October 19, 2018 Oladeinde Olawoyin

The trial of officials of oil giants Eni and Shell over the controversial Malabu scandal will resume Wednesday at the Milan Palace of Justice in Italy, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

The Milan court’s decision came after Simon Taylor, a founding director of anti-corruption group, Global Witness, appeared before it as witness on Wednesday.

Mr Taylor’s Global Witness, together with PREMIUM TIMES and its London partner, Finance Uncovered, have for years done extensive investigations into the long-running controversial oil deal. read more

David Sanderson, Arts Correspondent: October 20, 2018

Another oil company has pulled out of a sponsorship deal with a British cultural institution after years of protests.

Shell’s withdrawal from a deal with the National Gallery follows that of BP from Tate and other organisations.

Shell said that its decision to end the 12-year agreement, thought to have been worth about £500,000 over that period, would allow it to focus on work to “inspire the next generation of engineers” through science, technology, engineering and mathematics programmes. read more

Speaking on a panel at SPE’s Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition in Dallas last month, Choong shared that Shell has made one of those choices by signing a 3-year deal to use the enterprise-wide analytics platform developed by Silicon Valley-based C3 IOT on Microsoft’s Azure cloud service.

The development comes on the heels of BP’s September announcement that is expanding the use of a competing analytics platform. Taken together, these cases reveal how large operating companies plan to manage and put into action their growing arsenals of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) programs. read more

Shell staff emailed the National Gallery to confirm it was not renewing its corporate membership, believed to be worth in the region of £20,000-£35,000 a year. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Adam Vaughan: @adamvaughan_uk: Fri 19 Oct 2018

Shell has ended its 12-year sponsorship of the National Gallery, to the delight of campaigners who have fought to keep fossil fuel financing out of the arts. The partnership with the Anglo-Dutch firm has made the London art gallery the target of protests over the years, including Greenpeace dropping a banner off the building’s roof and activists gatecrashing the launch of a flagship Rembrandt exhibition. FULL ARTICLE read more

OCTOBER 18, 2018 / 3:03 PM

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell plans to invest $1 billion to $2 billion annually in oil exploration and production in Brazil through 2025, Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported on Thursday.

The investment will be made regardless of the outcome of presidential election Oct. 28, Wael Sawan, executive vice president for Shell’s deepwater division, said in an interview with Valor.

Shell is the no. 2 oil producer in Brazil, where oil majors have spent top dollar in recent months to lock in stakes in its prolific offshore pre-salt play, where billions of barrels of oil lie beneath a thick layer of salt under the ocean. read more

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden

The head of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has warned that the crisis over the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi should not be allowed to shake the security of energy supply.

Ben van Beurden told Sky News that he was “glued” to coverage of the case and not just because it “may lead to geopolitical tensions that may affect markets”.

He said disruption to the sector would be “an unhelpful outcome” for all concerned.

Shell, the biggest company by value on London’s FTSE 100 Index, has investments of more than $8bn and 2,000 staff in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. read more

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 read more

Callum Turcan: October 17, 2018

Summary

• Going over Royal Dutch Shell’s LNG Canada endeavor.
• The pros and the cons.
• Why this is ultimately a good idea.

Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) is making another big bet on liquefied natural gas, this time in Canada. On October 1, 2018, Royal Dutch Shell plc and its partners announced a positive investment decision on the ~US$31 billion (~40 billion Canadian dollars) Canada LNG venture. The goal is to bring an LNG export facility online in Kitimat, British Columbia, to take advantage of both its existing infrastructure (deep-water ports, roads, electricity grids) and its easy access to Asian markets. While I am a shareholder of Royal Dutch Shell, that doesn’t mean I want to be a cheerleader for every decision the company makes. Here is what I view as a very reasonable assessment of LNG Canada, highlighting both the pros and cons of this endeavor. Let’s dig in. read more

BY MAREX 2018-10-17 19:01:00

Following Chevron’s lead, Shell has decided to sell its interests in the Danish North Sea offshore sector. In an announcement on Wednesday, the Dutch oil major said that it will sell its shares in its Danish upstream sector division, Shell Olieog Gasudvinding Danmark, to the Norwegian Energy Company (Noreco). Noreco will pay $1.9 billion and assume Shell’s obligations in the Danish North Sea, including its share of the decommissioning and redevelopment costs for the overhaul of the Tyra platform. read more

Wouter de Klein, Manager of Groundbirch Operations, gives a safety briefing at Shell Canada’s Saturn gas plant at the Groundbirch project in Groundbirch, British Columbia, Canada, October 11, 2018. REUTERS/Julie Gordon

GROUNDBIRCH, British Columbia (Reuters) – At a massive natural gas field in northern British Columbia, Royal Dutch Shell Plc is using new technologies and processes to cut emissions to address public and environmental group concerns that Canada’s nascent liquefied natural gas export industry could be a climate time bomb.

The Groundbirch project, perched above Canada’s richest shale gas deposit some 1,110 kilometers (684 miles) northeast of Vancouver, includes four gas plants and 500 wells dotted over an area the size of New York City. read more

By Samantha Oller, Senior Editor/Fuels, CSP

LAS VEGAS — More than a decade ago, major oil companies largely exited the retail business in the United States, as upstream profits dwarfed downstream retail opportunities. One of those global oil giants—Royal Dutch Shell, The Hague, Netherlands—has since amassed a massive network of 43,000 branded sites in 80 countries, including 14,000 in the United States. These U.S. locations are operated solely by Shell-branded marketers and dealers, but soon, they will be joined by Shell itself. read more

Katherine Blunt: Oct. 14, 2018

Shell’s petrochemicals unit recently installed a 285-foot cooling and condensation tower at its petrochemicals complex now under construction in Pennsylvania. Photo: Shell

Shell has completed a substantial step in the construction of its plastics production complex in Pennsylvania, a project expected to catalyze similar developments in the Northeast if the region continues to build the pipelines and storage needed to support a petrochemicals hub rivaling that along the U.S. Gulf Coast. read more

Published by Will Owen, Editorial Assistant
LNG Industry, Monday, 15 October 2018 09:44

A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Maarten Wetselaar, Member of the Executive Committee of Royal Dutch Shell, was recently held in St. Petersburg.

The parties discussed relevant issues related to bilateral cooperation, including the Baltic LNG project. Emphasis was placed on the priority measures aimed at developing a joint design concept (pre-FEED). read more

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. read more

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant may “turbo-charge” its drive into renewable power and electric vehicles within five years

Jillian Ambrose, energy editor: 13 OCTOBER 2018 • 5:30PM

‘We’re not an oil company,” says Ben van Beurden from across the table. It is an affable, but pointed intervention typical of the man leading the FTSE 100’s highest-valued business.

“I don’t want to be facetious or pedantic,” he continues good-naturedly. “But we are a much broader and more sophisticated company than one that produces oil. We produce much more gas than we do oil, for a start.”

For the boss of Royal Dutch Shell, the distinction is one that rings at the heart of a personal mission to transform a company which for over a hundred years has fuelled the development of the modern world. read more

By Jordan Blum: Updated 1:56 pm CDT, Friday, October 12, 2018

Royal Dutch Shell is the U.S. leader in retail fuel sales and now Shell is launching new American pilot programs so people can fill up almost anywhere or charge their electric vehicles.

First Shell will pilot its new “Shell TapUp” app-based program in Houston where it will take fueling trucks to its customers to fill their tanks. The program started in the Netherlands and is now coming to the U.S.

Shell will start offering the service to its employees and to other businesses so vehicles are filled up in their company parking lots. Then, Shell aims to eventually expand to all customers so people can get fuel while they’re shopping at the grocery or dining at a restaurant. Shell won’t come to your house; the goal is to service multiple customers at a time in larger parking lot or garage settings. read more

Posted by Jui Kate: 12-Oct-2018

The British-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch Shell has reportedly announced its plans to invest in the North Sea to construct a gas field 149 miles east of Aberdeen. As per trusted sources, the energy giant is making a slew of new investments in the basin after selling off about EUR 2.4 billion worth of North Sea fields and assets in early 2017.

Reportedly, Shell decided to invest in the Arran field following investments in revamping the Fram field in the Central North Sea, the Penguins field in the northern North Sea, and the Alligin field West of Shetland. According to a press release by Shell, the Arran field is likely to produce nearly 100 million cubic feet of gas and 4,000 barrels of condensate each day which is equivalent to 21,000 barrels of oil. read more

By Reuters• last updated: 12/10/2018: 

By Marianna Parraga and Alexandra Ulmer

MEXICO CITY/CARACAS (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc is negotiating the sale of its stake in a Venezuelan oil joint venture to Paris-based Maurel & Prom , three sources said this week, a move to scale down its crude business in the ailing OPEC-member country to focus on gas.

The Anglo-Dutch company is seeking to sell its 40 percent stake in Petroregional del Lago, a joint venture with Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA in the western state of Zulia near Colombia. read more

SOURCE

Corruption trial in Nigeria may last several months, says Shell

Royal Dutch Shell has said the corruption trial over a Nigerian oil deal may last several months, warning staff of continued critical media coverage in the $1.3 billion case.

An internal memo sighted by Reuters indicates that Shell’s Legal Director, Donny Ching, encouraged employees to study an internal web page that the Anglo-Dutch oil giant had set up for the case before responding to questions from relatives and friends.

Shell and its Italian peer, Eni are defendants in a Milan bribery trial, now in its early stages, focusing on the 2011 purchase of Nigeria’s $1.3 billion OPL 245 offshore oilfield. read more

NO, IT’S NOT MALCOLM BRINDED. HIS BRIBERY & CORRUPTION TRIAL (RE OPL 245) ALSO RELATING TO NIGERIA, IS STILL IN PROGRESS. 

Those sentenced alongside the SPDC managing director are Shell’s Secretary and Head of legal and the Deputy Country Head of Legal/Managing Counsel Global litigation sub-Sahara Africa.The judge directed the Nigerian Police Force and other law enforcement to effect immediate arrest of the aforementioned Shell officials who were absent in court and send them to prison.

By Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt: OCTOBER 10, 2018

A Port Harcourt High Court yesterday sentenced the Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Osagie Okunbor, and two others to three months’ imprisonment with hard labour for disobeying court order.

But reacting to the court judgment, the SPDC’s spokesman, Bamidele Odugbesan, said the oil giant did not accept the judgment and had appealed it. 

“We do not accept that SPDC has disobeyed any lawful order of court and have accordingly appealed this judgement.  read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Oct 09, 2018, 6:00 PM CDT

Royal Dutch Shell is not ‘going soft’ on oil and gas, despite recent investments in cleaner energy and energy solutions—Shell’s core business is and will continue to be oil and gas for the foreseeable future, the supermajor’s chief executive Ben van Beurden said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Oil and Money conference in London, van Beurden pointed to recent headlines about Shell’s investments in hydrogen, moves into electric vehicles (EVs) charging infrastructure, or an acquisition into the UK power sector, adding this note of caution: “But even headlines that are true can be misleading. They might even make people think we have gone soft on the future of oil and gas. If they did think that, they would be wrong.” read more

Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden

Adam Vaughan: Tue 9 Oct 2018

The boss of Shell has said a huge tree-planting project the size of the Amazon rainforest would be needed to meet a tougher global warming target, as he argued more renewable energy alone would not be enough. Ben van Beurden said it would be a major challenge to limit temperature rises to 1.5C (equivalent to a rise of 2.7F), which a landmark report from the UN’s climate science panel has said will be necessary to avoid dangerous warming. FULL ARTICLE read more

Jillian Ambrose, energy editor: 9 OCTOBER 2018 • 3:35PM

The energy giant’s chief executive Ben Van Beurden has warned the industry not to be swayed by the flurry of headlines marking Shell’s steps towards cleaner energy.

“Even headlines that are true can be misleading,” he told delegates at a London conference.

“They might even make people think we have gone soft on the future of oil and gas. If they did think that, they would be wrong,” he said.

Speaking one day after the UN’s landmark climate report warned that more must be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Mr Van Beurden said Shell still “means business” on oil and gas. read more

8 October 2018

Leakage from an oilfield operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) at Aghoro community in Bayelsa has discharged some 1,114 barrels of crude oil into the environment.

The leakage has adversely affected the fishing vocation of residents who had withdrawn from fishing to pave way for clean up.

The resulting oil spill impacted and polluted an estimated area of 113.03 hectares, according to a joint Investigation Visit (JIV) report of the incident obtained by newsmen in Yenagoa on Monday. read more

Jennifer Thompson: 7 October 2018

Shell’s largest UK pension fund is under pressure from a member who says it is failing to disclose how it deals with climate risk, in what is regarded as a test case for other UK pension funds. The £16bn Shell Contributory Pension Fund was contacted last week by Christoph Harwood and ClientEarth, the legal environmental campaign group. They requested proof of how it is dealing with the issue of climate change…

FULL FT ARTICLE

Jennifer Luxton / The Seattle Times: Originally published October 5, 2018 at 2:31 pm Updated October 5, 2018 at 4:59 pm

Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden

Can an oil and gas company favor a price on carbon emissions while not endorsing every attempt to achieve one? Yes — but Initiative 1631 has some serious flaws.

It may seem counterintuitive for an oil and gas company to favor a scheme that would potentially make doing business more expensive. But Shell’s longstanding support for a government-led carbon price is based on our belief that a well-crafted policy would benefit all of us — society and industry. read more

Graeme Paton, Transport Correspondent: October 6, 2018

More petrol stations will be fitted with electric car charge points under a new nationwide plan.

Shell says that 30 new forecourts will have rapid chargers by the end of March, with a “significant” further expansion planned by the end of next year.

It is the biggest introduction of chargers in urban petrol stations and comes after fuel retailers have faced criticism for being too slow to adapt to the technology. Companies have been reluctant to provide chargers because of concerns that it takes up valuable space that could be used for petrol and diesel pumps. read more

Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden

By Elena Mazneva , Dina Khrennikova , and Jack Farchy

4 October 2018, 00:01 BST

• Pouyanne responds to Shell investment in Canadian LNG project
• Russia is now largest source of Total’s oil and gas output

Two oil company bosses shared a stage with one of the most powerful men in the market, and all they wanted to do was brag about natural gas.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden hailed his $31 billion liquefied natural gas venture in Canada, the biggest new project since 2013. Very nice, but not as competitive as low-cost Russian supplies, said Total SA boss Patrick Pouyanne. read more

By Tim Daiss – Oct 03, 2018, 2:00 PM CDT

After years of indecision, governmental red tape, aboriginal resistance, environmental push-back and other problems, it appears that Canada may finally be on the path to having its first major liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project.

On Tuesday, the Royal Dutch Shell-led C$40 bn (US$32 bn) LNG Canada project announced that its project partners had reached a final investment decision (FID). It’s the first major LNG project to receive a FID in several years after numerous projects worldwide were either canceled or postponed during the plunge in global oil and gas prices from 2014 to 2017. The project was approved by all its stakeholders – Shell, Malaysian state-owned oil major Petronas, PetroChina, Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. read more

By Staff reporter

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

By Rachel Adams-Heard and Ryan Collins: 1 October 2018, 19:11 BST: Updated on 1 October 2018, 22:42 BST

• The company said to reach final investment decision on terminal
• U.S. competition has pummeled Western Canadian gas prices

An export terminal on Canada’s west coast may eventually rescue one of the cheapest markets for natural gas in North America — so cheap that sometimes the fuel price falls below zero.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its four partners have agreed to invest in the $31 billion LNG Canada project, according to people familiar with the matter. The decision to build the export terminal provides a much-needed outlet for gas in a region battered by competition from U.S. drillers, which has created bottlenecks so severe that prices can occasionally go negative. read more

By Naureen S Malik and Natalie Obiko Pearson: 1 October 2018, 22:53 BST: Updated on 2 October 2018, 08:32 BST

• LNG Canada partners said to formally approve investments
• British Columbia gas-export terminal to cater to Asian markets

The developers of a C$40 billion ($31 billion) project to export Canadian natural gas are taking on a bold strategy: build now and worry about buyers later.

After a decade of planning and negotiations, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four partners gave their formal approval to build the gas-liquefaction and export terminal in British Columbia, according to a statement late Monday local time. The super-chilled fuel that’s produced will be divided up among the partners, who will each be free to sell it however and to whomever they please, according to Andy Calitz, chief executive of the joint venture, LNG Canada. read more

By Reuters• last updated: 02/10/2018

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden in Moscow this week, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday.

Ushakov said Putin and the Shell boss will discuss the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on Russia’s Pacific coast, where Shell is a minority shareholder, and a plan to build an LNG plant on Russia’s Baltic coast. Shell and Russian gas giant Gazprom last year signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on the plant. read more

Decision to go ahead with $14 billion project follows years of delay, and signals growing confidence in global gas markets

LONDON—A group led by Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A -0.33% PLC is pressing ahead with a major Canadian liquefied natural gas project after years of delay, the company said Tuesday, raising competition for LNG developments in the U.S. already under pressure from new Chinese tariffs.

The 14-million-ton-a-year project in British Columbia is the biggest LNG development to gain investment approval in years and the first for Canada. By the mid-2020s, it is expected to start sending massive tankers of supercooled natural gas to demand centers in Asia. read more

By Natalie Obiko Pearson , Stephen Stapczynski , Elffie Chew , and Kelly Gilblom: 2 October 2018, 07:08 BST: Updated on 2 October 2018, 13:51 BST

• Project will create new route to Asia for North American gas
• Investment to be Canada’s largest infrastructure project

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its partners announced an agreement to invest in a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas project in western Canada — the largest of its kind in years that will carve out the fastest route to Asia for North American gas.

LNG Canada — comprised of Shell, Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd, Mitsubishi Corp., PetroChina Co. and Korea Gas Corp. — confirmed the expected final investment decision in the C$40 billion ($31 billion) project, according to a statement from Shell on Tuesday. Bloomberg News reported Sunday that the group had approved the investment and an announcement was imminent. read more

Oct. 1, 2018 11:25 AM ET| By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

An energy consortium led by Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Eni (NYSE:E) developing the Karachaganak gas condensate field will pay $1.1B to Kazakhstan’s government to settle a profit-sharing dispute, the country’s energy ministry says.

Kazakhstan says its production sharing agreement with the consortium also will amend terms so that it will receive a higher share of future revenues from one of the country’s biggest hydrocarbon fields. read more

Greenwashing is a phrase used in advertising to describe initiatives taken by organisations to preserve the environment; this they do to improve their public image.

Greenwashing is a phrase used in advertising to describe initiatives taken by organisations to preserve the environment; this they do to improve their public image. The term ‘greenwashing’ is in use since the 1960s, but became famous in the 1990s when environmental awareness became a movement across the world. Organisations struggle to get public attention and customers’ mind share; pretending to be environment-friendly is one such attention-seeking measure.

One of the huge corporations, Royal Dutch Shell, has been frequently accused and penalised for its greenwashing campaigns. Its most famous ad campaign—“Don’t throw anything away; there is no away”—highlights the claim of growing flora and fauna out of carbon dioxide emissions, but it was found to be misleading and heavily criticised. In January 2017, a UK High Court ruled out a claim against Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary’s oil spill, in which two Niger Delta communities were shattered completely. The Court’s order clearly showcased robbing of justice and allowing the UK multinational to commit abuses overseas with impunity. Law is, indeed, blind. read more

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its four partners have agreed to invest in a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas project in Kitimat, B.C. — the largest new one of its kind in years that would carve out the fastest route to Asia for North American gas.

LNG Canada — comprised of Shell, Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd, Mitsubishi Corp., PetroChina Co. and Korea Gas Corp. — is set to announce a final investment decision on the $40 billion project as early as Monday, said people with direct knowledge of the plans, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The exact timing still hasn’t been decided. read more

Royal Dutch Shell opts to sit on the sidelines while BP shovels money into opposing Initiative 1631.

By Hal Bernton: Seattle Times staff reporter: September 30, 2018 

In speeches, reports and online posts, BP and Royal Dutch Shell leaders proclaim support for government rules that put a price on greenhouse-gas pollution resulting from the combustion of oil, natural gas and coal.

But as Washington voters head toward a November vote on an initiative to impose a carbon fee on fossil fuels, the two oil giants have gone their separate ways.

Shell, which operates the state’s second largest refinery, in Anacortes, has opted to sit on the sidelines of what has emerged as one of the most expensive initiative battles in Washington history. If approved, Initiative 1631 could serve as a model for other states. read more

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”), and its bid consortium member Chevron Brasil Óleo & Gás Ltda (“Chevron”), today won a 35-year production sharing contract for the Saturno pre-salt block located off the coast of Brazilin the Santos Basin. Shell will pay its share of the total signing bonus for the block, equating to approximately USD $390 million [R$ 1,562 billion]. read more

Italian prosecutors allege that a year after its agreement with the U.S., Shell and Eni SpA, its partner in Nigeria, paid more than $1 billion to win offshore licenses, which mostly went to bribes.

As the company moves away from oil, it can’t shake its years operating in the pollution- and graft-ridden nation.

A leaking, out-of-service Shell oil well head catches fire in Nigeria in 2006. PHOTOGRAPHER: ED KASHI/VII

By Kelly Gilblom

Perched in a helicopter sweeping over the mangrove forests of the Niger Delta, a photographer named Casey is looking for trouble. And she finds it, down among a cluster of tree trunks stained with crude. A faint disturbance in a jungle clearing turns out to be a group of men pawing at a pipeline, a tiny slice of a 1,200-mile web that feeds Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s bustling export hub on Bonny Island. Some of the men flee as the chopper closes in, but most redouble their efforts as Casey aims her camera. “I’ve seen things get better,” she said before takeoff. “Then they go back to getting worse.” read more

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 / 7:54 PM /

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Thursday it looks forward to handling industry negotiations on a national contract covering 30,000 U.S. refinery and chemical plant workers represented by the United Steelworkers union (USW).

The talks begin formally in January and Shell, which has represented its peers since 1997, is lead negotiator on behalf of companies including BP, Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp and others.

The refining industry this year has enjoyed strong profits, near-full utilization rates and record product exports. In the June quarter, the margin on turning crude to gasoline, diesel and other products was the highest since 2015. read more

By Jasmine Wang , Stephen Stapczynski , and Aibing Guo: 28 September 2018, 10:23 BST: Updated on 28 Sep 2018, 11:34 BST

• PetroChina, Kogas approve investment in gas export venture
• All partners expected to take final investment decision soon

Two of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Asian partners in a liquefied natural gas venture in western Canada approved their share of the investment, pushing the multibillion-dollar development one step closer to a final approval.

The board of PetroChina Co., the nation’s largest oil and gas company, approved its $3.46 billion share of the LNG Canada project, the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Friday. Korea Gas Corp. made a similar announcement in Seoul about its stake. read more

By Michelle Froese | September 25, 2018

Brazos Wind Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Shell Wind Energy (Shell), has signed an operations and maintenance contract with E.ON Energy Services LLC (EES) for its site near Fluvanna, Texas. E.ON will perform scheduled maintenance services on the 160-MW site.

Shell owns and operates the Brazos Wind Farm, which uses Mitsubishi 1000A turbines. E.ON will perform scheduled maintenance and troubleshooting for the site in daily coordination with Brazos. read more

By Natalie Obiko Pearson , Michael Bellusci , and Kevin Orland
26 September 2018, 15:31 BST

• Shell, partners said to plan announcement in early October
• Project group plans event involving fireworks in Kitimat

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its partners are set to announce a decision on their C$40 billion ($31 billion) liquefied natural gas terminal in western Canada as early as next week, amid signs the companies are poised to approve it, according to people familiar with the plans.

Preparations for an Oct. 5 announcement followed by an LNG Canada event and fireworks at the local golf club the next day are underway in Kitimat, British Columbia, the site of the proposed project, said people with direct knowledge of the activities, who asked not to be identified. The situation is fluid and timing could change, the people said. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Sep 26, 2018, 9:00 AM CDT

Brent Crude at $80 a barrel is not an “unreasonable” price of oil, and it will support investment in oil and gas infrastructure after the downturn, Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday.

“We should be able to balance the market at that sort of oil price level, but of course bringing on new production is not a short-term event,” van Beurden said, noting that it takes years for the industry to bring new production online. read more

Olesya Astakhova

MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.AS) is in talks to buy a stake in an oil and gas project from Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM), three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters, a rare foray into Russia’s energy sector by a Western oil major since sanctions were imposed.

The sources said Shell is negotiating with state-controlled Gazprom Neft, Russia’s third-largest oil producer, about acquiring a stake in the onshore Tazovskiy project in the country’s northern Yamal region. read more

Harder: 26 Sept 2018

Royal Dutch Shell is sitting out a multi-million dollar fight over a carbon fee proposal in Washington state even as nearly all other oil companies with operations there rally to oppose it.

Why it matters: It’s a sign of the oil industry’s uneven, years-long evolution toward supporting policies that put a price on carbon emissions. And whether Washington State voters support the initiative, which is on the state-wide ballot this Election Day, will be a bellwether for other attempts at big climate policy. read more

25 Sept 2018

• Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden says $80 oil is not “unreasonable” and will help fuel spending on oil and gas infrastructure after a period of underinvestment.
• The Trump administration’s steel quotas are beginning to impede some of Shell’s construction projects in the United States, van Beurden said.
• Shell has not yet canceled any construction due to the trade barriers, and it is driving down the cost of its offshore projects.

Tom DiChristopher | @tdichristopher

The Trump administration’s steel quotas present a challenge to building new oil and gas infrastructure in the United States, but rising crude prices help fuel investment, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden tells CNBC.

International benchmark Brent crude hit a nearly four-year high above $81 a barrel on Monday as the market braces for U.S. sanctions on Iran that threaten to wipe about 1 million barrels a day off the market. Brent’s multiyear high came after OPEC, Russia and other oil producers declined to boost output to tackle rising prices. read more