APRIL 24, 2019 / 3:16 PM

(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s U.S. unit said on Wednesday that it had made one of its biggest oil discoveries in the Blacktip deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Blacktip, operated by Shell and co-owned by U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp, Equinor ASA and Repsol, is the company’s second material discovery in the Perdido Corridor, Shell’s Upstream Director Andy Brown said.

Blacktip was discovered in the Alaminos Canyon, about 30 miles from the Perdido platform and discovery at Whale, a deepwater well operated by Shell and co-owned by Chevron. read more

* Shell upstream boss Brown sees ‘no merit’ in tax claim

* Bonga Southwest development decisions may slip into 2020

* Shell to fast track Whale development in Gulf of Mexico

By Ron Bousso: FEBRUARY 26, 2019

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday that Nigeria’s claims that it was owed billions in taxes could delay the development of a major oil field off the coast of the West African nation.

Nigeria ordered several major foreign oil and gas companies to pay nearly $20 billion in taxes it says are owed to local states, industry and government sources told Reuters. read more

Brown, 56, will remain a member of Shell’s executive committee until his departure on Sept. 30, Shell said in a statement. read more

Dec. 27 (UPI) — Shell Argentina, which two months ago sold a refinery and fuel stations, said Thursday it will move to develop unconventional oil fields in the Vaca Muerta basin, aiming at 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2025.

The decision includes developing the Sierras Blancas, Cruz de Lorena and Coiron Amargo southwest blocks, the company told UPI in a statement sent by email on Thursday.

“Vaca Muerta makes up an important part of our global shale portfolio and we see substantial long-term growth potential there,” said Andy Brown, Shell Global Upstream Director. read more

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”), and its bid consortium member Chevron Brasil Óleo & Gás Ltda (“Chevron”), today won a 35-year production sharing contract for the Saturno pre-salt block located off the coast of Brazilin the Santos Basin. Shell will pay its share of the total signing bonus for the block, equating to approximately USD $390 million [R$ 1,562 billion]. read more

Shell hails bounceback towards deepwater drilling

Head of exploration says break-even prices are now $30 a barrel

Anjli Raval, Senior Energy Correspondent AUGUST 12, 2018

Royal Dutch Shell is doubling down on drilling for oil far beneath the oceans, as the energy group eyes a cash bonanza from traditional deepwater projects despite a growing focus on new US shale investments. Andy Brown, Shell’s head of exploration and production, said the industry was seeing a “bounceback” towards deepwater… FULL FT ARTICLE read more

Aug. 13, 2018 12:14 PM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Shell dumps interest in two Norwegian fields

Shell adds $556 million toward its goal of divesting $30 billion in a streamlining effort.

By Daniel J. Graeber: June 20, 2018

June 20 (UPI) — Supermajor Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it sold off its entire stake in two fields in production off the Norwegian coast for $556 million.

Shell’s subsidiary in Norway sold its entire 44.56 percent interest in the Draugen field and its 12 percent in the Gjøa to Norwegian energy company OKEA.

OKEA CEO Erik Haugane in a statement on the deal said the agreement with Shell was a “high-quality acquisition.”

His company estimates it will become the 19th largest producer offshore Norway with the deal. The Shell acquisition gives it a boost in net production of about 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent. read more

Kaikias, an economically resilient, subsea development in the US Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore, Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, announces today the early start of production – around one-year ahead of schedule – at the first phase of Kaikias, an economically resilient, subsea development in the US Gulf of Mexico with estimated peak production of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).

Shell has reduced costs by around 30% at this deep-water project since taking the investment decision in early 2017, lowering the forward-looking, break-even price to less than $30 per barrel of oil. read more

Map showing the location of Shell’s Dover discovery and its proximity to Shell’s new Appomattox host in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico 

HOUSTON, May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore, Inc. (“Shell”) today announced a large, deep-water, exploration discovery in the Norphlet geologic play in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with its Dover well (100% Shell). The Dover discovery is Shell’s sixth in the Norphlet and encountered more than 800 net feet of pay (244 meters). The discovery is located approximately 13 miles from the Appomattox host and is considered an attractive potential tieback. Shell’s Appomattox host has now arrived on location in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and is expected to start production before the end of 2019. read more

Shell rendering of its Vito deep-water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Vito will feature a new, simplified host design and associated infrastructure.

HOUSTON, April 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, today announces the final investment decision for Vito, a deep-water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with a forward-looking, break-even price estimated to be less than $35 per barrel. This decision sets in motion the construction and fabrication of a new, simplified host design and subsea infrastructure. read more

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Brasil Petroleo, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”), today won four additional deep-water, exploration blocks in the Campos and Potiguar basins, bringing its total operated presence offshore Brazil to 18 blocks. In the 15^th deep-water bid round organized by the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP), Shell secured one exploration block on its own and three in joint-bids with Chevron Brazil, Petrobras, and Petrogal Brasil. Of the newly acquired blocks today, Shell will operate two.  read more

An oil rig on Anadarko’s acreage in the Permian Basin. Photo: Brett Coomer / Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

Royal Dutch Shell and The Woodlands’ Anadarko Petroleum feuded last year over spending and control of their Permian Basin joint venture in West Texas. Now, they say, they’ve avoided a messy divorce and are primed to grow in the booming oil and gas region.

The deal combined one the world’s biggest oil companies with one of Texas’ top independent oil and gas producers, marrying global financial resources with local shale expertise. Shell, new to the Permian, inherited the partnership when it paid about $2 billion in 2012 to acquire a 618,000-acre position in West Texas from Oklahoma’s Chesapeake Energy, which had formed the joint venture with Anadarko five years prior. read more

Andrew Ward — Energy Editor

Royal Dutch Shell set a new target last November to reduce the net carbon footprint of its energy products by about half by 2050. The Anglo-Dutch group has committed to spend up to $2bn a year on renewables and other cleaner sources of energy and other European oil and gas groups are making similar moves. Andrew Brown, Shell’s director of exploration and production, told a conference in London last month… FULL FT ARTICLE

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it’s potentially interested in BHP Billiton Ltd.’s oil assets on sale in the Permian basin in the U.S. as it seeks to boost its role in shale.

The Anglo-Dutch company entered the prolific oil region in 2012 and plans to expand its position and generate positive cash flow next year, Andy Brown, Shell’s upstream director, said in an interview on Tuesday. The Permian offers production costs as low as $15 a barrel and is the driving force behind the current surge in U.S. output. read more

Ron Bousso: 14 FEB 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – Penguins, Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) latest oil and gas development in a remote corner of the British North Sea, epitomizes the new doctrine for deepwater projects — keep it cheap and simple.

Shunned during the oil price crash of 2014-2016, deepwater projects are being embraced again, a challenge to the surge in onshore U.S. shale output.

Penguins, the first new major deepwater project this year, will rejuvenate the 44-year-old field by drilling 8 new wells 165 meters (541 feet) underwater and connecting them to a new production vessel. read more

Dutch supermajor trying to dump $30 billion in assets in order to shape the company “into a world class investment.”

Nov. 1 (UPI) — Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday it made further progress in a major divestment plan by completing the sale of assets in Gabon and in the North Sea.

For $628 million, Shell said it completed the sale of its entire Gabonese oil and gas interests to a company controlled by The Carlyle Group. The transaction includes the sale of all of Shell’s onshore oil and gas interests, which includes nine total fields, and the associated infrastructure, including pipelines and export terminals. read more

Shell starts new work in Nigeria’s Niger Delta

Aug. 23 (UPI) — The Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell said Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of new barrels of product are expected from a project in the Niger Delta.

Shell said it started production from the second phase of its Gbaran-Ubie project in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. The company said 18 wells have been drilled at the site already and a new pipeline connects it to a nearby plant.

Peak production is forecast at 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2019, though most of that would be in the form of natural gas. read more

Shell today confirmed it had kick-started production at Gbaran-Ubie Phase 2 in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.

Written by Reporter – 23/08/2017 10:54 am

Today’s announcement is a positive step for Shell’s global gas portfolio,” said Andy Brown, Shell’s upstream director.

“It is also good news for Nigeria as gas from Gbaran-Ubie Phase 2 will strengthen supply to the domestic market and maintain supply to the export market.”

Phase 2 follows the success of the first phase of the Gbaran-Ubie integrated oil and gas development, which was commissioned in June 2010. Peak production of around 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day is expected in 2019. read more

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: Monday June 5, 2017

Mr Brown said he had been shocked by some of the inefficiencies Shell found when it reviewed operations worldwide after oil prices fell. Shell’s global operating costs have been cut by 20 per cent, or $10 billion, since 2014. In the Gulf of Mexico, for example, it has cut the number of vessels serving its platforms from 61 to… read more

President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement risks exposing oil companies to a tough regulatory backlash from future US administrations, Royal Dutch Shell has warned.

The Anglo-Dutch company has been one of the most outspoken oil industry supporters of the 2015 accord, telling Mr Trump that withdrawal would weaken America’s position globally.

Andy Brown, one of Shell’s most senior executives, said he feared that the decision and a corresponding weakening of emissions reduction efforts could also store up problems for fossil fuel companies in future, triggering “a backlash on regulation against an industry like ours” in a post-Trump era.

Speaking to The Times shortly before Mr Trump confirmed his decision on Thursday night, Mr Brown said: “In a part of the… read more

Published 29 May 2017

Shell and partners have commenced deep-water production at the FPSO P-66 in Lula South, in the Brazilian pre-salt of the Santos Basin.

Shell holds 25% stake in the consortium while Brazilian oil firm Petrobras is the operator of the Lula oil field located in the BM-S-11 block with 65% stake.

The remainder stake of 10% is held by Galp through its subsidiary Petrogal Brasil.

P-66 is currently positioned in water depth of 2,150m and has the ability to process up to 150,000-barrels of oil and 6-million cubic meters of natural gas per day, stated Shell. read more

By John Donovan

Printed below are extracts from a communication received from a Shell Civil Engineer who, until recently, worked on the construction of the ill-fated Kashagan oil field.

He says his dire warnings in regard to construction issues were escalated to Shell top management, including Andy Brown, but were ignored.

He has also raised the subject of Shell depriving sacked workers tax breaks on redundancy pay. A policy he describes as theft.

The same source supplied related, apparently authentic, Shell emails. read more

Oct 20, 2016, 17:26 ET

CALGARY, Oct. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ – Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its affiliate Shell Canada Energy (“Shell”) today announced it has agreed to sell approximately 206,000 net acres of non-core oil and gas properties in Western Canada to Tourmaline Oil Corp. for a total consideration of approximately $1,037 million (C$1,369 million). The consideration is comprised of $758 million in cash and Tourmaline shares valued at $279 million. Subject to regulatory approvals the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016. read more

Royal Dutch Shell is currently offering 16 assets worth more than $500 million for sale as part of its vast $30 billion three-year asset sales programme, the oil and gas company’s head of upstream Andy Brown said on Wednesday.

The Anglo-Dutch company launched the programme to reduce its debt following the acquisition of BG Group earlier this year. Uncertainty over the future oil price has led to a sharp slowdown in deal making in the sector in recent years.

“There are 16 assets currently in the market that are above $500 million in value,” Brown told the Oil and Money conference in London. read more

Thu Jun 16, 2016 5:48pm EDT

Latin America offers ample opportunities for the energy sector, but governments must make changes to protect investors from legal headaches, industry leaders at the World Economic Forum’s Latin America meeting in Colombia said on Thursday.

Judicial rulings regularly halt energy and mining operations in countries including Colombia, sparking worries that legal tangles would spook foreign investors as many Latin American countries battle high inflation and slowing economic growth. read more

Marvin Odum, unconventional resources director and U.S. country chair for Royal Dutch Shell, left the company. He joined Shell as an engineer in 1982. Concurrent with his departure, and in a move that will simplify Shell’s structure, the Athabasca Oil Sands Project and the Scotford Upgrader in Canada will join the global Downstream organization under Downstream Director John Abbott.

In addition, the Shale Resources business will join the global Upstream organization under Upstream Director Andy Brown. As a result of these changes, the unconventional resources director position is eliminated. read more

I would have thought that Simon Henry’s position as CFO should now be untenable, in view of the apparent lack of effective financial governance in Nigeria while he was CFO. 

By John Donovan

A large number of press articles have appeared recently mentioning Ben van Beurden. 

Since these articles are presumably fed to the press by Shell’s PR team, and Shell is not a one-man company, I checked to see whether other Shell directors have appeared recently in press releases.

The results are somewhat curious. For example, searching for Matthias Bichsel on Google News shows that articles were published about him at least weekly until October last year, but the articles then stopped abruptly. References to Simon Henry seem to have dried up a few weeks ago – until mid-March there were articles on Henry on an almost daily basis, but recently there has been nothing. Harry Brekelmans seems to have had a low profile since his appointment, so it is harder to see whether any change has occurred. Andy Brown has almost as many press articles as Ben van Beurden.  read more

24-Feb-2016

Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) today announced that after a 34-year career with the company, Unconventional Resources Director and U.S. Country Chair, Marvin Odum, will leave Shell at the end of March, 2016.

Concurrent with Marvin’s departure, and in a move that will simplify Shell’s structure, the Athabasca Oil Sands Project and the Scotford Upgrader in Canada will join the global Downstream organisation under Downstream Director, John Abbott; and the Shale Resources business will join the global Upstream organisation under Upstream Director, Andy Brown. As a result of these changes, The Unconventional Resources Directorate will cease to exist. read more

POSTED ON OUR SHELL BLOG: 20 JAN 2016

As one of the many let go by Shell in the recent cull in November I was not impressed by the way senior leaders clung to their jobs.

This is now going to get even worse in my opinion as Shell announces more job losses.

Even the inmates will be turning on each other as there is nobody left in the asylum and yet strangely the senior leaders still remain in place.

The same senior leaders who got us into this mess seem to think they are the best to get Shell out of it. Good luck boys, its great watching from the outside for a change. read more