Bart H. Meijer: SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

* Gas production at Groningen field to end by 2022

* To end 8 years earlier than initially planned

* Groningen production capped at 11.8 bcm in 2019/2020

* To be kept operational until 2026 at latest in case of exceptional demand (Adds detail)

By Bart H. Meij

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AMSTERDAM, Sept 10 (Reuters) – The Netherlands will halt production at Groningen, Europe’s largest onshore natural gas field, by 2022, eight years earlier than initially planned, the Dutch government said on Tuesday. read more

Reporting by Ron Bousso, additional reporting by Jennifer Hiller in Houston; Editing by Susan Fenton and Louise Heavens: Sept 6, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Major oil companies have approved $50 billion of projects since last year that will not be economically viable if governments implement the Paris Agreement on climate change, think-tank Carbon Tracker said in a report published on Friday.

The analysis found that investment plans by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), BP (BP.L) and ExxonMobil (XOM.N) among other companies will not be compatible with the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. read more

Exxon, Shell cannot revive $1.8 billion Nigerian arbitration award – U.S. judge

5 Sept 2019

By Jonathan Stempel

NEWYORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected Exxon Mobil Corp’s <XOM.N> and Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s <RDSa.L> effort to revive a $1.8 billion arbitration award against Nigeria’s state-run oil company, which stemmed from a dispute over a 1993 contract to extract oil near the African country’s coastline.

U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan cited public policy and due process considerations in deciding not to enforce the October 2011 award against Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC), which was subsequently set aside by courts in Nigeria. read more

Danish pension fund excludes top oil firms on climate concerns

SEPT 3, 2019

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish pension fund MP Pension said on Tuesday it would sell its stakes in 10 of the world’s biggest oil firms as it seeks to divest major sources of carbon emissions from its portfolio.

MP Pension said it would sell its stakes in ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, PetroChina, Rosneft, Royal Dutch Shell, Sinopec, Total, Petrobras and Equinor.

“The divestment happens because MP assesses that the companies’ long-term business models are incompatible with the climate goals set in the Paris Agreement,” it said in a statement. read more

AMSTERDAM, Aug 27 (Reuters) – The Dutch government will end production at the vast Groningen natural gas field sooner than previously announced, Dutch Economy Minister Eric Wiebes said on Tuesday.

“I expect the Groningen field to no longer be necessary very soon”, Wiebes said in an interview on Dutch public radio.

“Things are moving very fast, a lot faster than anyone would have predicted some time ago.”

Output at Europe’s largest onshore gas field, operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp, has been slashed in recent years as tremors blamed on drilling have damaged buildings and sparked unrest in the region. read more

By Irina Slav – Aug 22, 2019, 11:00 AM CDT

Shell has staked a claim in the Australian power sector by making a US$419-million (A$617 million) takeover offer for the country’s second-largest energy retailer to businesses, ERM Power.

“This acquisition aligns with Shell’s global ambition to expand our integrated power business and builds on Shell Energy Australia’s existing gas marketing and trading capability,” the head of Shell Australia, Zoe Yujnovich said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.

If the deal goes through, it would give Shell ownership of four gas-fired power plants and a market share of almost 25 percent on the Australian commercial and industrial electricity retail market. As the company is already among the top gas producers in Australia, the deal would certainly complement its current operations. read more

Sonali Paul: 22 Aug 2019

* ​Shell offers A$2.465 a share for ERM, 43% premium

* ​ERM board agrees deal, founder with 27% stake backs bid

* ​Shell targets Australia in global clean energy push

* ERM shares jump 42% (Adds Shell spending on power, sonnen background)

By Sonali Paul

MELBOURNE, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell has made its first foray into Australia’s highly competitive power sector with a A$617 million ($419 million) takeover offer for ERM Power Ltd, the country’s no.2 energy retailer to businesses and industry. read more

SINGAPORE (REUTERS) – Royal Dutch Shell is considering installing solar panels to power its Bukom refining site in Singapore, a company spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday (Aug 6).

“We are exploring the potential of installing solar panels at our Pulau Bukom Manufacturing Site,” she said, without providing further details.

The Bukom manufacturing site includes a 500,000 barrels-per-day refinery, which is Shell’s largest wholly-owned refinery.

The oil and gas company has been exploring solar installations for its other sites in Singapore as part of its plans to improve energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. read more

Appeal on Shell Pollution in Nigeria case to be heard by UK Supreme Court

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP: 2 August 2019

In a sign of the extent to which class actions have become part of the mainstream of English litigation, the Supreme Court has recently given permission to appeal in three cases brought by or on behalf of large groups of claimants in three completely different contexts.

The third appeal is in litigation brought by large groups of individuals against UK-based Royal Dutch Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary relating to alleged pollution from pipelines and associated infrastructure in Nigeria. In February 2018, the Court of Appeal held, by a majority, that the English court did not have jurisdiction to hear the claims, as the claimants could not demonstrate a properly arguable case that Royal Dutch Shell owed a duty of care to those affected – see Okpabi and others v Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 191, considered in this post on our Litigation Notes blog. read more

Shell’s profits slump to 30-month low on weak oil, gas prices

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s second quarter profits slumped to a 30-month low due to lower oil and natural gas prices and refining margins, falling far short of forecasts.

The Anglo-Dutch company reported on Thursday a rise in cash generation – a sign of improving operations – but the drop in profit dents a steady recovery since the end of 2016.

Shell, the world’s second-largest publicly-traded energy company, joins rivals Total and Norway’s Equinor in reporting weak results for the quarter. read more

The Times: Supreme Court to hear Nigerian villagers’ battle with Shell

July 25, 2019

Residents of the Bille and Ogale areas of the Niger Delta are to take their battle with Shell over alleged pollution to the UK’s top court. Lawyers representing the two Nigerian communities confirmed yesterday that they had been granted leave to take the challenge to the Supreme Court. They argue the case should be heard in the English court because the oil company is headquartered in London and is legally responsible for the environmental failures of its subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. Daniel Leader, a partner at Leigh Day, the London law firm that represents the Nigerians, said: “The era of corporate impunity is drawing to a close. FULL ARTICLE (Paywall) read more

The decision to hear the appeal re-opens the possibility for British multinationals to be held liable at home for their subsidiaries’ actions abroad.

JULY 24, 2019

ABUJA, July 24 (Reuters) – The Supreme Court in London will hear an appeal by Nigerian farmers and fishermen to pursue claims in England against oil major Shell over oil spills in the Niger Delta, lawyers for the two affected communities said on Wednesday.

The decision to hear the appeal re-opens the possibility for British multinationals to be held liable at home for their subsidiaries’ actions abroad. It comes after a setback in February last year when a London court ruled that the claim could not be pursued in England. read more

In the corruption case, Eni and Shell are accused of buying Nigeria’s OPL 245 offshore oilfield in the knowledge that the vast majority of the $1.3 billion purchase price would be siphoned off to agents and middlemen in corrupt payments.

Emilio Parodi: JULY 4, 2019

MILAN, July 4 (Reuters) – Italian prosecutors are widening an investigation into suspected obstruction of justice by officials of oil group Eni, sources said, threatening to open a new legal front for the company as it defends itself in a major corruption trial.

The inquiry is preliminary and has been overshadowed by the ongoing trial, which centres on the 2011 purchase of a Nigerian oilfield by Eni and oil major Shell, but it is gathering momentum, said three sources familiar with the probe. read more

An Italian prosecutor told a local court on Wednesday the court was made aware that managers at Italy’s oil major Eni tried to tamper with a witness in an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in an oil block award in Nigeria.

“We have become aware that Eni, through its managers, would have tried to influence and would have approached the defendant (Vincenzo) Armanna to convince him to withdraw some of his statements,” Reuters quoted prosecutor Fabio De Pasquale as telling the court today. read more

In May 2018, the main trial in Milan started, in which Eni Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi, former Shell exploration chief Malcolm Brinded and 11 other defendants, as well as the two companies, were accused by Italian prosecutors of paying bribes to secure the licence. All the accused denied wrongdoing.

FACTBOX-Legal cases sparked by Nigerian oilfield licence award

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) – One of the oil industry’s biggest corruption trials revolves around a Nigerian offshore licence known as OPL 245, which Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni bought in 2011.

Italian prosecutors accuse former and current executives of the two energy giants of paying bribes to secure the licence.

Shell and Eni, and their executives, have denied the accusations and any wrongdoing.

Below are a list of legal actions that have arisen from the award of OPL 245:

* Some key issues related to the OPL 245 case came to light in two separate civil suits  filed shortly after the 2011 deal by a Nigerian, Emeka Obi, and a former Russian diplomat, Ednan Agaev, who said they were owed millions of dollars by a Nigerian company, Malabu Oil and Gas, for arranging meetings with Shell and Eni in relation to the licence, court filings show. Obi was awarded at least $100 million for his work as a “dealmaker”, the court records show. Agaev reached an out-of-court settlement. read more

Royal Dutch Shell confirmed that there was no impact to operations at the Prelude floating LNG facility as a result of the earthquake. The company had earlier declined to comment.

JULY 15, 2019 

MELBOURNE, July 15 (Reuters) – Oil and gas operations onshore and offshore Western Australia were unaffected by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake that struck off the northern coast of the state on Sunday, the country’s offshore petroleum safety regulator and companies said.

“NOPSEMA has not received any reports of impacts to offshore oil and gas facilities following the earthquake,” a spokesman for the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) said. read more