PUBLISHED: 12:58, 17 May 2017 | UPDATED: 12:58, 17 May 2017

By Ron Bousso

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) – Investors are pushing oil giant Royal Dutch Shell to explain the finer details of its plan to link executives’ bonus pay to lowering carbon emissions, urging more transparency as the world shifts away from fossil fuels.

Shell was hailed by investors as a pioneer among the world’s biggest fossil fuel producers when it announced the policy to tie 10 percent of executives bonuses to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which will be voted on at a May 23 annual general meeting in the Hague. read more

May 17, 2017 9:58 AM ET|By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Some investors are pushing Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) to explain the finer details of its plan to link executives’ bonus pay to lowering carbon emissions.

Shell was hailed as a pioneer among the world’s biggest oil companies when it announced the policy to tie 10% of executive bonuses to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which will be voted on at a May 23 annual general meeting in the Hague, but some investors are pressing Shell to show how it actually will calculate the targets for lowering emissions rather than provide the information retrospectively in its annual report. read more

I would like to share with you the history of Shell’s involvement in Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 offshore Nigeria. There has been a lot of media coverage recently on OPL 245 but the focus has been on the 2011 settlement and not the history and events leading up to the settlement. I will take you through a summary of facts and events relating to Shell’s involvement. Given that this matter is currently under investigation by various authorities, I will not comment on the specifics and regret that I cannot answer any questions on this today. However, I hope the information I share will help to clarify why certain Shell companies entered into the 2011 settlement and why we believe there has been no inappropriate conduct by any Shell company or its staff in this matter. read more

The following information is taken directly from Shell’s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2016

RISK FACTORS

From page 14

Production from the Groningen field in the Netherlands continues to cause earthquakes that affect local communities.
Shell and ExxonMobil are 50:50 shareholders in Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij B.V. (NAM), which Shell operates. An important part of NAM’s gas production comes from the onshore Groningen gas eld, in which EBN, a Dutch government entity, has a 40% interest and NAM a 60% interest. Production from the Groningen eld has caused earthquakes in the past which are expected to continue. The earthquakes have caused damage to houses and other structures in the region and complaints from the local community. Additional earthquakes could have a material adverse effect on our earnings, cash ows and nancial condition. Since 2013, the Minister of Economic Affairs (Minister) has imposed a cap on production from the Groningen eld in order to reduce the impact of the earthquakes on the neighbouring communities. In September 2016, the Minister approved the production of 24 billion cubic metres per annum from the Groningen eld until October 1, 2021. At the request of the Dutch parliament, the Minister will review annually whether new circumstances have arisen that call for a further reduction of the production. The rst such annual review is expected by October 1, 2017. read more

SHELL REPUTATIONAL RISKS

How fortunate that Shell has not got itself mired in any murky activity. e.g. paying hundreds of millions to a Nigerian crook, putting profits before safety with induced earthquakes in The Netherlands, terrorising safety staff in Norway, spying globally on its own employees, or engaging in widespread bribery and corruption in Ireland. None of that could possibly happen. Same applies to the oil and gas reserves fraud, which Donny Ching, to his credit, has not forgotten. 

The following information is taken directly from Shell’s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2016

From page 14

An erosion of our business reputation could have a material adverse effect on our brand, our ability to secure new resources and our licence to operate. read more

The following information is taken directly from Shell’s Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2016

PESTICIDE LITIGATION

Shell Oil Company (SOC), along with other agricultural chemical pesticide manufacturers and distributors, has been sued by public and quasi-public water purveyors alleging responsibility for groundwater contamination caused by applications of chemical pesticides. Most of these law suits assert various theories of strict liability and seek to recover actual damages, including water well treatment and remediation costs. All of the suits assert claims for punitive damages. There are approximately 30 such cases pending. Based on the claims asserted and SOC’s track record with regard to amounts paid to resolve varying claims, management does not expect that the outcome of these suits pending at December 31, 2016, will have a material impact on Shell, although no assurance can be provided. read more

Introduction by John Donovan

Published below are comments by Mr Bill Campbell, the retired HSE Group Auditor of Royal Dutch Shell. His remarks are in relation to the involvement of Shell and current?/former MI6 officers in the OPL 245 skulduggery currently involving multiple regulatory and legal authorities, including the Dutch Director of Public Prosecution and Dutch Police, the UK Serious Fraud Office, Italian and Nigerian Police and Prosecutors, the US Securities And Exchange Commission, and an investigation by the US Department of Justice under The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. read more

AGM WEBCAST Tuesday May 23, 2017 at the Circustheater, Circusstraat 4, The Hague, The Netherlands at 10.00 am (Dutch time)

If you are unable to come to the AGM you can watch via the webcast which will be broadcast live at 10:00 (Dutch time), 09:00 (UK time) on the day of the AGM. Shareholders who wish to follow the AGM via the webcast should log on to www.shell.com/agm/webcast and follow the online instructions. The webcast is not interactive and it is not possible to vote or ask questions remotely.

The webcast may include the question and answer sessions with shareholders present at the AGM, as well as background shots of those present in the auditorium. We have also arranged for photographs to be taken throughout the premises for the duration of the event to be kept in the Company’s photo library. These photographs may be used in future publications online or in print. If you attend the AGM in person, you may be included in photographs or in the webcast. Please note that the photographs and broadcast footage may be transferred outside the European Economic Area. read more

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA have become entangled in a $1.1 billion bribery scandal involving a field in Nigeria that could potentially hold enough crude to meet three months of the world’s demand. At least three countries are probing the companies, and Italian prosecutors have named Eni’s Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi and Shell’s former head of exploration and production, Malcolm Brinded, among people who could be prosecuted. Nigeria’s anti-graft agency also filed charges against the companies in March. read more

Shale oil declines 35-50% per year. You need to keep drilling faster and faster until you go bust…..

And when the costs are high and returns are marginal, corners will be cut and other problems start. Polluted aquifers, operators going bust so who will clean up the mess?

US shale oil will keep prices low – will it ??

Give this 5 mins – it’s fun.

Excellent website link below, with great interactive charts on how the shale wells in US are doing.

These were supposed to keep the oil price low remember? read more

FROM “PROFESSIONAL PENSIONS.COM”

MONDAY 8 MAY 2017:

“This is the first time in three years that investors in BP and Shell have a binding vote on remuneration for executive directors.” 

FULL ARTICLE

MARK WILLIAMSON: 5 MAY 2017

ROYAL Dutch Shell’s new finance chief has said the company will continue to invest in the North Sea where it is making good returns but declined to rule out selling off more UK assets.

Speaking after Shell posted a 140 per cent increase in first quarter profits, Jessica Uhl said the North Sea remains important to the firm although rationalisation moves will leave it with a much reduced presence in the area.

The oil and gas giant agreed in January to sell a portfolio of mature assets which account for around half its UK production to Chrysaor for up to $3.8 billion. read more

Even the remuneration committee’s ethics were questionable as they acted with impunity by awarding obscene annual bonuses to executives, despite multiple fatalities at operational locations.

By John Donovan

Further comments have been posted overnight on our Shell Blog in an ongoing discussion about Shell’s controversial takeover of the BG Group. To my certain knowledge Shell had its eyes set on British Gas back to at least the mid 1990’s. An important meeting I had in July 1995 with the then Chairman and Chief Executive of Shell UK Limited Dr Chris Fay was interrupted by matters relating to British Gas. A takeover bid was being actively considered. It was not until Ben van Beurden became Shell’s CEO that anyone at Shell had the guts to take a gamble. And it is a gamble. Oil prices are on the brink of a possible and even likely collapse. BTW, I very much agree with the comments made by “regular browser” about Shell’s claimed business principles. read more

FULL ARTICLE

Shell Pumps a Torrent of Cash as Takeover, Cost Cuts Pay Off: Bloomberg.com: 4 May 2017

The Anglo-Dutch company’s performance helps validate Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden’s $54 billion purchase of BG Group Plc — for which some shareholders complained he overpaid — and the deep spending cuts and asset sales he undertook to protect the balance sheet.

Nigeria: Despite Malabu Scandal, Shell, Eni Will Continue to Operate OPL 245 – Govt: Premium Times: 3 May 2017

The Federal Government says the Zabazaba deepwater project in Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 will continue in spite of controversies surrounding the oil block.

How Earthquakes Might Be Crimes in Netherlands: Bloomberg.com: 3 May 2017

Can a natural disaster be a crime? That’s the question in The Netherlands, where an investigation has been ordered into whether Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. are criminally responsible for earthquakes triggered by production at Europe’s largest natural gas field, Groningen. Some of the earthquakes have been strong enough to damage homes… read more

Printed below are recent intriguing comments posted on our Shell Blog about events and individuals at BG Group after it was infiltrated by Shell years prior to the $70 billion acquisition. The largest oil industry merger for nearly 20 years.

POSTED COMMENTS

BogusGroup: 2017/05/03 at 3:23 pm

BG Group was founded on very little credible geoscience. Frank Chapman’s precious ‘treasures’. Technically inept staff promoted to heady heights as a reward for longevity, loyalty and willingness to play corrupt corporate games. Probity was a word never heard in the corridors of the pavilions of Thames Valley Park. As long as there was production and accompanying revenue stream it didn’t matter if they understood where it came from or not. Life was a continuous garden party on a ‘Knight to be remembered’! read more