ballinrobe, Claremorris, Westport, Ballina and Crossmolina are being told to turn the supply at the meter box off until further notice.

Gas is an odourless substance until a smell is added so it is noticeable.

If a gas leak was now to occur, homeowners would not be able to smell it.

It was processed at the Ballanaboy terminal in Mayo however the odourless gas managed to enter the network, Shell EP confirmed.

In a statement issued by Gas Networks Ireland, the company confirmed a ‘quantity of odourless gas’ entered the network. read more

GEOFFREY MORGAN, FINANCIAL POST 21 Sept 2017

CALGARY – Despite multiple liquefied natural gas project cancellations recently on Canada’s West Coast in recent weeks, the mayor of Kitimat, B.C. is still confident at least one will be built in his town – and even some of the more pessimistic analysts are beginning to agree.

“We’re still extremely positive,” Kitimat mayor Phil Germuth said of the prospects for two LNG projects proposed in and around his northern B.C. town. He said preliminary site work is underway at both Chevron Corp.’s Kitimat LNG project and the Shell Canada Ltd.-led LNG Canada project. read more

Michael Ring said that he was “extremely concerned” over how the odourless gas managed to enter the wider network.

“Shell E&P Ireland (SEPIL) can confirm that a quantity of odourless gas has entered the Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) network,” a spokesperson said.

22 Sept 2017

A GOVERNMENT MINISTER has called for an investigation into how odourless gas from the Corrib gas field made it into the general supply.

Minister for Rural and Community Development Michael Ring said that he was “extremely concerned” over how the odourless gas managed to enter the wider network.

“I am aware that the EPA is engaged with Gas Networks Ireland and the priority is that this situation is resolved safely and with minimal inconvenience to customers,” he said.

“However, we also need answers on how this was allowed to happen and we need them without delay. read more

21 SEPTEMBER 2017 BY LEEN PREESMAN

Oil company Shell’s Dutch defined contribution (DC) scheme has introduced variable pension benefits in the wake of new legislation (Wet Verbeterde Premieregeling).

In its 2016 annual report SNPS – a relatively new scheme set up in 2013 with individual defined contribution (IDC) arrangements – said it had started to offer members the option of keeping accrued pension capital invested after retirement, while investment risk and longevity risk remain collectively shared. read more

Gary McWilliams: SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 / 2:34 AM

(Reuters) – California cities San Francisco and Oakland filed separate lawsuits against five oil companies on Wednesday seeking billions of dollars to protect against rising sea levels they blamed on climate change, according to public documents.

The lawsuits, filed in state courts in San Francisco and Alameda Counties, alleged Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp, BP Plc, and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, created a public nuisance and asked for funds to finance infrastructure to deal with rising sea levels. read more

‘Instead of owning up to it, they copied a page from the Big Tobacco playbook,’ says San Francisco’s city attorney

• Ian Johnston Environment Correspondent
• @montaukian
• Thursday 21 September 2017 13:09 BST

The Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay

The US cities of San Francisco and Oakland are suing five of the world’s largest oil companies for the coasts of walls and other defences against rising sea levels, saying the industry made vast profits from fossil fuels while knowing they were causing “an existential threat to humankind”.

Drawing a direct comparison to the tobacco industry’s sale of cigarettes despite knowledge of the health risks, the city attorneys announced they had filed separate lawsuits against BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. read more

Callum Turcan: Sept 21, 2017

Summary

• Checking out high-yielding Royal Dutch Shell plc.
• Brent bouncing up to over $55/barrel is big news that I think has been under-reported in the financial media.
• Overview of Shell’s finances and significance of higher Brent prices.

In light of material increases in realized upstream prices and an improving downstream sector, Royal Dutch Shell plc’s (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) financials have shown tremendous improvement this year. The worst of the downturn is behind the oil sector, but keep in mind crude prices remain range-bound. That being said, with Brent (global oil benchmark) back over $55/barrel (high end of the range), things are looking brighter and brighter for Royal Dutch Shell every day. Especially when it comes to fully covering Royal Dutch Shell plc Class A and Class B shares’ lofty 6+% yields. Let’s dig in. read more

San Francisco and Oakland on Wednesday announced lawsuits against five major oil and gas companies. (Courtesy photo)

The lawsuits against Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell claim the companies have known for decades that global warming and sea level rise were accelerated by the investor-owned producers of fossil fuels, but the companies still continued to “aggressively produce, market and sell vast quantities of fossil fuels for a global market”

By Examiner Staff on September 20, 2017 10:59 am

The cities of San Francisco and Oakland have filed separate lawsuits against five major oil and gas companies for allegedly contributing to the costs of climate change and sea level rise by producing massive amounts of fossil fuels, city leaders announced Wednesday.

The lawsuits against Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell claim the companies have known for decades that global warming and sea level rise were accelerated by the investor-owned producers of fossil fuels, but the companies still continued to “aggressively produce, market and sell vast quantities of fossil fuels for a global market,” according to a news release from the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. read more

September 20, 2017, 01:35:00 PM EDT By Zacks Equity Research, Zacks.com

Per Reuters, integrated oil and gas company, Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS.Aintends to increase its marketing operations in Asia region. The company’s effort to de-carbonize the energy system was reconfirmed as it targets to attain 20% of its global fuel station sales from electric vehicles recharging and fuels with a lower level of carbon by 2025.

Expanding Asia Operations

The oil major has 43,000 fuel stations in 80 countries and is now trying to reach the fuel markets of China and India, the two most populous countries in the world with high demand for energy. Shell is also eyeing the Indonesian fuel market. The company believes there will be continued growth in the Asian market over the next decade. read more

Shell was never going to burn bridges to either platform, not when both are key to reaching the millennials who think the oil industry is only about profiting from irreversible damage to the planet.

Seb Joseph: SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

Not every advertiser sees YouTube’s brand-safety woes and Facebook’s metric mishaps as chances to openly berate the duopoly. Oil giant Shell is doing the opposite, taking a pragmatic — and sometimes sympathetic — view of both companies’ quandaries.

Between developing a clear strategy for YouTube and running more ads on Facebook, Shell has pinned its colors to the duopoly flag for the foreseeable future. Americo Campos Silva, head of digital and social media for Shell, justified the moves, insisting that Google isn’t entirely to blame for ads appearing next to terrorist videos and criticizing the videos’ creators for avoiding detection using specific tags. Campos Silva also downplayed reports that Facebook falsified the size of its audience… read more

Jaclyn Jaeger | Extracts from article published Sept 19, 2017

Italian oil giant Eni in a public filing this month revealed further details about what corruption allegations and investigations its facing around the world.

Corruption allegations against Eni now include Nigeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Congo. The number of enforcement authorities, employees, and subsidiaries involved in these allegations has also grown.

Block OPL 245 — Nigeria. Eni first mentioned allegations of international corruption in a Form 6-K (Report of Foreign Issuer) in 2014. In that report, the company said that it had been served with a notice of investigation in July 2014 by the Italian Public Prosecutor in Milan “relating to potential liability on the part of Eni arising from alleged international corruption.” read more

Callum Turcan: Sep. 20, 2017 7:05 AM ET: EXTRACTS FROM THE ARTICLE: “Williams’ Long-Term Gulf Of Mexico Upside”

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) is developing the Appomattox and the Vicksburg fields with the first stage of development expected to recover 650 million barrels of oil equivalent. That includes 596 million barrels of crude and 396 billion cubic feet of natural gas, with a planned peak production rate of 175,000 BOE/d. Two tie-back opportunities, the Gettysburg and Rydberg fields, could be developed through future development schemes. read more

It’s no secret that oil majors are among the biggest corporate emitters of pollution. What may be surprising is that they’re reducing their greenhouse-gas footprints every year, actively participating in a trend that’s swept up most corporate behemoths.

Sixty-two of the world’s 100 largest companies consistently cut their emissions on an annual basis between 2010 and 2015, with an overall 12 percent decline during that period, according to a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance released ahead of its conference in London on Monday. read more

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 / 12:36 AM

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc began restarting its 325,700-barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery on Sunday for the first time since it was shut three weeks ago by Tropical Storm Harvey, said sources familiar with plant operations.

The refinery’s largest crude distillation unit, the 270,000-bpd DU-2, restarted on Sunday morning and was on circulation by midday, the sources said. Other units are being brought up to operating temperature and readied to resume production following the restart of DU-2. read more

By City & Finance Reporter for the Daily Mail: PUBLISHED: 21:50, 17 September 2017 | UPDATED: 21:50, 17 September 2017

Oil firm Shell is planning to open its first UK electric car charging point next month.

Cars will be able to re-charge at a yet-to-be disclosed location in London.

Bosses are trying to adapt as transport and other industries move away from fossil fuels. Demand for electric cars is expected to soar, with about 150m on the roads by 2040.

Shell expects to open around 10 electric charging points around London by the end of the year. More will follow depending on customer demand. The firm ultimately wants 20 per cent of its retail fuel margins globally to come from non-diesel or petrol cars. read more

By Foster Wong: 18 September 2017

Big Oil had started fighting climate change before President Donald Trump took office read more

By Cyril Widdershoven – Sep 16, 2017, 6:00 PM CDT

Supermajor Royal Dutch Shell has decided to divest its Iraqi oil assets in a move to focus on its future in natural gas.

The industry giant is seemingly breaking from its oil heritage to head full speed into the “Golden Age of Gas.” Shell’s decision to leave Iraq’s upstream oil assets is not without risk, however, as the market for natural gas is even more oversupplied than it is for crude oil.

Reuters reported the move first, based on a letter from the Iraqi ministry of oil, followed by a confirmation from Shell. The Dutch heavyweight indicated to the press that its oil asset divestment in Iraq is in line with its strategy to focus more on natural gas and downstream activities. read more

This issue with sewer pipes is the latest development in a decade-long saga for Carousel tract residents. Developers of the 285-home community, which borders Wilmington, secretly buried remains of a former Shell Oil tank farm a few feet beneath the homes in the 1960s. The burial was kept secret until routine testing discovered soil pollution in 2008.

By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze: 09/16/17, 3:32 PM PDT

Years of state-led environmental investigations into massive oil contamination at Carson’s Carousel tract neighborhood missed a key problem for residents living amid the mess: the sewer pipes under some homes are literally corroded into dust.

Beyond the high cost of replacing sewer lines, the oil-degraded pipelines could present yet another major health concern for residents across the 50-acre community, a new city-commissioned study has found. read more

Posted by Jennifer Salazar on Sep 16th, 2017

Media stories about Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS/A) have trended positive recently, Accern reports. The research group identifies positive and negative press coverage by monitoring more than 20 million blog and news sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Royal Dutch Shell plc earned a coverage optimism score of 0.27 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news coverage about the company an impact score of 46.2619903115752 out of 100, meaning that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the next few days. read more

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Raízen, the world’s largest sugar producer, is trying to cut production costs to remain profitable amid depressed international prices, Chief Executive Luis Henrique Guimarães said on Friday.

Raízen, a 50-50 joint venture between Cosan SA Indústria e Comércio and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, plans to crush up to 63 million tonnes of cane in the current crop season, more than 10 percent of total Brazilian cane output.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Paul Simao) read more

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 / 5:25 PM

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The Brazilian unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC will invest $2 billion per year in the country through 2020, Flávio Rodrigues, the unit’s director of government relations and regulatory affairs, said at an industry event on Thursday.

The investment plan does not include potential bids for oil exploration areas, he said, which the government will auction off in September and October.

On average, the oil company produced 325,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in the first quarter, Rodrigues added.  read more

Ron Bousso: SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is set to end a century of oil production in Iraq by withdrawing from two of the Arab state’s flagship fields to focus on more profitable gas development.

Shell’s retreat highlights the challenges foreign operators face with low-margin oil contracts in Iraq, an OPEC member that sits on some of the world’s biggest oil reserves and wants to boost production after years of conflict hindered development.

The Anglo-Dutch firm said on Wednesday it had agreed with Iraq’s oil ministry to relinquish operations at Majnoon field to the government after unfavorable changes to fiscal terms. The announcement confirmed an earlier Reuters report. read more