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August, 2016:

Anger in the Delta keeps oil majors quiet – and Nigeria’s crude offline

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By Libby George and Ulf Laessing | LONDON/LAGOS

Oil companies and even Nigerian officials are losing faith in a deal anytime soon with militants who have slashed the nation’s oil output, casting doubt on a production recovery in what is typically Africa’s largest oil exporter.

In the six months since the first major attack on Nigeria’s oil – a sophisticated bombing of the subsea Forcados pipeline – dozens of attacks have pushed outages to more than 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), the highest in seven years. 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 looks to divest NZ assets

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Screen Shot 2016-07-29 at 16.46.22By Simon Hartley

Shell is preparing to sell all or some of its New Zealand operations, which carry an estimated value of more than $1 billion.break

Following inquiries by the ODT, Shell New Zealand country chairman Rob Jager confirmed speculation this week that investment bank giant JPMorgan had been appointed to support any sales process.

“Shell continues to explore a range of options for some or all of Shell’s assets in New Zealand. JP Morgan has been appointed to support this process,” Mr Jager said in a brief note, being unavailable for an interview. 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.

Can we still be sure of Shell?

Screen Shot 2016-08-19 at 09.42.13By Kevin Godbold – Friday, 19 August, 2016

Our investing forefathers used to trot out the maxim ‘never sell Shell’. Years ago, Shell was a fast-growing business in a fast-growing market, so holding on to Shell shares indefinitely made more sense back then than it does now.   

Today, Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) is a mature business in a mature market and its fortunes tend to ebb and flow with the undulations of wider macroeconomic cycles. Adopting a long-term buy-and-hold strategy for Shell now seems inappropriate. 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.

Houston to be ethane source point for Shell pipeline project

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By Michael BradwellAugust 17, 2016

A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plans to build a 94-mile pipeline to carry ethane to the cracker plant Shell is preparing to build in Beaver County.

According to a statement released Wednesday by Shell spokesman Ray Fisher, the pipeline will carry ethane produced by natural gas drilling companies in the tri-state area.

The project will be built by Shell Pipeline Co. LP, and will be located in Southwestern Pennsylvania and extend into West Virginia and Ohio. 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.

Exxon, Motiva refineries continue reduced operations amid floods

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Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:18pm EDT

Exxon Mobil Corp and Motiva Enterprises refineries continued to operate at reduced levels amidst flood waters in southern Louisiana, sources familiar with operations at each refinery said on Thursday.

An Exxon spokeswoman said the Baton Rouge Complex, which includes a 502,500 bpd refinery, continued to operate on Thursday, but declined to discuss the level of production or the status of specific units. The Baton Rouge refinery is the fourth largest in the United States. 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.

Nigeria recorded 1,600 cases of pipeline vandalism in eight months – Kachikwu

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By Daily Post Staff on August 18, 2016

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, says Nigeria has recorded 1,600 cases of pipeline vandalism since January.

Kachikwu made the disclosure at the 2016 Annual Conference of National Association of Energy Correspondents with the theme, “Low Oil Price: Impact and the Way Forward”, in Lagos on Thursday.

The minister also said that the country recorded over 3,000 pipeline vandalism cases from 2010 to 2015.

He said that the impact of attacks on oil and gas pipelines was that there was no money to fund the 2016 budget. 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 advises JPMorgan to sell $1bn NZ oil portfolio

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BRIDGET CARTERMergers & Acquisitions Editor, Sydney

GRETCHEN FRIEMANNMergers & Acquisitions Editor, Sydney

19 August 2016

Shell has called on investment bank JPMorgan to offload its $1 billion-plus portfolio of oil exploration and production assets in New Zealand, with some analysts questioning whether Australian players will express interest in the offering.

It comes as part of a global selldown by the oil and gas giant, which signalled a retreat from various markets, amid a $US30bn ($39bn) global asset sale plan following its $US50bn takeover of BG Group. 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.

Cash flow problems at Shell?

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By Roland Head – Wednesday, 17 August, 2016

Oil and gas giants Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) and (LSE: BP) have been among the top performers in the FTSE 100 so far this year. Shell stock is worth 31% more than at the start of January, while BP is up 23%.

But these gains don’t seem to reflect the weak state of the oil market or both companies’ rapidly-growing debt piles. Are investors turning a blind eye to the risk of a dividend cut in pursuit of the 7% yields available on both stocks?

Cash flow problems at Shell?

Shell’s interim results showed that the firm’s net debt has rocketed from $25.9bn one year ago to $75.1bn today. Much of this is due to the BG acquisition. I expect Shell to be able to refinance a lot of BG’s debt at much lower interest rates than those paid by BG. 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.

Holy Grail of energy policy in sight as battery technology smashes the old order

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AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD10 AUGUST 2016 

The world’s next energy revolution is probably no more than five or ten years away. Cutting-edge research into cheap and clean forms of electricity storage is moving so fast that we may never again need to build 20th Century power plants in this country, let alone a nuclear white elephant such as Hinkley Point.

The US Energy Department is funding 75 projects developing electricity storage, mobilizing teams of scientists at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and the elite Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge labs in a bid for what it calls the ‘Holy Grail’ of energy policy. 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 Panama Shortcut

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Jon Asmundsson: August 15, 2016

When the sun rose over the Caribbean Sea on July 25, the Maran Gas Apollonia was churning toward the new Panama Canal with a shipment of U.S. liquefied natural gas that it had loaded at Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana. Tugs guided the 90,434-ton tanker into the first of the Panama Canal’s new Agua Clara Locks. The gates closed, and water filled the first chamber. That night the vessel passed through Gatun Lake and the new Cocoli Locks and entered the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first LNG tanker to transit the expanded shipping lane that opened in June. Built in 2014, the Royal Dutch Shell-chartered tanker is about 13 meters (43 feet) wider than the largest ships the old locks could handle. The expansion opens the Panama Canal to about 90 percent of the world’s LNG fleet, up from less than 10 percent, allowing these football-field-size tankers to shave 11 days and one-third the cost of the typical round trip to Asia. In July the U.S. Department of Energy predicted 550 tankers could be crossing each year by 2021. 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 (RDS.A): Declaration of Force Majeure; Crude Price Rally Underway?

Screen Shot 2016-08-14 at 11.56.06With the recent shutdown of pipeline owned by the energy giant in Nigeria coupled with the pipeline outages and militants attacks, we forecast a crude price rally

By Staff Writer on Aug 14, 2016 at 6:34 am EST

Following a string of attacks on its oil facilities combined with pipeline outages in Nigeria, Royal Dutch Shell (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) has finally declared a force majeure on Bonny Light crude oil. Citing statement by the company on Friday, Reuters reported that the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) was shut down after a leakage by Aiteo, the pipeline’s operator. Aiteo was unavailable to comment on the matter.

Natasha Obank, spokesperson for the company stated: “The pipeline has been shut down for a joint investigation visit into the cause of the leak and repairs.” 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.

Large cruise ship voyage through Arctic ice rekindles rows

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Screen Shot 2016-08-13 at 21.48.04Terry MacalisterSaturday 13 August 2016 07.00 BST

Arguments around the Arctic have more recently centred on oil company drilling such as Shell’s controversial and now abandoned attempts to explore off the coast of Alaska and new plans to open up the Norwegian far north.

But the increasing scope for industrialising the region as the ice melts has also triggered geopolitical tensions and talk of a new cold war because the legal status of who owns what up there is uncertain.

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.

Motiva Convent refinery HCU surrounded by high water: sources

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Fri Aug 12, 2016 3:06pm EDT

The fire-damaged hydrocracking unit at Motiva Enterprises’ [MOTIV.UL] 235,000 barrel per day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana, refinery was surrounded by high water on Friday from heavy rains overnight, sources familiar with plant operations said.

A Motiva spokeswoman on Friday did not discuss high water at the refinery in a email reply to questions from Reuters.

“Although the weather is challenging, the refinery is running and making product,” said Motiva spokeswoman Angela Goodwin. 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.

Motiva Convent refinery fire out, HCU heavily damaged -sources

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Screen Shot 2016-08-11 at 22.04.57By Erwin Seba and Liz Hampton | HOUSTON: Thu Aug 11, 2016 6:41pm EDT

A blaze broke out on Thursday at Motiva Enterprises [MOTIV.UL] 235,000 barrel per day (bpd) Convent, Louisiana refinery, heavily damaging the structure of the heavy oil hydrocracker before being extinguished in the afternoon, sources familiar with plant operations said.

Motiva confirmed that the fire was extinguished and said there were no injuries.

Initial assessments by Motiva indicated that repairs to 45,000 bpd HCU, called the H-Oil unit, are expected to take between one and four months, the sources said. Little damage was seen to the unit’s reactors, they said. 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.

Fire causes evacuation of Motiva refinery in Louisiana

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Fire causes evacuation of Motiva refinery in Louisiana

Aug 11 2016, 16:39 ET | By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

A large fire at the 235K bbl/day Motiva Enterprises refinery in Louisiana today forced workers to evacuate, causing a key distillation unit to shut and boosting prices of oil products.

The fire, which reportedly started in the 45K bbl/day heavy oil hydrocracker unit, is still burning but is now under control; it is not yet known what caused the fire or how long it would take to repair any damage, which could take months to fix if the fire damaged the reactors. 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.

No injuries after large fire at Motiva plant

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1:57 PM. CDT August 11, 2016

CONVENT, La. – A major fire rocked the Shell Motiva oil refinery in Convent, Louisiana shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday. According to a Motiva spokesperson, “Motiva’s Convent Refinery experienced a fire involving one of its units.” A large amount of fire and plumes of black smoke could be seen for miles in the area.

The general manager of the Motiva plant said that no one at the plant, either Motiva employees or contract workers – a total of about 1,400 people – were injured as a result of the fire. He also said that there was no explosion. 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.
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