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Shell the company most criticised by campaigners

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Sunday 17 JAN 2016

German carmaker Volkswagen was one of the “most disliked” companies for pressure groups last year following its emissions scandal, a survey has found.

Shell was the most criticised by campaigners, followed by Monsanto, which makes genetically modified food.

Half of the top-10 most criticised companies on Sigwatch’s list were energy firms, because of “the elephant in the room – climate change,” Mr Blood said.

Top was Shell, but TransCanada, ExxonMobil, EDF and BP also featured. read more

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Shell lease requests offshore Alaska face scrutiny

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Shell is challenging a decision by the federal government to deny its request to suspend leases in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska that would expire in 2017 and 2020. Federal leases expire at the end of their terms unless operators are engaged in drilling or related activity.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan. 14 (UPI) — A group of environmental activists filed a challenge to leases held by Royal Dutch Shell in Alaskan waters, citing the need to act on behalf of the climate.

Earthjustice, working on behalf of eight conservation groups, including the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, filed to intervene in decisions before the Department of Interior regarding Shell’s leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

“The Arctic Ocean is ground zero for climate change, and drilling in such a sensitive region threatens the whales, seals and countless other wildlife that call it home,” Earthjustice attorney Erik Grafe said in a statement. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell Terminates Rig Contract with Transocean

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By Mushhood Khan on Dec 28, 2015 at 9:07 am EST

Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) has terminated its rig contract with Transocean for the harsh environment semi-submersible rig, Polar Pioneer. The contract was initially scheduled to expire in 2017, but was rescinded today i.e. December 28. Transocean said in a press release that it would be compensated “for the early termination through a lump-sum payment.”

The contract for the Polar Pioneer rig was awarded to Transocean in 2013 at a $620,000 day-rate. The Polar Pioneer rig was a part of Shell’s controversial drilling project in the Arctic Ocean. It was used in the Burger J prospect in the Chukchi Sea, 70 miles from the village of Wainwright. read more

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Shell terminates contract for infamous drillship

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Grant Rowles: DECEMBER 18, 2015

Noble Corporation has announced that Shell has terminated the contract for the drillship Noble Discoverer.

In its latest fleet status report, Noble said that “Shell has terminated the rig’s contract for convenience” and has agreed to pay the remaining term at approximately 90 percent of the operating dayrate “adjusted for certain other items.”

Shell committed to a three-year deal in late February 2014 at $368,000 per day for the drillship to be used for its failed Arctic drilling campaign… read more

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Shell working to protect assets offshore Alaska

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Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 08.42.45Dutch supermajor notes the challenge does not equate to a resumption of drilling activity.

By Daniel J. Graeber: Dec. 17, 2015

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) — While Royal Dutch Shell said it aims to protect its drilling rights in the Arctic waters offshore Alaska, it said drilling was off the table for the foreseeable future.

Royal Dutch Shell in October said it was considering its options when the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement denied its request to suspend leases in Arctic Alaskan waters that expire between 2017 and 2020. Leases expire at the end of their terms unless operators are engaged in drilling or related activity. read more

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Shell to Expand CNOOC Petrochemical Venture in Southern China

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Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 08.55.47By Bloomberg News: December 15, 2015

Royal Dutch Shell Plc. is expanding its petrochemical venture in southern China with China National Offshore Oil Corp.

The two companies signed an agreement Tuesday to double the capacity of their equally held ethylene-cracking facility in Guangdong province to 2 million metric tons a year and add other chemicals units, Shell said in an e-mailed statement. The new facilities are expected to start operation in two years, it said, without providing a figure on the cost of the expansion. read more

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Shell Bid Aims to Preserve U.S. Drilling Rights in Arctic Ocean

Screen Shot 2015-12-15 at 16.53.51Jennifer A Dlouhy: December 15, 2015: Bloomberg.com

  • Oil company files appeal challenging rejection by Interior

  • Clock now ticking on oil and gas leases expiring in 2020

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 08.42.45Royal Dutch Shell Plc is fighting to preserve U.S. drilling rights in Arctic waters three months after halting exploration indefinitely there because it failed to find meaningful oil or natural gas deposits.

Europe’s largest oil company filed a notice of appeal Tuesday challenging the U.S. Interior Department’s Oct. 29 rejection of the company’s requests to stop the clock on Arctic oil and gas leases that otherwise expire between 2017 and 2020. The dispute is expected to undergo an administrative review, possibly delaying a final judgment until after a new U.S. president takes office. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell’s Management Wants You to Know These 5 Key Things

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Royal Dutch Shell’s Management Wants You to Know These 5 Key Things

Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 08.55.47Last quarter was a pretty rough one for Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) (NYSE:RDS-B). The company was forced to take more than $7.9 billion in charges to the income statement to write down some abandoned development projects, and its oil and gas production in the Americas continues to be a bit of a headache. 

Management was well aware of how these results looked, and so on its most recent conference call its executives acknowledged these weaknesses but also had some things to say that any investor in Shell should be aware of. Here are five quotes from the most recent conference call that provide some juicy tidbits into how to view this company over the long term. read more

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Economics, not just regulation, sidelined Shell’s offshore Alaska drilling plans

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Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 08.42.45Dermot ColeDecember 8, 2015

Fresh assertions that the Obama administration smothered Shell’s Arctic dreams followed the news that Statoil gave up on its leases, the second company to abandon plans to look for oil in the Chukchi Sea.

Citing market conditions and noting the leases “are no longer considered competitive within Statoil’s global portfolio,” the Norwegian company announced its withdrawal plans Nov. 17. The company had long taken a cautious approach in the region, using Shell as a bellwether. Earlier this year it had scaled back its plans to drill in the Barents Sea because of low oil prices. read more

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The Inside Story of Shell’s Arctic Assault

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Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 08.42.45A months-long investigation shows how the energy giant pressured the Interior Department during the company’s gung-ho Arctic push—and got most of what it wanted (except oil).

By Barry YeomanDecember 08, 2015

Last May, four months before the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell suspended exploration in offshore Alaska, Christopher Putnam needed to get something off his chest.

Putnam is 44, originally from Texas, a trained wildlife biologist who also served as an Army infantry sergeant during the Iraq War. For almost six years he has worked in Alaska for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, protecting marine mammals. It has been his job to ensure that Shell’s plans to drill more than 60 miles offshore in the Chukchi Sea—the wild Arctic water between Alaska and Siberia—wouldn’t harm Pacific walruses, particularly the juveniles, calves, and nursing mothers that dominate the Chukchi during the drilling season. read more

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Report: Political pressure prompted hasty environmental review of Shell’s Arctic play

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Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 08.55.47Yereth RosenBen AndersonDecember 7, 2015

Regulators hoping to avoid criticism and potential congressional backlash rushed an environmental review of offshore Arctic oil development to ensure that Royal Dutch Shell would be able to drill this year, said a report issued Monday by a federal watchdog agency.

The investigation, conducted by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of the Inspector General, was launched in response to complaints from Bureau of Ocean Energy Management employees who worked on a rewrite of the supplemental environmental impact statement for oil leasing in the remote Chukchi Sea off Alaska’s northwest coast. read more

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Shell Forced to Scale Back Ambitions

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Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 08.55.47By James StaffordThu, 26 November 2015

As with most oil companies, 2015 has been a rough year for Royal Dutch Shell. The Anglo-Dutch company reported a third quarter loss of $6 billion, which included $7.9 billion in impairment charges.

During its third quarter earnings call, Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden summed up the company’s strategy, emphasizing restraint. “Grow to simplify” is how he put it. What that means in practice is scrapping the Arctic campaign; pulling out of the expensive Carmon Creek oil sands project in Canada; shedding assets in the less desirable parts of North American shale; selling assets elsewhere around the world, including Nigeria; and focusing on its merger with BG, which is a big bet on LNG. read more

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Are the Oil Sands Going Bust?

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Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 07.55.40Written by Keith KohlPosted November 12, 2015 at 6:51PM

After backing out of an Arctic drilling program, Shell is taking yet another hit by leaving the Canadian oil-sands in Alberta.

To put it simply: the losses were too great.

There was no way Shell would have been able to stay competitive, so it decided to opt out, taking a $2 billion hit in the process.

As you know, the slump in crude oil prices since the summer of 2014 has caused energy companies to re-think upcoming projects.

Shell’s absence leaves at least 18 future projects on hold. read more

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Pickard quits Shell

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Screen Shot 2015-11-11 at 09.51.25Peter Klinger: November 11, 2015

Ann Pickard, once dubbed the “bravest woman in oil and gas” before she transformed Royal Dutch Shell’s century old presence in Australia, has quit the Anglo-Dutch giant.

However, the decision to retire from Shell will not spell the end of her exposure to oil and gas, and LNG in particular which she championed during her stint as the Anglo Dutch giant’s Australia country chair.

Ms Pickard is joining the board of oil and gas engineering contractor KBR as a non-executive director from next month. read more

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Shell’s top Arctic exec is retiring, will join KBR board

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Posted on November 10, 2015 | By Joshua Cain

After Royal Dutch Shell scuttled its $7 billion Arctic drilling program in September, the company’s top executive on the project is moving on.

Ann Pickard, Shell’s executive vice president in the Arctic, will retire from the company in February 2016, Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh said Tuesday.

She will also join the board at Houston-based engineering and construction giant KBR Inc. in December, the company said on Tuesday.

Pickard was appointed to the Arctic after Shell’s program there foundered in 2012, when the rig the company contracted for the job, the Kulluk, crashed into an Alaskan island.

Shell ended its second attempt in the Arctic on Sept. 28 after the exploratory well it drilled in Alaskan waters of the Chukchi Sea failed to find significant amounts of oil and gas. read more

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Shell update on BG takeover stokes fears for North Sea jobs

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The update fuelled fears about the implications for the North Sea, where Shell and BG have around 2,800 staff and contractors working in total. Both have big operations centres in Aberdeen. The company has shed 7,500 posts globally this year in response to the crude price plunge. It has cut 500 North Sea jobs since August last year.

MARK WILLIAMSON / Wednesday 4 November 2015 / Business

ROYAL Dutch Shell has highlighted the potential it sees to slash costs following the planned $70 (£45bn) billion takeover of BG in comments that stoked concern about the likely impact on jobs in the North Sea.

The deal will increase the size of Shell’s business in the North Sea where the oil and gas giant may then make significant cuts as directors try to achieve the returns they are targeting.

In an update on strategy, Shell said it has increased its estimate of the synergies it will be able to squeeze out of the enlarged business by $1bn since the deal was announced in April, to $3.5bn. read more

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Shell’s boss fights to keep BG deal alive as he attempts to calm jittery investors

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By LAURA CHESTERS FOR DAILY MAIL: 3 November 2015

Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden is the oil industry’s equivalent of a swan – below his calm demeanour he is furiously paddling to keep his planned £40billion mega-deal afloat.

Shell is buying rival BG Group and, to get the deal away and for it to make sense as the oil price plummets, van Beurden has taken the knife to Shell’s costs and projects.

Investors have been getting jittery as the price of oil has halved since summer 2014 and has stubbornly remained below $60 a barrel since the takeover was announced in April. Brent Crude continues to fluctuate but experts predict the price will stay ‘lower for longer’ than may have been expected.

However, van Beurden, who took on the top job last January and has a lot riding personally on the deal, promises it will still work with an oil price in the mid-$60s a barrel. Yesterday he insisted: ‘Although oil prices have fallen in 2015, the valuation case for the BG acquisition still looks compelling today for both sets of shareholders.’ read more

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Shell carves more savings from BG Group deal, expects further job cuts

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Posted on November 3, 2015 | By Collin Eaton

HOUSTON — Shell has found another $1 billion in costs it could shake free after it buys BG Group, company officials said Tuesday, partly in response to critics of the huge acquisition Shell announced when crude was more expensive in the spring.

The cuts would mean more job losses on top of the 7,500 in layoffs Shell has announced this year, but officials declined to say how many jobs would be affected or lost.

The value of Shell’s original $70 billion offer for the British gas producer, which is known for its prized Brazilian deep-water fields and its big liquefied natural gas business, fell to $56 billion a month ago and edged back up to about $60 billion as Shell’s share price and crude prices have fallen. Shell had proposed to pay for the deal mostly with shares. read more

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Shell describes Arctic drilling project as a good prospect that just didn’t work out

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Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 08.42.45Associated Press: Nov. 3, 2015

LONDON (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden says the company will reflect on its decision to consider drilling off the coast of Alaska but voiced his regret that the prospect couldn’t be made to work out.

Van Beurden told reporters Tuesday as Shell updated its strategy that it would examine the decision to pursue offshore drilling in Arctic waters. Shell reported a third-quarter loss of $7.4 billion last week as it re-organized and cancelled projects, including drilling in Alaska amid sharp drops in the price of oil. read more

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Shell leaves door open for future exploration in Alaska’s Arctic

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Jennifer A. Dlouhy | Houston Chronicle: November 2, 2015

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 08.42.45WASHINGTON — Shell is walking away from oil exploration in Arctic waters north of Alaska, but it isn’t ready to close the door completely.

Disappointing results from a critical test well at the company’s Burger prospect in the Chukchi Sea, combined with the high costs of developing the region and an “unpredictable regulatory environment,” have prompted Royal Dutch Shell to cease Alaska offshore exploration “for the foreseeable future,” CEO Ben van Beurden told reporters Thursday. read more

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Shell’s Loss: Oil Prices Aren’t the Only Problem

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There is blood in the water at Royal Dutch Shell

By HELEN THOMAS: Oct. 29, 2015 

There is blood in the water at Royal Dutch Shell. The wound will take some time to heal. The U.K. oil and gas company Thursday posted a huge third-quarter loss, dragged down by impairments of $8.2 billion in its upstream business. Just less than half the charges owed to Shell reducing its view of longer-term oil and gas prices by an unspecified amount. The remainder was write-offs resulting from its decision to cease drilling in the Arctic and call a halt to a Canadian oil sands project. read more

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In defence of Shell CEO Ben van Beurden

By a regular contributor

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Only one member of the EC is directly involved in North American activities, Marvin Odum. 

Perhaps worth noting is that investment decisions on the scale of the recent Shell write-offs would have required approval by the entire EC in the Hague long before BvB was around. Few of the EC members who made those decisions are still present. 

It seems strange that so many of the huge projects which have been abandoned are in North America, and serious questions need to be asked about why approval was given by the EC for these huge projects. Only one member of the EC is directly involved in North American activities, Marvin Odum.  read more

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Even as it walks away from Arctic drilling, Shell keeps door open for future work

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31Posted on October 29, 2015 | By Jennifer A. Dlouhy

WASHINGTON — Shell is walking away from oil exploration in Arctic waters north of Alaska, but it isn’t ready to close the door completely.

Disappointing results from a critical test well at the company’s Burger prospect in the Chukchi Sea, combined with the high costs of developing the region and an “unpredictable regulatory environment” have prompted Royal Dutch Shell “to cease further exploration activity offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future,” CEO Ben van Beurden told reporters Thursday. read more

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Shell Makes Biggest Net Loss in at Least a Decade on Price Slump

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Screen Shot 2015-10-29 at 08.02.52Rakteem Katakey: 29 October 2015

  • Company reports net loss after taking $7.9 billion charge
  • Third-quarter adjusted profit drops 70% to $1.8 billion

Royal Dutch Shell Plc reported its biggest net loss in at least a decade as it wrote down the value of assets and lowered its oil-price expectations.

The company, which is buying BG Group Plc in the industry’s largest deal this year, reported a third-quarter net loss of $7.42 billion, compared with a profit of $4.46 billion a year earlier. It took charges totaling $7.89 billion following its withdrawal from Alaskan offshore exploration and a Canadian oil-sands project.

Profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes dropped 70 percent to $1.8 billion, The Hague-based Shell said Thursday in a statement. That missed the $2.92 billion average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. read more

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Shell Takes $2 Billion Charge to Quit Oil-Sands Project

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Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 07.55.40David Marino: 27 October 2015

  • Company stops work at Carmon Creek facility in Alberta

  • Halted oil-sands work follows Shell’s Arctic drilling exit

Royal Dutch Shell Plc made its second major strategic change in two months, announcing it will take a $2 billion charge to exit an oil-sands project in Alberta.

Shell is stopping construction on the 80,000 barrel-a-day Carmon Creek facility, the company said in a statement on its website Tuesday. The charge will be recorded in third-quarter earnings, which are due to be released Thursday.

The cancellation comes a month after Shell said it would stop drilling in the Arctic, where it spent $7 billion searching for oil. Shell is among several companies pulling back spending as oil prices linger below $50 a barrel, less than half of their 2014 high. read more

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Shell share price: Company’s problems extend beyond oil prices, analyst says

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Screen Shot 2015-10-27 at 12.33.24Big bets on shale “destroyed huge amounts of capital” and the company has few growth assets…the firm is far more likely to remain a laggard than become a leader among the oil majors for the rest of this decade…

by Veselin Valchev: Tuesday, 27 Oct 2015

Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON:RDSA) carries hefty baggage and even if oil prices were to recover back to $100 per barrel, it would not solve all the firm’s problems, argued senior Morningstar analyst Stephen Simko.

Big bets on shale “destroyed huge amounts of capital” and the company has few growth assets, Simko said.

The notable exception is the potential addition of BG Group’s Brazilian operations, should the proposed merger complete successfully. BG’s interests in the Santos Basin are estimated to hold more than three billion barrels of recoverable oil resources and are projected to break even at only $30-35 per barrel. read more

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US Follows Royal Dutch Shell plc Backs Away From Arctic Drilling

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By: Micheal KaufmanOct 19, 2015

The US Interior Department announced on Friday that it will cancel the auction of 2016 and 2017 natural gas and offshore oil leases in the Arctic Ocean. The auction was scheduled under the Department’s current five-year Chukchi Sea leasing program for 2012–2017. The division cited low crude oil prices and lack of interest from oil companies as the main reason behind its decision.

This news comes a few weeks after Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) withdrew its Arctic drilling plan. The oil giant had spent $7 billion for the Arctic campaign. It said last month that it has dropped its exploration and production (E&P) activities in the Burger prospect of the Chukchi Sea, as it found few traces of oil and natural gas in the region. The company was not satisfied with the drilling results; it had initially expected huge amount of oil traces in the Ocean. Shell has dropped all future plans of Arctic drilling for the foreseeable future. read more

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Interior: No more new Arctic oil leases for remainder of Obama’s presidency

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Interior: No more new Arctic oil leases for remainder of Obama’s presidency

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31Gregory Korte, USA TODAY: Oct 16, 2015

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is canceling its plans to sell oil drilling rights in the Arctic Sea through 2017, a remarkable turnaround since expanding drilling by approving new drilling permits for Shell Oil earlier this year.

But Royal Dutch Shell’s decision last month to suspend its oil exploration in offshore Alaskan waters — citing disappointing results from a well in the Chukchi Sea — prompted the Interior Department to cancel further oil leases.

“In light of Shell’s announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. read more

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U.S. Cancels Remaining Arctic Oil Lease Sales Under Obama

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Brian Wingfield and Joe Carroll: BLOOMBERG.COM: 17 October 2015

The U.S. Interior Department effectively halted drilling off Alaska’s coast for the remainder of President Barack Obama’s term by canceling two sales of Arctic oil and gas leases.

The decision comes less than a month after Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it would indefinitely cease exploration in the region as the company didn’t find sufficient quantities of oil or gas in a Chukchi Sea drilling zone.

“In light of Shell’s announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement on Friday. read more

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US curbs Arctic offshore oil and gas drilling

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The US government has announced new curbs on oil and gas exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska’s northern coast.

It comes after oil giant Royal Dutch Shell last month stopped its Arctic activity citing “disappointing” tests.

The US interior department said it was cancelling two potential Arctic offshore lease sales and would not extend current leases.

The announcement has been welcomed by environmentalists.

Miyoko Sakashita, of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the decision was “great for the Arctic and its polar bears”. read more

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U.S. Blocks Alaskan Arctic Drilling for 2 Years

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31By CLIFFORD KRAUSSOCT. 16, 2015

HOUSTON — The Obama administration shut the door Friday on drilling in Alaska’s Arctic Ocean over the next two years, canceling auctions for drilling rights in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

The decision by the Interior Department was not surprising because it came less than a month after Shell Oil canceled the most advanced exploration project in the region because of disappointing results from a test well and high costs at a time when oil prices are extremely low.

Still, the announcement is symbolically important as the administration steps back from its cautious support of drilling in the Arctic. read more

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U.S. cancels Arctic offshore lease sale after Shell drops interest

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31WASHINGTON: Fri Oct 16, 2015

The U.S. Interior Department on Friday said it would cancel two potential Arctic offshore lease sales after Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSa.L) said that it was not interested in those leases.

“In light of Shell’s announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement.

Shell said last month it was giving up its Arctic search for oil after failing to find enough crude oil. read more

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The risks of wildcatting in the Arctic

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31A former Shell Oil executive and catastrophic risk expert on the nightmare scenario when oil and ice mix.

by Lauren Ellis @lauren_jellis: October 15, 2015

Two drill vessels officially left Arctic waters after Royal Dutch Shell announced that the company would cease exploration in the Chuckchi and Beaufort seas. After a $7 billion investment and a standoff with kayaktivists, Shell cited a “disappointing exploration outcome,” meaning there’s oil in the Arctic, but not enough where they drilled to justify the cost. It’s a classic industry gamble called wildcatting: oil companies invest in an unexplored area hoping to strike black gold in the hidden reservoirs thousands of feet below the surface. read more

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Shell had to write-down some of its shale assets in the U.S., after spending $24 billion on a bet that failed to pay off, with company executives regretting ever having made the investment.

By James Stafford: Wed, 14 October 2015

A new report finds that the largest oil companies are set to cut spending on exploration by at least half, potentially leading to very few new oil discoveries in the years ahead.

The report from investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Hold & Co., and reported by Fuel Fix, estimates that exploration budgets among the oil majors will drop to $25 billion in 2016, down from $50 billion from just a few years ago. Obviously, low oil prices are taking their toll, forcing deep spending cuts in a desperate attempt to shore up profitability. But the cuts have large implications for the energy sector, increasing the chances that some large oil fields remain undeveloped for years. read more

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Shell’s drilling vessels leave Arctic waters after company ends oil exploration off Alaska

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31DAN JOLING: Associated Press: Oct. 13, 2015

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two drill vessels employed by Royal Dutch Shell PLC off Alaska’s northwest coast have safely departed Arctic waters for the Pacific Northwest.

The 572-foot Noble Discoverer, owned by Noble Drilling U.S. LLC, reached Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands on Sunday afternoon. After a Coast Guard inspection, the vessel departed Monday for the Port of Everett in Washington state, Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said.

The Polar Pioneer, owned by Transocean Ltd., reached Dutch Harbor on Monday afternoon. Two tug boats accompanying the semi-submersible drilling vessel, the Ocean Wind and Ocean Wave vessel, planned to refuel and change crews. The Polar Pioneer will be towed to Port Angeles, Washington. read more

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Shell Is Reeling After Pulling Out of the Arctic

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Screen Shot 2015-10-04 at 09.03.21BY ANTONIA JUHASZ / OCTOBER 13, 2015

Earlier this month, Shell’s tumultuous Arctic drilling campaign came to an abrupt and costly end. In a written statement, the company announced the cessation of its offshore Alaska activities “for the foreseeable future”—at a loss of billions of dollars. This both stunned and thrilled critics, many of whom worried that the seven-year effort to stop Shell was dead in July, when the Obama administration approved the company’s permits to drill. read more

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Shell’s Arctic drill rigs make final Alaska stop

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31Laurel AndrewsOctober 12, 2015

Two weeks after announcing the end of its Arctic offshore oil exploration program, Royal Dutch Shell’s Noble Discoverer drillship left Dutch Harbor Monday afternoon, the last planned stop in Alaska as it heads to the Pacific Northwest.

The company’s second drilling rig that had arrived in Alaska this summer, the Transocean Polar Pioneer, is close behind.

The Noble Discoverer arrived in Dutch Harbor Sunday, said Shell Alaska spokesperson Megan Baldino. During the stop, both rigs had a crew change and resupply of fuel and groceries. read more

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Alaska mulls extra oil drilling to cope with climate change

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By Matt McGrath: Environment correspondent, BBC News, Alaska: 12 Oct 2015

Expanding the search for oil is necessary to pay for the damage caused by climate change, the Governor of Alaska has told the BBC.

The state is suffering significant climate impacts from rising seas forcing the relocation of remote villages.

Governor Bill Walker says that coping with these changes is hugely expensive.

He wants to “urgently” drill in the protected lands of the Arctic National Wilderness Refuge to fund them.

Alaska has been severely hit by the dramatic drop in the price of oil over the past two years. read more

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Environmentalists ramp up resistance to big oil

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31Environmental groups have become emboldened by their perceived triumph over Shell in the Arctic, in which they refined new tactics. What impact might this decision have on the future green movement in the United States?

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Environmental organizations celebrated when Royal Dutch Shell announced it was halting oil and gas explorations in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea “for the foreseeable future.” Activists heralded the move as an unprecedented victory for their campaign to stop drilling: They managed to shut down a fossil fuels project, they claimed.

However, the oil giant is adamant that environmental groups played no role in its decision to leave the Arctic. A spokesperson confirmed to DW that the company withdrew for economic and legislative reasons, stating that the Burger J well didn’t contain enough oil to develop a viable commercial project. read more

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UNESCO sees bright side to Shell’s Arctic pullout

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31Alaska Dispatch News: October 8, 2015

Shell’s decision to end its program to drill for oil in Arctic waters off Alaska is being cheered by one international organization.

Shell’s drilling in the Chukchi Sea threatened Russia’s Wrangel Island Reserve, an ecologically rich site that is the only designated World Heritage site in the Arctic, said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as UNESCO.

“This Arctic jewel, and the wealth of wildlife it supports, were threatened by Shell’s Chukchi Sea operations,” UNESCO said in a statement released Wednesday. read more

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Shell’s withdrawal from Arctic energizes activists

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Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31Activists plan broader green campaign

By Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Hearst Washington Bureau: Oct  8, 2015

WASHINGTON — Environmentalists who battled Arctic oil drilling by paddling kayaks, dangling from bridges and climbing onto rigs at sea have claimed a high-profile success against Shell and aim to funnel the resulting enthusiasm into other fights against fossil fuels.

Shell is abandoning its long crusade to find crude in the waters north of Alaska after disappointing results at a critical test well in the Chukchi Sea. While the company cited financial reasons for the pullout, the move nonetheless represents a tangible victory for environmental activists. read more

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Shell pledges to keep dividend despite slump in oil prices

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If the oil price stays low, Shell’s van Beurden may have to eat his words Photo: AFP

By Andrew Critchlow, Commodities editor: 06 Oct 2015

Royal Dutch Shell has reassured investors that it will maintain its dividends regardless of a prolonged slump in oil prices below $50 per barrel.

Chief executive Ben van Beurden, speaking at the Oil and Money conference in London, said: “Shell is pulling out all the stops to safeguard our dividends and buy-back programme, and to keep our investment programme steady for the future.” read more

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Aggressive bidding after reserves scandal put Shell on path to Arctic disappointment

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$7 billion bust in the Arctic Ocean

Screen Shot 2015-10-05 at 14.03.31By Jennifer A. Dlouhy: 5 Oct 2015

WASHINGTON — Shell’s dreams of an Arctic oil bonanza were dashed with disappointing results from a critical exploratory well this summer, but they were in full force seven years ago, when the company aggressively outbid competitors to nab drilling rights in the Chukchi Sea.

Reeling from a scandal involving overstated reserves and desperate to replenish its portfolio, Royal Dutch Shell spent $2.1 billion buying up those Chukchi Sea leases, vastly outspending the competitors who plunked down just $800 million combined in the same government auction. read more

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Shell Starts Nigeria Offshore Expansion of Up to 50,000 Barrels

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Screen Shot 2015-09-25 at 22.48.19Rakteem Katakey: Bloomberg.com: 5 Oct 2015

  • Bonga phase 3 oil passes through floating production facility
  • Shell has 55% of Bonga, Exxon 20%, Total, Agip 12.5% each

Royal Dutch Shell Plc expanded oil production off Nigeria’s coast by starting the third phase of its Bonga field. 

That phase has a peak production capacity of about 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent, Shell said Monday in an e-mailed statement. The floating production and storage facility serving Bonga’s third phase has a capacity of more than 200,000 barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of natural gas a day.

Shell has a 55 percent stake in Bonga and operates what it says were the first deposits to be developed in Nigeria’s deep waters in 2005. Exxon Mobil Corp. holds 20 percent, while units of Total SA and Agip, a subsidiary of Italy’s Eni SpA, each own 12.5 percent. read more

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Myths about Shell’s Arctic Alaska pullout persist

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Screen Shot 2015-10-04 at 09.03.21Yereth RosenAlaska Dispatch News: October 3, 2015

When Royal Dutch Shell announced that it had lost its big-money bet in the Chukchi Sea and would end its entire program in the offshore U.S. Arctic, the hyperbole and finger-pointing began in earnest.

Rep. Don Young accused President Obama and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell of deliberately sabotaging Alaska’s economy. “I’m sure somewhere Sally Jewell and President Obama are smiling and celebrating Shell’s decision to cease operations off the coast of Alaska,” Young said in a statement issued just after Shell’s announcement. read more

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Shell may post loss after taking £2.7bn Arctic exploration hit

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Screen Shot 2015-10-03 at 14.26.20Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden told The Mail on Sunday just two weeks ago that he was committed to the Arctic

By Jon Rees For The Mail On Sunday: 4 Oct 2015

Shell is set to reveal that quitting the Arctic cost it up to $4.1billion (£2.7billion) in its third-quarter results when it unveils them later this month – in a move that could push the oil giant into reporting a loss.

The firm took investors and its environmental opponents by surprise when it announced last week that it would end its drilling programme in the Chukchi Sea, 150 miles off the north-west coast of Alaska.

It said it had found indications of oil and gas but not enough to justify further exploration. read more

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What Shell’s latest move says about Arctic drilling myths

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Screen Shot 2015-10-03 at 14.26.20By  Scott L. Montgomery OCTOBER 1, 2015

The company’s departure is certainly a pause in a new era of Arctic exploration, but it’s not the end.

After seven years of preparation and several billion dollars spent, Shell has decided to abandon its exploration program in the U.S. Arctic “for the foreseeable future.” This follows barely two months’ drilling in the Chukchi Sea at the company’s Burger J well, located 150 miles northwest of Barrow, Alaska. Evaluation of all data revealed “indications” of oil and gas but not enough to justify further activity in today’s low price environment. read more

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Shell’s Exit From Arctic Oil Drilling

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Screen Shot 2015-08-13 at 11.35.25LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

“I am hesitant to pop open the Champagne quite yet…”

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To the Editor:

Re “Shell Pulls Plug on Exploration in Alaska Arctic” (front page, Sept. 29):

While the news that Shell has decided to pull out of its controversial Arctic oil exploration effort is cause for celebration for many environmentalists, I am hesitant to pop open the Champagne quite yet.

I find it hard to celebrate knowing that Shell’s withdrawal is the result of an oversaturated oil market fattened on shale oil from the Bakken formation and an OPEC overproduction of 1 million barrels above the cartel’s target output. Shell’s Arctic exit is a business decision in response to low oil prices due to a slowing economy and a glut of supply, both temporary conditions that do nothing to preclude a return to Arctic exploration once these conditions expire. read more

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Shell boss confronts environmental, carbon challenges

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On Monday, the oil and gas giant gritted its teeth and pulled out of one of the most ambitious, expensive and controversial exploration forays on the planet – Alaska. A project that could have delivered tens of billions of dollars instead delivered a dry well and, on Sunday, van Beurden and his team called it quits.

ANALYSIS: By The Business presenter Ticky Fullerton: 2 Oct 2015

Rarely have energy companies faced greater challenges, and global giant Shell has moved to tackle some of them head on.

Of all weeks to be in London to catch up with global Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden, this was it.

On Monday, the oil and gas giant gritted its teeth and pulled out of one of the most ambitious, expensive and controversial exploration forays on the planet – Alaska.

A project that could have delivered tens of billions of dollars instead delivered a dry well and, on Sunday, van Beurden and his team called it quits. read more

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A rig too far

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Screen Shot 2015-09-13 at 14.19.16Ben van Beurden, installed as Shell’s chief executive in 2014, could have halted the ill-fated project. But after a “personal journey”, he decided to go ahead.

Shell’s retreat from the frozen north shows the new realities of “big oil”: Reputation was another factor in Shell’s retreat

Oct 3rd 2015 | HOUSTON | From the print edition

OIL companies have a proud history of digging holes in inaccessible places and producing gushers of money. But in the Chukchi Sea, in the Alaskan Arctic, Shell has poured $7 billion into a single 6,800-foot exploratory well, making it possibly the most expensive hole yet drilled, only to admit this week that it had not found enough oil and gas to make further exploration worthwhile.

That was a big climbdown for a company that had spent seven years since acquiring the Chukchi licenses in 2008 in a highly public, drawn-out battle to drill in the Arctic. The decision boiled down to costs, financial and reputational. Most big oil firms face similar pressures. Some will take a lesson from Shell and put their Arctic plans on hold, though Eni, a big Italian oil firm, is vowing to press ahead with its efforts to drill in the Norwegian Arctic. read more

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