Shortly after Ben van Beurden took over as chief executive of Royal Dutch ShellPLC, he bet the company on natural gas, with a roughly $50 billion takeover of a rival focused on shipping the fuel around the globe. Now he is preparing to double down.

Mr. van Beurden said Tuesday that a consortium led by the Anglo-Dutch energy giant will decide before year-end whether to move forward with a $30 billion, liquefied-natural-gas export terminal in western Canada.

“We postponed the decision previously when the project wasn’t ready in terms of economic fortunes,” he told The Wall Street Journal… read more

Sep. 24, 2018 6:06 PM ET| By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

An overview of the Niger delta where signs of oil spills can be seen in the water in Port Harcourt, Nigeria August 1, 2018. Picture taken August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Ron Bousso

Ron Bousso

BODO, Nigeria (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell wants to reweight its footprint in Nigeria to focus on oil and gas fields far offshore, away from the theft, spills, corruption and unrest that have plagued the West African country’s onshore industry for decades.

But for the company that pioneered Nigeria’s oil industry in the 1950s, the Niger Delta remains as important — and problematic — as ever.

While Shell has cut onshore oil production and sold some onshore assets, it continues to invest in others. In fact, onshore production has risen in recent years as a share of Shell’s output in Nigeria, an analysis of company data over the past decade shows. read more

Olesya Astakhova

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Production of oil and natural gas at the Russian Pacific island of Sakhalin is expected to decline next year, the local government said in an emailed response to a Reuters query.

Sakhalin, which is also famous for producing seafood, derives most of its oil and natural gas from two offshore projects – Sakhalin-1, led by ExxonMobil, and Sakhalin-2, led by Russia’s Gazprom.

Sakhalin-1 shareholders also include Russia’s Rosneft, Japan’s Sodeco and India’s ONGC. Apart from Gazprom, Sakhalin-2 shareholders include Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi. read more

The $900 million (679.79 million pounds) power project, being built by Sinolam LNG affiliate Sinolam Smarter Energy LNG Power Co, expects to begin taking deliveries of the super-cooled natural gas in 2020, the advisors told Reuters late Wednesday.

The deal with a Shell trading unit comes as a trade dispute between the United States and China has put global LNG exports in the spotlight. This week, China imposed tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods, including a 10 percent tax on LNG imports effective Monday, in response to the U.S. slapping tariffs on some $200 billion of Chinese goods. read more

By Kevin Orland: 19 September 2018, 11:00 BST

Canadian industry hit hardest by downturn in energy prices

Shell-led group due to decide on $30 billion project this year

After years of suffering through plunging energy prices and declining spending by oil-sands behemoths, Canada’s oilfield-service industry is finally seeing a light on the horizon.

Companies that do everything from drilling wells to building work camps are pinning their hopes on a potential C$40 billion ($30 billion) liquefied natural gas facility on British Columbia’s Pacific Coast. LNG Canada, the Royal Dutch Shell Plc-led group behind the plant, may decide whether to build the project in the coming weeks.

The export complex would be a boon for an industry that was hit hardest by the 2014-2016 downturn in oil and gas prices, and one that still hasn’t recovered. The project would need new pipelines built and fresh gas wells drilled, bringing scores of workers and tons of equipment off the sidelines.

“To see some sort of major infrastructure investment go forward would be pretty positive, both from an investment and an economics and an employment perspective,” said Scott Matson, chief financial officer of Horizon North Logistics Inc. read more

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

LONDON— Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A -0.37% PLC said it will announce plans to lay out targets to manage its emissions of the greenhouse gas methane Monday, joining a handful of major oil companies that have made similar pledges this year.

Shell has been outspoken about the value of natural gas as a “bridging” fuel—a cleaner-burning fossil fuel that can help bolster renewables like solar and wind energy when, for instance, the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.

The company’s long-term strategy is wedded to gas. In 2016, it spent roughly $50 billion to buy smaller rival BG Group, an acquisition that cemented Shell’s position as one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas players. read more

CAIRO, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Egypt has signed a deep-water oil and gas exploration deal with Royal Dutch Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas worth around $1 billion for 8 wells in the country’s West Nile Delta, the petroleum ministry said on Saturday.

The country also signed a second $10 million deal with Rockhopper, Kuwait Energy (IPO-KEC.L) and Canada’s Dover Corporation for exploration in the Western Desert, a ministry statement said.

Egypt aims to be a regional hub for the trade of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after a string of major discoveries in recent years including Zohr, which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. read more

• Author: Nick Coleman
• Editor: Jonathan Fox
• Topic: Oil and Gas 2018 Outlook: EMEA
• 11 Sep 2018 | 11:49 UTC: London

• Added Brexit costs “completely” wrong direction
• Uncertainty puts industry at risk: OGUK
• Shell UK head hails “revitalized” strategy

London — Shell on Tuesday joined calls by the oil and natural gas industry for the UK to avoid a “no-deal” Brexit, with Shell country head Sinead Lynch warning that added costs in the form of barriers to trade and movement of talent would be “completely the wrong direction” to go in.

Industry group Oil & Gas UK warned Tuesday that uncertainty surrounding UK withdrawal from the EU, due on March 29, 2019, risked damaging confidence and impeding the industry’s recovery. read more

Royal Dutch Shell: A bold bet to remain the world’s second-largest gas producer

Royal Dutch Shell became the world’s second-largest gas producer in 2016 after spending $70 billion to buy BG Group, which boosted Shell’s natural gas production rate by 25% while also adding a large-scale LNG business and vast gas reserves. Shell produces natural gas from several countries, with its largest supplies coming from Norway, Malaysia, Australia, the U.S., and Canada. Australia is its biggest source of gas at more than 600 BCF in 2017, which is more than double the output of its other top regions. read more

Ben Marlow, executive business editor: 9 SEPTEMBER 2018 • 8:39PM

Like a pair of mysterious soothsayers, Maarten Wetselaar and John Abbott are peering into the future. The world they see is almost unrecognisable from the one we inhabit today, and yet it is only just around the corner.

In the west, the petrol car has become obsolete. Lorries are powered by liquid natural gas. Freight liners criss-cross the oceans fuelled by hydrogen. Solar and wind provide the energy to our homes.

And the petrol station has been reimagined as an unlikely retail hotspot where people routinely gather to do their food shopping, pick up parcels, and sip artisan coffee. A convoy of vehicles are being rebooted at one of many charging points on the forecourt. read more

By Vanand Meliksetian – Sep 04, 2018, 3:00 PM CDT

Since the early days of the oil and gas industry, a group of Western companies has dominated the industry. These companies have been named ‘Big Oil’ due to the size of their global footprint. Despite their technological superiority and significant access to capital, these organizations are now facing difficulties in maintaining market share and profitability. Changing requirements concerning fuel types as well as an increasing focus on environmental impacts have transformed the global energy market. Inevitably, these companies have been forced to change their strategy to remain relevant to customers. read more

‘A museum dedicated to science education should not be helping promote any company that is actively exacerbating this planetary emergency until they show a serious proactive drive to switch to renewables’

• Josh Gabbatiss Science Correspondent
• @josh_gabbatiss

Tens of thousands of people have urged the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry to drop Shell as a sponsor from an upcoming event.

The announcement that the museum’s new exhibition, “Electricity: the spark of life”, would be supported by the oil giant sparked controversy among local groups.

Specifically, they have highlighted the role that fossil fuels play in driving global climate change and the role that oil companies have played in the phenomenon.

A petition with over 57,000 signatures has been handed to the museum as the Manchester Science Festival, which includes the new exhibition. read more

Along with Royal Dutch Shell, Total was among the first energy companies to halt crude oil purchases from the Islamic Republic, fearing repercussions if they failed to do so.

By Scott Belinksi – Sep 01, 2018, 10:00 AM CDT

As Iran is turning to the UN’s International Court of Justice to have the US-imposed sanctions against its oil suspended, the EU is preparing for the hit its economies will have to absorb once the full weight of Washington’s punitive measures comes into effect in the fourth quarter of this year. With these latest moves, American intentions are clear: cut off Iranian oil from the market entirely and reduce Tehran’s financial power. As oil prices rise, however, the White House’s policy looks set to hurt more countries than just Iran. Will Europe’s economies take the hit – or will they fight back? read more

MARTIN BAILEY: 29th August 2018 09:59 GMT

Two of the major Dutch museums have just ended their collaboration with Shell, at a time of mounting protests over sponsorship by fossil fuel companies. Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum and the Mauritshuis in The Hague both terminated arrangements with the country’s largest oil and gas firm this summer.

A Mauritshuis spokesman says that it had a six-year partnership contract with Shell, which was due to end in July and was not renewed. Surprisingly, however, the latest annual report of the Mauritshuis states that support from Shell Nederland and two other partners is “crucial for the long-term future of the museum”. Shell has also been supporting technical research on paintings by Jan Steen, but this work is almost complete and is due to be published by the end of the year. read more

Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11 billion) in cost.

By Elena Mazneva and Anna Shiryaevskaya | Bloomberg
August 27 at 12:00 AM

A planned new natural-gas pipeline into Europe from Russia is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, worries leaders in Eastern Europe, has stirred the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump and has put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the hot seat.

1. What is Nord Stream 2?

It’s a planned new 1,230-kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from fields in Russia to the EU network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route — the original Nord Stream — that opened in 2011. Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11 billion) in cost. read more

By atlanticenergy August 10, 2018 Green Energy

The world as we know it is not in great condition. Polar ice caps are melting and thus causing higher sea levels, temperatures are increasing, drought is on the rise, weather conditions have become very unstable and unpredictable, and there are many more changes taking place that we will get into as we go through this article.

Most people would argue that this is due to humanity’s major dependence on fossil fuels to produce energy; those being coal, oil, natural gas, and so on. But is there really a viable solution to this? Is there a clear winner in the solar vs coal debate? We think there is but it doesn’t come without its costs.  read more

Shell aims to establish a network of hydrogen filling stations in the Netherlands and expects to roll out four stations by 2020—two in Amsterdam, one in The Hague, and one in Pesse.

Last update: August 24, 2018
Author: PetrolPlaza Correspondent Daniel Infante Tuaño

The oil giant wants to play an active role in the Dutch energy transition and is also working on establishing a network of fast charging stations for electric vehicles, reports Gasworld.

To roll out the hydrogen stations, Shell is availing of a government scheme called the Demonstration Regulation for Climate Technologies and Innovations in Transport (DKTI Transport) of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, which offers subsidies to low emission transport solutions.

In addition, Shell’s hydrogen stations are part of the extensive hydrogen project H2Benelux, a project co-financed by the ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ of the European Union. read more

By Zheng Xin | China Daily | Updated: 2018-08-23 09:12

Global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc has announced plans to triple the number of gas stations it has in China to 3,500 by 2025, in response to the recent lifting of restrictions on foreign investment in the sector.

“Shell is already the leading international oil retailer in China, running 1,300 sites via strategic joint ventures and two wholly owned companies, and we aspire to triple the size of our network by 2025,” said John Abbott, downstream director, Royal Dutch Shell. read more

Aug. 13, 2018 12:14 PM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Austrian oil company given permission by watchdog to takeover Shell’s NZ business

JOHN ANTHONY: August 11 2018

New Zealand’s competition watchdog has given approval for an Austrian oil and gas company to buy Royal Dutch Shell’s New Zealand assets.

The acquisition will result in OMV taking ownership of Shell’s entire New Zealand portfolio, including its stake in the Maui and Pohokura gas field joint ventures with Todd Energy and the associated production, pipeline and tank assets.

The sale, worth $794 million, marks the end of Shell’s association in New Zealand after more than 100 years. read more

Daniel J. Graeber: AUG. 8, 2018

Aug. 8 (UPI) — A division of Shell came up empty-handed when drilling into a frontier prospect in the Norwegian Sea, a national petroleum regulator announced Wednesday.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the nation’s energy regulator, reported that the regional subsidiary of the Dutch supermajor drilled a dry hole in its first effort in a wildcat area near the Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea.

A wildcat well is one drilled into an area not previously known to contain hydrocarbons. The NPD said the drilling facility used in the effort will now move to another license area in the Norwegian Sea where a regional division of French supermajor Total will try its hand with a wildcat well. read more

By Kelly Gilblom: 7 August 2018, 10:49 BST

Company plans to use gas to attract foreign-owned factories

Nigeria still lacks robust natural gas distribution network

After decades of difficulties in Nigeria over crude theft, pollution and oil-related corruption, Royal Dutch Shell Plc still feels optimistic a fossil fuel can improve life in the country.

The Anglo-Dutch oil major is seeking to develop Nigeria’s domestic energy market around natural gas. It’s plentiful, harder to steal, better for the environment and can underpin a robust industrial sector that could potentially employ thousands, according to Ed Ubong, the managing director of Shell Nigeria Gas. read more

Aug. 5, 2018 8:37 AM ET

Summary

• Shell daily production dipped slightly in Q-2, causing a miss of EPS by 0.15 share.
• Investors were not impressed and discarded the stock in droves.
• In late May it reached an all time high stock price. It has since back-tracked about 10% and we are dipping our toes in at present levels.
• Shell has been transforming it’s business model in recent years, and may now deserve a higher multiple.
• Further, the 25 billion dollar stock buy back will tend to put upward pressure on the share prices.

Introduction

We were a little shocked at Shell’s, (RDS.A,RDS.B) decline on it’s Q-2 earnings release. Any serious review of operations could have foretold it. When you sell off $30 bn worth of assets that produce oil, you’re going to see a decline of this type. I mean seriously, we’re talking about 40K BOPD essentially on a company that produces over 3.5mm BOPD.

Perhaps large investors were wondering if the company is allocating capital in sufficient amounts to maintain and grow production. When we look we see that the company has been investing at a consistent rate to maintain production longer term. read more

Seán McCárthaigh: August 2, 2018

The release of odourless gas into the national network last September, meaning 10,000 homes had to go without gas for days, was due to poor operating procedures at the Corrib gas refinery in Co Mayo.

A report by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) concluded that the emergency on September 21, 2017, was due to a technical failure at the Shell E&P Ireland terminal at Bellanaboy. The CRU said it had followed up its findings with enforcement actions against both Shell and Gas Networks Ireland (GNI), which operates the national gas network. read more

Shell announced last year that it was disposing of its 45 per cent stake in the Corrib gas field to a unit of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in an €830 million deal, resulting in about €1 billion of losses. The decision was announced just over 18 months after first gas finally flowed from the field 83km off the Mayo coast, after over a decade of opposition…

Lorna Siggins Western Correspondent: Wed, Aug 1, 2018

An investigation by the State’s energy regulator into the release of non-odourised gas from the Corrib gas refinery in north Mayo last year says it was caused by the upgrading of an information technology (IT) system.

“Deficiencies” in Shell E&P Ireland’s (SEPIL) operating procedures led to the incident last September, but there were no safety consequences for staff at the Corrib gas refinery or members of the public “in the immediate vicinity”, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has found. read more

• Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell posted a 30 percent rise in net profit in the second quarter of 2018.
• Net income attributable to shareholders on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, used as a proxy for net profit, and excluding identified items, came in at $4.69 billion.
• Shell announced a $25 billion share buyback program.

Holly Ellyatt | @HollyEllyatt: 26 July 2018

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell posted a 30 percent increase in net profit in the second quarter of 2018 and announced a $25 billion share buyback program.

Net income attributable to shareholders on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, used as a proxy for net profit, and excluding identified items, came in at $4.69 billion, up from $3.6 billion seen in the same quarter a year ago.

The earnings fell short of an analyst consensus of $5.967 billion, however, Reuters reported.

The company said the earnings “reflected increased contributions from Integrated Gas and Upstream, partly offset by lower earnings in Downstream.” read more

By Kelly Gilblom: 26 July 2018, 07:21 BST. Updated on 26 July 2018, 08:40 BST

*Energy giant to buy back $2 billion of shares over 3 months

*Second-quarter profit misses even the lowest analyst estimate

Royal Dutch Shell Plc finally gave investors the share buybacks they’ve been demanding, even as profit fell short of expectations despite resurgent crude prices.

The Anglo-Dutch energy producer said Thursday that it is starting a $25 billion share-repurchase program, initially buying up $2 billion of stock over three months. That should soothe investors who have grown increasingly anxious about when they’ll see the reward for sticking with Shell through the biggest oil-industry downturn in a generation. read more

By Kristine Owram: 19 July 2018, 10:00 BST

A C$40 billion Canadian LNG project led by Royal Dutch Shell Plc appears to be ramping up, although a final decision hasn’t been announced. Scotiabank’s Jennifer Stevenson expects the project to go ahead, prompting investors to reevaluate struggling Canadian gas producers. FULL ARTICLE

REUTERS STAFF: THURSDAY JULY 19, 2018

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) – Japan’s JERA Trading (JERAT) has hired Sarah Behbehani, the former head of short-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading at Royal Dutch Shell, as the world’s biggest buyer of the fuel bulks up in Asian trading.

Behbehani’s move comes a month after JERA absorbed the LNG trading business of EDF to create JERAT as it looks to break down restrictions on trading cargoes bought under long-term deals.

Industry sources said the trading manager, responsible for a team of eight, resigned from Shell this week and will start her new role in three months. read more

Ron Bousso, Shadia Nasralla: JULY 18, 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil giant BP’s Eastern Trough Area Project off the coast of Scotland wasn’t supposed to be viable beyond 2018.

But government and industry working together have given ETAP a new lease of life that is being closely watched by countries and companies eyeing other ageing projects around the world.

When ETAP was launched 20 years ago today, some experts predicted the UK sector of the North Sea would cease most production by 2030. read more

Mr Trump last year signed a law giving him the right to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. Royal Dutch Shell, BASF’s Wintershall unit, Uniper, OMV and Engie have agreed to provide Russia’s Gazprom with financing for the €9.5bn pipeline and could be at risk of penalties.

Elena Mazneva, Margaret Talev and Naureen S Malik: 18 July 2018

US President Donald Trump eased his tone about a Russian natural gas pipeline to Germany after a one-on-one meeting with President Vladimir Putin, shifting from the harsh criticism of Germany he’d levied in Europe last week.

“We are going to be selling LNG and will have to be competing with the pipeline and I think we’ll compete successfully, although there is a little advantage locationally” because Russia is closer to buyers in Europe, Mr Trump told reporters at a news conference with Mr Putin after their meeting in Helsinki on Monday. read more

Energy giant Shell has been fined £40,000 for breaching climate pollution rules at the Mossmorran Chemical plant in Fife.

Written by Allister Thomas – 17/07/2018

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency  (SEPA) imposed the fine after Shell broke regulation on reporting emissions at the site between 2013 and 2015.

Shell operates a plant at the site in Fife to process thousands of tonnes of North Sea gas per day.

The company had under reported propane unit volumes by approximately 0.5% of total plant volumes over the three-year period.

EU rules mean the firm is obliged to report its climate pollution.

A note on the Sepa website states: “Failure to comply with condition 4 of a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Permit. read more

LNG Canada will hire primarily Canadian workers to build a planned terminal to export liquefied natural gas from Kitimat, B.C., newly released briefing notes for B.C.’s NDP minority government show.

The employment strategy is in sharp contrast to the abandoned plans by now-defunct rival Pacific NorthWest LNG, which would have use far more foreign workers for a site near Prince Rupert, according to the notes ministry officials prepared for Premier John Horgan and Energy Minister Michelle Mungall. read more

Jul. 12, 2018 11:42 AM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor: 12 July 2018

Jul. 11, 2018 11:41 AM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

By Elena Mazneva and Laurence Arnold: 11 July 2018

A planned natural-gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, is the latest point of friction between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. At a summit meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, Trump said the pipeline risks making Germany “a captive of Russia.” He’s not the first American leader to criticize the pipeline project, and the U.S. isn’t alone in its disapproval.

1. What is Nord Stream 2?

It’s a planned new 1,230 kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from fields in Russia to the EU network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route and cut Russia’s reliance on gas transit through Ukraine. (Russia has been locked in conflict with Ukraine since 2014, when a pro-Russian president there was forced from power and Russia seized the country’s Crimean Peninsula.) Russia’s Gazprom PJSC is overseeing the project with funding from five investors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Engie SA, which are providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($10.3 billion) in cost. read more

Hundreds of Norway oil workers go on strike, Shell shuts Knarr field

Gwladys Fouche

One union said hundreds more workers would join the strike on Sunday if an agreement over union demands for a wage increase and pension rights was not reached.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) said that due to the strike it was temporarily closing production at its Knarr field, which has a daily output of 23,900 barrels of mostly oil, but also natural gas liquids and natural gas.

Shutting the field, whose owners are Idemitsu (5019.T), Wintershall [WINT.UL] and DEA, could take up to 36 hours, it said. read more

REUTERS STAFF: 10 JULY 2018

OSLO (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is shutting down production at its Knarr field in the North Sea after workers walked out on strike on Tuesday, the company said.

Production at Knarr is 3,800 standard cubic metres of oil equivalents. It produces mostly oil, with some natural gas liquids and gas production.

The partners in the Knarr field are Japan’s Idemitsu (5019.T), Wintershall [WINT.UL] and DEA, according to data from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. read more

NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON, BLOOMBERG: July 9, 2018

A flurry of activity is raising optimism that Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its partners are ready to go ahead with the nation’s largest infrastructure project: a $40 billion liquefied natural gas terminal that could at last unlock energy exports to Asia.

The action is unmistakable in Kitimat, the Pacific coast city hugging a deep inlet that would be the closest launch point on the continent for LNG cargoes to Asia. The lights are on, shades open and SUVs parked outside a 49-unit apartment complex built to house Shell executives, which sat mostly darkened for the last two years. Local workers have left jobs at a Rio Tinto Plc smelter nearby to join contractors ramping up for the LNG project. Landlords are raising rents and houses are selling twice as fast as they used to in anticipation of a flood of workers coming to town. read more

By Tim Daiss – Jul 08, 2018, 10:00 AM CDT

Several oil majors, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, are boosting their share of natural gas output. A Bloomberg report said these two oil companies, by increasing gas production, are trimming the lead between them and ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company. ExxonMobil has a current market cap of $348 bn, while Shell has market cap of $317 bn, and BP at $156 bn.

BP expects by 2020 to produce about 60 percent gas and 40 percent oil, a reversal from 2014 when it was the opposite – a pivot that many other oil companies will likely follow. ExxonMobil for its part currently produces about 55 percent oil and 45 percent gas and remains the largest natural gas producer in the US. Shell’s acquisition of UK-based BG Group for $50 bn in 2016 boosted the share of natural gas to 50 percent of its global fossil fuels output and made it the world’s largest natural gas trader. read more

By Vanand Meliksetian – Jul 03, 2018, 3:00 PM CDT

The Netherlands has been the source of cheap energy for northwest Europe for the past decades. The discovery of the Groningen gas field, the 9th largest in the world, provided a reliable source of energy in a period when the oil market was rocked by embargos due to the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The future of the Dutch gas sector, however, looks bleak due to two important developments in 2018: a political decision to reduce production with a timeline to stop entirely until 2030 and a new climate agreement. The Netherlands is preparing to make major changes regarding the role of gas in people’s lives. read more

Groningen needs reinforcement: watchdog

The repair and reinforcement of Dutch homes damaged by gas-extraction earthquakes in Groningen needed to be speeded up, the state supervisor on mines SoDM told economic minister Eric Wiebes.

RTL Nieuws reported that SoDM found approximately 1,900 homes in the region that, if not reinforced quickly, would no longer meet official safety standards. The distinctly Dutch rules state the risk of someone dying in an earthquake must not be higher than the risk of someone drowning in a flood elsewhere in the Netherlands. read more

Jun. 30, 2018 12:54 AM ET

Summary

• Renewal of assets with great focus on the future.
• Natural gas as energy source will continue to grow.
• Share buybacks and generous dividends.

Background

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) has been actively focusing on what kind of business it wants to be involved in. Part of this activity is to change the composition of its assets. It has been selling plants and oil licenses, and invested where it wants to position the company.

Disposals have also been done to reduce the total debt level. Much of the debt came from the $35 billion acquisition of BG Group back in March of 2016.

Disposals

Early this year, Shell communicated that its plans were to leave oil and gas operations in as many as 10 countries and instead focus more heavily on gas-rich Australia and shale opportunities in the United States. read more

Jun. 29, 2018 5:15 PM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Production at the Groningen natural gas field will come in lower than expected this year as the Dutch government works to end production completely by 2030 in an effort to limit seismic risks in the region.

Output will have fallen to 19B-20B cm in the year ending October 2018, the Dutch gas sector regulator says, below the original cap of 21.6B cm set for the year and down from 24B cm last year.

The Groningen field is a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM). read more

Ron Bousso, Shadia Nasralla: JUNE 25 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday it will develop the Fram gas field in the North Sea, its third project approval in the aging basin this year.

Shell’s final investment decision (FID) on Fram follows the green light for the expansion of the Penguins field in January, and the 50-50 joint venture Alligin field in the west of Shetlands area which is operated by BP.

The UK North Sea is one of the world’s oldest offshore basins whose production started in the 1970s and peaked in the late 1990s. It has enjoyed a modest production revival in recent years thanks to a wave of new projects coming on stream. read more