Posts from ‘June, 1981’

Bogus Group: Geert Vermeulen (Ethics & Compliance Officer) posted an article on Linkedin about the Shell OPL 45 debacle and all that surrounds it. This was a response to the article by Adam Bennett: Geert, very easy to pass judgments without knowing full facts and in hindsight. Having previously led the business integrity department at Shell I can tell you things in Nigeria are never that clear cut. One thing I remain certain of is the moral compass of shells leadership. Can’t be the same moral compass most of us are certain of.

Bonus Group: Shell restructuring. See: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/may/27/shell-restructuring-redundancies No better place to start than in Shell's Brazil Asset starting with the BG 'Job for Life' sycophants who have been associated with this asset for more than ten years. Start at the top with the Front End Development and Integrated Reservoir Modelling Manager and work down to the Technical Team Leads comprising sniggering Simons. Invite them all to a meeting entitled 'Wrap-up', make them an 'Offer Without Prejudice' and then constructively dismiss them by discussing their poor performance! A disgraceful asset, corrupt to the core!

About Dear Rob: About Dear Rob, he is hardly departing in a blaze of glory, his mission it seems is very much unaccomplished as he departs the scene. Who will take over the poisoned chalice and get the show on the road? In what seems a relatively short time Prelude has gone from being the expected Real Madrid of the engineering project world to a sort of Accrington Stanley, maybe being a bit unfair on the latter. Guess the worst of times was the export of human excrement in paper bags from the installation when the lights went out and nothing on it worked ........

Money in the pockets?: "And 8% to 12% currently we don’t even make in our upstream business" BvB... That performance includes the huge over runs on Corrib, Penn Chem, Prelude, multiple other LNG projects, Alaska Fiasco, and many other (not to mention OPL 245). It is such an embarrassing comparison to ExxonMobil in projects like Liza, which is highly likely to exceed returns Shell is chasing as a utility. Brasil (or Mexico) have the capacity to deliver similar returns to Liza, if there was leadership and strategy for a long term development. What makes BvB so sure that Shell's management and culture can exceed the returns of the existing players in the "new energies" this time? Maybe the job cuts should start at the top... and not the middle where there is some remaining talent left...

John Donovan: A recent comment posted here reminded me of an email I received some years ago. It is printed in italics below with one sentence deleted.

If you want some more dirt on Shell Oil, you need to go to the Inspector General’s Office, Defense Security Services, US Dept. of Defense. In 2006 DSS initiated a counter-intelligence operation and Shell USA was implicated as the primary ‘culprit’. The FBI had declined to take the case because they could not get an investigation through the US Attorney Generals office (Alberto Gonzalez) without fear of reprisal. The Houston office of DCIS (the law enforcement arm of the DoD IG’s office) had also tried to initiate an investigation but it was outside their purview.

Shell had been attempting to gain unlawful access to technical material that had been classified by the Navy Dept., Office of Naval Research in 2001. This material was the IP of a former employee. Shell was apparently trying to ‘muscle’ their way into gaining ownership of the IP material. This material was classified under DoE/DoD nuclear weapons classification authorities.

Do not contact me for further information. I will not respond. The above (alleged) conduct by Shell constitutes a capital crime under US law and there are no statutes of limitations regarding this conduct, for the company or the Shell officials involved. Because of the highly classified nature of the material Shell attempted (unsuccessfully) to gain access to the matter could well trigger a 'diplomatic' incident, and Shell plays 'rough'.

I sent the information to the then top lawyer at Shell, who declined to comment. I contacted a senior official at a US Intelligence Agency. He confirmed that Shell was under investigation. I do not know the outcome, though I can guess.

Shell has friends within the US government to whom it turns for intelligence information.

I have Shell internal emails confirming this.

Useless Degree????: For Mr.Bogus Group: I am a Shell pensioner and I can say we all know that the company is not what it used to be. Its future is not bright and the problem is bad management. When I left the company years ago I chatted with some VP's and they all said the company was not what it used to be and wasn't fun to work for any longer. They also said they would be doing what I was doing if they were 20 years younger. I leave Shell to its inevitable fate.

Bogus Group: USA USA USA, in response to your points. Why was the assurance process broken? – because incompetent managers and executives didn’t understand that implementing an effective work process was more than a Power Point presentation. Why did bullies just tick the box? – because nobody had the courage to challenge them, lest it impeded their prospects to further their own aims. Why did they ignore anyone asking difficult questions? – because imperious managers and executives regarded those who challenged as nonconformists, who threatened their craving for dominance.

USA USA USA: Penn Chem is pure folly. Wasn't the business case tax incentives, using waste products from fracking, being close to customers, good neighbor cleaning up toxic waste, never mind the cost or the risks. But now the only reason to finish is for the tax advantages, and then sell it while the PE price remains low, in the hope that someone thinks they are getting a deal. Demonstration that the first mover risks can outweigh the opportunity... kind of like prelude, or being a power utility, or us wind 15 years ago ... the assurance process is completely broken - bullies just tick the box, while ignoring anyone who asks difficult questions. Maybe we can get another TRUMP visit, and more chants of "USA USA USA"?

Bonus Group: More news of BG diaspora. At the Annual General Meeting of Hurricane Energy plc held on 3rd of June, Ms Beverley Smith was elected as a Director of the Company with 99.85% of the votes in favour, 0.15% votes against. Having previous experience as a VP and overseeing a hasty retreat from Algeria at the now defunct BG Group, will doubtless be valuable when exploring rock bottom and/or fractured basement on the Atlantic Margin!

Bogus Group: Would this be the same managers and geologists that made the competent business development and exploration decision to develop the Knarr Field? A venture that failed to meet its potential, both in terms of daily production and field life. In fact, I recall the UK based BG Group General Manager for Europe was a geologist.

Bonus Group: Useless degree????. 'Also it is not possible to be a competent geologist in the oil and gas business without having a very good background education in both sedimentation and stratigraphy. Both topics go hand in hand. Furthermore, managers at both the middle level and senior level need to be well versed in this subject area in order to make competent business development and exploration decisions.' These would be the same 'job for life', middle to senior level managers and competent geologists who at BG Group, for example, assured work at a cost of £200MM which later cost the company £2Bn because it was wrong (according to the Chief Operating Officer at the time), and also spent more than five years working in an asset following corrupt workflows? From your post on this Blog, I see that your time at a 'reputable university' was well spent in learning how to be exuberant with punctuation. That is all I have to say on the topic. Cheers!

Useless degree????: I was reading your blog today and saw a reference to 'sedimentology' being a 'useless degree'. I do not believe any reputable university offers such a degree. Sedimentology is a sub-discipline within the field of geology. Reputable universities do offer degrees in geology. It is possible to specialize in sedimentology I suppose, but you need to be enrolled in a geology program to do so. I know, I am a geologist, among other things.

Also it is not possible to be a competent geologist in the oil and gas business without having a very good background education in both sedimentation and stratigraphy. Both topics go hand in hand.

Furthermore, managers at both the middle level and senior level need to be well versed in this subject area in order to make competent business development and exploration decisions.

That is all I have to say on the topic. Cheers.

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