(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> confirmed two fatalities as a result of an incident at its Auger Tension Leg Platform in the deep-water U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Sunday morning.
“One other non-life-threatening injury was sustained, and that individual is being treated at a nearby hospital,” Shell said in an emailed response on Monday.
The accident occurred around 9:00 a.m. CST during a routine and mandatory test of a lifeboat launch and retrieval capabilities at the platform, located 214 miles south of New Orleans.read more
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
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.”
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
The Trump administration has granted the oil and gas sector its first exclusions from a 25% tariff on steel imports, after agreeing with Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) that the specialty steel the companies were importing is not manufactured in the U.S.
The U.S. Commerce Department approved exclusions for 243 metric tons of steel casing and production tubing Shell said it would use when drilling wells in the Gulf of Mexico, and to CVX for 50 metric tons of corrosion resistant stainless steel tubing.
The exclusions mark a victory for the oil and gas industry, which is concerned that the tariffs could raise their costs; the Commerce Department has processed only 241 out of more than 20K steel tariff exclusion requests.
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
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 ARTICLEread 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
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
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 ARTICLEread more
singapore love: Rumor on the street is the Shell Vito project is over a year behind schedule, AND Shell plans to double down and award Whale to the same contractors in the coming weeks.
Must be some serious love going on between the Singaporeans and Shell decision makers....
Bonus Group: To uscitizen,
BRAZIL:
'PS - Shell is investing 2 billion a year into Brazil and already paying off'. Assuming $2Bn (you did not quote currency), that would just about cover Shell's share of the costs of replicants, operating expenses and of course managers' BONUSES!
$2Bn would represent approximately 10% of Shell's income in 2018.
https://reports.shell.com/annual-report/2018/consolidated-financial-statements/statement-of-cash-flows.php
FPSO unit cost: our initial case ($91bn total capex) assumed a cost of $2.5 billion for each of 13 FPSO units. However, our research shows a wide range of possibilities for this cost depending on the vessel configuration; plus the fact that Brazilian shipyards should get better at building them so the cost could reduce over time. Also the project might choose to lease rather than buy the FPSOs outright, which could improve economics for the consortium depending on the lease terms.
http://openoil.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/OO_br_Libra_narrative_1.0_161104.pdf
Bonus Group: To uscitizen,
BG GROUP ASSETS SOLD BY SHELL SUBSEQUENT TO TAKEOVER:
Petrobras and Total announced that they have finalized a decisive milestone in the realization of their Strategic Alliance, signed in March 2017, with the completion of the following transactions: Transfer from Petrobras to Total of 22.5% of the rights of the Iara area, which comprises the Sururu, Berbigão and Oeste de Atapu fields in Block BM-S-11A in the Santos Basin pre-salt, operated by Petrobras (42.5%) alongside Shell (25%) and Petrogal (10%). The consideration for the above transactions amounts to US$1.95 billion, including closing adjustments. This amount does not include US$ 400 million that can be triggered by Petrobras to carry a part of its investment share in the Iara development fields and contingent payments.
http://www.petrobras.com.br/en/news/petrobras-and-total-complete-the-transfer-of-rights-in-the-lapa-and-iara-concessions-as-part-of-their-strategic-alliance.htm
Royal Dutch Shell is nearing the sale of a large part of its North Sea oil and gas assets to private equity-backed Chrysaor for $3 billion, banking sources said, marking a milestone in its drive to reduce debt after buying BG Group.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shell-m-a-northsea/shell-set-to-sell-3-billion-north-sea-assets-to-chrysaor-idUSKBN15B14M
Including this week’s US$750 million sale of an offshore shallow water gas field in Thailand.
https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2018/1/shell-has-sold-us27-billion-assets-acquiring-bg-group-charts/
The deal covers Shell’s interests in the fields Buzzard, Beryl, Bressay, Elgin-Franklin, J-Block, the Greater Armada cluster, Everest, Lomond and Erskine, and a 10% stake in Schiehallion. Shell also announced on Tuesday that it had sold its stake in a Thai gas field for $900m to a subsidiary of the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/31/shell-sells-north-sea-oil-gas-fields-chrysaor-linda-cook
TOTAL: $5.7Bn = 21% of $27Bn
uscitizen: Bonus group, Contradict myself - lol. Poor guy - like I said do your own research - tell us what you find, you will look like the irrational uneducated poster you are. PS - Shell is investing 2 billion a year into Brazil and already paying off. Do you ever look anything up?
Bonus Group: To US Citizen. Thank you for your post of September 9th 2019 20:12. Congratulations on also being an avid reader of this blog. You are correct in my post of June 26th 2019 23:05 I did say 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.' More correctly, Shell had a ‘fire sale’ including a plethora of BG ‘dross’ assets in order to raise $30Bn to disguise the amount by which they had overpaid for BG Group. This does not detract from the fact that Shell did have a 'fire sale' in order to raise $30Bn. By my estimation Shell over paid for BG Group by about 30%. The Christmas boxes were very large, but the presents were very small. You contradict yourself when you say that you will not do my homework for me, but then tell me that the split of the $30Bn assets sold was 80:20 Shell:BG. Is that correct? If so, thank you that just goes to show how worthless those BG assets were, but then that is what you can expect from a Cappuccino and Belgian chocolate lifestyle company. Any comments about what the Brazil Asset are up to these days?
uscitizen: To Bonus Group - the large percentage of assets sold by Shell were non BG assets. I will not do your homework for you, but the split is 80/20. A great example of why you do not take what this sites protagonists post as good information. But go ahead, say I am wrong and also posting garbage, do your research and tell me the number of BG asset sales vs the 30 billion Shell raised thru asset sales.
John Donovan: MESSAGE FROM JOHN FOR THE ATTENTION OF BOGUS GROUP. I have received the information you kindly sent and have replied by encrypted email.
Bill Campbell Prelude Comment: I might write in more detail but I find it rather ironic that it was this website that was telling the world 6 or so years ago that this installation did not have risk levels as low as claimed and one of the principal risk drivers was the compact nature of a hazardous substances plant with not enough space to swing a cat in. Unless you are not aware I wrote to Shell Australia at the time giving them data from 8 existing or planned onshore LNG plants which varied from 80 to 100 hectares or on average 20 to 22 times the footprint of Prelude, could they tell me as a stakeholder with shares in the Company how they arrived at their ridiculously low number but can guess I assume that a reasonable explanatory reply was not forthcoming, as sure as eggs are eggs if this plant is currently having problems or if it has problems or major accident events in future it will be due to the force fitting a complex plant, with risk levels much above which they have published, on a postage stamp of a footprint.
God willing they will never live to regret their fraudulent overly optimistic claims, risk is based on reality not wishful thinking.
Bill
Thanks. Problem is that it's behind a paywall and despite it being a great publication for the oil industry, none of us retired folk wants to invest in a subscription.
FURTHER REPLY FROM JOHN
I have received the further Prelude information you have kindly provided and have replied by encripted email.
Bonus Group: Further to Bogus Group's post yesterday. I am absolutely appalled that a Senior Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc should spout so much nonsense concerning the Prelude installation. The statement is redolent of Malcolm Brinded and his 'Touch F*ck All' policy, which led to the deaths of Keith Moncrieff and Sean McCue on Brent Bravo on 11th September 2003. What is boring is the continuous misleading spin and blather from the top of this company and their lackadaisical approach to safety. 'Chronic Unease' is a well known expression in the Oil and Gas Industry, and that state of mind is far from boring or routine. In fact nothing is either boring or routine in Oil and Gas operations. Rob Jager moved last year to the post of VP Prelude after spending thirteen years as Country Chair and VP for Shell New Zealand/Shell Taranaki, after Shell announced the sale of its New Zealand interests in March 2018. Jager clearly previously has spent too much time being 'laid back' in the fantasy land of Lord of the Rings, marvelling at New Zealand's scenery and wondering who will be entertaining him for his next luxury seafood dinner accompanied by a glass of chilled expensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
Bogus Group: PLEASE SEE REPLY FROM JOHN WHICH FOLLOWS THE COMMENT FROM BOGUS GROUP
More on Prelude article 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.”
REPLY FROM JOHN
Hello, I would be grateful if you could send me a copy of the article via [email protected] using an anonymous email address. I would pass it on to retired Shell EP experts for their assessment.
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
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In brief
Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch Financial Times, 
Beeld: Getty Images/ bewerking: FD Studio
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.
Latest news roundup for Royal Dutch Shell Plc. News reports from the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and other news media organisations.
By: 
Shell Subsidiary to Pay $3.8 Million for 2016 Gulf Spill
HOUSTON
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 
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