Is it risky to invest in oil and gas? Or is it risky not to?
Recent developments offer evidence of both. I want to unpack those developments today to better understand the future of petroleum in our lives.
On Thursday, the members of the board of directors of Shell, the oil giant, were sued in an English court. An activist group called ClientEarth, which is also a Shell shareholder, alleged that the board members are personally liable for failing to manage climate hazards. It’s the first such liability case against a company board and, depending on how it goes, it could make serving on an oil company board far riskier.read more
Sep 16th, 2022
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The New York Times
Shell’s Chief Executive, Ben van Beurden, to Step Down
Wael Sawan, who spent most of his career on the oil and gas side of Shell before moving recently to its liquefied natural gas and renewable energy unit, will take over Europe’s largest energy company.
Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, said on Thursday that Ben van Beurden, who has served as chief executive since 2014, would step down at the end of the year. He will be succeeded by Wael Sawan, who currently heads a unit that includes the company’s lucrative liquefied natural gas business and its investments in clean energy, including wind and solar power.
Mr. van Beurden, 64, whose departure was not a surprise, has steered Shell through a turbulent time and is leaving on a high note — at least for investors in oil and gas, who are seeing record profits and payouts. Consumers, on the other hand, are fuming about paying high prices at the pump and to heat their homes as energy costs have soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.read more
Sep 15th, 2022
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
At Royal Dutch Shell, an October 2020 email sent by an employee, discussing talking points for Shell’s president for the United States, said that the company’s announcement of a pathway to “net zero” emissions — the point at which the world would no longer be pumping planet-warming gases into the atmosphere — “has nothing to do with our business plans.”
The New York Times
Oil Executives Privately Contradicted Public Statements on Climate, Files Show
The documents, subpoenaed in a House investigation of climate disinformation, show company leaders contravening industry commitments.read more
Shell reported record earnings for the second consecutive quarter on Thursday, as the energy giant continues to prosper from high oil and gas prices spurred by the war in Ukraine and other factors.
Shell, Europe’s largest energy company, said adjusted earnings were $11.5 billion for the second quarter. The figure topped Shell’s previous record of $9.1 billion in the first quarter.read more
Russia is moving to take over an important natural gas joint venture, putting the investments of Shell and two Japanese trading companies, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, at risk.
A decree issued by President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday said the project, called Sakhalin-2, which is on Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East and is a key exporter of fuel to Japan, would be taken over by a new company.read more
HOUSTON — Shell said on Tuesday that it would begin selling electricity generated from renewable sources to residents and businesses in Texas, a move that brings the European oil company’s shift to green energy to the U.S. market.
The announcement underscores a widening gulf between the strategies of European and U.S. oil companies as elected leaders and consumers demand that the energy industry do more to tackle climate change. European businesses including Shell, BP and TotalEnergies are seeking to expand into renewable energy, electric vehicle charging and other fast-growing businesses as U.S. companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron mostly keep their focus on oil and gas while investing in capturing carbon from industrial plants and biofuels.
Shell, which already has electricity businesses in nine countries, plans to double the amount of electricity it sells by 2030. The company, which is based in London, is Europe’s largest oil and gas business by revenue and has operations in more than 70 countries, including gas stations, refineries and oil and gas fields.read more
May 11th, 2022
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The New York Times
Oil Giants Sell Dirty Wells to Buyers With Looser Climate Goals, Study Finds
The transactions can help major oil and gas companies clean up their own production by transferring polluting assets to a different firm, the analysis said.
When Royal Dutch Shell sold off its stake in the Umuechem oil field in Nigeria last year, it was, on paper, a step forward for the company’s climate ambitions: Shell could clean up its holdings, raise money to invest in cleaner technologies, and move toward its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.read more
Apr 7th, 2022
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The New York Times
Shell says it expects to lose up to $5 billion for pulling out of Russia.
In an update to investors, the oil company projected a huge financial hit from its exposure to Russia.
By Marie Solis and Jason Karaian: April 7, 2022, 8:09 a.m. ET
The British oil giant Shell said on Thursday that its decision to pull out of its projects in Russia will slash its quarterly profit by $4 billion to $5 billion.
The estimate, detailed in an update to Shell shareholders, is among the largest publicly announced financial hits by any of the hundreds of companies that have curtailed their operations in Russia or withdrawn entirely since its invasion of Ukraine.read more
Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday that it had decided not to invest in a British oil development off the coast of Scotland that has become a test of the government’s environmental credentials.
The field, known as Cambo, is in deep water northwest of the Shetland Islands. It is seen as a bellwether for the future of Britain’s declining but still large North Sea oil industry.
The British government is considering whether to approve the project, which environmental groups and some politicians have said should be rejected because it would produce carbon dioxide emissions responsible for climate change.read more
HOUSTON — Royal Dutch Shell sold its oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, the biggest American oil field, to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion in cash on Monday.
The deal marks a turning point for Shell, which had put considerable effort into developing the 225,000-acre field since buying it from Chesapeake Energy nine years ago, expanding its production to about 200,000 barrels a day.read more
Sep 16th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The New York Times
House Panel Expands Inquiry Into Climate Disinformation by Oil Giants
Sept. 16, 2021Updated 10:42 a.m. ET
The House Oversight Committee has widened its probe into the oil and gas industry’s role in spreading disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming, calling on top executives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, as well as the lobby groups American Petroleum Institute and the United States Chamber of Commerce, to testify before Congress next month.
In letters sent to the industry executives Thursday morning, the committee also requested information, including internal documents and emails on climate policy going back to 2015, related to the companies’ and groups’ efforts to undermine climate policy.read more
Oil companies like Chevron, Shell and Eni have made billions in profits in the vast Niger Delta region in the last decades. But now some are pulling out — and they are leaving utter ruin in their wake, according to government monitors and environmental and human rights organizations. The delicate ecosystem of the Niger Delta, once teeming with plant and animal life, is today one of the most polluted places on the planet.read more
Jul 3rd, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
The New York Times
Lawmaker Threatens to Subpoena Exxon After Secret Video
The chairman of a powerful House subcommittee said he is seeking answers from Exxon and other oil and gas giants over their role in spreading disinformation on climate change.
The chairman of a House subcommittee is demanding that executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell, Chevron and other major oil and gas companies testify before Congress about the industry’s decades-long effort to wage disinformation campaigns around climate change.read more
The company’s clean energy investments since 2016 add up to $3.2 billion, Stanley Reed reports for The New York Times, while it has spent about $84 billion on oil and gas exploration and development, according to estimates by Bernstein, a research firm.
“You cannot claim to be in transition when you only invest” such a small percentage of capital in new businesses, said Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, a Dutch investor activist group.read more
Jun 19th, 2021
by John Donovan.
Comments are off for this post
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Shell Gets Greener, Even as Climate Advocates Say, ‘Go Faster’
Royal Dutch Shell, though still reliant on profits from fossil fuels, is investing more in renewable energy. Critics say the changes have to come quicker.
Like other oil giants, Shell is under pressure to move away from climate-damaging fossil fuels, and it is recasting itself as more of a renewable energy company, looking for investments as it sidles toward a new future.
Limejump is the type of business that catches the eye of Shell executives these days. With 80 software engineers, traders and forecasters, the company buys electricity from 675 wind farms, solar installations and other mostly renewable generators scattered across Britain, and sells it to businesses that want their energy to be green.read more
Royal Dutch Shell will respond to a recent defeat in a Dutch court by accelerating its efforts to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, the company’s leader said Wednesday.
Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Shell, said that he was “disappointed” by the ruling requiring the oil company, Europe’s largest, to move faster in slashing greenhouse gases, but added that the company was planning to do just that.
“For Shell, this ruling does not mean a change but rather an acceleration of our strategy,” Mr. van Beurden said in an article published on LinkedIn. “We will seek ways to reduce emissions even further in a way that remains purposeful and profitable,” he added.read more
Debbie: They really are useless little or no customer service. If you do get to talk to someone they haven't got a clue how to solve things. Never been happy since first signing. I never thought I would admit this but they make TalkTalk seem good. I am now fighting against the cost of 39 po7nd because I haven't returned it. Once again they are lying saying they sent out a self addressed envelope for the return of the modem. Must have got lost in the post.Also my contract ended 8th January it is now 24th and they only just let know. As a company they are devious untrustworthy and morally corrupt. They DO NOT deserve even 1 customer
Tailspin: 29th July 2020 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd (Co. Reg. No.12776446) was incorporated with one ordinary share of £1 issued to Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP (Co. Reg. No. OC430905) for a consideration of £1
23rd December 2020 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd issued 290 shares of £1 each to Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP in return for 290 shares of NSV Energy Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 06220464) representing a 100% interest in that entity. Following the transaction, Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP became the parent company of Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd. On the date of issue, the shares of NSV Energy Ltd were valued at $479.9 million resulting in the recognition of an investment of $479.9 million.
On 1st November 2021, Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd declared a dividend of $36.4 million. Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd entered into an agreement with its now subsidiary NSV Energy Ltd to pay the dividends directly to its parent's ultimate shareholders.
For the period ended 31st December 2021 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd recorded a profit of $36.4 million arising from a dividend declared by its subsidiary in November 2021.
Dividends of $36.4 million ($125,245.7 per share) were declared by Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd for the period ended 31st December 2021.
Companies House records show for Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP under 'People' the following:
Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd (Co. Reg No.12154073)
Mecuria Asset Holdings (Hong-Kong) Ltd A Private Ltd Company
Mercuria Holdings (UK) Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 123718128)
Companies House Records show that Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP is the 'Designated Member' and only 'Designated Member' for each of the above three companies. There is a 'circularity' here that does not seem correct. Where did the dividend go?
Tailwind Investments Ltd Annual Report and Financial Statements period ended 31st December 2021 indicates Page 16 7.
Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP itself a 51% subsidiary of Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 12154073) . Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd is also the ultimate parent company and ultimate controlling party which prepares consolidated financial statements.
Companies House Records show under 'Appointments' for Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd that Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP is the 'Active LLP Designated Member'.
Where did the $36.4 million dividend go?
Bogus Group: Thanks to Wrath for the clarification.
I recall a lot of competent and committed people at BG Group, I also recall a toxic culture among those aspiring to climb the leadership “greasy pole” at all costs. If Mr Gould’s disparaging comments were not aimed at the latter group, it’s no surprise the meeting ended on a low note. These are the people that set targets, but if they can’t perceive how to deliver, someone (not them) has to be held to account.
Seems like the pressure was being felt regarding Queensland Curtis LNG and the toxic ‘blame culture’ was in full-swing. I understood the cost overrun on this project was in the region of £3.3bn, which is surprising as their General Counsel at the time had written the highly regarded book ‘Project Finance’. It must have been left behind in TVP in preference for “back-end loading”.
Wrath: In response to Bogus Group's enquiry.
The reference to Contractors being given 'equal' status to Employees refers to a speech given by Andrew Gould, then Executive Chairman of BG Group, at a Townhall meeting in the BG cafeteria in the Hutton Building, Thames Valley Business Park, in Q4 2014.
At that Townhall meeting Mr Gould, during his speech to the assembled staff, made many references to 'you' (meaning BG Group Staff) failing to meet targets. (A Freudian slip, perhaps, given his ambition for a knighthood?). Eventually, a senior staff member in the audience corrected Mr Gould and said that he (the senior staff member) would feel happier if Mr Gould used the pronoun 'we' instead of 'you', at which point Mr Gould accepted the criticism and corrected himself. During that speech, Mr Gould also said that it was vital that BG Group meet their targets, especially first export of QC LNG coalbed methane to LNG, by year end. In order to achieve this he said that BG Group Contractors would have 'equal' status to BG Group Employees i.e. 'all hands to the pumps'. That meeting was recorded.
Shell makes $70bn BG offer (oedigital.com)
It was at the end of that meeting, that Sami Iskander, then Chief Operating Officer, stood up and to whoever would listen as they 'fled' the cafeteria with their ears burning made the statement that BG Group, the previous year (?) had spent £200MM assuring work which later cost the company £2Bn because it was wrong.
Bogus Group: Would like to hear more on the thread of these interesting comments.
Contractors were not always on ‘equal status’, particularly when it came to safety. In the BG Group 2010 annual report, Chapman’s statement that contractor safety would be a particular focus in 2011, seemed to infer that contractor performance was the issue, however, BG Group were ultimately responsible for those at the worksites, including contractors. In 2012, his “deep regret” of the unacceptable safety performance deterioration in 2011, would appear to indicate the “particular focus” was misconceived.
Wrath: Andrew Gould, former Executive Chairman of the failed BG Group, whose motives were questionable, would be well reminded that putting contractors on equal status as company employees in order to meet 'stretch' targets is in direct conflict with the 'Constitutions' of the various 'Bodies Corporate', despite alignment through 'bridging' documents.
in response to Wrath...: Technical safety across the board has suffered a similar mindset... "as long as it doesn't blow-up on my watch, it's <>." the new SEAM organization has made it abundantly clear, that safety has to be in "balance with business drivers of production and affordability." When it eventually goes boom, it will be blamed on TSE not the folks who are sweeping the concerns under the rug. the new emperors have no clothes!
Wrath: Subsurface Technical Staff at Shell who previously worked for BG Group would be well advised to remember that reserves should not be booked on subjective technical workflows and furthermore that both the technical workflows used in calculating reserves and their results should be reproducible by the Auditors. The BG philosophy of 'it's alright as long as the oil and/or gas is flowing out of the ground and we don't know where it is coming from' is irresponsible, short sighted and to the detriment of Shell's shareholders. This attitude should be dropped pronto!
Astudley: Internet down 3 times for a day at a time. Reported it never had any contact back or reason given. Useless company out at end of contract.
ANON: RE: Nigerian oil export terminal had theft line into sea for 9 years
Sometimes I think I have seen it all and then this comes along
Nigeria is simply doomed with all the corruption.
Take it from me, this is a major operation to fix. So the top brass must have been involved. Half or more of the population is scratching a living in miserable circumstances, there is no more rule of law and these gangsters lay a pipeline from a terminal and steal oil.
Simply beyond what I can imagine.
TERRIBLE: They cut off my 87 year old moms phone. This isn't just a phone for people of that age its and essential lifeline.
After spending an hour on hold I eventually got through to the customer service department. They said a bill hadn't been sent because of billing issues. That's why it wasn't paid.
So, I settled the bill over the phone.
The following day the service was resumed and a demand for the money paid over the phone was sent to her house.
How incompetent are these people.
I spent another hour on hold. No reply to the call at all this time.
No response to my emailed complaint.
Obviously I now have to find another provider.
But a lot of stress for my mother.
DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE.
They are the worst of the worst.
Date of experience: 10 September 2022
Listen and read proof in audio and transcript form of Shell CEO Ben van Beurden’s cover-up tactics in the OPL 245 Nigerian corruption scandal. The instruction given by him in the covertly recorded call to CFO Simon Henry was at odds with Shell’s claimed core business principles. Cover-up and obstruction, instead of transparency and integrity, says Shell critic John Donovan
JOHN DONOVAN TV DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEW
SHELL EXECUTIVES AT THE CENTER OF A SCHEME TO STEAL $1.3 BILLION FROM NIGERIA’S PEOPLE
SHELL ADMITS DEALING WITH NIGERIAN MONEY LAUNDERER – BBC NEWS
SHELL, ENI AND NIGERIAN OFFICIALS IN OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL
INVESTIGATION OF OPL 245 NIGERIAN OIL CORRUPTION SCANDAL
DUTCH EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY SHELL/EXXON
SHELL KILLS FOR OIL IN NIGERIA
ESTHER KIOBEL SUES SHELL FOR COMPLICITY IN HUSBANDS MURDER
ESTHER KIOBEL: EVIL OIL GIANT SHELL COLLUDED IN THE EXECUTION OF MY INNOCENT HUSBAND
SHELL LIED ABOUT CLEANING UP OIL IN NIGER DELTA
SHELL SPIES INFILTRATED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT
LEGO DROPS SHELL OVER GREENPEACE OIL SPILL VIDEO
SHELL ARCTIC DRILLING ACCIDENTS
SHELL KNEW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE DECADES AGO
ABANDONED BY SHELL: KEITH MACDONALD & FAMILY, VICTIMS OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION AT WORK
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL FOUNDER SIR HENRI DETERDING, NAZI FINANCIER
JOHN DONOVAN PROMOTIONAL GAMES FOR SHELL AND OTHER CLIENTS
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.
Enter your ad code in the Widget Admin to display your ads here
DISCLAIMER
This is not a Shell website. That fact should be abundantly plain from the overall content of this home page and our sister Shell focussed websites, including shellnazihistory.com. Click on the Disclaimer link at top of this page for more information. You Can Be Sure Shell does not endorse or approve of this website. There are no subscription charges nor do we solicit or accept donations. It is an entirely free to use website drawing attention to the negative side of Shell while also publishing positive news about the company. The Shell logo image with the white text used on this website, as per the above example, is in the public domain because its copyright has expired and its author is anonymous. It can be found here on WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. Our shellenergy.website republishes Shell Energy customer complaints posted on Trustpilot where there is an ample supply. Use this link for Shell’s own website.
OVER 500 EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS CITING OUR SHELL WEBSITES
See our link list of over 500 articles by the FT, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, New York Times, CNBC etc, plus UK House of Commons Select Committee Hansard records, information on U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission websiteetc. all containing references to our Shell focussed websites, or our website founders Alfred and John Donovan. Includes TV documentary features in English and German, newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, newsletters etc. Plus academic papers, Stratfor intelligence reports and UK, U.S. and Australian state/parliamentary publications, also citing our Shell websites. Click on this link to see the entire list, all in date order with a link to an index of over 100 books also containing references to our non-profit websites and/or our activities.
John Donovan, the website owner
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times
CUSTOMER COMMENTS ABOUT SHELL ENERGY RSS Feed
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.
