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Shell seeks Alaska lease extension, but no plans to return

Sep 27th, 2020
by John Donovan.
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Shell seeks Alaska lease extension, but no plans to return

Extension seen as way to make the leases more attractive to a potential buyer

The Associated Press · Posted: Sep 25, 2020 5:59 PM CT | Last Updated: September 26

Oil company Shell is seeking an extension of leases it holds in Alaska as a way to make the leases more attractive to a potential buyer and does not itself plan a return to operations in the state, spokesperson Curtis Smith said Friday.

Smith said the leases for which the company is seeking an extension represent the bulk of leases Shell still holds in Alaska. read more

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Large cruise ship voyage through Arctic ice rekindles rows

Aug 13th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2016-08-13 at 21.48.04Terry Macalister: Saturday 13 August 2016 07.00 BST

Arguments around the Arctic have more recently centred on oil company drilling such as Shell’s controversial and now abandoned attempts to explore off the coast of Alaska and new plans to open up the Norwegian far north.

But the increasing scope for industrialising the region as the ice melts has also triggered geopolitical tensions and talk of a new cold war because the legal status of who owns what up there is uncertain.

FULL ARTICLE read more

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Shell Returns To Unalaska

Aug 6th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Shell Returns To Unalaska

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Screen Shot 2016-08-06 at 15.52.57By ZOE SOBEL: Saturday 6 August 2016

Shell is back in Unalaska. Dutch Harbor was a staging area for Shell’s unsuccessful search for oil in the Arctic Ocean last year. This week, three ships — the Aiviq, the Dino Chouest, and the Ross Chouest — associated with Shell’s Arctic efforts arrived in Unalaska on a mission to remove the last signs of that effort.

A Shell representative says the vessels are “tasked with retrieving more than 50 anchors from the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas” and “completing required environmental science monitoring and reporting.” read more

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Shell drops legal attempt to extend offshore lease terms in the Arctic

Jun 25th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2016-06-25 at 10.21.36Shell drops legal attempt to extend offshore lease terms in the Arctic

Author: Yereth Rosen: 24 June 2016

Months after abandoning its plans for oil exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska, Royal Dutch Shell has dropped its legal effort to hold onto those offshore leases.

Shell notified the Interior Department it will no longer pursue its appeals of a decision that denied extension of the company’s oil leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off Alaska. The department’s Board of Land Appeals on Thursday granted Shell’s request and dismissed the case. read more

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Shell forfeits Arctic leases once worth $2b

May 11th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2016-05-10 at 08.42.36By Liz Ruskin, APRN: May 10, 2016

Shell is giving back all but one of its leases in the Chukchi Sea.

The announcement comes seven months after Shell said it was halting exploration in Alaska’s offshore Arctic for the foreseeable future.

Gov. Bill Walker calls the news “disappointing.”

Michael LeVine, Pacific senior counsel for the conservation group Oceana, says the lease-surrenders underscore Shell’s exit.

“They’re significant because they really call to an end this era of exploration, at least in the Chukchi Sea,” he said. read more

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Shell’s fleet of ancient rust buckets fit only for the scrapyard

May 11th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan

In June 2015, I published an article by a regular contributor about the notorious Noble Discoverer, one of two drill ships used by Shell in their notorious offshore Alaska drilling campaign.

The insider described Shell’s fleet of five vessels sent into Arctic waters as ancient rust buckets fit only for the scrapyard.  

Apparently an entirely appropriate assessment, as I understand from a different source that the Noble Discover may well be on her way now to the infamous Alang shipbreaker yards in India. read more

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Big Oil Abandons $2.5 Billion in U.S. Arctic Drilling Rights

May 10th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2016-05-10 at 08.42.36Jennifer A Dlouhy: May 10, 2016

Drillers forfeit millions of acres amid slump in oil prices

Royal Dutch Shell still holding on to one lease in Chukchi Sea

After plunking down more than $2.5 billion for drilling rights in U.S. Arctic waters, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and other companies have quietly relinquished claims they once hoped would net the next big oil discovery.

The pullout comes as crude oil prices have plummeted to less than half their June 2014 levels, forcing oil companies to slash spending. For Shell and ConocoPhillips, the decision to abandon Arctic acreage was formalized just before a May 1 due date to pay the U.S. government millions of dollars in rent to keep holdings in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska. read more

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Shell gives up on all but one Chukchi Sea lease

May 10th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2016-05-10 at 08.42.36Shell gives up on all but one Chukchi Sea lease

Yereth Rosen: Alaska Dispatch News: May 9, 2016

Royal Dutch Shell has decided to give up all but one of its federal offshore leases in the Chukchi Sea, bringing what appears to be an anticlimactic end to its multibillion-dollar effort to turn those icy Arctic waters off northwestern Alaska into a new oil-producing frontier.

“After extensive consideration and evaluation, we have made the decision to relinquish all but one of our federal offshore leases in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. This action is consistent with our earlier decision not to explore offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future,” company spokesman Curtis Smith said in an email on Monday. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell worries about climate change, but decides to continue making it worse

Mar 15th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2016-02-17 at 08.47.47By Katie Herzog on 14 Mar 2016

Shell Oil released its 2015 annual review last week, and the most surprising thing in it may be how concerned the company is with climate change. It’s hardly what you’d expect from Big Oil, and yet the words “climate change” occur 15 times in the 228 page report. While this may seem minor, it’s a hell of a lot more than climate change is discussed by most other oil monsters (Looking at you, Exxon). Shell, unlike many oil giants, actively acknowledges and even embraces climate action — at least, on paper. “It was encouraging to see governments reach a global climate agreement in Paris in December,” the report reads. “The agreement should now encourage countries to develop policies that balance environmental concerns with enabling a decent quality of life for more people.” read more

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Should Shell have looked west for its Arctic Ocean fortune?

Mar 13th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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That’s the hypothesis of David Houseknecht, one of the region’s foremost geologists and project chief for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Energy Resources Program for Alaska.

Other experts say the idea helps explain why public well results and rock chips have shown a large amount of gas in the reservoir but limited evidence of oil. Unlike Alaska politicians who jumped at the chance to blame federal regulations for Shell’s decision to abandon the Arctic, the scientists say the answer is simply a matter of geology — the oil just wasn’t there in big volumes.   read more

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The world’s most hated company: can NGOs help turn Shell’s reputation around?

Feb 6th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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While Shell’s plummeting profits are partially due to the falling price of oil, the years of negative publicity surrounding the company have likely also had an effect…

Alison Moodie: Saturday 6 February 2016 14.00 GMT

In mid-2015, Shell realized its project in the Chukchi Sea, off the coast of Alaska, was in trouble. After nearly a decade of expensive drilling, it still hadn’t yielded results and increasingly strict regulations were making it harder to operate. Plus, there was the small issue of public opinion, which, inspired by an aggressive campaign by Greenpeace, was turning against the company.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Will 2016 Be Royal Dutch Shell’s Worst Year Yet?

Jan 27th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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There is a lot of pessimism regarding shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) (NYSE:RDS-B). Despite strong cash flow results behind its less-than-stellar earnings results, shares of Shell have been sinking faster than its Arctic drilling rigs (too soon?).

Over the past 18 months, the company has lost more than half of its market capitalization while its largest peers, ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX), have seen more modest declines.

Unlike ExxonMobil and Chevron, which are continuing with business as usual with their development plans and slowing capital budgets, Shell is also in the middle of a transformative acquisition that could shape the company’s future for decades. With that added uncertainty of what Shell will look like post BG Group merger, and oil prices in the $30 per barrel range, some investors may be wondering if 2016 will be a rough one to be a shareholder. read more

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Shell lease requests offshore Alaska face scrutiny

Jan 14th, 2016
by John Donovan.
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Shell is challenging a decision by the federal government to deny its request to suspend leases in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska that would expire in 2017 and 2020. Federal leases expire at the end of their terms unless operators are engaged in drilling or related activity.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan. 14 (UPI) — A group of environmental activists filed a challenge to leases held by Royal Dutch Shell in Alaskan waters, citing the need to act on behalf of the climate.

Earthjustice, working on behalf of eight conservation groups, including the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, filed to intervene in decisions before the Department of Interior regarding Shell’s leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

“The Arctic Ocean is ground zero for climate change, and drilling in such a sensitive region threatens the whales, seals and countless other wildlife that call it home,” Earthjustice attorney Erik Grafe said in a statement. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell Terminates Rig Contract with Transocean

Dec 28th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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By Mushhood Khan on Dec 28, 2015 at 9:07 am EST

Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) has terminated its rig contract with Transocean for the harsh environment semi-submersible rig, Polar Pioneer. The contract was initially scheduled to expire in 2017, but was rescinded today i.e. December 28. Transocean said in a press release that it would be compensated “for the early termination through a lump-sum payment.”

The contract for the Polar Pioneer rig was awarded to Transocean in 2013 at a $620,000 day-rate. The Polar Pioneer rig was a part of Shell’s controversial drilling project in the Arctic Ocean. It was used in the Burger J prospect in the Chukchi Sea, 70 miles from the village of Wainwright. read more

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Shell working to protect assets offshore Alaska

Dec 17th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 08.42.45Dutch supermajor notes the challenge does not equate to a resumption of drilling activity.

By Daniel J. Graeber: Dec. 17, 2015

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) — While Royal Dutch Shell said it aims to protect its drilling rights in the Arctic waters offshore Alaska, it said drilling was off the table for the foreseeable future.

Royal Dutch Shell in October said it was considering its options when the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement denied its request to suspend leases in Arctic Alaskan waters that expire between 2017 and 2020. Leases expire at the end of their terms unless operators are engaged in drilling or related activity. read more

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Shell Bid Aims to Preserve U.S. Drilling Rights in Arctic Ocean

Dec 15th, 2015
by John Donovan.
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Screen Shot 2015-12-15 at 16.53.51Jennifer A Dlouhy: December 15, 2015: Bloomberg.com

  • Oil company files appeal challenging rejection by Interior

  • Clock now ticking on oil and gas leases expiring in 2020

Screen Shot 2015-11-03 at 08.42.45Royal Dutch Shell Plc is fighting to preserve U.S. drilling rights in Arctic waters three months after halting exploration indefinitely there because it failed to find meaningful oil or natural gas deposits.

Europe’s largest oil company filed a notice of appeal Tuesday challenging the U.S. Interior Department’s Oct. 29 rejection of the company’s requests to stop the clock on Arctic oil and gas leases that otherwise expire between 2017 and 2020. The dispute is expected to undergo an administrative review, possibly delaying a final judgment until after a new U.S. president takes office. read more

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