Feb 24th, 2023
by John Donovan.
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…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
Jan 30th, 2023
by John Donovan.
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REUTERS
Shell CEO in first changes combines LNG, upstream operations
Ron Bousso:
LONDON (Reuters) -Shell will combine its oil and gas production and liquefied natural gas (LNG) divisions as part of CEO Wael Sawan’s first changes since taking charge of the energy giant earlier this month.
The new division, which combines Shell’s most profitable operations, will be headed by current upstream director Zoe Yujnovich, Shell said in a statement on Monday.
Sawan took office on Jan. 1 after heading Shell’s integrated gas division, which included Shell’s LNG and renewables businesses, with a vow to simplify and improve the company’s operations.
Under the internal restructure, renewables operations will be combined with Shell’s oil refining and marketing operations led by current downstream director Huibert Vigeveno, the company said.read more
Shell held talks last year with the biggest UK North Sea producer Harbour Energy to sell its oil and gas fields offshore Norway and some mature assets offshore the UK, but a deal ultimately couldn’t be reached due to price volatility, company sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Shell, as well as other majors, have worked in recent years on streamlining asset portfolios to focus on the most profitable projects. Back in 2021, Shell said that its oil production peaked in 2019 and is set for a continual decline over the next three decades as it looks toward the renewables side of the business. Shell said its carbon dioxide emissions also likely peaked—a year earlier, in 2018.read more
Terrible customer service, WiFi has been working intermittently, I have been ringing up asking for this to be fixed, which was finally done after Christmas. I was cut off twice on the phone.
Ordered broadband from shell in December with a go live date of 20th December. After 16 days still no broadband and customer service can not give me a date when the broadband will be working. Avoid.read more
Wael Sawan has officially become Shell’s new chief executive officer, succeeding Ben van Beurden, who had held the post since January 1, 2014.
In an in-house interview posted on Shell’s website, which asked the new company head how he felt about taking on the challenge of being Shell CEO, Sawan said he was “incredibly excited”.
“But, I have to admit, also sometimes daunted by the huge challenges that are out there. I take comfort in the fact that we do have a strong strategy. We do have brilliant people,” he added in the interview.read more
He is one of the most powerful business leaders on the planet, with a pay package of £6million in 2021.
But, in a candid admission that will strike a chord with anyone who feels their talents are overlooked at work, Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden says his stellar career was almost derailed two decades ago.
The Dutch oilman says that when he was in his 40s he was told at an assessment centre for leadership training that he did not have what it took to get to the top.read more
Avoid Shell Energy! They are an appallingly bad company. They took over as our energy supplier over a year ago and still haven’t refunded the money they owe us (i expect this is the case for many of their other customers). They couldn’t care less about their customers, rude and unhelpful customer services staff (when you eventually do get through)We’ve wasted hours and hours of our time chasing the money they owe us only to be fobbed off every time, absolutely terrible, avoid at all costs, there are plenty of other energy suppliers available, see all the other bad reviews online of Shell and you will see that this is not an isolated instance! Disgusting behaviour from a company that made £10 billion in profits in the last quarter alone but refuses to refund £300 that they owe. It’s incredible that companies like this are allowed to get away with it.read more
Dec 11th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Sunday Times Business Person of the Year 2022: The shortlist
The Sunday Times
In a year buffeted by war, falling markets and government upheaval, we present the shortlist for the business person who has stood out above the rest
Ben van Beurden, Shell
The Dutchman will call time on a 40-year career at Shell in 2023, having spent nine years in the hot seat. He gambled early in his tenure on the £36 billion takeover of gas giant BG Group, relocated Shell’s head office to London, and cut its dividend when the oil price tanked during Covid. But the company has surged this year on the back of higher oil prices stoked by the Ukraine war. Van Beurden, 64, leaves Shell in a fitter state and with plans to embrace green energy —read more
Oct 29th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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Reuters
Shell’s outgoing CEO to get full-year salary as compensation for loss of office
Fri, October 28, 2022 at 11:44 AM
(Reuters) – Shell’s outgoing Chief Executive Ben van Beurden will get one-year base salary of 1.42 million pounds ($1.64 million) as compensation after leaving the position at the end of the year, the oil giant said on Friday.
The payment will be done in six equal monthly instalments between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2023.
The company said the outstanding payment for loss of office will be halved if van Beurden gets a paid position, excluding non-executive directorships, during the payment period.
Shell also said the Dutchman will continue to receive his base salary until June 30, 2023.
The company last month picked Wael Sawan to replace van Beurden, who is stepping down after nearly a decade at the helm and 40 years at Shell.read more
Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden has said he regretted not acting earlier on two problems linked to the environment, as he prepares to step down after nearly a decade in charge.
Mr van Beurden said he should have acted in 2015 on data coming out of the Groningen gasfield in the Netherlands.read more
The oil giant also announced Thursday a new share buyback program.
It also revealed plans to increase its dividend per share by around 15% for the fourth quarter 2022.
The group’s results come soon after it was announced CEO Ben van Beurden will step down at the end of the year after nearly a decade at the helm.
British oil major Shell reported a third-quarter profit Thursday, but lower refining and trading revenues brought an end to its run of record quarterly earnings.
Shell posted adjusted earnings of $9.45 billion for the three months through to the end of September, meeting analyst expectations of $9.5 billion according to Refinitiv. The company posted adjusted earnings of $4.1 billion over the same period a year earlier and notched a whopping $11.5 billion for the second quarter of 2022.read more
Oct 4th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Guardian
Shell chief: governments may need to tax energy firms more to help the poor
Ben van Beurden also warns against EU moves to cap price of gas and electricity to protect consumers
Alex Lawson Energy correspondent: Tue 4 Oct 2022 12.35 BST: Last modified on Tue 4 Oct 2022 12.48 BST
The chief executive of Shell has said governments may need to tax energy companies further to fund efforts to protect the “poorest” people from soaring bills.
Ben van Beurden, the outgoing boss of the oil and gas company, told an energy conference in London: “One way or another there needs to be government intervention. Protecting the poorest, that probably may then mean that governments need to tax people in this room to pay for it.
“I think we just have to accept as a society – it can be done smartly and not so smartly. There is a discussion to be had about it but I think it’s inevitable.”read more
British energy giant Shell announced Thursday that CEO Ben van Beurden will step down at the end of 2022 and that his successor will be the company’s renewables director.
FT reported preparations for van Beurden’s departure began last May when Scottish businessman and former CEO of BHP Billiton Sir Andrew Mackenzie became Shell’s chair.
Two unnamed sources told Reuters that Shell’s board succession committee met several times this summer about Beurden’s departure and potential successors.read more
Aug 30th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Guardian
European gas shortages likely to last several winters, says Shell chief
Warning raises prospect of continued rationing, as Total boss says Europe has to plan for future without Russian supplies
Gwyn Topham: Mon 29 Aug 2022 18.47 BST
Gas shortages across Europe are likely to last for several winters to come, the chief executive of Shell has said, raising the prospect of continued energy rationing as governments across the continent push to develop alternative supplies.
Cuts to the supply of Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine have plunged European countries into a devastating energy crisis, driving up wholesale prices to leave consumers facing huge bills and the highest rates of inflation since the 1980s.read more
Aug 4th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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Shell to give staff 8% bonus after record profits
Shell said the award reflects the company’s current financial success but has no link to the rising cost of living challenges
WED, 03 AUG, 2022 – 15:58
ANNA WISE, PA BUSINESS REPORTER
Shell employees will get a one-off 8% bonus after the energy company reported record profits from massive energy price hikes.
Most staff at the oil giant – which employs around 82,000 people worldwide – will be eligible for the pay boost.
Just those at executive vice president level or higher will be excluded from the taxable payout.
Shell said the award reflects the company’s current financial success but has no link to the rising cost of living challenges.
A Shell spokesperson said: “In recognition of the contribution our people have made to Shell’s strong operational performance against a recent challenging backdrop, our executive committee has decided to make a Special Recognition Award of 8% of salary to all eligible staff across the world.read more
May 25th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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BBC News
Shell consultant quits and accuses firm of ‘extreme harms’
By Annabelle Liang: Business reporter: 25 May 2022
A safety consultant at oil and gas giant Shell has stopped working for the firm, as she accused its top executives of failing to protect the environment.
In a post on the professional networking platform LinkedIn, Caroline Dennett said the company is “causing extreme harms to our climate, environment, nature and to people”.
It has drawn over 10,000 likes and has been shared more than 1,200 times.read more
Shell has reported a record quarterly profit of $9.1bn (£7.3bn) for the first three months of the year, piling more pressure on the government to implement a windfall tax to fund measures to tackle soaring household energy bills.
The first-quarter profit was boosted by a sharp rise in oil and gas prices, and compared with $6.3bn of profits in the final three months of 2021 and $3.2bn during the first quarter of last year. It was above analysts’ expectations of first-quarter adjusted earnings of $8.7bn.
Campaigners have called for a one-off levy on companies benefiting from soaring oil and gas prices to fund government initiatives to reduce the burden of rising bills.
Shell’s update comes after BP reported its highest quarterly profit in more than a decade on Tuesday. Its profits more than doubled to $6.2bn, and sparked a clamour for a windfall tax.
The government has resisted calls for such a levy. Boris Johnson has said it would discourage oil and gas producers from making investments into domestic energy.
But BP’s chief executive, Bernard Looney, has admitted none of the £18bn UK investments the company is planning would be dropped if a windfall tax were imposed.read more
Apr 20th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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Strong progress towards net zero for Shell
Apr 20, 2022
Shell today published its Energy Transition Progress Report 2021 detailing the company’s progress over the past year. This report will be put to shareholders for an advisory vote at the Annual General Meeting on 24 May 2022.
“In a time of great uncertainty, it is vital that our long-term energy transition strategy remains on track,” said Ben van Beurden, Shell’s Chief Executive Officer. “This report shows the strong progress we have made towards our target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.”read more
Mar 10th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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sky news
Shell boss bags 26% leap in annual pay package after COVID oil price recovery
Ben van Beurden took home 57 times more than the median Shell worker in 2021 but will be facing pressure to temper awards for the current year as surging oil and gas prices bring misery to households and business alike.
The chief executive of Shell’s pay package rose by 26% to €7.4bn (£6.2m) last year amid a recovery in oil prices from COVID crisis lows, according to the company’s annual report.read more
Mar 8th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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AP
Shell says it will stop buying Russian oil, natural gas
By DANICA KIRKA: 8 MARCH 2022
LONDON (AP) — Energy giant Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and shut down its service stations, aviation fuels and other operations in the country amid international pressure for companies to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine.
The company said in a statement that it would withdraw from all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, “in a phased manner.”read more
Shell said it’s selling a 27.5% stake in Sakhalin-II, an integrated oil and gas project located on the Sakhalin island in Russia, as well as a 50% interest in Salym Petroleum Development N.V.
“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement.
The company said that it had about $3 billion in “noncurrent assets” through its Gazprom ventures at the end of 2021.
Shell said Monday it is ending an “equity partnership” with Gazprom, a Russian state-owned energy company, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues.
Shell said it’s selling a 27.5% stake in Sakhalin-II, an integrated oil and gas project located on the Sakhalin island in Russia, as well as a 50% interest in Salym Petroleum Development N.V., “a joint venture with Gazprom Neft that is developing the Salym fields in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District of western Siberia.” The company also said it’s ending its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.read more
Feb 4th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Guardian
New calls for windfall tax as Shell unveils highest quarterly profit in eight years
Jillian Ambrose and agency: Thu 3 Feb 2022 12.13 GMT
Shell has cashed in on rocketing oil and gas markets by quadrupling its profits to historic highs, fuelling fresh calls for a windfall tax on fossil fuel giants to help hard-pressed households cope with record energy bills.
The UK’s Labour party has called for the government to fund measures to help British households weather the cost of living crisis by imposing a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers.read more
Shell has delayed expansion work at its Nigerian offshore Bonga field by another two years, dealing a major blow to the West African country’s quest to grow its crude production after a series of technical and operational setbacks, sources close to the project said Feb. 2.
t was only in May 2021 that Shell, along with its partners, signed a deal with state oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) in the deepwater oil block Oil Mining Lease 118, clearing the path to a major expansion of the country’s Bonga oil and gas field.read more
It has been a bumper three months for energy giant Shell, which managed to increase its profits nearly fourteen-fold amid soaring oil and gas prices.
As prices surged, the company’s upstream unit was able to collect 8.88 dollars for every thousand cubic feet of gas it sold to customers over the last quarter of 2021.
Just six months earlier gas had been selling for 4.31 dollars, less than half of its most recent level.read more
Shell and BP reported the combined profits, dividends and buybacks just as wholesale gas prices began to soar. The two firms have had £660 million in tax credits in the last five years
The UK’s biggest oil and gas companies raked in £10.2billion in just three months last year, figures reveal.
Shell and BP reported the combined profits, dividends and buybacks just as wholesale gas prices began to soar.read more
When Ben van Beurden, Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive, phoned Mark Rutte on Sunday afternoon to warn the Dutch prime minister that the company planned to move its headquarters from the Hague to London, he set off a political backlash in the Netherlands.
Yet the oil group’s plans, which were revealed to stock markets on Monday and will also result in Shell unifying its dual shares, moving its tax base to Britain and losing its “Royal Dutch” name, appear less divisive with investors.read more
Nov 15th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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sky news
Dutch government only has itself to blame for Shell move to UK
Sky’s Ian King explains why shareholders are welcoming Shell’s decision to follow Unilever and RELX in moving away from Dutch controls, confirming the end of “royal” and “Dutch” in its name.
Splitting up Shell’s oil and renewables divisions would not work as the supermajor’s strength is the integration and funding new energy solutions with the earnings from the legacy business, the company’s top executives said on Thursday, a day after an activist investor called for breaking up the major into separate companies.
Activist investor Third Point built a position in Shell in the second and third quarters, and said on Wednesday that it would be beneficial for Shell to split off its LNG and renewables divisions, leaving Shell’s upstream, refining, and chemicals operations to be separated from the greener divisions.read more
Royal Dutch Shell has rejected calls to break itself up as it set a new emissions reduction goal in an attempt to please environmental critics.
Ben van Beurden, chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch oil major, insisted that it was better able to serve the energy transition as an integrated company using its oil and gas profits to fund low-carbon investments.read more
The devastating effects of unchecked global warming were laid bare by this week’s landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
UN secretary-general António Guterres described the report’s findings as “a code red for humanity”.
The world’s major energy companies were already on the front line of the climate change battle, but following this week’s report public scrutiny of the industry can only intensify.read more
Jul 22nd, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Bloomberg
Shell CEO Says Company Will Appeal Climate Ruling
by Bloomberg| Laura Hurst & Diederik Baazil | Wednesday, July 21, 2021
(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it will appeal a ruling by a Dutch court which ordered it to cut its carbon emissions by 45% over the next decade.
Shell has said it will speed up its energy transition plans in response to the order, but is looking to overturn it so it can stick to its own climate timetable. After intense pressure from investors, the May 26 ruling showed companies’ hands may increasingly be forced by courts, and result in far-reaching implications for the global energy industry.read more
Royal Dutch Shell has confirmed that it will appeal against the landmark Dutch court ruling calling for the oil giant to cut its carbon emissions faster.
A court in The Hague reached the milestone verdict in May this year after Friends of the Earth and over 17,000 co-plaintiffs successfully argued that Shell had been aware of the dangerous consequences of CO2 emissions for decades, and that its climate targets did not go far enough.read more
Shell (-2.37%) is reportedly planning to quit its California-based joint venture with fellow oil supermajor ExxonMobil (-3.56%) as it looks to accelerate its transition away from fossil fuels.
Four sources told Reuters that the FTSE blue chip had informed Exxon that it intended to exit subsidiary Aera Energy, in which it holds a 52 percent stake. The firm did not respond to a request for comment.read more
May 19th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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REUTERS
Shell in talks with Nigeria to divest onshore oil stakes
May 18, 2021: Shell, the operator of the West African country’s onshore oil and gas joint venture SPDC, has struggled for years with spills in the Niger Delta as a result of pipeline theft and sabotage as well as operational issues. The spills have led to costly repair operations and high-profile lawsuits. Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, CEO Ben van Beurden said that Shell can no longer be exposed to the risk of theft and sabotage. read more
Apr 29th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Shell raises dividend for second time in six months after first-quarter earnings beat forecasts
Sam Meredith: PUBLISHED THU, APR 29 20212:09 AM EDT
KEY POINTS
The Anglo-Dutch company reported adjusted earnings of $3.2 billion for the three months through to the end of March. Analysts had expected $3.1 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Shell also raised its dividend by around 4%, its second increase in six months.
It comes as energy majors seek to reassure investors that they have gained a more stable footing in recent months.
LONDON — Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported slightly better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, amid stronger commodity prices and growing expectations of a fuel demand recovery.
Shell also raised its dividend by around 4%, its second increase in six months, as the oil major seeks to reassure investors it has gained a more stable footing. It comes after Shell slashed its payout for the first time since World War II in April last year.read more
Apr 16th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Jillian Ambrose: Thu 15 Apr 2021 13.58 BST
Royal Dutch Shell has urged investors to vote for its strategy to shift the business towards cleaner energy sources, despite warnings that the plan does not go far enough to meet the Paris climate agreement goals.
The oil company set out its energy transition plan before its annual shareholder meeting in May, when investors will be able to take part in an advisory vote on Shell’s climate plans for the first time. The vote will not be binding.read more
An Italian court has ruled that oil giants Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Eni SPA are not guilty in a bribery case involving a Nigerian oilfield that has spanned years, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Shell, Eni, and Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi, have been on trial for years in the infamous OPL 245 case. Shell, Eni, Descalzi, and others, were accused of knowing that more than $1.1 billion of the $1.3 billion deposited a decade ago into an escrow account controlled by the Nigerian government would eventually be used as bribes to secure oil drilling rights.read more
Mar 14th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Andrew Mackenzie selected as chairman of Shell
Former CEO of BHP will succeed Chad Holliday after six years in the position.
March 12, 2021
Royal Dutch Shell announced the appointment of Andrew Mackenzie as the new chairman with effect from the conclusion of Shell’s 2021 Annual General Meeting on May 18.
Mackencie will succeed Chad Holliday who will step down after six years as chairman and board director since September 2010.
Andrew Mackenzie, a British national, joined Shell’s Board in October 2020, after a distinguished career in the energy, petrochemicals and resources sector, latterly as Group CEO of BHP from 2013 to 2019.read more
Executives from major oil companies clashed over the prospects of oil and gas for the future at the first virtual edition of the CERAWeek conference in Houston.
While BP’s Bernard Looney and Shell’s Ben van Beurden boasted about their shift away from their core business and into renewable energy, Baker Hughes, Hess Corp., and Spain’s Repsol were among those believing that fossil fuels have yet to leave the scene for good, the Houston Chronicle’s Paul Takahashi reports.read more
Feb 20th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON (Reuters) – Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell vowed to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050, raising its ambition from previous targets, as its oil output declines from a 2019 peak.
The Anglo-Dutch company is in the midst of its largest overhaul yet as it prepares to expand its renewables and low-carbon business in the face of growing investor pressure on the oil and gas sector to battle climate change.
Shell last year laid out a plan to reach net zero by 2050, in line with the Paris climate agreement and European Union ambitions, but it said the goal depended on its customers.read more
Feb 12th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Jillian Ambrose: Thu 11 Feb 2021 09.40 GMT
Shell has set new carbon emissions goals to become a net zero carbon energy company by 2050, but will continue to grow its gas business by more than 20% in the next few years.
Shell’s goal is to be net zero carbon company within 30 years, including the emissions from burning its fossil fuels. But the plans have raised concerns among green campaigners that Shell may still increase its emissions in the coming decade, which is considered a crucial period to avoid a climate catastrophe.read more
Persistent issues with theft and sabotage in the Niger Delta could prompt Shell to take a hard look at its operations onshore Nigeria, the supermajor’s chief executive Ben van Beurden said this week.
“Our onshore oil position, despite all the efforts we put in against theft and sabotage, is under challenge,” van Beurden told reporters, as carried by Reuters, after Shell reported another set of weak Big Oil results affected by the pandemic.read more
Feb 6th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Oil giant Shell follows rivals into huge loss
“2020 was an extraordinary year,” said Chief Executive Ben van Beurden. “We have taken tough but decisive actions,” he said, with Shell having already announced plans to axe up to 9,000 jobs, or more than 10 percent of its global workforce.
Published on: Friday, February 05, 2021: By AFP
LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday became the latest oil major to reveal huge annual losses as the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand and prices in 2020.
Shell dived into a net loss of $21.7 billion (18.1 billion euros) last year as factories shut and planes were grounded.read more
New York — Shell Chemical announced that construction at its $6 billion petrochemical complex in Pennsylvania is expected to be completed in 2022, Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden said during an earnings call Feb. 4.
Shell previously expected the Pennsylvania project to start up in the first half of 2021 after suspending work in mid-March 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic concerns.read more
Feb 4th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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Oil major Shell reports sharp drop in full-year profit, raises dividend
Sam Meredith@SMEREDITH19: PUBLISHED THU, FEB 4 20212:31 AM EST UPDATED THU, FEB 4 20213:18 AM EST
KEY POINTS
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $4.85 billion for the full-year 2020. That compared with a profit of $16.5 billion for the full-year 2019.
The company said it would raise its first-quarter dividend to $0.1735 per share, reflecting an increase of 4% from the previous quarter.
The results come as energy giants seek to reassure investors about their future profitability, following a dreadful year for the global oil and gas industry by virtually every measure.
LONDON — Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported a sharp drop in full-year profit as the coronavirus pandemic took a heavy toll on the global oil and gas industry.
Shell reported adjusted earnings of $4.85 billion for the full-year 2020. That compared with a profit of $16.5 billion for the full-year 2019, reflecting a drop of 71%. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected full-year 2020 net profit to come in $5.15 billion.read more
Nov 11th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Shell: Regaining Dividend Respectability And Shifting Toward Green Hydrogen
The Daily Drilling Report: 10 November 2020
Summary
Shell is taking a healthy approach toward energy transition and balancing capital projects in terms of energy source.
It’s also forging a leadership position in two key fuels that have been identified as being crucial to meeting Paris Climate goals – natural gas and hydrogen.
Shell is back in our good grades with its recent dividend raise and strong earnings prospects going forward.
At its recent price in the mid-$20s it represents a nice risk reward profile.
The question is, is the dividend safe? The answer here is yes, as it has just been raised. It seems Uncle Ben has heard the hue and cry of outraged shareholders, and is restoring some of what he took away just last quarter.
Ben Van Beurden, CEO Shell:
So we are announcing an increase of 4% in our dividends this quarter. But we’re also announcing a target milestone for our net debt of $65 billion for the near term. And once we have achieved this milestone, we target to further increase shareholder distribution. So we are not offering the promise of future growth, but also increasing shareholder distributions for the near term.read more
Oct 29th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Shell to axe refining plants and focus on dividends and debt reduction
Philip Whiterow: 07:31 Thu 29 Oct 2020
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSB) has unveiled a huge restructuring of its refining and chemical operations as part of a strategic overhaul that places dividends at its centre.
The Anglo-Dutch giant said its fourteen refining sites will be reduced to six integrated chemical parks, with a switch in focus to performance chemicals and recycled feedstocks.
Shell’s marketing arm will also be strengthened with the development of the integrated power business and hydrogen and biofuels.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 Renewables Head to Leave Amid Fossil Fuel ShiftJune 30, 2023 14:49Financial PostBreadcrumb Trail Links PMN Business Shell Plc’s European renewable power boss Thomas Brostrom has decided to leave the company as the oil supermajor revises its strategy to focus more investment into fossil fuels. Author of the article: Bloomberg 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 …
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?
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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:
