News and information on Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Greenpeace members have blocked BP’s headquarters with solar panels and oil barrels to mark Bernard Looney’s first day as chief executive.
About 100 environmental activists took 500 solar panels to the central London building at 3am on Wednesday as Looney prepared to take up his new role. Some protesters sat underneath the solar panels after they were prevented from installing them on the pavements and roads near the office.
For anyone who believes the world faces an urgent climate crisis, it has been quite a year. The world’s leading scientists tell us we have just twelve years to change human behaviour to avert catastrophe. Teenage climate strikers inspire millions of people, young and old, to protest against inaction, and devastating bushfires sweep across much of Australia. This is the most important challenge of our times.
Our Guardian editorial colleagues have led the world in covering the crisis with expertise and urgency. In May 2019 our editor-in-chief Katharine Viner announced that the Guardian would shift to using more urgent language to describe the climate emergency – and other news organisations have begun to follow suit.
The Guardian will no longer accept advertising from oil and gas companies, becoming the first major global news organisation to institute an outright ban on taking money from companies that extract fossil fuels.
The move, which follows efforts to reduce the company’s carbon footprint and increase reporting on the climate emergency, was announced on Wednesday and will be implemented with immediate effect. The ban will apply to any business primarily involved in extracting fossil fuels, including many of the world’s largest polluters.
Nigeria is home to a similar iteration of the resource curse. Although oil and gas monies currently account for roughly 65 percent of Nigeria’s gross government revenue, the World Bank has reported that 80 percent of these earnings are held by 1 percent of the nation’s population. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the story of Nigeria’s economic and political misdoings features Royal Dutch Shell, the British-Dutch oil and gas company, rather prominently.
Reporter: 19 Jan 2020
A GROUNDBREAKING legal case being taken against oil company Shell could have dramatic consequences for the Dutch company’s Scottish North Sea operations, it has been claimed by environmental organisations.
The legal action, being led by Friends of the Earth (FOE) Netherlands on behalf of more than 30,000 people from 70 countries, aims to compel the company to “cease its destruction of the climate”.
Plaintiffs in the case argue that Shell is violating its duty of care and threatening human rights by knowingly undermining the world’s chances to stay below 1.5C, the level agreed to be critical by the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
An oil and gas company has been granted a court order to prohibit environmental campaigners from carrying out protests on four offshore installations in the North Sea.
Shell UK was granted an interdict to prevent Greenpeace activists from boarding or attempting to board the Brent Alpha, Brent Bravo, Brent Charlie and Brent Delta rigs 85 miles north-east of Shetland, after a judge in the Court of Session ruled that the defenders had “no right or title to occupy the installations”.
January 6, 2020 – SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, co-leading a coalition of 13 states, filed an amicus brief supporting the State of Rhode Island in its lawsuit State of Rhode Island v. Shell Oil Products Company LLC et al. In the lawsuit, the state seeks to hold oil companies accountable for their actions contributing to climate change and the resulting harms from sea-level rise, changes to the hydrologic cycle, and increased air and ocean temperatures.
Saro-Wiwa and eight other campaigners from the Ogoni ethnic group were hanged on 10 November 1995.
They had been found guilty by a secret military tribunal of the murder of four Ogoni chiefs by a mob.
The nine denied the charge and said they had been framed.
Saro-Wiwa led mass protests against oil pollution in Nigeria’s Ogoniland.
The protests were seen as a major threat to Nigeria’s military ruler at the time, Gen Sani Abacha, and Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell.
The executions led to Nigeria suspension from the Commonwealth.
Extracts:
The latest publicly available factsheets show that 65 oil and gas companies were already present on FTSE4Good’s emerging and developed markets indices. They included British and French oil “supermajors” Royal Dutch Shell and Total – the sixth and 17th biggest contributers to carbon dioxide pollution in history.
“Looking at the number of oil companies listed in this index, this looks more like FTSE4Crude than FTSE4Good,” said Rosie Rogers, the head of Greenpeace UK’s climate campaign. “It takes some brass neck to argue that there’s anything ‘ethical’ about investing in the fossil fuel companies driving the climate emergency.”
Bloomberg: By Olivia Konotey-Ahulu: 4 December 2019, 13:12 GMT
Protesters banned from 500-meter safety zone around platformsGreenpeace activists boarded North Sea platforms in OctoberRoyal Dutch Shell Plc won a court ruling preventing environmental protesters from boarding unmanned oil installations in the North Sea.
Greenpeace activists in October boarded two of Shell’s offshore platforms in the Brent field to protest decommissioning plans they claimed will leave “hazardous oily sludge” in the sea. A judge in Edinburgh, Scotland, said that the protesters had no right to enter the installations, and are now banned from going within a 500-meter (1,640-feet) safety zone around the platforms.
Energy giant Shell has won a court order preventing environmentalists from boarding unmanned North Sea installations.
Lawyers acting for the company went to the Court of Session in Edinburgh seeking an interim interdict against Greenpeace.
It comes after protesters boarded platforms in the Brent field off Shetland in October.
Lady Carmichael ruled the activists had no right to enter the installations.
Greenpeace had claimed an order would breach its right to protest, and described the ruling as a “setback” – but said a possible appeal would be considered.
Printed below is an English translation of an article published 25 November 2019 by the Dutch FT, Financieele Dagblad. Greenpeace demands that Shell remove these parts. According to Greenpeace, there are still more than 11,000 tonnes of oil in the structures, which will eventually come into the sea if they are left behind.
A question that keeps coming up for me is why did Shell present such an open goal to Greenpeace, the press and others?
Bearing in mind Shell’s previous experience and reputation hit with Brent Spar, the decision to recommend leaving the concrete cells and their contents is, on the face of it, very perplexing.
Greenpeace’s actions and ensuing headlines were completely predictable.
Shell leave ticking time bomb
Shell ignore international regulations
Shell should clean up its mess
Come on Shell what were you thinking about, why did you make that decision?
THEY are the giants of the deep which spent more than four decades pumping billions of pounds worth of oil from the seabed.
But now decommissioned rigs in the North Sea are at the centre of an environmental storm with an oil giant under intense pressure to rethink plans to leave some of the platforms in the sea.
Several hundred oil drilling platforms in the waters o
ff Scotland are due to be decommissioned over the next three decades as they approach the end of their operational lifetime.
By : 10/16/19 AT 10:34 AM
Germany said Wednesday it had called a special meeting of international partners this week to pressure Royal Dutch Shell to remove old rigs containing crude oil in the North Sea.
An environment ministry spokesman said Berlin had convened signatory countries of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) on Friday in London.
“Germany finds it absolutely unacceptable that these crude oil quantities remain in these structures,” said the spokesman, Stephan Gabriel Haufe, citing a “danger for the environment”.
Greenpeace activists took to the stage at the Oil and Money conference last nightGreenpeace protestors entered the annual Oil and Money conference dinner brandishing a banner describing the two firms as “climate criminals”.
They took to the stage as the Executive of the Year award was due to pass from BP CEO Bob Dudley to Shell’s Ben van Beurden.
In the lead up to the conference, protests were also staged outside the Intercontinental London Park Lane where it was held, describing the event as a “climate crime scene”.
It comes after the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre ended their partnerships with BP and Shell respectively last week.
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.
: Memories of inaccuracies and half truths at BG Group. Aramco welcomes Mark Weinberger to its Board of Directors Yet, Mr Gould still has Chairman of BG Group and Board Member of Saudi Aramco shown on his LinkedIn profile. linkedin.com/in/andrew-gould-8a54b239
: Ex Shell Nigeria finance director, ex BG Group CFO and current Centrica CFO’s rise up the ‘escalator to stardom’ continues as he assumes role of interim chief executive. Worth keeping this company pursuits on the radar and its affiliation with other companies. One of who’s chief executive travelled the same escalator. https://theenergyst.com/ian-conn-exits-centrica-woe-corona/
: Shell Brasil Announces Agreement with Ecopetrol Source Press Release Company Royal Dutch Shell, Ecopetrol Tags Asset Deals, Deals, Upstream Activities Story Focus Deals Date October 21, 2019 Negotiation involves sale of 30% interest in the the Gato do Mato project Shell Brasil Petroleo Ltda. (“Shell Brasil”) announces it has entered into an agreement with Ecopetrol for the sale of 30% interest in the the Gato do Mato project, a pre-salt gas-condensate discovery that covers two contiguous blocks: BM-S-54 and Sul de Gato do Mato. Shell Brasil retains a 50% interest in Gato do Mato and continues as operator of both blocks, with consortium partners Ecopetrol (30%) and Total (20%). “Shell Brasil has an exciting deep water portfolio with operated and non-operated positions that we are exploring, appraising, and developing. This transaction allows Shell Brasil to further optimize the portfolio. We look forward to progressing activities in the Gato do Mato blocks with our partners,” said Shell Brasil Country Chair André Araujo. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals. Let's hope that the regulators don't discover what Shell's Brazil Unitization Team have been up to. The same group of 'Shakespeare's Monkeys', previously employed by BG Group, have been working on the Brazil Asset for over ten years led by the same Front End Development and Integrated Reservoir Modelling Manager (who had been laughingly promoted to VP Developments to boost their status for the takeover by Shell). They have woven a considerable web of lies and deceit, and by playing games and politics with Petrobras have failed to do any serious technical work on this Asset. After all as long as there is significant production, who gives a hoot about where it comes from! Seriously though, it is about time the whole group were disbanded from their cozy 'ring fenced' workspace and introduced to the outside world. Shareholders might wish to ask why these particular employees receive 'special' treatment and are isolated from the dreadful flexible workspace other employees have to endure.
: Shell Energy customer score
Shell Utility came 29th out of 35 energy companies rated by 7,355 members of the public in the annual Which? energy supplier satisfaction survey - the biggest of its kind.
: Customers may not be aware of the discrete business segments in the Shell company or that Shell Energy is a distinct entity. From the numerous responses, they just see a company incapable of dealing with problems, which leads to excessive frustration. Maybe the solution is a single point contact for specific issues. As Sarah Franklin (ex BG Group chief counsel) noted in a previous publication that emotional intelligence was pivotal to success, maybe she could advise on how to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict, with Shell customers. Or is she too busy with complex safety and environmental issues on Prelude?
: A date worth forgetting? How incompetence is rewarded. Monday 15th February 2016 RECOMMENDED CASH AND SHARE OFFER FOR BG GROUP PLC BY ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC Feb 15, 2016 Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”) is pleased to announce that the Scheme has become effective and that the entire issued ordinary share capital of BG Group plc (“BG”) is now owned by Shell. This follows the Court’s sanction of the Scheme at a hearing held on February 11, 2016 and the delivery of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies today, February 15, 2016.
: Are Rob Jager’s idiotic statements (August’19 blog #52) coming back to trouble him? Another article in the Western Australian (23.05.19), “Shell Veteran, states the project is not driven by milestones or schedules, but by safety”, where Jager wants to methodically take his team through identifying and managing the risks towards Shell’s goal of zero incidents. However, this would appear to be in conflict with the CFO Jessica Uhl expectations of first cargo by the end of June of that year. The article also notes he was a director of Air New Zealand and chaired its safety committee. The ex BG Group chief executive who also salivated his commitment to safety during his tenure, is now non-executive with Rolls Royce and chairman of the ethics and safety committee. Issues with poor durability of components in Rolls Royce Trent engines for Boeing 787 are now apparent and more recently the regulator has recently issued a Safety Order, for what would appear to be a separate issue. Senior managers and executives may understand the commercial aspects of their business, but when found lacking in the technical aspects, they should be called to account, before they pass through the revolving door of opportunity and move on. Previous warning signs are conveniently forgotten, is this acceptable?
: Prelude to disaster? https://www.oedigital.com/news/475328-prelude-flng-shut-down
: Rumour has it is that the problems are due to malfunctioning valves that are being replaced hence the intrusive entry into plant, a very unusual and unwelcome occurrence it seems causing the operators to make short cuts, begs the question If shortcuts are being taken elsewhere? if this type of behaviour is prevalent and not discouraged in one area it can be contagious, no idea what valves and where in the process but likely to be a factor in the under performance of the plant reference design outputs.
: Having worked on LNG facilities and having seen the devastation of one going wrong, concerns posted on this blog about the risks posed with Prelude FLNG, were perfectly justified. But ‘as one would expect’, Shell would have considered and accounted for these risks! How else could they justify “Goal Zero ambition is to achieve no harm and no leaks across all of our operations”? However, ‘as some would know’, when costs are escalating , talk is cheap. Recent concerns raised by the Australian regulator that Shell has not ensured “best practice” for its isolation procedures on Prelude FLNG, must raise warning signs. But how can these concerns be warranted? In 2014 an article alluded to the role of Shell lawyers in collaboration with all aspects of the project, including safety regulation. If you believe the media, the acquisition of BG Group lawyers should enhance this type of collaboration. One such article centred on the responsibilities of Sarah Franklin (BG chief counsel), which included health and safety, who has inherited a new team that focuses on complex safety and environmental issues. There can be no more complex safety and environmental asset in the Shell portfolio than Prelude FLNG, yet there would appear to be a deficiency in a fundamental work control system, their isolation procedures. The article also noted her other skill sets, such as setting up BG’s first whistleblowing programme. Other’s will attest that this programme was unquestionably fallacious. As noted in a previous blog if you are a Shell employee with concerns, especially those with a safety connotation and you wish to engage with her………. beware.
: Shell plans to divest assets worth $10Bn by 2021 and is reportedly looking to exit the Abadi Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Indonesia, which could raise between $1Bn and $1.6Bn
: And the trough gets deeper..... Sound Energy, the Moroccan focused upstream gas company, announces, further to the Company's announcement of 20 January 2020, that the Company has today issued 5,805,555 new ordinary shares in the Company (the "New Ordinary Shares") to Brian Mitchener, the Company's Exploration Director, at an effective issue price of 1.86 pence per New Ordinary Share in connection with the termination of his employment contract. As previously announced on 20 January 2020, Mr. Mitchener will step down from the Board with effect from 31 March 2020.
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