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SHELL RELATED EXTRACTS FROM AN ARTICLE BY JACOBIN PUBLISHED UNDER THE HEADLINE “THE NIGERIAN ACTIVIST WHOSE DEATH SHAMED SHELL”

AN INTERVIEW WITH ROY DORON / TOYIN FALOLA: 10 NOV 2019

Twenty-four years ago today, environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian state. His death brought international attention to the rapacious behavior of oil companies like Shell — and their complicity in the most violent forms of repression.

Born in 1941, Ken Saro-Wiwa came of age as Nigeria gained independence and became a lifelong advocate for the importance of minority rights within a unified national identity. A member of the Ogoni ethnic group, who at only half a million hold little sway in a country of two hundred million, Saro-Wiwa was central to mobilizing a popular movement that demanded accountability for companies like Shell that were extracting oil in the creeks of the Niger Delta. read more

Nov. 8, 2019

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell said there was a gas leak on Friday on a unit at its 404,000 barrel per day Pernis oil refinery in the Netherlands.

The leak has been stopped and the situation at the refinery is under control, a spokesman said.

Shell did not specify the unit involved.

The company separately reported on Nov 6 that while taking one of the units at Pernis offline for scheduled maintenance flaring occurred.

Shell did not specify which unit that was.

(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; editing by Jason Neely) read more

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Q & A WITH ESTHER KIOBEL (The lead plaintiff in litigation by four Ogoni 9 widows currently suing Shell in the Dutch courts for alleged complicity in the murder of their husbands and other alleged crimes and abuses of human rights in Nigeria.)

1) Twenty-four years ago, your husband was one of the Ogoni nine executed by Abacha. How have you and the family been coping?

HMMMMMM! WE LIVE BY THE GRACE OF GOD THAT STRENGTHENS US.

2) What exactly was your husband’s offence?

MY HUSBAND’S OFFENSE WAS HIS REFUSAL TO BETRAY HIS PEOPLE IN AN EXECUTIVE MEETING AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE. THEY SAID ON FALSE CHARGES THAT HE, MITEE, AND KEN SARO WIWA CONSPIRED TO KILL THE FOUR PROMINENT OGONIS WHO WERE HAVING MEETING AT GIOKOO. JUST FALSE ALLEGATION TO GET THEM KILLED FOR NO JUST CAUSE. read more

Shell Says We Have to Decarbonize Planet Earth

We have to decarbonize planet earth in the coming decades.

That’s what Ed Daniels, head of strategy at Shell, stated during a presentation at Web Summit on Tuesday in Lisbon, Portugal, which was attended by Rigzone.

“I feel an immense amount of responsibility that our company along with governments and society has to do,” Daniels told audience members during the presentation, which included a Q&A session with Neanda Salvaterra, an energy reporter at The Wall Street Journal.

“I’m simultaneously energized and frightened by the scale of the challenge,” Daniels added. read more

By Billy Ludt | November 6, 2019

EDP Renewables SA (EDPR), through its fully-owned subsidiary EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) and Shell Energy North America (SENA) have closed on a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for 200 MW that will bring the Sandrini Solar Park to Kern County, California.

Located near Bakersfield, the 200-MW Sandrini Solar Park, which is anticipated to be operational in 2022, represents an estimated capital investment of more than $200 million and will generate enough clean electricity to annually power more than 91,000 average California homes. read more

by David McPhee: 05/11/2019, 9:38 amUpdated: 05/11/2019, 11:08 am

Oil giant Shell has today announced a deal to buy up a 100% stake in a French floating wind firm.

Shell has agreed to purchase 100% of Brittany-headquartered Eolfi, a French renewable energy developer specialising in floating wind projects.

The firm said the deal would “enhance” Shell’s existing wind team and a floating wind pilot project – in conjunction with Innogy and Stiesdal Offshore Technologies.

It said the deal was also “a significant step for Shell in France”, where Shell will look to grow its offshore wind business. read more

Bloomberg: Shell and EDP to Build Massachusetts’ Second Offshore Wind Farm

Christopher Martin: Bloomberg News Oct. 31, 2019, 7:01 PM

*Partners are planning to complete 804-megawatt project in 2025

*Mayflower wind farm will be about 20 miles south of Nantucket

Massachusetts picked a venture of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Energias de Portugal SA to build the state’s second offshore wind farm.

The 804-megawatt Mayflower wind farm will be built about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of the island of Nantucket and completed in 2025, according to a statement late Wednesday.

The other Massachusetts project, Vineyard Wind, is expected to become the first major offshore U.S. wind farm with 800 megawatts of capacity. That’s planned for completion in 2022.

It’s being developed by Iberdrola SA’s Avangrid utility and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and was delayed in August for an additional… read more

Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) — Slumping energy prices, sluggish global demand and shrinking chemical margins are weighing on the oil industry as its biggest names prepare to announce quarterly results to investors demanding ever-higher payouts.

The so-called supermajors — Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp., Total SA and BP Plc — are expected to disclose a 42% plunge in third-quarter earnings, on average, when they post results this week. That drop-off is too steep to blame on the 18% decline in crude oil prices, which means executives will have some explaining to do. read more

Why it is hard to be a saint in the city

Greta Thunberg’s speech at the UN’s Climate Action Summit last month stirred a lot of the world’s views about the environment and this is creeping more and more into our everyday lives.

I saw one headline last week stating that “climate change is the most serious issue for the majority of voters” but notably it added that these same voters are reluctant to meet the cost of tackling the crisis.

As a financial adviser, I must say my experience is that investing and ethics typically don’t go hand in hand. I must, however, add there has noticeably been more of a focus on socially responsible investments (SRI) from my clients in recent times. read more

SELECTION OF WEBPAGE HEADER IMAGES ALL FROM WEBSITES OPERATED BY JOHN DONOVAN, ALL FOCUSSED ON ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Header images on royaldutchshellplc.com

Header images on royaldutchshellgroup.com

October 18, 2019

Greenlots, a subsidiary of Shell New Energies, has announced its participation in the development of the world’s largest electric vehicle charging network.

Greenlots EV chargers will be installed in Ford’s FordPass Charging network.

The Charging Network will be launched in 2020 and will allow Ford EV drivers to charge seamlessly across all the major charging networks in the US and select regions in Canada.

The network is the first of its kind rollout in the EV market and is to accelerate the adoption of electrified transportation across North America. read more

Greenpeace activists climb Shell North Sea platform saying ‘clean up your mess’

By Ron Bousso

LONDON (Reuters) – Greenpeace activists boarded two Royal Dutch Shell oil platforms in the British North Sea on Monday in protest against plans to leave parts of the giant structures in place after production shuts down.

Pictures provided by Greenpeace show two people in yellow hats scaling one of two giant, rusty structures and unfurling a banner reading “Clean up your mess, Shell!”

Shell confirmed that protesters boarded the Brent Alpha platform and the Brent Bravo concrete legs. read more

Shell to offset fuel carbon emissions at UK petrol stations

Oil giant Shell has announced plans to offset carbon emission from fuel at a number of its UK petrol stations.

The new project will see Shell offset the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from customers’ fuel purchases on their behalf.

The energy firm is planning to roll the initiative out across 1,000 Shell UK service stations.

Sinead Lynch, Shell UK country chairwoman, said: “Switching to an electric vehicle is the best way for drivers to reduce their CO2 footprints and they can now charge on a growing number of our UK forecourts with 100% renewable electricity.

“But today the majority of people still use petrol and diesel. We can help them address the impact of their emissions by offsetting their fuel purchases, starting now.” read more

By Leonard Hyman and William Tilles

Not long ago, Bill Gates offered some investment advice. That, in itself, constitutes news, but the content and the reactions make up a more interesting story.

Gates told the Financial Times, in essence, that investors who want to do something about climate change should stop making up lists of companies they do not want in their portfolios based on involvement in fossil fuel production or use. They should, instead, invest in disruptive technologies that will provide actual solutions to climate change. read more

Anjli Raval, Senior Energy Correspondent: 27 Sept 2019

The preceding three years offered plenty to talk about. Oil prices had collapsed; Shell had embarked on a complex $53bn takeover of natural gas giant BG Group and the company’s offices had been raided over a controversial Nigerian deal. Shell’s top brass were wrestling with a dilemma that has since beset every major oil and gas company. How should a company that generates most of its profits by meeting the world’s still-robust demand for oil and gas navigate the future as the political tide turns increasingly against fossil fuels. read more

LONDON (Reuters) – Investors managing $15 trillion in assets turned up the heat on oil and gas sector on Wednesday ahead of a United Nations summit in New York aimed at accelerating efforts to fight climate change.

Energy companies are on the front line of the global transition to a low-carbon economy, with investors potentially on the hook for hefty losses if the companies do not overhaul their business models in time.

In its most detailed analysis of the energy sector, the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) said 31 out of 109 energy firms were aligned with commitments governments have so far made under the 2015 Paris Agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions. read more

Nigeria: Shell Decries Crude Theft, Vandalism in Niger Delta

With a daily loss of about 10,000 barrels of oil from its pipelines to crude oil theft, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has cried out for help from government, communities and other stakeholders to stem the incessant attack on oil assets in the Niger Delta.

“These are critical national assets with 55 percent government interest and they produce the crude oil that accounts for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange and the bulk of government revenue. Hurting these assets means hurting the nation’s revenue, the economy of the states, the health of the people and the environment,” SPDC’s General Manager External Relations, Igo Weli, said yesterday at a media workshop on Pipelines Right of Way Encroachment and Vandalism held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital. read more

Remembering HON, DR BARINEM NUBARI KIOBEL’S BIRTHDAY: 23rd September

Happy Birthday HON, Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel. Though you are not physically with us, your spirit lives on and your memory remains fresh in our hearts. Your legacy will live forever. You shall always be remembered. We love you but Jesus Loves You more. May your precious soul continue to rest in peace. Remain in the bosom of the LORD Almighty God until we meet to part no more. Happy posthumous birthday. We Love you.

See more information below about the career of Dr. Kiobel and a loving memorial salute by his widow. 

Esther Kiobel (above) the widow of DR Kiobel is currently suing Royal Dutch Shell in the Dutch courts for alleged complicity in his murder.  A panel of three Dutch judges has given approval for the case to proceed. Esther is the lead plaintiff in the action brought collectively by three Ogoni 9 widows whose husbands were all hanged by the Nigerian military regime allegedly in collaboration with Shell. 

Remembering (Hon) Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel

PH.D MCOM, MBA, BBA, DIPM DIPMGT-ABE MCIM MINSTT

Dr. Barinem Nubari Kiobel was born in Kpor Town, Gokana local Gov’t area of River State, Ogoni in Niger Delta into the family of Madam Vurage Kile Diiyor (mother) and chief Francis Kiobel Barika (father) on September 23^rd, 1959. read more

By Timothy Abington and Kelly Gilblom: 4 September 2019, 07:00 BST: Updated on 4 September 2019, 11:11 BST

*European majors close many more deals than their U.S. rivals

*Digital and efficiency technologies become popular targets

Major oil companies are poised to do a record number of clean-energy deals this year, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc leading a group of European companies that are well ahead of their U.S. rivals.

The data compiled by BloombergNEF underscore the quickening pace of the transition to low-carbon energy among the world’s largest fossil fuel producers, and the scale of the trans-Atlantic divide. European majors closed seven times as many deals with renewable-electricity and storage companies as their U.S. counterparts since 2010. read more

From left, Shell workers Adam Harrison, Dakota Stormer and Natasha Qamar take a demo ride in an ElecTrip vehicle.Photo: Juan Figueroa, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Sergio Chapa Aug. 30, 2019

Royal Dutch Shell makes its money selling oil, gasoline and other petroleum products. But when it comes to its employees traveling between Houston and other major Texas cities, how does one of the world’s largest oil companies transport them?

Electric cars.

Earlier this week, Shell approved $40,000 in vouchers for employees to use ElecTrip, a Tesla-based ride-sharing service headquartered in Houston. The vouchers will pay for about 400 zero-emission rides to meetings in Austin, Dallas San Antonio and other Texas cities. read more

Shell India invests in $7.7 million in biomass firm

AUG 30, 2019

Shell India has made a $7.7 million (€6.9 million) investment in a local biomass firm. Punjab Renewable Energy, backed by Neev Fund and responsibility, will use the fresh investment to expand its business in the bioenergy sector.

The company was established in 2011 and is involved in the collection, processing, storage and supply of biomass including paddy straw, cotton stalk, soya husk, maize cob and mustard stalk, which it provides to clients for energy or conversion into biofuels, according to a report by VCCircle. read more

Shell, Equinor, SSE back new project to address offshore wind ‘barriers’

by David McPhee: 27/8/2019

Some of the world’s biggest energy firms are backing a new project aimed at addressing current barriers in the UK offshore wind market.

The second stage of the Offshore Renewable Joint Industry Project (ORJIP) programme, announced by the Carbon Trust, said it aims to reduce consenting risk, project maturation time, cost and the environmental impact of new and existing UK offshore wind farms.

The new four-year programme will be funded by public and private partners.

EDF Renewables, EDP Renewables, E.On, Equinor, Innogy, Marine Scotland, Red Rock Power, Shell, SSE Renewables and the Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland are all involved. read more

Rooftop solar at Shell units in Europe, Asia to generate 7,500 MWh a year

The panels can result in the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions of about 4,500 tonne on a CO2-equivalent basis per year, equivalent to taking about 2,600 cars off the road for one year, a statement by the company said.

August 06, 2019, 07:42 IST

New Delhi: Lubricants major Shell on Monday said it is installing solar photovoltaic panels on the roofs of seven of its plants in India, China, Italy, Singapore and Switzerland, which would generate 7,500 MWh of power annually.

The panels can result in the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions of about 4,500 tonne on a CO2-equivalent basis per year, equivalent to taking about 2,600 cars off the road for one year, a statement by the company said.

Combined, they are expected to generate over 7,500 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity a year, it added. read more

Pittsburg Post-Gazette: Trump to tour cracker plant in Beaver County next week

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: AUG 3, 2019

President Donald Trump next week will travel to Beaver County where he will tour the Shell Chemicals ethane cracker plant and tout his administration’s economic agenda for expanding the country’s domestic manufacturing and energy production.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to visit the $6 billion plant, which remains under construction in Potter Township, on Thursday. It will be his first trip to Pennsylvania since May. 

The president’s “economic policies, including tax cuts and aggressive deregulatory agenda, has enabled America to expand manufacturing, energy production, new capital and technology investments, and create jobs,” the White House said in a news release. “The policies make it possible for multibillion-dollar investments such as the Shell complex, which highlights the potential for the Appalachian region to become a second center of U.S. petrochemical manufacturing.” read more

According to Shell’s records, the community has been impacted by at least 40 oil spills from Shell’s pipelines and equipment since 1989, including 23 spills in the past 4 years. Shell’s pipelines and infrastructure in Ogale are several decades old and in a poor state of repair making the area vulnerable to oil spills which have caused, and continue to cause, long-term contamination of the land, swamps, groundwater and waterways in the Community.

The Supreme Court hearing will appeal a judgment from February 2018, from the Court of Appeal in London, which upheld an earlier High Court judgment, that the English Court does not have jurisdiction over the claims.

Lawyers representing 40,000 Nigerian farmers and fisherman from two communities in the Niger Delta have been permitted to take their legal claim against the oil giant Shell to the UK Supreme Court.

The decision will allow the two communities from Bille and Ogale in the Niger Delta to appeal to the UK’s highest court, having suffered from decades of pollution from Shell’s pipelines.

They have taken their case to the English Courts on the basis that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), which is headquartered in London, is legally responsible for the environmental failures of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), a subsidiary of RDS. read more

AMSTERDAM, July 12 (Reuters) – Dutch prosecutors said on Friday they were investigating whether producers at some of the country’s small gas fields had exceeded the amount they were licensed to produce.

Gas production limits have become a sensitive issue in the Netherlands as the country tries to reduce production at its large Groningen gas field that has caused damaging earthquakes.

Prosecution spokeswoman Marieke van der Moolen confirmed a report by regional broadcaster RTV Drente that investigations in several locations were ongoing and were taking place in collaboration with the country’s State Supervisor of Mines. read more

By Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa 12 July 2019: — Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has said security remains a major challenge occasioned by continuing crude oil theft and vandalism of oil and gas facilities in parts of the Niger Delta.

SPDC’s General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli, who spoke in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, at the media launch of the 2019 edition of the Shell in Nigeria Briefing Notes, an annual publication detailing the activities of the business interests of the global energy giant, noted that the illegal activities result in the loss of 11,000 Barrels Per Day of crude oil. read more

JULY 9, 2019 / 10:58 PM

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Major U.S. oil producers on Tuesday began evacuating and shutting in production at their deepwater Gulf of Mexico platforms in advance of a tropical disturbance expected to become a storm this week.

A tropical depression is expected to form late on Wednesday or Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center, and move westward across the northern Gulf of Mexico, home to dozens of oil and gas producing facilities.

Chevron Corp (CVX.N), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L), BP Plc (BP.L) and BHP (BHP.AX) are removing staff from 15 offshore energy platforms, according to company statements. read more

Electrive

UK: Shell installs its first ultra-rapid charger in London

Jul 4, 2019

Shell has installed a 150 kW ultra-rapid EV charger at a petrol station in Battersea, south London. The charger is now available for public use alongside the already existing 50 kW rapid chargers from Allego.

The charger is part of the Shell Recharge service. The 150kW charger has been installed alongside the station’s existing 50kW rapid chargers. Maker and operator Allego will continue to maintain and service the chargers which make up Shell Recharge.

Allego’s chief executive Anja van Niersen welcomed the installation, stressing that “electric vehicle drivers want the right charging solution at the right place, to be always available and combined with excellent services. Shell Recharge shows how these wishes can be met.” read more

Clara Denina, Stephen Jewkes, Toby Sterling: JUNE 24, 2019 / 4:43PM

LONDON (Reuters) – A domestic consortium set up by Royal Dutch Shell and pension fund manager PGGM has taken a bigger lead in the race for Dutch energy company Eneco as two other contenders have dropped out, sources close to the matter said.

French oil and gas company Total SA and Italy’s electricity giant Enel, which had teamed up with Dutch pension fund manager APG, have both withdrawn their non-binding offers, said the sources.

One of the sources added that APG was now looking for a new partner.

Infrastructure fund Macquarie and Japan’s biggest trading house Mitsubishi Corp are also still in the race for the company estimated by analysts to be worth about 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion), sources said. One said French nuclear energy utility EDF had also made a non-binding offer. read more

by David McPhee: 20/06/2019, 1:28 pm

Work on Shell’s first solar plant in the Netherlands is complete, according to engineering and construction firm Wood.

The Moerdijk Solar PV Plant is a 27 megawatt (MW) development near the city of Breda.

The new plant holds 76,000 solar PV panels and is one of the country’s largest facilities.

Wood, who acted as Shell’s engineering contractor throughout the project, provided Shell’s clean energy team with “technical procurement expertise” during the 16-month contract. read more

JUNE 17, 2019 / 2:17 PM

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch court on Monday ordered Royal Dutch Shell to pay a 2.5 million euro ($2.8 million) fine for failing to prevent an explosion at its Moerdijk facility in 2014 and for breaching emissions limits at the plant.

The district court in Den Bosch said Shell had not done enough to prevent an incident on June 3, 2014 which resulted in a series of explosions and a large fire at the Moerdijk chemical plant.

“The factory, employees, the surroundings and the environment were subject to great danger that day”, the court said. “This justifies a significant punishment.” read more

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: June 11, 2019

Royal Dutch Shell has issued a plea to companies across different sectors of the economy to work with it on plans to reduce their carbon emissions to “net zero”.

Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Europe’s biggest oil company, said that the airline and shipping industries were among the sectors being targeted initially for a “climate coalition”.

In a speech to The Times CEO Summit, Mr van Beurden, 61, also called for action to address unsustainable consumption patterns, citing “consumers who choose to eat strawberries in winter” and a throwaway culture in some industries where recycling could instead be the default. read more

A Shell North Sea boss has said he “agrees” with many of the climate campaigners who took to the streets of the UK’s major cities in April.

by David McPhee: 06/06/2019

Steve Phimister, Shell’s UK vice president for upstream, said yesterday during Oil and Gas UK’s (OGUK) industry conference that he thinks the country needs to take decisive action on the issue of climate change.

But he added that it did not include “abandoning” oil and gas.

Mr Phimister claimed he “agrees with the view from the climate protestors” of the need to move to a net zero carbon target “quickly”.

He added: “I understand why these activists were calling for this change, and it would be easy to assume that we all and those folk are on the opposite side of the conversation, but I don’t see it that way. read more

With generous dividends and buybacks—and talk of cleaner energy—Royal Dutch Shell looks to boost interest in its shares read more

Shell is to return $125bn over five years through dividends and share buybacks

That’s more than double the $52bn handed between 2011 and 2015

Energy group expects new projects will generate $35billion

By CAMILLA CANOCCHI FOR THISISMONEY.CO.UK

PUBLISHED: 15:03, 4 June 2019 | UPDATED: 16:15, 4 June 2019

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell fell despite the oil and gas giant revealing plans to return $125billion (£99billion) to shareholders over five years through dividends and share buybacks.

This is more than double the $52million (£41billion) handed to shareholders between 2011 and 2015.

Shell said it expects to pay for that with money from new projects, which it expects will generate $35billion, assuming oil remains priced at $60 per barrel. read more

Shell plans to boost returns and become a force in power

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell outlined plans on Tuesday to boost shareholder returns after 2020, while also increasing spending on oil, gas and power, as it capitalizes on years of cost cutting to prepare for a lower carbon future.

In a strategy update, the Anglo-Dutch energy company said it was on track to deliver on its commitment to sharply increase cash generation and carry out one of the world’s largest share buyback programs of $25 billion by the end of next year.

It then plans to increase payouts to investors through dividends and share buybacks to $125 billion between 2021 and 2025, roughly half of its current market value. That compares with payouts of around $90 billion between 2016 and 2020.

While offering sweeteners to investors, Shell also outlined plans to increase spending in the next decade to grow its gas, oil, renewables and power output. read more

Earlier this month, a Dutch court ruled that it had the jurisdiction and would hear a damages lawsuit against Shell brought by the widows of activists executed by Nigeria’s government after the protests in Ogoniland in the 1990s.

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 27, 2019, 4:00 PM CDT

The Nigerian unit of Royal Dutch Shell doesn’t have any plans to return to exploring or producing oil in Ogoniland in Nigeria’s Rivers state after it ceased operations there in the 1990s, Igo Weli, General Manager, External Relations, at the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said this weekend at the release of Shell Nigeria’s 2019 Briefing Notes.

SPDC, as operator of the SPDC Joint Venture, carried out exploration and production operations in Ogoniland from the 1950s until the early 1990s. Production ceased in 1993 following a rise in violence, threats to staff, and attacks on facilities, Shell said. read more

By Kevin Orland: 23 May 2019, 12:00 BST

*Canadian project has seen better-than-expected reliability

*Adviser sees more activity in carbon-utilization projects

A Royal Dutch Shell Plc-operated carbon capture and storage project in Canada has hit a milestone of sequestering 4 million tons of carbon dioxide about six months ahead of schedule and at a lower cost than estimated, helped by better-than-expected reliability.

The Quest facility, which sequesters emissions from the Scotford Upgrader near Edmonton, Alberta, started up in November 2015 and has since run ahead of its target of capturing 1 million tons of carbon a year, said Anne Halladay, a geophysicist who has been an adviser on the project since it was in construction in 2014. That performance has been driven by less unplanned maintenance than projected and more efficient performance, including less chemical usage, she said. read more

MAY 15, 2019

The public prosecution department says Shell should pay the maximum fine of €2.4m for the explosion on the Moerdijk industrial estate in 2014 and a further €250,000 for not taking immediate action to halt the leak of a dangerous gas in 2016.

Shell should pay the maximum fine for the explosion because it had not done all it could to prevent the blast taking place, placing both workers and local residents in danger, the prosecutor said at a court hearing in Den Bosch on Tuesday. read more

The German government has made a formal objection to Shell’s plans to decommission the Brent field in the North Sea.

by Allister Thomas and Mark Lammey: 09/05/2019

Shell submitted plans in 2017 which proposed to leave the huge concrete legs of three of the four Brent platforms in place, prompting outcry from environmental groups.

Germany’s environment ministry commissioned a new report on the plans from Aberdeen-based consultancy Scientia et Sagacitas, which has highlighted “major issues” with Shell’s assessments.

The UK and Germany are both part of Ospar, an international agreement with several European countries to protect the marine environment. read more

The court ordered that the case should not be time-barred, while also granting the prayers of the plaintiffs that Shell should hand over the confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK: MAY 02, 2019

The District Court of the Hague has issued an interim ruling in favour of wives of Ogoni leaders killed in 1995 during the military era of Sani Abacha.

The case, which was instituted by four wives of the slain leaders — Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula — accused Shell of being involved in the decision by the Nigerian government that led to the killing of their husbands.

The plaintiffs are also calling on the court to order Shell to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents crucial to the case. Shell’s lawyers have refused to do so, even though these documents were submitted as evidence in the US case.

Shell had said that the Dutch court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, but the court ordered that the case must continue.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the court ordered that the case should not be time barred, while also granting the prayers of the plaintiffs that Shell should hand over the confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and that they would have the opportunity to examine witnesses.

Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, supported Kiobel’s legal team to bring the case to the Netherlands in 2017, and detailed Shell’s role in the arrests and executions in a briefing. read more

LAGOS, April 30 (Reuters) – Two Royal Dutch Shell oil workers who were kidnapped in Nigeria’s southern Niger Delta region last week have been rescued, a police spokesman and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) said on Tuesday.

Kidnappings for ransom occur in much of Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, but are particularly prevalent in the Niger Delta which produces the majority of the country’s crude oil.

The pair were attacked in southern Rivers state last week while returning from an official trip to Bayelsa state. read more

By Clyde Hughes: APRIL 16, 2019

April 16 (UPI) — Environmental protesters blocked several famous landmarks in London Tuesday, demanding that legislators take immediate action to fight climate change.

Demonstrators who call the protests an Extinction Rebellionblocked the Waterloo Bridge, Marble Arch, Parliament Square and the Oxford Circus on Monday. More protesters returned Tuesday morning after police started making arrests.

Authorities said they have arrested more than 100 of the protesters. read more

APRIL 7, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – An activist group said it has withdrawn a shareholder resolution calling on Royal Dutch Shell to change its climate policy after the oil and gas company reached a broad agreement with investors on the issue.

The Anglo-Dutch energy company drew rare praise from investors and environmental activists in December when it set out plans to introduce industry-leading targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and link them to executive pay.

Nevertheless, Dutch activist group Follow This tabled several days later a resolution urging Shell to drastically reduce its spending on fossil fuel. read more

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Royal Dutch Shell is seen at a petrol station in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

APRIL 8, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell will launch a program allowing customers at its petrol stations in the Netherlands to offset their carbon emissions by buying credits to support environmental projects, the group said on Monday.

Shell plans to invest $300 million over the next three years on the program, it said. read more

APRIL 5, 2019

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Environmentalist and human rights groups said on Friday they had started a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands to force the energy firm to cut its reliance on fossil fuels.

The groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, handed over a court summons to Shell at its headquarters in The Hague, demanding it stop extracting oil and gas and cut its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.

“Shell spends billions on oil and gas exploration each year, with current plans to invest just 5 percent of its budget in sustainable energy and 95 percent in exploiting fossil fuels,” the groups said. read more

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Climate activists are planning to deliver a court summons to Shell in a court case aimed at forcing the energy giant to do more to rein in carbon emissions.

The summons is being delivered to Shell’s headquarters in The Hague on Friday afternoon.

The move comes a year after the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth sent a letter to Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden accusing the company of “breaching its legal duty of care” by causing climate damage across the globe. read more

April 5, 2019

Environmental activists take Shell to court on Friday to try to stop the Anglo Dutch oil giant drilling for gas and oil, and to ensure it meets climate change targets.

Some 17,000 people and six organisations have signed up to Milieudefensie’s call for co-defendants in the case, which the green group hopes will lead to a judge ‘forcing Shell to stop being a major cause of climate change.’

The 2015 Paris agreement on climate change included a commitment to leave oil, gas and coal in the grounds as much as possible, the lobby group says. ‘These three fuels are major causes of global warning and this is why we have to stop our dependence on them as soon as possible. ‘ read more

by Josh Siegel: April 04, 2019 12:00 AM

Shell’s move to leave a trade group because of its climate change position is being met with skepticism from fossil fuel critics and energy producers alike, because Shell remains in other groups that oppose policies to address climate change.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., perhaps the harshest critic of the oil and gas industry, said that Shell’s decision to leave American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers “begs the question as to how Shell justifies continued membership in the much larger lobbying behemoths that spend millions opposing the climate action Shell claims to support.” read more