By Kevin Orland: 14 November 2019, 12:00 GMT Updated on 14 November 2019, 16:38 GMT

*Shell Canada head Crothers points to LNG project, gas stations

*Company has no plans to divest remaining oil-sands stake

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is reassuring investors, workers, and anyone else who will listen that it’s the international oil major that’s staying in Canada as others pull up stakes.

Shell’s future in the country is largely as a natural gas producer and exporter focused on the $30 billion LNG Canada project, though the company is also committed to its local chemicals and retail businesses, Shell Canada head Michael Crothers said in an interview. read more

Shell seeking to sell $30 billion in assets to cut debt

By Ben Sharples: 8 May 2018, 03:19 BST

A unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc has agreed to sell its entire stake in oil sands producer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for about $3 billion, which will be used to reduce debt.

Shell Gas BV will sell its 97.6 million shares in Canadian Natural for total pretax proceeds of $3.3 billion, and the transaction is expected to be completed by Wednesday, according to a statement from Hague-based Shell. The shares are being offered at $34.10 each, according to a person familiar with the matter, a 2.9 percent discount to its close Monday in New York. read more

Reuters staff: Monday 8 May 2018

May 7 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Shell Gas B.V. unit said on Monday it was selling its entire stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd for $3.3 billion.

Shell signed an underwriting agreement for the sale of its entire stake of 97.6 million shares in Canadian Natural, the company said in a statement.

Last June, Shell had reported a stake of 8 percent in Canadian Natural.

Shell decided to offload the roughly C$4.1 billion ($3.18 billion) stake in Canadian Natural Resources that it acquired as part of a deal to retreat from Canada’s oil sands, people familiar with the situation had told Reuters nearly a year ago. read more

Andrew Ward — Energy Editor

Royal Dutch Shell set a new target last November to reduce the net carbon footprint of its energy products by about half by 2050. The Anglo-Dutch group has committed to spend up to $2bn a year on renewables and other cleaner sources of energy and other European oil and gas groups are making similar moves. Andrew Brown, Shell’s director of exploration and production, told a conference in London last month… FULL FT ARTICLE

By Meredith Taylor – Feb 21, 2018, 6:00 PM CST

Big Oil is due for a disruption.

The world’s most important industry has been carrying on without any significant changes in its day to day routine for far too long.

But now, the new tech on the block has its sights set on the multi-trillion-dollar oil and gas sector.

It’s official: Blockchain technology has infiltrated Big Oil.

The hype behind blockchain has reached a full-blown frenzy. And for good reason.

The technology, which creates secure ledgers for digital transactions and rapidly accelerates the pace at which transactions can be made, has the potential to disrupt every major industry: real estate, shipping, banking and healthcare. read more

Nov. 20, 2017 5:49 PM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Two oil sands upgraders in Alberta – Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Suncor Energy’s (NYSE:SU) Syncrude – are warning customers about cuts to synthetic crude output in November because of upsets at the plants, Reuters reports.

Shell Canada is telling customers that synthetic crude volumes from its 255K bbl/day Scotford upgrader may be lowered this month and possibly next month because of a valve leak, and the Syncrude oil sands project, which has capacity to produce nearly 350K bbl/day, also is telling customers it will cut synthetic crude volumes by ~5% in November, according to the report. read more

Mergers and acquisitions in Canada are set for the strongest start in a decade as foreigners sell their oil sands investments. ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are leading the exodus amid a bear market for crude. However, Canadian producers are responding by pumping money into oil deposits in the remote boreal forests, which trail only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela in proved reserves but are more expensive to extract.

FULL ARTICLE

DAN HEALING, THE CANADIAN PRESS  06.06.2017

CALGARY — Royal Dutch Shell will forge ahead with its energy development plans in British Columbia regardless of the uncertainty swirling around the province’s political future, says the company’s Canadian country chair.

Energy investments in B.C. have been cast into doubt after the May 9 provincial election that saw the Liberals win 43 seats and the NDP take 41— a situation that gives the Green party the balance of power with their three seats. read more

CALGARY – The president of Shell Canada says his capital budget will shrink by about half a billion dollars this year following the sale of most of its oilsands assets in a deal that closed last week.

Michael Crothers says it will be about $1.5 billion this year, down from over $2 billion in 2016, but the Canadian branch remains an important part of Royal Dutch Shell’s global operations.

He said in an interview the company’s sale of oilsands assets to Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) means it will now concentrate on its shale oil and gas properties in B.C. and Alberta, along with its refining and chemical businesses near Edmonton and its proposed West Coast LNG project. read more

Geoffrey Morgan | June 6, 2017 4:27 PM ET
More from Geoffrey Morgan | @geoffreymorgan

Shell Canada President & Country Chair Michael Crothers during an interview in Calgary, Alberta: Photograph by Todd Korol for National Post

CALGARY – Shell Canada Ltd. will soon announce a project to turn vegetable products into diesel fuel in Alberta, as part of the company’s transition to produce less oil and more energy from natural gas, renewables and chemicals.

This follows Shell’s massive US$7.25-billion divestment of its oilsands assets, announced March 9. The company still plans to build an LNG terminal in British Colombia, but no timeline has been set. read more

CALGARY, May 31, 2017 /CNW/ – A statement from Shell Canada President and Country Chair Michael Crothers on the completion of two previously announced agreements that will see Shell sell the majority of its oil sands interests and all of its in-situ interests in Canada:

“Shell has built safe, responsible and competitive oil sands mining and in-situ businesses in Alberta over the past decades thanks to the tireless work and dedication of our staff, contractors and joint venture partners; strong support from local communities, including our indigenous neighbours; and leadership from all levels of government. I am immensely proud of everything we have achieved together and of the legacy we leave to Canadian Natural. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 30, 2017, 5:00 PM CDT

Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips struck deals in March to sell Canadian oil assets to two Canada-based producers. In both deals, parts of the consideration for the transactions were shares of the Canadian companies that Shell and ConocoPhillips received.

Although the share transactions are subject to lock-up periods of up to six months following the closing of the deals, Shell and ConocoPhillips are getting ready to sell those shares—possibly months after acquiring them—regulations and agreements permitting. read more

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta, May 24 (Reuters) – Canadian equity markets risk being swamped with oil sands company shares this year as Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips prepare to offload C$6.8 billion ($5.1 billion) worth of stakes in two domestic producers, just months after acquiring them.

The two firms acquired shares in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Cenovus Energy as part of deals struck earlier this year to sell off oil sands assets.

Sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Shell has decided to sell its C$4.1 billion stake in CNRL while ConocoPhillips has said it is not a long term investor in Cenovus. read more

Shell to sell C$4.1 billion stake in Canadian Natural -sources

By John Tilak and David French: 23 May 2017

TORONTO/NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc has decided to offload a roughly C$4.1 billion ($3 billion) stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNRL) that it acquired as part of a deal to retreat from Canada’s oil sands earlier this year, people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Shell has been interviewing investment banks to hire a financial adviser for the share sale, four people said in the past week, declining to be named as the discussions are confidential. read more

Matt DiLallo | March 14, 2017

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSX:CNQ)(NYSE:CNQ) made a big splash last week when it signed agreements to acquire several oil sands assets from Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A)(NYSE:RDS.B) and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO).

Overall, the Canadian oil giant paid a massive $12.74 billion to bulk up its position in western Canada, which marked the largest acquisition in the company’s history. However, what was more impressive about the deal wasn’t the size of the purchase price, but the size of the discount the company got on the assets, which was well below the replacement cost. read more

Adam Vaughan: Saturday 11 March 2017 15.59 GMT

hen Shell sold most of its Canadian tar sands operations last week, the Anglo-Dutch oil company took a modest step towards making good on its promise to be part of the solution on global warming, rather than the problem. But the $7.25bn (£6bn) sale of the majority of its tar sands assets to an independent Canadian oil company is less about the company cleaning up its image than about cleaning up its debt.

FULL ARTICLE

By Tracy Johnson, CBC News Posted: Mar 09, 2017 4:17 PM ET

Royal Dutch Shell’s deal to sell most of its stake in Alberta’s oilsands was in the works for more than a year, says the company’s chief executive Ben van Beurden.

“We said we would high-grade the portfolio,” he said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

“We would get out of positions where we do not have the scale or the capability, or that did not fit us in the longer run strategically. And the oilsands is one of them.” read more

Patti Domm: 9 March 2017

Royal Dutch Shell‘s announcement of the sale of $7.25 billion in Canadian oil sands assets Thursday is an important step to turning itself into a company of the future — with a broader mix of energy assets and a smaller carbon footprint.

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said the company is committed to reshaping itself and believes that renewables and new energy will play a bigger role. The company is retaining just 10 percent of its Canadian sands assets.

“We are right in the middle of transforming the company into the company of the future,” he said at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, sponsored by IHS Markit. read more

9 March 2017

TORONTO (BLOOMBERG) – Royal Dutch Shell will sell almost all its production assets in Canada’s oil sands in a US$7.25 billion (S$10.24 billion) deal that cuts debt and reduces involvement in one of the most environmentally damaging forms of fossil-fuel extraction.

The company will sell all of its oil-sands interests apart from a 10 per cent stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands mining project, The Hague-based Shell said on Thursday (March 9). It will also continue as operator of the Scotford upgrader and Quest carbon capture and storage project. read more

Published by Greenpeace Southeast Asia: Thursday 2 March 2017

A film in 1991, produced by Shell, shows that the oil giant has long known about the catastrophic risks of climate change.

The film, titled Climate of Concern, was obtained by the Correspondent, a Dutch online journalism platform, and published in The Guardian’s article ‘Shell knew’: oil giant’s 1991 film warned of climate change danger.

In response, Desiree Llanos Dee, Climate Justice Campaigner for Greenpeace Philippines, said:

“Exxon knew. Shell knew. Now we must get to the bottom of what other fossil majors know and what they plan to do to avert catastrophic climate change. Shell’s empty rhetoric on climate is wholly contradicted by the core assumption underlying its business plans – global temperature increases in excess of 3°C and its lobbying against measures to mitigate climate change. read more

WASHINGTON — “Action now is seen as the only safe insurance.” 

That was among the many clear warnings that oil giant Shell issued in a film it produced about climate change more than 25 years ago. Many environmentalists, however, argue that the company has largely ignored its own alarm bells.

The 1991 film, “Climate of Concern,” resurfaced Tuesday on the Dutch online news outlet The Correspondent. It’s the latest in an ever-growing body of evidence that suggests the oil industry has long known about the climate risks associated with carbon dioxide emissions — and has actively worked to cover them up. read more

Damian Carrington and Jelmer Mommers: Tuesday 28 February 2017 

The oil giant Shell issued a stark warning of the catastrophic risks of climate change more than a quarter of century ago in a prescient 1991 film that has been rediscovered. However, since then the company has invested heavily in highly polluting oil reserves and helped lobby against climate action, leading to accusations that Shell knew the grave risks of global warming but did not act accordingly. But, despite this early and clear-eyed view of the risks of global warming, Shell invested many billions of dollars in highly polluting tar sand operations and on exploration in the Arctic. read more

by Rakteem Katakey: 27 February 2017, 14:52 GMT

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is unlikely to take on new oil-sands projects as it maintains a grip on costs after crude’s crash forced competitors to write down Canadian reserves.

While Shell’s existing oil-sands operations generate strong cash flows, the expense of developing new projects discourages additional investments, Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden said in an interview.

Oil sands, the reserves of heavy crude found primarily in northern Alberta, lured investors in the past decade as oil’s surge above $100 a barrel made the difficult extraction process economic. But they’ve fallen out of favor following the subsequent market collapse as companies dump expensive projects amid fears that competition from low-cost crude could strand costlier assets. read more

February 17, 2017

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Kineticor, a small privately held power producer, has partnered with one of Canada’s largest pension funds to buy a half-finished oil sands power plant in northern Alberta that was part of an abandoned Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) project, the company said on Friday.

Alberta-based Kineticor said it had closed the acquisition of the partially constructed 690 megawatt cogeneration plant near Peace River that was part of Shell’s 80,000 barrel per day Carmon Creek project. read more

Posted by Mark Young:15 Feb 2017

Norway’s oil and gas powerhouse Statoil ASA has finalised its exit from the Canadian oilsands and is by no means alone in a list of high-profile internationally-based operators to agree a sale of Canadian upstream assets during the past 12 months.

Statoil (Oslo:STL) is selling its interest in the Kai Kos Denseh project to Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSX:ATH) for an initial Cdn$578 million. Analysis of this transaction can be found here.

Other significant sales agreed upon in 2016 by non-Canadian companies include: read more

Shell reprimanded for federal voting infractions at Fort McMurray mine

Some workers at the Shell Albian Sands site were denied their right to vote on polling day

CBC News Posted: Jan 05, 2017 8:41 AM MT

Shell has been reprimanded by Elections Canada for failing to provide some of its Fort McMurray oilsands workers adequate time off to vote in the 2015 federal election.

The oilsands operator has signed a compliance agreement with Elections Canada, after a federal investigation determined that some workers who requested time off the job to go to the polls were denied.

On polling day, Oct. 19, the company declined employee requests for time off work, meaning some employees at the Shell Albian Sands Mine were denied their right to have three consecutive hours off the job for the purpose of casting a vote. read more

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS: NOV. 3, 2016

In a warming world, Big Oil doesn’t look quite so big anymore.

A global glut of oil and natural gas has sent prices tumbling over the last two years, and profits are evaporating. Improving auto fuel efficiency standards threaten to depress oil consumption eventually, and fleets of electric vehicles are gradually emerging in China and a few other important markets.

Perhaps most troubling for oil companies over the long term is the goal — agreed to last December by virtually every country in the world at a climate conference in Paris — of staving off a rise in average global temperatures of more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. read more

Kashagan AKA “Cash All Gone”

Forgot the initial cost estimate, probably around $8-10 billion. Now 10+ years too late and ballooned to $50 billion. Most normal companies would have gone bust long ago.

Shell inherited some beauties from the boys of the roaring 90s. I hope someone will write a book one day on this era. 

Reserve crisis, Pearl, Sakhalin, Kashagan, Alaska, tarsands, and I must have forgotten a few. Repeated over-promise and under-delivery. All many billions over budget, extreme overruns in startup, loss in AAA status, removal of operational and technical expertise. I find the silence on Prelude ominous. Probably goes the same way as the others. read more

The company, which developed the $1.35-billion Quest project with the help of $745 million from the Alberta government and $120 million from Ottawa, says the project is operating ahead of schedule and under budget.

“There isn’t a metric that hasn’t finished very strongly in green,” said Zoe Yujnovich, executive vice-president for heavy oil at Shell.

“I don’t think we can say that about many projects.”

The Quest project is designed to capture about a third of the emissions from Shell’s Scotford Upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., turn that into a near-liquid, and then pump it over two kilometres underground into porous rock formations. read more

Simon Bowers: Sunday 11 September 2016 17.15 BST

Royal Dutch Shell has started production at the world’s deepest underwater oil and gas field, 1.8 miles beneath the sea surface in the Gulf of Mexico.

The latest costly addition to Shell’s production capacity comes despite Van Beurden’s repeated pledges on climate change. In May, he said: “We know our long-term success … depends on our ability to anticipate the types of energy that people will need in the future in a way that is both commercially competitive and environmentally sound.” read more

Jillian Ambrose: 7 SEPTEMBER 2016 • 1:27PM

Shell could be in line to make $1bn (£750m) in the next two years by selling off North Sea assets as part of a $30bn divestment drive, according to UBS.

The bank predicts that Shell’s North Sea retreat will begin with a “tidying up” of the oil major’s high-cost, legacy assets but that a sale of its attractive core projects could not be ruled out.

UBS oil analyst Jon Rigby said that sales of the oil giant’s older North Sea assets would only generate “a few hundred million dollars” unless the company opts for a more “radical” approach including ditching stakes in the core projects that make up its $7bn North Sea portfolio. read more

By Royston Wild: The Motley Fool: Friday, 2 September, 2016

Investor appetite for the oil segment has taken a knock in recent weeks as fears of a prolonged supply glut have weighed.

British majors Royal Dutch Shell(LSE: RDSB) and BP(LSE: BP) have seen their share prices slip 10% and 7% respectively during the past six weeks, for example. And I believe a sharper retracement could be just around the corner.

Stocks keep surging

Broker predictions that the oil market is set to balance later this year are being put under increased scrutiny as already-plentiful stockpiles continue to build. read more

There are many players looking to enter the oil markets thanks to the raft of deals available as the oil price crash appears to be over. For the oil majors, this will likely mean major opportunities to snap up unconventional producers and assets at low valuations. One “oil” major that may not be participating is Shell. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant is increasingly turning away from its roots in oil and moving towards natural gas as an alternative.

In the year 2000, 37 percent of Shell’s production was from natural gas. By 2015, that number had risen to 49 percent. For ExxonMobil, those figures were 40 percent in 2000 and 43 percent in 2015. For Chevron and BP, the 2000 figures were 27 percent and 40 percent respectively, and for 2015, it was 33 percent and 38 percent. Among oil majors, only ConocoPhillips has seen a comparable shift to gas going form 33 percent to 43 percent gas production between 2000 and 2015. read more

By Joe Carroll: July 29, 2016 — 1:02 PM BST: Updated on July 30, 2016 — 5:01 AM BST

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc this week reported their lowest quarterly profits since 1999 and 2005, respectively. Chevron Corp.’s third straight loss marked the longest slump in 27 years, and BP Plc lodged its lowest refining margins in six years.

Welcome to year two of a supply overhang so persistent it’s upsetting industry expectations that the market would return to a state of balance between production and demand. It’s left analysts befuddled and investors running to the doorways as the crude market threatened to tip into yet another bear market, dashing hopes that a slump that began in mid 2014 would show signs of abating. read more

25 July 2016

Oil prices have fallen to a three-month low, hit by rising concerns that a global oversupply of both crude and natural gas will dampen prices.

US oil fell 2.4% to $43.11 (£32.72) a barrel, its lowest level since April, meaning it has now fallen by 12% so far this month.

Brent crude dropped 2.1% to $44.75, its lowest level since 10 May.

Shares in oil and firms also lost ground, with Exxon Mobil shares down 1.8% and Chevron down 2.6%.

“Crude oil markets have been under pressure as oil supplies have started growing with the resumption of output from the capacity lost due to wildfires in the Canadian oil sands,” said EY energy analyst Sanjeev Gupta. read more

The company has already cut hundreds of jobs from its UK workforce. In the clearest sign yet that Britain’s biggest company will turn its back on the “super mature” North Sea, Shell told investors its planned $30bn sales drive to tackle its debt burden will focus on mature assets in established oil regions.

Shell’s chief executive, Ben Van Beurden, laid out the company’s strategic plan for the rest of the decade, telling shareholders the group plans to leave between five and 10 mature oil regions, which equity analysts have interpreted as a “heavy hint” that UK assets will be included. read more

Cheap oil crimping your spending plans? Sitting on a bunch of valuable upstream oil assets that could be monetized? How about a mammoth IPO? No, not Saudi Arabia. I’m talking about Royal Dutch Shell.

Shell is Europe’s third-biggest company by market value. But after the $54 billion acquisition of BG Group, its net debt is by far the largest: an eye-watering $70 billion.

Big Borrowers

Shell’s net debt is the largest of any company in western Europe

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

The Anglo-Dutch company says debt is likely “to go up before it goes down” and its reduction is “priority number one”. With credit-rating agencies on its case, Shell has to deliver on a pledge to divest $30 billion of non-core assets within three years. read more

Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) has faced huge criticism from Glass Lewis, a shareholder advisory firm to award its CEO Ben Van Beurden with a huge bonus in 2015. The shareholder advisory firm further persuaded the shareholders of the oil giant to cast their vote against the payment plans of the company.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Glass Lewis said in a report: “We remain concerned by the disconnect between bonus payouts and financial performance. We find it troubling that the CEO continues to receive payouts at just short of maximum while the company’s financials deteriorate.” read more

By DAN HEALING: The Canadian Press: Tues., May 10, 2016

CALGARY—The first oilsands mine shut down by wildfires in the Fort McMurray region a week ago has been restarted.

Shell Canada said Tuesday that it had resumed production at its Albian Sands mining operations about 95 kilometres north of Fort McMurray after a seven-day closure.

The operations, which include the Muskeg River and Jackpine oilsands mines, have the capacity to produce 255,000 barrels of oil a day, but Shell would say only that they were operating at a reduced rate. read more

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has restarted production at a reduced rate at its Albian oil sands mining operation in Alberta, it said on Monday, even as many energy companies remain offline after a major wildfire ravaged the area.

The company said it will fly in and fly out staff to help resume operations over the coming days and weeks. Locally based employees may choose to support operations only if they are willing and available, it said.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Sandra Maler)

SOURCE read more

By Ed Crooks: May 6, 2016

The thoughts of everyone in the energy industry were with Fort McMurray, the heart of Canada’s oil sands industry, which was devastated by wildfires this week. The town was evacuated, and more than a fifth of the region’s oil production was halted. There was a lot of great reporting from the local and national press. The National Post particularly stood out with features such as this live map of the areas affected by fire. Maclean’s brought the scale of the fires to people outside Alberta using comparisons with other cities in Canada, the US and Britain. NBC News carried some powerful photographs of the disaster. read more

• Oil-sands output may be down by 1 million barrels a day: RBC

• Suncor, Shell, Husky, ConocoPhillips cut production amid blaze

By Robert Tuttle and Rebecca Penty: May 6, 2016

The worst wildfire in Alberta history is boosting Canadian crude prices as oil companies evacuate workers and shut in as much as 1 million barrels a day of output.

Western Canadian Select, the benchmark for oil sands production, strengthened $1 to an $11.85-a-barrel discount to U.S. West Texas Intermediate on Thursday, the narrowest spread since July, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The absolute price rose $1.54 to $32.47 a barrel.

Suncor Energy Inc., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Husky Energy Inc. are among companies that shut plants or reduced production. Cnooc Ltd.’s Nexen, ConocoPhillips, Imperial Oil Ltd. and Statoil ASA were also affected. The shutdowns follow supply disruptions in places like Nigeria and Iraq earlier this year that have helped global prices rebound from a 12-year low. read more

by Topher Seguin

A massive wildfire that has forced the evacuation of all 88,000 residents of the western Canadian city of Fort McMurray and burned down 1,600 structures has the potential to destroy much of the town, authorities said.

Fort McMurray had been largely emptied of its residents by Wednesday afternoon, officials said, despite fuel shortages, snarled traffic and a highway closed by the flames in the northeastern part of the province of Alberta, the heart of Canada’s oil sands region. read more

Terry Macalister Energy editor: Thursday 5 May 2016

These leading energy companies including Exxon Mobil should ditch high-cost projects in deep water and Canadian tar sands to concentrate on cheaper schemes that make money at low crude prices, says the report, Sense and Sensitivity, by the Carbon Tracker Initiative.

The report follows shareholder resolutions calling on oil companies to undertake “stress tests” on operations in the face of stronger carbon regulation and weakening fossil fuel demand as countries move to lower-carbon economies. read more

CP  |  By The Canadian Press: 05/04/2016 1:02 pm EDT

CALGARY — The wildfire raging through the heart of Canada’s oilsands capital dealt a blow Wednesday to crude perations, with Shell Canada closing a major mining facility north of Fort McMurray, Alta.

The company temporarily shut down production at its Albian Sands mining operations located about 70 kilometres north of the city.

Shell said it made the decision to focus on getting employees and their families out of the region while also freeing up room at its 2,000-person work camp for some of the 80,000 people who were ordered evacuated Tuesday from Fort McMurray. read more

Written by Phil Allan – 04/05/2016 12:34 pm

Shell’s finance chief has refused to rule out further job losses in the North Sea as the oil giant announced its earnings had dropped by $4billion dollars in the first quarter of 2016.

Chief financial officer Simon Henry said the voluntary redundancy packaged announced recently announced as a result of Shell’s acquisition of BG Group, may not be the last to affect the North Sea as the company continues to look at cut costs from its global operation. read more

To many analysts, it looked like Odum was pushed into leaving.

Steven Mufson March 11, 2016

Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil, was attending a meeting of the parent company’s executive committee in Singapore when word trickled in that an exploration well drilled in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea — the crowning step in a multi-year $7 billion quest — was a dry hole.

Maybe not bone dry. In a recent interview, Odum wouldn’t say. But in the oil business glossary, a dry hole is one that can’t pay off commercially, and Shell’s hole definitely qualified. The parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, abruptly dropped any further drilling — a setback for the industry, though a relief for environmentalists.

For years, they had fought a vigorous, litigious and politically intense battle over the Chukchi. Meanwhile Shell, lured by potentially rich rewards, had overcome a couple of embarrassing rig mishaps at sea and patiently navigated the courts and the Obama administration’s permitting process. Now, geology had rendered its verdict. read more

RUSSELL LYNCH: 10 MARCH 2016

Royal Dutch Shell boss Ben van Beurden got a bigger bonus in 2015 — up 6% to €3.5 million (£2.7 million) — even though a tumbling oil price sank the shares by 30% last year.

The chief executive landed an overall pay deal of £5.6 million — although this was lower than 2014, when his package was swollen to €24.2 million by tax handouts and pension payments on taking the helm at the oil major.

Shell’s latest annual report showed his 2015 basic pay up to €1.47 million, but his annual bonus rising from €3.3 million to €3.5 million for a year in which van Beurden masterminded the oil giant’s mega-merger with rival BG. read more

By Nick Cunningham: Thu, 25 February 2016

Royal Dutch Shell revealed its plans to downgrade its emphasis on expensive shale operations, although it was not worded in those terms.

The Anglo-Dutch supermajor says that it would fold its “unconventional” unit (i.e. shale) into its broader upstream business. Shell also announced that Mavin Odum, long-time top official from the North American arm of Royal Dutch Shell, will retire after more than three decades at the company.

The two announcements are consistent with Shell’s decision to takeover BG, which was a large bet on LNG and offshore oil plays, particularly in Brazil and Australia. It is also evidence that Shell is deemphasizing its attention and resources on North America, where it has placed several costly bets that have soured. In 2013, Shell cancelled plans to build a $20 billion gas-to-liquids plant in Louisiana. In 2014, Shell sold off shale acreage in Texas, Colorado, and Kansas, according to Reuters, while also divesting itself of Pennsylvania and Louisiana shale gas assets. read more

Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) costly flameout in Alaska last year was “a huge disappointment,” but did not push top North American executive Marvin Odum to exit the company, he said.

Odum made the comments hours after the company announced he would leave next month after 34 years.

“This should not be interpreted as, ‘Alaska didn’t work, so Marvin’s leaving,” Odum, 57, said in an interview.

Instead, he said he decided it was time to move on after heading Shell Oil Co, the Anglo-Dutch company’s U.S arm, since 2008. He later became head of exploration and production operations in the Americas as well. read more