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The Washington Post

Is Big Oil Still a Big Deal?

By Julian Lee | Bloomberg: August 30, 2020 at 7:36 a.m. GMT+1 From Monday there will be just one oil company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average — Chevron Corp. The removal of Exxon Mobil Corp. from the index after an uninterrupted presence since 1928 shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s not the end of Big Oil, but it may signal the start of the beginning of the end.

It may seem odd to remove one of only two oil companies in the index at a time when the shale boom has transformed America’s role in the global market. After all, the U.S. now produces more oil and more natural gas than any other country. Last year’s domestic oil production was up by 125% from levels in 2010, while gas output has increased by 60%.

But those figures only tell part of the story, and not the most important part.

It’s not the first time that there’s only been one oil and gas company in the Dow. The last time was between 2000 and 2008, when Exxon was the sole industry representative. Before that you have to go back to the 1920s. For a brief period of two weeks in 1924, there were none at all. 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.

Climate change litigation: Big Oil lost a pair of court battles Tuesday

By Brian Melley | AP  May 26, 2020 at 7:22 p.m. GMT+1

LOS ANGELES — Big Oil lost a pair of court battles Tuesday that could lead to trials in lawsuits by California cities and counties seeking damages for the impact of climate change.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by energy companies and ruled state courts are the proper forum for lawsuits alleging producers promoted petroleum as environmentally responsible when they knew it was contributing to drought, wildfires, and sea level rise associated with global warming.

The lawsuits claim Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other companies created a public nuisance and should pay for damage from climate change and help build sea walls and other infrastructure to protect against future impact — construction that could cost tens of billions of dollars. 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.

Oil Won’t Get a Post-Virus Lift From Public Transport

By David Fickling | Bloomberg: May 11, 2020 at 8:09 a.m. GMT+1 There’s one hope for oil market bulls facing into the abyss of the 9.3 million barrels-a-day demand slump from the spread of Covid-19: The aftermath will see a renaissance in car-driving.

“People will use public transport less” because of fears about picking up infection on crowded trains and buses, Cuneyt Kazokoglu, head of oil demand analysis at energy consultancy FGE, wrote in the Financial Times this month. “Increased reliance on cars once the lockdown measures ease will support petrol demand, potentially for years to come.”

There’s an intuitive logic to that proposition, and even signs that it might be backed up by data. Chinese cities are already seeing traffic jams on a par with pre-coronavirus times, according to data from TomTom International BV. With the pandemic still raging, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly petroleum status report has been showing a pick-up in gasoline consumption since its lows last month, though it’s still running 40% below where it was a year ago. 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 Hands Out a Dose of Oil-Price Reality

By Chris Hughes | Bloomberg: April 30, 2020 at 11:33 a.m. GMT+1

Hats off to the board of Royal Dutch Shell Plc for letting reality rather than hope determine the oil major’s dividend. Thursday’s historic and hefty cut to the payout recognizes that the pandemic is likely to change the dynamics of energy demand for some time. The hope now must be that Shell resists any pressure to reverse the reduction in a hurry. Instead, it should use the breathing space to reset more fundamentally how it allocates financial resources to investment, debt reduction and paying out to shareholders. 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.

Why the World Worries About Russia/Shell/USA Nord Stream 2 Showdown

By Anna Shiryaevskaya and Dina Khrennikova | Bloomberg Dec. 24, 2019 at 7:06 a.m. GMT

A new natural gas pipeline into Europe from Russia is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, worries leaders in Eastern Europe, has put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the hot seat and most recently has become the target of U.S. sanctions. The punitive measures approved by U.S. President Donald Trump have stymied construction just as the final sections of pipe were about to be laid.

1. What is Nord Stream 2?

It’s a planned 1,230-kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from Russian fields to the European network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route — the original Nord Stream — that opened in 2011. Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($10.7 billion) cost. Denmark removed one of the project’s last hurdles in October when it approved construction of the link through its waters. 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.

The Washington Post: Why the World Worries About Russia’s Natural Gas Pipeline

Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors…

A new natural gas pipeline into Europe from Russia is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, worries leaders in Eastern Europe, has put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the hot seat and has prompted calls for sanctions from U.S. senators. Denmark gave approval on Oct. 30 for the pipeline to traverse its sub-sea territory, removing the final hurdle to its completion. Russian gas could be flowing through the conduit as soon as early next year.

1. What is Nord Stream 2?

It’s a planned 1,230-kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from Russian fields to the European network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route — the original Nord Stream — that opened in 2011. Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($10.7 billion) in cost. As of the end of October, the link was 87% complete, according to Nord Stream. 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.

The Washington Post: How Climate Divestment Won Converts With Deep Pockets

Extracts from an article by Kelly Gilblom | Bloomberg : Oct. 23, 2019 at 6:26 a.m. GMT+1

Can you strike a blow against climate change by getting rid of your oil company stocks — and can you do it without losing money? The idea is not just for activists anymore. Norway took a partial step in selling off oil and gas stocks in its massive $1 trillion wealth fund. And a growing number of investors who control trillions more are using the threat of divestment as a cudgel to force energy companies to adopt greener ways. Together these approaches are producing a notable disruption in the energy field. 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.

Trump Shell factory speech crowd members were paid to listen to him and banned from ‘anything viewed as resistance’

Workers ordered not to criticise the president

Workers at a Royal Dutch Shell plant in Pennsylvania were forced to choose between attending a speech by Donald Trump or earning less than their coworkers who did.

Attendance was optional, but contract workers who chose not to stand in the crowd would not qualify for time-and-a-half pay when they arrived at work on Friday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Workers at the unfinished Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex had to arrive at 7am, scan their ID cards and stand for hours until the US president’s speech began. 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.

The Washington Post: Trump’s speech at a Shell plant drew thousands of workers. They were paid overtime to be there.

By Marisa Iati Morgan Krakow August 17 at 4:03 PM

Workers at a Royal Dutch Shell plant in Monaca, Pa., were forced to choose Tuesday between attending a speech by President Trump or forgoing overtime pay that their co-workers would earn.

Attendance was optional, but contract workers who chose not to stand in the crowd would not qualify for time-and-a-half pay when they arrived at work Friday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Several companies with thousands of unionized workers have contracts with Shell, one the world’s largest oil and gas companies. 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.

The Washington Post: Shell fined for explosions, gas leak at Dutch chemical plant

Associated Press: June 17 at 12:02 PM

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch court has fined oil giant Shell 2.5 million euros ($2.8 million) for breaching Dutch labor and environmental laws in a case linked to two explosions and a gas leak at a chemical plant south of Rotterdam.

The East Brabant court ruled Monday that Shell did not take sufficient precautions to prevent two blasts and a subsequent fire that injured two workers when the company restarted two reactors at a chemical plant in the village of Moerdjik on June 3, 2014. 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.

The Washington Post: Sunset for Oil Is No Longer Just Talk

By David Fickling | Bloomberg: June 5 at 7:03 AM

Greenwashed rhetoric is such a staple of the oil industry that it’s easy to assume every energy executive talking about climate and the transition to a zero-carbon economy is just mouthing words.

Barely a year after BP Plc Chief Executive Officer John Browne promised “action and solutions” on climate change in a 1997 speech, he led the then-biggest oil takeover in history with the acquisition of Amoco Corp. On his retirement a decade later, after years of rebranding about moving “beyond petroleum,” he left a base of oil and gas reserves more than twice the size of the one he inherited. 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.

Royal Dutch Shell News 28 August 2018: Shell denies coercion…

..reacting to the allegation of intimidation, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager of Shell, denied use of force to compel the company’s host communities to sign the JIV report.

27 August 2018

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta and oil major, Shell on Monday denied allegations of coercing the leadership of Aghoro 1 community in Bayelsa to sign a disputed report on oil spillage. FULL ARTICLE

Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11 billion) in cost.

By Elena Mazneva and Anna Shiryaevskaya | Bloomberg
August 27 at 12:00 AM

A planned new natural-gas pipeline into Europe from Russia is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, worries leaders in Eastern Europe, has stirred the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump and has put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the hot seat. FULL ARTICLE 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 foresaw climate dangers in 1988 and understood Big Oil’s big role

 April 5 at 4:28 PM

A Dutch journalist has uncovered Royal Dutch Shell documents as old as 1988 that showed the oil company understood the gravity of climate change, the company’s large contribution to it and how hard it would be to stop it. The 1988 report titled “The Greenhouse Effect” calculated that the Shell group alone was contributing 4 percent of global carbon-dioxide emissions through its oil, natural gas and coal products. “By the time global warming becomes detectable it could be too late to take effective countermeasures to reduce the effects or even to stabilize the situation,” the report warned. FULL ARTICLE 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 — yes, that Shell — just outlined a radical scenario for what it would take to halt climate change

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden

 March 26, 2018

Royal Dutch Shell on Monday outlined a scenario in which, by 2070, we would be using far less of the company’s own product — oil — as cars become electric, a massive carbon storage industry develops, and transportation begins a shift toward a reliance on hydrogen as an energy carrier. The company’s Sky scenario was designed to imagine a world that complies with the goals of the Paris climate agreement, managing to hold the planet’s warming to “well below” a rise of 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels. Shell has said that it supports the Paris agreement. FULL ARTICLE 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.

New York City sues Shell, ExxonMobil, and other oil majors over climate change

Each of the first six months of 2016 set a record as the warmest respective month globally. Credit: NASA/GISS

 January 10 2018

The New York City government is suing the world’s five largest publicly traded oil companies, seeking to hold them responsible for present and future damages to the city from climate change. The suit, filed Tuesday against BP, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, claims the companies together produced 11 percent of all of global warming gases through the oil and gas products they have sold over the years. It also charges that the companies and the industry of which they are part have known for some time about the consequences but sought to obscure them. FULL ARTICLE 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.

United States Awash in Oil

December 31 at 5:09 PM U.S. crude oil production is flirting with record highs heading into the new year, thanks to the technological nimbleness of shale oil drillers. The current abundance has erased memories of 1973 gas lines, which raised pump prices dramatically, traumatizing the United States and reordering its economy. In the decades since, presidents and politicians have made pronouncements calling for U.S. energy independence. FULL ARTICLE
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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