Posts under ‘Business Principles’

Uniper may have to write down Nord Stream 2 loan if the pipeline fails

* Uniper is a financial backer of Nord Stream 2 project

* Risk of non-completion is increasing

* Uniper has committed to fund up to 950 mln eur (Adds CEO comments, details on Nord Stream 2 financing)

By Christoph Steitz and Tom Käckenhoff: AUGUST 11, 2020

FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF, Aug 11 (Reuters) – German utility Uniper on Tuesday said it may have to impair a loan provided to the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if the project collapses in the face of U.S. sanctions. read more

Aust 11, 2020

Employee fired for discussions with subordinate on conflict of interest and investigation, but conduct didn’t breach policies: Alberta court

A former Shell executive has won $800,000 after the oil company wrongfully dismissed her on trumped-up charges of breaching its conflict-of-interest policy and investigation processes.

SOURCE (PAYWALL)

Russia Looks To Lure Shell Into New Arctic Oil Project

By Simon Watkins – Aug 10, 2020, 4:00 PM CDT

Central now to Russia’s hydrocarbons-related power is its Arctic sector oil and gas reserves. These comprise over 35,700 billion cubic metres of natural gas and over 2,300 million metric tons of oil and condensate, principally located in the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas. According to recent comments from Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, the next 10-15 years will witness a dramatic expansion in the extraction of these Arctic resources, and a build-out of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as the main transport route to monetise these resources in the global hydrocarbons markets. To these ends, last week saw the announcement of a joint venture (JV) between Russia’s third biggest oil company by output and the oil arm of state gas giant Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, and Anglo-Dutch super-major, Royal Dutch Shell (Shell). read more

EXCLUSIVE: Malabu Scandal: Canadian judge okays Nigeria’s seizure of Etete’s jet

A Canadian judge has confirmed the seizure and grounding of a luxury private jet purchased by a former Nigerian oil minister, Dan Etete, with some of the alleged proceeds of the controversial $1.3 billion Malabu OPL 245 oil deal.

The judge, Martin Castonguay, ruled that the plane, which landed in Montreal on May 29, must remain there. He also agreed with the claims put forward by the attorney to the Federal Republic of Nigeria over the seizure and grounding of the plane. read more

Paul Hunt: Senior Journalist: Oil & Gas, Policy. 07 August 2020

Currently FIFO staff work three weeks on, four weeks off, then three weeks on and five weeks off but under the new proposed agreement, employees would simply do a four week on, four week off roster.

In a power-point presentation leaked to Energy News this week, Shell Australia said a new roster was needed due to interstate travel restrictions, and the combined impact of a 14-day quarantine requirement for FIFO staff.

“This is placing significant pressure and strain on Prelude FLNG production team resourcing, as well as work-life balance for all personnel,” Shell said in its proposal to its employees. read more

Shell: 17 new COVID cases at cracker plant, 14 active

By Chrissy Suttles: Posted Aug 4, 2020 at 5:28 PM

The site has seen 35 confirmed COVID-19 cases since March — 14 active and 21 recovered. More than 1,000 tests have been conducted at Shell’s on-site lab, with approximately 1 percent coming back positive.

POTTER TWP. — The number of COVID-19 cases at Beaver County’s ethane cracker plant has nearly doubled in less than three weeks.

Another 17 employees at the Shell Chemicals complex have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since mid-July, and 35 people have been infected since the pandemic hit Pennsylvania in March. read more

By John Donovan

In the recent article (below”) about the OPL 245 corruption scandal, published under the translated headline “Eni-Nigeria trial, Prosecutor requests 8 Years sentence for Descalzi,” reference is made to “an axis of spies that runs through this story.”

It mentions the involvement of Shell’s MI6 hires responsible for generating the incriminating emails found in the raid and search of Shell’s HQ that has done so much damage to Shell’s reputation. read more

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted during the last several days on Trustpilot.  Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. This article posted on 03 August 2020.

I think the CEO’s surname is quite…

I think the CEO’s surname is quite fitting with how this bogus company operates. Mr Crooks! How ironic. Stop chasing people for money you are not owed, making up sums and ruining peoples lives. You should be ashamed of yourselves!

SLOWEST BROADBAND SPEEDS EVER! DIAL UP IS FASTER!

We moved to shell energy with just the basic plan but their “fast broadband” is a joke! If I used a dongle or dial up it could not be any slower! It can take my laptop from 45 minutes to over an hour to load up. I thought it might be my laptop but I went and bought a new one but no difference! They sent us anew modem but again no difference, still taking up to an hour to load up on a morning! When it does load it it is constantly freezing. Apparently although it says you are getting the right speeds going in, it depends on what actually comes into our house and they might not be the same! In our case they are not! The phone rang once the other day then rang off. Then they email a couple of day later and say we tried to contact you but to no avail!!!! WHAAT! I am still waiting for them to actually contact me and sort out the issue! had I known they were the same as TALK TALK I would never have signed up with them! read more

Nam calls for Groningen gas field closure in 2022

31 JULY 2020

The Netherlands’ Groningen low-calorie gas field could be closed completely in 2022, while keeping it on stand-by afterwards would require substantial production to be maintained, operator Nam has said.

There will be “no role for Groningen after 2022” as it is highly unlikely that it would be needed to guarantee security of supply then, Nam said in response to a consultation on the field’s draft output plan for the 2020-21 gas year.

The Dutch economy ministry’s plan foresees that Groningen output would halt from about mid-2022 when a new quality conversion facility in Zuidbroek is expected to become operational, significantly increasing the scope to convert high-calorie gas into low-calorie supply. The field is to remain on stand-by afterwards until at least about mid-2025 to serve as a back-up that could help meet northwest European low-calorie demand in situations of exceptionally strong consumption or disruptions to other sources of supply. read more

Energy venture NAM says it does not want to use Groningen gas field in 2022

AMSTERDAM, July 30 (Reuters) – NAM, a venture of Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil that operates gas fields in the Netherlands, said on Thursday it did not want to use the Groningen gas field in 2022 and had asked the government to approve this.

The government, which has been ordering production cuts at the field due to seismic risks in the region, had asked NAM to keep the field available as a resource in 2022 in case of a cold snap, NAM said, adding that it was opposing this request. read more

LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday its second-quarter writedowns include the OPL 245 licence for an offshore oilfield in Nigeria which it holds alongside Eni and which is at the centre of an ongoing corruption court case in Italy.

Italian prosecutors have asked for oil majors Eni and Shell to be fined and some of their present and former executives, including Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, to be jailed in a long-running trial over alleged corruption in Nigeria. All the defendants have denied any wrongdoing. read more

Anti-graft groups query Nigerian Justice Minister on OPL 245 assets recovery

27 July 2020: Henry Uche

Nigeria’s Minister of Minister and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has been asked to give full disclosure of recovered assets linked to the OPL multi-billion dollar oil scam.

In a statement delivered by the Chairman of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) Mr Olanrewaju Suraj, the charge came after the Corner House, Global Witness, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) and Re-Common, launched a global campaign through a letter to the AGF Malami for transparency in the assets recovered from the scam. In the petition, the groups raised 25 critical questions for Malami. read more

Report: Oil and gas companies have extensive ties to police groups

BY RACHEL FRAZIN – 07/27/20 02:17 PM EDT

Major fossil fuel and utility companies as well as financial institutions have contributed to law enforcement organizations for years, according to a report published Monday.

The report from the left-leaning Public Accountability Initiative and its research arm LittleSis highlight contributions to police organizations in big cities from oil giants including Chevron, Marathon and Shell. read more

THE GUARDIAN: Big corporations accused of driving environmental and health inequalities in black and brown communities through toxic and climate-changing pollution are also funding powerful police groups in major US cities, according to a new investigation.

Some of America’s largest oil and gas companies, private utilities, and financial institutions that bankroll fossil fuels also back police foundations…

Shell is one of the biggest fossil fuel companies in the world, and is currently building a huge ethane cracker plant near Pittsburgh, which advocates warn could turn Appalachia into the next so-called Cancer Alley – a corridor of Louisiana refineries, where Shell is also a major polluter. Shell is a “featured partner” of the New Orleans police foundation and a sponsor of the Houston police’s mounted patrol. read more

Shell offsetting carbon in Scottish forest is ‘greenwashing’, Government official warned

Forestry and Land Scotland accepted £5m to partner with Shell to offset emissions despite warning from senior employees of ‘greenwashing’

By Hayley Dixon: 24 July 2020 • 9:30pm

Shell’s plan to use Scottish forests for carbon offsetting is “greenwashing”, Government officials warned before accepting £5million for the scheme to go ahead.

The team at Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) said that the money was “small beer” for the oil giant and said that they were at risk being “worked over by Shell’s formidable PR machinery”. read more

MALABU SCANDAL: Italian Prosecutors want former Nigerian oil minister jailed for 10 years

July 23, 2020: Oladeinde Olawoyin

Italian prosecutors have requested a 10-year jail sentence for Dan Etete, a former Nigerian petroleum minister, over alleged fraud in the controversial Malabu Scandal.

Reuters reports that the prosecutors proposed eight years in prison for both Claudio Descalzi, former chief executive of Eni and Paolo Scaroni, his predecessor.

They also proposed a seven-years-and-four-months jail term for Malcolm Brinded, Shell’s former head of upstream. read more