RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s three largest fuel distribution companies are under investigation for fixing prices at the pump, police said on Tuesday, reigniting debate over potential collusion among gas station owners in Latin America’s largest oil producer.
The firms targeted by the probe are Petrobras Distribuidora SA (BRDT3.SA), a subsidiary of state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA); Ipiranga, a unit of Ultrapar Participações SA (UGPA3.SA); and Raízen, a Cosan SA (CSAN3.SA) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.AS) joint venture.read more
Jul 31st, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Reuters Staff: JULY 31, 2018
ABUJA (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and its partners will decide next year on whether to go ahead with the development of Nigeria’s Bonga Southwest offshore oilfield, a senior company official said on Tuesday.
The project, one of the country’s largest with an expected production of 180,000 barrels per day, will generate profit at below $50 a barrel, Bayo Ojuli, managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, told reporters.read more
Royal Dutch Shell launched a long-awaited $25 billion share buyback plan as it sought to shrug off disappointing second-quarter results.
The Anglo-Dutch energy group insisted it had had a “very good quarter” as profits excluding exceptional items rose to $4.7 billion, up from $3.6 billion a year earlier, aided by higher oil and gas prices.
The result was significantly below analysts’ expectations of almost $6 billion, however, because of factors including foreign exchange effects and rising operating costs.read more
Jul 26th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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You oil investors are one tough crowd. I mean, what do you want, really?
On Thursday morning in Europe, Royal Dutch Shell Plc finally came around and gave the masses what they had been shouting for: a $25 billion buyback program. The masses promptly dumped the stock. On Thursday morning in America, ConocoPhillips announced a slew of forecast-beating results, having recently boosted its own buyback program by $1 billion. But it also said it was raising its full-year investment budget by $500 million. Pearls were duly clutched and “sell” buttons pushed (the stock had moved into slightly positive territory as of writing this).read more
Jul 26th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell posted a 30 percent rise in net profit in the second quarter of 2018.
Net income attributable to shareholders on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, used as a proxy for net profit, and excluding identified items, came in at $4.69 billion.
Shell announced a $25 billion share buyback program.
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell posted a 30 percent increase in net profit in the second quarter of 2018 and announced a $25 billion share buyback program.
Net income attributable to shareholders on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, used as a proxy for net profit, and excluding identified items, came in at $4.69 billion, up from $3.6 billion seen in the same quarter a year ago.
The earnings fell short of an analyst consensus of $5.967 billion, however, Reuters reported.
The company said the earnings “reflected increased contributions from Integrated Gas and Upstream, partly offset by lower earnings in Downstream.”read more
Jul 26th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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By Kelly Gilblom: 26 July 2018, 07:21 BST. Updated on 26 July 2018, 08:40 BST
*Energy giant to buy back $2 billion of shares over 3 months
*Second-quarter profit misses even the lowest analyst estimate
Royal Dutch Shell Plc finally gave investors the share buybacks they’ve been demanding, even as profit fell short of expectations despite resurgent crude prices.
The Anglo-Dutch energy producer said Thursday that it is starting a $25 billion share-repurchase program, initially buying up $2 billion of stock over three months. That should soothe investors who have grown increasingly anxious about when they’ll see the reward for sticking with Shell through the biggest oil-industry downturn in a generation.read more
Royal Dutch Shell has triggered the start of a long-awaited £19bn ($25bn) share buyback scheme that will reward patient investors over the next two years.
The oil major will kick off the payday by distributing $2bn over the next three months for those shareholders who accepted shares rather than dividends during a downturn in the oil price two years ago.
As the crude market has recovered, Shell has prioritised paying down debt and selling off $30bn in assets over repurchasing the dividend scrips.read more
Shell’s Energy Transition Report envisions a low fossil fuel future. It is therefore taking steps to adapt to this vision.
It is currently spending about $1-2 billion per year on a segment called “new energies”.
While its Energy Transition Report seems unrealistic, raising potential concerns in regards to Shell’s investment strategy, there are valid reasons to diversify, such as low oil & gas discovery levels.
If Royal Dutch Shell Plc wins a federal lease to build an offshore wind farm in New England this fall, the company will be the first oil major with experience drilling in U.S. waters to enter the fledgling domestic offshore wind market.
Shell’s interest in U.S. offshore wind development is seen within the industry as marking a shift toward the mainstream of the domestic energy sector, as offshore wind strengthens ties with the oil industry while harnessing one of the nation’s largest untapped sources of carbon-free electricity.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) is in talks to sell two Nigerian oil licenses, including infrastructure assets such as a natural gas-fired power plant, for $2B, Bloomberg reports.
Discussions have been advanced at times and run into hurdles at others as the Nigerian entity has yet to secure financing, according to the report.
Shell has sold billions of dollars of Niger Delta assets in the past decade amid local opposition, civil conflict, militant attacks and accusations of causing pollution, and another sale would allow the company to focus on its operations in Nigerian waters, where the risks of attacks on infrastructure and theft are lower.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by New York City seeking to hold major oil companies liable for climate change caused by carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.
In dismissing the city’s claims against Chevron Corp (CVX.N), BP Plc (BP.L), ConocoPhillips (COP.N), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L), U.S. District Judge John Keenan in Manhattan said climate change must be addressed through federal regulation and foreign policy.read more
CASTELBUONO, Sicily (CN) – Nigeria could learn Friday at a court in Milan whether it can pursue damages against oil giants Shell and Eni in a sprawling international corruption case.
The trial centers on a $1.3 billion bribery deal Royal Dutch Shell Plc. and Italy-based Eni S.p.A. executives allegedly entered into in 2011 with Nigerian officials, including then-President Goodluck Jonathan, to purchase a much-coveted oil field off the coast of Nigeria.
In December 2017, Italian judges in Milan ordered the companies and a number of individuals, including top executives at Shell and Eni, to stand trial. The trial has been slow to unfold and remains in preliminary hearings.read more
Jul 19th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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By Kristine Owram: 19 July 2018, 10:00 BST
A C$40 billion Canadian LNG project led by Royal Dutch Shell Plc appears to be ramping up, although a final decision hasn’t been announced. Scotiabank’s Jennifer Stevenson expects the project to go ahead, prompting investors to reevaluate struggling Canadian gas producers. FULL ARTICLE
Jul 19th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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REUTERS STAFF: THURSDAY JULY 19, 2018
LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) – Japan’s JERA Trading (JERAT) has hired Sarah Behbehani, the former head of short-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading at Royal Dutch Shell, as the world’s biggest buyer of the fuel bulks up in Asian trading.
Behbehani’s move comes a month after JERA absorbed the LNG trading business of EDF to create JERAT as it looks to break down restrictions on trading cargoes bought under long-term deals.
Industry sources said the trading manager, responsible for a team of eight, resigned from Shell this week and will start her new role in three months.read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil giant BP’s Eastern Trough Area Project off the coast of Scotland wasn’t supposed to be viable beyond 2018.
But government and industry working together have given ETAP a new lease of life that is being closely watched by countries and companies eyeing other ageing projects around the world.
When ETAP was launched 20 years ago today, some experts predicted the UK sector of the North Sea would cease most production by 2030.read more
Jul 18th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Mr Trump last year signed a law giving him the right to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. Royal Dutch Shell, BASF’s Wintershall unit, Uniper, OMV and Engie have agreed to provide Russia’s Gazprom with financing for the €9.5bn pipeline and could be at risk of penalties.
Elena Mazneva, Margaret Talev and Naureen S Malik: 18 July 2018
US President Donald Trump eased his tone about a Russian natural gas pipeline to Germany after a one-on-one meeting with President Vladimir Putin, shifting from the harsh criticism of Germany he’d levied in Europe last week.
“We are going to be selling LNG and will have to be competing with the pipeline and I think we’ll compete successfully, although there is a little advantage locationally” because Russia is closer to buyers in Europe, Mr Trump told reporters at a news conference with Mr Putin after their meeting in Helsinki on Monday.read more
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) imposed the fine after Shell broke regulation on reporting emissions at the site between 2013 and 2015.
Shell operates a plant at the site in Fife to process thousands of tonnes of North Sea gas per day.
The company had under reported propane unit volumes by approximately 0.5% of total plant volumes over the three-year period.
EU rules mean the firm is obliged to report its climate pollution.
LNG Canada will hire primarily Canadian workers to build a planned terminal to export liquefied natural gas from Kitimat, B.C., newly released briefing notes for B.C.’s NDP minority government show.
The employment strategy is in sharp contrast to the abandoned plans by now-defunct rival Pacific NorthWest LNG, which would have use far more foreign workers for a site near Prince Rupert, according to the notes ministry officials prepared for Premier John Horgan and Energy Minister Michelle Mungall.read more
The U.S. warns Western companies invested in Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to Germany that they are at risk of sanctions.
The $11B project, led by Gazprom (OTCPK:OGZPY), would double capacity of the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany, bypassing traditional routes through Ukraine.
A German business group says it is not up to the U.S. to dictate how German companies do business, that the country’s energy partnership with Russia had spanned decades with mutual benefits, and that gas imports from Russia are a competitively priced and reliable energy source.
The Trump administration has granted the oil and gas sector its first exclusions from a 25% tariff on steel imports, after agreeing with Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) that the specialty steel the companies were importing is not manufactured in the U.S.
The U.S. Commerce Department approved exclusions for 243 metric tons of steel casing and production tubing Shell said it would use when drilling wells in the Gulf of Mexico, and to CVX for 50 metric tons of corrosion resistant stainless steel tubing.
The exclusions mark a victory for the oil and gas industry, which is concerned that the tariffs could raise their costs; the Commerce Department has processed only 241 out of more than 20K steel tariff exclusion requests.
Jul 12th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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By Egufe Yafugborhi
Port Harcourt — Communities in Bayelsa State impacted by May 17 oil spillage from Shell Petroleum Development Company’s, SPDC, Trans-Ramos Pipeline have vowed to disrupt repairs on the key asset over perceived biased Joint Investigation Visit, JIV.
However, Bamidele Odugbean, in a Shell feedback, said it would be hasty and unfair for any party to question the JIV process that was yet to be concluded, adding that the issues with relief materials would be looked into.
The representatives of the communities, which raised the concern, are Arthur Bendiwei, Egburu Dehmeon Wuka, Eric Paka and Moses for Agge; Egboru Asubor, Bunky England and Martins Tuduo, for Ekogbene and Monday Etoige and Oborowei Fred, for Kandaghan.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) reportedly has signed an agreement with Nigeria’s state-run oil company and two other groups to develop natural gas projects worth $3.7B, as part of the country’s efforts to deal with a looming domestic fuel shortage.
The seven projects would add 3.4B cf/day of natural gas to the Nigerian market to avoid a shortage that has been forecast for 2020, with gas produced under the projects used to produce a target amount of 15 GW of electricity by that year.
Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer but has suffered a decline in oil and gas investments – despite the rebound in crude oil prices – due to a lack of government incentives and a delay in the approval of energy industry reform.
A planned natural-gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, is the latest point of friction between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. At a summit meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, Trump said the pipeline risks making Germany “a captive of Russia.” He’s not the first American leader to criticize the pipeline project, and the U.S. isn’t alone in its disapproval.
1. What is Nord Stream 2?
It’s a planned new 1,230 kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from fields in Russia to the EU network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route and cut Russia’s reliance on gas transit through Ukraine. (Russia has been locked in conflict with Ukraine since 2014, when a pro-Russian president there was forced from power and Russia seized the country’s Crimean Peninsula.) Russia’s Gazprom PJSC is overseeing the project with funding from five investors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Engie SA, which are providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($10.3 billion) in cost.read more
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese oil refiners Idemitsu Kosan and Showa Shell Sekiyu said on Tuesday they had agreed to merge on April 1 next year, after Idemitsu’s founding family dropped its long-standing opposition to the plan.
The refiners will merge via a share swap, and Showa Shell will be delisted on March 29, they said in a statement, pushing the shares of the two companies up sharply in afternoon trade.
The combined firm would account for about 30 percent of Japan’s domestic gasoline sales, second only to JXTG Holdings, which controls about half the market.read more
Jul 10th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Hundreds of Norway oil workers go on strike, Shell shuts Knarr field
Gwladys Fouche, Lefteris Karagiannopoulos: JULY 10, 2018
OSLO (Reuters) – Hundreds of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas rigs went on strike on Tuesday after rejecting a proposed wage deal, leading to the shutdown of one Shell-operated field and helping send Brent crude prices higher.
One union said hundreds more workers would join the strike on Sunday if an agreement over union demands for a wage increase and pension rights was not reached.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said that due to the strike it was temporarily closing production at its Knarr field, which has a daily output of 23,900 barrels of mostly oil, but also natural gas liquids and natural gas.
Shutting the field, whose owners are Idemitsu (5019.T), Wintershall [WINT.UL] and DEA, could take up to 36 hours, it said.read more
Jul 10th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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REUTERS STAFF: 10 JULY 2018
OSLO (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is shutting down production at its Knarr field in the North Sea after workers walked out on strike on Tuesday, the company said.
“As a result of the strike, Knarr is closing its production in the Norwegian North Sea,” said Shell spokeswoman Kitty Eide.
“We started shutdown operations this morning and to complete them can take up to 36 hours. As soon as the strike is over, we will restart production. No other fields or platforms that we are operator of are affected by the strike.”
Production at Knarr is 3,800 standard cubic metres of oil equivalents. It produces mostly oil, with some natural gas liquids and gas production.
The partners in the Knarr field are Japan’s Idemitsu (5019.T), Wintershall [WINT.UL] and DEA, according to data from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.read more
The merger of two of Japan’s leading oil refiners is set to go ahead after a two-year delay, ending a bitter dispute with founding family members who had sought to derail the deal. Under the original agreement reached in 2015, Royal Dutch Shell had planned to sell its 33 per cent stake in Showa Shell for $1.6bn to Idemitsu as part of efforts to reduce debt and streamline operations after its £35bn takeover of BG Group. FULL FT ARTICLEread more
Jul 9th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON, BLOOMBERG: July 9, 2018
A flurry of activity is raising optimism that Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its partners are ready to go ahead with the nation’s largest infrastructure project: a $40 billion liquefied natural gas terminal that could at last unlock energy exports to Asia.
The action is unmistakable in Kitimat, the Pacific coast city hugging a deep inlet that would be the closest launch point on the continent for LNG cargoes to Asia. The lights are on, shades open and SUVs parked outside a 49-unit apartment complex built to house Shell executives, which sat mostly darkened for the last two years. Local workers have left jobs at a Rio Tinto Plc smelter nearby to join contractors ramping up for the LNG project. Landlords are raising rents and houses are selling twice as fast as they used to in anticipation of a flood of workers coming to town.read more
Several oil majors, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, are boosting their share of natural gas output. A Bloomberg report said these two oil companies, by increasing gas production, are trimming the lead between them and ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company. ExxonMobil has a current market cap of $348 bn, while Shell has market cap of $317 bn, and BP at $156 bn.
BP expects by 2020 to produce about 60 percent gas and 40 percent oil, a reversal from 2014 when it was the opposite – a pivot that many other oil companies will likely follow. ExxonMobil for its part currently produces about 55 percent oil and 45 percent gas and remains the largest natural gas producer in the US. Shell’s acquisition of UK-based BG Group for $50 bn in 2016 boosted the share of natural gas to 50 percent of its global fossil fuels output and made it the world’s largest natural gas trader.read more
Jul 9th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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8 JULY 2018 • 7:00PM
The Church of England is to withdraw funds from polluting firms that fail to tackle climate change.
Companies including Shell and BP could face disinvestment from the church within five years if they do not fall in line with strict environmental measures.
Its General Synod, meeting this weekend in York, voted to bring in the timetable to put more pressure on companies which fail to meet the aims of the Paris climate accords.
The church pulled £12m in funds out of assets such as coal and tar sands oil following another Synod vote in 2015, but is still an investor in major fossil fuels companies.
The church’s pension fund, worth £2bn, is understood to be in deficit, but a spokesman said it was on track to remove it.
The decision came after the church was slammed by one of its bishops for failing to move with sufficient urgency.read more
Jul 9th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Millennials fight back against Shell’s attempt to woo them at ‘Make the Future’ festival
9th July 2018
Climate activists staged an anti-greenwash dodgeball game outside Shell’s Make the Future festival at the Olympic Park, London, yesterday.
They also invited young people to take photos with a poster pledging they wouldn’t not work for Shell while the company continues to invest in fossil fuels.
Shell’s Olympic Park event is part of an international PR push under the banner of Make the Future banner, aimed at convincing young people that the oil industry is a desirable employer.
Jul 7th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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By Ben Sharples: Bloomberg News: 7 July 2018
Oil investors may regret urging companies to cough up cash now instead of investing in growth for later as the dearth of exploration is setting the stage for an unprecedented crude price spike, according to Sanford C. Bernstein.
Companies have been compelled to focus on boosting returns and shareholder distributions at the expense of capital expenditures aimed at finding new supplies, analysts including Neil Beveridge wrote in a note on Friday.read more
Jul 6th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Shell Subsidiary to Pay $3.8 Million for 2016 Gulf Spill
A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $3.8 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit over a 2016 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $3.8 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit over a 2016 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The May 11, 2016, spill of nearly 2,000 barrels (317974.6 liters) occurred about 97 miles (156 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast.
The New Orleans Advocate, citing court documents, reports that an investigation pointed to a leak in a piping system that is used to transport oil from a production well on the sea floor.
The settlement isn’t final. It must first be published in the Federal Register and have a 30-day public comment period before it can get final approval from a federal judge.read more
Jul 6th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, said governments need to lead if the world is to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement: TIMES NEWSPAPERS LTD
The boss of Royal Dutch Shell has said it is easier to make progress on climate change in countries such as China than in “noisy democracies” such as Britain.
Ben van Beurden, chief executive, complained yesterday that the world was spending too much time and effort arguing about how to tackle global warming instead of taking action.
“In places like China it works very well, governments work very gratefully with us and adopt really incredibly pragmatic and powerful policies, sensible, etc. Here, there are more participants in the debate, let me put it that way,” Mr Van Beurden said.read more
Royal Dutch Shell would be “foolhardy” to adopt firm targets for cutting its carbon emissions because it would open itself up to lawsuits, the company’s boss has said.
The energy group has set an “ambition” to halve the carbon footprint of its energy products by 2050, which it says would put it in line with the Paris climate goals, but has resisted calls for binding commitments.
Ben van Beurden, Shell chief executive, said that the group did not want to “put ourselves at the mercy of a legal challenge”.read more
Law360 (July 5, 2018, 5:27 PM EDT) — Shell Offshore Inc. agreed to pay nearly $3.9 million in connection with a May 2016 spill of more than 80,000 gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred about 100 miles from the Louisiana coast, according to a consent decree filed Thursday in federal… SOURCE
Jul 5th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Shell CEO Van Beurden says UK should move 2040 car ban forward
Chief executive of Shell, Ben Van Beurden, has reportedly said today that he believes the 2040 UK ban on petroleum and diesel car sales should be brought forward.
In response to a question from an audience member at the Powering Progress Together event in London, Mr Van Beurden reportedly said that while “everyone was going to have to move quickly, the UK ought to move more quickly than most” and that it was “sensible” that the government move the 2040 target forward.
Mr Van Beurden was speaking at the event on the eve of the company’s Shell Eco Marathon to outline his firm’s commitment to a “cleaner future, transport and beyond”.read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s boss said it would be “foolhardy” for the oil and gas producer to set hard targets to reduce carbon emissions as it risked exposing the energy giant to legal challenges.
The energy industry has struggled in recent years to find a clear path to secure its role as the world shifts from fossil fuels in order to meet the 2015 Paris climate agreement goals.
Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden last year set out ambitions last year to halve its carbon emissions by 2050, far exceeding rivals. But the Dutch CEO resisted calls by activists and some investors to set binding targets.read more
The Netherlands has been the source of cheap energy for northwest Europe for the past decades. The discovery of the Groningen gas field, the 9th largest in the world, provided a reliable source of energy in a period when the oil market was rocked by embargos due to the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The future of the Dutch gas sector, however, looks bleak due to two important developments in 2018: a political decision to reduce production with a timeline to stop entirely until 2030 and a new climate agreement. The Netherlands is preparing to make major changes regarding the role of gas in people’s lives.read more
Jul 2nd, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Groningen needs reinforcement: watchdog
The repair and reinforcement of Dutch homes damaged by gas-extraction earthquakes in Groningen needed to be speeded up, the state supervisor on mines SoDM told economic minister Eric Wiebes.
RTL Nieuws reported that SoDM found approximately 1,900 homes in the region that, if not reinforced quickly, would no longer meet official safety standards. The distinctly Dutch rules state the risk of someone dying in an earthquake must not be higher than the risk of someone drowning in a flood elsewhere in the Netherlands.read more
BP and Shell have bought electric-car charging companies
Power utilities are boosting sales to homes, chargers on roads
A red-hot electric vehicle market has triggered a face-off between Big Oil and utilities.
Oil majors, who’ve sold fossil fuels to cars for a century, are now moving into an electricity sector that’s preparing for exponential growth. The problem is that utilities, the primary power suppliers for a century, have the same idea.
BP Plc predicts electric vehicle sales will surge by an eye-watering 8,800 percent between 2017 and 2040, making it an attractive business for oil companies as demand for gasoline and diesel are forecast to slow. Big Oil will have to battle the traditional utilities for charging at people’s homes, on the road and even offices of green-car owners.read more
Companies racked up a record £391bn of debt in the face of demand from investors to step up dividends and as bosses went hunting for deals.
The overall level of debt for UK plc in the 2017-18 financial year far surpassed pre-crisis levels of £286bn, according to the Debt Monitor report published by Link Asset Services UK today.
Among the heavy borrowers, oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell accounted for £1 in every £7 of all UK companies’ net debts last year.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 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 …
Big Oil Goes Green: Shell Acquires VoltaFebruary 9, 2023 06:03Law Street MediaIn Big Oil’s latest foray into green energy, Shell has announced its acquisition of Volta, Inc. for $169 million.
Expected to close during the first half of 2023, the all-cash deal “builds on the momentum in electric mobility by combining one of the …
Shell CEO's first changes combine upstream and LNG operationsJanuary 30, 2023 09:20ReutersFILE PHOTO: The Royal Dutch Shell logo is seen at a Shell petrol station in London, January 31, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo/File Photo
Changes could result in some job cuts, Shell says
Upstream boss to oversee expanded unit
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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?
Pedro Fonseca: JULY 31, 2018
Reuters Staff: JULY 31, 2018
Shell, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands, does business in more than 70 countries:TORU HANAI/REUTERS
By 
By: 
Shell, Exxon and ConocoPhillips all said they were pleased with the court ruling.
CAIN BURDEAU
Ron Bousso
By Egufe Yafugborhi
Osamu Tsukimori
REUTERS STAFF: 10 JULY 2018
By 
8 JULY 2018 • 7:00PM
By Ben Sharples: Bloomberg News: 7 July 2018
Shell Subsidiary to Pay $3.8 Million for 2016 Gulf Spill
By 
Groningen needs reinforcement: watchdog
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
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: 
MORE DETAILS:
