Posts under ‘Daily Express’

Links to a selection of current Shell related articles kindly supplied by a regular contributor

Montepeque of Platts Caught in Battle Over Oil Assessments: Bloomberg: The oil-market investigation became public in May when European … Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), three of Europe’s largest oil companies, …

Shell will keep oil shale R&D, sell its other Colorado assets: Denver Business Journal (blog)-Aug 23, 2013; Royal Dutch Shell’s U.S. subsidiary will keep its oil shale research project going in Colorado, but the company’s other assets in the … read more

Royal Dutch Shell is likely to face questions over the future of its operations in China after sources claimed an £8.3bn project in the country had been quietly shelved. The cancellation of the project in the eastern city of Taizhou will raise doubts about Shell’s bold push into China and its partnership with CNPC. Shell has assiduously courted the state-owned giant, only to see CNPC swept up in a political purge which has seen at least five current or former executives investigated by the Communist party.

The news raises questions about Shell’s position in China Photo: GETTY

By Malcolm Moore, in Beijing: 8:30PM BST 10 Sep 2013

The tie-up with China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the country’s largest energy producer, and Qatar Petroleum to build a refinery and petrochemical plant is believed to have been suspended after losing political support.

The cancellation of the project in the eastern city of Taizhou will raise doubts about Shell’s bold push into China and its partnership with CNPC.

Shell has assiduously courted the state-owned giant, only to see CNPC swept up in a political purge which has seen at least five current or former executives investigated by the Communist party. read more

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL has shut down parts of a refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, after a fire broke out following a £6.4billion expansion scheme.

Shell closed units at the Motiva refinery, which is run by a joint venture of the oil giant and Saudi Refining, after the second blaze in a week is said to have started near the biggest of the plant’s three crude oil units.

The first attempt to start the unit, at the end of a five year upgrade of the refinery, was hampered by a chemical leak in June 2012.

The unit has been running at reduced rates since it began production early this year.

The company may shut the crude unit in the autumn of 2014 to fix the problems. read more

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL sprang another surprise on the City yesterday by naming its head of refining Ben van Beurden as its new chief executive to succeed Peter Voser next January.

Dutchman Van Beurden, 55, who has been with the Anglo-Dutch oil giant for 30 years but only appointed to the board in January as boss of its downstream operations, had not been touted as a likely contender to replace Voser, whose decision to stand down after less than five years in the top job had stunned investors.

Analysts had focused on chief financial officer Simon Henry and other divisional heads including Marvin Odum and Andy Brown as potential successors, although Shell also reviewed outside candidates. read more

 From our Shell News Archive Sunday 31 October, 2004

The fallout from the Shell reserves fraud continues…

The Independent On Sunday (UK): Business View: Shell’s real location problem is finding more black stuff: “The misreporting of reserves scandal showed all the worst Shell traits – secrecy, haughtiness, inertia.”: “So what’s the hurry? Was it because Shell had to admit that it had uncovered another 900 million barrels of doubtful crude in its reserves and was likely to uncover 600 million more?”

Sunday Express (UK): Shell boardroom changes backfire on reserves news: “ONE OF the world’s most influential financial firms has given the thumbs down to an announcement from Shell it is to end its 97-year-old dual board structure.”: “…financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said it had adjusted Shell’s investment rating downwards to “creditwatch negative”, a status which implies there may be more bad news to come from the company.”

Mail on Sunday (UK):  Shell bosses in a charm offensive: “The Board, headed by Jeroen van der Veer, will see thousands of staff to explain the proposed changes and shore up the mood of the employees damaged by scandals over Shell’s inflated oil reserves.”: “Last week, Shell was forced to downgrade its estimates of proven oil reserves for the fifth time this year. Reserves are now a third lower than originally thought” read more

FROM OUR OCTOBER 2004 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Friday 29 October, 2004 – A DREADFUL DAY FOR SHAREHOLDERS IN SHELL TRANSPORT AND TRADING COMPANY PLC

The Times (UK): The Hague for head office: “ALTHOUGH it maintains otherwise, Shell is effectively going Dutch…”: “From May, the big decisions will be taken by a new board in The Hague, which has seven Dutch members and only four Britons.”: “…from 2006 it will hold AGMs only in The Hague.”

The Times (UK): Fear of new Shell reserves downgrade: “ROYAL Dutch/Shell yesterday raised fears that it may have to write down its reserves by more than 1.5 billion barrels…”: “With less than 60 per cent of its reservoir audit completed, Shell was unable yesterday to put a ceiling on the potential downgrade of its reserves…”

Daily Telegraph (UK): Dutch chiefs take helm of merged Shell: “The radical move, which needs to be approved by shareholders, is likely to be seen as a Dutch takeover of the energy giant…”: “The news was overshadowed by yet more revelations about the company’s “proven” reserves…” read more

By Geoff Ho: Sunday October 28,2012

OIL giant BP is expected to return to profit this week when it reports its third-quarter results thanks to the rising oil price, while arch-rival Royal Dutch Shell is also set to announce improved profits.

BP is expected to make a net profit of $4 billion (£2.5 billion) for the three months to September 30, which would return it to profitability after registering a $1.3 billion loss in the preceding quarter. The oil giant will unveil its third-quarter results on Tuesday.

City analysts expect Royal Dutch Shell to report a net profit of $7.3bn, an increase of 79.7 per cent on the second quarter, when it announces its third-quarter results on Thursday. read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE SEPT 2004

Daily Express (UK): SHELL’S ANNUS HORRIBILIS

Published 23 Sept 2004

Jan 9, 2004: Reserves downgraded; shares slump

Mar 7: Chairman Sir Philip Watts ousted

Apr 19: E-mails about ‘lying’ revealed

Apr 24: FSA launches probe

Jun 6: Shell forced to speed up structural reform

Jul 29: Fined £84m by US and UK watchdogs

Sep 22: New investment strategy

Mr Campbell insisted it is only a matter of time before there is another major tragedy in the North Sea. He said: “According to public domain data there were 85 gas releases and 443 dangerous occurrences last year. If you are getting 85 gas leaks that’s one and a half, or two, leaks a week. The probability of an undesirable event is very high.”

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

By John Donovan

The Sunday Express has today published an article under the headline: “Rusting rigs spark fears of oil tragedy” (above newspaper article) and “SCOTTISH OIL RIGS IN DIRE STRAITS” (online version).

The newspaper approached us for assistance and we were happy to supply extensive information, including the revealing letter we obtained from the Health & Safety Executive that is mentioned in the article.

We also put the Sunday Express journalist Paula Murray into contact with Bill Campbell, the retired HSE Group Auditor of Shell International to led the safety audit team on Shell North Sea platforms in 1999 which exposed a “Touch F*** All” maintenance culture with bodged repairs and falsified safety records. A more recent report (in 2008) by upstreamonline revealed that even the oil rig lifeboats were not seaworthy.
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Shell is often at odds with institutional investors over the generous pay packages it gives to its executives, such as boss Peter Voser, who last year took home £4.6 million in pay and bonuses.

By Tracey Boles and Geoff Ho: Sunday May 15,2011