Posts Tagged ‘North Sea’

Shell warned the government not to tax it out of the UK, as it sketched out ambitious growth plans alongside an underwhelming set of results.

Chief executive Peter Voser said the Anglo-Dutch oil company was aiming to pump 4bn barrels of oil per day (bpd) by 2017, compared to 3.2bn today.

Net spending will rise from £15bn to £19bn this year as it chases its goal, although most of the difference will come from fewer asset sales, with actual investment set to rise by a more modest £1bn to £21bn.

Fourth-quarter profits fell 4pc to £4.1bn, taking the gloss off a 54pc rise in annual income to £20bn, thanks to high oil prices. The markets were less than impressed, either by Shell’s growth plans or its recent performance, sending the stock down 3.5p to 2265p.

Voser issued a coded warning to George Osborne not to tax Shell out of investing in Britain, after the Chancellor unveiled a £10bn, five year North Sea tax grab last year. ‘We hope we’ll get enough investment incentives in terms of tax structures so that we can actually keep the oil and gas industry alive here,’ he said.

He also predicted more closures of European refining operations after Swiss firm Petroplus collapsed, threatening UK supplies from the Coryton refinery in Essex. ‘I think we’ll see just a few big refineries surviving in the long term.’

But Europe currently has 6m bpd of surplus capacity, he added. Shell’s own downstream operation – effectively refining and marketing – slumped to quarterly losses of £176m, compared to a £305m profit last year.

Shell has been retrenching from both the UK and downstream of late, selling its Stanlow refinery to India’s Essar.

Chief financial officer Simon Henry said 80pc of future investment would focus on upstream – exploration and production – with 60pc of that sum to be spent in Australia and North America.

Much of that will come from environmentally controversial ‘shale gas’, with £3.8bn earmarked for exploration.

The company will also spend 35pc more on exploring for oil and gas, as well as investing in new sources of liquefied natural gas and chemicals.

Dividends are expected to rise marginally from the first quarter of 2012, up 1 cent to $0.43.

SOURCE ARTICLE

Commission says new laws needed to prevent another Deepwater Horizon, as Shell and Exxon reveal massive profits

• Terry Macalister
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 27 October 2011 13.34 BST

COMMENTS FROM RETIRED ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP HSE AUDITOR, BILL CAMPBELL (RIGHT) RELATING TO THE ARTICLE:

HSE feared a ‘catastrophe’ at Brent C platform

Learning after the event is a recipe for Disaster

Maybe its because he is a bean counter but Peter Voser does not seem to understand that risks need to be controlled before the event – not raised to unacceptable levels where loss of containment occurs – it would seem on a regular basis – within Shell North Sea operations and elsewhere around the World in its daily activities.

In general loss of containment, or other circumstances causing flammable atmospheres to exist, when these exist concurrent with a source of ignition causing an explosion,  is the largest cause of industrial deaths and asset damage worldwide.

Containing hydrocarbon releases into the atmosphere immediately after the event is simply not good enough and from time to time your luck runs out as witnessed by Piper Alpha, Brent Bravo and Deepwater Horizon.

Containing hydrocarbon leaks after they occur especially on a remote offshore installation is akin to gambling with the lives of those you have a duty of care to protect
———————————————————————————————————–
Peter Voser as quoted said: “We have had leaks, we are learning out of them, we are containing them immediately and I think that is the way to improve in the longer term.

“Our safety record has been improving all the time, not just in the UK but also on a global basis. I think we are recognised as a leader in this field.”

Nothing seems to change does it.  After all the exposure Shell have had to thousands of adverse comments on the TV, main line daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers , radio broadcasts, specialist Oil and Gas magazines and the regulator HSE, who have a full set of very blunt teeth, over the last 14 years still have the same approach.  Even the the Donovans collating the worldwide misdemeanours does not penetrate their armour.  Safety is our main concern!  We are committed to safety,  ad nauseum.  I think in Shell case being a member of “Big Oil” they have a huge publicity and legal departments that work 24/7 365 to prepare coverup statements and endless denials of extremely poor Operational Management across the entire  Global endeavour.  Basically they don’t care.

RELATED ARTICLES

Oil and gas spills in North Sea every week, papers reveal

Collusion between Shell and HSE in Brent Bravo cover-up

By Ross Davidson and Elaine Maslin

Published: 30/07/2011

THE UK Government’s £10billion tax raid on North Sea operators has cast doubt on the future of another significant discovery.

Oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday it would not develop the Fram field, which holds hundreds of millions of barrels of oil, until it had assessed the full extent of the tax impact.

The firm said it had submitted a field-development plan to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, but the tax rise had made even that decision more difficult.

Shell operates Fram, which is thought to hold up to 300million barrels of oil, on behalf of a joint venture with Esso.

The field was discovered in 1969 but Shell only realised its full potential 40 years later after drilling a fresh appraisal well.

A Shell spokeswoman said a floating production vessel would be used to extract oil from between six and 10 wells, achieving a peak production of 20,000 barrels of oil and 150million cubic feet of gas per day.

Should the development go ahead, production could start in 2014. Shell declined to disclose the value of Fram.

The spokeswoman said the tax rise meant the future of the development was still unclear despite the submission of a field development plan.

She added: “The supplementary tax increase and uncertainties in future returns have made the recent decision to proceed more difficult.

“The full extent of the tax impact on the Fram field will be assessed before the final investment decision.”

The discovery is the latest to be thrown into doubt by Chancellor George Osborne’s surprise decision to increase the levy by 12% in March.

Although progress on Statoil’s £6billion Mariner and Bressay developments has resumed, both were put on hold in the wake of the Budget announcement and Centrica’s South Morecambe Bay gas development was shut down for nearly two months.

Shell has said previously the extra tax would add £366million to its bill by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, the fourth-largest operator in the UK North Sea became the latest firm to reveal the cost of the levy increase.

Total revealed the levy rise had cost it an additional £52million in the second quarter of the year.

The French company reported a year-on-year drop in profits despite sales rising 9% to £39billion. Adjusted net income fell 6% in the second quarter, to £2.4billion.

Chief executive Christophe de Margerie said higher maintenance, including in the North Sea, shutdowns in Libya and weak refining margins in Europe had impacted the business.

Oil and gas production fell 2% in the period and refining margins slumped.

SOURCE ARTICLE

JULY 6, 2011

The Shell-operated Brent Charlie platform 125 miles north-east of Lerwick is to shut down from next Friday on the orders of oil industry regulators amid continuing concerns about safety.

No oil has been pumped ashore from the installation, the hub for the Brent pipeline that comes into Sullom Voe, since January and gas production, which goes through the FLAGS pipeline to St Fergus on the north-east coast of Scotland, has been restricted to one well.

But now the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has served Shell with a legally-enforceable prohibition notice which means the operator will have to cease production entirely. An HSE spokesman declined to give details of the “safety issues” it was concerned about for legal reasons.

Separately, Shell has been asked to resubmit its safety case – a requirement for all oil and gas installations since legislation was introduced following Lord Cullen’s report into the Piper Alpha disaster of 23 years ago – after carrying out revisions.

The fact of the Brent Charlie shut down emerged after The Guardian newspaper obtained details of oil and gas leaks in the North Sea in 2009 and 2010 about which operators are obliged to inform the HSE.

Among those were seven from Brent Charlie, including the release of 4.6 tonnes of gas on 26th April 2010, which was classified as a “major” incident, meaning that if the gas had ignited many workers on the platform could have been killed.

The platform was built in the 1970s and began operating in November 1976, and is therefore among the oldest in the North Sea, but the Brent field underwent a £1.3 billion upgrade in the mid-1990s to extend its operational lifetime.

The HSE spokesman said: “HSE can confirm that a prohibition notice was served on Shell on 1st July over safety issues on the Brent C platform.” He also confirmed the regulator’s demand for Shell to resubmit its safety case for the platform.

The spokesman added: “Hydrocarbon releases are potential major hazard precursor events and the HSE, the regulator, takes them very seriously. HSE investigates all significant and major releases to establish the root cause, assess compliance with legislation and ensure that the dutyholder takes any necessary remedial action. Ensuring a reduction in hydrocarbon releases is a key priority for HSE, but it is not a new issue.

“Trends in hydrocarbon releases are down, but are showing resistance to further reductions. After being challenged by HSE, the industry agreed a target at the start of this year to reduce hydrocarbon releases by 50 per cent over the next three years. HSE expects all dutyholders to have plans in place to make that reduction happen.

“The safety record for the UK offshore industry continues to improve, with the downward trend of hydrocarbon releases being sustained in provisional figures for 2010/11. Since the tragedy of Piper Alpha, when 167 died 23 years ago today, the industry has had a strong track record which bears good comparison with Norway, who are the other big offshore sector in the North Sea.”

A spokesman for Shell said: “No spill is acceptable and we have made progress. We work closely with regulators and invested over a billion dollars in recent years to upgrade facilities across the North Sea to continue this improvement on our performance.”

SOURCE ARTICLE

Subject: Brent Bravo: watch Mark Carne

Dear John,

This email contains information about Mark Carne (right), who is currently employed by Shell as Regional Vice President for Middle East and North Africa. He reports directly to Malcolm Brinded. This email account has been set up to safeguard my anonymity, as Mr. Carne is known to not handle criticism very well.

Over the years you have reported about Brent Bravo http://royaldutchshellplc.com/tag/brent-bravo/, and consistently linked the matter with Malcolm Brinded. Maybe the time is right to take a closer look at Mr. Carne, who was the manager for Brent at the time. Mr. Carne’s style is to manage-by-viewgraph and to ignore or suppress unwanted information from the work floor. He instigated bonuses that led to the “Touch F*** All” culture on Brent; he remained clueless about their negative impact while others had already become concerned. Several years ago, Mr. Carne didn’t get a job in Shell UK that he was hoping for, and he left to take a role in BG. It didn’t take BG long to release him.

I would not have bothered to write down any of the above, if I hadn’t found out recently that Mr. Carne has joined Shell again. In his new role there is more potential for damage. The first signals are already noticeable. It would be really concerning if he ever was to be considered as a candidate to succeed Mr. Brinded.

Regards,
Someone who prefers to remain anonymous.

EMAIL ENDS

RIGHT OF REPLY OFFERED BY JOHN DONOVAN: MR MARK CARNE IS INVITED TO SUPPLY A RESPONSE IF HE TAKES ISSUE WITH THE VERACITY OF ANY INFORMATION STATED ABOVE. HIS REPLY WOULD BE PUBLISHED ON AN UNEDITED BASIS.

Related Articles

1. What is going on in Brinded’s inner circle?

2. Shell Names Mark Carne As Country Chmn For Dubai, N Emirates

Monday, Sep 27, 2010

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)–Royal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch ShellLoading… plc (RDSB) said Monday it appointed Mark Carne as executive vice president and country chairman for Shell Group in Dubai and the U.A.E.’s Northern Emirates.

Carne will take “over the responsibilities of Raoul Restucci for Shell Upstream International with responsibility for the businesses in the Middle East and North Africa,” the oil company said in an emailed statement.

Carne, who is also a member of Royal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch ShellLoading…’s Upstream International Leadership Team, was employed with Shell
until 2005, his last role being managing director for Brunei Shell Petroleum. He was also with BG Group as executive vice president and managing director for Europe and Central Asia.

-By Brinda Darasha, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1688; brinda.darasha@dowjones.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Co.

SOURCE ARTICLE

3. Mark Carne, Chairman of Dubai and Northern Emirates Region, Royal Dutch Shell plc

18 Jan 2011

Mark Carne has been Chairman of Dubai and Northern Emirates Region at Royal Dutch Shell plc since September 2010. Mr. Carne served as an Executive Vice President of BG Group plc since May 1, 2005 and also its Managing Director of Europe & Central Asia since March 2006. Mr. Carne served as Managing Director – North West Europe of BG Group Plc since May 1, 2005. He joined BG from Shell, where he served as Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum and Country Chairman … for Shell companies in Brunei until 2005. He was employed with Shell until 2005. He also worked in upstream assets and held a number of commercial and general management roles in the UK and the Netherlands. His first Middle East assignment was as engineering manager with Petroleum Development Oman from 1992 to 1996. Prior to that, Mr. Carne served as the Asset Director, responsible for Shell’s U.K. North Sea oil production. His international experience includes various general management roles in the U.K., Holland and Oman covering operations, engineering, commercial and business development. Mr. Carne holds a B.Sc in Engineering Science from the University of Exeter, UK and a Chartered Diploma in accounting and finance from the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology.

SOURCE ARTICLE

Good Morning John: Please find link to an article in the mornings Aberdeen press and Journal.  It would appear that Brinded’s “Touch F***All” initiative is alive and well in the Shell organisation! The natural enemies of safety are still:- Ignorance, arrogance and complacency, all three are still being lovingly cared for within the Shell Business Principles .

Production Stops at Shell’s Brent Bravo

By Rebecca Buchan

Published: 17/01/2011

OIL giant Shell has halted production at four of its platforms and sent 100 workers back onshore after part of a platform fell into the North Sea.

An investigation is being carried out on the Brent Bravo platform after a heavy protective frame, known as a fender, collapsed.

No one was injured and the company said there was no significant damage caused.

The other three Brent platforms – Alpha, Charlie and Delta – do not have these protective frames, however Shell has had to stop all production on the Brent field as all the rigs work together in a “hub”.

Around 40 employees still remain on the platform and the oil company was last night unsure when they would be able to begin production again.

HALTED

A spokeswoman for Shell said: “All non-essential personnel onboard the Shell-operated Brent Bravo platform in the northern North Sea returned to shore yesterday and production has been halted on the four Brent platforms. We have taken these actions as a precautionary measure while we inspect three heavy protective frames at the waterline on the Brent Bravo.”

Jake Malloy, general secretary of the Oil Industry Liaison Committee, said: “If this piece of structure has damaged any piping on the sea bed then a precautionary measure to shut down operations is a responsible decision on behalf of Shell.”

In October, the platform was awarded a Sword of Honour, an award which recognises health and safety systems which are among the best in the world. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) spokeswoman said: “HSE is aware of the situation and is working with Shell UK.”

The Brent field came into production in 1976 and once provided 10% of Britain’s gas.It still produces 14 million cubic metres of gas and 28,000 barrels of oil a day.

SOURCE ARTICLE

ARTICLE NEGLECTS TO MENTION THE BRENT BRAVO EXPLOSION IN WHICH SHELL WORKERS LOST THEIR LIVES AND SHELL RECEIVED A RECORD BREAKING FINE FOR AVOIDABLE DEATHS

SHELL BRENT BRAVO SCANDAL:

THE EVIDENCE ASSEMBLED BY BILL CAMPBELL, FORMER HSE GROUP AUDITOR, SHELL INTERNATIONAL: READ

SELECTION OF ARTICLES RELATING TO BRENT BRAVO FATALITIES: READ

RELATED EMAIL/LETTER SENT TO MEMBERS OF THE UK HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT: READ

THE FULL FILE OF BRENT BRAVO ARTICLES

17 September 2010

AMSTERDAM — Royal Dutch Shell PLC says it has agreed to sell its stake in the Statfjord oil field in the Norwegian North Sea and several related assets to Centrica Resources AS for $225 million.

Shell remains active in several other projects in Norway, including some that are still being built. Friday’s deal must be approved by regulators.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source Article

By Catherine Airlie – Sep 16, 2010 12:00 AM GMT+0100

DAILY TELEGRAPH

BP was subject to an investigation in the North Sea which found new staff were not trained to “basic safety standards” – six months before its Gulf of Mexico accident.

By Rowena Mason
Published: 10:40PM BST 14 Sep 2010

The blaze after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig