BBC NEWS

Shell selling stake in controversial Cambo oil field

5 May 2023

Shell is selling its stake in the controversial Cambo oil field, it has been announced.

The project – which is west of Shetland – is the second-largest undeveloped oil and gas discovery in the UK’s North Sea.

The oil major is looking for a buyer for its 30% holding.

Cambo has been the focal point of many protests, and Shell has been rumoured for months to be looking for someone to take over its part.

The remaining 70% of the field is owned by Ithaca Energy.

• Cambo in better position for go-ahead, say owners
• Why Cambo oilfield is a difficult gamble for Shell
• Cambo oil field development to be paused

Ithaca said the two companies had agreed on several possible outcomes.

Shell might sell all of its stake, but if it only manages to find a buyer for a portion of the stake it could offload its remaining share to Ithaca. read more

BBC NEWS

Fire rages at Shell chemical plant in Texas

                                                         6 May 2023

Firefighters have been combating a huge blaze at a Shell chemical plant in Deer Park, Texas, apparently caused by an explosion. read more

BBC NEWS

Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden’s pay package jumps to £9.7m

9 March 2023

Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden received a pay package of £9.7m last year, up more than 50% from 2021.

His pay was revealed in the oil and gas giant’s annual report and accounts.

Shell reported the highest annual profits in its 115-year history last year after a surge in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Massive profits made by energy firms have added to pressure to tax them more as households struggle with rising energy bills. read more

BBC NEWS

Why are BP, Shell, and other oil giants making so much money right now?

By Ben King

Business reporter, BBC News: 11 Feb 2023

The big oil companies – from the UK-based BP and Shell to international giants such as ExxonMobil and Norway’s Equinor – have been announcing astonishing profit figures.

They are all benefitting from the surging price of oil and gas following the invasion of Ukraine.

While they rake in the profits, people around the world are struggling to pay their energy bills and fill up their cars – leading to calls for higher taxes on these companies.

So how are they making so much money, and should the government step in to stop them? read more

BBC NEWS

Vast energy firm profits raise fresh questions over windfall tax

By Douglas Fraser: Business and economy editor, Scotland

• Vast profits for BP and Shell have put them in the frontline of a battle over the winners and losers from the energy crisis.
• Extension of the windfall tax is seen by the industry as a way of discouraging further investment.
• Some would prefer to see that discouraged and are dismayed as BP increases spend, while others want taxes to target benefits to shareholders.

BP and Shell get the attention because they’re big, public brands based in Britain. They’re not the only ones making vast amounts of money.

US firm ExxonMobil reported a profit of $56bn (£47bn) for last year. Chevron, also in the US, reported $36bn (£30bn).

Shell had profits of $40bn (£32bn) and BP has weighed in at $28bn (£23bn). All of them have more than doubled profits as the invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russia roiled the world’s energy markets.

Equinor (formerly Statoil), based in Norway and the largest supplier of gas to the UK and European Union after Russian gas flow was cut sharply, announced on Wednesday its net profit for the year was $28.7bn (£24bn), up from $8.6bn (£7bn) in 2021. Adjusted operating profits – before tax and removing one-off items – came to $75bn (£62bn). read more

BBC NEWS

Shell reports highest profits in 115 years

Oil and gas giant Shell has reported record annual profits after energy prices surged last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

By Simon Jack & Nick Edser: 2 FEB 2023

Profits hit $39.9bn (£32.2bn) in 2022, double last year’s total and the highest in its 115-year history.

Energy firms have seen record earnings since oil and gas prices jumped following the invasion of Ukraine.

It has heaped pressure on firms to pay more tax as households struggle with rising bills.

Opposition parties said Shell’s profits were “outrageous” and the government was letting energy firms “off the hook”. They also called for the planned increase in the energy price cap due in April to be scrapped. read more

BBC NEWS: Job risk as Shell considers quitting energy market

BBC NEWS 27 JAN 2023

Up to 2,000 UK jobs are at risk at Shell Energy after it announced it was considering quitting the energy sector.

The firm said it was conducting a “strategic review” to its operations in the UK, Netherlands and Germany amid “tough market conditions”.

The Coventry-based company provides energy to 1.4 million homes in the UK and broadband to around 500,000 people.

A spokesperson said: “No decisions have yet been taken on the way forward” and added the review could take months. read more

BBC News

Man hit with £29k Shell Energy bill after supplier error

24 Jan 2023

A man has been hit with a £29,000 energy bill following a mistake by his supplier.

Patrick Collins, from Henley, Oxfordshire, said attempts to resolve the problem with Shell Energy had so far failed.

The bill was his first from the firm after his previous supplier, Green Energy, went bust in 2021.

After being contacted by the BBC, Shell Energy said it accepted Mr Collins did not owe £29,000.

It added it was working to rectify the problem. read more

BBC News

Shell to pay $16m to Nigerian farmers over oil damage

23 Dec 2022

Shell has agreed to pay $16m (£13m) to four Nigerian farmers and their communities to compensate for damage allegedly caused by pollution coming from leaks in its oil pipelines.

The sum was agreed in negotiations between the oil company and campaign group Friends of the Earth.

But it is being given on the basis of “no admission of liability”, a joint statement says.

Nigeria’s oil industry has been a major source of environmental damage. read more

BBC NEWS

Shell pays no UK windfall tax despite profits jump

By Michael Race: Business reporter, BBC News: 27 Oct 2022

Shell has reported its second highest quarterly profit on record but it has not paid the UK’s windfall tax on energy firms.

The energy giant said global profits reached $9.5bn (£8.2bn) between July and September, compared to $4.2bn during the same period last year.

However, Shell said that because it had made large investments in the UK, it meant it had made no profit here.

It also does not expect to start paying windfall taxes until early next year.

The Energy Price Levy – or windfall tax – on the profits of energy firms was announced by Rishi Sunak in May, when he was chancellor. At the time he said it would raise £5bn in its first year. read more

BBC NEWS

Shell beats forecasts as profits more than double

Shell has reported profits have more than doubled between July and September helped by high oil and gas prices.

The energy giant said underlying profits reached $9.5bn (£8.2bn) in the third quarter.

That compares to $4.2bn during the same period last year though it is a slowdown from the second quarter when it announced record figures.

The invasion of Ukraine sparked oil and gas prices to rise as nations pledged to cut dependence on Russian energy. read more

BBC News

Shell boss says taxing energy firms to help the poor is ‘inevitable’

By Tom Espiner: Business reporter, BBC News: 4 Oct 2022

Taxes on firms within the oil and gas industry are “inevitable” to help the poorest people, the outgoing boss of Shell has said.

Ben van Beurden said that energy markets cannot behave in a way that “damage a significant part of society”.

Households in the UK have been under pressure from rising energy bills as gas prices have soared.

The UK government under Liz Truss has pushed back against extending a windfall tax on oil and gas firms.

Last week, the EU agreed emergency measures to charge energy firms on record profits. read more

BBC News

Oil giant Shell appoints renewables head as boss

Shell is to replace its current boss Ben van Beurden with its head of gas and renewables, the oil giant has said.

Mr van Beurden will to step down at the end of 2022, and be replaced by Wael Sawan.

Mr Sawan, a duel Lebanese-Canadian national who previously led Shell’s oil and gas production business, was seen as a favourite to take the top job.

He now oversees Shell’s growth into low carbon energies as well as its giant gas business. read more

BBC NEWS

Shell staff get profits bonus as energy bills soar

• Immoral oil and gas profits must be taxed – UN

4 August 2022

Energy giant Shell is to give its workers a one-off 8% bonus after the company reported record profits from high oil and gas prices.

Most of the 82,000 staff it employs worldwide will get the pay boost but top executives will be excluded.

Shell said the award reflected its financial success and was “not a response” to the rising cost of living.

Energy firms’ bumper profits have prompted calls for tougher taxes to help families with rising bills. read more

BBC News

Greenpeace lodges legal bid to halt Jackdaw gas field in North Sea

By Kevin Keane
BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent

Greenpeace has lodged a legal challenge over consent being given to develop a large North Sea gas field.

Regulators gave the go-ahead in June for Shell to develop the Jackdaw field, which lies 150 miles east of Aberdeen.

The environmental charity believes that in granting consent, the UK government failed to consider emissions from burning the gas.

The UK government would not comment on legal proceedings but said Jackdaw would boost domestic gas supply. read more

BBC News

Energy rationing cannot be ruled out, warns Shell

Rationing of energy in Europe cannot be ruled out, the boss of energy giant Shell has warned, due to worries over the supply of gas from Russia.

Speaking at an energy conference, Ben van Beurden said a “really tough winter in Europe” was ahead, with energy prices set to see “significant” rises.

Energy prices jumped earlier this year after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia has also been accused of using gas “as a weapon” by limiting supplies in response to EU sanctions. read more