Feb 19th, 2023
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
CBS News
Shell cracker plant once again issued pollution violation notice
BY PATRICK DAMP: / CBS PITTSBURGH
INDUSTRY, Pa. (KDKA) – The Shell cracker plant in Beaver County has once again been issued a pollution violation notice.
This is the third time the state’s department of environmental protection has said the plant has exceeded emission limits, once again violating rolling 12-month standards in November and December.
The plant has only been operational since November.
The DEP said in November it emitted 716 tons of volatile organic compounds, 200 tons above what is allowed. read more
Feb 9th, 2023
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
REUTERS
Environmental groups plan to sue Shell’s new Pennsylvania plant over emissions
8 Feb 2023
Two environmental groups announced on Feb. 2, 2023 that they plan to sue Shell Chemical Appalachia over air pollution, just about three months after the startup of operations of Shell’s 1.6-million tonnes per year facility with capacity of polyethylene production, and related ethane cracker in Pennsylvania.
The Environmental Integrity Project said in a press release that along with another environmental group named Clean Air Council it filed “a notice of intent to sue (…) for repeated violations of air pollution limits,” it said.read more
Feb 4th, 2023
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Pa. advocates issue intent to sue Shell cracker for emissions violations
JON HURDLE: Inside Climate News: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: FEB 3, 2023
Two environmental groups said on Thursday they intend to sue Shell Chemical Appalachia, operator of a big new petrochemical plant in Potter Township, for its violation of federal and state air-quality standards.
The Environmental Integrity Project and the Clean Air Council gave Shell a required 60 days to respond to their notice of intent to sue on the grounds that the company violated the federal Clean Air Act, a state plan to implement it, a Pennsylvania air-quality law and the state permits under which it is allowed to emit specific quantities of some contaminants.read more
September was a tumultuous month for the Shell chemical plant in Beaver County.
On Sept. 3, a missing O-ring in a circulation pump led to a leak of isobutane vapor. Two days later, brown emissions were seen coming out of high pressure ground flares — two metal combustion chambers that burn off unwanted gasses from the ethane cracker.
Three days after that, two separate flanges leaked hydrocarbons, and an ethylene refrigerant compressor tripped after it registered a high dew-point temperature. It tripped again two days later because of high vibration, which cascaded into a trip of several other systems.read more
Dec 24th, 2022
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
“We have questions to answer” about single-use plastic waste, reveal internal emails from Shell
24 Dec 2022
Shell is under scrutiny as a result of internal emails put into the public domain relating to the controversial Shell Petrochemicals Complex situated along the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
The multi-billion-dollar Shell facility was fully operational in November after years of construction and has already been charged by state environmental agencies for exceeding the annual limit for volatile organic compounds that create lung-damaging smog. Among the documents, released on December 9, was an email correspondence within Shell’s communications team.read more
Feb 20th, 2022
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
REUTERS
U.N. pact may restrict plastic production. Big Oil aims to stop it
By John Geddie, Valerie Volcovici and Joe Brock: Fri., February 18, 2022
A global explosion of disposable plastic, which is made from oil and gas, is increasing carbon emissions, despoiling the world’s oceans, harming wildlife and contaminating the food chain. More than 50 countries, including all 27 members of the European Union, are calling for the pact to include measures targeting plastic production.
That’s a problem for big oil and chemical companies. The industry is projected to double plastic output worldwide within two decades.read more
Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday said its Norco refinery and chemical plant in St. Charles Parish, La., was burning off more natural gas than usual after Hurricane Ida slammed the region Sunday.
Shell’s Norco manufacturing complex is without power, and photos on social media show flooding at the site. The Hague-based oil major said it is assessing the condition of its Louisiana facilities that were shut down in advance of the Category 4 hurricane, and doesn’t know when they will resume full operations. The Norco facility can refine 230,600 barrels per day.read more
May 14th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell, Singapore university to work on $3.4 mln decarbonisation study
Reuters: May 14, 2021, 7.29 AM BST
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said on Friday it will be working with a university in Singapore in a research project worth S$4.6 million ($3.4 million) over three years to convert carbon dioxide to fuels and petrochemicals.
Researchers from Shell and the National University of Singapore (NUS) will develop processes to produce ethanol and n-propanol from carbon dioxide, a byproduct from industrial processes, the two organizations said in separate statements on their websites.read more
Mar 17th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell: Pennsylvania ethane plant completion expected in 2022
MONACA, Pa. (AP) — Shell Chemicals officials say the planned multi-billion-dollar petrochemical, or ethane cracker, plant in western Pennsylvania is expected to be completed next year.
The company said in a statement Tuesday that the company is now in the early stages of commissioning and start-up activities, the Beaver County Times reported.
Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden said in an earnings call last month that the complex, now more than 70 percent complete, would likely be “fully operational” sometime in 2022.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) says its $6B petrochemical complex in northwest Pennsylvania is now more than 70% complete and projected to be operational sometime in 2022.
Shell previously projected the startup in this year’s H1 after suspending work in March 2020 due to pandemic concerns.
The project is one of the largest construction sites in North America and includes a 1.6M mt/year cracker and three polyethylene plants with a combined capacity of 1.6M mt/year.
Portions of the site’s water treatment facility are being commissioned and the site’s 250 MW power plant will soon follow, the company says.
Shell has “hit peak oil, but not peak opportunity,” as its impressive portfolio of assets should drive long-term shareholder returns in the tens of billions of dollars, The Value Portfolio writes in a bullish analysis posted on Seeking Alpha.
London — Shell is planning to build the first commercial bio-PTL (power-to-liquid) at its Rheinland refinery in Germany, which will involve expanding its electrolyzer project at the site to 100 MW.
Construction of the PTL unit, which would produce 100,000 mt/year of synthetic kerosene and raw gasoline (naphtha) using green hydrogen generated in the electrolyzer as well as biomass (waste wood), could start in 2023, with a view to commercial operations beginning in 2025, Shell said in a statement Feb. 26.read more
Feb 17th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell Deer Park, Texas, refinery and chemical plant shut – company
Reuters Staff: FEBRUARY 16, 2021
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc shut its 318,000 barrel-per-day joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery because of severe cold weather, the company said on Tuesday
The company’s adjoining chemical plant was also shut.
“Shell’s Deer Park facility has shut down due to unprecedented weather in the region,” the company said in an email. “As a result, flaring is expected to increase in the near term. There is no threat to the surrounding community and we continue to contribute power to the regional grid by way of our cogeneration facilities.”read more
Feb 10th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
EPA fines Shell Oil $191,000 over release of toxic vapors from Anacortes refinery
by KOMO News Staff:
SEATTLE – The company that operates the Anacortes oil refinery will pay a $191,000 fine for violations of the Clean Air Act stemming from a 2015 release of toxic vapors that sickened dozens of local residents of the area.
The fine, part of a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency, is in addition to previous fines of over $420,000 levied by the Northwest Clean Air Agency and the Washington Safety and Health Agency against Shell Oil Products U.S. over the incident.read more
New York — Shell Chemical announced that construction at its $6 billion petrochemical complex in Pennsylvania is expected to be completed in 2022, Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden said during an earnings call Feb. 4.
Shell previously expected the Pennsylvania project to start up in the first half of 2021 after suspending work in mid-March 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic concerns.read more
Nov 7th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Environmental groups want Shell air permit denied
By Paul J. Gough – Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times, Nov 6, 2020, 1:44pm EST
Environmental groups are urging the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to deny Shell Pennsylvania Chemical’s air quality permits on the basis of what they say will be too much pollution into the Pittsburgh region.
Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community’s letter is the latest volley in environmentalists’ battle against the Potter Township project, costing in excess of $6 billion, that has remade a portion of the Ohio River coastline and brought thousands of construction jobs into the region. They’ve asked for a 30-day extension for more information about the permits as well.read more
Oct 29th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell to axe refining plants and focus on dividends and debt reduction
Philip Whiterow: 07:31 Thu 29 Oct 2020
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSB) has unveiled a huge restructuring of its refining and chemical operations as part of a strategic overhaul that places dividends at its centre.
The Anglo-Dutch giant said its fourteen refining sites will be reduced to six integrated chemical parks, with a switch in focus to performance chemicals and recycled feedstocks.
Shell’s marketing arm will also be strengthened with the development of the integrated power business and hydrogen and biofuels.read more
Oct 10th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell says Pennsylvania ethane cracker about 70% complete
By Reuters Staff: October 9, 2020
Oct 9 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Friday its multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex near Pittsburgh was about 70% complete and remains on track to enter service in the early 2020s.
After temporarily suspending construction activities on the ethane cracker in March to limit the spread of coronavirus, Shell said it has been re-introducing workers at a measured pace – bringing the total number of workers on site to about 6,500.read more
May 15th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Shell adding more workers to Beaver County construction site
By: Paul J. Gough – Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times Updated: May 14, 2020 – 5:13 PM
BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — Shell Pennsylvania Chemicals is planning to reintroduce more workers to its Beaver County construction site, which had been temporarily shut down in March over Covid-19 safety concerns.
Several weeks ago, Shell began to add more workers from the 300 or so that had remained there for security and other approved purposes even after the construction had been temporarily halted. It now has 800 workers there as it adds employees, but it’s a small portion of the 7,000 or so it had two months ago.read more
Mar 19th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
MARCH 18, 2020 / 8:41 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSA.L will temporarily suspend construction activities on a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker being constructed along the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, amid concerns about coronavirus spreading, the company said in a statement late Wednesday.
Some local officials have called for construction to be stopped to limit the potential spread of the novel coronavirus, due to the large number of workers on the project.read more
Jan 24th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
January 24, 2020 12:10 PM: Source: WBRZ: By: WBRZ Staf
GEISMAR – An incident involving hazardous materials has prompted law enforcement to close off multiple intersections near a chemical plant in Ascension Parish.
The sheriff’s office says a situation at the Shell plant along LA 75 prompted them to shut down several roadways nearby. The department says the closures are precautionary, and there appears to be no off-site impact at this time.
A Shell spokesperson response stemmed from a hydrocarbon leak that was first noticed around 8 a.m. The plant’s deluge system was activated to reduce the vapors and a response team was immediately dispatched.read more
Shell says that it has successfully made “high-end” chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste using a pyrolysis process that is considered a breakthrough for hard-to-recycle plastics. The initiative advances Shell’s ambition to use one million tonnes of plastic waste a year in its global chemical plants by 2025.
Atlanta-based Nexus Fuels LLC recently supplied its first cargo of pyrolysis liquid to Shell’s chemical plant in Norco, Louisiana, where it was made into chemicals that are the raw materials for everyday items. Shell Chemicals manufactures ethylene, propylene, and butadiene at the site.read more
Jan 16th, 2020
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
BEIJING/GUANGZHOU, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) to build its first commercial-scale polycarbonate production plant in southern city of Huizhou in China.
Polycarbonate is a transparent and impact-resistant polymer, widely used to make vehicle headlights and LED spotlights.
“(Huizhou city government) is in touch with Shell and CNOOC for detailed investment and production plans,” said Liu Ji, mayor of Huizhou, on the sideline of a conference in Guangzhou on Thursday.read more
Oct 29th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
TUE, OCT 29, 2019 – 1:15 PM
[SINGAPORE] Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday that its refinery-petrochemical complex on Bukom Island in Singapore encountered “an unplanned operational disruption” last week
“We can confirm there was flaring at the Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site on October 24,” a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail. Flaring is a major safety device used to keep the plant safe during unplanned operational disruptions, she added.
Shell declined to say which unit was affected. Bukom is the largest wholly owned Shell refinery globally in terms of crude distillation capacity at 500,000 barrels per day, according to the company’s website.read more
Sep 2nd, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Gideon Cohn-Postar: September 2 at 10:05 AM
Shortly before President Trump visited the Royal Dutch Shell plant in Pennsylvania on Aug. 13, thousands of workers received a memo from Shell about the company’s expectations of the event. The memo informed them that their attendance at the speech was “not mandatory,” but that if they did not scan in to work that morning, they would not receive their pay for the day. They also would lose eligibility to receive the 16 hours of overtime pay built into their workweek.
Although some workers chose not to attend, Trump spoke before a warehouse packed with Shell employees. At one point, the president turned to the union leaders and demanded that they support his reelection campaign. Trump told the workers that if the leaders refused to back him, they should “vote them the hell out of office because they’re not doing their job.”read more
Thousands of union workers at a multibillion-dollar petrochemical plant being built outside Pittsburgh were given the choice of attending a speech by President Trump on Tuesday or staying away — and losing some of their pay for the week.
“Your attendance is not mandatory,” one of the construction site’s contractors wrote in rules for the speech that were shared with its employees, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which first reported on the matter. But the rules said that only those who arrived at 7 a.m., had their work IDs scanned and then stood waiting for the president for several hours would get paid for the time.read more
Aug 13th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
AUGUST 12, 2019
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc is restarting the Gas Olefins Unit 1 (GO 1) at its Norco, Louisiana, chemical plant on Monday, sources familiar with plant operations said.
Shell plans to begin restarting the 25,000 barrels per day (bpd) coker in the adjoining 225,300 bpd Norco refinery this week, the sources said.
Aug 9th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
An aerial view of the Shell ethylene cracker plant being built in Potter in June. (Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette)
JONAH S. BERGER: AUG 8, 2019
President Donald Trump has rescheduled a visit to a cracker plant in Beaver County to Tuesday after postponing the trip — originally scheduled for this week — in the wake of two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.
Mr. Trump will tour Royal Dutch Shell’s petrochemical complex in Potter Township and is expected to tout his efforts to boost employment in the manufacturing and energy sectors.read more
Aug 3rd, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Pittsburg Post-Gazette: Trump to tour cracker plant in Beaver County next week
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: AUG 3, 2019
President Donald Trump next week will travel to Beaver County where he will tour the Shell Chemicals ethane cracker plant and tout his administration’s economic agenda for expanding the country’s domestic manufacturing and energy production.
Mr. Trump is scheduled to visit the $6 billion plant, which remains under construction in Potter Township, on Thursday. It will be his first trip to Pennsylvania since May.
The president’s “economic policies, including tax cuts and aggressive deregulatory agenda, has enabled America to expand manufacturing, energy production, new capital and technology investments, and create jobs,” the White House said in a news release. “The policies make it possible for multibillion-dollar investments such as the Shell complex, which highlights the potential for the Appalachian region to become a second center of U.S. petrochemical manufacturing.”read more
Aug 1st, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Bloomberg: Shell Profit Misses as Slowing Economy Hurts Gas, Chemicals
By Kelly Gilblom: 1 August 2019, 07:15 BST Updated on 1 August 2019, 08:14 BST
Cash flow rises, but integrated gas adjusted profit falls 25%
Shell CEO says macroeconomic conditions were challenging
Royal Dutch Shell Plc got caught into the same earnings trap as many of its peers, reporting second-quarter earnings that fell well short of expectations as the slowing global economy hit everything from natural gas to chemicals.
Profit in Shell’s integrated gas division was down by 25%, but earnings were lower across all of its businesses, including upstream oil and gas production, and refining and chemicals.
“We’ve seen some very severe macroeconomic headwinds — probably most pronounced in our downstream business where we saw some weaker refining margins — but especially a much weaker trading environment for petrochemicals,” Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Thursday. “In our upstream, we’ve seen headwinds particularly in North American gas.”read more
Jun 17th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
JUNE 17, 2019 / 2:17 PM
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch court on Monday ordered Royal Dutch Shell to pay a 2.5 million euro ($2.8 million) fine for failing to prevent an explosion at its Moerdijk facility in 2014 and for breaching emissions limits at the plant.
The district court in Den Bosch said Shell had not done enough to prevent an incident on June 3, 2014 which resulted in a series of explosions and a large fire at the Moerdijk chemical plant.
“The factory, employees, the surroundings and the environment were subject to great danger that day”, the court said. “This justifies a significant punishment.”read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) subsidiary Shell Chemical reportedly is advancing feasibility studies for a potential $1.2B expansion of monoethylene glycol production at its Geismar, La., chemicals complex.
As part of the project, Shell would build an MEG plant at the site that it could approve as early as 2020, pending final engineering, design and investment decisions, according to the Louisiana Economic Development.read more
May 15th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
MAY 15, 2019
The public prosecution department says Shell should pay the maximum fine of €2.4m for the explosion on the Moerdijk industrial estate in 2014 and a further €250,000 for not taking immediate action to halt the leak of a dangerous gas in 2016.
Shell should pay the maximum fine for the explosion because it had not done all it could to prevent the blast taking place, placing both workers and local residents in danger, the prosecutor said at a court hearing in Den Bosch on Tuesday.read more
Apr 17th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
APRIL 17, 2019 / 12:46 PM
DUBAI, April 17 (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco plans to buy Royal Dutch Shell’s 50 percent stake in Saudi refining complex SASREF, a joint venture between the firms, two sources said on Wednesday.
One of the sources said an agreement has been reached between Aramco and Shell.
Aramco and Shell declined to comment.
Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co (SASREF), based in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, has a crude oil refining capacity of 305,000 barrels per day (bpd).read more
Emergency crews responded to an explosion and fire at Shell’s Scotford refinery in Alberta on Monday, a company spokeswoman said. There were no reported injuries.
The Scotford facility houses a 100,000 barrel-per-day refinery and a 255,000 bpd oil sands upgrader.
Local media reported flames and a large plume of black smoke coming from the refinery.
Shell spokeswoman Tara Lemay said the fire broke out around 8:45 a.m. local time and employees were being moved away from the incident as a safety precaution. Roadblocks have been set up at the entrances to the Scotford site and on roads nearby.read more
Mar 16th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Enerkem already have a successful waste-to-chemicals plant operating in Edmonton, Canada: Photo: Curtis Trent/Enerkem
Article by Amanda Jasi
SHELL has partnered with world-leading companies to build Europe’s first advanced waste-to-chemicals (W2C) facility in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The project represents an important step towards a more sustainable chemical industry and a circular economy.
The W2C project will be the first of its kind in Europe to make valuable chemicals and biofuels from non-recyclable waste materials. The facility, which will use cleantech company Enerkem’s proprietary technology, will be built within the Botlek area of the Port of Rotterdam.read more
The Shell Oil Company has agreed to pay $165,000 as part of an agreement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District regarding air quality violations at their refinery in Martinez in 2015 and 2016, according to air district officials.
The settlement, which the district announced today, addresses 16 violations over two years including sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide emissions, a shelter-in-place order, a cargo vessel tank that was overdue for emissions inspections and broken seals on a liquid storage tank.read more
Jan 7th, 2019
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle: Monday, Jan 7, 2019
The Gulf Coast has become home of one the largest producers of a common plastic: Shell fired up its fourth alpha olefins unit at its chemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana, the company said Monday.
The multi-billion dollar expansion adds 425,000 metric tons per a year in capacity to the chemical manufacturing site, bringing its total alpha olefin production up at Geismar to more than 1.3 million metric tons per a year. That makes it the largest alpha olefins producing site in the world, the company said.read more
Dec 8th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
7 December 2018
Dow Chemical Co and Shell Oil Co have been hit with a lawsuit by the city of Arcadia, California accusing the companies of contaminating the city’s drinking water with a toxic chemical found in pesticides the companies once made.
Filed on Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, the lawsuit said the companies knew or should have known that the chemical, known as 1,2,3-trichloropropane, or TCP is toxic and renders drinking water unsafe.
The companies still manufactured and marketed pesticides containing the chemical for years, the lawsuit said.read more
An alert was issued by Shell Canada about an upset at its Corunna plant Thursday morning.
The Aamjiwnaang Notification System says a cat cracker unit trip is causing high flaring and noise.
A Chemical Valley Emergency Coordinating Organization notice was issued.
Imperial says elevated flaring and noise is expected to continue for several more days at the Sarnia refinery while equipment repairs are made.
Company spokesperson Kristina Zimmer said Wednesday afternoon that construction of scaffolding was complete, and a repair plan had been finalized that includes replacement of a line.read more
Singapore — China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC, and Shell International Petroleum Company Limited signed a memorandum of understanding to build an integrated petrochemical site at the Nanhai site in Huizhou, Guangdong, Shell said in a statement late Wednesday.
In May this year, the two companies started up the second steam cracker at Nanhai, which has an ethylene production capacity of 1.2 million mt/year. The complex’s downstream units include styrene monomer and propylene oxide. This MOU will expand their current collaboration, Shell said in the statement.read more
Shell’s petrochemicals unit recently installed a 285-foot cooling and condensation tower at its petrochemicals complex now under construction in Pennsylvania. Photo: Shell
Shell has completed a substantial step in the construction of its plastics production complex in Pennsylvania, a project expected to catalyze similar developments in the Northeast if the region continues to build the pipelines and storage needed to support a petrochemicals hub rivaling that along the U.S. Gulf Coast.read more
Law360 (September 24, 2018, 5:05 PM EDT) — The Golden State Water Co. has accused the Dow Chemical Co., Shell Oil Co. and others of product liability violations for contaminating drinking water with unsafe amounts of TCP, a toxic chemical…
Sep 18th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 / 11:39 PM
HOUSTON (Reuters) – LyondellBasell Industries 263,776 barrel per day (bpd) Houston refinery was flaring on Monday afternoon due to a malfunction at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s nearby Deer Park, Texas chemical plant, according to Gulf Coast market sources.
The Shell chemical plant takes fuel gas supplied by pipeline from the Lyondell refinery, the sources said. Compressors that transport the fuel gas from the pipeline into the chemical plant were said to be malfunctioning on Monday afternoon.read more
Houston — Shell’s plans to build a world-class ethane cracker in western Pennsylvania took a step forward Friday with the approval by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of rate structures for the company’s proposed Falcon Ethane Pipeline system.
The approval allows Shell to move forward in its plans to build the 97-mile pipeline designed to carry ethane extracted from Marcellus and Utica gas produced in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.
The Falcon Pipeline, with a proposed capacity of about 107,000 b/d, will originate at two ethane supply points in Ohio and one ethane supply point in Pennsylvania and will transport the ethane to delivery points in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including the 86,000 b/d ethane cracker that Shell proposes to build near Monaca, Pennsylvania.read more
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) has been cleared to continue constructionof its multi-billion dollar ethane cracker in western Pennsylvania after the U.S. Department of Commerce waived restrictions on imported steel from South Korea, Argentina and Brazil.
Piping for the Shell project has been sitting in port for months, unable to move to Pennsylvania since the Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports.
The cracker, which is expected to enter service in the early 2020s, is designed to consume more than 100K bbl/day of ethane to produce 1.5M metric tons/year of ethylene and 1.6M metric tons/year of polyethylene.
Apr 4th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Jared Stonesifer : Posted Apr 3, 2018 at 8:56 PMUpdated Apr 3, 2018 at 8:56 PM
CENTER TWP. — Nearly 100 people turned out to a public hearing at Central Valley High School to voice their opinions on Shell Pipeline’s proposed Falcon ethane pipeline project.
If constructed, the pipeline would transport up to 107,000 barrels of ethane per day to Shell Chemicals’ $6 billion ethane cracker plant in Potter Township.
It would consist of two legs: one coming into western Beaver County from Ohio and West Virginia, and another coming into southern Beaver County through Allegheny County. The two legs will join south of the Potter Township plant.read more
Mar 29th, 2018
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
By Jared Stonesifer : Posted Mar 28, 2018 at 5:00 PMUpdated Mar 28, 2018 at 5:00 PM
Shell Chemicals has received nearly $4 million from the state to help the company perform improvements to a 10-mile stretch of railroad track between Aliquippa and Potter Township.
The money came from the Rail Transportation Assistance Program and the Rail Freight Assistance Program through the state Legislature.
In a news release announcing the money, Gov. Tom Wolf said Shell will receive $3.8 million “to transport construction materials for Shell’s plant and outbound products from the completed plant, which will improve the efficiency of operations and safety.”read more
OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES
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.
John Donovan, the website owner A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
JOHN DONOVAN, THE OWNER OF THIS AND SEVERAL OTHER SHELL FOCUSSED WEBSITES
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.
GLOBAL NEWS COVERAGE: FEBRUARY 2010
MORE INFORMATION: Contact details for over 176,000 employees and contractors of Royal Dutch Shell reached John Donovan and some environmental and human rights groups, ostensibly from disaffected Shell staff calling for a “peaceful corporate revolution” at the company. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, contained names and telephone numbers for all the company’s work force worldwide, including some home numbers. It was supplied with a 170 page covering note, explaining that it was being circulated by “116 concerned employees of Shell dispersed throughout the USA, the UK, and the Netherlands”, to highlight the harm done by the company’s operations in Nigeria. John Donovan brought the leak to the attention of Shell. Tests proved that the data was authentic and he destroyed the database after being informed by Mr. Richard Wiseman, the then Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, that the confidential information if publicly disclosed, could put Shell employees and contractors in real danger.
This is not a Shell website. That fact should be abundantly plain from the overall content of this home page and our sister Shell focussed websites, including shellnazihistory.com. Click on the Disclaimer link at top of this page for more information. You Can Be Sure Shell does not endorse or approve of this website. There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations. It is an entirely free to use website drawing attention to the negative side of Shell while also publishing positive news about the company. The Shell logo image with the white text used on this website, as per the above example, is in the public domain because its copyright has expired and its author is anonymous. It can be found on WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. Our shellenergy.websitepublishes Shell Energy customer complaints posted on Trustpilot where there is an ample supply. Use this link for Shell’s own website.
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 …
Big Oil Goes Green: Shell Acquires VoltaFebruary 9, 2023 06:03Law Street MediaIn Big Oil’s latest foray into green energy, Shell has announced its acquisition of Volta, Inc. for $169 million.
Expected to close during the first half of 2023, the all-cash deal “builds on the momentum in electric mobility by combining one of the …
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?