Jul 1st, 2022
by John Donovan.
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The Guardian
Shell may have to abandon £3bn stake in Russian gas plant
Kremlin sets up new firm to own Sakhalin-2 plant, with stakeholders given a month to sign up or they could lose money
Alex Lawson Energy correspondent: Fri 1 Jul 2022: 12.50 BST
Shell could be forced to abandon a £3bn investment in a huge Russian gas plant after Vladimir Putin threatened to seize the rights to the project.
The Kremlin has said it plans to transfer the rights to the Sakhalin-2 plant in the far east of Russia to a new Russian company, citing economic security and national interests.read more
Energy stalwart Shell (SHEL.L) has warned that its exit from Russia could cost it as much as $5bn (£3.8bn) in the first three months of this year.
Shell will write off between $4bn and $5bn in the value of its assets, but the post-tax impairments will not impact the company’s earnings, it said in an update ahead of its earnings announcement in May.
Thursday’s announcement offers a first glimpse of the potential financial hit to western oil companies withdrawing from the country following its invasion of Ukraine.read more
Mar 10th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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sky news
Shell boss bags 26% leap in annual pay package after COVID oil price recovery
Ben van Beurden took home 57 times more than the median Shell worker in 2021 but will be facing pressure to temper awards for the current year as surging oil and gas prices bring misery to households and business alike.
The chief executive of Shell’s pay package rose by 26% to €7.4bn (£6.2m) last year amid a recovery in oil prices from COVID crisis lows, according to the company’s annual report.read more
Mar 8th, 2022
by John Donovan.
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AP
Shell says it will stop buying Russian oil, natural gas
By DANICA KIRKA: 8 MARCH 2022
LONDON (AP) — Energy giant Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and shut down its service stations, aviation fuels and other operations in the country amid international pressure for companies to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine.
The company said in a statement that it would withdraw from all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, “in a phased manner.”read more
Shell oil company released a statement Saturday saying it is “appalled” by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will do what it can to avoid purchasing oil from Russia while acknowledging that it recently did purchase crude oil from the country.
“We are appalled by the war in Ukraine and have already made clear our intention to exit joint ventures with Gazprom – which is majority-owned by the Russian government – and related entities, as well as intending to end our involvement with a significant project to pipe gas from Russia to Europe.”read more
Shell said it’s selling a 27.5% stake in Sakhalin-II, an integrated oil and gas project located on the Sakhalin island in Russia, as well as a 50% interest in Salym Petroleum Development N.V.
“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement.
The company said that it had about $3 billion in “noncurrent assets” through its Gazprom ventures at the end of 2021.
Shell said Monday it is ending an “equity partnership” with Gazprom, a Russian state-owned energy company, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues.
Shell said it’s selling a 27.5% stake in Sakhalin-II, an integrated oil and gas project located on the Sakhalin island in Russia, as well as a 50% interest in Salym Petroleum Development N.V., “a joint venture with Gazprom Neft that is developing the Salym fields in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District of western Siberia.” The company also said it’s ending its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.read more
May 13th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Sakhalin-2 LNG postpones part of maintenance to 2021 -source
13/05/2020
Russia’s Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant will postpone some annual maintenance work to 2021 due to logistic difficulties over the spread of the coronavirus, a source familiar with the plans told Reuters on Tuesday.
Russia’s second-largest LNG plant after Novatek-led Yamal LNG had initially planned to complete the work this summer.
However, the source said the maintenance would be done gradually, at one of two lines and start in June. The first stage of the maintenance would last about a month, the source said.read more
The gas giant Gazprom is no longer in the spotlight after the US Treasury sanctioned Rosneft, the Russian national oil company, most probably triggering the collapse of the OPEC+ agreement and bringing about an unexpectedly low pricing environment for March 2020 within both the oil and gas segments. Having launched Power of Siberia to China, Gazprom is now intent on bringing Nord Stream-2 online before the end of the year, moving its own pipe-laying vessel from the Russian Far East to the Baltic region to deliver on all its major promises from the 2010s. Yet there is one project that has had significant problems starting up, combining in itself all the deficiencies of modern-day Russia.read more
Jan 17th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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JANUARY 17, 2020
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Gazprom Neft, Russia’s third largest oil producer, believes Moscow’s cooperation with OPEC on output will continue into the long term, Deputy Chief Executive Vadim Yakovlev told reporters on Friday.
He praised the decision by OPEC and non-OPEC nations, a group known as OPEC+, to exclude Russian gas condensate from Moscow’s quotas under their latest agreement to curb output, a move that allows Gazprom Neft to expand its condensate production.read more
Apr 10th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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April 10, 2019: 12:58PM
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has decided to exit the Baltic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project led by Russian state gas giant Gazprom in the Leningrad region, the chairman of Shell’s Russian unit said on Wednesday.
Shell, which has a long history of energy cooperation with Russia, said earlier on Wednesday it was studying the possible implications of a recent decision by Gazprom to move toward the full integration of its Baltic LNG and gas processing plants.read more
Moscow — Russian LNG is well positioned to compete with North American projects to reach new markets in Asia and the Atlantic Basin despite the challenges, a Shell executive said Wednesday at the LNG Congress in Moscow.
He pointed to the Far East, with the planned capacity expansion at the Sakhalin plant, the Arctic with Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 projects led by Russian Novatek, and the Baltic coast, with the Baltic LNG project.
But Russia is facing a challenge from North America as capital expenditure is generally lower over there. “Projects are built in a mature market,” he said. North American projects also benefit from special partnerships, supported by a low-tax regime.read more
Russia could become the largest natural gas producer in the world, Ben van Beurden, the CEO of Shell, wrote in an article for RIA Novosti.
“The world needs more natural gas to meet rising energy demand, to complement renewables and to replace coal in power generation. And the opportunity for Russia is huge. It is already the world’s largest exporter of natural gas and it enjoys the world’s largest commercial gas reserves. It is the second largest producer of natural gas. It could be the largest,” van Beurden said.read more
Mar 15th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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Russia can become the world’s top natural gas producer – Shell CEO
Published time: 15 March 2019
With the biggest natural gas reserves on the planet, Russia could become the world’s number one producer of the fuel, according to Ben van Beurden, the CEO of Anglo-Dutch energy major Shell.
The top executive says that rapidly increasing demand for natural gas has occurred due to the worldwide trend aimed at forcing out coal from power generation and the widening opportunity of available renewable energy sources.
“Russia’s chances in the field are huge,” van Beurden wrote in an article for RIA Novosti, stressing that the country is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas.
“It is the second largest producer of natural gas. It could be the largest,” he said.read more
Dec 12th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Dec 12, 2018
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Talks about a possible asset swap deal between Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom have been suspended, Kommersant business daily reported on Wednesday, citing Cederic Cremers, head of Shell’s business in Russia.
The memorandum on the possible asset swap was signed in 2015 and was seen as a coup for Gazprom at a time when many Western companies were reducing their exposure to Russia because of Western sanctions over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
Cremers also told the newspaper that the plans for the expansion of Sakhalin-2 plant, which produces 11 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year, hinge on the outcome of the talks with the Sakhalin-1 consortium led by Exxon Mobil Corp and Rosneft about gas supplies.read more
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Maarten Wetselaar, Member of the Executive Committee of Royal Dutch Shell, was recently held in St. Petersburg.
The parties discussed relevant issues related to bilateral cooperation, including the Baltic LNG project. Emphasis was placed on the priority measures aimed at developing a joint design concept (pre-FEED).read more
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Production of oil and natural gas at the Russian Pacific island of Sakhalin is expected to decline next year, the local government said in an emailed response to a Reuters query.
Sakhalin, which is also famous for producing seafood, derives most of its oil and natural gas from two offshore projects – Sakhalin-1, led by ExxonMobil, and Sakhalin-2, led by Russia’s Gazprom.
Sakhalin-1 shareholders also include Russia’s Rosneft, Japan’s Sodeco and India’s ONGC. Apart from Gazprom, Sakhalin-2 shareholders include Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi.read more
Mar 19th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Published by Will Owen, Editorial Assistant Monday 19 March 2018
Shell and Gazprom representatives have held a working meeting in St Petersburg to discuss the state and prospects of their strategic cooperation in the gas sector.
Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, led the Gazprom delegation; and Maarten Wetselaar, Member of the Executive Committee of Royal Dutch Shell, and his associates represented Shell.
During the meeting, particular attention was paid to joint efforts in the LNG industry, especially the construction of the third train of the LNG plant within the Sakhalin II project.read more
Nov 23rd, 2017
by John Donovan.
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A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Maarten Wetselaar, Member of the Executive Committee of Royal Dutch Shell, took place in St. Petersburg today.
The meeting addressed relevant aspects of strategic cooperation.
Particular attention was paid to joint efforts in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. The parties discussed the construction project for the third train of the LNG plant on Sakhalin Island and the progress of the Joint Study Framework Agreement for the Baltic LNG project.
The meeting also focused on the Nord Stream 2 project.
Background
Royal Dutch Shell is a British-Dutch oil and gas holding company focused on hydrocarbon production, processing and marketing in over 90 countries worldwide.read more
Oct 5th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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2017 October 5 15:37
Gazprom and Shell have confirmed their interest in implementation of the Baltic LNG project, IAA PortNews correspondent cites Aleksandr Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Gazprom, and Maarten Wetselaar, Integrated Gas and New Energies Director, Shell, as saying at the 7th St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPIGF-2017).
“Baltic LNG project will develop and we are participating in it financially”, said Maarten Wetselaar.
According to Shell, global LNG demand is 265 mln t per year and its growth prospects are good, particularly due to the markets of China, India and other Asian countries.read more
Sep 4th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Russia’s foreign partners for the Nord Stream 2 expressed a desire to stay in the project, thus indicating that the project is commercially effective.
04.09.2017: MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Gazprom’s foreign partners for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project say they want to continue participating in the project, despite US sanctions, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told Sputnik Monday.
“To find funding is not the most difficult question in this sense… Partners are needed precisely to protect the project, because it is a sign, an indicator that the project is commercially effective. The presence of foreign private partners is a signal about this, it’s not about financing as such,” Dvorkovich said answering the question about the impact of the new US sanctions against Russia in relation to the Nord Stream 2 funding.read more
Aug 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Sergey Starodubtsev, the CEO of Shell NeftRoyal, said that Dutch Shell plans to increase the number of its gasoline stations in Russia to about 450.
24.8.2017: MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell intends to double the number of its gasoline stations in Russia to about 450, the CEO of company’s Russian subsidiary Shell Neft, Sergey Starodubtsev, said Wednesday.
“In Russia, Shell has 227 filling stations at the moment — in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other regions of Russia, for example, in Tatarstan. Do we plan to expand the network? Yes, we plan…. Shell considers Russia one of the priority regions… At least, we are planning to double the number of gas stations in Russia in the near term,” Starodubtsev said at a press conference.read more
Aug 3rd, 2017
by John Donovan.
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By: Henry Foy in Moscow and Andrew Ward in London
International energy investments in Russia will suffer from new US sanctions imposed on Moscow, executives have warned… A senior executive at a western oil group with a large presence in Russia told the Financial Times that the new sanctions “could be a disaster” given its current business in the country. Mr van Beurden said Shell had authorisation from Dutch authorities to press ahead with financing of Nord Stream 2, but was waiting to see how the US situation “evolves.”read more
Jun 22nd, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Russian Prime Minister Medvedev on Wednesday congratulated the Royal Dutch Shell company on the occasion of its 125th anniversary of working in Russia, and stressed that the company is deeply integrated in the Russian economy and is one of Russia’s main foreign investors.
23 June 2017
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden to discuss the plans regarding the company’s future work in Russia, including the construction and financing of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
“Today Shell is firmly integrated into our national economy and is one of our biggest foreign investors. Its companies and joint ventures are involved in various business areas: from exploration and production of mineral resources to the manufacture of fuel and lubricants and their sale at filling stations,” Medvedev wrote in a letter released by the government.read more
May 30 (UPI) — Russian energy company Gazprom said it signed agreements with Royal Dutch Shell that could expand on bilateral deals related to liquefied natural gas.
Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller hosted delegates from Shell at his Moscow office to discuss future collaboration on projects covered under strategic cooperation agreements from 2015.
Gazprom holds a 50 percent stake in the Sakhalin liquefied natural gas project on Russia’s far eastern coast, while Shell controls a 27.5 percent stake. Japanese companies hold the remaining interest.read more
May 29th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell is a British-Dutch oil and gas company focused on hydrocarbon production, processing and marketing in over 90 countries worldwide.
Gazprom and Shell are jointly engaged in the Sakhalin II project, which includes Russia’s only active LNG plant. The Sakhalin II operator is Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Gazprom – 50 per cent plus one share, Shell – 27.5 per cent minus one share, Mitsui – 12.5 per cent, and Mitsubishi – 10 per cent). In 2015, Gazprom and Shell signed the Memorandum to construct the third production train of the LNG plant, as well as the Agreement of Strategic Cooperation providing for the expansion of the companies’ joint project portfolio, including a potential asset swap.read more
Apr 24th, 2017
by John Donovan.
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April 24, 2017, 11:49:10 AM EDT By MT Newswires
American depository shares of Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) were up nearly 2% Monday after the oil major said it and four European energy firms signed financing agreements for Gazprom’s proposed Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. Shell said each of the five energy companies has committed to provide financing and guarantees for up to 10% of the total cost of the Nord Stream 2 project, which is currently estimated at EUR9.5 billion ($10.3 billion).read more
Oct 14th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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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
Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer of Shell, discussed developments in their strategic cooperation, signed in 2015, this week at the sixth St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.
The parties discussed a wide range of issues related to the development of strategic partnership in the energy sector, paying particular attention to the construction project for the third production train of the LNG plant on Sakhalin Island (Sakhalin II project). It was noted that the preparation of design and FEED documentation is nearing completion.read more
Gazprom said on Thursday it plans to launch a third liquefied natural gas (LNG) production train at the Sakhalin-2 LNG plant in 2021, possibly fed by a newly drilled field, as Russian companies seek to boost their share of the global LNG market.
Russia accounts for less than 5 percent of the global LNG market but new plants are being built or considered by Novatek, Gazprom and Rosneft.
Located at Prigorodnoye on Sakhalin island, Sakhalin-2, Russia’s sole LNG plant, operates two production lines with a combined capacity of 10 million tonnes of LNG per year. The third train should add another 5 million tonnes.read more
Sep 28th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Partners at Russia’s Sakhalin-2, the sole liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the country, have agreed on the strategy of marketing LNG from the planned third train, Olivier Lazare, head of Royal Dutch Shell in Russia, told a conference.
Sakhalin-2 is currently operating two LNG production trains with combined capacity of around 10 million tonnes of LNG per year. The planned third train should add another 5 million tonnes of annual capacity.read more
Jul 11th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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11 July 2016
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is interested to take part in developing Russia’s Yuzhno-Kirinskoye field, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden told Russia’s Vedomosti daily newspaper in an interview.
He added that expansion of the Sakhalin-2 LNG project in Russia’s Pacific Island of Sakhalin may need gas both from that field and from the Sakhalin-1 project.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Dmitry Solovyov)
Russia’s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) could gain control over some of the assets that Shell (RDSa.L) acquired earlier this year from BG group, a senior Gazprom executive said in an interview.
Gazprom’s Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev said the BG holdings could be included in an asset swap deal between Gazprom and Shell that was announced last year. He did not say what the BG holdings were or where they were located.read more
The parties discussed the progress of and prospects for strategic cooperation in the LNG sector, paying particular attention to the construction project for the third production train of the LNG plant on Sakhalin Island (Sakhalin II project). Design and FEED documentation are currently being prepared for the new production train.read more
Following a meeting with Putin, Royal Dutch Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden and state-owned gas giant Gazprom announced plans to build an LNG plant in Russia together. France’s Total is working with Russia’s largely private gas producer on a liquefied natural gas project.
The fact that the CEOs of top American companies have in a sense defied their government shows that they put their business interests before any political considerations, analysts say.read more
Jun 16th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Shell CEO Ben van Beurden bows to Russian President Putin at the Kremlin: April 2014
Thu Jun 16, 2016
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 16 (Reuters) – Energy major Shell and Russia’s gas major Gazprom will jointly invest $13 billion in three projects in Russia, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.
Novak said that Shell would take part in the development of Gazprom’s Yuzhno-Kirinskoye gas field offshore Russia’s Sakhalin island in the Pacific.
The two companies will also jointly invest in the Baltic Sea Liquefied Natural Gas plant and in the Sakhalin-2 LNG plant expansion. read more
Jun 16th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Shell CEO Ben van Beurden bows to President Putin
Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:11am EDT
Gazprom and Shell signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding on construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the Russian coast of the Baltic Sea.
The memorandum says the companies will look into possibilities of building the LNG plant in the port of Ust-Luga with an annual capacity of 10 million tonnes.
Gazprom and Shell are already partners in Russia’s only LNG plant on the Pacific island of Sakhalin which has a capacity of 10 million tonnes per year.read more
Jun 16th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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16 June 2016
Russia’s Gazprom and Anglo-Dutch energy major Shell have inked a letter of understanding to begin a liquefied natural gas project at the Russian port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.
CEOs Aleksey Miller and Ben van Beurden signed the agreement at the 20th International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.
The project aims to diversify Gazprom’s LNG sales operations and to boost its LNG portfolio.
The enterprise will reportedly include a two-train LNG plant as well as a pipeline connected to the Gazprom network. The Baltic LNG Plant will have a capacity of about 10 million tons of gas annually with an option to expand to 15 million tons. The new plant will start operating in December 2021.read more
Jun 16th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:29am GMT
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 16 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Royal Dutch Shell was a long-term and reliable partner for Russia.
Putin, who is attending the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum, made his remarks after Shell CEO Ben van Beurden asked the Russian leader to help support the company’s Russian business.
Van Beurden said Shell had made a lot of progress in its Sakhalin-2 LNG project with Russian gas giant Gazprom.read more
Jun 14th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:32pm GMT
MOSCOW, June 14 (Reuters) – Russian gas giant Gazprom and oil major Shell will sign a deal on a planned Baltic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on the sidelines of a forum in St. Petersburg later this week, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday.
He said the deal will be signed in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will meet Shell’s Chief Executive Ben van Beurden at the forum.
Gazprom plans to build the plant, which may produce up to 20 million tonnes of LNG per year, by December 2021.read more
Apr 29th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Friday, Apr 29, 2016
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer of Shell, took place in St. Petersburg today.
The parties addressed the prospects for collaboration between the companies under the Agreement of Strategic Cooperation. An emphasis was placed on a potential asset swap.
The meeting also reviewed the ongoing front-end engineering design (FEED) process for the third production train of the LNG plant within the Sakhalin II project.read more
Mar 29th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Extracts from an article by Kyle Mizokami published by THE WEEK: 29 MARCH 2016
Russia is staking its claim to the Arctic and is being more than a little unreasonable about it. In 2007 Russian robotic submarines planted the national flag under the North Pole. Russia claims the North Pole on the grounds that the Lomonosov Ridge, an extension of Russia’s continental shelf territory, passes underneath the pole.
Russia is preparing to back its claims up, too: As of 2015, it had established six new bases north of the Arctic Circle, including 16 deepwater ports and 13 airfields. Russia has deployed advanced S-400 long-range surface-to-air missiles, as well as “Bastion” supersonic anti-ship missiles, to protect Arctic bases. The vastness of the Arctic means these weapons don’t threaten other countries, but they do create fortified bases that will allow Russia to springboard ships, planes, and Arctic-trained troops into contested territory.read more
Mar 24th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Thu Mar 24, 2016
MOSCOW, March 24 (Reuters) – There are no changes in plans to expand Russia’s Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas plant, operated by Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom, Olivier Lazare, head of Shell’s operations in Russia, said on Thursday.
Gazprom and Shell plan to expand their plant on the Pacific island of Sakhalin, where Japan’s Mitsui and Mitsubishi are also shareholders, to add a further 5.4 million tonnes of annual capacity in 2021.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Alexander Winning)read more
Sakhalin Energy Investment Co., the only liquefied natural gas exporter in Russia, has agreed to begin design work on an expansion, the joint venture said Friday.
The partners — Gazprom PJSC, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. — will add a third production unit at the Sakhalin-2 LNG export terminal to raise capacity by 4.8 million metric tons to 14.4 million metric tons a year, Miyuki Shiga, a Mitsui spokeswoman, said by phone. The design process will take about a year and the first cargo from the new unit is expected to ship early next decade, Shiga said.read more
Aug 12th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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It could set major oil companies against each other but also superpower against superpower as they scramble to exploit the last untapped giant reserves in a part of the world where territorial boundaries remain unclear. No wonder some fear a new cold war.
Aug 10th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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MOSCOW | BY DENIS PINCHUK AND KATYA GOLUBKOVA: Mon 10 August 2015
Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) plans to build a strategic alliance with Russia’s Gazprom (GAZP.MM) could be in jeopardy after the United States added one of Gazprom’s biggest gas fields to its list of Russian sanctions on Friday.
Shell and Gazprom signed an agreement in June to develop a strategic alliance in the gas sector, ranging from upstream – exploration and production – to sales, including possible asset swaps.read more
Aug 8th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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The U.S. declared one of Russia’s largest offshore oil and natural gas fields off limits to American tools and expertise, potentially disrupting Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s plans…
SHELL CEO BEN VAN BEURDEN INTERVIEW ON CNBC SEPT 2014
The U.S. declared one of Russia’s largest offshore oil and natural gas fields off limits to American tools and expertise, potentially disrupting Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s plans to liquefy the fossil fuel for export.
Sanctions imposed to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime for the annexation of Crimea and support for Ukrainian separatists were expanded to bar the transport of U.S.-made equipment to Gazprom PJSC’s Yuzhno-Kirinskoye field off Russia’s eastern coast, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce statement on Friday.read more
Despite Western sanctions against the Russian government and businesses, Europe’s biggest oil company Anglo-Dutch Shell has agreed to swap a stake in one of its international energy assets in exchange for a piece of Gazprom’s Sakhalin III project, which involves developing one of the world’s biggest gas reserves.
The two are still deciding which asset to give the Russian gas monopoly, but the deal strengthens an already solid partnership between the two.read more
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See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our websites and/or our activities.
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SHELL PRELUDE TO DISASTER
The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell above, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.
The campaign waged on this website by John Donovan to persuade Edward Heerema to rename the worlds biggest ship, The Pieter Schelte - which he named after his late father, Pieter Schelte Heerema, a former Officer in the German Waffen-SS - has been successful. On Friday 6 February 2015, Allseas announced that it was changing the ships name, and on 9 February announced the new name - Pioneering Spirit.
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Shell Renewables Head to Leave Amid Fossil Fuel ShiftJune 30, 2023 14:49Financial PostBreadcrumb Trail Links PMN Business Shell Plc’s European renewable power boss Thomas Brostrom has decided to leave the company as the oil supermajor revises its strategy to focus more investment into fossil fuels. Author of the article: Bloomberg News …
Shell and BP take a beating as bank woes hit crude pricesMarch 15, 2023 17:36Proactive InvestorsBP PLC (LSE:BP.) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) shares have taken a hit, dropping over 8%, due to a sell-off in the banking sector.
The natural resources market has been volatile, with Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate falling by 4- …
Shell CEO Pay Up 50%March 9, 2023 21:23Manufacturing Business TechnologyCEO of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Beurden speaks at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. Shell paid outgoing Chief Executive Ben van Beurden a total of 9.7 million pounds ($11.5 million) in 2022 as the …
Former Shell CEO's pay jumped 53% to $11.5m in 2022March 9, 2023 11:17Gulf NewsBen van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during the 26th World Gas Conference in Paris, France, June 2, 2015
Image Credit: Reuters
London: Shell's former chief executive, Ben van Beurden, received a pay package of 9.7 …
SHELL’S ROLE IN NIGERIAN OPL 245 BRIBERY SCANDAL
Whatever fig leaves they might be trying to use to hide the truth, Shell and Eni paid over $1bn to a company called Malabu for the OPL 245 licence. Even though the payment was channelled through the Nigerian government, it was clear that Shell knew that the ultimate beneficiary was Dan Etete, the former minister of petroleum. Etete is the owner of Malabu, to whom he awarded the licence when he was Nigerian Minister of Petroleum.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
MORE INFORMATION
Shell appeased and collaborated with the Nazis. The oil giant instructed its employees in the Netherlands to complete a form giving particulars about their descent, which for some, amounted to a self-declared death warrant. Shell used slave labor and was a close business partner in Germany of I.G. Farben, the notorious Nazi run chemical giant that also used slave labor and supplied the Zyklon-B gas used during the Holocaust to exterminate millions of people, including children. Shell continued the partnership with the Nazis in the years after the retirement of Sir Henri and even after his death. It was money generated on Shell forecourts around the world, profiteering from cartel oil prices, that funded the Nazi party and saved it from financial collapse. Evidence about Shell's Nazi connections can be found in extracts from "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" Volumes 1 and 2 authored by historians paid by Shell, who had unrestricted access to Shell archives. There are 67 pages in total, so takes some time to download.
Photograph (full size here) shows a Swastika flag flying at the head office of Royal Dutch Petroleum, 30 Carel van Bylandtlaan, The Hague, during the Nazi occupation of the in World War II (From Image Database Hague Municipal)
Sir Henri Deterding, the founder of the Royal Dutch Shell Group - known as "The Most Powerful Man in the World" - who became an ardent Nazi and financial supporter of Hitler and the Nazi party.
Reading between the lines in various legal documents, it seems that the allegations are that after the technology in question had been disclosed to a Shell company in the USA, the information was passed to Shell in the Netherlands in breach of confidentiality. And Royal Dutch Shell subsequently exploited the technology without payment or credit to the company holding the rights; Newton Research Partners. The inference seems to be that Twister B.V. was founded by Shell partly on trade secrets stolen from Bloom/Newton.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a Shell website nor is it officially endorsed by or affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Originally co-founded by the late Alfred Donovan and his son John, it is now operated by John, Shell's "No.1 Enemy", aided by an expert team, with invaluable support from retired Shell senior executives and officials as guest contributors and leaked information from Shell insiders. (JOHN DONOVAN, WEBSITE OWNER) For nearly a decade, we have operated globally under the Royal Dutch Shell Plc top level domain name, dealing on Shell’s reluctant behalf with job applications, business proposals, Shell pension enquiries, shareholder enquiries, complaints, invitations to speak at conferences, an approach from the Dutch Defence Ministry and even terrorist threats. All meant for Shell. Prospect magazine has aptly described this website as being:"An open wound for Shell": WIPO proceedings by Shell to seize the domain name failed. NO SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES: All of our watchdog activities monitoring Royal Dutch Shell, including operating this website, are carried out on a non-profit basis. Any advertising revenues generated are used to recover and/or defray operational costs. We are a news aggregator and original content website. All information is available free for educational and research purposes. SHELL TACIT ENDORSEMENT: WHAT A WELL INFORMED SHELL OFFICIAL SAID ABOUT US:
"John and Alfred Donovan well known in UK/Hague. They perceive Shell played them and so have made it their mission to embarrass,belittle and criticize Shell, which they do quite well. Their website, royaldutchshellplc.com is an excellent source of group news and comment and I recommend it far above what our own group internal comms puts out."
WARNING TO SHELL EMPLOYEES: Shell Global Affairs Security "CAS") is spying on Shell employees globally trying to trace who is visiting, posting, or leaking information to this website from Shell premises. Threats, including death threats, have allegedly been made against conscience driven Shell whistleblowers supplying us with information. The worlds biggest leak of employee details as part of a claimed corporate revolution by 116 Shell employees, suggest the espionage operation, threats and draconian litigation have not been entirely successful in cutting off the supply of information to this website. The insider leaks had already cost Shell billions on the Sakhalin Energy project and the loss of SEIC Deputy Chairman, David Greer. We publish our own carefully researched articles about Shell e.g. "How Royal Dutch Shell saved Hitler and the Nazi Party". MEDIA COVERAGE: Prospect Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian, have all published major articles about us: "Rise of the Gripe Site";"Two men and a website mount vendetta against Shell' and "92-year-old's website leaves oil giant Shell-shocked”. SHELL PETROL STATION images displayed in the website header panel are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Information on copyright issues here.
John Donovan can be contacted at [email protected]
SHELL’S $500,000 WEDDING GIFT TO CORRUPT BRUNEI ROYAL FAMILY
EXTRACT FROM ASIAN JOURNAL ARTICLE IN LIST OF LINKS BELOW: "Fireworks will light up the sky for three nights. The local unit of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has donated 500,000 Brunei dollars (US$292,400; euro 243,700) for the display, and for cultural events to be hosted by popular performers from Malaysia."
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS:
THIS IS WHAT IT SAID:
Subject: This could be the most important whistleblower email you have ever received.
Some unfortunate Royal Dutch Shell workers have already lost their lives. More lives are at stake.
My name is Bill Campbell. I am a former Group Auditor of Shell International. I am writing to you on a matter of conscience in an effort to avert the inevitability of another major accident in the North Sea. The consequences could potentially impact on families in many constituencies, including your own.
As Royal Dutch Shell and the Health & Safety Executive would acknowledge, I am an expert on safety matters relating to offshore oil and gas platforms. In 1999, I was appointed by Shell to lead a safety audit on the Brent Bravo platform. The audit revealed a platform management culture that basically gave a higher priority to production than the safety of Shell employees. To our astonishment we discovered that a "Touch F*** All" policy was in place. Worse still, safety records were routinely falsified and repairs bodged.
I personally brought the shocking situation to the attention of senior management including Malcolm Brinded, the then Managing Director of Shell Exploration & Production. I revealed that ESDV leak-off tests were purposely falsified, not once but many times and that Brent Bravo platform management had admitted responsibility for the dangerous practices being followed. In response to my team ringing alarm bells, management pledged to rectify the serious problems which had been uncovered.
When I later complained that the pledges were not being kept, I was removed from my oversight function.
Four years later, a massive gas leak occurred on the platform. Two workers lost their lives. I have no doubt at all that the inaction of the relevant Asset Manager, the General Manager, the Oil Director and Malcolm Brinded, contributed in some part to the unlawful killing of two persons on Brent Bravo in September 2003.
Shell subsequently pleaded guilty to breaches of the HSE regulations and a record-breaking £900,000 fine was imposed. I thought this would bring about a real change in policy to put the emphasis on safety.
Unfortunately I was wrong. Although I supplied the evidence related to 1999, and the fact that there had been a collapse in controls of integrity from 1999 to 2003 on all 16 of Shell's North Sea offshore installations covered in a post fatality integrity review to the HSE for review by the Procurator Fiscal, none of this evidence was presented before the Sheriff at the subsequent Inquiry. The situation is explained in a letter to the Procurator Fiscal and the Sheriff (on 24th February 2007).
Shell management has engaged in spin to try to pretend that it is getting to grips with its safety problem. However, its atrocious safety record - the worst in the North Sea in terms of accidental deaths and absolute number of enforcement actions – tells a different story. This fact has resulted in a number of newspaper articles.
I have had meetings with senior Shell people including its CEO Mr. Jeroen van der Veer. I regret to say that I have found him to be economical with the truth. He prefers to support cover-up and deceit rather than confronting the underlying problems. Brinded is now Executive Director of Shell Exploration & Production. He believes in burying evidence.
My family and friends would probably prefer me to give up on this matter and enjoy my retirement after so many years working for Shell.
However, by writing to every MP in the UK, no one can ever say that I did not do my best to avert an inevitable further major accident event in the North Sea. When it happens (I pray that I am wrong) I will make this warning communication available to the media together with the vast amount of evidence in my possession.
At least my conscience is clear. I have done everything possible to ring the alarm bells about Shell management and its unscrupulous attitude to the safety of its employees.
Yours sincerely
Bill Campbell
ENDS
(Malcolm Brinded and Jeroen van der Veer are no longer with Shell. The Oil Director referred to in the email is Chris Finlayson, who left Shell to become Chief Executive of British Gas before being fired - his photo immediately below)
SIR PHILIP WATTS, THE GROUP CHAIRMAN OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP, FORCED TO RESIGN IN 2004
Shell’s reputation was destroyed in 2004 after FIVE consecutive cuts to its hydrocarbon reserves covering 55% of its total reserves. US and UK financial regulators imposed $150 million in fines on Shell for securities fraud. Shell was also rocked by class action lawsuits. Sir Philip Watts
and Walter van de Vijver (whose headcut images appear courtesy of The Wall Street Journal) were among the Shell executives forced to resign. More details at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: The Shell reserves scandal brought about
the end of the Royal Dutch Shell Group in its original form as an Anglo-Dutch partnership.
Shell Transport & Trading Co and Royal Dutch Petroleum were unified into a single Dutch owned company - Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Sir Philip turned to religion and is now a very wealthy priest after receiving a payoff/pension package from Shell reportedly worth $18.5 million. Walter van de Vijver in contrast was the victim of a sadistic sacking by his Shell senior management backstabbing colleagues.
Displayed below are some of the spectacular promotional campaigns my company Don Marketing created for Shell in the 1980s and 1990s. This was before the series of SIX high court actions we brought against Shell for stealing ideas (4) and for defamation (2) - all settled by Shell. This website is a permanent response by me to the malicious underhand tactics, including treachery, espionage and intimidation, used by Shell during and after the bouts of litigation. More information is printed at the foot of this column.
MORE DETAILS: After a solicitor acting for Shell threatened to make the litigation "drawn out and difficult" with the intention of draining the resources of a financially weaker opponent, my late father (Alfred Donovan) and I decided to mount a wide-ranging campaign as a counter-measure. We jointly founded the Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, which nearly 15% of Shell UK retailers joined. We regularly conducted ethical surveys involving up to 1500 Shell petrol stations. All responses were opened and authenticated by an independent solicitor who supplied Affidavits confirming the results. In whole page announcements in trade magazines (examples above) we challenged Shell to commission and publish the resuits of independent research asking the same questions and offering respondents GUARANTEED anonymity. Shell never took up the invitation. Instead it asked the UK Advertising Standards Authority to investigate our Shell surveys. No problems were found. The head-cut image of Alfred Donovan appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
SHELL CONTROVERSIES
selection of memorable warnings/articles/images associated with the controversial track record of Royal Dutch Shell.
WARNING: DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR IDEAS TO SHELL GameChanger OR SHELL Ideas360 WITHOUT TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION. Shell management has ample funds to pay for intellectual property but prefers to steal it from small businesses and in our experience, gives its full backing to dishonest managers willing to do its bidding. We have sued Shell repeatedly in the High Court for the theft of our Intellectual Property. It is doubtful if anyone can match our dire experience in dealing with this ruthless unscrupulous serial poacher of other parties ideas. Expect threats, legal machinations and sinister action from Shell and its spooks if you object to having your ideas stolen.
Some years ago extensive documentary evidence was brought to the attention of Malcolm Brinded above, when he was Chairman of Shell UK, proving beyond any doubt that Shell executives had conspired to rig a tender for a major contract. A number of innocent firms were deliberately lured into signing confidentiality agreements and disclosing Intellectual Property to Shell under false pretences, in a carefully contrived plot. The firm which was awarded the contract never took part in the tender. One objective of the Machiavellian plan was to stop/delay IP trade secrets owned by the participants in the tender from being disclosed to Shell's rivals. This was achieved by outright deception, without paying a cent to the firms involved, who wrongly believed they were participating in an honest tender. Instead of sacking the ring leader, AJL - who had a personal relationship with the firm which miraculously won the race in which it never ran - Shell senior directors, including Brinded, gave AJL their full backing. Some of the Shell executives involved, including for example, Tim Hannagan, still hold high positions inside Shell - in his case, Global Brand and Visual Identity Manager. If Shell does not accept that this is a true, provable account of what happened, then it should sue for libel. How on earth is such predatory conduct compatible with Shell's claimed business principles?