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New York Times

NAM Groningen: A Gas Cache, Now Under Shaky Ground

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 10.47.36Extract from a New York Times article by Stanley Reed published in print on 5 June 2014

LOPPERSUM, the Netherlands — Deep below the cow pastures and farming villages in this picturesque northeastern corner of the Netherlands lies an extraordinary resource: Europe’s largest source of natural gas, known as the Groningen gas field. But as it enters old age, Groningen has grown cranky. A half-century of extraction has reduced the field’s natural pressure in recent years, and seismic shifts from geological settling have set off increasingly frequent earthquakes — more than 120 last year, and at least 40 this year. Though most of the tremors have been small, and resulted in no reported deaths or serious injuries, they have caused widespread damage to buildings, endangered nearby dikes and frightened and angered local residents. In light of those problems, the Dutch government is now demanding that the field’s operator, *a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, curtail production… read more

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In Taking Crimea, Putin Gains a Sea of Fuel Reserves

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Screen Shot 2014-03-10 at 23.56.16Extracts from a New York Times article by William J. Broad published in print on 18 May 2014

When Russia seized Crimea in March, it acquired not just the Crimean landmass but also a maritime zone more than three times its size with the rights to underwater resources potentially worth trillions of dollars.

Russia portrayed the takeover as reclamation of its rightful territory, drawing no attention to the oil and gas rush that had recently been heating up in the Black Sea. But the move also extended Russia’s maritime boundaries, quietly giving Russia dominion over vast oil and gas reserves while dealing a crippling blow to Ukraine’s hopes for energy independence. read more

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Crackdown on Russia Could Hurt Western Oil

Screen Shot 2014-02-18 at 18.34.00Extracts from an article by with the headline: Crackdown on Russia Could Hurt Western Oil.

As the United States seeks to strengthen sanctions on Moscow for its occupation of Crimea, energy experts say the powerful Russian oil industry would make a robust target. But any penalties on energy investments, technology transfers and financial transactions would most likely also punish Western oil companies like Exxon Mobil that are investing heavily in Russia.

“Everything is on the table,” said David L. Goldwyn, the State Department’s coordinator for international energy affairs during President Obama’s first term. “The calculus has to be who will be hurt most, us or them, if sanctions are put in place.” read more

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Shell cracker plant fate still unknown

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extract from a Rachel Morgan article published Friday 21 March 2014 by The New York Times

HOPEWELL TWP. — Shell Oil Co. is still staying mum — at least for a little while longer. Shell officials met with officials from the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, local elected officials and two Beaver County commissioners Thursday at the Club at Shadow Lakes to discuss Shell’s proposed $2.5 billion petrochemical plant in Potter Township. Media were not allowed to attend.

FULL ARTICLE

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Shell/Exxon Mobil puts Ukraine gas prospect on hold

Extract from an article by Jim Landers published on 5 March 2014 by The Dallas Morning News

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell are heading a group selected in 2012 to explore for gas off Ukraine’s western Black Sea coast in an area called Skifska. Negotiations on a production-sharing agreement with the Ukrainian government were underway in the weeks before street battles with government opponents led the country’s president to flee to Russia. read more

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Shell to Sell Stake in Australian Gas Field

Screen Shot 2013-01-23 at 13.17.19“All too often, Shell’s answer to an issue or problem is that the market is being too short term; that Shell takes the long term view, and that in the long term, the company’s approach will be proved right,” Lucas Herrmann, an analyst at Deutsche Bank in London, wrote in a note to clients on Monday. “Sadly, we would argue that the weight of evidence is, if anything, against the company.’’: Mr. Rats estimates that Shell will have to sell $14 billion worth of assets over the next two years to keep its commitments on reining in capital spending. He forecasts that it will sell oil fields in the North Sea, where it owns a smorgasbord of stakes in oil and natural gas fields; in Nigeria, where Shell’s production has been cut by unrest; and in North America, where the company has been losing money.

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By STANLEY REED: JAN. 20, 2014

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday that it would sell its minority interest in an Australian liquefied natural gas project to the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company for about $1.1 billion.

The sale is likely to be one of many in the oil industry this year, as companies try to raise cash for other projects or to finance share buybacks and higher dividends.

Even though global oil prices are relatively high, with Brent crude trading at about $106 a barrel, profit at many oil companies has been disappointing and the stock performance of some companies, including Shell, has been lackluster. Shares of Shell were slightly lower on Monday afternoon in London. read more

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BP Accuses Texas Lawyer of ‘Brazen Fraud’ in Workers’ Claims Over Gulf Oil Spill

Screen Shot 2013-12-18 at 10.04.21BP on Tuesday accused a Texas lawyer of fraudulently driving up its settlement costs in the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill by claiming to represent tens of thousands of clients who turned out to be “phantoms.” The company, citing “brazen fraud,” is asking the court to allow it to stop payments and reclaim some of the unspent money. The more than 40,000 deckhands claimed as clients by Mr. Watts constituted nearly 80 percent of the people projected to file claims under the program, the company said in court papers. In July 2012, Mr. Watts hosted a $35,800-a-plate event for President Obama at his home.

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By  

A version of this article appears in print on December 18, 2013, on page A14 of the New York edition

BP on Tuesday accused a Texas lawyer of fraudulently driving up its settlement costs in the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill by claiming to represent tens of thousands of clients who turned out to be “phantoms.”

In a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in New Orleans, the oil giant, which has been fighting the administration of a settlement with plaintiffs in the courtroom and in the news media, claimed that it relied on the client count supplied by the lawyer, Mikal C. Watts, in 2010 when it put $2.3 billion into a special compensation program for the seafood industry. The company, citing “brazen fraud,” is asking the court to allow it to stop payments and reclaim some of the unspent money. read more

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The Rush for the Arctic’s Riches

Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 20.09.51The severe challenges of operating in the Arctic have already proved daunting for Shell, which has spent $4.5 billion to exploit reserves off Alaska but has yet to drill a single producing well. In the summer of 2012, during Royal Dutch Shell’s first attempt to probe its Arctic deposits, shifting winds and floating ice halted drilling. Several months later, when one of its drilling rigs ran aground during an especially severe storm, Shell announced that it would suspend operations in Alaska’s Arctic waters. Shell’s misfortunes have heightened concern that Arctic drilling poses an unacceptable threat to the region.

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By MICHAEL T. KLARE: A version of this op-ed appears in print on December 9, 2013, in The International New York Times.

AMHERST, Mass. — While many existing oil and gas reserves in other parts of the world are facing steep decline, the Arctic is thought to possess vast untapped reservoirs. Approximately 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil deposits and 30 percent of its natural gas reserves are above the Arctic Circle, according to the United States Geological Survey. Eager to tap into this largess, Russia and its Arctic neighbors — Canada, Norway, the United States, Iceland and Denmark (by virtue of its authority over Greenland) — have encouraged energy companies to drill in the region. read more

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Citing Cost Concerns, Shell Will Not Build Gulf Coast Plant

“We are making tough choices here, focusing our efforts and capital on the most attractive opportunities in our worldwide portfolio,” Peter Voser, Shell’s chief executive, said in a statement. The decision would appear to be a blow to Shell’s ambitions both in natural gas technology and in the United States, where it is a major investor.

By STANLEY REED: December 5, 2013

Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that it would not build an immense gas-to-liquids plant on the Gulf Coast because of concerns over its cost. Shell had been studying the possibility of building a plant to take advantage of cheap shale gas in the United States for at least two years.

“We are making tough choices here, focusing our efforts and capital on the most attractive opportunities in our worldwide portfolio,” Peter Voser, Shell’s chief executive, said in a statement. read more

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Large Companies Prepared to Pay Price on Carbon

ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, BP and Shell, all major contributors to the Republican party…

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Shell, a co-owner of the Motiva oil refinery in Port Arthur, Tex., has added climate-related carbon taxes to its long-term budgets. Michael Stravato for The New York Times

By CORAL DAVENPORT:  A version of this article appears in print on December 5, 2013, on page A1 of the New York edition

WASHINGTON — More than two dozen of the nation’s biggest corporations, including the five major oil companies, are planning their future growth on the expectation that the government will force them to pay a price for carbon pollution as a way to control global warming.

The development is a striking departure from conservative orthodoxy and a reflection of growing divisions between the Republican Party and its business supporters.

A new report by the environmental data company CDP has found that at least 29 companies, some with close ties to Republicans, including ExxonMobil, Walmart and American Electric Power, are incorporating a price on carbon into their long-term financial plans. read more

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An Uphill Climb for the Oil Giants

Screen Shot 2013-10-01 at 07.59.11The big international oil companies are going through a crisis little noticed by analysts and the markets. It is a crisis of results and of vision. Simply put, the majors — companies like Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP — aren’t growing. They have discovered relatively little oil in recent years despite increasing investment.

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By LEONARDO MAUGERI: A version of this news analysis appears in print on October 1, 2013, in The International Herald Tribune.

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — The big international oil companies are going through a crisis little noticed by analysts and the markets. It is a crisis of results and of vision.

Simply put, the majors — companies like Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP — aren’t growing. They have discovered relatively little oil in recent years despite increasing investment. They also have lost their exclusive lock on the skills that made them indispensable to oil-producing countries. read more

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Halliburton Pleads Guilty to Destroying Evidence After Gulf Spill

“It’s another bad day for Halliburton and a very good day for BP,” said Fadel Gheit, a senior oil analyst at Oppenheimer. Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty to destruction of critical evidence after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.

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Halliburton Pleads Guilty to Destroying Evidence After Gulf Spill

By : A version of this article appeared in print on July 26, 2013, on page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: Halliburton Will Admit Destroying Data on Spill.

HOUSTON — Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty to destruction of critical evidence after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, the Justice Department announced on Thursday.

The oil services company said it would pay the maximum allowable fine of $200,000 and will be subject to three years of probation. It will also continue its cooperation in the government’s criminal investigation. Separately, Halliburton made a voluntary contribution of $55 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. read more

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Shell Picks New Chief Executive

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LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, surprised markets on Tuesday by naming Ben van Beurden to succeed Peter Voser as chief executive on Jan. 1.

Mr. van Beurden, a Dutch national who is 55, has headed Shell’s large marketing and refining business since January and has been a key player in its liquefied natural gas business, in which Shell is the world leader among publicly traded oil companies.

He was chosen by Shell’s board over better-known candidates including Andrew Brown, head of exploration and production; Marvin Odum, head of the company’s Americas business; and Simon Henry, the chief financial officer, well-known to investors. read more

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Has the US Supreme Court been subverted by Big Business?

Screen Shot 2013-06-22 at 10.39.42By John Donovan: After the recent historic U.S. Supreme Court precedent setting decision in favour of the evil oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc and big business in the Kiobel vs. Royal Dutch Shell case, there is further disturbing evidence this week that the court is siding with multinational corporations against ordinary people and small businesses. WHY? The following extraordinary article by the Editorial Board of The New York Times is published today on page 18 of the New York edition.

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Another Blow to Class Action

This week, the Supreme Court continued its aggressive effort to favor corporations by forcing customers to raise grievances through individual arbitration rather than a class action or some other joint legal challenge.

In American Express Company v. Italian Colors Restaurant, the court ruled 5 to 3 that a group of merchants could not bring a class action against the company even on antitrust grounds because each had signed a contract that required complaints to be taken to individual arbitration. read more

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The Argument Against Oil Drilling in Arctic Seas

The panel heard about busted shackles lost at sea. Snapped towlines. Fuel injectors clogged with slime. Forty-foot seas. And harrowing rescue attempts by Coast Guard helicopters to pluck Kulluk crewmembers from a deck that pitched and rolled with each wave. Shell’s Alaska operations manager even admitted the Kulluk left port in Dutch Harbor during the stormiest time of year to avoid paying state taxes, calling into question earlier statements from the same official.

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By ANDREW C. REVKIN: June 5, 2013

The Natural Resources Defense Council has issued a statement concluding that recent events — most notably the grounding of a Shell Oil drilling rig in Alaska — show the oil industry is not ready to safely, cleanly drill offshore in the Arctic.

I agree. There’s no logic for pushing fossil-fuel frontiers this extreme while neglecting energy-efficiency measures at home.

Here’s the group’s argument, which builds on its earlier, and justified, criticism of President Obama’s vague new “National Strategy for the Arctic Region”: read more

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Shell Chief to Leave Next Year

Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 20.09.51 “One of the few blots on Mr. Voser’s record would be Shell’s high-profile exploration effort in Alaska, which has been plagued by accidents and other problems. Those difficulties have led Shell to suspend drilling until at least 2014.”

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LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive, Peter Voser, plans to retire next year, after a decade in top management jobs in which he helped the company recover from an accounting scandal and become the world leader in liquefied natural gas and related businesses.

Mr. Voser, 54, made the unexpected announcement as Shell reported first-quarter profit that reflected only a modest gain from a year earlier but still exceeded analysts’ expectations.

“After such an exciting executive career I feel it is time for a change in my lifestyle and I am looking forward to have more time available for my family and private life,” Mr. Voser said Thursday in a statement. One longtime associate said Mr. Voser had long privately expressed a wish to retire by age 55. read more

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Ditch the King. Hire an Actor.

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A version of this op-ed appeared in print on April 29, 2013, on page A21 of the New York edition

EXTRACTS

ON April 30, 1980, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was succeeded by her daughter Beatrix. That day was marked by violent rioting in Amsterdam.

My parents, German Jews who fled to Holland in the 1930s, were not exactly what you’d call royalists. But my mother had a certain weakness for royal families, and especially for the scandals that go hand-in-hand with monarchies.

And when it came to Queen Juliana, my mother got her fill of scandals. Juliana’s husband, Prince Bernhard, was a notorious philanderer who sired any number of illegitimate children and was accused of accepting bribes from Lockheed in the 1970s, forcing him to surrender his status as inspector general of the Dutch armed forces. read more

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The Dark Side of Energy Independence

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A version of this op-ed appeared in print on April 28, 2013, on page SR5 of the New York edition

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JUST as the world was writing off America as a declining power, the country now finds itself on the cusp of realizing one of its longstanding goals: energy independence.

A wave of new technologies has made it possible to extract oil and gas from shale rock formations, and the results have been astonishing. By some estimates, the United States is on track to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer as early as 2017, start exporting more oil and gas than it imports by 2025, and achieve full energy self-sufficiency by 2030. read more

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By 2023, a Changed World in Energy

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By 2023, a Changed World in Energy

By : A version of this article appeared in print on April 25, 2013, on page F1 of the New York edition

HOUSTON

IF you could close your eyes for just a moment like Rip Van Winkle, and blink them open in 2023, you might see a very different energy world.

Electric cars may be popular. Solar energy could be cheap enough that millions of households and businesses deploy solar panels to generate their power needs. Fossil fuels will probably still dominate, but most trucks and many trains could run on natural gas rather than more polluting diesel. And the United States could be a major oil exporter.

None of this is implausible. Consider the change over the last 10 years. Back in 2003, American natural gas fields were thought to be drying up and energy entrepreneurs were beginning to invest in hugely expensive terminals to import gas, not export it. American oil production continued to plummet. read more

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A Giant Setback for Human Rights

Graphic from The Guardian Article: Unloveable Shell: the Goddess of Oil

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By

A version of this editorial appeared in print on April 18, 2013, on page A26 of the New York edition

The Supreme Court’s conservatives dealt a major blow Wednesday to the ability of American federal courts to hold violators of international human rights accountable. The court declared that a 1789 law called the Alien Tort Statute does not allow foreigners to sue in American courts to seek redress “for violations of the law of nations occurring outside the United States.”

In the case at issue, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, Nigerian citizens alleged that, from 1992 to 1995, multinational oil companies working in Nigeria aided the military dictatorship that tortured and killed protesters who fought the environmental damage caused by the oil operations. These companies did business in the United States. But Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, said that even where claims of atrocities “touch and concern the territory of the United States, they must do so with sufficient force” to overcome a presumption that the statute does not apply to actions outside this country. read more

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Shell has spent $4.5 BILLION on Arctic exploration without completing a well

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To Reinvigorate Production, Alaska Grants a Tax Break to Oil Companies

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS: A version of this article appeared in print on April 16, 2013, on page B3 of the New York edition

Hoping to reverse two decades of declining oil production in Alaska, the State Legislature in Juneau has granted oil companies an estimated $750 million in annual tax relief to increase investment in the giant North Slope oil field.

The tax change, approved on Sunday, was a major victory for Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and BP, which had lobbied for years to repeal a tax system put in place by former Gov. Sarah Palin in 2007 that made state oil taxes among the highest in the nation. The companies have long claimed that high operating costs and taxes in Alaska encouraged them to move their investment dollars to other states with lower tax rates, like Texas and North Dakota, where oil and gas exploration and production have been booming in new shale fields. read more

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Consultant Recants in Chevron Pollution Case in Ecuador

 Not Shell, but Chevron using similar legal tactics….

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HOUSTON — An environmental case that has pitted Chevron against Ecuadorean Amazon villagers for two decades has taken another bizarre twist, with an American consulting firm now recanting research favorable to the villagers’ claims of pollution in remote tracts of jungle.

The consulting firm, Stratus Consulting of Boulder, Colo., announced late Thursday that it had originally been misled by Steven R. Donziger, a lead lawyer for the Ecuadorean villagers, and had decided to disavow its contributions to scientific research about whether there was groundwater contamination that sickened the residents in swaths of rain forest. read more

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Salazar Looks Back on a ‘Joyful Run’ as Interior Secretary

Screen Shot 2013-04-06 at 17.27.43Mr. Salazar also escaped without serious harm from a second serious miscalculation — allowing the Shell Oil Company to begin exploring for oil and gas off the North Slope of Alaska before it had the equipment, personnel or management skill to handle the challenges of working in the Arctic environment. Though Shell had repeated accidents and delays, no one was injured and no oil spilled, in part because the regulators at the Interior Department blocked them from drilling into oil-bearing zones. “We told Shell that we were proceeding with the utmost caution and would be watching them every step of the way,” Mr. Salazar said in a farewell interview in his expansive corner office. “The 2012 season was one in which much was learned but where we also stuck to the bright line of their meeting the requirements of their permits.” Shell has announced it will not be returning to the Arctic in 2013 while it repairs its drill rigs and beefs up its safety systems. The Interior Department has said the oil company will not be granted permits to resume operations in Alaska until it proves it has adequate oversight and equipment in place.

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By Published: April 5, 2013

WASHINGTON — Ken Salazar, a man of unnaturally sunny disposition in an often gloomy town, may be the happiest person in the Obama administration these days. He is going home to Colorado next week, provided his successor as interior secretary is confirmed as expected.

“I’ve had a glorious and joyful run,” he reflected on Thursday about his four years at the top of the Department of the Interior and, before that, his four years in the Senate. “Coming to work, I’ve just been living the dream every day.” read more

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Judge Fines Motiva $10M in Tank Explosion

Screen Shot 2012-12-05 at 22.49.02FROM OUR 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE:“Motiva, a joint supply venture between Shell and Saudi Refining…”: “…pleaded no contest to state charges of criminally negligent homicide…”: “The company… has paid more than $60 million to settle lawsuits”: “It is still the subject of a federal lawsuit…”

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Judge Fines Motiva $10M in Tank Explosion

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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Posted 18 March 2005

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Refineries operator Motiva Enterprises LLC was fined $10 million Thursday after the company pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to a fatal tank collapse and explosion at a refinery in 2001.

Motiva, a joint supply venture between Shell and Saudi Refining, pleaded guilty to negligently endangering workers at its former refinery in Delaware City as well as discharging pollutants into the Delaware River and negligently releasing sulfuric acid into the air, both in violation of the Clean Air Act. read more

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Interior Dept. Warns Shell on Arctic Drilling

WASHINGTON — The Shell Oil Company must provide a detailed plan addressing numerous safety and operational issues that plagued its efforts to extract oil beneath the Arctic Ocean last year if it wants to resume drilling off the coast of Alaska, the Interior Department said Thursday.

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By A version of this article appeared in print on March 15, 2013, on page B2 of the New York edition

WASHINGTON — The Shell Oil Company must provide a detailed plan addressing numerous safety and operational issues that plagued its efforts to extract oil beneath the Arctic Ocean last year if it wants to resume drilling off the coast of Alaska, the Interior Department said Thursday.

Shell has already announced that it will not return to the Arctic Ocean in 2013, saying it would take a “pause” to repair its damaged equipment and review its drilling and safety systems.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that would not be enough. He said the company must demonstrate to the government and an independent reviewer that it has the equipment, the management capacity and a plan for all contingencies before it can resume operations. read more

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With 2 Ships Out of Commission, Shell Suspends Arctic Drilling

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By February 27, 2013

WASHINGTON — After a series of costly and embarrassing accidents in its efforts to drill exploratory wells off the north coast of Alaska last year, Royal Dutch Shell announced on Wednesday that it would not return to the Arctic in 2013.

The company’s two drill ships suffered serious accidents as they were leaving drilling sites in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas last fall and winter and are being sent to Asia for repairs. Shell acknowledged in a statement that the ships would not be fixed in time to drill during the short summer window this year. read more

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Ahead of Trial, Talk of a BP Settlement in 2010 Oil Spill

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A BP cleanup crew removing oil from a beach in May 2010 in Port Fourchon, La., after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Photo Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

By and : A version of this article appeared in print on February 24, 2013, on page A17 of the New York edition

With a major civil trial scheduled to start Monday in New Orleans against BP over damages related to the explosion of an offshore drilling rig in 2010, federal officials and those from the five affected Gulf Coast states are trying to pull together to strike an 11th-hour settlement in the case.

A lawyer briefed on those talks said that the Justice Department and the five states — Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas — had reportedly prepared an offer to resolve the two biggest issues central to a series of trials against BP, the first of which starts Monday. read more

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Battle Lines Drawn for BP’s Day in Court

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Cleanup crews on Pensacola Beach in 2010. A federal court in Louisiana is preparing to hear lawsuits related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Photo Credit: Michael Spooneybarger/Associated Press

By : A version of this article appeared in print on February 20, 2013, on page B1 of the New York edition

HOUSTON — Unless the Justice Department and BP reach a last-minute settlement, the British oil company will return to court on Monday to face tens of billions of dollars in civil claims from the 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico that could cripple the company for years to come.

For the last three years, BP’s efforts to explore and produce oil across the globe have been overshadowed by the accident that left 11 workers dead and soiled hundreds of miles of Gulf Coast beaches. The company has been forced to plead guilty to several felony charges, pay large fines and shake up its management team. Compelled to sell off oil assets to meet its expanding liabilities from the blowout and spill, BP has shrunk considerably in size, and the trial promises to extend the company’s distress. read more

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Shell Vessels Sidelined, Imperiling Arctic Plans

In another blow to its Alaskan Arctic drilling program, Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday that it had decided to tow its two drill vessels there to Asian ports for major repairs, jeopardizing its plans to begin drilling for oil in the icy northern seas next summer. Shell executives said the Kulluk had sustained damage to its hull…”; “The Noble Discoverer dragged its anchor last July and nearly ran aground on the Alaska coast, and four months later it was damaged by an explosion and fire…

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By A version of this article appeared in print on February 12, 2013, on page B1 of the New York edition

HOUSTON — In another blow to its Alaskan Arctic drilling program, Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday that it had decided to tow its two drill vessels there to Asian ports for major repairs, jeopardizing its plans to begin drilling for oil in the icy northern seas next summer.

The new potential delay in drilling does not necessarily doom Shell’s seven-year, $4.5 billion quest to open a new oil frontier in the far north, but it may strengthen the position of environmentalists who have repeatedly sued to stop or postpone exploration that they claim carries the risks of a spill nearly impossible to clean up. read more

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Deep-Sea Drilling Muddies Political Waters

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A deep-water drilling rig in the South China Sea operated by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or Cnooc. Photo Credit Jin Liangkuai/Xinhua, via Associated Press

By A version of this article appeared in print on February 7, 2013, in The International Herald Tribune.

AUSTIN, Tex. — The oceans deep are a repository of many secrets. Shipwrecks have existed undisturbed for centuries, as have corals and fish of almost unimaginable diversity.

Now, increasingly, the secrets of the seabed are being looked at by companies drilling for oil and minerals. International geopolitics and the environment are getting more muddled as a result.

“Deep-sea drilling is expensive and hard, and the technology wasn’t there until very recently,” said Sheila Smith, a senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States. Now, major powers are vying for drilling rights in places like the East China Sea, where the tussle is between the two largest energy consumers in Asia: China and Japan. Tensions there flared this week when Japan said China had recently aimed military targeting radar at one of its ships near disputed islands. read more

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Shell Denies Tax Evasion in India

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By NEHA THIRANI BAGRI: February 4, 2013

The Indian unit of the Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch Shell said Monday that it would challenge a notice by the Indian tax authorities alleging tax evasion through the transfer of shares.

Deepak Mukarji, a Shell India spokesman, said that the company had received an order on Friday from the income tax department of India that accused Shell India of evading taxes by underpricing a share transfer within the group by approximately $2.8 billion.

At the center of the controversy is a share sale by Shell India to Shell Gas BV, its overseas parent , in March 2009. Shell India issued shares worth 870 million rupees ($160 million) to Shell Gas BV, or 87 million shares at a value of 10 rupees per share, but the Indian tax authorities now contend that each share was actually worth 183 rupees. read more

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Davos activists occupy Shell station to protest Arctic drilling, warn of environmental danger

By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, January 25, 10:23 AM

DAVOS, Switzerland — Activists with a big fake polar bear have occupied a Shell service station in the Swiss resort of Davos to protest Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s oil drilling in the Arctic.

About 25 activists from around Europe chained gas pumps together Friday at the station near where the World Economic Forum was being held and hung a banner on the roof reading “Arctic Oil – Too Risky.”

Greenpeace helped stage the protest, raising concerns about dangers to the environment from Shell’s drilling in Alaska and urging forum organizers to reconsider Shell’s participation. A Shell drill barge ran aground on a remote Alaska island on New Year’s Eve.

Shell officials, among the 2,500 corporate and political leaders in Davos this week, did not immediately respond to phone calls about the protest. read more

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Ukraine Signs Drilling Deal With Shell for Shale Gas

By STANLEY REED: Published: January 24, 2013

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell, the largest oil company in Europe, has signed a contract to drill for natural gas in Ukraine.

The company’s chief executive, Peter Voser, and the Ukrainian president, Viktor F. Yanukovich, signed a production agreement Thursday for the potentially prolific Yuzivska gas field in the eastern part of the country. The signing took place at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Winning an active Shell drilling program is a potential boon for Ukraine, which is thought to be one of the best bets in Europe for so-called shale gas and tight gas. Such gas, found in porous underground shale rock, is usually withdrawn through the process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The technique is controversial, because of the potential environmental effects, but Ukraine is more politically receptive to it than some other countries. read more

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As Shell’s Arctic Drilling Hopes Hit Snags, Its Rivals Watch

HOUSTON — Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic drilling program is now officially in jeopardy and its prospects will depend on the findings of two continuing federal inquiries. One review is on the grounding of the Kulluk drill ship on New Year’s Eve after it was set adrift for five days in stormy weather, and the other is on the safety management of the entire Shell program.

By and : A version of this article appeared in print on January 18, 2013, on page B1 of the New York edition

HOUSTON — Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic drilling program is now officially in jeopardy and its prospects will depend on the findings of two continuing federal inquiries. One review is on the grounding of the Kulluk drill ship on New Year’s Eve after it was set adrift for five days in stormy weather, and the other is on the safety management of the entire Shell program.

Rival oil companies, as they form their strategic choices, are keenly watching to see how Shell’s $4.5 billion exploratory operation off the North Slope of Alaska is faring and how the effort is working with wary United States regulators. read more

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Interior Dept. Expedites Review of Arctic Drilling After Accidents

WASHINGTON — The Interior Department on Tuesday opened an urgent review of Arctic offshore drilling operations after a series of blunders and accidents involving Shell Oil’s drill ships and support equipment, culminating in the grounding of one of its drilling vessels last week off the coast of Alaska. Officials said the new assessment by federal regulators could halt or scale back Shell’s program to open Alaska’s Arctic waters to oil exploration, a $4.5 billion effort that has been plagued by equipment failures, legal delays, mismanagement and bad weather.

The Kulluk, a Shell Oil drilling rig, was checked for seaworthiness on Monday off the Alaskan coast after running aground.: James Brooks/Kodiak Daily Mirror, via Associated Press

By and

A version of this article appeared in print on January 9, 2013, on page A12 of the New York edition

WASHINGTON — The Interior Department on Tuesday opened an urgent review of Arctic offshore drilling operations after a series of blunders and accidents involving Shell Oil’s drill ships and support equipment, culminating in the grounding of one of its drilling vessels last week off the coast of Alaska.

Officials said the new assessment by federal regulators could halt or scale back Shell’s program to open Alaska’s Arctic waters to oil exploration, a $4.5 billion effort that has been plagued by equipment failures, legal delays, mismanagement and bad weather. read more

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Oil Sands Industry in Canada Tied to Higher Carcinogen Level

The development of Alberta’s oil sands has increased levels of cancer-causing compounds in surrounding lakes well beyond natural levels, Canadian researchers reported in a study released on Monday. And they said the contamination covered a wider area than had previously been believed. “Now we have the smoking gun,” Professor Smol said. The study is likely to provide further ammunition to critics of the industry, who already contend that oil extracted from Canada’s oil sands poses environmental hazards like toxic sludge ponds, greenhouse gas emissions and the destruction of boreal forests.

Todd Korol/Reuters: An oil sands mine Fort McMurray, Alberta.

By : A version of this article appeared in print on January 8, 2013, on page A4 of the New York edition

OTTAWA — The development of Alberta’s oil sands has increased levels of cancer-causing compounds in surrounding lakes well beyond natural levels, Canadian researchers reported in a study released on Monday. And they said the contamination covered a wider area than had previously been believed.

For the study, financed by the Canadian government, the researchers set out to develop a historical record of the contamination, analyzing sediment dating back about 50 years from six small and shallow lakes north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the center of the oil sands industry. Layers of the sediment were tested for deposits of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, groups of chemicals associated with oil that in many cases have been found to cause cancer in humans after long-term exposure. read more

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The Kulluk and Shell’s Arctic reputation both need salvaging

Latest news: the Kulluk is aground, abandoned, battered by high winds and rough seas, while awaiting a salvage crew – if there is anything left to salvage by the time they can safely get aboard. Looks likely that Shell’s plans for Arctic drilling in 2013 will have to be scuppered. Shell’s reputation for competence, after an endless series of mishaps and blunders in its ill-equipped, ill-fated Arctic folly, is in as dire straights as the Kulluk. Didn’t anyone learn anything from Shell’s “Touch Fuck All” corner-cutting approach to offshore safety, which cost the lives of offshore workers?

A view of the Kulluk aground southeast of Sitkalidak Island. The grounding was only the latest of the problems Shell has run into in seeking to drill north of Alaska. Photo Credit: Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Klingenberg/U.S. Coast Guard

By John Donovan

Latest news: the Kulluk is aground, abandoned, battered by high winds and rough seas, while awaiting a salvage crew – if there is anything left to salvage by the time they can safely get aboard. Looks likely that Shell’s plans for Arctic drilling in 2013 will have to be scuppered.

As is correctly pointed out in an articled published in The New York Times newspaper this morning:

“If the Kulluk, which Shell upgraded in recent years at a cost of nearly $300 million, is wrecked or substantially damaged, it will be hard for the company to find a replacement and receive the numerous government permits needed to resume drilling in July, as planned. Under Department of Interior rules governing Arctic drilling, the company must have two rigs on site at all times to provide for a backup vessel to drill a relief well in case of a blowout, an uncontrolled escape of oil or gas.” read more

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Breakaway Oil Rig, Filled With Fuel, Runs Aground

By Published: January 1, 2013

An enormous Shell Oil offshore drilling rig ran aground on an island in the Gulf of Alaska on Monday night after it broke free from tow ships in rough seas, officials said.

The rig, the Kulluk, which was used for test drilling in the Arctic last summer, is carrying about 139,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of lubricating oil and hydraulic fluid, the officials said.

A Coast Guard helicopter flew over the rig after the grounding at 8:48 p.m. and “detected no visible sheen,” said Darci Sinclair, a spokeswoman for a unified command of officials from Shell, Alaskan state agencies and other groups that has been directing the response since the troubles with the rig began last Thursday. read more

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How Chris Finlayson bungled the Mother of all Projects: Sakhalin II

Chris Finlayson representing Shell and Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom’s Vice Chairman

By John Donovan

Chris Finlayson, the newly appointed Chief Executive of BG Group, held a leadership position in Shell’s Sakhalin II project in Russia from September 2005 to September 2009. The venture was described as “the Mother of all Projects” by the Financial Times.

We have already published an article about his involvement in the Royal Dutch Shell reserves scandal, providing evidence – in the form of authentic Shell internal documents – supporting my conclusion that he was either part of the cover-up, or negligent in his fiduciary duties as a senior Shell executive to protect the interests of investors. read more

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On Our Radar: Shell’s Oil-Spill Sea Trials

December 5, 2012, 11:24 am

A release of e-mails in response to a Freedom of Information Act request yields more details on a debacle involving the containment dome that Shell aimed to deploy in the event of an oil spill in the Arctic. [KUOW]

SOURCE

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BP Will Plead Guilty and Pay Over $4 Billion

A version of this article appeared in print on November 16, 2012, on page A1 of the New York edition

By and

HOUSTON — BP, the British oil company, said on Thursday that it had agreed to pay $4.5 billion in fines and other penalties and to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges related to the rig explosion two years ago that killed 11 people and caused a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a rare instance of seeking to hold individuals accountable for company misdeeds, the Justice Department also filed criminal charges against three BP employees in connection with the accident.

“This is unprecedented, both with regard to the amounts of money, the fact that a company has been criminally charged and that individuals have been charged as well,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said at a news conference in New Orleans to announce the settlement. read more

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Selection of Shell related articles Thursday 15 November 2012

Selection of Shell related articles Thursday 15 November 2012

John,

Some Shell related articles which may be of interest to your visitors:

Shell Oil President Marvin Odum to Keynote Platts Global Energy …: Sacramento Bee: 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Oil Company President Marvin Odum will deliver the keynote address at the 2012 Platts Global Energy Outlook …

Murphy Oil buys Shell’s assets in Canada: Gas Business Briefing: Murphy Oil entered into an agreement with Shell Canada Energy to purchase for an undisclosed amount, additional interests in lands and to … read more

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Selection of Shell related articles Tuesday 13 November 2012

Selection of Shell related articles Tuesday 13 November 2012

John,

A few articles which may be of interest to your visitors:

Shell’s Arctic challenges just beginning: Anchorage Daily News-6 hours ago: Shell Oil photoThe Noble Discoverer prepares for its initial Chukchi Sea … BARROW — Even if Shell strikes oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi …

Shell Bets on a Colossal Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Factory Off …: New York Times-14 hours ago: The thought was that they could be built and financed by third parties and rented out to oil companies. But the creation that Shell is finally … read more

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Betting on Gas, Shell Floats Plan on High Seas

By STANLEY REED: 12 November 2012

A version of this special report appeared in print on November 13, 2012, in The International Herald Tribune.

THE HAGUE — At a shipyard on a South Korean island called Geoje, an army of welders and metal cutters are beginning to assemble what is by many measures the largest ship ever made.

It will span 488 meters, or about 1,600 feet — about one-third longer than some U.S. aircraft carriers. The vessel, the first of its type, will spend much of its time in one place, over a natural-gas field called Prelude, about 200 kilometers, or 120 miles, off the coast of Australia. The gargantuan craft’s majority owner is Shell. Minority partners include Korea Gas. read more

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A DREADFUL DAY FOR SHELL SHAREHOLDERS, ESPECIALLY UK SHELL SHAREHOLDERS

FROM OUR OCTOBER 2004 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Friday 29 October, 2004 – A DREADFUL DAY FOR SHAREHOLDERS IN SHELL TRANSPORT AND TRADING COMPANY PLC

The Times (UK): The Hague for head office: “ALTHOUGH it maintains otherwise, Shell is effectively going Dutch…”: “From May, the big decisions will be taken by a new board in The Hague, which has seven Dutch members and only four Britons.”: “…from 2006 it will hold AGMs only in The Hague.”

The Times (UK): Fear of new Shell reserves downgrade: “ROYAL Dutch/Shell yesterday raised fears that it may have to write down its reserves by more than 1.5 billion barrels…”: “With less than 60 per cent of its reservoir audit completed, Shell was unable yesterday to put a ceiling on the potential downgrade of its reserves…”

Daily Telegraph (UK): Dutch chiefs take helm of merged Shell: “The radical move, which needs to be approved by shareholders, is likely to be seen as a Dutch takeover of the energy giant…”: “The news was overshadowed by yet more revelations about the company’s “proven” reserves…” read more

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Spies and Co.

A version of this op-ed appeared in print on October 25, 2012, on page A31 of the New York edition with the headline: Spies and Co..

EXTRACT

Spying for profit continued in more recent times. In the late 1990s, the candy companies Nestlé and Mars engaged in an epic corporate war that included a confidential source nicknamed “Deep Chocolate.” Former government agents, working through a subcontractor for Nestlé, snatched garbage bags from the Mars headquarters, replacing them with dummy trash bags so the custodial staff wouldn’t catch on. Picking through coffee grounds and stale food, they found shredded documents that they were able to painstakingly reconstruct into readable corporate records. read more

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Shell’s Jiffy Lube Nears Deal To Settle Consumer Lawsuits

From our October 2004 Shell News Archive

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL/DOW JONES NEWSWIRES: Jiffy Lube Nears Deal To Settle Consumer Lawsuits

“It was just a straight rip-off for $1.25 every time someone came in,” said Scott R. Shepherd, a Pennsylvania attorney who sued the company”: “Jiffy Lube, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell Oil Co…”: “Marc A. Wites, a Florida lawyer, said it would cover only 8 million of the 34 million people who paid the surcharge.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf6KY6rrqYU

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiCAJ8ULnaI

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

October 19, 2004 12:57 a.m.

DALLAS (AP)–An Oklahoma judge is poised to approve a settlement of class-action lawsuits by drivers who say they were cheated when Jiffy Lube International Inc. added surcharges to their oil-change bills over the past five years.

The settlement would close at least nine pending class-action cases from California to New Jersey -a similar accord has been reached in a New York case. Some customers would get $5 off their next oil change. The three law firms that negotiated with Houston-based Jiffy Lube would split $2.75 million. read more

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Shell’s Beaufort Sea Drilling Rig

A photographer charters a plane and takes aerial photographs of Shell’s Kulluk drilling rig in the Beaufort Sea, underlining its proximity to the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. [The Daily Climate]

SOURCE

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Shell Delays Arctic Oil Drilling Until 2013

A version of this article appeared in print on September 18, 2012, on page B1 of the New York edition

By Published: September 17, 2012

HOUSTON — With the prospect of rich new oil fields in tantalizing reach, Shell Oil announced on Monday that it was forced to put off completing wells in the Alaskan Arctic for another year after a spill containment dome was damaged during a testing accident.

While the company will perform preliminary work this year on several wells in the region, it will not be able to drill for oil until next summer at the earliest.

The latest setback in Shell’s six-year, $4.5 billion effort to drill off the coast of Alaska heartened environmentalists, who have opposed the drilling program at every turn. read more

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Asia’s Elite Jet in for Brunei Royal Wedding substantially funded by Shell

FROM OUR SEPT 2004 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

The New York Times: Asia’s Elite Jet in for ‘Subdued’ Brunei Wedding

“new mood of thrift in a palace once tainted by financial scandal.”: “Now, corporate sponsors are funding a big part of the total cost of celebrations, estimated at around $5 million.”: Oil and gas firms Brunei Shell and Brunei LNG and local car distributor Goh Hock Kee are among sponsors for the wedding…

By REUTERS

September 8, 2004

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (Reuters) – A glittering guest list of Asian leaders and Middle East royalty began jetting into the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei on Wednesday for a royal wedding being billed as low-key by local standards.

The leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines will mix with Saudi and Bahrain royalty at Thursday’s celebrations, the climax of weeks of traditional nuptials between the heir to the Brunei throne and his teenaged bride. read more

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