News and information on Shell Plc
The energy crisis in Europe and the buried treasure of the Netherlands of 1000 billion
Despite skyrocketing energy prices and a shortage of natural gas supplies in the European Union, the Dutch government has taken the decision to go ahead with shutting down the natural gas wells in the Groningen region. The field is one of the largest in the world, with a value of up to 1,000 billion euros. But for now, it is a treasure that will remain untapped for the foreseeable future.
DutchNews.nl
Regulator receives 136 damage claims after two earthquakes strike Groningen
SEPT 26, 2022
More than 100 claims for structural damage have been filed since two earthquakes, the largest measuring 2.7 on the Richter scale, hit Groningen province on Saturday.
The larger of the two quakes struck the village of Uithuizermeerden, on the north coast, at around midday, followed by a smaller one measured at 1.7 in Uithuizen.
The Institute for Mining Damage in Groningen (IMG) said it had received 136 reports of damage over the weekend, including three saying there was an acute risk to safety. Inspections at two of the three sites established that there was no immediate danger, while a third is ongoing.
At Royal Dutch Shell, an October 2020 email sent by an employee, discussing talking points for Shell’s president for the United States, said that the company’s announcement of a pathway to “net zero” emissions — the point at which the world would no longer be pumping planet-warming gases into the atmosphere — “has nothing to do with our business plans.”
The New York Times
Oil Executives Privately Contradicted Public Statements on Climate, Files Show
The documents, subpoenaed in a House investigation of climate disinformation, show company leaders contravening industry commitments.
Dutch state earned €363.7 billion through Groningen gas extraction
After almost 60 years of gas extraction in Groningen, the involved parties finally announced how much money they made from it. Adjusted for inflation, the Groningen gas field yielded a total profit of 428 billion euros, of which the Dutch state received 363.7 billion euros, Het Financieele Dagblad reports based on calculations from shareholder Shell.
The remaining 64.7 billion euros in profit went to the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), the operator of the Groningen gas field. NAM paid the amount out as dividends to its shareholders – Shell and ExxonMobil.
NL TIMES
Tens of thousands to get compensation for Groningen earthquakes
Tens of thousands of Groningen residents are still eligible for compensation for earthquake damage. This is reported by the Groningen Institute for Mining Damage (IMG), which will offer a one-time fixed payment of 5,000 euros as compensation to people who, in the past, received little or no restitution. In total, the institute estimates that it will cost an additional 100 million euros more than the hundreds of millions already spent on compensation for physical damage.
OILPRICE.COM
Exxon And Shell Look To Sell $1.5 Billion Natural Gas Venture
Shell and Exxon’s decision to sell one of the oldest gas-producing ventures would be part of both companies’ plans to divest aging assets they no longer consider core to their respective operations, Reuters notes.
According to Reuters’ sources, NAM’s assets up for sale – including three gas processing plants, pipeline networks, and offshore gas fields – could be valued at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.
The two international majors expect that the current dire need for gas supply in Europe and the high natural gas prices could make those assets attractive to prospective buyers, the sources told Reuters.
DutchNews.nl
Groningen gas: former mining director says gas firms taken more seriously than supervisor
Sept 1, 2022
The economic affairs minister took gas companies more seriously than government safety supervisors, according to evidence at the six-week enquiry into what has gone wrong in Groningen.
This week the enquiry restarted into how decades of gas extraction caused ever more earthquakes and damage for local people, and why compensation schemes have failed so badly. It will run until October 14.
This is MONEY
The £80million boss of Shell is preparing to join the stream of FTSE100 bosses heading for the door.
Ben van Beurden – who, it emerged in March, bagged £4.6million in bonuses on top of his £1.4million salary last year, taking his total pay and bonuses to almost £80million during his nine years at the helm – could step down as soon as 2023 as the oil giant begins its search for a replacement.
His departure will mark the end of an era for Shell, as it tries to toe the tricky line of boosting Britain’s energy security with embracing sustainable technologies. While Van Beurden’s legacy includes a commitment to reduce oil production, he has been criticised for failing to take more drastic action.
REUTERS
Breakingviews: Shell’s next boss looks a shoo-in
By George Hay: September 2, 2022: 2:40 PM GMT+1LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Shell (SHEL.L) is about to get a new boss. Chief Executive Ben van Beurden, who has been in situ since the start of 2014, is likely to step down from the $192 billion oil giant next year, Reuters has reported read more . Plenty of credible candidates exist to replace him, but one looks the most obvious.
Despite battling with two major oil price slumps and an unprecedented 66% cut to Shell’s dividend in April 2020, Van Beurden’s track record looks acceptable. Since Jan. 1 2014, when he took over, Shell shares have returned 67%… He also pulled off the $70 billion purchase of BG Group in 2016, which made it a leading force in liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The book Sir Henri Deterding and the Nazi History of Royal Dutch Shell removed from sale in Germany
Amazon will no longer be offering the book “Sir Henri Deterding and the Nazi History of Royal Dutch Shell” for sale in German.
The book authored by John Donovan was first published by Amazon in 2016.
Its cover image is said to contain content that is in violation of Amazon content guidelines for Germany and may infringe German law.
The book remains on sale via other Amazon websites around the world including the UK
The Guardian
Fears of new quakes in Dutch gas field as energy crisis bites
The province of Groningen is home to a vast gas field and the subject of a parliamentary inquiry into the links between gas extraction and the hundreds of earthquakes and tremors that have traumatised residents.
Groningen’s inhabitants have been affected by the giant gas field for the last few decades. About 80% of houses in villages such as Overschild are being demolished and rebuilt because of earthquake damage. More than 150,000 Groningen residents have suffered earthquake damage to their properties in the last decade, and 10,000 now face stress-related health problems.
OILPRICE.COM
Shell Slashes Refinery Output In EU As Drought Disrupts Transportation
Shell slashed its refinery output at its Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland fuel-making facility as low Rhine River levels halted the flow of goods, Shell said on Thursday.
“Due to the low Rhine water level we have reduced the capacity of Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rhineland. The situation regarding supply is challenging but carefully managed,” Shell said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The NewYork Times
Shell reports record profit, again, with $11.5 billion in latest quarter.
The energy giant is thriving because of soaring oil and gas prices and a tight market for refined products.
: July 28, 2022, 6:03 a.m. ETShell reported record earnings for the second consecutive quarter on Thursday, as the energy giant continues to prosper from high oil and gas prices spurred by the war in Ukraine and other factors.
Shell, Europe’s largest energy company, said adjusted earnings were $11.5 billion for the second quarter. The figure topped Shell’s previous record of $9.1 billion in the first quarter.
Shell comments on dismissal of Dutch investigation into OPL 245
Jul 21, 2022
Shell plc (“Shell”) today made the following statement after the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s office announced it had dismissed its investigation into bribery allegations related to Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 in Nigeria.
“We welcome today’s decision, which marks an end to the criminal investigation in The Netherlands. It follows the Milan Public Prosecutor’s appeal withdrawal earlier this week, which ended all criminal proceedings and confirmed the Milan Tribunal’s decision to acquit Shell and four of our former employees in March 2021.
THE TIMES
Netherlands ruling links climate change, human rights — and corporations
There is debate over whether the arguments apply in this country, but the UK Supreme Court has recently been indulgent of novel negligence claims
Claude Brown: The TimesA judge in The Netherlands ruled last year that Royal Dutch Shell owed Dutch residents a duty of care to reduce its carbon emissions — and the international energy company was ordered to reduce CO2 emissions by 45 per cent, relative to 2019 levels, by the end of 2030.
BBC News
Energy rationing cannot be ruled out, warns Shell
Rationing of energy in Europe cannot be ruled out, the boss of energy giant Shell has warned, due to worries over the supply of gas from Russia.
Speaking at an energy conference, Ben van Beurden said a “really tough winter in Europe” was ahead, with energy prices set to see “significant” rises.
Energy prices jumped earlier this year after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russia has also been accused of using gas “as a weapon” by limiting supplies in response to EU sanctions.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
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