FILE PHOTO – 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. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly
Ron Bousso: 7 MARCH 2018
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A potential tariff on U.S. steel imports could affect Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) plans to go ahead with a major oil field development in the Gulf of Mexico, a company executive said on Wednesday.
Wael Sawan, who heads Shell’s deepwater operations, said President Donald Trump’s intention to slap up to 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminium could materially impact the value of the Vito development off the Louisiana coast, one of a handful of projects Shell is planning to greenlight this year.
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Wednesday he was “not sure” if Trump had made up his mind about levying the steel tariffs.
Shell has in recent years set a strict ceiling on costs of projects, which all have to generate profit at oil prices of $40 a barrel.
The cost of oil and gas projects, which require huge amounts of raw material including steel and cement, could rise by 25 to 50 percent in some cases if a tariff is imposed, Sawan told Reuters in an interview at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference in Houston.
“We are trying to grapple with the implications of the tax changes, which are positive, but also the implications of the steel tariffs or what might come out,” he said.
“I’m hopeful within the next few weeks as we understand more, we will have a better understanding of the economics that impact the decision and timing.”
Shell is expected to make a number of final investment decisions on projects as the sector emerges from a three-year downturn that saw a sharp drop in investments.
Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by David Gregorio
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
