..reacting to the allegation of intimidation, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager of Shell, denied use of force to compel the company’s host communities to sign the JIV report.
27 August 2018
The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta and oil major, Shell on Monday denied allegations of coercing the leadership of Aghoro 1 community in Bayelsa to sign a disputed report on oil spillage.FULL ARTICLE
Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11 billion) in cost.
By Elena Mazneva and Anna Shiryaevskaya | Bloomberg
August 27 at 12:00 AM
A planned new natural-gas pipeline into Europe from Russia is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, worries leaders in Eastern Europe, has stirred the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump and has put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the hot seat. FULL ARTICLEread more
Mr Trump last year signed a law giving him the right to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. Royal Dutch Shell, BASF’s Wintershall unit, Uniper, OMV and Engie have agreed to provide Russia’s Gazprom with financing for the €9.5bn pipeline and could be at risk of penalties.
Elena Mazneva, Margaret TalevandNaureen S Malik: 18 July 2018
US President Donald Trump eased his tone about a Russian natural gas pipeline to Germany after a one-on-one meeting with President Vladimir Putin, shifting from the harsh criticism of Germany he’d levied in Europe last week. “We are going to be selling LNG and will have to be competing with the pipeline and I think we’ll compete successfully, although there is a little advantage locationally” because Russia is closer to buyers in Europe, Mr Trump told reporters at a news conference with Mr Putin after their meeting in Helsinki on Monday.FULL ARTICLEread more
The U.S. warns Western companies invested in Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to Germany that they are at risk of sanctions.
The $11B project, led by Gazprom (OTCPK:OGZPY), would double capacity of the existing Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany, bypassing traditional routes through Ukraine.
A German business group says it is not up to the U.S. to dictate how German companies do business, that the country’s energy partnership with Russia had spanned decades with mutual benefits, and that gas imports from Russia are a competitively priced and reliable energy source.
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.
Dr. Barinem Kiobel was one of the “Ogoni Nine” executed by a despotic Nigerian regime after a rigged trial. His widow, Esther Kiobel, holds Shell responsible for his murder on trumped-up charges and has been seeking justice for the last 22 years.
By John Donovan
Since 1996, various Kiobel family members have been pursuing litigation in the USA relating to Shell’s conduct in Nigeria. This fact is confirmed from the screenshot of listed court cases filed in the USA and blocked by Shell. Only one related application is still open and it is on the way to being closed as a result of a decision by a U.S. Appeals Court yesterday. The remaining case is described by the three Appeal Court judges as “extraordinary, and possibly unique.”read more
A planned natural-gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, is the latest point of friction between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. At a summit meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, Trump said the pipeline risks making Germany “a captive of Russia.” He’s not the first American leader to criticize the pipeline project, and the U.S. isn’t alone in its disapproval.FULL ARTICLE
By Jeremy Hodges, Lauren Leatherby and Kartikay Mehrotra May 24, 2018
In the global fight against climate change, one tool is proving increasingly popular: litigation. From California to the Philippines, activists, governments and concerned citizens are suing the biggest polluters and national governments over the effects of climate change at a break-neck pace. “The courts are our last, best hope at this moment of irreversible harm to our planet and life on it,” said Julia Olson, an attorney for Our Children’s Trust, a legal challenge center in the U.S. that is involved in climate change litigation across 13 countries, including the U.S., Pakistan and Uganda. Cases by San Francisco and Oakland face a motion to dismiss the lawsuit today in a California federal court, where Chevron Corp., BP Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhilips and Royal Dutch Shell Plc will argue that remedies and penalties for climate change are a matter for lawmakers, not a single judge.read more
Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran, which has pushed up the price of oil, thus benefiting Shell and other oil companies, threatens to put billions of dollars worth of trade in jeopardy.
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
Regular visitors to this website will be aware of my frequent references to the sinister London based spy firm Hakluyt & Co and its close connection with its ethically challenged client of more than two decades, Royal Dutch Shell.
Our own dealings with Hakluyt in relation to Shell undercover activity against us was so extraordinary that nothing about Hakluyt and its connections and activities would surprise us any more.read more
FILE PHOTO – Wael Sawan, Executive Vice President for Shell’s deepwater division, poses for a picture before an interview for Reuters during an oil conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A potential tariff on U.S. steel imports could affect Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) plans to go ahead with a major oil field development in the Gulf of Mexico, a company executive said on Wednesday. Wael Sawan, who heads Shell’s deepwater operations, said President Donald Trump’s intention to slap up to 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminium could materially impact the value of the Vito development off the Louisiana coast, one of a handful of projects Shell is planning to greenlight this year. FULL ARTICLEread more
Profits at Royal Dutch Shell more than doubled in the fourth quarter of last year, despite the group taking a $2bn charge related to President Donald Trump’s US tax reforms. The recovery in oil prices coupled with steep cost cuts after a three-year downturn are fuelling a resurgence in cash flow and profitability at Shell and the world’s other largest oil and gas groups. FULL FT ARTICLE
LONDON (Reuters) – It may prove to be Royal Dutch Shell’s hardest sell. The Anglo-Dutch group is struggling to find a buyer for its gas field off the Gaza Strip, even among energy companies long used to dealing with projects fraught with political and security risks. FULL ARTICLE
…these are also the same waters unsuccessfully explored by Royal Dutch Shell in 2015, after which the company halted Arctic operations for the foreseeable future.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke released the Trump Administration’s long-awaited offshore drilling proposal last week. Once enacted, the plan will replace the existing leasing schedule, which was designed by the previous administration and had been set to run through 2022. New administrations are free to scrap the hold-over plans of prior administrations, and anyone who followed the 2016 presidential campaign knew that President Trump had a dramatically different view of offshore energy development than his predecessor. FULL ARTICLEread more
For Big Oil, the U.S. tax overhaul is turning out to be a mixed bag, especially for companies that drill overseas. Two weeks after President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans passed a sweeping rewrite of the tax code that cuts corporate rates, drillers are finding other changes that are less of a boon. BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc offered a preview recently, saying they may write off as much as $4 billion in tax assets as a result.
Caps on debt-interest payments and cuts to deductions from previous years’ losses may hurt companies building capital-intensive projects with borrowed money. And other provisions, including time limits on expensing exploration, could hem in drillers with long-term projects, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. That may also give an edge to domestic shale production. FULL ARTICLEread more
HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed opening up nearly all of America’s offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, but the industry says it is mainly interested in one part of it, now cordoned off by the Pentagon: the eastern Gulf of Mexico. “The eastern Gulf of Mexico could be very attractive to industry because of the proximity to existing infrastructure in the central and western Gulf of Mexico,” the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents the offshore oil and gas industry, said in a statement. FULL ARTICLEread more
The description of the fairleads causing the mooring ropes to chafe to such an extent is almost so ridiculous to render ex-seafarer speechless. The fitting of nylon liners inside the fairleads is something new for me but the idea behind it would may be to reduce the friction of the mooring lines when running through the fairlead thus reduce any temperature potential in a zone 2 area. Fixing one potential risk appears to have created another one of greater risk potential. I am not sure how the nylon liners in the fairleads would have such sharp edges to chafe the mooring lines on their own and perhaps there may have been something else to which the journalist has missed out. The reported leakage of LNG in the manifold area from a flange should not have happened but the liquid transfer areas are all bunded in low-temperature materials and provided with a constant supply of running water during cargo handling activities. Power outages during start-up operations and ongoing are nothing new and others can be expected, hopefully not very often as the restart of such a complicated process system takes a long time and much effort. The problem with firewater deluge over the LNG storage tanks reported is of considerable concern but the journalist does not mention if this was during the period when systems were being tested prior to the introduction of LNG or after. If before then this section of the report is just journalistic license and of no consequence whatsoever. The other issues as reported can be considered minor during the preparation phase before the introduction of hydrocarbons in any form but definitely of concern if these incidents were after the introduction of hydrocarbons. I wish the people who are experiencing the startup of such a complicated and complex plant every success. Take the time that is needed to be successful by being safe, good luck.
John Donovan: Irish Backstop Update
According to a Sunday Times article two days ago, "Ireland continues to dodge difficult questions about how it will protect the single market and also maintain an open border under a no-deal."
IRELAND has been warned it faces the difficult choice between implementing a hard border or being forced out of the EU’s single market in an unprecedented move to protect the bloc from a no-deal Brexit.
Dublin will be forced to make the tough choice if Britain quits the EU without a deal, according to a number of senior EU figures.
The European Commission sparked fury from Ireland after declaring Dublin would have to implement a hard border in the event of a no-deal Brexit. After significant protests from, which involved a heated debate between Leo Varadkar and Jean-Claude Juncker, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, suggested “operational solutions” would have to be found in order to prevent a hardening of the border.
But now high-ranking MEPs have hardened their position, insisting the single market must not be compromised even to maintain peace on the island of Ireland.
Elmar Brok, a German MEP with close ties to Angela Merkel, insisted that if Ireland failed to police its own borders the EU would have to take its own protectionist action.
“We would have to set up a customs border with Ireland,” the German said.
He also warned that if Brussels didn’t make the demands then "we will soon have American chlorine chicken in the EU".
BvB Anti-Brexit: BvB has been quoted in many articles following the outcome of the Brexit vote as expressing negativity about Brexit and the effect it could have on RDS. This can be confirmed by running a Google search on "Ben van Beurden Brexit". The articles today in the Scottish press and Upstreamonline are but the latest publishing his views on the subject. Despite all of the negativity, my own view is that a satisfactory Brexit deal without the backstop will be done. If not, the EU and Ireland will be an international laughing stock when they create a hard border soon after Brexit, the outcome they were supposedly trying to avoid. That development would provide a better example of the consequences of deranged Irish logic than any infantile Paddy joke I can recall. The stupidity of certain Irish politicians is poisoning previously improved relations between the UK and Ireland, which is a great pity.
Brexit: All of the ingredients will be there for a return to violence in the event of the UK being forced into a no deal by Ireland. The current impasse is down to Ireland which may well come to regret its hostility towards the UK. How many of the 17 million Brits who voted for Brexit will wish to holiday in Ireland now?
C16 Inmate: I find it fascinating how so many brainwashed Shell slaves are quick to criticise Mr Donovan for the work he is doing. It is surely his decision and prerogative to do whatever he wants with his own time? Just like you and I choose to work for a slimy, corrupt, evil, fascist, environment destroying company. The only difference is that I actually admit to being a whore that’s sold my soul for money!
As for your defence of Brinded, I find it laughable. That man was an abnoxious individual who was acting more like an SS officer than a senior executive.
Keep up the good work John. Warm wishes and my heartfelt thanks to for keeping us all informed of Shell’s true nature.
REPLY BY JOHN
While I am grateful for the kind words, I do not know of any grounds to support your comment that Shell is a fascist company. With regard to Mr Brinded, despite my many negative comments about him over the years, comparing him with an SS officer is wrong.
PURE POISON: Mr Donovan if it is your twisted objective to poison the Internet for the Shell brand you, unfortunately, seem to be succeeding. Searching for any subject connected with Shell inevitably seems to generate negative news reports, negative information and anti-Shell images, all apparently originated by you. Your allegations about Shell’s alleged Nazi history seem to be spreading across the Internet like a virus. Your Shell-branded counterfeit websites seem to be multiplying almost by the day. I am losing count of them all. This situation is bad for all stakeholders including employees, shareholders and pensioners. I also object to the personal attacks on Shell people, for example on Malcolm Brinded who has never been found guilty of any wrongdoing. Don’t you have any scruples? I am also concerned for your mental health and your bank balance. Is a third party also hostile to Shell funding your pervasive and malicious online activities? What’s the betting that my comments will not appear on your supposedly uncensored Shell Blog? I am also mystified why Shell has not taken action to protect its reputation?
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Shell has been complaining about my online activities since March 1995 and on occasion has taken legal action, including a three-week high court trial in 1999. There is no possible defamation if what is stated is true.
The most recent proceedings were in 2005 via the World Intellectual Property Organisation. Shell unsuccessfully attempted to seize some of our Shell related domain names including royaldutchshellplc.com and royaldutchshellgroup.com.
All of the litigation cost Shell tons of wasted money in legal fees and attracted negative publicity.
Shell lost every case.
We have sued Shell twice for defamation. Shell settled both cases.
A covert attempt by Shell to close down hosting for our websites failed.
More recently, RDS Company Secretary/Main board member Michel Brandjes threatened legal action over my book about Shell's Nazi history. His emailed threats turned out to be nothing but bluster. Shell will never take legal action on the topic as it would draw attention to the most toxic subject relating to any existing major multinational in the world.
I will continue to publish true facts about Shell and where appropriate corrupt senior management involved in scandals such as the Shell SMART rigged contract tender, the Brent Bravo deaths, the reserves fraud and OPL 245. Mr Brinded has involvement in all four scandals.
BRINDED: ON THE SUBJECT OF BRINDED:
He has such a strange brain, could outthink most people in Shell but rather than concentrate on doing good things for Shell and developing people he became the ultimate micromanager and surrounded himself with sycophants. Until the 2nd half of the eighties he was OK and the driving force of the highly successful SLIM technology. I believe this was what launched his big career. Thereafter he became moody and unpleasant for people who dared to question him or make good suggestions to him. Probably quite insecure and status conscious. Never understood this. He just took himself too seriously.
FAO Insider: Donovan has already said suggested he won't name the individual. He is more determined to go after Brinded with whom he has a personal issue. As Veritas suggests there is something deeper there which makes this whole issue inconsistent in his refusing to name the guilty individual.
Veritas: John Donovan, you are such a hypocrite. You claim you don’t want the convicted pedophile’s family to suffer, but you keep dragging Brinded’s family through mud. You should be consistent in your actions. The only thing consistent about you is how you continue to live off of some overblown ‘offense’ your father experienced decades ago. You claim to be an open wound to Shell. The only open wound I see is the one in your damaged psyche that you continue to nurse.
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Happy Christmas to you too.
P.S. It was actually my experience, with my late father kindly giving me his support. BTW, I don't think Mr Brinded will be pleased that you keep bringing his name up.
Double standards: So its OK to go after Brinded who hasn't been convicted and to name and shame him for alleged financial wrongdoings and there are pictures of him and his family on the web but you draw the line at naming a CONVICTED individual. Mmmmm
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
I have been warning Shell about Malcolm Brindeds' lack of scruples for nearly two decades. He gave his full backing to the Shell exec who rigged the SMART loyalty scheme contract tender. He has been a key player in a number of other Shell scandals. The related SMART litigation that Shell settled. The Brent Bravo deaths. The reserves securities fraud. His dealings with the despot Muammar Gaddafi on behalf of Shell. And currently, his starring role in the OPL 245 corruption scandal. Mr Brinded is free to sue me for defamation if he disputes what I am saying about him. I have a huge amount of evidence to support what I say. I know a lot about him. I have been coincidentally reading documents about his misdeeds for several days that I will publish in the New Year. More revelations about just how ruthless he is.
So why redacted?: "The name of the relevant individual in a Shell leadership role has been verified from court records and social media)"
REPLY BY JOHN DONOVAN
Because having seen the Shell leader in question in a photograph with his family, I have reservations about naming him some 14 years after the offences took place. Why should his family suffer?
This is not a Shell website. Click on Disclaimer link at top of page for more information.
OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL: LATEST NEWS
Malabu Scam :Eni, Shell aware of corrupt payments, Judge rules – Vanguard 18 Dec 2018 14:33 Google An Italian judge, Giusy Barbara, found out on Monday that Eni and Royal Dutch Shell were fully aware that their 2011 purchase of Nigeria’s Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL 245) would result in corrupt payments to Nigerian politicians and officials.
Italy’s Eni …
Eni, Shell Aware OPL 245 Procurment Would Lead to Graft 18 Dec 2018 14:00 Biz Watch Nigeria Eni, Shell Aware OPL 245 Procurment Would Lead to Graft
An Italian judge, Giusy Barbara, found out on Monday that Eni and Royal Dutch Shell were fully aware that their 2011 purchase of Nigeria’s Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL 245) would result in corrupt …
OPL 245: Eni, Shell Knew of Corrupt Payments, Rules Italian Judge – THISDAYLIVE 18 Dec 2018 12:33 Nigeria Sun Peter Uzoho with agency reports
An Italian judge, Giusy Barbara, found yesterday that Eni and Royal Dutch Shell were fully aware that their 2011 purchase of Nigeria’s Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL 245) would result in corrupt payments to Nigerian politicians …
OPL 245: Eni, Shell Knew of Corrupt Payments, Rules Italian Judge – THISDAY Newspapers 18 Dec 2018 08:37 Google Peter Uzoho with agency reports
An Italian judge, Giusy Barbara, found yesterday that Eni and Royal Dutch Shell were fully aware that their 2011 purchase of Nigeria’s Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL 245) would result in corrupt payments to Nigerian politicians …
OPL 245: Eni, Shell Knew of Corrupt Payments, Rules Italian Judge 18 Dec 2018 05:17 This Day Peter Uzoho with agency reports
An Italian judge, Giusy Barbara, found yesterday that Eni and Royal Dutch Shell were fully aware that their 2011 purchase of Nigeria’s Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL 245) would result in corrupt payments to Nigerian politicians …
FG files $1.1bn suit against Shell, Eni in London 14 Dec 2018 04:09 New Telegraph The Federal Gove r nment yesterday commencement of prosecution of the Royal Dutch Shell and Eni in London Court over shady oil deals that cost the country over $6 billion. In a legal fireworks expected to unravel the mysterious Malabu oil deals, lawyers …
John Donovan’s ebooks
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.
..reacting to the allegation of intimidation, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager of Shell, denied use of force to compel the company’s host communities to sign the JIV report.
Profits at Royal Dutch Shell more than doubled in the fourth quarter of last year, despite the group taking a $2bn charge related to President Donald Trump’s US tax reforms. The recovery in oil prices coupled with steep cost cuts after a three-year downturn are fuelling a resurgence in cash flow and profitability at Shell and the world’s other largest oil and gas groups. 
…these are also the same waters unsuccessfully explored by Royal Dutch Shell in 2015, after which the company halted Arctic operations for the foreseeable future.
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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.