CNN BUSINESS

Brits face a massive increase in energy bills. BP and Shell could be on the hook to pay

By Charles Riley, CNN Business

Updated 1221 GMT (2021 HKT) January 10, 2022

London (CNN Business)The UK government is coming under mounting pressure to increase taxes on oil and gas companies, including BP and Shell. The aim: to help British households cope with skyrocketing energy bills.

The main opposition Labour Party this weekend called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to impose a windfall tax on companies pumping oil and gas from the North Sea, saying that the money raised could be used to cut £200 ($272) from soaring household bills. read more

Will Shell have to abandon the Prelude experiment?

From John Donovan: 8 Jan 2022

Dear Mr Andrew Smith

I have copied the email to Shell Legal Director Mr Donny Ching and Shell CEO Mr Ben van Beurden because the subject is a matter of great importance. Namely the lives and well-being of Shell employees and contractors working on the Prelude experiment. read more

EXPERT COMMENT ON THE ARTICLE…

Report: Fatal Lifeboat Accident Caused by Damaged Release Cable

…MADE BY “AN  OLD SHELL E&P ENGINEERING SEA DOG”

RELATED CHILLING STORIES ALSO INVOLVING SHELL

FROM 2019: Shell confirms two fatalities in a routine lifeboat drill

FROM 2017: Shell North Sea Lifeboats Dangerous Farce No. 3 

FROM 2008: Lifeboats trouble at Brent field

23 Dec 2021

Following the Alexander Kielland disaster in 1981 and the subsequent enquiry of the many recommendations made lifeboats launching arrangements were to be changed to on load release.  This recommendation was endorsed by the Norwegian Government despite objections regarding this system requiring specialist attention due to complexity and sequence of use. read more

The Maritime Executive

Report: Fatal Lifeboat Accident Caused by Damaged Release Cable

RELATED STORIES

FROM 2019: Shell confirms two fatalities in routine lifeboat drill

FROM 2017: Shell North Sea Lifeboats Dangerous Farce No. 3 

FROM 2008: Lifeboats trouble at Brent field

20 December 2021

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued its final report into the fatal lifeboat accident that occurred aboard Shell’s Auger platform in 2019. The inquiry concluded that a degraded release cable – which had previously been identified by service technicians – was the primary root cause of the casualty. read more

CNN Business

Big Oil wants to keep drilling in the North Sea. The backlash is growing

By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business: Updated 0732 GMT (1532 HKT) August 10, 2021

London (CNN Business)The UK government has been warned to stop a massive North Sea oil project or see its hopes of becoming a climate leader dashed as the country prepares to host a crucial environmental summit later this year.

Future of Brent Oil Platform’s Giant Legs Remains Uncertain

Laura Hurst: 09 April 2021

(Bloomberg) — The U.K. government is still undecided on whether it will allow Royal Dutch Shell Plc to leave in the sea the giant concrete legs that once supported the iconic Brent oil platforms.

Shell has asked for permission to leave the columns — each almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower and together weighing around 1 million tons — jutting from the water because it says removing them would pose a greater environmental risk. A government decision on the matter, which was last due in September, has dragged. read more

Royal Dutch Shell to cut more than 300 North Sea jobs

By Kevin Keane: BBC Scotland energy correspondent: 12 Jan 2021

The oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is to cut 330 jobs from its operations in the North Sea.

The company said most of the posts are based at its office in Aberdeen and will be lost over the next two years.

In September, it was announced that up to 9,000 jobs would go worldwide as the company responded to the slump in demand for oil.

Shell insists it remains committed to the North Sea and will continue to invest in its operations. read more

North Sea Neighbors on Opposite Ends of Shell’s Tax Bill

By Laura Hurst: 17 November 2020, 11:21 GMT: Updated on 17 November 2020, 13:14 GMT

• Energy giant gets money back from Britain for a second year
• Norway, however, taps company for more than $1 billion

Royal Dutch Shell Plc pumps thousands of barrels of oil and gas from the North Sea every day. In Norway the energy major paid over a billion dollars in tax last year, but on the U.K. side, it got more than a hundred million dollars back.

The discrepancy reflects contrasting government policies and spending by the oil and gas giant. In Norway, Shell had an effective tax rate of 78%. In Britain, it paid no corporation tax because of losses tied to investments in new North Sea fields. It also earned rebates from dismantling old platforms in the region. read more

Outlook darkens for North Sea oil and gas industry

TWO oil and gas majors provided votes of confidence in the North Sea last week but these may only provide cold comfort as the outlook for the sector gets ever bleaker.

On Tuesday BP underlined its belief in the exploration potential of the North Sea as it announced that it had returned to profit in the third quarter.

The giant included its successful bid for new North Sea exploration licences in a list of highlights for the three months to 30 September. read more

Shell outlines tighter upstream, refining footprint in post-COVID transition plans

• Author Robert Perkins 
• Editor Debiprasad Nayak 
• Commodity Coal,  Natural Gas,  Oil

London — Shell plans to focus its future upstream operations on nine core areas and transform its refining portfolio into six integrated sites which are part of moves to grow its low-carbon businesses and support its cash flows, the major said Oct. 29.

Reporting stronger than expected third-quarter earnings, Shell said it wants to pursue more “value over volume” by simplifying its upstream assets to nine significant core positions; Brazil, Brunei, Gulf of Mexico, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Permian and UK North Sea. It said combined the areas will generate more than 80% of its upstream cash flow from operations. read more

Shell addresses safety concerns from trade union

Royal Dutch Shell has dismissed “major safety concerns” allegations brought up by the UK’s largest trade union, Unite, reassuring safety of its operations remain paramount, Kallanish Energy reports.

Unite said on Wednesday Shell was reducing “vital” maintenance contractor jobs at its Mossmorran plant in Fife and St Fergus gas terminal “by more than 80%.” It claimed the compulsory redundancies at the Scottish gas plants raised “critical” health and safety concerns. The trade union also warned that fire and safety responses to any major incidents at the plants “could be severely impact.” read more

Shell questioned over Brent Bravo ‘attic oil’ removal

By Allister Thomas: 15/10/2020

Work is being carried out to remove “attic oil” from the Brent Bravo installation – which has been the subject of widespread environmental concerns – after Shell estimated none was there.

Shell said in documents published in 2017 and 2018 it believed Bravo had “zero” volumes of the free-flowing oil in its legs, however Enpro Subsea has now been carrying out work to remove it. read more

Allseas Litigation: Top lawyer Mike Stubbs accused of relaying offer of £1m ‘bribe’ to police, say court transcripts

By John Donovan

Shell contractor, Allseas, is a key player in a continuing story of mystery and intrigue surrounding criminal court proceedings.

Top lawyer Mike Stubbs acted for Allseas at the time when, according to court transcripts, he allegedly relayed a £1m bribe offer to UK police detectives.

Victims of £73 m fraud

In 2011, Allseas invested £73 million with investors led by a conman claiming to have links to the Vatican and Spanish nobility. More information can be found in articles such as the June 2018 FT story: “The ship tycoon, the con men and a €100m scam”. read more

Shell Brent legs: Decom decision ‘postponed’ for giant structures

A decision on whether Shell will be allowed to keep the giant legs of the Brent field in the North Sea forever has been “postponed”.

Allister Thomas: 4 Sept 2020

The Ospar Commission, the intergovernmental body to protect Europe’s marine environment, confirmed the UK Government has still not made a decision on the controversial plans, 11 months on since the last formal meeting on them.

The legs of the Shell Brent Bravo, Charlie and Delta, made of steel and concrete, each weigh around 300,000 tonnes and are taller than the Eiffel Tower. read more

North Sea – WEBWIRE – Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Today Greenpeace activists from Germany have launched a protest in the North Sea to call out Shell’s plans to abandon an estimated 11,000 tonnes of oil in the sea.[1] The Greenpeace ship Esperanza approached the 500m exclusion zone of Shell’s platforms in the Brent oil field, off the Shetland Islands, with protestors on board waving banners calling on Shell to clean up its mess. Today’s protest also highlights how Shell is failing to take responsibility for its harmful impact on the environment. read more

Virus crisis threatens to set back oil platform decommissioning

By Benoît PELEGRIN: July 12, 2020: LONDON

Oil companies are being forced to cut spending due to a fall in global oil prices, threatening funds earmarked to dismantle dated off-shore rigs, despite environmental risks.

A drastic drop in revenue caused by the coronavirus outbreak has seen majors such as Total, Royal Dutch Shell and BP having to cut or defer expenditure by billions of dollars.

Decommissioning platforms is not “one of their top priorities”, according to Sonya Boodoo, an analyst at Rystad Energy. read more