February, 2014:
Shell chief points out European energy paradox
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Motiva oil refinery fire doused, no injuries reported
Extract from an article by David J. Mitchell and Ryan Broussard published 24 Feb 2014 by The Advocate
CONVENT — Workers battled a fire Monday afternoon at Motiva Enterprises’ Convent crude oil refinery in St. James Parish for 45 minutes before extinguishing the blaze, Shell Oil Co. officials said. The fire broke out in an unidentified processing unit at about 3:40 p.m. Monday inside the Mississippi River oil complex between La. 70 and River Road along the Ascension Parish line. Convent refinery spokesman Kevin Hardy Jr. said internal refinery firefighters put out the fire by 4:25 p.m.
Can New CEO Change Royal Dutch Shell’s Course?
Extract from article by Stephanie Link published by thestreet.com 24 February 2014
Over the last several years the company has mismanaged its huge shale asset base, has had multiple cost overruns on key projects and continues to run an underperforming refinery business. Last year alone, Royal Dutch Shell’s operational issues in Nigeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Alaska, and the U.S. cost its earnings by $5.1 billion. So it’s not surprising that the stock massively underperformed its peers last year, gaining just 3.4% vs. the sector, which rose 14.1%. There is no doubt this company and the management team have a credibility problem. But that is about to change, in my view with a new CEO on board, Ben van Beurden.
Garda Corruption Allegations
Extracts from articles published by The Irish Times 24 February 2014
Claims on Garda corruption first made in 2008
Allegations investigated at the time by GSOC and the Gard. The Irish Times understands that some of the allegations first raised by Sgt McCabe in May 2008 are contained in a dossier compiled by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and presented to the Government in recent weeks. The dossier also contains new cases.
Funding boost for Shell and SSE’s gas carbon capture plan
Extract from article by The Telegraph Energy Editor Emily Gosden published on 24 Feb 2014
Plans to capture carbon dioxide emissions from a gas-fired power station in Aberdeenshire and bury them beneath the North Sea have won tens of millions of pounds in government funding. Ed Davey, the energy secretary, on Monday announces the funding for Royal Dutch Shell and SSE’s Peterhead carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, which would be the first commercial-scale gas-fired CCS plant. Shell’s UK chairman Ed Daniels, says that if Peterhead is successful it would “reinforce the UK’s leadership on responding to climate change and could act as a major boost to the CCS industry as a whole”.
Alaska North Slope communities divided as Arctic drilling delayed
Extract from article by
On one side of the rift are corporate leaders who have dashed off letters to The Arctic Sounder newspaper, bashing environmental groups that were on the winning side of last month’s decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court ruled the Interior Department had not properly considered the risks of offshore drilling before selling leases in the Chukchi Sea in 2008. The decision throws into question whether Royal Dutch Shell, already hobbled by its own mistakes during the 2012 exploration season, will forge ahead with its costly effort to drill off the Arctic coast.
Shell is top as global dividends breach $1 trillion
Extract from article by Harriet Dennys published by The Telegraph on 24 Feb 2014
UK companies take three places in top ten dividend payers, with Shell in pole position. Energy major Royal Dutch Shell paid the highest returns to shareholders in 2013, in a year when global dividends broke through the $1trn barrier for the first time.
Intrigue over unexplained sudden exit of Shell legal chief Peter Rees QC
Extract from article published 24 Feb 2014 by Legal Week under the headline: “Former Shell legal chief Peter Rees QC to return to private practice”
One source close to the matter said: “Only three people at Shell know the reason behind his exit: Peter, Ben and (chief human resources and corporate officer) Hugh Mitchell.
Arctic Oil Still Seen Decades Away as Producers Balk at Costs
Extracts from an article published by Bloomberg News 23 Feb 2014
Lundin Petroleum AB (LUPE), the Swedish explorer focused on Norway, said there won’t be any oil production in the ice-filled waters of the Arctic for at least 15 years because of technical and logistical challenges. Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (RDSA), Europe’s biggest oil company, in January again halted drilling plans off Alaska after a court ruled the area had been illegally opened to exploration. That followed a previous postponement after a series of technical mishaps in 2012, including the stranding of a rig.
Gazprom and Shell Sign for Third Train at Sakhalin II
Extract from an article published by The Maritime Executive 23 Feb 2014
Sochi hosted today the signing of a memorandum-roadmap between Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell. The document envisages the preparation of FEED documentation for the third LNG production train within the Sakhalin II project.
Shell hits out at Brussels energy policy
Extract from FT article by Pilita Clark published 23 Feb 2014
Royal Dutch Shell has launched a broadside against what it says is a “European energy crisis” that could drive a raft of new coal power plants across the continent at the expense of cleaner alternatives such as gas.
Russia’s oil giant Rosneft, Shell to eye joint projects
Extract from an article published on 23 Feb 2014 by THE VOICE OF RUSSIA
Russian state oil company Rosneft and Royal Dutch Shell will eye joint projects and draw up guidelines for future cooperation, according to Rosneft’s statement issued after a meeting of the companies’ chiefs Igor Sechin and Ben van Beurden on Sunday. The companies ruled out any conflicts of interest with joint projects of Shell and Russia’s gas giant Gazprom.
Will Israel Become an Oil Giant?
EXTRACTS FROM ARTICLE PUBLISHED 23 July 2013 BY THEWORLDPOST
Dr. Harold Vinegar
A tectonic shift is taking place in the global energy market: The rise of alternative sources of petroleum known as “unconventionals.” These hydrocarbons are derived from sources that would once have been technologically impossible to reach or exploit in a cost-effective manner. But technology is starting to overcome these difficulties, and it increasingly looks like the future of energy will be unconventional. And Israel may hold the key to one crucial part of it.
Shell Prelude FLNG: loss of containment of hydrocarbons almost inevitable
The revolutionary concept of offshore LNG installations (FLNG) is said to have economic and environmental advantages. A distinct disadvantage however is that the risks to health and safety of persons employed offshore on the LNG FPSO’s, such as Prelude, will be higher, when compared to onshore LNG plants of similar capacity, specifically the potential for loss of life; …loss of containment of hydrocarbons is likely to occur on Prelude during its operational life, either through flaws in the design, human error or failure to inspect and maintain. It’s almost inevitable. It’s only to be hoped that the consequences of these losses never reach their full potential.
By Bill Campbell, Retired HSE Group Auditor, Shell International
Prelude FLNG turns conventional wisdom on its head
The revolutionary concept of offshore LNG installations (FLNG) is said to have economic and environmental advantages. A distinct disadvantage however is that the risks to health and safety of persons employed offshore on the LNG FPSO’s, such as Prelude, will be higher, when compared to onshore LNG plants of similar capacity, specifically the potential for loss of life.
This article concentrates on the perfect contradiction that exists between managing risks on an onshore LNG plant when compared with floating LNG. Whereas onshore plants, handling hazardous substances reduce risk by physical separation, such separation, although attempted on Prelude would not be accepted onshore because the separation distances are inadequate. Prelude will store high quantities of cryogenic hydrocarbon liquids on the installation. The heat energy of the liquids is enormous. This contradicts the £6 billion or so expenditure in the North Sea, post Piper Alpha, to do as much as reasonably practicable, to reduce the heat energy available so that escalation of hydrocarbon events are limited such that the Temporary refuge (TR), normally the Living quarters, and including escape routes to the TR and evacuation from it, will not be impaired within one hour to allow safe evacuation of the facility. The frequency of TR impairment should be demonstrated to be no more than once in 1000 yrs. It’s a high standard to achieve.
Irish Police Ombudsman Office Bugged by Irish Police?
By John Donovan
Printed below are extracts from a BBC News article published today about allegations that an unknown party has been bugging the Irish Police Ombudsman offices. One intriguing suggestion is that it was done by the Irish Police Force. There is also a suggestion of a French connection. Or it could be a Royal Dutch operation, bearing in mind that Shell is intently interested in an on-going investigation by the Ombudsman Commission of allegations Shell has corrupted the Irish Police Force. Shell has a long track record of using corporate espionage to gather intelligence. The Corrib Gas Project is already delayed by several years and is billions over budget. Some “Shell to Sea” activists have demanded that the original deal with Shell, agreed with corrupt Irish politicians, should be renegotiated. So there is a lot at stake.
Shell in $2.6bn Australia asset sale
Extract from BBC News article published 21 Feb 2014
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell its Australian downstream business to oil trading firm Vitol for $2.6bn (£1.6bn). The sale includes Shell’s refinery in Geelong, 870 service stations, its bulk fuels and chemicals unit and part of its lubricants business. Recent disinvestments by Shell include the sale of refineries in the UK, Germany, France, Norway and the Czech Republic. The firm has also offloaded its downstream businesses in Egypt, Spain, Greece, Finland and Sweden.
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