Parliamentarians voted on Tuesday to establish an expert commission to examine how to make taxing multinationals “more fair” after Netherlands-based Shell recently acknowledged it had paid virtually no Dutch corporation tax in 2018. Royal Dutch Shell refused to release details of its unique advance tax ruling with the Dutch government at a recent hearing of a parliamentary panel on taxation.

By Reuters• last updated: 12/06/2019 – 14:40: Dutch lawmakers step up tax demands on multinationals

By John O’Donnell and Toby Sterling

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Dutch lawmakers have launched an inquiry into how to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax, after public criticism that government reforms do not go far enough.

Scores of multinationals use the Netherlands to pare their tax bills but the Dutch, who bore tax hikes after the financial crisis, are growing increasingly hostile to minimising company tax, which is legal and has gone unchallenged for decades.

Parliamentarians voted on Tuesday to establish an expert commission to examine how to make taxing multinationals “more fair” after Netherlands-based Shell recently acknowledged it had paid virtually no Dutch corporation tax in 2018. Royal Dutch Shell refused to release details of its unique advance tax ruling with the Dutch government at a recent hearing of a parliamentary panel on taxation. read more

NEWS PROVIDED BY Shell: Jun 11, 2019, 16:15 ET

HOUSTON, June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc announced it has reached an agreement for the sale of Shell’s Martinez Refinery in California to PBF Holding Company LLC, a subsidiary of PBF Energy, Inc., for $1.0 billion consideration plus the value of hydrocarbon inventory, crude oil supply and product offtake agreements, and other adjustments.  read more

JUNE 11, 2019 / 6:57 PM

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s independent oil regulator on Tuesday approved deepwater exploration plans for five areas operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc in Mexican waters near the U.S. maritime border.

The plans commit the Anglo-Dutch oil major to invest at least $397 million over the next four years, but if the drilling proves successful it could grow to some $1.3 billion, according to the regulator, known as the National Hydrocarbons Commission, or CNH. read more

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: June 11, 2019

Royal Dutch Shell has issued a plea to companies across different sectors of the economy to work with it on plans to reduce their carbon emissions to “net zero”.

Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Europe’s biggest oil company, said that the airline and shipping industries were among the sectors being targeted initially for a “climate coalition”.

In a speech to The Times CEO Summit, Mr van Beurden, 61, also called for action to address unsustainable consumption patterns, citing “consumers who choose to eat strawberries in winter” and a throwaway culture in some industries where recycling could instead be the default. read more

JUNE 6, 2019 / 2:17 PM

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) – Russia’s Gazprom Neft said on Thursday it would set up a joint venture with Shell to develop an oil field in Yamal estimated to hold reserves of around 1.1 billion tonnes of oil.

Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of state gas company Gazprom, said it planned to close the deal late this year or early next and that both it and Shell would hold 50% stakes in the joint venture.

Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Jane Merriman

SOURCE

LATER VERSION JUNE 6, 2019 / 3:49 PM

Russia’s Gazprom Neft, on JV with Shell, says field not under sanctions

ST PETERSBURG, June 6 (Reuters) – Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s CEO Alexander Dyukov said reserves held in a field which it is looking at as part of a joint venture with Shell were not under Western sanctions.

Speaking on the sidelines of Russia’s flagship economic forum in the city of St Petersburg, Dyukov said that financing for the joint venture with Shell would be split evenly.

(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Maria Kiselyova) read more

A Shell North Sea boss has said he “agrees” with many of the climate campaigners who took to the streets of the UK’s major cities in April.

by David McPhee: 06/06/2019

Steve Phimister, Shell’s UK vice president for upstream, said yesterday during Oil and Gas UK’s (OGUK) industry conference that he thinks the country needs to take decisive action on the issue of climate change.

But he added that it did not include “abandoning” oil and gas.

Mr Phimister claimed he “agrees with the view from the climate protestors” of the need to move to a net zero carbon target “quickly”.

He added: “I understand why these activists were calling for this change, and it would be easy to assume that we all and those folk are on the opposite side of the conversation, but I don’t see it that way. read more

With generous dividends and buybacks—and talk of cleaner energy—Royal Dutch Shell looks to boost interest in its shares read more

Shell is to return $125bn over five years through dividends and share buybacks

That’s more than double the $52bn handed between 2011 and 2015

Energy group expects new projects will generate $35billion

By CAMILLA CANOCCHI FOR THISISMONEY.CO.UK

PUBLISHED: 15:03, 4 June 2019 | UPDATED: 16:15, 4 June 2019

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell fell despite the oil and gas giant revealing plans to return $125billion (£99billion) to shareholders over five years through dividends and share buybacks.

This is more than double the $52million (£41billion) handed to shareholders between 2011 and 2015.

Shell said it expects to pay for that with money from new projects, which it expects will generate $35billion, assuming oil remains priced at $60 per barrel. read more

Shell plans to boost returns and become a force in power

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell outlined plans on Tuesday to boost shareholder returns after 2020, while also increasing spending on oil, gas and power, as it capitalizes on years of cost cutting to prepare for a lower carbon future.

In a strategy update, the Anglo-Dutch energy company said it was on track to deliver on its commitment to sharply increase cash generation and carry out one of the world’s largest share buyback programs of $25 billion by the end of next year.

It then plans to increase payouts to investors through dividends and share buybacks to $125 billion between 2021 and 2025, roughly half of its current market value. That compares with payouts of around $90 billion between 2016 and 2020.

While offering sweeteners to investors, Shell also outlined plans to increase spending in the next decade to grow its gas, oil, renewables and power output. read more

Earlier this month, a Dutch court ruled that it had the jurisdiction and would hear a damages lawsuit against Shell brought by the widows of activists executed by Nigeria’s government after the protests in Ogoniland in the 1990s.

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 27, 2019, 4:00 PM CDT

The Nigerian unit of Royal Dutch Shell doesn’t have any plans to return to exploring or producing oil in Ogoniland in Nigeria’s Rivers state after it ceased operations there in the 1990s, Igo Weli, General Manager, External Relations, at the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) said this weekend at the release of Shell Nigeria’s 2019 Briefing Notes.

SPDC, as operator of the SPDC Joint Venture, carried out exploration and production operations in Ogoniland from the 1950s until the early 1990s. Production ceased in 1993 following a rise in violence, threats to staff, and attacks on facilities, Shell said. read more

Benet Kolek: MAY 24 2019

TIRANA (Reuters) – Shell Upstream Albania B.V. said on Friday initial tests showed “a flow potential of several thousand barrels of oil per day” from its Shpirag 4 well in central Albania, and it needed more work to determine its commercial volume.

“We are pleased that these initial tests have confirmed the potential of this discovery and look forward to growing our business in Albania,” Marc Gerrits, Shell’s Executive Vice-President of Exploration, said.

The Shpirag 4 well west of Berat had confirmed the flow potential of a significant light oil discovery, it added. read more

By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor: 22 MAY 2019

A 3.4 magnitude earthquake has hit the northern Dutch region of Groningen in the latest in a series of tremors blamed on decades of gas extraction.

The Dutch government says it will decide in the coming weeks whether the quake should lead to a change in plans to end production from the Groningen field by 2030.

The government has pledged to end production from the field by 2030 and to lower it as quickly as possible in coming years; output is set to fall to 19.4B cm in the year through October 2019, down from a peak of 54B cm in 2013. read more

By Kevin Orland: 23 May 2019, 12:00 BST

*Canadian project has seen better-than-expected reliability

*Adviser sees more activity in carbon-utilization projects

A Royal Dutch Shell Plc-operated carbon capture and storage project in Canada has hit a milestone of sequestering 4 million tons of carbon dioxide about six months ahead of schedule and at a lower cost than estimated, helped by better-than-expected reliability.

The Quest facility, which sequesters emissions from the Scotford Upgrader near Edmonton, Alberta, started up in November 2015 and has since run ahead of its target of capturing 1 million tons of carbon a year, said Anne Halladay, a geophysicist who has been an adviser on the project since it was in construction in 2014. That performance has been driven by less unplanned maintenance than projected and more efficient performance, including less chemical usage, she said. read more

PR Newswire: May 23, 2019

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 read more

HOUSTON — Shell Oil Co. debuted its latest premium gasoline, Shell V-Power NiTRO+, at forecourts across the United States on May 20.

The new formulation is engineered with four levels of defense against gunk, wear, corrosion and now friction to help keep engines running like new. According to the company, it is the brand’s most advanced fuel and the result of more than a century of Shell fuels innovation.

Shell V-Power NiTRO+ now includes the brand’s proprietary technology to help reduce friction in your engine and improve efficiency, furthering the brand’s competitive advantage. It can be found across the country at roughly 13,000 Shell-branded stations. read more

MAY 21, 2019 / 2:51 PM

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell revealed on Tuesday that in 2018 only its gas subsidiary NAM paid corporate tax in the Netherlands, where it is headquartered, following Dutch parliamentary demands that it attend a hearing on tax avoidance.

“By giving openness before the round table, hopefully room will be created for the conversation to be about the substance,” Shell said, adding that it paid $10 billion in corporate tax globally in 2018 and had an effective tax rate of 33 percent. read more

May 20, 2019 5:28 PM ET|About: Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A)|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) subsidiary Shell Chemical reportedly is advancing feasibility studies for a potential $1.2B expansion of monoethylene glycol production at its Geismar, La., chemicals complex.

As part of the project, Shell would build an MEG plant at the site that it could approve as early as 2020, pending final engineering, design and investment decisions, according to the Louisiana Economic Development. read more

MAY 15, 2019

The public prosecution department says Shell should pay the maximum fine of €2.4m for the explosion on the Moerdijk industrial estate in 2014 and a further €250,000 for not taking immediate action to halt the leak of a dangerous gas in 2016.

Shell should pay the maximum fine for the explosion because it had not done all it could to prevent the blast taking place, placing both workers and local residents in danger, the prosecutor said at a court hearing in Den Bosch on Tuesday. read more

Shell is expected to spend $1.5bn (£1.152bn) on decommissioning in the North Sea over the next six years, according to a new forecast.

by Allister Thomas: 13/05/2019, 11:36 am

FULL ARTICLE

By Irina Slav – May 09, 2019, 9:30 AM CDT

A report that Occidental Petroleum’s corporate jet traveled to the Hague, one of Shell’s two home towns, has sparked a fresh flare-up of speculation regarding its proposed acquisition of Anadarko, CNBC reports, citing an unnamed source.

The news comes after reports on Thursday suggest that Chevron is bowing out of the fight to acquire Anadarko, despite some analysts thinking that it would up its offer to compete with Occidental’s. Chevron will be entitled to a $1 billion breakup fee per the terms of the original agreement. read more

MAY 9, 2019: SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell PLC has plans to invest about $2 billion per year in Brazil through 2025, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden told newspaper Valor Econômico in an exclusive interview.

Its investment plans could be increased to allow the company to bid in three upcoming oil and gas auctions, Valor reported in its Thursday edition based on the interview.

Royal Dutch Shell will not focus exclusively on oil projects, the report said. It is interested in exploring opportunities in natural gas, biofuels and the solar energy sector, Valor said. read more

The German government has made a formal objection to Shell’s plans to decommission the Brent field in the North Sea.

by Allister Thomas and Mark Lammey: 09/05/2019

Shell submitted plans in 2017 which proposed to leave the huge concrete legs of three of the four Brent platforms in place, prompting outcry from environmental groups.

Germany’s environment ministry commissioned a new report on the plans from Aberdeen-based consultancy Scientia et Sagacitas, which has highlighted “major issues” with Shell’s assessments.

The UK and Germany are both part of Ospar, an international agreement with several European countries to protect the marine environment. read more

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. read more

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) is moving to sell its stake in Indonesia’s $15B Abadi liquefied natural gas project, Reuters reports, part of its ongoing asset disposal program to raise cash to help pay for its $54B purchase of BG Group in 2015.

Shell hopes to raise ~$1B from the sale of its 35% stake in the Abadi project, according to the report.

Project construction was due to start in 2018 but was delayed in 2016 until at least 2020 after Indonesian authorities instructed a switch from an offshore to an onshore facility. read more

by David McPhee: 03/05/2019, 7:40 amUpdated: 03/05/2019, 7:48 am

Oil giant Shell yesterday cited a “strong start to 2019” and increased pre-tax profits as the reason for implementing a bullish share buyback programme.

The firm announced it intends to repurchase almost £20 billion shares by 2025, with the first tranche expected to see it re-aquire £2.1bn over the next three months.

Shell pre-tax profits rose to £7.2bn for Q1 if this year, compared to £6.3bn over the same period in 2018.

But, by Shell’s own preferred method of reporting it also experienced a 7% drop in statutory earnings and a 2% fall in underlying earnings.

Chief executive Ben van Beurden said the firm had delivered “robust results” despite challenging market conditions. read more

• 02 May 2019 | 18:28 UTC
• AuthorRobert Perkins
• EditorDerek Sands
• CommodityNatural Gas,  Oil

London — Shell is keen to grow its US shale oil portfolio but does not feel pressured to chase new acquisitions, as Occidental and Chevron battle for control of Anadarko’s Permian-rich upstream assets, Shell Chief Financial Officer Jessica Uhl said Thursday.

Shell doesn’t “need” to do a US shale deal as it already has a strong US portfolio of shale and tight oil, which has further room for volume growth, Uhl said.

“We have significant growth capacity in our existing position and, in that sense, we are not desperate. We don’t need to find new shale exposure … but we like the business,” Uhl told analysts on an earnings call. read more

By Mark Williamson: Group Business Correspondent

ROYAL Dutch Shell finance chief Jessica Uhl has hailed a “huge step up” in performance by the company in the North Sea and underlined the fact it sees big potential in the area.

Speaking after Shell became the latest giant to report a fall in profits amid renewed oil price volatility, Ms Uhl made clear the oil giant’s focus in the North Sea has shifted to growth after a period of retrenchment. read more

The court ordered that the case should not be time-barred, while also granting the prayers of the plaintiffs that Shell should hand over the confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK: MAY 02, 2019

The District Court of the Hague has issued an interim ruling in favour of wives of Ogoni leaders killed in 1995 during the military era of Sani Abacha.

The case, which was instituted by four wives of the slain leaders — Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula — accused Shell of being involved in the decision by the Nigerian government that led to the killing of their husbands.

The plaintiffs are also calling on the court to order Shell to hand over more than 100,000 internal documents crucial to the case. Shell’s lawyers have refused to do so, even though these documents were submitted as evidence in the US case.

Shell had said that the Dutch court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, but the court ordered that the case must continue.

In its ruling on Wednesday, the court ordered that the case should not be time barred, while also granting the prayers of the plaintiffs that Shell should hand over the confidential internal documents to the plaintiffs’ lawyers, and that they would have the opportunity to examine witnesses.

Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, supported Kiobel’s legal team to bring the case to the Netherlands in 2017, and detailed Shell’s role in the arrests and executions in a briefing. read more

• 02 May 2019 | 08:58 UTC: London
• Author Stuart Elliott
• Editor Elizabeth Thang
• Commodity Natural Gas

London — Shell expects to ship its first LNG cargo from its Australian floating LNG production facility, Prelude in the second quarter, its CFO Jessica Uhl said Thursday.

Speaking after the release of its Q1 earnings, Uhl said the first LNG would follow the shipment of the first condensate cargo from Prelude last month.

Prelude FLNG is one of the most anticipated LNG projects in recent years due to its deployment as the world’s largest floating facility, though it has experienced delays due to unspecified production issues. read more

Ron Bousso: MAY 2, 2019

Shell’s results outshone those of rivals Exxon Mobil, Chevron and BP which all saw sharp declines in profits in the first three months of the year as a result of lower refining margins and weaker crude and gas prices.

Shell shares were up 1.4 percent shortly after trading opened.

“Shell has made a strong start to 2019,” Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in a statement.

“Our integrated value chain enabled our Downstream business to deliver robust results despite challenging market conditions.” read more

By Mark Williamson: Group Business Correspondent

ROYAL Dutch Shell has underlined its faith in the exploration potential of the North Sea by buying in to a licence a relative minnow has been working on.

The oil and gas giant has exercised an option to acquire a stake in acreage containing a prospect it is thought could hold 290 billion cubic feet gas from Cluff Natural Resources.

Shell will pay $600,000 for the 50 per cent stake and has agreed to fund 75 per cent of the cost of drilling an exploration well, up to a maximum of $25 million. read more

APRIL 26, 2019 / 11:29 PM 

YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Two Royal Dutch Shell oil workers were kidnapped, and their police escorts killed, in Nigeria’s restive Delta region, a police spokesman said on Friday.

The workers were in Rivers State, returning from an official trip to Bayelsa state, when they were attacked.

“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) regrets to confirm the attack on its staff and government security escort at Rumuji, Rivers State, on the East/West road on Thursday, April 25, 2019 around 16:00 hours,” an SPDC spokesman said. read more

by Allister Thomas: 26/04/2019, 11:49 amUpdated: 26/04/2019, 11:52 am

A new report alleges that Shell and Eni benefited ‘at the expense’ of the Nigerian people in a generous military-style contact in 2011.

Analysis from non-profit watchdog Global Witness suggests the firms signed a “Sole Risk” contract, which gave away Nigeria’s right to its share of the oil produced in the $1.1bn deal.

Court cases are underway into allegations of bribery in the deal for the OPL 245 license, which holds one of the country’s largest oil fields. read more

APRIL 25, 2019 / 10:44 PM

AMSTERDAM/LONDON (Reuters) – Dutch trade unions and oil major Royal Dutch Shell have agreed to end a wage dispute which has hit production at the company’s Pernis oil refinery and Moerdijk chemical plants in the Netherlands in recent weeks.

CNV union spokesman Piet Verburg said unions on Friday will advise employees at Europe’s largest oil refinery and the chemical plants to end their strikes, which started on April 8.

“Shell has offered an improved and ultimate proposal for the Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) for Pernis and Moerdijk to the unions,” a Shell spokesman said late on Thursday. read more

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. read more

Ron Bousso: APRIL 24, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is in talks to buy BP’s stake in the Shearwater oil and gas field in the British North Sea for around $250 million, three industry sources told Reuters. Shell, the field’s operator, announced plans last year to expand a gas hub around Shearwater, including the construction of a new pipeline.

Shell has a 28 percent stake in Shearwater, BP holds 27.5 percent and Exxon Mobil has the remaining 44.5 percent. read more

DUBAI, April 21 (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco will acquire Royal Dutch Shell’s 50 percent stake in their Saudi refining joint venture SASREF for $631 million, the two companies said on Sunday.

The purchase, which is part of Aramco’s strategy to expand its downstream operations, will be completed later this year, they said in a joint statement.

Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co (SASREF), based in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, has a crude oil refining capacity of 305,000 barrels per day (bpd). read more

AMSTERDAM, April 16 (Reuters) – Dutch trade union workers decided on Tuesday to extend strike action at Royal Dutch Shell’s Pernis refinery that they said will limit production to 65 percent of capacity, union spokesman Egbert Schellenberg said.

Schellenberg, spokesman for the FNV union, said that in addition to the action at the 404,000 barrel a day Pernis, Europe’s largest refinery, the strike will continue to prevent maintenance at Shell’s Moerdijk facility.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Writing by Anthony Deutsch; editing by David Evans) read more

APRIL 17, 2019 / 12:46 PM

DUBAI, April 17 (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco plans to buy Royal Dutch Shell’s 50 percent stake in Saudi refining complex SASREF, a joint venture between the firms, two sources said on Wednesday.

One of the sources said an agreement has been reached between Aramco and Shell.

Aramco and Shell declined to comment.

Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co (SASREF), based in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, has a crude oil refining capacity of 305,000 barrels per day (bpd). read more

Strikes impact Shell’s Pernis oil refinery but extent unclear

Ahmad Ghaddar

Shell said earlier in the day that the unit had been shut. It later clarified that it had only repeated what the unions had said and would not comment on the status of the refinery.

The refinery, near Rotterdam, has the capacity to process 404,000 barrels per day of oil.

The CNV union also said strike action had disrupted planned maintenance at the adjacent Moerdijk petrochemical site.

A Shell spokeswoman said striking workers were trying to disrupt planned maintenance on the Moerdijk Lower Olefins (MLO) unit. read more

Explosion at Shell’s Scotford refinery

April 15, 201911:49 AM Reuters

Emergency crews responded to an explosion and fire at Shell’s Scotford refinery in Alberta on Monday, a company spokeswoman said. There were no reported injuries.

The Scotford facility houses a 100,000 barrel-per-day refinery and a 255,000 bpd oil sands upgrader.

Local media reported flames and a large plume of black smoke coming from the refinery.

Shell spokeswoman Tara Lemay said the fire broke out around 8:45 a.m. local time and employees were being moved away from the incident as a safety precaution. Roadblocks have been set up at the entrances to the Scotford site and on roads nearby. read more

By Clyde Hughes: APRIL 16, 2019

April 16 (UPI) — Environmental protesters blocked several famous landmarks in London Tuesday, demanding that legislators take immediate action to fight climate change.

Demonstrators who call the protests an Extinction Rebellionblocked the Waterloo Bridge, Marble Arch, Parliament Square and the Oxford Circus on Monday. More protesters returned Tuesday morning after police started making arrests.

Authorities said they have arrested more than 100 of the protesters. read more

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The chief executive of Shell’s Dutch business said on Thursday she is willing to attend a parliamentary panel on tax avoidance by multinational companies, but she will not discuss Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s tax filings.

Marjan van Loon had initially declined the invitation, saying it made more sense for the Netherlands’ business association to represent all taxpaying companies.

She then said she would attend the April 18 meeting after Dutch lawmakers insisted that a Shell representative should be present. read more

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. read more

April 10, 2019: 12:58PM

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has decided to exit the Baltic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project led by Russian state gas giant Gazprom in the Leningrad region, the chairman of Shell’s Russian unit said on Wednesday.

Shell, which has a long history of energy cooperation with Russia, said earlier on Wednesday it was studying the possible implications of a recent decision by Gazprom to move toward the full integration of its Baltic LNG and gas processing plants. read more

Shell halfway through Norco, Louisiana gasoline unit overhaul – sources

APRIL 10, 2019

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc is about halfway through a planned overhaul of the gasoline-producing Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit (RCCU) at its 218,200 barrel-per-day (bpd) Norco, Louisiana refinery, said sources familiar with plant operations.

An overhaul of the 14,200 bpd Alkylation Unit also under way is expected to finish in about two weeks, the sources said on Tuesday.

Shell spokesman Ray Fisher declined to comment.

Work on the 112,000 bpd RCCU should finish in about a month if no problems develop, said the sources. They declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media. read more

Japan’s JERA says it signed an agreement with a Mitsubishi unit to buy as much as 1.2M mt/year of liquefied natural gas from the Royal Dutch Shell-led (RDS.A -0.6%) LNG Canada project.

The heads of agreement is for ~15 years starting from April 2024, says JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power (OTCPK:TKECF) and Chubu Electric Power (OTC:CHUEF) and the world’s top buyer of liquefied natural gas.

Buyers from the project so far include trading house Vitol as well as Asian utilities such as Tokyo Gas, Toho Gas and Korea Gas. read more

APRIL 7, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – An activist group said it has withdrawn a shareholder resolution calling on Royal Dutch Shell to change its climate policy after the oil and gas company reached a broad agreement with investors on the issue.

The Anglo-Dutch energy company drew rare praise from investors and environmental activists in December when it set out plans to introduce industry-leading targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and link them to executive pay.

Nevertheless, Dutch activist group Follow This tabled several days later a resolution urging Shell to drastically reduce its spending on fossil fuel. read more

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Royal Dutch Shell is seen at a petrol station in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

APRIL 8, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell will launch a program allowing customers at its petrol stations in the Netherlands to offset their carbon emissions by buying credits to support environmental projects, the group said on Monday.

Shell plans to invest $300 million over the next three years on the program, it said. read more

Chen Aizhu

China is already in the initial stages of developing its vast shale gas resources, with production last year making up just 6 percent of total gas output after more than a decade of work. China’s shale oil is at an even more basic phase due to challenging geology and hefty development costs, experts said.

Shale oil makes up less than 1 percent of China’s crude output after several years of development, according to Angus Rodger, research director of Asia-Pacific upstream at Wood Mackenzie. read more