Shell completes sale of Australian aviation business for $250 mln: Reuters: 31 May 2017

Has completed sale of its Australian Aviation Business to Viva Energy Australia for a total transaction value of approximately $250 million.

Shell Downstream CIO Craig Walker – “We should be scared”: 23 May 2017

Walker very frankly admitted that Shell “should be scared” during our discussion, where he said that one of his biggest fears is having to go and tell his director that he’d lost a billion dollar business because he didn’t foresee a new business model for Shell, enabled by new technologies.

Canadian Oil Sands Brace As Oil Majors Dump Shares: OilPrice.com: 30 May 2017

Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips struck deals in March to sell Canadian oil assets to two Canada-based producers. In both deals, parts of the consideration for the transactions were shares of the Canadian companies that Shell and ConocoPhillips received. read more

Dutch business school rocked by criticism of its links to Shell: Tuesday 30 May 2017

Leave oil rigs in the North Sea, say conservationists: The Guardian: Monday 29 May 2017

Conservationists want oil companies and regulators to consider leaving more old rigs in the North Sea rather than removing them, with the savings paid into a fund to protect sealife.

Gazprom and Shell discuss joint prospects under Agreement of Strategic Cooperation: EIN News: 29 May 2017

In 2015, Gazprom and Shell signed the Memorandum to construct the third production train of the LNG plant, as well as the Agreement of Strategic Cooperation providing for the expansion of the companies’ joint project portfolio, including a potential asset swap.

Shell, partners start deepwater production at new FPSO in Brazil: 29 May 2017

KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has given the greenlight to Royal Dutch Shell PLC for the sale of the latter’s 50% stake in the 2011 North Sabah enhanced oil recovery production sharing contract (PSC) to Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd’s indirect unit SEA Hibiscus Sdn Bhd. read more

Energy-Generating Kites Backed by Shell Set for Test in Scotland: Bloomberg/Quint: 26 May 2017

Power-generating kites backed by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Schlumberger Ltd. and EON SE will start tests in the U.K. this summer, with the aim of developing a technology that could eventually replace offshore wind turbines. Kite Power Systems, known as KPS, is working on a 17-meter device that flies on air currents high above the ground and generates power by pulling at a cable. It raised 5 million pounds ($6.4 million) from the three energy giants last December. “The reason we are interested in something like this is that it has potential to reduce the cost of offshore wind in the future,” said Geert van de Wouw, managing director of Shell Technology Ventures BV. read more

RETIRED SHELL EXEC PADDY BRIGGS

Shell board confronted by pensioner welfare question from Paddy Briggs

Regular visitors may recall my article published in December 2016 Shell cost-cutting plan will undermine the welfare of its pensioners. 

It included an extract from a Facebook posting on the subject by retired Shell executive Paddy Briggs (right). Paddy confronted the Shell board on the subject yesterday. As is evident from the response in the transcript below, they seemed ill-prepared for the question, which compared huge sums paid to Shell directors such as Ben van Beurden with welfare cuts being made to Shell pensioners. As a result of his intervention, the board has agreed to review the issue he raised.   read more

Shell to sell C$4.1 billion stake in Canadian Natural -sources: REUTERS/DAILY MAIL: 23 May 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has decided to offload a roughly C$4.1 billion ($3 billion) stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNRL) that it acquired as part of a deal to retreat from Canada’s oil sands earlier this year, people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Shell defeats activist uprising as it faces down rising climate concerns: THE TELEGRAPH: 23 MAY 2017

Royal Dutch Shell has convincingly defeated a climate activist uprising after facing down one of its most bitter stand-offs with shareholders over its climate goals. Around 94pc of shareholders voted down a special resolution calling for the oil giant to set and publish annual targets to reduce carbon emissions at its AGM in the Hague on Tuesday. The board also survived a vote on executive pay which was backed by 93pc of shareholders. read more

If Shell is innocent of the allegations made by Ether Kiobel what is there to hide?

SENT BY EMAIL TO SHELL LEGAL DIRECTOR, DONNY CHING: FROM JOHN DONOVAN

Dear Mr Ching

You laid it on thick about Shell ethics and principles in your impressive speech: “FOLLOWING THE NORTH STAR: NAVIGATING COMPANIES TOWARDS A GOOD REPUTATION”

Extract

Nowadays, reputation is harder to win. And much easier to lose. In this context it is not enough to simply say: “Trust us.” Trust. Reputation. These are not simply messages to be broadcast. They are the outcomes that result from consistently ethical behaviour. read more

By Shruti Tripathi Chopra: City A.M.’s deputy news editor: Sun 21 May 2017

Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden has come under scrutiny over his €8.26m (£7.1m) pay ahead of the FTSE-100 giant’s annual general meeting (AGM) tomorrow.

Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) have advised shareholders to vote against the oil and gas giant’s remuneration policy.

Pirc branded van Beurden’s total pay, which was 453 per cent of his salary, “excessive”.

Shell revealed in March that van Beurden’s was paid €8.263m last year, up from €5.135m due to deferred bonuses and long-term incentive plans (LTIPs). read more

A group of retail investors have tabled the resolution at Shell’s AGM, asking it to establish carbon emission reduction targets. Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters

FULL ARTICLE

NE Scotland, Orkney & Shetland: SAT 20 MAY 2017

The oil company Shell has said it shut down a platform in the North Sea after a gas leak.

The leak was detected on Friday on the Brent Charlie platform, 115 miles north-east of Shetland.

Production has been stopped and 31 non-essential personnel are being flown home as a precaution. Shell said the leak had been stopped and an investigation was under way.

The Brent Charlie had 176 people on board at the time.

A Shell spokeswoman said: “Following a gas detection alarm, production was shut down and the platform called to muster. The source of the leak has been safely detected and isolated, and a full investigation into the cause will be completed. read more

Jillian Ambrose

Emma O’Neill: SATURDAY 20 MAY 2017

The leak happened on the Brent Charlie platform, 115 miles north-east of Shetland.

A gas leak has lead to a North Sea oil platform being shut down.

The gas detection alarm was set off on Friday morning on the Brent Charlie platform, causing all non-essential workers to be evacuated.

There were 176 people platform at the time, with 31 being evacuated. There are no reported injuries.

Production has been ceased while an investigation is underway.

A Shell spokeswoman said: “Following a gas detection alarm, production was shut down and the platform called to muster. The source of the leak has been safely detected and isolated, and a full investigation into the cause will be completed. read more

Written by Alan Shields – 20/05/2017 4:20 pm

It is understood a gas detection alarm was set off yesterday (Fri) morning on the platform.

Platform personnel were brought to muster, as is standard practice. All 176 workers were safely accounted for and no injuries were reported.

Shell said production has been halted and the leak has been “isolated”.

The oil major has not given any information on the volume of gas involved but there is not through to have been any associated environmental issues. read more

Bill Campbell comments on OPL 245 Statement by Shell Legal Director Donny Ching

Chronology is important is it not!

The international law firm reported to the RDS board in July 2016 but the emails confirming Shell knew money was going to individuals was not exposed till April 2017 a year later and was confirmed by the statement from the Shell spokesman to be an accepted fact in his 10th April 2017 press statement.

So did the international law firm who we are to assume gave a positive message to the Board have no knowledge of these emails in 2016?

Ching seems to be living in the world of alternative facts, his statements in the article above that Shell had no visibility into all this and payments were made without their prior knowledge or authorisation by Shell totally contradicts what RDS has already admitted on record in April this year. read more

Extract from page 10 (with our amendments in italics)

HISTORY

From 1907 until 2005, Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and The “Shell” Transport and Trading Company, p.l.c. were the two public parent companies of a group of companies known collectively as the “Royal Dutch/Shell Group”. In 2005, the Donovan’s beat us to the domain name “RoyalDutchShellGroup.com” and we lost a costly legal battle to seize it.

Operating activities were conducted through the subsidiaries of these parent companies. In 2005, Royal Dutch Shell plc became the single parent company of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and of The “Shell” Transport and Trading Company, p.l.c., now The Shell Transport and Trading Company Limited. In 2005, the Donovan’s beat us to the domain name “RoyalDutchShellPlc.com” and we lost a costly legal battle to seize it. Royal Dutch Shell plc (the Company) is a public limited company registered in England and Wales and headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands. read more

By John Donovan

How much respect should we have for Shell Legal Director Donny Ching bearing in mind his attempt to rewrite the history of Shell’s shameful support for the dreadful apartheid regime in South Africa. Perhaps he is just ignorant about the facts. Mr Ching has given an account from his personal perspective as a student at Melbourne University nearly three decades ago. 

This is what he has said on the record:

At that time in Australia, and it was the same all over the world, there was a huge wave of protests about apartheid in South Africa. read more