News and information on Shell Plc
Terry Macalister: Sunday 31 May 2015
“These emails reveal that the Science Museum is a significant cog in Shell’s propaganda machine,” said Chris Garrard, from the anti-oil sponsorship campaign group BP or not BP?
Their activities are often compared to those of Big Tobacco denying the health dangers of smoking. Big Tobacco’s denial scheme was ultimately found by a federal judge to have amounted to a racketeering enterprise.
The Big Tobacco playbook looked something like this: (1) pay scientists to produce studies defending your product; (2) develop an intricate web of PR experts and front groups to spread doubt about the real science; (3) relentlessly attack your opponents.
Thankfully, the government had a playbook, too: the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. In 1999, the Justice Department filed a civil RICO lawsuit against the major tobacco companies and their associated industry groups, alleging that the companies “engaged in and executed — and continue to engage in and execute — a massive 50-year scheme to defraud the public, including consumers of cigarettes, in violation of RICO.”
Thick black smoke rising from the Baiji oil refinery could be seen as a dirty smudge on the horizon as far away as Baghdad after fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) set fire to the enormous processing plant just over 100 miles north of the capital last week.
The decision to torch the refinery, which once produced around a third of Iraq’s domestic fuel supplies, was made as the insurgents prepared to pull out of Baiji, which they captured last June in a victory that sent shock waves across world oil markets.
By: MICHEAL KAUFMAN: Published: May 29, 2015
Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) deal to acquire the UK-based BG Group (OTCMKTS:BRGYY) that is already at a risk of facing numerous obstacles, including volatility in the crude oil prices and a risk of a competitor outbidding Shell’s bid.
Meanwhile, when the deal is already hovering around such sensitive issues, the Financial Times (FT) has reported the latest hurdle that might hinder the course of the deal. This one is considered to be the biggest of all hurdles, the entry of China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), termed as ‘black box’ by one of the competition lawyer, to conduct a regulatory scrutiny of the deal.
By: MICHEAL KAUFMAN: Published: May 29, 2015
At the Guardian Business debate on divestment in Kings Place, London, prominent Economist Nick Stern said that Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) wants investors to bet against the world taking action on climate change. He said that the oil giant and other hydrocarbon companies were pulling in the wrong direction, on the progress that will be made in renewable technology in the coming two-three decades.
He was of the view that despite hydrocarbon companies like Shell saying that the policies that will keep global warming to 2C will not be adhered to, they had to tell those energy companies that their forecasts were wrong. He said that they had to try to get the people to make sure that those policies will be implemented.
The barge, given the name “The People’s Platform” is docked in protest of Shell’s oilrig.
Along the water, within view of famous seafood restaurants and expensive condos on Alki Beach in West Seattle, a large solar-powered barge waits with a message.
“Shell No,” one sign reads, with another parodying the drill’s name (Polar Pioneer) with its own dandy logo “Solar Pioneer.” Additionally, a short environmental film is projected on the screen at twilight.
The barge, given the name “The People’s Platform” is docked in protest of Shell’s oilrig.
Extracts
How do you go about removing a massive piece of infrastructure from a hostile environment like the North Sea?
Oil giant Shell has come up with one answer which could be put to the test next year – using a mega-ship to remove the topside of an oil platform in a single lift.
The oil firm hopes Pioneering Spirit – originally called Pieter Schelte – will prove a game-changer by successfully removing the main structure in one go.
Allseas also has a contract from Shell to remove the topsides of two of the other three platforms in the field – Bravo and Alpha (along with Alpha’s steel jacket) – subject to consultation and UK government approval. It has an option to do the same with the fourth platform, Charlie.
By Royston Wild – Friday, 29 May, 2015
Shares across much of the oil sector have received a massive fillip in recent months in line with a recovery in the crude oil price. After the Brent barometer shuttled from $115 per barrel last summer to multi-year lows around $45 in January, a subsequent reduction in the US rig count has underpinned a solid price recovery — indeed, the benchmark was recently trading around the $64 mark.
With investors hoping these measures will represent a sea-change in the oil market’s supply/demand dynamics from next year, shares in oil major BP (LSE: BP) (NYSE: BP.US) have flipped 10% higher since the turn of the year. Investor sentiment in Shell (LSE: RDSB) (NYSE: RDS-B.US) has wavered more recently, however, and the stock is now trading 11% lower from the close of 2014.
European oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) has elected the head of its Chinese operations to lead the company’s planned merger with UK-based natural gas company, BG Group Plc (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BRGYY), as it seeks approval from regulatory authorities in several countries.
Earlier this week, the oil company told its senior executives that it has elected Huibert Vigeveno, executive chairman for Shell’s Chinese operations, to spearhead the deal with BG Group, according to a report by Sky News. Mr. Vigevena, who will hold the position of executive VP for integration, will see his appointment become effective in August.
From a regular contributor “The risk of a blowout or spill is always present when a well is drilled. The US government estimates the probability of such an event in Alaska at 75%. In many cases a relief well is the only way in which a blowout can be brought under control, especially if the well casing is breached. There is no “new technology” in existence that eliminates the risk of a blowout, or provides a guarantee that a blowout can be quickly brought under control if it occurs.
The requirement for “same season” relief well capabilities is intended to avoid a situation where a blowout occurs late in the season and continues unabated until the weather improves sufficiently to undertake well control operations in the following year. The time required to mobilise a second rig, drill a relief well, and kill a blowout may be 2-3 months or more. The “same season” relief well requirement therefore effectively shortens the summer drilling season to just a few weeks. If this requirement is enforced, exploration and development of the Arctic will be almost impossible. If this requirement is not enforced and Shell has a blowout which continues through the winter, the clean-up costs may far exceed Shell’s financial resources.
By Emily Schwing, KUCB – Unalaska | May 28, 2015
Two 25-foot Coast Guard response boats arrived in Dutch Harbor this week. The boats will patrol waters off the coast of Dutch Harbor as oil giant Royal Dutch Shell moves forward with plans to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean.
“This is very unusual, especially for Alaska,” said Lieutenant Aaron Renschler. He’s the Chief of Enforcement for the U.S. Coast Guard in Anchorage.
“We do deploy our assets around other parts of the state, but specifically for Dutch Harbor, this is the first time.”
Federal Agency Dings Shell for Oil Rig Mishap in ArcticAs Royal Dutch Shell PLC seeks permits for exploratory oil drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast, a federal agency has concluded the company underestimated risk the last time it moved drill rigs to Arctic waters.
A National Transportation Safety Board report issued Thursday said the probable cause of the grounding of the company’s mobile drilling vessel, the Kulluk, in 2012 was “Shell’s inadequate assessment of the risk for its planned tow” across the Gulf of Alaska.
By Joel Connelly: 28 May 2015
The National Transportation Safety Board blames the 2012 grounding and wreck of Shell’s Arctic drilling rig Kulluk on the oil giant’s “inadequate assessment of the risk” of towing it across the Gulf of Alaska in a winter storm.
“No single error or mechanical failure led to this accident,” the NTSB said in findings released this month. “Rather, shortcomings in the design of a plan with an insufficient margin of safety allowed the accident to take place.
Geoff Merrell, superintendent of emergency response, Shell Alaska: Photo: Jennifer A. Dlouhy/The Houston Chronicle
The independent federal agency’s findings, released Thursday, represent the third major government report on what went wrong when Shell Oil Co. and its contractors tried towing the Kulluk across Gulf of Alaska waters in December 2012 — only to have the rig run aground on Sitkalidak Island following a failed five-day fight to get control of it.
“No single error or mechanical failure led to this accident,” the NTSB said. “Rather, shortcomings in the design of a plan with an insufficient margin of safety allowed this accident to take place. The plan was created to move the (mobile offshore drilling unit) at a time of year with a known likelihood of severe weather conditions for reasons unrelated to operational safety.”
30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan
The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.
Extremely slow broadband for 10 months, not fixed. I have had slow broadband well below the guaranteed speed for 10 months and Shell Energy have not been able to fix it. They have tried sending about 4 or 5 engineers but have not fixed the problem. Gurps, who I have been dealing with most recently, has been friendly and polite, alth… Read more
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