Shell Offshore to pay $2.2 million fine for 2016 Gulf spill

By Mark Schleifstein, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Shell Offshore Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.2 million civil fine to the federal government to settle charges that the company violated the Clean Water Act by spilling 1,900 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in May 2016 when a subsea pipeline cracked at the company’s Green Canyon oil field.

The fine, announced in the Federal Register on Friday (Feb. 1), will be paid after the expiration of a 30-day comment period. The money will be deposited in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is used to pay for oil spill cleanups. read more

Shell’s Prelude floating LNG project has taken longer than expected to start up.  Shell Australia

By Angela Macdonald-Smith: 01 Feb 2019

Energy giant Shell has brushed off persistent talk about technical problems dogging the start-up of the huge Prelude floating LNG project off Australia’s far north-west coast but has signalled the first LNG cargo from the closely watched venture may still be several weeks away.

The multinational announced the beginning of production from the offshore Prelude gas field in late December but is still in the process of commissioning the complex LNG processing systems on board what is the world’s largest floating structure. read more

ROYAL Dutch Shell boss Ben van Beurden has underlined the fact the company wants to grow in the UK North Sea even as he expressed concern about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

Speaking after Shell posted a 36 per cent increase in annual profits to a four year high of $21.4 billion (£16.3bn), from $15.8bn, Mr van Beurden said the oil giant believed a no deal Brexit would be “a very bad outcome” but had prepared for the possibility.

Indicating that even a messy Brexit would have limited impact on the company’s plans, he said Shell was very pleased with its UK business. read more

FUEL giant Shell came under fire yesterday after unveiling a 36 percent profit leap – while “exploiting hardworking motorists”.

By CYRIL DIXON

15:29, Fri, Feb 1, 2019

Executives at the British-Dutch company were jubilant after reporting a £4.3billion surplus for the final quarter of last year. But critics pointed out that the “strong financial performance” came at the expense of millions of drivers. Campaigners are demanding a new watchdog for pump prices after they rose more than 11 percent year-on-year.

They pointed out that profits made by fuel retailers on every unit of petrol have rocketed by 60 percent to 13p per litre.

Howard Cox, founder of pressure group FairFuelUK, said: “Greedy oil companies continue to ride roughshod over hard-working, low income families and small businesses. read more

By Marissa Luck, Staff Writer Feb. 1, 2019

Shell has named Gretchen Watkins as the new president of its North American operations in Houston. Watkins is the former CEO of Maersk Oil. Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, in Houston. Photo: Marie D. De Jesús, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Gretchen Watkins’ family was living an idyllic life in Copenhagen, where bicycles outnumber cars on many the city’s roadways. The oil industry veteran said it was the norm for her kids to take public transportation to commute.

That was less than a year ago. Now her family has moved from one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world to a city dominated by highways and traffic congestion. Watkins, 50, went from living in a country whose leaders are debating ambitious new climate laws to a city whose fate is tied to the proliferation of fossil fuels.

It’s been almost a year since Watkins relocated her family to Houston so she could prepare to take over in one of Shell Oil Co.’s most iconic positions: She officially started as Shell’s president of U.S. operations in January, the first female in a position typically filled internally by longtime male employees. read more

Shell open to carmaker partners in EV charging expansion

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Shell is open to partnerships with carmakers to expand electric vehicle (EV) charging beyond its petrol stations, one of the oil major’s executives said on Friday.

As part of efforts to compete with rival BP in the growing EV sector, Shell this week bought U.S. charger provider Greenlots – a supplier for Volvo and Volkswagen’s U.S. subsidiary as well as for utilities and residential sites – for an undisclosed sum. read more

Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle Jan. 31, 2019

Royal Dutch Shell says it has reached a tentative deal with the union impacting 30,000 refinery workers and a consortium of Big Oil majors and energy companies nationally. The deal affects 5,000 refinery, chemical and pipeline workers in the Houston area.

Royal Dutch Shell – representing several energy companies including Exxon Mobil, Shell, PBF Energy, Valero, Phillips 66, Chevron, Chevron Phillips Chemical, LyondellBasell and Marathon Petroleum – said it has struck a tentative deal with the United Steelworkers union just hours before a 12:01 a.m. deadline. read more

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: February 1, 2019

Resurgent oil and gas prices helped Royal Dutch Shell to double its profit to almost $24 billion last year, the highest since 2012.

Ben van Beurden, chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch energy group, said it was “delivering on pretty big promises” to investors as it embarked on the latest tranche of its $25 billion share buyback.

Mr van Beurden, 60, also became the latest voice in big business to warn against a no-deal Brexit, saying that it would be “a very bad outcome”.

Shell employs about 80,000 people worldwide, primarily in the production and sale of oil and gas. It produced the equivalent of 3.7 million barrels of oil per day last year and benefited from the rise in prices after supply curbs by Opec… read more