Shell’s departure was by mutual consent, and the project would continue “according to its existing development plan”, the three parties behind the project said. Immingham could begin supplying its first aviation fuel from non-recyclable household waste within five years.

But Shell’s decision to exit the UK’s burgeoning green fuels industry is likely to compound scepticism over Johnson’s promise that Britain would be in the “vanguard of green innovation” by pioneering zero-emission transatlantic flight. read more

Barrett hears climate case against her father’s ex-employer Shell

Investors see splits among energy company climate efforts

By Ross Kerber: JANUARY 14, 2021

(Reuters) – Investors are judging how well energy companies have reoriented their businesses to cut emissions as they weigh activists’ calls for divestment, climate finance specialists said on Thursday.

Growing differences between oil majors have clarified when companies are positioned to achieve “net-zero” emissions, becoming more focused on renewable power and offsetting remaining greenhouse gas emissions with measures like carbon sequestration or conservation efforts, specialists said at a Reuters Next panel held online. read more

Shell-Exxon aims at $2.5 bln in Dutch subsidies for carbon storage

AMSTERDAM, Jan 14 (Reuters) – A consortium that includes oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil has requested a total of 2.1 billion euros ($2.55 billion) in subsidies for a project to store CO2 gasses in empty Dutch gas fields in the North Sea, the Dutch Economy ministry said on Thursday.

The subsidies were requested together with industrial gas suppliers Air Liquide and Air Products for a project which aims to capture carbon dioxide emitted by factories and refineries in the Rotterdam port area in order to significantly reduce emissions in Europe’s largest sea port. read more

Aberdeen job cuts loom as Shell retrenches in North Sea

By Mark Williamson  @MarkWHerald: Group Business Correspondent

ROYAL Dutch Shell has announced plans to cut around 330 jobs in its UK North Sea oil and gas business which is run from Aberdeen.

The cuts will reduce total employee numbers in the Anglo-Dutch giant’s North Sea business to around 1,000.

It is understood the bulk of the cuts will affect office-based roles in Aberdeen.

The cuts are being made under a programme initiated by Shell amid the oil price plunge that was triggered by the coronavirus crisis. read more

Fishermen lose out as oil giant Shell delays survey on gasfields off Whitby and Scarborough

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell has postponed a seismic survey on two gasfields off the North Yorkshire coast, disappointing fishermen who were in line for tens of thousands of pounds of compensation.

The energy firm had been looking to conduct the 3D survey on the Resolution – first discovered in 1966 – and Endeavour gasfields in the first quarter of this year, but said it needed more time to “conclude agreements with commercial and other stakeholders in the area”. read more

Shell postpones North Sea seismic job due to fishing, environmental concerns

Operator Shell made the decision following “extensive stakeholder engagement” and the revision of the environmental impact assessment.

The oil giant concluded that the commercial impact on local fishing businesses, along with potential impacts on marine mammalian movements, the breeding season for sea birds and tourism, meant it would be better to do the work in February.

The survey had originally been scheduled for March or April 2021. read more

SHELL INVESTS IN QUEBEC’S FIRST WASTE TO LOW-CARBON FUELS PLANT

Jan. 05, 2021

Shell Canada Limited, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”), today announced the signing of commercial agreements to invest in Varennes Carbon Recycling, the first waste to low-carbon fuels plant in Québec, Canada.

Calgary, AB – Shell will have a 40% interest in the plant using technology developed by Enerkem, a leading Canadian clean tech company. Enerkem announced the project in December 2020, subject to finalization of commercial agreements. read more

Shell Nigeria oil site seized over unpaid damages

Shell warns of flaring at Dutch Pernis oil refinery due to ‘malfunctioning’ unit

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell warned on Twitter on Monday of increased flaring at its 400,000 barrel per day Dutch Pernis oil refinery, Europe’s largest, due to a “malfunctioning” unit which it did not name.

Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Shadia Nasralla; editing by David Evans

SOURCE

Shell climate lawsuit: Dutch activists push courts for steeper emissions cuts

Companies that make money selling coal, oil and gas could be held more accountable if judges in the Hague order fossil fuel giant Shell to cut its emissions.

Backed by 17,000 Dutch citizens, climate activists are wrestling fossil fuel giant Royal Dutch Shell in court over its responsibility to cut emissions to levels that comply with global treaties.

On the last of four days of hearings in the District Court of the Hague, seven environmental groups led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands pressed the court to force the oil major to commit to the Paris Agreement target of keeping warming to 1.5C. This would mean cutting net carbon emissions by 45% from today’s levels in a decade, the campaigners say, at a time where Shell is still investing heavily in fossil fuels. read more

TIMELINE-Nord Stream 2: Russia to Germany gas pipeline’s difficult birth

Maarten Wetselaar, Klaus Schaefer, Mario Mehren, Alexey Miller, Gerhard Schroeder, Isabelle Kocher, Gerard Mestrallet, Rainer Seele, and Matthias Warnig after signing of financing agreements for Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project on April 24, 2017

Reuters Staff: DECEMBER 11, 2020

Dec 11 (Reuters) – Russia has resumed construction of the politically-charged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, laying pipes after a one-year hiatus prompted by U.S. sanctions, the pipeline operator said on Friday. read more

New York Becomes The First State To Divest From Oil And Gas

09/12/2020 13:10 GMT | Updated 09/12/2020 14:54 GMT

The Empire State’s pension fund is the largest to dump fossil fuel investments ― ever, in the entire world.

New York state announced plans on Wednesday to eject oil and gas stocks from its $226 billion financial portfolio, becoming the first U.S. state and the biggest pension fund anywhere to divest from fossil fuels.

By 2025, the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which disburses some $1 billion in benefits to retirees each year, will sell off its “riskiest” oil and gas stocks, following a review. The state aims to completely eliminate carbon polluters from its portfolio by 2040. read more

Communities in oil-rich Niger Delta pin hopes on Shell climate case

By Nellie Peyton, Thomson Reuters Foundation: DECEMBER 1, 2020

DAKAR, Dec 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As a legal case over energy giant Shell’s planet-heating emissions kicked off in the Netherlands, activists said the health and livelihoods of people in Nigeria’s oil-producing region would hinge on its outcome.

Royal Dutch Shell faced its first court hearing on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by environmental and human rights groups in The Hague, the company’s headquarters. read more

Amnesty International has been challenging Shell for decades about the devastating impact that pollution and environmental damage, associated with the company’s operation, have had on the human rights of people in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Shell has, however, tried to delegate its responsibility for the damage to its Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, making it more difficult even for victims to seek justice. Today, there is a case pending in the UK which seeks to hold the company accountable.

Multinationals Seem Too Big For Accountability. Switzerland May Change That read more

SSE, Equinor sign PPA for UK Dogger Bank offshore wind farm first phases

By Reuters Staff: NOVEMBER 24, 2020

LONDON (Reuters) – SSE and Equinor have agreed 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the first two phases of the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm they are developing off the coast of Britain, the companies said on Tuesday.

Separate PPA’s totalling 2.4 gigawatts of capacity for power from Dogger Bank A and B have been reached with Orsted, Shell Energy Europe Ltd, Danske Commodities and SSE’s energy supply business, SSE and Equinor said in a statement. read more

“Fossil fuel companies, like tobacco companies before them, have allowed governments to pay for the harms caused by their products“…

5 legal tactics environmentalists are using to fight climate change

Activists are increasingly using litigation as a tool to influence climate action worldwide. Here’s a look at some of the main tactics they’re wielding to force change on fossil fuel firms and weak government policies.

More than 700 climate lawsuits have been filed around the world since 2015, according to the Climate Change Litigation Databases. That’s a huge increase, considering there have only been about 1,700 of these types of cases since the late 1980s, most of them in the US. read more

Shell Canada gives customers option to offset their carbon emissions for two cents per litre

Bloomberg: Shell Wants Biden to Reverse Methane Emissions Rollback

David Wethe: Tue, November 10, 2020, 9:08 PM GMT

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc will push for the reversal of President Donald Trump’s rollback of methane emissions rules and the introduction of carbon pricing when Joe Biden moves into the White House next year.

“Some of the regulatory rollbacks that we’ve seen under the current administration haven’t actually benefited our industry,” Shell U.S. President Gretchen Watkins said Tuesday on a webcast hosted by the Greater Houston Partnership. read more

Shell: Regaining Dividend Respectability And Shifting Toward Green Hydrogen

The Daily Drilling Report: 10 November 2020

• 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

Environmental groups want Shell air permit denied

Environmental groups are urging the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to deny Shell Pennsylvania Chemical’s air quality permits on the basis of what they say will be too much pollution into the Pittsburgh region.

Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community’s letter is the latest volley in environmentalists’ battle against the Potter Township project, costing in excess of $6 billion, that has remade a portion of the Ohio River coastline and brought thousands of construction jobs into the region. They’ve asked for a 30-day extension for more information about the permits as well. read more

Twitter Roasts Shell for “Gaslighting” Consumers With Emissions Poll

BY SOPHIE HIRSH

Sometimes, you just need to take a good, hard look at yourself in the mirror. We’re talking to you, Shell.

This week, oil and gas corporation, Shell, took a break from polluting the planet to ask people on Twitter how they were willing to change their individual habits to help reduce emissions. As one might expect, Shell’s Twitter poll regarding emission reduction did not go over well. read more

BP And Shell’s Renewables Plans – Go Woke Go Broke

Summary

• No, I’m not suggesting that BP and Shell are about to go broke as a result of their plans in to renewables – that’s rhetorical use of a current trope.
• The move does though entirely change the way we should be viewing those stocks. They become as with other companies, things to evaluate on single year horizons.
• They used to be known as “widows and orphans” stocks, regular dividend payers safe to be held for decades – this is what has changed.

Going green is just fine

The idea of the world going green is just fine. Climate change is a real problem, we’re causing it, we need to do something about it. I’m one of the few on that free market right who has been saying this for the past decade or so and don’t I get stick for it too.

The idea of companies investing in doing that going green is just fine too. As someone on that free market right I would insist that this is the only way we will go green too. The capitalist way, people making a buck out of what people desire to be done. read more

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

Shell hires Orsted’s Brostrom to lead global renewables unit

By Reuters Staff: October 23, 2020 read more

The Big Oil Side Hustle: Where ‘Renewable’ Money Is Really Going

By Alex Kimani – Oct 20, 2020, 6:00 PM CDT

In 2016, Shell set an ambitious goal to invest $4bn to $6bn in clean energy projects by 2020, though the Guardian recently reported that it was unlikely to meet that target. So, why is Big Oil still dragging its feet…

Every time an oil and gas major announces a major foray into renewable energy, the skeptics come out like clockwork and lambast the sector for merely trying to burnish its green credentials. read more

Oil Majors Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place

By Andreas De Vries – Oct 18, 2020, 6:00 PM CDT

Extracts

The past few years have been historic for as far as crude oil forecasts are concerned. Back in 2015 the view that crude oil demand could peak during the 2020s or 2030s was still met with disbelief (and some ridicule…). Economic growth had been pushing crude oil demand up ever year for decades already, so why would things become different, so the reasoning went. Today, however, essentially all major energy forecasters, including BP, Shell, Total, DNV-GL, the IEA and even OPEC, have come round and acknowledge Peak Oil Demand as a realistic possibility. read more

Gas company NAM to cut hundreds of jobs as prices drop and production is squeezed

October 15, 2020

Dutch gas company NAM is cutting its workforce by hundreds of jobs as gas prices fall and production is cut back.

Over the next six months, 200 to 300 of the permanent workforce of 1,300 will be able to take advantage of a voluntary redundancy scheme and a further 300 contract workers will be let go, regional paper Dagblad van het Noorden said.

Director Johan Atema told the paper that the company had been hit by falling gas prices. ‘We are supplying almost as much gas as last year, but our income has halved,’ he said. ‘Then you are talking about a crisis situation.’ read more

Shell says Pennsylvania ethane cracker about 70% complete

By Reuters Staff: October 9, 2020

Oct 9 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Friday its multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex near Pittsburgh was about 70% complete and remains on track to enter service in the early 2020s.

After temporarily suspending construction activities on the ethane cracker in March to limit the spread of coronavirus, Shell said it has been re-introducing workers at a measured pace – bringing the total number of workers on site to about 6,500. read more

Shell adopts new commercialisation and generation structure in Brazil

October 7 (Renewables Now) – Oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell Plc (AMS:RDSA) has adopted a new structure in Commercialisation and Electric Generation in Brazil.

Shell Brasil will follow a business strategy that focuses on the generation and storage of renewable energies and natural gas, as well as on the commercialisation and optimisation, and sales to end consumers of company-branded integrated energy solutions. The director of New Energies of Shell Brasil, Guilherme Perdigao Nascimento, will lead this business. read more

Shell backs hydrogen for shipping’s decarbonization

• Author Britt Russell-Webster     Jeffrey McDonald     Piers De Wilde 
• Editor Jonathan Loades-Carter 
• 02 Oct 2020

London — Energy group Shell has revealed plans to back hydrogen fuel cells on the road to shipping’s 2050 decarbonization goals, tagging LNG bunkers as the bridging fuel between that and conventional oil-based bunker fuels.

“We believe liquid hydrogen to be advantaged over other potential zero-emissions fuels for shipping, therefore giving a higher likelihood of success,” it said in its latest report, ‘Decarbonising Shipping: Setting Shell’s Course.’ read more

Big Oil’s $110 billion asset sale target could prove big ask

By Ron Bousso: October 1, 2020

LONDON (Reuters) – Leading energy companies are hoping to sell dozens of oil and gas fields and refineries worth more than $110 billion to curb both their ballooning debt and their carbon footprints.

But with the outlook for oil and gas prices uncertain because of the coronavirus pandemic and a shift to cleaner energy, finding buyers and striking deals might prove tricky.

“This is not a very good time to sell assets,” Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne said while presenting the French giant’s strategy to switch to renewables on Wednesday. read more

FINANCIAL TIMES

Shell slims down to shape up for the energy transition

Anjli Raval, Senior Energy Correspondent

…the Anglo-Dutch group has been forced into previously unthinkable moves, change and scrutiny of its capital allocation plans mount, is scrambling to come up with an updated plan. In the meantime, it is cutting costs and streamlining.

On Wednesday it offered a glimpse into Project Reshape, its organisational restructuring in which up to 9,000 jobs will be cut from its 83,000-strong workforce to save $2.5bn a year.

All Shell is thinking about is how do we maintain our position as a market leader in every sense — from climate action to staying competitive in the oil and gas space,”one company insider said. “The fear is that we go from being a leader to a laggard. read more

Shell Plans to Divest Oil Drilling Rights off North Alaska Coast

Shell Oil is planning to divest — not drill — an oil prospect in shallow state waters off Alaska’s northern coast, despite a recent filing with regulators, spokesman Curtis Smith said.

Shell Offshore Inc. had asked state regulators to combine 18 shallow-water leases and create the West Harrison Bay Unit “in order to pursue a commercial agreement with an alternative operator,” Smith said by email

“Shell has no intention to operate these leases, which were originally purchased in 2012 and are due to expire in 2022” read more

U.S. and European Oil Giants Go Different Ways on Climate Change

While BP and other European companies invest billions in renewable energy, Exxon and Chevron are committed to fossil fuels and betting on moonshots.

HOUSTON — As oil prices plunge and concerns about climate change grow, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other European energy companies are selling off oil fields, planning a sharp reduction in emissions and investing billions in renewable energy.

The American oil giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil are going in a far different direction. They are doubling down on oil and natural gas and investing what amounts to pocket change in innovative climate-oriented efforts like small nuclear power plants and devices that suck carbon out of the air. read more

Shell files offshore drilling plans for Alaska’s North Slope

17 Sept 2020

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Shell Offshore Inc. has submitted plans to plans to drill for oil in the waters along the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in the coming years.

The Dutch oil industry giant applied to form the West Harrison Bay Unit to explore in state waters off the North Slope region, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday.

Documents submitted to the state Division of Oil and Gas said Shell has attempted to find a partner to work on the West Harrison Bay leases for at least a year. read more

Press release 7^th September 2020

Ken Saro Wiwa Resurrection: Spirit of the Ogoni

November the 10^th 2020 is the commemoration of the 25^th anniversary of the execution of the environmentalist, author Ken Saro Wiwa and 8 others who became known as the Ogoni 9.

More than 25 years ago Filmmaker Nathan Achim Sheppard filmed and conducted an in-depth interview at Ken’s home in London about his life, work and struggle.

Literally a few hours before his final journey to Nigeria never to return.

In this interview Ken also directs his daughter reading a moving passage from one of his books. read more

INSIGHT- In the run-up to U.S. election, drilling lobby promotes natural gas as “clean”

By Valerie Volcovici, Andrew R.C. Marshall and Matthew Green: AUGUST 18, 2020

WASHINGTON/LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) – America’s biggest oil and gas lobby group is ramping up its advertising spending ahead of the November election to persuade voters that natural gas is a climate-friendly fuel, according to ad buying data.

The campaign by the American Petroleum Institute (API), targeted at younger voters and some tight congressional races, is part of a global battle by the drilling industry to assuage growing fears over the role of natural gas in driving climate change. read more

Energy majors ‘spend 90%’ on fossil fuels despite climate pledges

23/07/2020: Paris (AFP)

Energy giants Shell and Total continue to invest 90 percent of their capital on planet-warming fossil fuels despite promises to slash their greenhouse gas emissions, according to an industry analysis seen exclusively by AFP.

With combined emissions equivalent to that of Germany — the world’s fourth largest economy — both companies are likely to fall “well short” of their own sustainable investment targets, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said. read more

Possible chemical spill in Talfourd Creek

By Kirk Dickinson July 14, 2020 9:10pm

Shell Canada is reporting a possible chemical spill at its facility in Corunna.

A CVECO Code 10 was issued by Shell at around 9 p.m. following the spill of an unknown product into Talfourd Creek.

Due to the creek’s connection to the St. Clair River, there is a potential that the chemical could reach the main waterway, Shell said.

BlackburnNews.com will provide more information as it becomes available.

SOURCE read more

EFCC drops Adoke from key OPL 245 case, files fresh charges against Malabu

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Malabu Oil and Gas Limited on fresh charges of money laundering in the OPL 245 deal of 2011.

July 02, 2020

Malabu, alongside Aliyu Abubakar, a businessman, and six other companies were arraigned on a 48-count charge before Iyang Ekwo, judge of a federal high court in Abuja.

The companies listed in the charge are: A-Group Construction Company Limited, Rocky Top Resources Limited, Mega Tech Engineering Limited, Novel Properties and Development Company Limited, and Carlin International Nigeria Limited. read more

DNV GL approves Shell’s CO2 technology use at Fortum’s plant

Fortum plans to build a full scale CO2 capture facility at the plant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 400,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of emissions from 200,000 cars.

The pilot project showed that Shell’s CONSOLV CO2 technology could capture more than 90% of CO2 from the flue gas, DNV GL, which certifies that technology is as described and meets existing standards, said in a statement.

“The third-party technology qualification by DNV GL gave us confidence that the project risk related to implementing the Shell technology was low,” said Jannicke Gerner Bjerkas, the head of the project at the plant. read more

Shell secures biogas supply as part low-carbon shift

JUNE 30, 2020 / 8:35 PM

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy renewable gas, known as biomethane, from Denmark’s Nature Energy, in what the smaller company termed the largest deal of its kind.

The gas will be supplied to Europe’s pipeline network from July 1. The size and financial details of the contract were not disclosed.

In April, Shell laid out the oil and gas sector’s most extensive strategy yet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. read more

Big Oil’s Long Bet on Hydrogen Offers a Climate Lifeline

(Bloomberg) — On particularly cold winter days, the vast majority of the U.K.’s energy comes from burning natural gas. That arrangement will have to change radically–and soon–if the country is to hit its legally mandated target of net-zero emissions by 2050. As other countries adopt similar targets to align with the Paris climate agreement, they too will have to find an alternative to natural gas. That leaves fossil fuel companies with a ticking clock.

Hydrogen burns cleanly, leaving only water behind. That’s made it an attractive alternative fuel source–not just for governments looking to satisfy climate mandates, but also for oil companies trying to ensure their continued relevance. Oil-and-gas majors such as Shell, Equinor, and BP have spent tens of millions of dollars on pilot projects. Now in the face of record-low oil prices, frozen international travel, and growing shareholder unease over greenhouse gas emissions, investing in hydrogen has taken on a new urgency. read more

The fossil fuel company Shell must be held accountable for significant and systematic pollution caused by oil extraction in the Niger delta, lawyers will argue in the supreme court.

Nigerians from the Ogale and Bille communities say they have suffered decades of pollution, including the contamination of their water wells with potentially cancer-causing chemicals, as well as the devastation of mangrove vegetation, all of which was documented by the UN in a groundbreaking report in 2011.

The United Nations environment programme (UNEP) said in its report it could take 30 years to clean up the pollution caused by oil extraction and recommended an initial fund of $1bn (£800m) for the first five years to be paid by the oil companies that operate in Ogoniland – including the largest company, Shell. read more

Okpabi and others (Appellants) v Royal Dutch Shell Plc and another (Respondents)

Case ID: UKSC 2018/0068

Issue(s)

Whether and in what circumstances the UK-domiciled parent company of a multi-national group of companies may owe a common law duty of care to individuals who allegedly suffer serious harm as a result of alleged systemic health, safety and environmental failings of one of its overseas subsidiaries as the operator of a joint venture operation.

Facts

The Appellants (some 42,500 people) are citizens of Nigeria and inhabitants of the areas allegedly affected by oil leaks from pipelines and associated infrastructure, that SPDC operates on behalf of an unincorporated joint venture in which numerous participating interests are held, in and around the Niger Delta. The leaks are said to have impacted their lives, health and local environment. They contend that the Respondents are responsible. Royal Dutch Shell Plc (‘RDS’) is the parent company of the Shell group of companies, incorporated in the UK. The Shell Petroleum Company of Nigeria Limited (‘SPDC’, the other Respondent) is an exploration and production company incorporated in Nigeria and is a subsidiary of RDS. The claims against RDS and SPDC are based on the tort of negligence under the common law of Nigeria which, for present purposes, is to be regarded as the same as the law of England and Wales. The claim against RDS is brought on the basis that RDS owed the claimants a duty of care either because it exercised significant control over material aspects of SPDC’s operations and/or assumed responsibility for SPDC’s operations. RDS applied under CPR Part 11(1) for orders declaring that the court had no jurisdiction to try the claims against it, or should not exercise such jurisdiction as it had. At first instance Fraser J held that there was no arguable case that RDS owed the Appellants a duty of care. The Appellants appealed to the CA against the judgment and Order of Fraser J. The CA upheld the decision of Fraser J. The Supreme Court has since clarified the law in this area, including by reference to the CA’s decision in this case, in Vedanta Resources PLC and another (Appellants) v Lungowe and others (Respondents) [2019] UKSC 20. read more

Wells Fargo and Shell join in solar deal

By Steven Mufson: June 23, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. GMT+1

Wells Fargo will buy 150 megawatts of solar power from Shell Energy, a move that demonstrates widening corporate interest in renewable energy even among some of the strongest supporters of fossil fuels.

The deal is modest: Wells Fargo says the 150 megawatts, purchased from three locations in Virginia and one in California, would meet about 8 percent of its global energy needs.

But it carries symbolic value. Wells Fargo, the second-biggest lender to fossil fuel companies over the past four years, is buying carbon-free electricity from Shell, a company that’s been in the oil business since the 1880s. The deal also shows the appeal of solar projects even in the midst of the punishing economic downturn brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic. read more

Electric Car Charging Stations Are Finally About to Take Off

(Bloomberg) — The electric vehicle sector has been stuck for years with a chicken-and-egg problem. Until there were extensive networks of public charging stations, a critical mass of people would never feel comfortable driving EVs–but until a critical mass of people were driving EVs, there was no sense in investing in extensive networks of public charging stations.

It may be the coronavirus pandemic that finally breaks the stalemate. BloombergNEF’s latest Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook predicts that EVs sales will experience a smaller dip than traditional auto sales as a result of the broader economic squeeze, and that they’ll bounce back more quickly once the market recovers. EVs and the infrastructure needed to charge them have also been a part of many of the stimulus packages announced by European and Asian governments. Just in the past few weeks, Germany included chargers in its €2.5 billion proposed economic package, and the European Union announced that it’s aiming to have 1 million public chargers by 2025, from fewer than 200,000 today. read more

Shell and Total join UK floating offshore wind syndicate

By David McPhee: 22/06/2020

North Sea oil giants Shell and Total have joined a UK floating offshore wind consortium created to drive forward the technology.

The oil firms will work alongside offshore wind developers EDF Renewables, EDP Renewables, Equinor, ESB, Mainstream Renewable Power, ScottishPower Renewables and SSE Renewables as part of Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s national Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (FOWCoE). read more

Oil Spill Clean-Ups in Nigeria Lack Progress, Groups Say

William Clowes: Bloomberg: June 17, 2020

(Bloomberg) –Nigeria and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have failed to implement most recommendations made by the United Nations to clean up oil pollution in the Niger River delta, according to a new report.

The UN Environment Programme in 2011 proposed the creation of a $1 billion fund to repair the damage done by decades of crude spills in the Ogoniland area in southeastern Nigeria. However, progress has been poor and the little work that has been done is sub-standard, advocacy groups including Amnesty International said Thursday. read more