Repeated Safety Violations: Because One Breach Just Isn’t Enough
Posted By John Donovan 18 August 2023
In an awe-inspiring display of audacity, Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility has recently unveiled its unconventional approach to workplace safety – one that is sure to set new standards in the realm of fiery entertainment. The facility, nestled off the picturesque coast of Western Australia, doubles as a thrilling unintended firework extravaganza, exposing workers to risks of explosions and flames.read more
…problems included repeated outages at its Prelude liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility off the western coast of Australia…
REUTERS
Shell CEO creates chief of staff role in management overhaul
By Ron Bousso: February 23, 2023: 4:15 PM GMT
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Shell (SHEL.L) Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan has created a senior role of chief of staff as part of a management overhaul to improve performance after technical problems and other disruption, three company sources said.read more
by Bojan Lepic| Rigzone Staff| Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Even though Shell has not confirmed any restart on its massive Prelude FLNG, Reuters reported that the Methane Becki Anne LNG tanker has begun loading.
The Methane Becki Anne was the first LNG tanker to berth at Shell’s Prelude floating LNG site off Western Australia since it was shut down after a fire.
According to Reuters, the LNG carrier vessel berthed at the Prelude plant on January 17, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed. Refinitiv’s data also showed that LNG has already begun loading.read more
Report: Output from Shell’s Prelude FLNG Shut Again
BY Bartolomej Tomic, managing editor of Offshore Engineer.
December 22, 2022
Shell has stopped production at its Prelude floating LNG plant off Western Australia after a fire.
A Shell spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that the fire at the giant FLNG unit “was rapidly extinguished.”
The 488-meter-long, Shell-operated, Prelude FLNG unit forms part of an offshore development that produces natural gas from the remote namesake field, located approximately 475 km north-northeast of Broome in Western Australia. The Prelude is the world’s largest FLNG unit.read more
Shell Seeks Acquisitions to Bolster Australia Power Presence
James Fernyhough:
(Bloomberg) — Shell Plc is targeting acquisitions in Australia in its bid to become an integrated energy provider.
The London-based oil major is looking for a “step change” in its Australian presence from electricity generation to retail, including building up “significant battery positions,” Greg Joiner, chief executive officer of Shell Energy Australia, said in an interview.
Shell, which last week reported its second-highest earnings on record, is one of Australia’s biggest liquefied natural gas exporters, but is seeking to diversify away from fossil fuels and become the world’s biggest power company. The company has already made a string of acquisitions in Australia in recent years, including generation company ERM Power Ltd., retailer Powershop, and a stake in windfarm developer WestWind Energy Development Pty.read more
Shell, unions reach wage deal to end industrial action at Prelude FLNG
Sonali Paul: PUBLISHED AUG 23, 2022 09:48PM EDT
MELBOURNE — Shell and unions representing workers at its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility have reached a wage deal to end a long-running strike and restart production at the site off northwest Australia, they said on Wednesday.
Shell shut the 3.6 million-tonnes-a-year Prelude facility in July and told customers it would be unable to supply LNG for the duration of the protected industrial action, or strikes approved by Australia’s Fair Work Commission, over a wage dispute.read more
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Shell Plc has told workers at its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility it will stop paying them as of Monday if they are not on site, a Shell spokesperson said on Wednesday. Shell was meeting with workers after their combined union, the Offshore Alliance, extended protected industrial action, which began 40 days ago, to Aug. 4, the spokesperson said.read more
Shell has been forced to shut its troubled Prelude floating liquefied natural gas plant as workers escalate a strike over pay.
The oil and gas group was yesterday in the process of halting production at the plant off the coast of Australia after informing customers it would be unable to offload cargoes.
Shell had already been forced to reduce output from Prelude after workers at the floating plant went on strike last month.
The latest strike plans effectively prevent tankers being moored alongside the plant to offload cargoes and, with storage facilities on the plant nearing capacity, Shell was forced to shut down production. Strike action is expected to continue until July 21.read more
Shell, Australian Workers Union in stalemate over Prelude dispute
ABC Kimberley / by Taylor Thompson- Fuller: 29 June 2022
Key points:
A fresh round of industrial actions are set to hit Shell’s offshore gas facility Prelude next month
Workers set to be transported to the facility on Wednesday were told to stand down
A pay dispute between unions and the Anglo-Dutch company are at a stalemate
Shell has cancelled gas shipments from its offshore facility Prelude as an industrial dispute between unions and the Anglo-Dutch resources company come to a head.
Contractors set to fly out to the resources rig on Wednesday were told to stand down in response to the disagreement over pay increases, rostering and job security.
The dispute has also caused Shell to advise their customers they will be cancelling some gas shipments from the facility until mid-July.read more
Production at the 3.6mn t/yr Prelude floating LNG project in the Browse basin offshore Western Australia (WA) has been granted approval to restart, Australia’s offshore security regulator said.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) has closed a direction issued to project owner and operator Shell on 23 December 2021, instructing it to “demonstrate that the facility can operate safely in the event of power loss before production can commence”. Shell also confirmed that the direction has closed, but has no further comment at this stage.read more
Shell’s QGC JV plans for new gas drilling phase in Australia
Shell has announced that its Queensland Gas Co. (QGC) joint venture (JV) plans to enter a new drilling phase for natural gas, onshore Queensland, Australia.
The work will be carried out together with JV partners China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and Japan’s Tokyo Gas. Shell is the operator and holds a majority interest in the QGC venture.
Between 2022 and 2024, the QGC will drill approximately 145 new gas wells in the Western Downs region of Queensland.read more
Production at the 3.6mn t/yr Prelude floating LNG project in the Browse basin offshore Western Australia (WA) will be halted until Shell demonstrates that its facility is able to operate safely in the event of power loss, Australia’s offshore security regulator said.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) issued a notice to project owner and operator Shell on 23 December, instructing it to investigate the “incidents and associated consequences” that took place at the Prelude facility early this month and present a plan for all necessary corrective actions.read more
Royal Dutch Shell plans to acquire solar and battery storage company Savion, expanding its renewable energy footprint in the U.S. as oil giants face mounting pressure to change their business models and address climate change.
Shell New Energies U.S. LLC, a subsidiary of the European oil major, on Tuesday said it will purchase Kansas City-based Savion from investment bank Macquarie’s Green Investment Group. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year. Financial terms were not immediately disclosed.read more
When oil giant Shell announced it was buying renewable electricity provider Powershop Australia on Monday, many of its 185,000 customers instantly switched providers.
Powershop Australia launched in 2012 and had gained a reputation for being 100 per cent carbon neutral – a credential many now see as tainted by the Shell acquisition.
“I was just disgusted and amazed that they thought they could get away with that, without people caring or noticing,” former customer Kristen O’Connell told The New Daily.read more
Shell increases stake in Australia’s electricity market with Powershop takeover
Peter Hannam: Mon 22 Nov 2021 06.19 GMT
Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has expanded its presence in Australia’s electricity market, buying retailer Powershop from NZ’s Meridian Group as part of a $729m deal that may irk some customers who have tried to avoid fossil fuel companies.
A Meridian spokesperson defended the sale of the retailing arm to one of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies, saying the company’s commitment “to do good by our customers and the planet is stronger than ever”.
“We consider this sale as a positive for both, knowing customers will get the same great service and knowing Shell Energy and its partner ICG’s vision is to significantly invest in a transition to a cleaner energy future,” the spokesperson said. “We are proud of that.”read more
Chevron, partners go ahead with $4 bln project at Gorgon LNG
MELBOURNE, July 2 (Reuters) – Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and its partners in the Gorgon LNG project off Western Australia have agreed to go ahead with a $4 billion project to improve gas recovery from offshore wells and keep the huge liquefied natural gas plant filled for 40 years.
The Australian boss of global energy giant Shell says society’s growing determination to speed up the shift to cleaner energy has driven a sharp escalation of climate pressure engulfing oil and gas producers this year.
In his first public comments since a Dutch court ordered Shell to set deeper and faster emissions cuts targeting a 45 per cent reduction by 2030, Shell Australia chairman Tony Nunan said he believed industry, governments and the public were becoming increasingly aligned on the need to achieve net-zero emissions by the middle of the century.read more
The Australian boss of global energy giant Shell sees demand for liquefied natural gas exports continuing to grow until at least the late 2030s even as COVID-19 hastens the shift away from planet-warming fossil fuels.
Shell, which believes its oil output may have hit a peak in 2019 and is now likely to gradually decline, has revealed a brighter outlook for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets including those in Queensland and off Western Australia.read more
QGC Common Facilities Company Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell, today announced it has completed the sale of a 26.25% interest in the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) Common Facilities to Global Infrastructure Partners Australia for US$2.5 billion, following the receipt of regulatory approval.
The sale was announced on December 21, 2020, and is consistent with Shell’s strategy of selling non-core assets in order to further high-grade and simplify Shell’s portfolio. The transaction has an economic reference date of January 1, 2021.read more
Rating agency S&P has warned 13 oil and gas companies, including the some of the world’s biggest, that it may downgrade them within weeks because of increasing competition from renewable energy. On notice of a possible downgrade are Australia’s Woodside Petroleum as well as multinationals Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Imperial Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, Shell Energy North America, Canadian Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips and French group Total.read more
Shell resumes production at massive floating LNG plant
Article by Adam Duckett: 14JAN 2021
SHELL has resumed production of LNG from its huge floating processing plant – Prelude – following a series of project setbacks that halted output for almost a year.
The oil major said this week: “LNG cargoes have resumed from Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility.”
Shell repeated the statement it has made in response to a series of setbacks at the project, which at 488 m long is the largest ship ever built: “Prelude is a multi-decade project, and our focus remains on delivering sustained performance over the long-term.”read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A-0.8%) says cargo shipments have resumed at its 3.6M mt/yr Prelude floating LNG offshore Western Australia, 11 months after it went offline because of technical issues.
Prelude FLNG in the Browse basin has been plagued by technical issues since it started shipments in June 2019.
The Symphonic Breeze LNG carrier is scheduled to arrive at Japan’s Himeji port on Jan. 16 after leaving Prelude on Jan. 9, and the Gaslog Glasgow is scheduled to arrive at Prelude on Jan. 21, Argus reports.
Prelude’s restart follows a spike in prices for northeast Asian spot liquefied natural gas as colder than expected weather in northeast Asia has fueled urgent demand for cargoes.
Sydney — Australia has cut forecasts for the country’s LNG exports for 2020-2021 (July-June) by some 6% to 75.6 million mt, citing the expected impacts of both the COVID-19 pandemic and domestic technical issues.
If realized, the forecast for the current fiscal would see volumes fall by 3.7 million mt year on year. They are expected to recover in 2021-2022 to 80.1 million mt, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources said Sept. 28 in a report.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A-0.1%) says it has begun restarting operations at its 3.6M mt/year Prelude floating liquefied natural gas facility offshore Western Australia, which has been offline since February due to technical problems.
The suspension of cargo loadings at Prelude followed an order from Australia’s upstream regulator to carry out additional work following three safety incidents at the plant between September and January.
The regulator recently accepted Shell’s proposal to develop the 2.2T cf Crux gas field in the Browse basin offshore Western Australia, which is expected to provide backfill gas for Prelude.
Angela Macdonald-Smith, Senior resources writer:12 Aug 2020
Australia’s revenues from LNG exports slumped a massive 52 per cent in July compared with a year earlier as export prices followed crude oil prices into the basement, cementing prospects for a big dip in export earnings from the commodity this financial year.
LNG export revenues for the country were likely about $1.98 billion last month, sinking from north of $4 billion a year earlier, according to an analysis released on Wednesday by consultancy EnergyQuest.read more
Shell to change-up FIFO roster at Australian operations
Paul Hunt: Senior Journalist: Oil & Gas, Policy. 07 August 2020
SHELL is urging its staff to move to a new fly-in, fly-out, roster, a move that has been described by unions as “unsafe.”
Currently FIFO staff work three weeks on, four weeks off, then three weeks on and five weeks off but under the new proposed agreement, employees would simply do a four week on, four week off roster.
In a power-point presentation leaked to Energy News this week, Shell Australia said a new roster was needed due to interstate travel restrictions, and the combined impact of a 14-day quarantine requirement for FIFO staff.read more
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Shell has, in an unusual move, offered liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for loading from 2021 onwards for a period of at least five years through a tender, three traders said on Monday.
The firm has issued a five-year strip tender offering four cargoes a year from 2021 onwards with an option to extend for another five years, two of them said.
The tender closes on May 18, they added.
The cargoes are likely for loading from Australia, one of them said.read more
Shell Australia describes the facility as its “first large-scale solar farm”.
Queensland chosen as the project’s location because of reliable sunshine.
Shell Australia is set to construct and operate a solar farm made up of around 400,000 photovoltaic panels in the state of Queensland.
In an announcement Friday, Shell Australia described the facility as its “first large-scale solar farm” and said it would have a capacity of 120 megawatts.
Work on the project is set to finish in 2021, with Shell Australia saying up to 200 new jobs will be created during the construction phase.
Queensland was chosen as the project’s location because it had “some of the most reliable sunshine in the world”, the company added. The solar farm will help to power operations at the QGC onshore natural gas project and cut carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 300,000 tonnes a year.read more
Royal Dutch Shell Plc will build its first large-scale solar farm as part of its plan to expand into power generation.
Shell, which has set itself a goal to become the world’s top electricity producer by 2030, expects to complete the plant in Queensland, Australia, early next year. The facility will indirectly supply the company’s QGC liquefied natural gas export facility, reducing that project’s carbon footprint.
“Solar is one of the building blocks of Shell’s power strategy,” said Greg Joiner, Vice-President for Shell Energy in Australia. “We are increasingly incorporating renewable energy into customer offers, as we have done here for QGC.”read more
by Andreas Exarheas: Rigzone Staff: Monday, December 23, 2019
Shell Australia has announced a “significant” gas and condensate discovery in the Browse Basin off the North West Coast of Western Australia.
The find was made through the Bratwurst-1 exploration well, which was said to be successfully concluded after a 78-day campaign. The discovery is located 99 miles north east of the Shell operated Prelude FLNG facility and presents an opportunity for a future tie-back to Prelude, according to Shell.
No figures were released in connection with the discovery, but it was said to support Shell’s growth plans for “more and cleaner energy, with LNG being the predominant focus for Shell in Australia”.read more
The head of Shell Australia, Zoe Yujnovich said the two acquisitions – Esco and ERM Power – would enable Shell to supply more and cleaner energy to utility, commercial and industrial customers in Australia.
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has snapped up a near half share in one of the biggest solar developers in Australia as part of a major push to expand its large-scale solar operations in the country.
Shell – fresh from the purchase of ERM Power – a major generator and retailer to small and big business – announced the purchase on Monday of a 49 per cent stake in Esco Pacific, saying it intended to accelerate the development of its large-scale solar projects, and to add to its pipeline.read more
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has promoted its current Australia chief, Zoe Yujnovich, to the role of executive vice president for conventional oil and gas from Jan. 1, based in the group’s headquarters in The Hague, Shell Australia said on Friday.
In her new role, Yujnovich will report to Shell’s upstream director and be responsible for delivering growth across 18 countries, including Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Oman, the UK and Iraq.
Yujnovich, an Australian, joined Shell in Canada in 2014 from the mining industry and since February 2017 has run its Australian business, which accounts for about a quarter of the group’s invested capital.read more
Back in June 2017, in a move that foreshadowed co-ordinated global ambitions in electricity only recently fully enunciated by the legendary mother ship, Shell Australia revealed its strategic hand by establishing an energy trading business in Melbourne.read more
Global oil and gas giant Shell has launched a $617 million takeover offer for Australian energy retailer ERM Power as the multinational seeks to make a foray into the country’s energy retailing market.
Shell is proposing to buy ERM – Australia’s second-largest power retailer to commercial and industrial customers – for $2.465 a share, the two companies announced on Thursday morning.
The offer represents a 43 per cent premium to ERM’s last closing price of $1.72.
Shell’s proposal has gained the backing of ERM’s founder, Trevor St Baker, who holds 27 per cent of the company. Mr St Baker said he intended to vote in favour of the takeover bid “in the absence of a superior proposal”.read more
Bloomberg: Shell Profit Misses as Slowing Economy Hurts Gas, Chemicals
By Kelly Gilblom: 1 August 2019, 07:15 BST Updated on 1 August 2019, 08:14 BST
Cash flow rises, but integrated gas adjusted profit falls 25%
Shell CEO says macroeconomic conditions were challenging
Royal Dutch Shell Plc got caught into the same earnings trap as many of its peers, reporting second-quarter earnings that fell well short of expectations as the slowing global economy hit everything from natural gas to chemicals.
Profit in Shell’s integrated gas division was down by 25%, but earnings were lower across all of its businesses, including upstream oil and gas production, and refining and chemicals.
“We’ve seen some very severe macroeconomic headwinds — probably most pronounced in our downstream business where we saw some weaker refining margins — but especially a much weaker trading environment for petrochemicals,” Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Thursday. “In our upstream, we’ve seen headwinds particularly in North American gas.”read more
London — Shell expects to ship its first LNG cargo from its Australian floating LNG production facility, Prelude in the second quarter, its CFO Jessica Uhl said Thursday.
Speaking after the release of its Q1 earnings, Uhl said the first LNG would follow the shipment of the first condensate cargo from Prelude last month.
Prelude FLNG is one of the most anticipated LNG projects in recent years due to its deployment as the world’s largest floating facility, though it has experienced delays due to unspecified production issues.read more
Shell has loaded the first condensate cargo from Australia’s Prelude FLNG project, the company said Monday.
“We can confirm that the first shipment of condensate has sailed from the Shell-operated Prelude FLNG facility. This is another step towards steady state operations,” a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed response.
The Shell-controlled Aframax tanker, Advantage Atom, departed from Prelude FLNG on March 20, S&P Global Platts vessel tracking software cFlow showed.read more
MELBOURNE, March 25 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell on Monday said it had shipped the first condensate cargo from its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project off northwestern Australia over the weekend.
“We can confirm that the first shipment of condensate has sailed from the Shell-operated Prelude FLNG facility. This is another step towards steady state operations,” a Shell spokeswoman said in emailed comments.
Shell had hoped to start generating cash flow from Prelude in 2018, but has yet to start shipping LNG from the project, which was to have been the world’s first floating LNG facility but was beaten by Malaysia’s Petronas.read more
The head of Europe’s biggest battery producer says the company’s takeover by oil giant Shell will give it the “bold” presence needed to thrive when the sector takes off in 18 to 24 months, when faster growth rates and tougher competition will prove a competitive test.
“We are in the very beginning of the storage market worldwide,” Sonnen chief executive Christoph Ostermann said during a visit to Australia this week. “We expect to reach an inflection point very, very soon and we have to prepare for that, secure financing for that and enhance our global footprint.”read more
Oil major Shell has set out ambitions to build a major electricity generating and retailing business in Australia within the next decade as part of its global shift towards lower-carbon energy, in comments that look set to revive speculation that a significant acquisition may be on the cards.
Maarten Wetselaar, the group’s global head of gas and new energies, said it would be “an enormously lost opportunity” if Shell didn’t get good at supplying low-carbon electricity to consumers and make the most of its famous brand.read more
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina joint venture Arrow Energy on Thursday was granted leases for a A$10 billion (5.37 billion pounds) project to develop Australia’s biggest coal seam gas resource.
The Queensland government said it had granted 14 leases to Arrow Energy for the Surat project, which holds 5 trillion cubic feet (140 billion cubic metres) of gas. Arrow agreed in December 2017 to a 27-year deal to sell output from Surat to the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project run by Shell.read more
More developments are underway that show just how far global liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets have progressed in the last five years. Until recently, the super-cooled fuel was mostly bought and sold via restrictive long-term off-take agreements where the buyer usually signed up for 15 or 20-year deals that helped producers finance massive capex projects.
However, in the last few years, as more supply hit the market, a long-term supply overhang developed that not only put downward pressure on prices but gave buyers more options as well as more leverage in contract negotiations. In addition to more supply flooding the market, a robust spot market for LNG in Asia has been developing which has seen buyers, for example, Tokyo Gas and several others, also become traders.read more
Royal Dutch Shell’s new LNG outlook report projects that global liquefied natural gas demand will continue to rise in the years ahead – led by Asian growth – as Shell seeks to solidify its stake as the world’s LNG leader.
With natural gas continuing to replace coal as a cleaner-burning power source from the United States to China, Shell expects annual LNG demand worldwide to surge more than 30 percent from 292 million metric tons in 2017 to 384 million tons in 2020. Last year, demand grew by 27 million tons, or more than 9 percent, to 319 million, and this year demand should spike by another 11 percent or 35 million tons, Shell said.read more
In its 2019 Outlook for LNG, Shell said demand will continue to rise next year, with “supplies to tighten in the mid-2020s”.
Shell warned that more new projects are needed.
Demand for cleaner fuels to improve air quality in Asia saw demand rise by 27million tonnes to 319million in 2018, with demand expected to reach around 384million tonnes in 2020.
Supply is expected to rise by 35million tonnes this year but it will not be enough to offset demand, with the additional supply to be absorbed completely by Asia and Europe.read more
MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina are at loggerheads over gas sales pricing at their Arrow Energy joint venture, holding up development of Australia’s biggest coal seam gas resource, three industry sources said.
PetroChina, the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), is eager to start developing Arrow’s 5 trillion cubic feet (140 billion cubic meters) of gas in the Surat Basin in Queensland to turn around loss-making Arrow Energy, one of its key overseas assets.read more
Singapore — Shell’s first condensate cargo from the Prelude FLNG project in Australia has been delayed further from its original February load date and possibly to March, due to production issues, trade sources said Friday.
Shell did not immediately respond to an email query seeking comment.
The first Prelude condensate cargo was originally scheduled to load over January 31-February 2, shipping reports showed at the start of January. Later reports subsequently showed this was delayed to February 12-14, and then to February 24-26.read more
The Australian arm of global oil major, Royal Dutch Shell, has firmed up plans to build a 120MW solar farm in Queensland’s Western Downs region, which it describes as one of many “great opportunities” to evolve and grow the business in the Australian market.
In an address to the Melbourne Mining Club on Wednesday, Shell Australia chair Zoe Yujnovich said the “well-advanced plans” for the company’s first solar farm proposed building the 400,000 panel project on land adjacent to its QGC onshore natural gas business near Wandoan.read more
Shell and its joint venture (JV) partners are officially seeking approval to develop the Crux gas field off the coast of Western Australia.
With JV partners Seven Group and Japan’s Osaka Gas, Shell has submitted a proposal – estimated to be worth more than $2 billion – to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority to develop the field, located approximately 160 km northeast of the Prelude field in WA’s Browse Basin.read more
Shell Australia has “well advanced” plans for a 120 MW utility scale PV array to supply its QGC onshore gas operations in northern Queensland. The announcement was made Shell Australia Chairman Zoe Yujnovich during a speech today, in which she pointed to an Australian “energy transition” in which “electrons will play a bigger role”.
The QGC operations sprawl across a landmass the size of Belgium and is Shell’s largest LNG project globally. Image: Shell
Fossil fuel giant Shell’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations globally is set to be partly supplied by PV power. Shell Australia announced the move today, which will come in the form of a 120 MW solar farm to be developed on land that forms some of its QGC fracking operations in Queensland. The gas is liquefied, in an energy intensive process, at the 8.5 million tonne Curtis Island export facility near Gladstone – the company’s biggest LNG operation globally.read more
Shell Australia chairman Zoe Yujnovich said industry must help to direct government to create a durable energy policy after more than a decade of failed energy and climate policies.CREDIT: BEN RUSHTON
Shell has blasted the federal government over climate and energy policies saying business needs to take the lead on climate action, and the Coalition blaming high gas prices on exports “cannot go unchallenged”.
In a speech, Australia chief Zoe Yujnovich lashed the government’s performance on climate change and threats to cut off gas exports, saying industry needs to take the lead on climate and energy as governments are unable to “sell” their constantly changing policies.read more
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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.
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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.
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(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?
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.