Judge calls for more JP Morgan disclosure in OPL 245 case

JP Morgan must provide more documents to Nigeria, as the two sides duke it out over payments in connection to the OPL 245 scandal.

Justice Calver handed down a judgement this morning, following a hearing that took place on May 5.

Nigeria welcomed the ruling. A representative said JP Morgan had been required “to disclose documents from 5 further senior executives and compliance officers at the bank who were involved in signing off on US$875 million of fraudulent payments in connection with the OPL 245 scandal and in US compliance investigations carried out shortly before the bank decided to pay out anyway”.

The bank should give a “clear and unambiguous account of exactly how the decisions to make these huge payments were made when it was on notice that to pay out risked its customer, Nigeria, being defrauded,” the representative continued.

“Justice will be sought for the people of Nigeria, who will be pleased the trial will begin early next year.”

Calver’s ruling set out a number of searches JP Morgan must carry out. Among those named to comply with the order are Pamela Johnson, Lester Pataki and John Gibbons, high-ranking executives at the bank. read more

Shell announces deep-water discovery in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Shell Offshore Inc. 

May 11, 2021, 08:00 ET

HOUSTON, May 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Shell Offshore Inc. (“Shell”), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, today announced a significant discovery at the Leopard prospect in the deep-water U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The Leopard well encountered more than 600 feet (183 meters) net oil pay at multiple levels. Evaluation is ongoing to further define development options. read more

Advisory firm PIRC slams Shell on climate strategy before AGM

Ron Bousso: May 11, 2021

Shareholder advisory PIRC recommended investors vote against Shell’s non-binding resolution on its energy transition strategy on Tuesday, setting up a showdown at its annual general meeting next week.

The Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC), a major proxy advisory, said Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) strategy to cut emissions “does not seem to have a clear plan for the competitive aspects of the energy transition”. read more

Big Oil and its green ambitions could be about to get a serious reality check

Sam Meredith: PUBLISHED TUE, MAY 11 20211:29 AM EDT

KEY POINTS

• Oil and gas majors on both sides of the Atlantic are preparing to hold their annual shareholder meetings in the coming weeks.

• At present, not a single oil and gas company is aligned with Paris-consistent emission reduction targets or investment levels.

• In a first for the industry, Shell will put its own net-zero transition plan to its shareholders on May 18.

LONDON — The month of May promises to be a ground-breaking one for Big Oil.

Oil and gas majors on both sides of the Atlantic are preparing to hold their annual shareholder meetings in the coming weeks. It comes at a time when the world’s largest corporate emitters are under immense pressure to set short, medium and long-term emissions targets that are consistent with the Paris Agreement.

At present, not a single oil and gas company is aligned with Paris-consistent emission reduction targets or investment levels more than five years after the landmark climate accord was ratified by nearly 200 countries. The agreement is widely recognized as critically important to avoid an irreversible climate crisis. read more

Half of Shell Energy Mix to Be Clean Next Decade

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s head expects clean energy to make up half of the company’s energy mix “somewhere in the next decade.”

“If we do not make that type of process by the middle of next decade, we have a problem not just as a company but as a society,” Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in an interview with AXIOS on HBO.

Like its European peers, the Anglo-Dutch major has set itself an “ambition” to become a net-zero emissions energy company by the middle of this century. The feat involves producing less oil, more gas and renewables, as well as using technologies still in their infancy like hydrogen and carbon sequestration. Not everyone is convinced, with the energy giant set to clash with some shareholders on the matter at its annual general meeting later this month. read more

Royal Dutch Shell Consortium To Receive $2.4B For Carbon Capture Project – Report

[email protected] (Ben Mahaney): Mon, May 10, 2021, 1:39 PM

According to Dutch broadcaster NOS, the Dutch government will grant Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and its group about $2.4 billion in subsidies for a climate change project.

In January, Shell, Exxon (XOM), Air Liquide, and Air Products sought the government’s support for their project to reduce the Netherlands’ carbon footprint. The project encompasses capturing and storing carbon dioxide from industrial operations in the Rotterdam port area instead of letting it go into the atmosphere. The government has granted their request. read more

Big Oil Is In Desperate Need Of New Discoveries

By Alex Kimani – May 10, 2021, 2:00 PM CDT

The year 2020 was a watershed moment for the fossil fuel sector. Faced with a global pandemic, severe demand shocks and a shift towards renewable energy, experts warned that nearly $900 billion worth of reserves–or about one-third of the value of big oil and gas companies–were at risk of becoming worthless.

Even Big Oil mostly appeared resigned to its fate, with Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) CEO Ben van Beurden declaring that we had already hit peak oil demand while BP Plc. (NYSE:BP)—a company that doubled down on its aggressive drilling right after the historic 2015 UN Climate Change Agreement--finally gave in saying “..concerns about carbon emissions and climate change mean that it is increasingly unlikely that the world’s reserves of oil will ever be exhausted.” BP went on to announce one of the largest asset writedowns of any oil major after slashing up to $17.5 billion off the value of its assets and conceded that it “expects the pandemic to hasten the shift away from fossil fuels.” read more

Will Supermajors Finally Be Held Accountable For Oil Spills?

By Global Risk Insights – May 08, 2021, 12:00 PM CDT

A British Supreme Court ruling has brought to a head a 13-year-old battle to hold Royal Dutch Shell accountable for massive oil spills in the Niger Delta in 2008 and 2009. This creates a precedent for taking multinational corporations to trial in the home countries of their parent companies. This may mark the beginning of a more regulated global environment, in which subsidiary companies responsible for human rights abuses happening abroad could be held more accountable. Whether this will be an effective solution remains to be seen.  read more

Energy giants’ lobbying fuels the rise of hydrogen

Shell and BP want the controversial gas in families’ boilers. They’re pushing hard. By John Collingridge

Sunday May 02 2021, 12.01am, The Sunday Times

EXTRACTS

Few parts of the UK have attracted as much government attention in recent months as northeast England. Although Conservative mayor Ben Houchen is favourite to win Thursday’s Tees Valley mayoral election, ministers have left nothing to chance.

The 34-year-old has hosted visits from Boris Johnson, chancellor Rishi Sunak and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. Nearby Hartlepool, where the Tories’ Jill Mortimer is the bookies’ favourite to grab the seat from Labour in this week’s by-election, has received a similar love-bombing.

Houchen’s campaign has had a distinctly green tinge. He has campaigned on a ticket of clean industrial rebirth in an area ravaged by the closures of steel and chemicals works.

Hydrogen has been at its heart — an element that in just a few years has propelled into the mainstream.

Huge vested interests lie behind the rise of hydrogen: oil giants such as Shell, BP and Norway’s Equinor have staked their futures on natural gas as a less-polluting alternative to oil. read more

JPMorgan Memo Warned $875 Million Nigeria Payment Was Graft Risk

By Jonathan Browning: 7 May 2021, 08:00 BST Updated on 7 May 2021, 08:29 BST

European and Nigerian courts have been raking over the purchase by Eni SpA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc of the oil license in Africa’s largest crude producer a decade ago. While the energy giants were recently acquitted of corruption charges in Milan in a decision prosecutors could appeal, Nigeria’s government is continuing to seek compensation from JPMorgan. read more

Royal Dutch Shell: One Year Later, Shareholders Are $50 Billion Poorer Despite Solid Results

Summary

The Methodist Church sold its entire stake in Shell over climate concerns, report says

Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a banner with the words Shell Out outside Shell Tower at Waterloo, London. Dave Rushen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Sophie Kiderlin: Apr. 30, 2021, 11:27 AM

The Methodist Church has sold off its entire investment in energy company Shell, which was worth over £20 million ($27 million), as it is concerned about Shell’s clean energy strategy, the Financial Times reported on Friday. read more

Shell buybacks ‘sooner rather than later’

Shell raises dividend for second time in six months after first-quarter earnings beat forecasts

Sam Meredith: PUBLISHED THU, APR 29 20212:09 AM EDT

• The Anglo-Dutch company reported adjusted earnings of $3.2 billion for the three months through to the end of March. Analysts had expected $3.1 billion, according to Refinitiv.
• Shell also raised its dividend by around 4%, its second increase in six months.
• It comes as energy majors seek to reassure investors that they have gained a more stable footing in recent months.

LONDON — Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported slightly better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, amid stronger commodity prices and growing expectations of a fuel demand recovery.

Shell also raised its dividend by around 4%, its second increase in six months, as the oil major seeks to reassure investors it has gained a more stable footing. It comes after Shell slashed its payout for the first time since World War II in April last year. read more

Shell raises its dividend as profits surge

Reuters Ron Bousso Shadia Nasralla: April 29, 2021

Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) profits leapt to $3.23 billion in the first three months of the year and the energy company raised its dividend as planned but warned on Thursday that the outlook remained uncertain due to the pandemic.

Shell’s adjusted earnings came in ahead of an average analyst forecast of $3.125 billion and were also above earnings of $2.9 billion last year, boosted by assets sales as well as higher oil and liquefied natural gas prices. read more

Shell climate plan should be opposed at AGM -funds group

April 28, 2021 1:09 PM BST

Royal Dutch Shell’s climate change strategy does not go far enough and investors should advise against it at an upcoming meeting, a UK pension funds group said on Wednesday.

Shell has asked investors to vote on its energy transition strategy, although the vote is advisory only. read more

Its plans call for reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 supported by buyers of its fossil fuels investing in carbon offsets from nature-based or carbon capture projects. read more