Ciara Newton had her dream job at a Shell refinery. But she was fired after enduring months of harassment, including sexist comments from supervisors and a lewd sticker.
Zahra Hirji: BuzzFeed News Reporter: Reporting From Oakland, California
Last updated on August 6, 2019, at 1:14 p.m. ET
Posted on August 6, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. ET
OAKLAND, California — She walked toward the witness stand at eight months pregnant, her slow steps echoing in the cavernous federal courtroom.
Two years earlier, she had been fired from her dream job at a Shell refinery after enduring months of harassment — sexist comments from two male supervisors, reprimands for documenting her coworkers’ mistakes, a lewd sticker on her desk. She got the termination notice just days before the end of her job’s nine-month probation period. The fallout was devastating. She lost the loan needed to buy her recently widowed mother’s house, spiraled into depression and anxiety, and ended up working at an airline two hours from her home for half the pay.read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s second quarter profits slumped to a 30-month low due to lower oil and natural gas prices and refining margins, falling far short of forecasts.
The Anglo-Dutch company reported on Thursday a rise in cash generation – a sign of improving operations – but the drop in profit dents a steady recovery since the end of 2016.
Shell, the world’s second-largest publicly-traded energy company, joins rivals Total and Norway’s Equinor in reporting weak results for the quarter.read more
Royal Dutch Shell confirmed that there was no impact to operations at the Prelude floating LNG facility as a result of the earthquake. The company had earlier declined to comment.
JULY 15, 2019
MELBOURNE, July 15 (Reuters) – Oil and gas operations onshore and offshore Western Australia were unaffected by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake that struck off the northern coast of the state on Sunday, the country’s offshore petroleum safety regulator and companies said.
“NOPSEMA has not received any reports of impacts to offshore oil and gas facilities following the earthquake,” a spokesman for the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) said.read more
Shell has furthered its stated commitment to cleaner electricity by investing in a U.S startup that has developed a blockchain-based platform for energy sharing.
The startup, LOW3 Energy, said in a press release earlier this week that Shell Ventures and Japanese Sumitomo had made “major investments” in its platform, which “represents a landmark moment for LO3 Energy as we begin to scale our blockchain-based energy networks around the world,” according to chief executive Lawrence Orsini.read more
Leslie Hook, environment and clean energy correspondent
Taken together, these lawsuits amount to a legal onslaught that climate activists hope will have a profound financial impact on oil and gas producers, by imposing huge penalties.
Most lawsuits name the biggest producers — such as Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron — as defendants, though the number of companies named ranges from five to 37.
Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden speaks at a full year results conference in London on January 31, 2019. – Royal Dutch Shell today said that net profit surged 80 percent to $23.4 billion in 2018, thanks to higher oil prices and cost: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Ellen R. Wald:Senior Contributor:
In 2004, a mania grew in the financial and energy circles around the idea of peak oil. The notion that the world was running out of oil became a commonly held belief, which, in turn, helped push oil prices well above $100 per barrel.
Fifteen years later, peak oil is still talked about by some, but most industry insiders pay it no heed. Instead, over the last few years, the increasingly popular concept has been peak demand. Peak demand is the idea that the demand for oil will reach an apex and then start to decrease, especially as government regulations require more use of alternative energies and as battery-powered machines, like electric vehicles, will presumably become more popular.
Peak demand may or may come to pass—that is not the concern here. What we do know is that if the peak demand idea continues to gain popularity it will lead to a shortage of oil in the coming years and decades. The idea of peak demand threatens the global oil supply because it incentivizes and even excuses oil companies to stop exploring for and producing (E&P) more oil.read more
Greenwashed rhetoric is such a staple of the oil industry that it’s easy to assume every energy executive talking about climate and the transition to a zero-carbon economy is just mouthing words.
Barely a year after BP Plc Chief Executive Officer John Browne promised “action and solutions” on climate change in a 1997 speech, he led the then-biggest oil takeover in history with the acquisition of Amoco Corp. On his retirement a decade later, after years of rebranding about moving “beyond petroleum,” he left a base of oil and gas reserves more than twice the size of the one he inherited.read more
By Dulue Mbachu and Sherry Su: 30 April 2019, 10:38 BST Updated on 30 April 2019
Shell, Total declare force majeure on some crude oil grades
Idled Chevron well suffers fire after third-party incident
A spate of disruptions and security concerns, including kidnappings, are threatening to hinder surging Nigerian oil exports.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA declared force majeure on some of their Nigerian exports over the past week, a measure that allows companies to skip supply obligations. Chevron Corp.’s Nigerian unit said an idled well was interfered with.
While the precise cause of the Total force majeure remains unclear, the Shell and Chevron incidents involved third parties. The disruption comes just a few years after militants caused Nigeria’s oil production to plunge by attacking pipelines and other pieces of energy infrastructure.read more
Several big fund managers believe that oil companies should shut themselves down because soon they will become impossible to invest in as the world switches to renewable energy.
A survey of 39 fund managers with $10.2 trillion under management found that 24 per cent wanted the oil industry “to wind down their businesses and return cash to shareholders”. All but two of the funds said that oil stocks would not be attractive investments within ten years if they failed to respond to climate risks.read more
The world’s five largest publicly traded oil companies are increasing their investments in oil and gas, putting a combined $110 billion in new fossil-fuel production.
Meanwhile, those firms are projected to spend just $3.6 billion on low-carbon investments, such as biofuels and renewables, according to a new analysis that Influence Map, a British nonprofit that analyzes corporate influence on climate policy, derived from industry data and numbers buried in company disclosures.
The reckless disparity comes just months after the United Nations warned that the world must rapidly phase out fossil fuel use over the next decade or face catastrophic global warming of at least 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.read more
Shell’s investment could surpass $650M if exploration continues, according to the president of Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency.
The government recently modified contractual terms for offshore exploration and launched a new process that allows companies to apply to explore in areas of interest, offering 20 blocks as part of a strategy to boost the oil sector.read more
Last week, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) revealed that it is facing charges in the Netherlands relating to corruption allegations surrounding a Nigerian oil bloc called OPL 245. Shell and Italian major ENI SpA (ENI.IM) acquired the licence in 2011 for around $1.3bn (£992m), but it’s alleged that a significant proportion of the monies was destined for use as kickbacks for politicians and officials, with former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete – a convicted money launderer – acting as the principal intermediary. Although the funds were paid to the Nigerian government, it’s claimed that they found their way into the coffers of Malabu Oil and Gas — a company linked to Mr Etete.read more
Bogus Group: More on Prelude aricle in Upstream.
I’m stunned by what can only be described as idiotic statements. Nothing like the utopia of self-aggrandisement without verification. What is Jagers’ level of technical and operational capabilities? I recall similar rhetoric from BG Group charlatans, with the “best in class” mentality and use of the most overstated expression ever to be used outside the education sector, all aimed at pleasing their taskmasters.
Ramp-up of Prelude and what Jager hopes will be decades of “uneventful” and “boring” operation.
“This will be a state where little or nothing happens. We have few if any alarms, no surprises and where things are running like clock work and we are effectively in autopilot,” he said.
“We will know when we have succeeded in this ambition because Prelude will be recognised as the most boring asset in Shell global portfolio our people will refer to it as the safest and most desirable place to work, and when the rest of the industry is knocking on our door to find out how we have achieved such a best in class outcome, especially for a facility as complex and unique as Prelude.”
Peter Voser: Shell may claim to be not responsible for the contractors’ instruction to staff to attend the meeting or loose pay, however, contractors working for Shell have a contractual obligation to comply with Shell’s General Business Principles and its Code of Conduct. Facilitating political rallying and coercing staff would certainly go against that.
Disappointing to see these principles are pushed aside when it comes to US politics.
Prelude Upstream Online Article: I would be interested to know the content of the article just published by Upstream Online about the Prelude FLNG problems?
Upstream Online: Shell learns from Prelude challenges
Shell is currently in the process of ramping up its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas development off Western Australia, but the ambitious project …
What I do know is that Prelude is still having difficulties in with the processed volumes of any of the three streams of product, LNG, LPG and condensate.
I have been monitoring the Marine Traffic web site with Prelude as the target. The offtake tankers, LNG or condensate, can be seen hanging around but at a greater distance from Prelude making it not as easy to keep track of as in previous occasions. The latest LNG tanker, Symphonic Breeze, has been nearby for nearly a week waiting for its nominated cargo. The demurrage costs must be quite high by now as the "notice of readiness" will have been tabled on arrival.
The pressure on the Prelude Operational Staff must be intense and unrelenting, so much for a plug and play project that Brinded made so much noise about.
LOST CUSTOMER: After reading in the news that workers in our Pennsylvania plant wore FORCED
to sit and listen to trump you can count on me PASSING EVERY SHELL station I see. (Comment received via email)
Trump Meeting: Is the payment of workers by Shell to attend a Trump rally appropriate?
How does Shell justify it?
Is Shell going to pay workers to attend opposition rallies for balance?
What's next payment for attending Bolsonaro rallies? (Received via email)
Coersion: Saw news on Shell's practice of coercing union employees into attending a campaign rally with Trump. I used to fill up with Shell gasoline. Will no longer purchase anything from Shell or anything that is in anyway obviously associated with Royal Dutch Shell (Posted comment was received by email)
Bonus Group: Bonus Group has previously mentioned John de Lange, once upon a time VP Well Engineering and Operations BG Brasil, last heard of kicking his heels in Chad as VP Operations for Glencore E&P (Canada) Inc before he fell foul of jackals and going to ground. This very wealthy man by his own admission now finds himself literally in hot water, or more precisely as a director of Geothermie Groep Nederland B.V. This is probably the best outcome for the oil and gas industry as his competency and motives were questionable at best.
USA USA USA: John, thanks for posting the article on the Trump visit to Penn Chem. Most insiders don't think Shell will really want that kind of connection to Trump. But if he asks to come with the EPA administrator and DOE Minister, what can you do, but say yes? Saying no would have resulted in a backlash for sure. Makes it difficult to stay politically neutral.
Shell still wants to play both sides on the US agenda, and win regardless of the outcome. This is more troubling for many, as it shows the messaging in EU is low carbon future, in the USA its drill baby drill. It makes your point on culture, that some still seem to doubt.
USA USA USA: it was very interesting to see Shell host President Trump at Penn Chem for Energy Speech that turned into a campaign rally.
More interesting that he seemed to take credit for making it happen.
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/08/13/donald-trump-in-beaver-county/
Scroll down to the middle and you can watch the full hour speech.
Mateusz: Hello, I am interested in purchasing royaldutchshellplc.com Are you interested?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
I would have taken your question more seriously if you had contacted me privately via email rather than via a public forum.
NAZI OBSESSION: What makes you think that anyone is interested in Shell's business dealings with the Germans several decades ago?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Shell's historians must have thought someone would be interested or they would not have included dozens of pages filled with supporting evidence in "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" Volumes 1 & 2 published in 2007. Understandably, they spun the evidence in favour of their paying client, Shell. Another indication of interest is the many thousands of visitors to our new sister website shellnazihistory.com. Likewise, 17,918 blocked malicious login attempts on the new site with 1,696 blocked spam comments (by Akismet). All stats as of today, 13 July 2019. In addition to the public interest, clearly, there is evil intent towards the website. Wonder who that might be?
Bonus Group: In answer to uscitizen's post proclaiming the wonders of the acquisition of BG Group by Shell, it should be remembered that Shell had a 'fire sale' of a plethora of BG 'dross' assets in order to raise $30Bn to disguise the amount by which they had overpaid for BG Group. Sooner or later there must be another reserves recategorisation. The Brasil Asset is a prime candidate for this given that it is still staffed by ex-BG sycophants propping up the illusion. As highlighted by Bogus Group, it would seem that Knarr is the latest posthumous failure of BG Group. They were always over stating the value to the shareholders.
This is not a Shell website. Click on Disclaimer link at top of page for more information.
OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL: LATEST NEWS
$1.3bn Malabu Oil Scandal: Italy Protests Swiss Delay in Releasing Evidence against Shell, Eni 22 Jun 2019 04:10 This Day Chika Amanze-Nwachuku with agency report
Italian prosecutors have expressed dissatisfaction about lengthy delays in obtaining evidence they have requested from Switzerland in the criminal charges against Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni with regard to …
FG names Shell, Eni executives in $1bn bribery case – The Punch 08 May 2019 11:43 Google ’Femi Asu with agency report
Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA face additional corruption allegations over a Nigerian oil deal, after the Federal Government said in a London lawsuit that it believed a handful of executives, including Chief Executive …
FG files fresh charges against Shell executives, JPMorgan over Malabu Oil scandal 08 May 2019 10:01 Herald Sequel to the lawsuit filed last year against Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Eni and JP Morgan for being involved in a $1bn oil block bribery case, the Federal Government has submitted new case documents that indict their top executives.
FG said in the court files …
FG names Shell, Eni executives in $1bn bribery case 08 May 2019 08:09 Punch Newspapers ’Femi Asu with agency report
Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA face additional corruption allegations over a Nigerian oil deal, after the Federal Government said in a London lawsuit that it believed a handful of executives, including Chief Executive …
Dutch Prosecutors to Arraign Shell over $1.3 billion Acquisition of OPL 245 02 Mar 2019 10:19 Biz Watch Nigeria Dutch Prosecutors to Arraign Shell over $1.3 billion Acquisition of OPL 245
Dutch prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against Royal Dutch Shell over its $1.3 billion acquisition of Nigerian offshore oilfield OPL 245 in 2011.
Shell said in a …
John Donovan’s ebooks
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
Ciara Newton had her dream job at a Shell refinery. But she was fired after enduring months of harassment, including sexist comments from supervisors and a lewd sticker.
Leslie Hook
By David Fickling | Bloomberg: June 5 at 7:03 AM
Climate change could wipe up to $4 trillion off the value of fossil fuel assets, the governor of the Bank of England has said: ALAMY
Latest news roundup for Royal Dutch Shell Plc. News reports from the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and other news media organisations.
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EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.