FEBRUARY 5, 2020

(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell, which plans billions of dollars in spending on shale drilling projects, boosted output in the top U.S. shale field to 250,000 barrels per day in December, the company’s Permian Basin head said on Wednesday.

Shell plans to spend about $3 billion per year for the next five years on shale projects, said Amir Gerges, vice president of Permian assets for Shell, at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston. Its Permian Basin production rose more than 100,000 barrels per day in the last year. read more

Royal Dutch Shell is officially moving out of the gassy Haynesville shale after selling its last package of acreage to a private Houston firm.

Houston-based Castleton Resources, which primarily focuses on the Haynesville in East Texas and Louisiana, will scoop up about 55,000 net acres from Shell that’s currently producing more than 100,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day. The companies are not revealing the sale price.

Shell previously sold most of its Haynesville position five years ago, but still had some piecemeal remaining acreage. read more

Dec. 27 (UPI) — Shell Argentina, which two months ago sold a refinery and fuel stations, said Thursday it will move to develop unconventional oil fields in the Vaca Muerta basin, aiming at 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2025.

The decision includes developing the Sierras Blancas, Cruz de Lorena and Coiron Amargo southwest blocks, the company told UPI in a statement sent by email on Thursday.

“Vaca Muerta makes up an important part of our global shale portfolio and we see substantial long-term growth potential there,” said Andy Brown, Shell Global Upstream Director. read more

Anglo-Dutch oil major banks on Gulf of Mexico to help navigate energy transition read more

By Staff reporter

The assets, which include service stations and asphalt production, were sold to Brazil’s Raizen for $916 million.

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: March 9, 2018

Royal Dutch Shell is working with the private equity firm Blackstone Group on a $10 billion (£7.2 billion) bid for BHP Billiton’s US shale assets.

The Anglo-Dutch oil group first expressed interest in the assets, some of which neighbour its own existing shale fields in the Permian basin, last month.

It has now teamed up with the private equity giant to work on a joint offer, Sky News reported last night. Shell and Blackstone both declined to comment. read more

Ron Bousso. Ernest Scheyder: 8 March 2018

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) is focused on increasing its U.S. shale operation’s oil production while slowing investment in lower-margin natural gas, an executive said on Thursday.

The Anglo-Dutch company aims to boost its overall shale production by 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) to 500,000 boe/d between 2017 and 2020, mostly in the United States with some production in Argentina.

Although the shale business has yet to generate a profit, it is expected to do so next year, Greg Guidry, who heads Shell’s shale operations, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

Shell, like Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N), aims to make shale production a driver of growth in the next decade. But today most of its output is natural gas, where profit margins are lower.

As a result, around 85 percent of Shell’s shale budget for at least the next two years will go toward new oil resources, particularly in the Permian oilfield of West Texas and Canada’s Duvernay Basin, Guidry said. read more

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Shell, the FTSE 100 oil behemoth, is plotting a $10bn (£7.3bn) joint takeover bid for the American shale division of BHP, the world’s biggest miner.

Sky News has learnt that Shell and Blackstone, the private equity firm, have agreed to work together on an offer for the assets, which were put up for sale last summer by BHP amid pressure from an activist investor.

A joint offer from Shell and Blackstone would be only one of several credible proposals that BHP is expecting to receive for the US shale operations, according to banking sources. read more

Forecasters at Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil major, have predicted that global oil demand could peak within a decade as electric cars and other clean energy technologies gain larger market shares.

March 5, 2018 Updated: March 5, 2018 8:42pm

Houston’s energy industry, which drives the local economy, has much brighter days ahead as global oil demand climbs, shale production booms and U.S. crude grabs larger shares of global markets, according to forecasts, industry officials and analysts.

The United States is already pumping oil at record levels above 10 million barrels a day, surpassing Saudi Arabia, and may take over from Russia as the world’s production leader by the end of 2018. Over the next five years, daily U.S. production is expected to climb 3.5 million barrels, or 35 percent, to more than 13 million barrels, according to a forecast by the International Energy Agency, which monitors the global oil industry. read more

By David Messler – Mar 05, 2018, 12:00 PM CST

Shell has spent the last three years reinventing itself for the energy future it sees in the coming decades. A few years back, Shell was a company struggling to find its footing. Exploration success was declining, as was daily liquids production. From the graph below you can see that the lack of success in exploration was starting to equate to reduced production. An oil company’s life can be measured in production, and they were not replacing the oil being produced. read more

Shell’s deepwater production in Brazil, Nigeria, the Gulf of Mexico is much bigger and more profitable, but the firm sees the nimble, fast-returns U.S. onshore shale as an engine for growth.

“We can see strong (shale) production growth, strong cash surpluses that gives us a balance in our portfolio where you can ramp investment up and down, you can moderate that, very unlike deepwater which is quite chunky,” Andy Brown told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the IP Week conference. read more

…oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil are rushing to scoop up the best acreage…

By Matthew Smith – Feb 15, 2018, 5:00 PM CST

The end of the Peronist hold on Argentine politics and rise of pro-business president Mauricio Macri has heralded in a new age for what was long regarded as one of the most economically unstable nations in Latin America.

The former Buenos Aires mayor and businessman won the presidency in 2015, ousting his mercurial populist Peronist predecessor Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Since coming to power, Macri has worked to restructure a shattered economy ruined by decades of market warping tariffs and subsidies, protectionism, heavy handed regulation, rampant inflation and unsustainable fiscal policies. read more

Communities like Fox Creek, Alberta, are feeling the economic benefits of the shale boom, along with fracking-linked earthquakes. 

Drilling has been so intense near Fox Creek, Alberta that it’s been linked to a series of earthquakes.Brennan Linsley/AP Photo

In the Western Alberta town of Fox Creek, roughnecks shuffle through hotel lobbies, freight trucks choke slushy streets and, every once in a while, tremors shake the earth.

Welcome to Canada’s biggest shale boom. Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Encana Corp., Murphy Oil Corp. and XTO Energy Inc. are among those flocking to Fox Creek to stake their claim in the oil-rich Duvernay shale formation. 

Here, the prize is condensate, an ultra-light oil that’s perfect for diluting the heavy tar-sands crude for which Alberta is known. More locally produced diluent would be a plus for Canadian companies that now depend on the U.S. — and for communities like Fox Creek that are feeling the economic benefits along with fracking-linked earthquakes. More of both may be in the offing as drillers flock in Chevron’s wake into the Duvernay region. read more

FILE PHOTO: Four rigs drill at the Super Pad in Seven Generations Energy’s Kakwa River Project in northwest Alberta, Canada in a photo provided January 19, 2018. Seven Generations Energy Ltd/Handout via REUTERS

Nia Williams: 29 JAN 2018

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – The revolution in U.S. shale oil has battered Canada’s energy industry in recent years, ending two decades of rapid expansion and job creation in the nation’s vast oil sands.

Now Canada is looking to its own shale fields to repair the economic damage.

Canadian producers and global oil majors are increasingly exploring the Duvernay and Montney formations, which they say could rival the most prolific U.S. shale fields.

Canada is the first country outside the United States to see large-scale development of shale resources, which already account for 8 percent of total Canadian oil output. China, Russia and Argentina also have ample shale reserves but have yet to overcome the obstacles to full commercial development. read more

A pump jack in a Permian Basin oil field in West Texas. The area has been a focus of the shale drilling boom. Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS: JAN. 28, 2018

HOUSTON — A substantial rise in oil prices in recent months has led to a resurgence in American oil production, enabling the country to challenge the dominance of Saudi Arabia and dampen price pressures at the pump.

The success has come in the face of efforts by Saudi Arabia and its oil allies to undercut the shale drilling spree in the United States. Those strategies backfired and ultimately ended up benefiting the oil industry.

Overcoming three years of slumping prices proved the resiliency of the shale boom. Energy companies and their financial backers were able to weather market turmoil — and the maneuvers of the global oil cartel — by adjusting exploration and extraction techniques. read more

Liz Hampton: 16 JAN 2018

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Surging shale production is poised to push U.S. oil output to more than 10 million barrels per day – toppling a record set in 1970 and crossing a threshold few could have imagined even a decade ago.

And this new record, expected within days, likely won’t last long. The U.S. government forecasts that the nation’s production will climb to 11 million barrels a day by late 2019, a level that would rival Russia, the world’s top producer. read more

Printed below is an English translation of an article published by the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad under the headline “Shell is fully committed to oil and gas from shale“.

By Bert van Dijk • Energy Editor

Shale gas and shale oil may then have a negative sound in Europe and hardly play a role, governments in the US, Canada, China and Argentina do see a lot of it. Shell hopes to benefit from this favorable investment climate in the coming years, especially now that the company has drastically reduced the costs of extracting shale gas and oil in recent years. read more

Oil major’s disposals continue with stake in Dutch wind farm

by Tsveta Zikolova: Monday, 08 Jan 2018, 08:58 GMT

The growth of Royal Dutch Shell’s (LON:RDSA) oil and gas operations in the next decade will depend on shale production, the company’s chief executive has told the Financial Times. In a separate development, Reuters reports that the energy major has inked a deal to offload a stake in a Dutch wind farm.

Shell’s share price has been little changed this morning, having inched 0.04 percent lower to 2,529.00p as of 08:24 GMT. The group’s shares are marginally outperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.15 percent lower at 7,712.82 points. read more

Mon, 8th Jan 2018 07:34

According to the newspaper, van Beurden sees “chemicals, electricity and biofuels as key sectors for Shell’s long-term future”. Depending on the price of oil in the 2020s, the CEO said, the oil major would probably want to continue investing in shale “because we will really want to grow this business quite quickly”.

Van Beurden said Shell has been working hard in the past few years to reduce shale production costs, and with “a little bit of help from the oil price going up, we now see that we can significantly accelerate investment into this opportunity”. read more

Ed Crooks in New York: Sunday 7 Jan 2018

The growth of Royal Dutch Shell’s oil and gas operations in the next decade will depend on shale production, its chief executive has said, in the latest sign of western energy groups pinning their hopes for expansion on those “unconventional” resources. Ben van Beurden told the Financial Times that he saw chemicals, electricity and biofuels as key sectors for Shell’s long-term future… FULL FT ARTICLE

Three years after causing an oil-price crash, the shale boom may not be enough to meet rising global demand because the industry has cut back so sharply on higher-risk mega-projects.

Discoveries of new reserves this year were the fewest on record and replaced just 11 percent of what was produced, according to a Dec. 21 report by consultant Rystad Energy. While shale wells are creating a glut now, without more investment in bigger, conventional supply, the world may see output deficits as soon as 2019, according to Canadian producer Suncor Energy Inc. read more

Shell, in an initiative called “iShale,” has marshaled technology from a dozen oilfield suppliers, including devices from subsea specialist TechnipFMC Plc that separate fracking sand from oil and well-control software from Emerson Electric Co, to bring more automation and data analysis to shale operations.

Ernest Scheyder: NOVEMBER 28, 2017

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Shale oil engineer Oscar Portillo spends his days drilling as many as five wells at once – without ever setting foot on a rig. read more

Mark Dixon discussed the hazards of having an ethane cracker plant close to Pittsburgh during a talk in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room Wednesday evening. (Photo by Issi Glatts | Staff Photographer)

Remy Samuels: Staff Writer: November 16, 2017

When Mark Dixon found out Shell Oil Company planned to build a petrochemical plant in nearby Beaver County, he immediately thought of the pollution and environmental devastation that would soon take place there.

“It really pissed me off,” Dixon said. read more

“There were a few mishaps in BG that really hammered their share price and we saw them coming into this funny situation where the share price came down, but we could only see the value go up so we needed to take a hardened look at it again,” Mr van Beurden said. “And then while we were looking at it the oil price started crashing, which actually opened the window even further.”

Energy editor Rita Brown heads to the Hague to hear exclusively how Shell’s chief executive has viewed the last three years since the oil price crash

Written by Rita Brown – 04/09/2017 7:29 am

Ben van Beurden’s rise to the top coincided with the oil price riding the crest of a wave.

But for a man who assumed Shell’s chief executive role just months before it all came crashing down, he sums up the last three years as “a blessing”.

“Less than a year into my new role, the oil price started going down and it’s been quite a journey, but if I look back on it I think this is probably the biggest blessing that I’ve had,” he said.

“It has done two things. First of all it provided a tremendous amount of focus on the things that needed doing. I mean, there’s nothing like a crisis to focus on cost efficiency. read more

Ukraine works to chart new energy strategy

Royal Dutch Shell at one point had a contract to explore what the Ukrainian government said was an area said to contain about 4 trillion cubic feet of shale natural gas.

By Daniel J. Graeber

Aug. 21 (UPI) — A Ukrainian government working to break out from under a Russian shadow said it’s developed a road map for a sustainable energy future.

Ukrainian energy security issues pre-date the outbreak of conflict that reached its zenith when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison a few years before the conflict on charges she abused authority when she helped broker a 2009 natural gas deal with Russia’s Gazprom. She later faced a $2.4 million suit for mismanaging her country’s United Energy Systems in the 1990s. read more

Shale drillers show few signs of slowing as profits expand

The optimism from the U.S. shale fields followed quarterly reports last week that showed major international producers including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are also learning to make money at $50 a barrel…

Alex Nussbaum and Joe Carroll, Bloomberg: Published 6:46 am, Wednesday, August 2, 2017

The shale surge that’s tied down global oil prices shows no signs of abating, as four of the biggest U.S. drillers said they’re not backing away from lofty production targets for 2017.

In second-quarter earnings reports, EOG Resources Inc., Devon Energy Corp., Newfield Exploration Co. and Diamondback Energy Inc. all outlined goals on Tuesday that would help push U.S. output toward a record 10 million barrels a day next year. Even Pioneer Natural Resources Co., which trimmed the top end of its forecast due to delays in the Permian shale basin, still expects to increase oil and natural gas volumes by 16 percent at year’s end. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Jul 03, 2017, 5:00 PM CDT

The shale revolution in the U.S. has led to a boom in domestic natural gas production, to the point that America is expected to become a net exporter of natural gas on an average annual basis by 2018.

Abundant gas at home has also led to a renaissance in the petrochemical industry in the U.S., which had suffered a downturn in 2008 and 2009. But then came the shale revolution, and chemical companies in the U.S. now use the affordable ethane—a natural gas liquid derived from shale gas—as a feedstock. read more

Majors including Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell have maintained Gulf operations but focused expansions on U.S. shale.

By REUTERS: JUNE 27, 2017, 1:09 A.M. E.D.T.

THUNDER HORSE OIL PLATFORM, Gulf of Mexico — About 300 BP workers commute 150 miles here by helicopter, from the Louisiana coast to a deep-sea drilling platform that can produce more oil in a day than a West Texas rig can pump in a year.

On the deck of Thunder Horse, they work two-week shifts, drink seawater from a desalination plant, and eat ribs and chicken ferried in by boat. On the ocean floor, robots provide remote eyes and arms as drills extract up to 265,000 barrels per day. read more

Zoltan Ban: May 8, 2017

When I decided to position for a coming oil price recovery towards the end of 2015, I decided on buying Shell (NYSE:RDS.A), alongside Suncor (NYSE:SU) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX). My investment strategy always has a longer term horizon, therefore Shell was an obvious choice, given the very generous dividend. When deciding to hold a stock for a number of years, it really makes a difference, as long as the dividend is sustainable, of course.

There were other factors which I saw as positive long term prospects that makes Shell stock worth holding on to for a while. Shell’s leadership in the LNG sector, in large part thanks to the BG deal is one of the things that attracted me to the stock. As I stated many times before, I believe that natural gas will eventually become the number one energy source on the planet and as such it will have to become more flexible in terms of delivery. LNG shipments will most likely become a globally strategic industry, which is likely to grow a lot in coming years and decades. read more

by: Andrew Ward and Anjli Raval in London

Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday rounded off the strongest set of quarterly results from “big oil” for over two years, even as a fresh slide in crude prices raised doubts over the sustainability of recovery from one of the deepest downturns in industry history. Brent crude fell below $50 per barrel on Thursday to its lowest level since November as confidence in Opec’s ability to overpower a resurgent US shale industry and ease a global oil surplus faded. read more

Royal Dutch Shell PLC inaugurated on Tuesday a treatment plant for shale oil and gas in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale play, one of the world’s largest.

The plant, announced in 2014, has a capacity to process up to 10,000 barrels per day from the Sierras Blancas, Cruz de Lorena and Coiron Amargo Sur Oeste blocks operated by Shell, the company said in a statement.

“(The plant) receives output from the wells of these blocks, processing the oil and gas to leave it ready for commercialization,” the statement said. read more

Harvey Jones | Thursday, 23rd March, 2017

Brent crude is now only a splash above $50. West Texas Intermediate has dripped to around $48. Predictions that oil would hit $60 or $70 on last year’s OPEC and non-OPEC production cuts have been shown to be desperately optimistic, and oil looks a tough play right now.

Straight to Shell

The share price of Anglo-Dutch major Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) flew upwards in the wake of the OPEC deal, hitting a 52-week high of 2,390p in early December. After management’s campaign of cost-cutting, non-core disposals and capex slashing, analysts reckoned it could break even at around $55-60, which would help to sustain its proud record of never having cut its dividend since the war. read more

* Shell to boost shale output by 140,000 bpoed by 2020

* Shell shale output profitable at average oil price $40/bbl

* Argentina shale development decision in 18 months

A drive to cut the cost of producing oil and gas from U.S. shale deposits has proven so effective that Shell has accelerated development plans, Guidry said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek industry conference in Houston.

It aims to boost output by 140,000 boepd over the next three years in the Permian basin in West Texas and the Duvernay region in Canada, said Guidry, an executive vice president. read more

By Amanda Cooper and Catherine Ngai | LONDON/NEW YORK

As far as one of the world’s biggest commodities traders, Glencore’s chief Ivan Glasenberg, is concerned, the oil market will be at the mercy of “a cat and mouse game” between OPEC and its U.S. shale rivals in the coming year.

A 16 percent price rally over the past week has delivered U.S. frackers a golden opportunity to hedge – or sell forward – their production for 2017 and beyond, to shore up their coffers against possible future price falls. read more

By Catherine Ngai and Ernest Scheyder

NEW YORK/HOUSTON In a corner of the prolific Bakken shale play in North Dakota, oil companies can now pump crude at a price almost as low as that enjoyed by OPEC giants Iran and Iraq.

Until a few years ago it was unprofitable to produce oil from shale in the United States. The steep slide in costs could encourage more U.S. shale output if OPEC members cut supplies, undermining the producer group’s ability to boost prices. OPEC ministers meet Wednesday to weigh output cuts to end a two-year glut that has pressured global oil prices. read more

Royal Dutch Shell expects to pump out all the fossil fuel reserves listed on its balance sheet, its chief executive said, dismissing concerns that production limits in the wake of the Paris climate accord could hit the energy giant’s valuation.

In an interview with Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, Ben van Beurden said the issue of “stranded” reserves – deposits in the ground that cannot be used because of carbon emissions limitations – would have no impact on balance sheets. read more

The week ahead in business and finance

By Tara Cunningham, business reporter: 30 OCTOBER 2016 • 11:41PM

Third Quarter Results: Tuesday, November 1

Confidence in enlarged Shell-BG entity was rattled after a very disappointing set of second quarter results, when it missed consensus forecasts by 52pc. Ahead of Tuesday’s interim results, analysts at UBS warned: “We don’t think it is reasonable to expect a significant uptick in earnings”.

Even though Royal Dutch Shell has a track-record of “volatile” quarters across the year, the bank highlighted that management have already been “quite explicit” in indicating that 2016 is likely to be “quite messy”. read more

Oct 20, 2016, 17:26 ET

CALGARY, Oct. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ – Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its affiliate Shell Canada Energy (“Shell”) today announced it has agreed to sell approximately 206,000 net acres of non-core oil and gas properties in Western Canada to Tourmaline Oil Corp. for a total consideration of approximately $1,037 million (C$1,369 million). The consideration is comprised of $758 million in cash and Tourmaline shares valued at $279 million. Subject to regulatory approvals the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016. read more

By Seattle Times staff: The Associated Press: 6 October 2016

ANACORTES — Shell Puget Sound Refinery announced Thursday it has terminated plans for a proposed oil-by-rail project at its refinery in Washington state.

Under the plan, trains would have brought crude oil from the Bakken fields of North Dakota to replace some of the supply Shell gets from Alaska’s North Slope.

Refinery general manager Shirley Yap told the Skagit Valley Herald on Thursday that recent low oil prices and abundant production elsewhere have slowed Midwest production, making it less of a good investment. read more

September 20, 2016, 4:48 P.M. ET

By Dimitra DeFotis

Allegedly illegal Nigerian oil exports valued at $12.7 billion are at the heart of a lawsuit the country has filed against units of Chevron (CVX), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA), Total (TOT) ENI (E) and Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR).

The case points to outsiders’ shipments to the United States between 2011 and 2014, but is likely to expose domestic corruption as well. Militants have crippled Nigeria’s oil production this year, a recurring theme over recent decades. Lagos hearings, which begin next week, come as the country struggles with the affects of policy stagnation, currency devaluation, inflation and low oil revenue. read more

By Ed Crooks: September 2, 2016

Over the past month, the big stories in the oil market have been speculation about a possible production freeze from Opec, and the reality of rising activity in the US shale industry.

The rumours of Opec action have followed the pattern that has become wearingly familiar over the past couple of years, since the landmark meeting in November 2014 confirming that Saudi Arabia was not prepared to cut production to try to stabilise prices.

As the meeting – in this case, a gathering on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algiers on September 26-28 – grows nearer, suggestions that a freeze will be discussed grow louder. Venezuela, which has the most urgent need for a higher oil price, sounds the most enthusiastic about curbing production. Other countries make supportive statements and agree to meet, without promising any action themselves. read more

By Rupert Hargreaves: The Motley Fool  Aug 4, 2016

Over the past 10 years, the oil industry has changed dramatically. Technological advances have helped reduce the cost of extracting oil from unconventional sources significantly, and as oil prices have plunged over the past two years, shale oil producers have ploughed more time and resources into pushing costs even lower.

As a result of this unrelenting drive to reduce costs and improve efficiency, it’s estimated that the majority of US shale fields can break even with oil at $60 a barrel. Scott Sheffield, the outgoing chief of Pioneer Natural Resources claims that Pioneer’s pre-tax production costs have fallen to $2.25 a barrel. read more

By Staff Writer on Jul 5, 2016 at 9:04 am EST

Earlier in March, Saudi Aramco’s subsidiary, Saudi Refining, Inc (SRI) and Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A), announced to dissolve their fuel partnership, Motiva Enterprise. Due to contradictory interests, both the entities signed a letter of intent (LOI), showing the division of assets held under joint venture (JV).

However, the disbanded venture has stuck another blow as Shell is seeking up to $2 billion as a part of breakup from its giant refining enterprise. The hefty compensation is due to Saudi Aramco’s retention of a larger stake in the venture for almost two decades. read more

Anjli Raval, Oil and Gas Correspondent: July 4, 2016

The US holds more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia and Russia, the first time it has surpassed those held by the world’s biggest exporting nations, according to a new study.

The US shale boom was a factor behind the recent oil price collapse that toppled the Brent crude benchmark from a mid-2014 high of $115 a barrel to below $30 earlier this year.

FULL FT ARTICLE

June 23, 2016

Summary

• Eighteen months ago Shell was considering exiting shale plays and focusing on its deepwater and LNG opportunities.
• Shell’s recent analyst day presentations revealed a company that is shifting its long term focus towards shale.
• We think that going forward the offshore drilling rig companies have major long term challenges and investors need to be aware that pre-crash cash flows aren’t coming back.

For the small sliver of global oil production that U.S shale oil actually represents it certainly has been a disruptive force.

Total shale production (there is no significant amount outside of the United States) is currently somewhere around 4.5 million barrels per day.

That is not much more than four percent of total current production which checks in at over 96 million barrels per day.

After having a look at Shell’s (NYSE:RDS.A) 2016 capital markets day presentation we think shale oil is going to become even more disruptive going forward for a select group of companies. read more

By Mella McEwen [email protected]: 22 June 2016

Too big. Too rigid. Not nimble enough.

Those are reasons why integrated oil companies could have a difficult time competing with independents in the unconventional shale plays that have led to a resurgence in the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Royal Dutch Shell, however, disagrees with that reasoning and this week held an event to reaffirm its commitment to the shales business, including its holdings in the Permian Basin.

Shell officials discussed how its recent $70 billion acquisition of the BG Group has impacted its outlook. The event was a mixer at Shell’s Drilling Automation & Remote Technology (DART) Center located on its Houston campus and was webcast and available by telephone. read more

Bruce Palfreyman, general manager of Shell’s Permian asset group, said the company believes it has the best position in the Delaware, part of the Permian Basin in West Texas, in terms of size and rock quality. The company holds 300,000 net acres in the Delaware through its joint venture with Anadarko Petroleum Corp., with more than 5,000 future well locations on a risk basis.

Shell acquired the acreage in 2012 from Chesapeake Energy, and has spent the past three years maturing and de-risking the acreage, Palfreyman told reporters during a media event Monday in Houston to outline Shell’s strategy on its unconventional oil and gas business. The company has pursued a high-grade strategy for its Permian acreage, selling off peripheral acreage. Shell’s position in the Delaware contains 2 billion barrels of oil. read more

Having turned round its North American shale business, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is putting so-called unconventional energy at the heart of its growth plans, and believes lessons from the revamp can be applied across the company.

Greg Guidry, head of the Anglo-Dutch group’s unconventionals business, told Reuters a drive to slash costs and streamline decision-making had put his division largely on a par with leading rivals in terms of productivity and efficiency.

And now the rest of Shell could reap the benefits too. read more

By Lynn Doan: June 10, 2016 – 10.52 PM BST

For months, banks including Citigroup Inc. have talked about a massive oversupply in the global market for liquefied natural gas. The head of natural gas at Royal Dutch Shell Plc, one of the world’s biggest producers of the fuel, would beg to differ.

“There isn’t really yet the kind of oversupply that people talk about,” Maarten Wetselaar, Shell’s integrated gas and new energies director, said on Friday in an interview in Palo Alto, California. For proof, he said, look at Europe, where natural gas demand gained last year and LNG imports from overseas were little changed. read more