March, 2014:

Archbishop Tutu calls for independent inquiry into policing of Corrib gas project

Mar 31st, 2014
by John Donovan.
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South African archbishop Desmond Tutu and former United Nations assistant secretary general Denis Halliday have called for an “urgent and comprehensive” independent inquiry into the policing of the Corrib gas project.

The Garda Ombudsman investigation of police corruption allegations by Shell's "Mr Fixit" contractor OSSL is still in progress.

The Garda Ombudsman investigation of police corruption allegations by Shell’s “Mr Fixit” contractor OSSL is still in progress.

Article by Lorna Siggins published 29 March 2014 by The Irish Times

South African archbishop Desmond Tutu and former United Nations assistant secretary general Denis Halliday have called for an “urgent and comprehensive” independent inquiry into the policing of the Corrib gas project.

They are among a group of signatories supporting the call by peace and justice group Afri, while the Front Line Defenders human rights organisation also said policing of the Corrib gas dispute should be included in “any Government inquiry” into Garda accountability.

“Front Line Defenders believes that any inquiry should have broad terms of reference that should include reviewing the policing of the Corrib gas dispute,” its deputy director Andrew Anderson said. read more

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Concern as Brunei brings in Islamic law with punishments including dismemberment of limbs and stoning to death

Mar 30th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-30 at 13.14.58Extracts from an article by Andrew Buncombe published 29 March 2014 by The Independent under the headline: Concern as Brunei brings in system of Islamic law with punishments that include the dismemberment of limbs and stoning to death

The Sultan of Brunei, one of the world’s wealthiest rulers and a close ally of Britain, will this week oversee his country’s transition to a system of Islamic law with punishments that include flogging, the dismemberment of limbs and stoning to death. The speech by the Sultan – who for many years was involved in a high-profile legal battle with his brother, a playboy accused of misappropriating £9bn of government assets and who reportedly owned a yacht called Tits – has had the impact of silencing many who might publicly speak out against the move. Royal Dutch Shell, an Anglo-Dutch multinational, also runs a major operation there as a joint venture with the Brunei government. read more

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Visitors to RoyalDutchShellplc.com please note

Mar 30th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-01-23 at 14.07.24By John Donovan

The server for this website is being transferred back to the USA.

The work will be undertaken from Sunday 30 March and should be completed no later than 1 April.

There should not be any interruption to website access, but we will not be able to add new articles or Shell Blog postings until the move is completed.

The objective is hardened security against hostile activity, including denial of service attacks and to operate from a more stable platform, with consistently fast access and near 100% up time. read more

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Nigeria arrests two Britons over ‘oil theft plot’

Mar 29th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-29 at 15.06.52

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from an Associated Press article published 29 March 2014 by gulfnews.com

Port Harcourt: Two British nationals were among 14 people arrested on suspicion of attempted bribery in connection with an alleged plot to steal oil from a pipeline, Nigeria said on Friday. The head of the Joint Task Force (JTF) of military and police in the oil-producing Niger Delta region said the Britons allegedly tried to bribe a senior commander to facilitate the theft. JTF commander General Emmanuel Atewe said the two Britons were detained with 12 technicians they had hired to tap into a Shell pipeline in Warri, the capital of Delta state, and siphon crude onto waiting barges. read more

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Oil Theft in Nigeria Continues to Plague Shell

Mar 28th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52Extract from an article by Arjun Sreekumar published on 28 March 2014 by The Motlet Fool under the headline: “Oil Theft in Nigeria Continues to Plague This Company”

Though one could argue that Shell, which has been operating in Nigeria for decades, should have sold its sabotage-prone Niger Delta assets long ago, at least the company is finally taking the necessary steps to address the situation. Its decision is shaped by Shell’s new “fix or divest” strategy, which seeks to either improve or unload underperforming businesses. The move should pan out to be a good one. Not only will it reduce the company’s exposure to continuing security concerns in Nigeria, it will generate much-needed cash to meet its $15 billion divestment target. read more

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Nigeria’s Taleveras, Aiteo bid $2.85 bln for Shell block – sources

Mar 28th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2013-12-22 at 19.09.52Extracts from a Reuters article by Tim Cocks and Ron Bousso published Friday 28 March 2014

ABUJA/LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) – Nigerian firms Taleveras and Aiteo have made the highest bid of $2.85 billion for the biggest of four Shell assets up for sale, but the oil major is holding out while it tries to persuade them to team up with Seplat, an existing operator. read more

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Tales of the Unexpected and Royal Dutch Shell Prelude FLNG

Mar 28th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Tales of the Unexpected – 2nd in a series of articles by Bill Campbell, retired HSE Group Auditor, Shell International, about safety issues relating to the Shell Prelude FLNG project

A Prelude to disaster?

Introduction by John Donovan

On 28 December I broke the news that a whistleblower had supplied me with photographic evidence to support their concerns over the safety of the construction of Shell’s Prelude FLNG flagship vessel.  The Prelude insider source alleges that packages are being installed on the vessel by totally unqualified personnel and accuses management of a failure to understand standards and regulations and claims the construction work would never pass UK standards. The source has been intimately involved in the project and is genuinely concerned that warnings issued to Shell management (and other parties) have been ignored and financial considerations are taking priority over safety issues. His warnings prompted a regular contributor, Bill Campbell, the retired HSE Group Auditor of Shell International to author articles on the subject that take into account his decades long experience and expertise. This is the second in an intended series. read more

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In 2 to 3 years gazillionaires will be coming out of Africa

Mar 28th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-04 at 17.39.57Extract from an article by Nicholas Norbrook published 27 March 2014 by THE AFRICA REPORT

Kola Karim, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Shoreline Energy International spoke to The Africa Report.

Q: Shell and Chevron are getting out of onshore operations. How big is this and where is it leading?

A: These guys are just restructuring. Let me tell you something, they’re just ripping people off as well, but the reality is it’s an opportunity. There’s a great opportunity for people like us to build humongous companies in a short time. You will never find these opportunities again. It happened in Russia. Mark my words, in two to three years you’ll see gazillionaires coming out of a place called Africa from the world of business. I’ll give you a typical example so you can follow this analogy well. Shell has about 36 onshore licences in Nigeria. Now, if you look at the history of the Niger Delta problems, these guys had to shrink their operations or stop working in a lot of places because of these problems, then 12 years ago they went deep offshore. Shell was producing about 1m barrels a day [bpd] from all these onshore/shallow water licences. Then they went deep offshore, and in one field called Bonga they knocked 250,000 barrels a day! So someone in The Hague is thinking ‘Hang on, why do I go through all this mess for 36 assets – some producing 3,000, 5,000, 15,000 [bpd] – if I can consolidate my position, go deep offshore where the guys from the Delta can’t reach me easily?’ read more

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US now pumping 10 percent of the world’s crude

Mar 28th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-28 at 08.30.15Extracts from an article by Emily Pickrell published 26 March 2014 by fuelfix

HOUSTON — Boosted by the galloping pace of tight oil operations, the United States produced a tenth of the world’s oil at the end of last year, the Energy Information Administration reports. The shale boom has given the U.S. a production rate not seen since 1988, as tight oil replaced declining production in conventional fields. Almost two-thirds of U.S. tight oil comes from South Texas’ Eagle Ford and North Dakota’s Bakken shales. read more

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Crackdown on Russia Could Hurt Western Oil

Mar 28th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-02-18 at 18.34.00Extracts from an article by published in print on March 28, 2014, on page B1 of the New York edition of The New York Times with the headline: Crackdown on Russia Could Hurt Western Oil.

As the United States seeks to strengthen sanctions on Moscow for its occupation of Crimea, energy experts say the powerful Russian oil industry would make a robust target. But any penalties on energy investments, technology transfers and financial transactions would most likely also punish Western oil companies like Exxon Mobil that are investing heavily in Russia.

“Everything is on the table,” said David L. Goldwyn, the State Department’s coordinator for international energy affairs during President Obama’s first term. “The calculus has to be who will be hurt most, us or them, if sanctions are put in place.” read more

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MEND claims Responsibility for Attack on Shell, Agip Facilities

Mar 28th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-28 at 00.11.54

Screen Shot 2014-02-19 at 13.29.32Extract from an article by Segun James published 27 March 2014 by thisdaylive.com

The Movement for the Emancipation for the Niger Delta (MEND) Thursday claimed responsibility for the attack on the oil facilities owned by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in Delta and Bayelsa State.

FULL ARTICLE

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Royal Dutch Shell Chairman Jorma Ollila failed to disclose ownership of Luxembourg company worth €8.2 million

Mar 27th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-27 at 12.56.28“It will be interesting to see what happens next. If Ollila (right) did not disclose his Luxembourg interests to the authorities, this was presumably because he did not declare them for tax purposes either. So when others within the companies that he leads commit breaches of inconvenient laws, they can presumably use the justification that they are only following the example of their chairman. Since Ollila does not have any oil industry specific skills to offer, the only reason for his role as chairman is to provide leadership and to set an example as a role model. As such, his conviction for breaking securities laws should be seen as gross or wilful negligence.  I presume that he will be resigning before the AGM.” It is almost exactly 10 years since another dishonest Royal Dutch Shell Chairman, Sir Phil Watts, resigned in disgrace.

By John Donovan

Jorma Ollila, the Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell Plc has been fined by market regulators for failing to disclose his ownership and control of a company in Luxembourg worth 8.2 million euros. He has admitted breaking the law. He prefers to call it “neglecting the law.”

It is therefore interesting to reflect on his past comments about transparency and trust.

The following extracts are all taken from a speech he made as Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell Plc on 1 November 2012.

Extract read more

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Jorma Ollila fined for concealing Luxembourg investments

Mar 27th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-27 at 00.42.35

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extract from an article published 26 March 2014 by

Jorma Ollila, who is now chairman of the board of both Royal Dutch Shell and steelmaker Outokumpu, has been fined 3,000 euros by Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority (Fiva) for failing to make a timely disclosure that he owns an investment company called Kestrel SA. The company is based in Luxembourg and was worth 8.2 million euros at the end of 2012, reports the daily Helsingin Sanomat. The paper says he told Fiva that he “mistakenly” neglected to notify authorities of the firm… read more

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Finnish market watchdog sanctions Shell chairman Ollila

Mar 26th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-27 at 00.22.33HELSINKI, March 26 Wed Mar 26, 2014 2:14pm EDT

(Reuters) – Finland’s financial watchdog said it has imposed a 3,000 euro fine against Jorma Ollila, the board chairman of Royal Dutch Shell Plc as well as Outokumpu Oyj for not declaring a company he controlled to a public insider register.

A spokeswoman for the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority said on Wednesday that Ollila had been given an administrative fine for not disclosing Kestrel SA, an investment company he owns, in time in the public insider register of steel firm Outokumpu. read more

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Reputational damage from Shell Brent Spar episode

Mar 26th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-03-26 at 13.01.57

Extracts from an article by Dr Roger Barker published 26 March 2014 by realbusiness.co.uk under the headline: How to balance your director duties with stakeholder management

…the pursuit of “corporate wealth” should not be about generating a “fast buck” for shareholders but should also take into account the impact of a business’s activities on other relevant stakeholders. It promotes a sustainable business model that eschews short-termism, stock market pressures or short-term bonus cultures and seeks to make the board focus on longer-term goals. 

The consequences of ignoring these principles tend to catch up with companies after a while, both in terms of commercial and reputational impact. Witness the drubbing that Shell Oil received a few years ago when it decided to sink the Brent Spar oil platform in the North Sea – while this was later demonstrated to be the best way to dispose of the platform in terms of the environmental impact, Shell had failed to put enough energy into dialogue with potential critics before taking the decision, and their reputation suffered. read more

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Shell, CNPC to jointly seek shale gas in Sichuan Basin

Mar 26th, 2014
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 16.29.29Extracts from a China Daily article published 26 March 2014 by Ecns.cn

Energy conglomerate Royal Dutch Shell Plc is committing to a “substantial investment” in exploring for conventional and unconventional gas in China to quench the growing thirst for clean energy in the world’s second-largest economy. The company will continue its exploration of shale gas in the Sichuan Basin, where it landed the first contract with State-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corp, Huibert Vigeveno, executive chairman of Shell in China, said on Tuesday. Shell also is making inroads into downstream business segments. It opened a lubricant technical center in Shanghai on Tuesday, the biggest such hub in the Asia Pacific and an integral part of its global research and development network. read more

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