Seeking Alpha
Royal Dutch Shell to weigh vaccine mandate, firing staff on resistance
Sep. 09, 2021 11:22 AM ET Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A)Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.B)By: Niloofer Shaikh, SA News Editor 30 Comments
Gulf of Mexico
Royal Dutch Shell to weigh vaccine mandate, firing staff on resistance
U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil producers consolidation accelerates
REUTERS
U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil producers consolidation accelerates
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Oil and gas producers in U.S. Gulf of Mexico have consolidated at a faster rate during the pandemic, new government data shows, as crashing prices squeezed out smaller drillers who had been seen as the industry’s future.
The top 10 producers – led by Royal Dutch Shell, BP Plc and Chevron – this year pumped 86% of the region’s 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), up about 11 percentage points since 2017, data from regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) shows.
Shell greenlights Gulf of Mexico ‘Whale’ oilfield project
Reuters
Shell greenlights Gulf of Mexico ‘Whale’ oilfield project
July 26, 20212:36 PM BSTLONDON, July 26 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) announced plans on Monday to develop a new oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico, its first major project to get the go-ahead since a Dutch court ordered the energy company to accelerate its carbon emissions reduction targets.
Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Edmund Blair and Barbara Lewis FULL ARTICLEShell looks to Gulf of Mexico for lower carbon oil drilling; here’s what it means for Louisiana
Shell looks to Gulf of Mexico for lower carbon oil drilling; here’s what it means for Louisiana
Despite headwinds from corporate mandates to reduce carbon emissions, a temporarily halt for new federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico while the Biden administration reviews its impact on climate change and low oil prices, Royal Dutch Shell sees itself drilling for more oil off the coast of Louisiana and Texas.
“We still think that we’ll be here for decades to come,” said Rick Tallant, vice president Gulf of Mexico at Shell. “There’s still a lot of running room in the Gulf of Mexico, the margins are very good for our investors and the greenhouse gas intensity is arguably the best in the industry.”
Bloomberg: The Next Chapter of the Oil Crisis: The Industry Shuts Down
Bloomberg News: Javier Blas: April 26, 2020
(Bloomberg) — Negative oil prices, ships dawdling at sea with unwanted cargoes, and traders getting creative about where to stash oil. The next chapter in the oil crisis is now inevitable: great swathes of the petroleum industry are about to start shutting down.
The economic impact of the coronavirus has ripped through the oil industry in dramatic phases. First it destroyed demand as lockdowns shut factories and kept drivers at home. Then storage started filling up and traders resorted to ocean-going tankers to store crude in the hope of better prices ahead.
Shell delays U.S. Lake Charles LNG export project to 2025
Sept 4, 2019
LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers, has asked U.S. regulators to extend the time by which it should complete an LNG export project in Louisiana by five years to 2025, regulatory filings showed.
The project, a 50-50 venture with U.S. midstream company Energy Transfer, envisaged converting an existing import and regasification facility in Lake Charles into a multi-train, 16.45 million tonnes per year (mtpa) facility.
North Sea gains must be sustained, Shell official warns
North Sea gains must be sustained, Shell official warns
Sep 3rd, 2019
Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Excessive complexity held back the North Sea industry for many years, said Shell Upstream Director Wael Sawan during the plenary session at SPE Offshore Europe 2019.
The sector had made progress since the oil price fall in 2014, he acknowledged, helped by improved co-operation with governments in the region. “But we need to continue to innovate if we are to achieve the Oil & Gas Authority’s 2035 vision for the UK.”
Shell has played its part by driving down the costs of its North Sea operations by 45% over the past five years, he said, “and that has fundamentally changed the attractiveness of the investment.”
Shell Profit Misses as Slowing Economy Hurts Gas, Chemicals
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.”
Shell completes sale of interest in the US Gulf of Mexico asset
Shell completes sale of interest in the US Gulf of Mexico asset
by
Shell has completed the sale of a 22.45% non-operated interest in the Caesar-Tonga asset in the US Gulf of Mexico to Equinor.
The total cash consideration was $965 million.
The transaction represents Shell’s focus on strategically positioning the deep-water business for growth and is consistent with its strategy to pursue competitive projects that deliver value in the 2020s and beyond.
The sale contributes to Shell’s ongoing divestment programme.
Shell currently is the largest leaseholder and one of the leading offshore producers of oil and natural gas in the US Gulf of Mexico.
Oil majors evacuate U.S. Gulf platform staff before storm
JULY 9, 2019 / 10:58 PM
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Major U.S. oil producers on Tuesday began evacuating and shutting in production at their deepwater Gulf of Mexico platforms in advance of a tropical disturbance expected to become a storm this week.
A tropical depression is expected to form late on Wednesday or Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center, and move westward across the northern Gulf of Mexico, home to dozens of oil and gas producing facilities.
Chevron Corp (CVX.N), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L), BP Plc (BP.L) and BHP (BHP.AX) are removing staff from 15 offshore energy platforms, according to company statements.
Shell starts production at Appomattox in the Gulf of Mexico
PR Newswire:
HOUSTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its subsidiary Shell Offshore Inc (Shell) announces today that production has started at the Shell-operated Appomattox floating production system months ahead of schedule, opening a new frontier in the deep-water US Gulf of Mexico. Appomattox, which currently has an expected production of 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), is the first commercial discovery now brought into production in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico Norphlet formation.
“That Appomattox was safely brought online ahead of schedule and far under budget is a testament to our ongoing commitment to drive down costs through efficiency improvements during execution,” said Andy Brown, Upstream Director, Royal Dutch Shell. “Appomattox creates a core long-term hub for Shell in the Norphlet through which we can tie back several already discovered fields as well as future discoveries.”
Appomattox is a story of efficiency through innovation. By way of optimised development planning, better designs and fabrication, and expert drilling execution, Appomattox has realised cost reductions of more than 40% since taking final investment decision in 2015. The start of production at Appomattox is only just the beginning of further maximising the flow of resources in the prolific Norphlet surrounding Appomattox.
Shell’s global deep-water business has a strong funnel of development and exploration opportunities in Brazil, the US, Mexico, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mauritania, and the Western Black Sea. Production worldwide is on track to reach more than 900,000 boe/d by 2020 from already discovered, established reservoirs. The company continues to be one of the largest leaseholders in the US deep water and remains one of the most prolific offshore producers of oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell designs and operates its deep-water projects to be competitive and, since 2014, has reduced its unit development costs and unit operating costs by about 45%.
Cautionary Note
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc
directly and indirectly
owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release “Shell”, “Shell group” and “Royal Dutch Shell” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ”Subsidiaries”, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this release refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as “joint ventures” and “joint operations”, respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control
Gulf of Mexico about shift in mindset, says Shell VP
By Mark Lammey: 6 MAY 2019
Deep-water Gulf of Mexico has always been about making the impossible possible, according to Rick Tallant, Shell’s vice-president of production for the region.
Now, Shell is trying to make the possible affordable, he said.
Mr Tallant said companies had to do a lot of “soul searching” during the downturn to work out how the industry could survive and compete with Brazil, West Africa and parts of Asia.
A shift in the industry’s mindset and culture was vital in the quest to reinvent itself and get “fit for the future” in the GoM, he said.
Shell spent a lot of time focusing on lowering operating costs and investing more wisely, which meant embracing standardisation, harnessing the local supply chain, and vastly improving performance management.
Shell strikes big oil in Blacktip well of Gulf Of Mexico
APRIL 24, 2019 / 3:16 PM
(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s U.S. unit said on Wednesday that it had made one of its biggest oil discoveries in the Blacktip deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Blacktip, operated by Shell and co-owned by U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp, Equinor ASA and Repsol, is the company’s second material discovery in the Perdido Corridor, Shell’s Upstream Director Andy Brown said.
Blacktip was discovered in the Alaminos Canyon, about 30 miles from the Perdido platform and discovery at Whale, a deepwater well operated by Shell and co-owned by Chevron.
Shell sells stake in Gulf of Mexico field for $965 million
APRIL 11, 2019 / 8:55 AM /
(Adds comment from Delek CEO, details on Caesar Tonga field, industry background)
April 11 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell its stake in the Caesar Tonga field in the Gulf of Mexico for $965 million in cash to a subsidiary of Israel’s energy conglomerate Delek Group.
Company unit Shell Offshore will sell its 22.45 percent non-operated interest in a deal, which is likely to close by the end of the third quarter of 2019, Shell said in a statement.
Royal Dutch Shell leading charge back to Gulf of Mexico nine years after region was hit by BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill
By SIMON NEVILLE, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY
Royal Dutch Shell is leading the charge back to the Gulf of Mexico nine years after the region was hit by BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The Anglo-Dutch business splashed out $84.8 million (£64.7 million) on 87 drilling sites at an auction this month, having made just three bids at the previous auction in August last year.
Shell bosses have placed significant focus on the area in the past six months. At its results in January, the firm revealed production in the area had increased 50 per cent in two years to a peak of 40,000 barrels of oil a day.
Shell takes most blocks in Gulf of Mexico offshore lease sale
Mar. 21, 2019 12:07 PM ET|About: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC)| By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) snapped up the biggest number of blocks at yesterday’s auction for oil and natural gas leases in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, spending $84.8M on 87 bids.
The sale brought in the most revenue from such an event since the oil price downturn, with $244M in high offers received, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC -0.7%) and Hess (NYSE:HES) were the next highest bidders by dollar amount of high bids, totaling $24M and $18M respectively.
Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) placed the apparent high bid of the sale, offering $24.4M for Mississippi Canyon Block 801, and teaming up with Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) to win Keathley Canyon Block 964 with a $7M bid.
Shell: Tentative deal impacting 30,000 refinery workers reached
Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle
Royal Dutch Shell says it has reached a tentative deal with the union impacting 30,000 refinery workers and a consortium of Big Oil majors and energy companies nationally. The deal affects 5,000 refinery, chemical and pipeline workers in the Houston area.
Royal Dutch Shell – representing several energy companies including Exxon Mobil, Shell, PBF Energy, Valero, Phillips 66, Chevron, Chevron Phillips Chemical, LyondellBasell and Marathon Petroleum – said it has struck a tentative deal with the United Steelworkers union just hours before a 12:01 a.m. deadline.
Shell Eyes Low-Cost Oil Projects In The Gulf Of Mexico
Dec. 18, 2018 7:06 AM ET
Summary
- Enormous reductions in development costs have made new upstream oil projects in the US Gulf of Mexico quite economical.
- Royal Dutch Shell plc expects the Vito field to break even in a low pricing environment.
- Commentary on where these cost reductions are coming from, with an eye on third-party pricing deflation in the offshore space.
Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) is investing in upstream projects that are capable of earning a decent return in most oil pricing environments. The US Gulf of Mexico is one of the energy giant’s core upstream plays for this reason. In May 2018, Royal Dutch Shell plc reached first-oil at the Kaikias project in the Gulf of Mexico a year ahead of schedule. Reducing the Kaikias project’s total development costs by 30% allowed Royal Dutch Shell plc to announce that it will break even on that endeavor when realizing just $30 per barrel of oil sold. Next year, the Appomattox development in the US GoM is expected to reach first-oil and Royal Dutch Shell plc has already achieved major cost savings at that project. Farther out, the Vito development in the US GoM is expected to achieve first-oil by 2021. Let’s dig in.
Shell taps its deepwater legacy to fund its future
Anglo-Dutch oil major banks on Gulf of Mexico to help navigate energy transition
Shell bets on shale for flexibility in energy transition
Head of US business says oil and gas output will act as ‘balance’ for deepwater projects
Anjli Raval in New Orleans
Growing oil and gas production from shale fields will act as a “balance” for deepwater projects, the new head of Royal Dutch Shell’s US business said, as the energy major strives for flexibility in the transition to cleaner fuels. Gretchen Watkins said drilling far beneath oceans in the US Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and Nigeria secured revenues for the longer-term, but tapping shale reserves in the US, Canada and Argentina enabled nimble decision-making. FULL FT ARTICLE
Shell reaches milestone on plastics plant in Northeast, potentially a Gulf competitor
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.
Shell celebrates 40 years of deep-water innovation
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, today marks 40 years since it pioneered the modern deep-water era, celebrating a legacy of innovation that continues as part of the company’s growth strategy.
Shell currently has deep-water projects and exploration opportunities in the U.S., Brazil, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mexico, Mauritania, and in the Western Black Sea. That global presence began with a 1970s prospect, 105 miles southeast of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shell Is in Talks to Sell $1.3 Billion in Gulf Coast Assets
By Kiel Porter and Kelly Gilblom: 20 September 2018, 21:38 BST
- Oil major seeks to sell its Caesar Tonga stake to Focus Oil
- Shell is nearing end of $30 billion divestment program
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, shedding assets to pay for its takeover of BG Group Plc, is in talks to sell its interest in a Gulf of Mexico oilfield to Focus Oil, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal could value Shell’s stake in the Caesar Tonga field at about $1.3 billion, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. A deal hasn’t been completed and negotiations could still fall apart, they said.
Shell says deepwater drilling bouncing back, with breakeven now $30/bbl
|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor
Chevron, Shell get first waivers to U.S. steel tariffs
By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor: 12 July 2018
Shell Subsidiary to Pay $3.8 Million for 2016 Gulf Spill
Shell Subsidiary to Pay $3.8 Million for 2016 Gulf Spill
A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $3.8 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit over a 2016 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $3.8 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit over a 2016 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The May 11, 2016, spill of nearly 2,000 barrels (317974.6 liters) occurred about 97 miles (156 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast.
The New Orleans Advocate, citing court documents, reports that an investigation pointed to a leak in a piping system that is used to transport oil from a production well on the sea floor.
The settlement isn’t final. It must first be published in the Federal Register and have a 30-day public comment period before it can get final approval from a federal judge.
Shell To Hand Over $3.9M Over 2016 Gulf Oil Spill
Shell To Hand Over $3.9M Over 2016 Gulf Oil Spill
Law360 (July 5, 2018, 5:27 PM EDT) — Shell Offshore Inc. agreed to pay nearly $3.9 million in connection with a May 2016 spill of more than 80,000 gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred about 100 miles from the Louisiana coast, according to a consent decree filed Thursday in federal… SOURCE
Shell Makes A Big Bet On Deepwater, The Norphlet
Jun. 5, 2018 1:09 AM ET
Summary
- Shell has made a huge bet on a deeply buried resource in the Gulf of Mexico.
- In this article we explain, why they continue to spend billions of dollars in Deepwater, when other companies have abandoned it.
- We also provide a range where we would consider adding to our Shell position.
Shell adds competitive, deep-water production in the US Gulf of Mexico
Kaikias, an economically resilient, subsea development in the US Gulf of Mexico
HOUSTON, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore, Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, announces today the early start of production – around one-year ahead of schedule – at the first phase of Kaikias, an economically resilient, subsea development in the US Gulf of Mexico with estimated peak production of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
Shell has reduced costs by around 30% at this deep-water project since taking the investment decision in early 2017, lowering the forward-looking, break-even price to less than $30 per barrel of oil.
Shell Makes Large Heartland Discovery In Gulf Of Mexico
Map showing the location of Shell’s Dover discovery and its proximity to Shell’s new Appomattox host in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
HOUSTON, May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore, Inc. (“Shell”) today announced a large, deep-water, exploration discovery in the Norphlet geologic play in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with its Dover well (100% Shell). The Dover discovery is Shell’s sixth in the Norphlet and encountered more than 800 net feet of pay (244 meters). The discovery is located approximately 13 miles from the Appomattox host and is considered an attractive potential tieback. Shell’s Appomattox host has now arrived on location in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and is expected to start production before the end of 2019.
Shell’s Appomattox sails into Gulf of Mexico
Appomattox set sail from Ingleside, Texas, USA, to its final location in the Gulf of Mexico
Shell offloads stake in Amberjack pipeline to MLP for $1.22 billion
Reuters Staff: May 10, 2018
(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) will sell its stake in Amberjack Pipeline Co to its master limited partnership Shell Midstream Partners LP (SHLX.N) for $1.22 billion, the U.S. pipeline operator said on Thursday.
Drop down deals – where a parent transfers assets to its master limited partnership (MLP) – are practiced widely by energy companies to boost the value of their midstream assets without losing ownership of critical infrastructure.
Shell puts buybacks on hold despite rising profit
Workers at a project in Malaysia. Shell has operations in more than 70 countries: FLICKR
Emily Gosden: April 2018
Royal Dutch Shell reported its best quarterly profits in five years but disappointed investors yesterday by generating less cash than expected and failing to start promised share buybacks.
The Anglo-Dutch energy giant said that resurgent oil and gas prices helped deliver a 69 per cent surge in profits to $5.7 billion in the first quarter — the highest since the first quarter of 2013.
Underlying profits of $5.3 billion were fractionally ahead of market forecasts but cashflow was below expectations and Shell’s shares fell 0.73 per cent.
Shell Invests in the Vito Development in the Gulf of Mexico
Shell rendering of its Vito deep-water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Vito will feature a new, simplified host design and associated infrastructure.
HOUSTON, April 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, today announces the final investment decision for Vito, a deep-water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with a forward-looking, break-even price estimated to be less than $35 per barrel. This decision sets in motion the construction and fabrication of a new, simplified host design and subsea infrastructure.
Oil giants stay in their own backyards in U.S. auction
If that is the case, a Reuters analysis of the sale’s results shows reason to worry about demand in future offshore auctions.
The sale brought in $124.8 million, as just 1 percent of the 77 million acres (31.2 million hectares) offered found bidders. Reuters examined the acreage offered and leased, and nearly all the purchases show big drillers stuck closest to existing infrastructure, shunning the most far-flung areas.
While U.S. crude oil production reached a record last year at more than 10 million barrels a day, most new development is in onshore shale regions. The U.S. Interior Department has said it wants to open all U.S. coasts for drilling, including the Atlantic and Pacific. But the Gulf result indicates limited interest even in already-developed areas, never mind unexplored coasts.
Auction of Oil Drilling Tracts in Gulf Draws Tepid Interest
HOUSTON — In a setback to Trump administration efforts to increase offshore oil production, the industry responded with only modest interest on Wednesday in a federal auction covering a record 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico.
Companies bid on only 1 percent of the acreage, and the winning bids yielded a mere $125 million for the government.
The results reflected broad uncertainty among oil executives that global oil prices can remain at current levels over $60 a barrel, as well as a general preference for drilling in onshore shale fields that require smaller investments and are less risky.
BSEE: Burial of Subsea Well Led to Oil Spill
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has released its final report on the 2016 leak at Shell’s Glider field in the Gulf of Mexico, which resulted in the release of an estimated 80,000 gallons of oil.
The leak resulted from a fracture in a load limiting joint on the field’s well #4 jumper. The load limiting joint is a pipe fitting that is designed to fail in a known manner when placed under excessive stress, thereby preventing damage to complex, hard-to-repair parts of the subsea production system.
Shell CEO: Climate change is our biggest issue
Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden speaks at the CERAWeek conference at the Hilton Americas, Wednesday, March 7, 2018, in Houston. Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle
Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said Wednesday that climate change is the biggest issue facing the energy sector, encouraging the European oil major to invest more in cleaner-burning gas and renewable energy.
Shell aims to cut its carbon footprint in half by 2050 while shifting its roughly 50-50 oil and gas balance to a portfolio that’s closer to 70 percent gas, van Beurden said at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference in Houston. Shell already is the world’s leader in liquefied natural gas.
U.S. steel tariff could affect Shell Gulf of Mexico project decision – executive
FILE PHOTO – Wael Sawan, Executive Vice President for Shell’s deepwater division, poses for a picture before an interview for Reuters during an oil conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly
Ron Bousso: 7 MARCH 2018
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A potential tariff on U.S. steel imports could affect Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) plans to go ahead with a major oil field development in the Gulf of Mexico, a company executive said on Wednesday.
Wael Sawan, who heads Shell’s deepwater operations, said President Donald Trump’s intention to slap up to 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminium could materially impact the value of the Vito development off the Louisiana coast, one of a handful of projects Shell is planning to greenlight this year.
How Shell hid a Whale before placing Mexican oil bet
Shell’s oil and gas reserve life – the number of years it can sustain production at its current levels – has steadily declined in recent years despite the acquisition of BG Group
LONDON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – The gasps in the audience were clearly audible at the auction of Mexico’s oil blocks a month ago as Royal Dutch Shell’s hefty bids were announced one by one.
The size of Shell’s cash payments – $343 million out of the total of $525 million that Mexico earned in the sale – far outstripped its competitors’ offers, guaranteeing that the company swept up nine of the 19 offshore blocks.The Anglo-Dutch major knew something no one else did.
Six months earlier, its drilling rig had struck a giant oil reservoir, the Whale well, in the U.S. side of the Gulf of Mexico – just across the border from many of the Mexican blocks, which share a similar Paleogene-age geology.
Calculating that this significantly increased the chances of the Mexican blocks also containing treasure, Shell delayed the announcement of the discovery until the day of the auction, after bids had been submitted.
Shell platform transformed into artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico
Source: Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
For nearly 40 years, a 350-foot-tall metal frame in the Gulf of Mexico supported a platform that pumped oil and gas from the seafloor. The 3,000-ton structure was recently converted into an artificial reef off the coast of Louisiana, where it will serve as habitat for fish and other marine life.
Shell’s Cougar platform was installed in 1981 and produced about 31 million barrels of oil and gas over its lifetime, said Shell external relations advisor, Theodore Rolfvondenbaumen. The platform was recently decommissioned and the deck and topside were brought back to shore. The metal frame of the structure was donated to Louisiana’s Artificial Reef Program.
Oil Boom Gives the U.S. a New Edge in Energy and Diplomacy
A pump jack in a Permian Basin oil field in West Texas. The area has been a focus of the shale drilling boom. Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America
HOUSTON — A substantial rise in oil prices in recent months has led to a resurgence in American oil production, enabling the country to challenge the dominance of Saudi Arabia and dampen price pressures at the pump.
The success has come in the face of efforts by Saudi Arabia and its oil allies to undercut the shale drilling spree in the United States. Those strategies backfired and ultimately ended up benefiting the oil industry.
Overcoming three years of slumping prices proved the resiliency of the shale boom. Energy companies and their financial backers were able to weather market turmoil — and the maneuvers of the global oil cartel — by adjusting exploration and extraction techniques.
U.S. offers drillers nearly all offshore waters, but focus is on eastern Gulf
Ernest Sheyder and Valerie Volcovici
HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed opening up nearly all of America’s offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, but the industry says it is mainly interested in one part of it, now cordoned off by the Pentagon: the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
The industry’s focus on an area located near a sprawling network of existing platforms, pipes and ports could ease the path to new reserves, and assuage the drilling opponents near other places offered under the Interior Department’s proposed drilling plan issued last week, like California’s Pacific, the Atlantic and Arctic.
Workers injured in Shell platform fire in Gulf of Mexico file suit
Shell’s Enchilada platform, sitting atop Garden Banks Block 128 in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, caught fire early Wednesday (Nov. 8), injuring two workers. This map shows the location, outlined in yellow.
The lawsuit claims Shell and the pipeline operator were negligent or grossly negligent, failing to maintain a safe work environment…
Updated Posted
Three workers injured in a November fire on Shell’s Enchilada platform in the Gulf of Mexico are suing the oil and gas company in a Texas county court. The suit claims Shell, its Gulf of Mexico subsidiary and a pipeline operator “acted with flagrant and malicious disregard” for the health and safety of the workers leading up to the incident.
31 million barrels of oil later, new life for old rig
31 million barrels of oil later, new life for old rig
Royal Dutch Shell’s 36-year-old Cougar oil and gas platform. The bulk of the platform was converted into an artificial reef in November.
This location, however, will never produce oil. Instead, the 3,000-ton frame, from a retired platform operated by Royal Dutch Shell, will become home to barnacles, mussels, sponges and other aquatic invertebrates and a way station for migratory fish from red snapper to whale sharks seeking food and shelter.
Shell Midstream buying pipelines, terminals for $825m
Houston’s Shell Midstream Partners is going on a buying spree, acquiring $825 million worth of pipelines and terminals from its Royal Dutch Shell parent.
Written by Jordan Blum for the Houston Chronicle –
The deals designed to beef up the three-year-old Shell Midstream business give the Houston pipelines firm more ownership in Gulf Coast and Gulf of Mexico pipelines, as well as a slew of terminals from the Houston area to Washington state.
The drop-down acquisitions from the parent Shell and other Shell subsidiaries give Shell Midstream majority ownership of the Mars and Odyssey oil pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell Midstream already owned 49 percent stakes in the pipelines and the deal ups those stakes to at least 71 percent.
Shell Canada says Quest carbon capture and storage project exceeds expectations
17 NOVEMBER 2017
Shell Canada’s Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in the Alberta oil sands has sequestered over two million tonnes of carbon dioxide underground. Quest, situated at Shell’s Scotford facility, hit the two million tonne target in July 2017, some 21 months after becoming operational. The company said the target was originally expected to be reached after two years, and the project was exceeding expectations.
“This project has just been incredibly exciting because not only are we proving that this technology works, but we are demonstrating that Canadians are at the forefront of carbon capture and technology,” said Shell Canada external relations advisor Conal MacMillan.
The CCS project, which is among just a handful throughout the world, captures CO2 emissions from the Shell upgrader in Scotford, a facility which processes crude bitumen from oil sands into a wide range of synthetic crude oils.
About 75,000 bpd of Gulf oil output still shut after Shell fire
Bryan Sims: NOVEMBER 15, 2015
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A combined 75,206 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and 215,122 million cubic feet per day of natural gas production are shut-in at four platforms in the wake of a Nov. 8 fire at Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) Enchilada platform, according to U.S. government data.
The figures include Shell’s Enchilada, Salsa and Augers platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Hess Corp’s (HES.N) Baldpate platform and Hess-operated Conger field, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
Shell holds a 37.5 percent share in the Conger field.
Hess temporarily abandoned production at its Baldpate, Conger and Penn State fields, according to the company, adding that production coming through its Garden Banks Gas Pipeline system will be closed until further notice.
Shell’s Appomattox production platform
The big picture: The giant of the Gulf
NOVEMBER 15, 2017 | BUSINESSHALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD
In October, Ingleside, Texas, welcomed the hull of Shell’s Appomattox production platform, floating aboard a massive heavy-transport vessel, after its journey from halfway around the world. Construction of the host facility for Shell’s pioneering development will be completed in Ingleside after fabrication of the hull in South Korea. Shown here is the departure from South Korea.
BEHEMOTH ON THE SEA
A deepwater oil and gas development that will become Shell’s largest floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the sizeable host will tower 20 stories above the sea, float in 7,400 feet-deep waters (that’s five Empire State Buildings), span approximately three football fields across, and weigh more than the world’s largest naval aircraft carrier (125,000 metric tons).
Four Gulf of Mexico oil platforms shut after Enchilada fire: Shell
Reuters Staff: NOVEMBER 14, 2017
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday that production at four oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in the wake of a Nov. 8 fire at its Enchilada platform.
“Production is shut in at the Shell-operated Enchilada and Salsa platforms, as well as the associated Hess-operated Conger field,” in which Shell has a 37.5 percent share, it said in a statement.
“In addition, Shell safely shut in all production operations at its Auger platform due to downstream constraints caused by this incident.”
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.
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: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
