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February 5th, 2014:

Why Royal Dutch Shell’s Fire Sale May be Cause for Concern

Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52…both BP’s and ConocoPhillips’ asset sales look downright modest in comparison to the outright fire sale Royal Dutch Shell will soon embark on. Royal Dutch Shell unloaded billions last year, with even greater amounts to be sold off over the next two years. That’s why investors may have legitimate cause for concern about the fate of Shell’s future growth trajectory.

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by Bob Ciura

Royal Dutch Shell plans to sell off several billion dollars worth of assets over the next two years. Should investors be worried?

The last year was a tough one for integrated oil majors. Thinning refining margins put a serious dent in downstream earnings, and upstream profitability failed to impress despite cooperative energy prices. As a result, it’s not entirely surprising to see members of Big Oil such as (NYSE: BP) sell off non-critical assets.

Even independent exploration and production major ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), which isn’t nearly as integrated as its peers after spinning off its downstream and midstream business, got in on the asset sale game last year. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Melting Sea Ice And Arctic Drilling: A Risky Combination

Screen Shot 2013-11-01 at 09.31.18Shell, which has spent billions on buying leases in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas, announced that the drilling program there has been suspended amid a legal battle with environmentalists over whether Shell’s leases were legally granted by the federal government. “Right now, they don’t have the technology, the wherewithal and the capital to put into that…”

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From Climate Central’s Bobby Magill:

Posted:

Sea ice melting partly because of human-caused climate change could open previously inaccessible Arctic Ocean waters to expanded oil drilling, but the risks of drilling there will be extremely high.

As sea ice melts in the Arctic, the oil and gas industry has expressed new interest in drilling offshore and is expected to invest roughly $100 billion there by 2023, according to a new paper from the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank. The paper highlights an agreement between ExxonMobil and Russian oil company Rosneft, which have planned to jointly explore for oil in the Kara Sea off the Arctic coast of Siberia. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell starts first post-Macondo Gulf of Mexico platform

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By Kristen Hays

HOUSTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday it is ramping up production at its newest Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platform, its first to start up after BP Plc’s 2010 Macondo oil spill fouled the basin and stopped drilling for months.

Shell’s Olympus platform, towed out to sea last summer, is the first of seven new state-of-the-art platforms slated to start pumping Gulf crude to shore through 2016, reversing a decline in output and supplementing the U.S. onshore shale oil boom. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

US To Stay Tough On Iran Sanctions Despite Deal

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By Scott Flaherty

Law360, New York (February 04, 2014, 4:27 PM ET) — The U.S. will continue stiff enforcement of existing economic sanctions against Iran despite an interim deal offering some sanctions relief in exchange for commitments from the Middle Eastern country regarding its nuclear program, top Obama administration officials told Congress Tuesday.

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This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Is It Finally Time To Dump Royal Dutch Shell Stock?

Screen Shot 2014-02-05 at 20.12.14 By Aaron Levitt, InvestorPlace Contributor

Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52Sometimes you just have to say goodbye to a stock, even when it has been good to you over the years. RDS.A was willing to go the extra mile into some pretty ambitious energy sources. From Australian natural gas to drilling in the Arctic Circle, Shell could be seen as the “growth” orientated major. Unfortunately, those go-getting plans haven’t gone according to plan, and now RDS.A is the process of closing up shop in several of these locations and selling the assets. And with many years of underperformance behind it, it may just be time to sell Royal Dutch Shell stock out of your portfolio. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shrinking Giants: Royal Dutch Shell long list of abandoned projects

Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52A total of $15 billion worth of assets are expected to be sold this year and next, including petrol stations in Australia, offshore production capacity shares in Brazil, pipelines and a host of other assets (link). Problem is that many of the projects were meant to boost production both upstream and downstream, which means that most likely Shell will not be able to stem a steady long-term production decline.

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Zoltan Ban: February 5, 2014

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B):

While in 2012 total production of oil and gas increased by about 47,000 barrels of oil equivalent, it seems that Shell production declined for 2013 by 1.8% compared to 2012 and fourth quarter decline was 4.7%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. This decline will probably continue into 2014 and perhaps beyond as Shell actually tries to divest from many projects which were hoped to bring more production online (link). read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Price-rigging probes jammed by oil industry bid to protect its secrets

Screen Shot 2013-05-17 at 01.06.41The case alleges collusion to manipulate spot prices among Shell, BP, Statoil, Morgan Stanley, Vitol, the Dutch trading giant Trafigura Beheer BV and others since 2002…

Joel Kirkland, E&E reporter:

A U.S. investigation into whether the world’s biggest crude oil traders fix prices has sparked an escalating and high-stakes court battle over the disclosure of records.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Vitol Group and Plains All American Pipeline LP have joined Morgan Stanley in a federal court case that aims to stop mounds of trading data given to U.S. regulators from being used in civil cases alleging market manipulation by a trading house controlled by Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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