Oct 31st, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Owen Akenzua: 31 Oct 2017
Asaba — Oil spill victims under the aegis of Oil Spill Victims Vanguard (OSPIVV) have initiated a lawsuit in the United Kingdom against Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO), a subsidiary of the Royal-Dutch Shell Plc., over alleged $3, 600,191, 206 compensation to 168,000 persons and 350 communities affected by the December 20, 2011 spill from its Bonga Oil Field in Delta State.
The group’s Executive Director, Harrison Jalla in a statement, said the move was to ensure accelerated hearing and justice.read more
Oct 31st, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The world’s biggest new gas giant has been hiding in plain sight.
Despite some of the world’s largest reserves of natural gas, PetroChina Co. is still predominantly viewed through the lens of crude oil. That’s overdue a change.
Oil production in the nine months through September fell 5.2 percent while natural gas climbed 4.5 percent, the Beijing-based company said Monday. Based on those numbers, third-quarter oil production of 224.3 million barrels represented less than 60 percent of the total when set against natural gas output of about 152.1 million barrels of oil equivalent.read more
Oct 29th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Stop crude focus on oil profits
The Guardian: Article by Sean Farrell: Sunday 29 October 2017
At the start of last year, Britain’s big oil companies, Shell and BP, appeared to be in crisis. A slump in the price of Brent crude – from more than $110 a barrel in 2014 to less than $30 in January 2016 – sent profits tumbling and appeared to threaten dividends. After painful cost cuts and a partial recovery in the oil price to near $60, the pressure has eased and both are expected to report solid first-half results this week.
BP goes first, on Tuesday, with Shell, the stronger of the two, on Thursday. The commotion over the oil slump diverted some attention from their commitments to low-carbon energy. To much fanfare, both companies’ boards supported resolutions at their 2015 annual meetings that required clearer reporting of emissions, business risks and efforts to develop green energy sources.read more
Brazil auctioned off six of eight exploration blocks in today’s historic opening of its coveted pre-salt offshore oil region to foreign operators, exceeding the government’s expectations with commitments for 6.15B reais ($1.88B) in signing bonuses.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) was especially active, winning stakes in half the blocks awarded and bolstering its position as the largest foreign operator in Brazil’s offshore oil sector, second only to state-run Petrobras (NYSE:PBR); Shell believes it can pump oil from the pre-salt fields at below $40/bbl.
BP took two blocks, including the Peroba block, which is estimated to contain 5.3B barrels of oil; it won as part of a consortium that included PBR and a Chinese group.
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) grabbed the Norte de Carcará block – which holds an estimated 2.2B barrels of oil, in a consortium with Statoil (NYSE:STO), which says it also sold a stake in a nearby block to XOM for $1.3B.
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
OCTOBER 27, 2017
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell RDSA.L and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) won blocks in Brazil’s coveted pre-salt oil region in an auction on Friday.
Shell was part of consortia that won two of the four blocks on offer in the first part of an eight block auction.
Exxon, in a consortium with Norway’s Statoil (STL.OL) and Portugal’s Petrogal, a unit of Galp Energia (GALP.LS), won another. There were no bids for the fourth block.
Another four blocks will be auctioned later on Friday. The eight blocks on offer contain a total of more than 12 billion barrels of estimated oil reserves.read more
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
World’s biggest Western energy companies are on track to post highest annual profits since oil market crashed three years ago
By Bradley Olson and Sarah Kent
Big oil is back in the black.
The world’s biggest Western energy companies are on track to post the highest annual profits since the oil market crashed three years ago and forced them to restructure for a prolonged era of low prices. FULL ARTICLE
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
A shareholder campaign group has said pension funds who have invested in BP and Shell are exposed due to the oil majors’ inaction on the low-carbon transition.
In its latest report, ShareAction, a non-profit organisation, said the companies’ business models look increasingly vulnerable to the threats posed by low-cost renewables and climate change policy.
The group said the oil majors had done little to mitigate these threats and lamented their lack of investment in low-carbon (BP, 1.3% of capital expenditure to Shell’s 3% of annual capex).
ShareAction said investors should “escalate” engagement with senior management, pressing them to set out their positions on climate legislation and their plans for “reducing total lifecycle emissions”.read more
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
* Africa gas market tiny but growing fast
* Electricity generation is main growth driver
* Unified pricing system tough in undeveloped markets
“It would be extremely difficult to find a unified pricing system in Africa at the source. If one day Africa is well-connected with pipelines and many different sources, then maybe an index,” said Mounir Bouaziz, Royal Dutch Shell’s vice president for new business development.
By Wendell Roelf and Ed Stoddard
CAPE TOWN, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Africa should develop a gas pricing index based on the cost of electricity set midway between existing global benchmarks to ensure fairer pricing in new export projects on the continent, two African ministers said.
The idea is being floated when the world’s poorest continent, where 600 million people are without electricity, is turning to liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a cheaper way to power up amid plentiful global supply.read more
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
OCTOBER 27, 2017
LONDON (Reuters) – A $1 billion fund created by top energy companies to curb climate change will back technologies being developed by U.S. cement maker Solidia Technologies and engine maker Achates Power, it said on Friday.
The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) was set up last year and includes Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell.
Solidia Technologies will receive funding for making cement with carbon dioxide instead of water, potentially lowering emissions by 70 percent and water use by 80 percent, the OGCI said.read more
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
“Both are attractive. Both have real potential,” said Wael Sawan, Shell’s executive vice president for deepwater. “We have as a company, I think as an industry, scarce capital resources to be able to make the investments that the particular projects in deep water require.”
OCTOBER 27, 2017
After two waves of resource nationalism that left few openings in Latin America for energy giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) and Total (TOTF.PA), the tables are turning.
Governments throughout the continent are enacting reforms and changing contract terms to lure oil firms that have slashed spending as they adapt to lower crude prices. Global policy changes to address climate change have given an added sense of urgency to governments in the region and worldwide that are sitting on oil and gas reserves. They want to pump it before it becomes less valuable.read more
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
OCTOBER 27, 2017
BRASILIA, Oct 26 (Reuters) – A federal judge in the Brazilian state of Amazonas issued an injunction on Thursday ordering the suspension of the billion-dollar auctions of pre-salt oil and gas rights scheduled for Friday.
The injunction was sought by the leftist Workers Party and could easily be overturned if appealed, as is often the case in Brazil.
Major oil firms are vying for the blocks in Brazil’s offshore pre-salt area, where billions of barrels of oil are trapped under a layer of salt.read more
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Neither company sets targets to reduce emissions and BP’s total investment in renewable and clean technologies has actually shrunk since 2005, the report said Getty Images
Companies are trying to ‘have their oil and eat it’ by committing to 2°C in public while planning for much higher temerpature rises, says shareholder campaign group, ShareAction
Oil giants Shell and BP are planning for global temperatures to rise as much as 5°C by the middle of the century. The level is more than double the upper limit committed to by most countries in the world under the Paris Climate Agreement, which both companies publicly support.
The discrepancy demonstrates that the companies are keeping shareholders in the dark about the risks posed to their businesses by climate change, according to two new reports published by investment campaign group Share Action. Many climate scientists say that a temperature rise of 5°C would be catastrophic for the planet.read more
Oct 27th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Zhang Xinsheng, executive chairman of Shell Companies in China. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Editor’s Note:
The Communist Party of China has just concluded its 19th National Congress in Beijing. In the runup to the meeting, China Daily asked business leaders from major multinational companies for their views on economic developments here and the country’s global leadership role.
China Daily: 27 October 2017
Zhang Xinsheng is executive chairman of Shell Companies in China, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the global energy group.
How can China achieve stable and sustainable economic growth?read more
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA RDSB) reported emissions from its Deer Park, Texas, refinery and chemical facility following a leak of benzene.
In a statement to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Shell said the emissions event happened Wednesday over a four-hour period. The cause, it said, was rooted in an Oct. 10 incident in which “a flange leak occurred at the Phenol 2 unit.”
The refinery said the flange leak is ongoing, and the material released is benzene, which is a component of crude oil that has carcinogenic properties.read more
Oct 26th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Sarah Kent Dow Jones Newswires
The world’s biggest oil companies have a suddenly popular measure for success: breaking even.
Once obscure and little noted, the break-even number has become an obsession for investors in oil giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and Chevron Corp. as crude prices stay mired between $50 and $60 a barrel. At its simplest, the metric represents the oil price that a company needs to generate enough cash so it can cover its capital spending and dividend payouts.read more
Oct 26th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Oil giants focus excessively on fossil fuel production, a green advocacy group concluded, and urged investors to demand clear plans for controlling climate change.
Joe McGrath: October 25, 2017
Performance targets of energy companies Royal Dutch Shell and BP remain too heavily biased towards hydrocarbon production, a report has warned.
ShareAction — a U.K. charity that promotes environment, social, and governance-oriented investing — looked at BP and Shell’s greenhouse emissions management policies, asset portfolio resilience, corporate key performance indicators, executive incentive structures, and influences on public policy. The group concluded that the oil giants prioritize the production of fossil fuels, which could incentivize management behavior “misaligned” with shareholder interest, as defined by ShareAction.read more
Oct 25th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Wael Sawan, Executive Vice President for Shell’s deepwater division, poses for a picture before an interview for Reuters during an oil conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 24, 2017. Picture take October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell will participate in Brazil’s deepwater oilfield auction on Friday and is confident it can pump oil from the fields on offer for less than $40 a barrel, a top Shell executive said.
Brazil will hold its first auction in four years for its pre-salt oilfields on Friday. The eight deepwater blocks on offer hold billions of barrels in reserves, and for the first time, Brazil will allow foreign oil firms to operate the fields in the region.read more
Oct 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The world’s biggest oil companies are closing more clean energy deals as pressure to diversify their businesses mounts and growth accelerates among green technologies.
Oil majors more than doubled the number of acquisitions, project investments and venture capital stakes, to 44 in 2016 from 21 the year before, according to research published Tuesday by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. In the last 15 years, they’ve completed 428 transactions and spent $6.2 billion building stakes in clean energy companies.read more
A Federal High Court in Lagos was on Monday forced to adjourn continuation of hearing until November 15 in a suit filed by the federal government against Shell Western Supply and Trading Ltd over alleged crude oil shipment worth $406.8 million.
The suit, filed by the federal government’s counsel, Fabian Ajogwu, has Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd and its subsidiary — Shell Western Supply & Trading Ltd as defendants.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that continuation of trial was stalled on Monday following the absence of the judge, Mojisola Olatoregun, who was said to be attending a conference in Abuja.read more
Oct 21st, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
OCTOBER 21, 2017
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq may offer Chevron (CVX.N) and Total (TOTF.PA) terms to develop the Majnoon oilfield different from those it had given to Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Saturday.
Iraq will develop the Majnoon oil field in southern Iraqi by its own means until it can find a foreign partner, Luaibi told reporters, adding that no company has been selected yet.
Luaibi said on Oct. 9 that Chevron and Total are among the companies that have expressed interest in developing Majnoon that Shell has said it wants to leave because of unfavourable changes to fiscal terms.read more
Oct 21st, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The oil major has entered into an agreement to sell its 9% share of the Polarled gas pipeline which connects Statoil’s Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian North Sea with the Nyhamna gas processing plant.
Shell plans to sell the stake to CapeOmega AS, which is owned by European acquisition fund HitecVision.
The deal also includes £% of the 15.03% stake in the Nyhamna gas plant, one of the largest of its kind on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The transaction is expected to be completed by 2017, subject to approval by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the Ministry of Finance.read more
Oct 21st, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Simon Utebor, Yenagoa
Shell Petroleum Development Company has said that its economic contribution to the Nigerian government in four years is $29bn.
The company’s General Manager, External Relations, Mr. Igo Weli, made this known in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, during the 2017 Swamp West Hub Integrated Stakeholders Engagement Forum for Tarakiri/Egbema/Oporoma Community Leadership.
Weli , represented by the Assets Manager, Swamp West Hub, SPDC, Mr. Mesh Maithibi, also said the company contributed $1.8bn to the Niger Delta Development Company’s funds within the period for the development of communities in the region.read more
Oct 21st, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa: 21 Oct 2017
The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) says the degradation of the environment in the Niger is mainly due to spillages from the activities of crude oil thieves, sabotage of facilities, illegal refining and other third party interferences, rather than negligence by the company.
Representatives of the oil multinational firm who spoke in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during the 2017 West Hub Integrated Stakeholders Engagement Forum for Tarakiri/Egbemo/Oporomor communities, urged all stakeholders to rethink the destruction being done to the environment with a view to effecting the needed change.read more
Oct 18th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Royal Dutch Shell Plc opened its first rapid charging point for electric cars at gasoline stations in the U.K., the latest sign that oil majors are waking up to the disruption plug-in vehicles could have on their industry.
The new Shell Recharge service is available at three sites in London, Surrey and Derby. It will expand to seven other locations in London and Reading by the end of the year, according to an emailed statement.
Britain has more than 8,000 retail stations, and those are closing at a rate of about 100 per year and and may number 6,000 by 2035 as electric cars spread, according to analysis by the oil-industry researcher Wood Mackenzie. In a race to lead the world in battery powered cars, the U.K. has also said it may require motorway service areas and large gasoline stations to install electric vehicle recharging points. It’s also said it will ban the sale of new vehicles that take diesel fuel by 2040.read more
Shell has announced the opening of Shell Recharge – the new on-forecourt Electric Vehicle (EV) rapid charging service.
Shell Recharge is now available at Shell Holloway (London), Shell Whyteleafe (Surrey) and Shell Derby, and will be launched at a further seven locations within Greater London and Reading by the end of the year.
Jane Lindsay-Green, Shell UK Future Fuels Manager, said: “Shell Recharge provides Electric Vehicle drivers with a convenient way to charge their cars on-the-go.read more
A director of Shell has resigned after being charged with fraud in relation to his former job at global miner Rio Tinto.
Guy Elliott said he would step down from his non-executive director role at Shell with immediate effect after US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission charged him in relation to a botched coal deal while he was chief financial officer at Rio.
Mr Elliott has been charged with fraud alongside Rio Tinto and its former chief executive Tom Albanese over allegations they hid the true value of coal assets in Mozambique following a disastrous acquisition.
Rio took a $3bn (£2.28bn) writedown on Riversdale Mining in 2013. It bought the coal project in the southern African country for $3.7bn in 2011 but sold it for just $50m three years later, after realising it would be unable to ship coal downriver to port.read more
Royal Dutch Shell is pursuing a massive shift in its business model by focusing heavily on the petrochemical business, something that has its roots right here in Beaver County.
Royal Dutch Shell is pursuing a massive shift in its business model by focusing heavily on the petrochemical business, something that has its roots right here in Beaver County.
Shell, the multi-national oil and gas giant that is one of the largest companies in the world, will have three new petrochemical projects come online early next decade. In addition to the local cracker project, Shell is making other chemical-sector investments in Louisiana and another in China.read more
Royal Dutch Shell will begin construction of a new $10bn petrochemicals site in the gas-rich Marcellus shale basin in the US within the next ten weeks as part of a radical growth plan for its petrochemicals business.
The oil major told investors that global demand for petrochemicals – which are used to manufacture the raw materials used to make plastics, paints and textiles – is set to grow by around 50pc by the end of the decade, making it a key area for the company’s growth.read more
Oct 16th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
SARAH MCFARLANE
The Wall Street Journal
After spending hundreds of billions of dollars to transform themselves into global natural gas giants, some of the world’s biggest energy companies face a new challenge: generating more demand as supplies threaten to balloon and prices languish.
Companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Cheniere Energy are trying to establish new markets for liquefied natural gas, a super-chilled version of the fuel that can be shipped around the world. Producers are promoting the use of LNG for industrial trucking and shipping. Companies also say they are considering building the power plants and infrastructure necessary to provide gas and electricity in developing markets such as South Africa and Vietnam.read more
Oct 16th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Global oil demand growth will slow to a crawl and gasoline use will peak within the next decade, prompting the world’s biggest energy companies to accelerate the shift to natural gas and chemicals, according to consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd.
Major crude producers will have to adapt to significant changes in the coming years, but their businesses can grow. Oil consumption will keep expanding until at least 2035 as the petrochemical industry, which provides the building blocks to manufacture everything from plastics to pesticides, makes up for the contraction in some transport fuels, Wood Mackenzie said in a report on Monday.read more
Oct 16th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Ben Van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, sees a future dominated by gas and renewables, with gas the clear winner. Photo: Bloomberg
By Ben Marlow:
If there is one subject that divides energy producers it’s the question of when oil demand will peak.
Indeed, it is such a controversial topic that some senior figures like Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih, prefer not to discuss it at all.
He claims talk of peak demand is dangerous. It threatens to reduce vital investment, “compromising” energy security, al-Falih said earlier this year.
John Watson, boss of American oil giant Chevron, recently dismissed the idea of peak demand as “wishful thinking”.read more
Oct 15th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
BY SAHARA REPORTERS, NEW YORK OCT 15, 2017
The Malabu oil scandal, which began in 1998 under the military regime of the late General Sani Abacha, had the quartet of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau a former National Security Adviser; Mr. Dan Etete, former Petroleum Resources Minister; Russian President Putin and House of Representatives member, Umar Bature as lead actors at various stages.
The transaction, which birthed the scandal, began when the Abacha regime decided to encourage indigenous participation in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry. The regime allocated oil blocks to Nigerian companies at a reduced cost of $20 million per block.read more
Oct 14th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Separately, Leigh Day is representing residents from the Niger Delta in a case against Royal Dutch Shell and has appealed against a High Court ruling earlier this year that the company could not be sued in London over oil spills in Nigeria. That case will be next heard in November.
London’s Court of Appeal on Friday threw out miner Vedanta’s attempt to block the Zambians’ legal action over alleged pollution of their villages.
Vedanta said in a statement it would seek the right to appeal to the Supreme Court, the highest in the English legal system, adding the decision was on jurisdiction only and “was not a ruling or a determination on the merits of the claims”.
Three senior High Court judges dismissed an appeal by Vedanta and its Zambian subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM)against a ruling in May last year when a High Court judge decided the claim could proceed in the English courts on behalf of 1,826 Zambian villagers.read more
Oct 14th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The field was discovered in 1996, but objections and protests by locals who feared the development’s impact on the environment delayed its development.
The Corrib natural gas field off the west coast lost €140 million last year, according to accounts filed by its operator, Shell E&P Ireland.
Global oil and gas giant, Royal Dutch Shell, is selling its 45 per cent stake in the Corrib operator to a Canadian pension fund for up to €1.08 billion.
Accounts for Shell E&P Ireland show that it lost €140 million in 2016 as the cost of running Corrib exceeded the revenues that it earned.
The figures show that the company’s sales were €182.2 million, but costs of €359.4 million and a near €10 million interest bill left it with losses of €187 million. A tax credit of €47 million reduced this to €140 million.read more
Oct 12th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
October 12, 2017
Shell is closing its global headquarters for technology and research in Rijswijk and moving some 2,000 workers to Shell operations in The Hague and Amsterdam, broadcaster NOS said on Thursday.
The company, which said earlier this year that hundreds of jobs will go in Rijswijk and Amsterdam, claimed the move will not cost any more jobs and is unconnected to those previously-announced, NOS said.
‘We have looked at our locations in the Randstad area and decided to reduce them from four to three,’ a spokesman told the broadcaster. ‘Our headquarters are being renovated and our location in Amsterdam expanded so we will have more room there. That will be more efficient.’read more
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) has agreed to buy Dutch-based NewMotion, the owner of one of Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging networks, marking the company’s first deal in electric mobility as demand for cleaner vehicles is expected to soar.
Shell said NewMotion, which manages over 30,000 charging points for electric vehicles in Western Europe and offers access to thousands more, will operate in parallel to Shell’s program of rolling out fast charging points at its forecourts.read more
A Non-Governmental Organisation has filed a suit in a London court against Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company, SNEPCO, over a 2011 oil spill in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.
The NGO, the Oil Spills Victims Vanguard, filed the case on September 21 at the TTC High Court of Justice, London, on behalf of the victims of the Bonga oil spill.
The spill, said to have been caused by an operational error on the part of SNEPCO, had about 40,000 barrels of crude oil discharged into the Atlantic Ocean, and affected at least 350 communities in Delta and Bayelsa states.read more
Oct 11th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
HOUSTON, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Gas BV, Shell Brazil Holding BV and Integral Investments BV (“Shell”) today announce they have signed an agreement with Cosan Ltd. to execute an existing Put Option Agreement, which allows Shell to sell all of its 16.8% interest in Companhia de Gas de São Paulo (“Comgás”) to Cosan Ltd. Under the agreement, Shell will exchange its ~21.8 million common shares in Comgás for Cosan S.A. Indústria e Comércio (“Cosan SA”) shares plus cash.read more
Oct 10th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Ron Bousso, Clara Denina: OCTOBER 10, 2017 / 3:55 PM
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is seeking to sell its 17 percent stake in the Mukhaizna oil field in Oman, which could fetch up to $200 million, banking sources said.
The sale process is led by investment bank Rothschild, the sources said.
Shell and Rothschild did not respond to requests for comment.
The Mukhaizna heavy oil field, operated by Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N), reached an average oil production rate of 127,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2016, according to Occidental’s annual report.read more
Shell Australia’s new chair, Zoe Yujnovich, has injected what for some will be an uncomfortable dose of reality into what has been a generally misleading debate about the role that the three big Queensland export LNG plants have played in the east coast energy crisis.
In an address to the national energy summit yesterday, Ms Yujnovich took issue with the widely accepted narrative that exports from the three plants off Gladstone have created a shortage of gas on the east coast and driven a spectacular surge in gas prices for households and manufacturers.read more
Oct 10th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Jamison Cocklin: October 9, 2017
An affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc last month submitted a permit application to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the nearly 100-mile ethane pipeline system designed to feed the multi-billion dollar cracker under construction.
Shell Pipeline Co. LP continues to secure easements for the two-leg Falcon Ethane pipeline that would extend into West Virginia and Ohio. The company will need various federal, state and local approvals for the pipeline.
The Pennsylvania DEP is working to determine if the application is complete before it moves ahead with the actual review. Construction of the pipeline, which would have a capacity of more than 100,000 b/d, is expected to begin between 2018 and 2019. Shell is constructing the cracker in western Pennsylvania’s Beaver County and plans to start operations in the early 2020s. FULL ARTICLEread more
Oct 9th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
OCTOBER 9, 2017
* Wheatstone had been due to start shipping in mid-2017
* First cargo expected in “coming weeks”
* Wheatstone LNG will produce 8.9 million tpy at full capacity (Adds trader, Woodside comments, chart, factbox in related content section)
By Sonali Paul
MELBOURNE, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Chevron Corp said on Monday it has started producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its Wheatstone project in Australia, slightly later than expected, and plans to ship its first cargo soon.read more
Oct 7th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Oct 7, 2017: One of Amazon’s considerations in choosing a location for its second headquarters is quality of life. If Amazon gets wind of what emissions will spew forth from the Shell cracker plant under construction in Beaver County — and surely it knows — it doesn’t bode well. For any of us.
We, Amazon or otherwise, are all downwind of the pollutants yet to come, with intimidating names like VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and NOs (nitrogen oxides), which combine to make ozone, which makes it hard to breathe. The projected amount is three times that emitted at our Clairton Coke Works. The projected emission of CO2, carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is over 2 million tons annually.read more
Oct 7th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
October 06, 2017, 04:44:00 PM EDT By Zacks Equity Research
Two major Californian cities – San Francisco and Oakland – have filed lawsuits against five oil and energy super majors in late September. The cities have taken legal action against Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell plc, ExxonMobil Corp. and BP p.l.c.
The companies have been accused of causing an adverse impact on the climate, resulting in global warming. The plaintiffs hold these fossil fuel companies accountable for rising sea levels, changing landscapes, higher global temperatures and increased risk of storms and droughts.read more
Oct 6th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Operating in the wholesale electricity market since 2014, Shell Energy A.Ş. is poised to begin retail electricity trade in Turkey, particularly in the industrial sector, a report by the Dünya daily has claimed.
The global energy giant has operated in Turkey since the foundation of the Republic in 1923. Now, it is planning to expand its operations in natural gas, electricity and non-carbon energy. For electricity generation, the company is looking to benefit from renewable energy sources.read more
Oct 5th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
2017 October 5 15:37
Gazprom and Shell have confirmed their interest in implementation of the Baltic LNG project, IAA PortNews correspondent cites Aleksandr Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Gazprom, and Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas and New Energies Director, Shell, as saying at the 7th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPIGF-2017).
“Baltic LNG project will develop and we are participating in it financially”, said Maarten Wetselaar.
According to Shell, global LNG demand is 265 mln t per year and its growth prospects are good, particularly due to the markets of China, India and other Asian countries.read more
Oct 5th, 2017
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
* Australia LNG exports tipped to rise to 74 mt in 2018-19
* Australia’s share of Japan, Korea LNG imports seen growing
* Iron ore price forecast raised to $64 for 2017
SYDNEY, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Australia expects to increase exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 16 percent from mid-2018 as $180 billion in new projects hit their stride, nearly catching up with Qatar, the world’s top supplier.
Rising LNG exports coupled with higher prices for steel-making commodities and thermal coal should see Australia’s overall resource and energy export earnings increase 2 percent in the year to end-June 2018, to a record A$211 billion ($165 billion), the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science said on Friday.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?