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October 27th, 2017:

Shell, Exxon win blocks in Brazil’s pre-salt oil auction

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

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Profits Jump at Exxon, Chevron, Total

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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell and BP connected pension funds ‘at risk’ from companies’ failure to adapt

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.

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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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Africa should create gas pricing index as demand rises – ministers

* 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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Big Oil’s $1 billion fund backs new cement, engine technologies

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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Brazil vs. Mexico: Latin America’s fight for Big Oil’s money

“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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Brazil judge suspends pre-salt oil auctions set for Friday

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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

BP and Shell planning for catastrophic 5°C global warming despite publicly backing Paris Climate Agreement

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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Clock ticking down on deadline for Shell Springboard entries

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Entrants will be competing for a green cash pot containing £350,000, with the national winner to receive £150,000.

A further five regional winners will each get £40,000 of no-strings attached funding.

They will also be given access to academics and investors whose advice can help grow their enterprises.

The cut-off date for applications falls on November 6.

Former winners include Edinburgh-based tidal energy technology developer Nova Innovation. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Planning for a green future

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

This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.