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In brief

*The number of accidents per man-hour worked has risen again for the first time in a long time last year.

*A series of incidents, criminal investigations and warnings from regulators are damaging Shell’s safety image.

*Shell CEO Van Beurden himself is also not satisfied and wants to do more to guarantee safety.

Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, Financieele Dagblad.

Beeld: Getty Images/ bewerking: FD Studio

Shells gas leaks, fires and accidents

Bert van Dijk: 13 March 2019

Last year the number of accidents per hour worked increased at the oil company. Supervisors warn that Shell needs to do more about safety.

In December 2017, during regular maintenance work, a lifeboat suddenly came loose on the Shell platform Brent Alpha in the North Sea. The lifeboat fell into the sea and was recovered a day later. Although no one is injured, it was not the first time. In 2008, it was discovered that two lifeboats on another nearby Shell platform, Brent Bravo, were technically in such poor condition that they had to be replaced. And in 2007 a rescue boat on another Shell platform broke loose and collapsed into the sea. read more

Ben van Beurden Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg

The boss of oil giant Shell has admitted he is “still unhappy” with the firm’s safety performance, despite pledging a redoubling of efforts in 2018.

Written by David McPhee – 07/01/2019 1:03 pm

Chief executive, Ben van Beurden, raised a call to redouble the firm’s focus on safety last year after a number of serious incidents in 2017.

An overturned tanker spill and explosion in Pakistan caused the tragic death of 200 people, while there were also fatalities in Canada and Nigeria.

Mr van Beurden added he is also focusing on restoring trust in the oil firm.

He said: “I’m still unhappy with our safety performance.

“In 2018, sadly two people died on our watch – one at a refinery in Germany and another at an onshore well in the USA.

“More broadly, the safety performance at our facilities has improved, but our performance on personal safety is worse than the previous year.

“We have to step up our efforts to keep people safe.”

Mr van Beurden also said that he can see that trust has noticed an “eroding” or trust in the UK, the Netherlands and the USA.

Shell came under heavy criticism from climate groups in 2018, with high profile opposition coming from investor group Follow This.

The firm also faced widespread shareholder opposition over chief executive pay last year.

Mr van Beurden said: “I feel an attack on Shell as an attack on my personal integrity. It’s something I feel deeply, probably at least once a day. If I can reduce that to once every other day, I’ll know that we are making progress.

“Of our three strategic ambitions – to become a world-class investment case, to thrive through the transition to lower-carbon energy and to have a strong societal licence to operate – I’m confident that we can achieve the first two.

“But I can’t see a sure path towards strengthening our societal licence to operate just yet.

“We need to change people’s perceptions through better performance and behaviours. And we need to have a better dialogue with civil society in some parts of the world.”

SOURCE

Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle: Monday, Jan 7, 2019

The Gulf Coast has become home of one the largest producers of a common plastic: Shell fired up its fourth alpha olefins unit at its chemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana, the company said Monday.

The multi-billion dollar expansion adds 425,000 metric tons per a year in capacity to the chemical manufacturing site, bringing its total alpha olefin production up at Geismar to more than 1.3 million metric tons per a year. That makes it the largest alpha olefins producing site in the world, the company said. read more

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Shell celebrates 40 years of deep-water innovation: CISION: 15 Oct 2018

Gazprom and Shell discuss next steps in Baltic LNG project: LNG INDUSTRY: 15 Oct 2018

Shell reaches milestone on plastics plant in Northeast, potentially a Gulf competitor: Houston Chronicle: 14 Oct 2018

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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In Nigeria, Shell’s onshore roots still run deep

Oil and gas output at Russia’s Pacific Sakhalin island seen down in 2019

Shell Is in Talks to Sell $1.3 Billion in Gulf Coast Assets

Exclusive – Shell wins LNG deal to supply Chinese firm’s power plant in Panama

Shell and Exxon’s secret 1980s climate change warnings read more

By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor: 12 July 2018

Shell Subsidiary to Pay $3.8 Million for 2016 Gulf Spill

A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $3.8 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit over a 2016 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $3.8 million to the U.S. government to settle a lawsuit over a 2016 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The May 11, 2016, spill of nearly 2,000 barrels (317974.6 liters) occurred about 97 miles (156 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast.

The New Orleans Advocate, citing court documents, reports that an investigation pointed to a leak in a piping system that is used to transport oil from a production well on the sea floor.

The settlement isn’t final. It must first be published in the Federal Register and have a 30-day public comment period before it can get final approval from a federal judge. read more

Jun. 30, 2018 12:54 AM ET

Summary

• Renewal of assets with great focus on the future.
• Natural gas as energy source will continue to grow.
• Share buybacks and generous dividends.

Background

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) has been actively focusing on what kind of business it wants to be involved in. Part of this activity is to change the composition of its assets. It has been selling plants and oil licenses, and invested where it wants to position the company.

Disposals have also been done to reduce the total debt level. Much of the debt came from the $35 billion acquisition of BG Group back in March of 2016.

Disposals

Early this year, Shell communicated that its plans were to leave oil and gas operations in as many as 10 countries and instead focus more heavily on gas-rich Australia and shale opportunities in the United States. read more

Kaikias, an economically resilient, subsea development in the US Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore, Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, announces today the early start of production – around one-year ahead of schedule – at the first phase of Kaikias, an economically resilient, subsea development in the US Gulf of Mexico with estimated peak production of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). Shell has reduced costs by around 30% at this deep-water project since taking the investment decision in early 2017, lowering the forward-looking, break-even price to less than $30 per barrel of oil. FULL ARTICLE read more

Map showing the location of Shell’s Dover discovery and its proximity to Shell’s new Appomattox host in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico 

HOUSTON, May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore, Inc. (“Shell”) today announced a large, deep-water, exploration discovery in the Norphlet geologic play in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with its Dover well (100% Shell). The Dover discovery is Shell’s sixth in the Norphlet and encountered more than 800 net feet of pay (244 meters). The discovery is located approximately 13 miles from the Appomattox host and is considered an attractive potential tieback. Shell’s Appomattox host has now arrived on location in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and is expected to start production before the end of 2019. read more

Workers at a project in Malaysia. Shell has operations in more than 70 countries: FLICKR

Emily Gosden: April 2018

Royal Dutch Shell reported its best quarterly profits in five years but disappointed investors yesterday by generating less cash than expected and failing to start promised share buybacks.

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant said that resurgent oil and gas prices helped deliver a 69 per cent surge in profits to $5.7 billion in the first quarter — the highest since the first quarter of 2013.

Underlying profits of $5.3 billion were fractionally ahead of market forecasts but cashflow was below expectations and Shell’s shares fell 0.73 per cent. read more

Shell rendering of its Vito deep-water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Vito will feature a new, simplified host design and associated infrastructure.

HOUSTON, April 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, today announces the final investment decision for Vito, a deep-water development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with a forward-looking, break-even price estimated to be less than $35 per barrel. This decision sets in motion the construction and fabrication of a new, simplified host design and subsea infrastructure. read more

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS: MARCH 21, 2018

HOUSTON — In a setback to Trump administration efforts to increase offshore oil production, the industry responded with only modest interest on Wednesday in a federal auction covering a record 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. Companies bid on only 1 percent of the acreage, and the winning bids yielded a mere $125 million for the government. The results reflected broad uncertainty among oil executives that global oil prices can remain at current levels over $60 a barrel, as well as a general preference for drilling in onshore shale fields that require smaller investments and are less risky. FULL ARTICLE read more

Summary

Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden speaks at the CERAWeek conference at the Hilton Americas, Wednesday, March 7, 2018, in Houston. Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle

Jordan Blum, Houston Chronicle: Updated 12:01 pm, Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said Wednesday that climate change is the biggest issue facing the energy sector, encouraging the European oil major to invest more in cleaner-burning gas and renewable energy. Shell aims to cut its carbon footprint in half by 2050 while shifting its roughly 50-50 oil and gas balance to a portfolio that’s closer to 70 percent gas, van Beurden said at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference in Houston. Shell already is the world’s leader in liquefied natural gas. “There’s no other issue with the potential to disrupt our industry on such a deep and fundamental level,” van Beurden said of climate change and the need to help meet the Paris climate accord goals, even though the United States plans to split from the agreement under the Trump administration. FULL ARTICLE read more