Posts under ‘Shell North Sea’

The Sunday Times

Shell pulling the plug on the Cambo North Sea oilfield is a problem for us, too

You can’t be sure of much when it comes to Shell these days — and Shell, it seems, can’t be sure of anything when it comes to politics. Last month, chief executive Ben van Beurden was fêted for moving the oil major’s headquarters from Holland to London as part of a simplification of its corporate structure.

On Thursday, Shell pulled out of a major oil project in a storm of recrimination, saying the economics were “not strong enough at this time” and complaining of “potential for delays”. read more

The Telegraph

Cambo: Jobs warning as Shell pulls out of oil field development

By Rachel Millard

It was less than a month ago that Kwasi Kwarteng was celebrating Shell’s plans to move its group headquarters out of Holland and to the UK.

The business secretary heralded the decision as “a clear vote of confidence in the British economy as we work to strengthen competitiveness, attract investment and create jobs”.

Today he may have more complex feelings towards the FTSE 100 oil giant – and greater uncertainty about the challenges ahead for the economy. read more

BBC NEWS

Cambo: Jobs warning as Shell pulls out of oil field development

Business leaders have warned that thousands of oil and gas jobs could be at risk in the UK after Shell pulled out of the Cambo oil field development.

• Located in the North Atlantic, about 125km (75 miles) north west of the Shetland islands.
• Major stakeholder is Siccar Point Energy, with a 70% stake, backed by private equity firm investors.
• Siccar Point Energy says Cambo could deliver 170 million barrels of oil over 25 years, and 53.5 billion cubic feet of gas.
• The exploration licences dates back to 2001, but UK government must approve drilling – which could start as early as 2022.

Aberdeen’s Chamber of Commerce said a “premature” end to domestic production could see some areas suffer the fate of mining communities in the 1980s.

Environmentalists say new fossil fuel projects like Cambo are incompatible with action on climate change.

Cambo’s majority stakeholder said it still planned to take it forward. read more

The Washington Post

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell has pulled out of a controversial plan to develop a new oil field near Scotland’s Shetland Islands, buoying environmentalists’ hopes that the project may be shelved altogether as Britain seeks to combat global warming.

Shell, which had a 30% stake in the Cambo project, said Friday that the decision was based on an assessment of what was best for the company and its shareholders.

The project has faced stiff opposition from groups such as Greenpeace, which argue Britain must stop developing new oil and gas fields if it is serious about reducing carbon emissions. U.K. authorities granted an exploration license for the project in 2001 and the government is now considering whether to authorize commercial operations. read more

sky news

Shell’s decision to abandon Cambo oil field does nothing to aid the transition to green energy

Sky’s Ian King argues that environmental campaigners and other critics have scored an own goal by opposing the project and will only force us to buy in more energy from abroad.

Shell’s decision not to proceed with its interest in the Cambo oil field may not necessarily be the triumph for environmental campaigners that they seem to think.

It does not, for example, guarantee that Cambo’s oil – some 170 million barrels worth over 25 years – will stay in the ground. 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.

Shell’s failed blundering attempt to kill my royaldutchshell.website

By John Donovan (last updated 5 Sept 2021)

Last week, a CYBERSECURITY INTELLIGENCE outfit acting for Shell issued a 5-day ultimatum on behalf of Shell to the company hosting my royaldutchshell.website.

I would not have had a clue about the ultimatum letter if the hosting company had not tipped me off about what was going on behind my back at Shell’s direction.

For 26 years, I have used the Internet as a medium to criticise and expose Shell’s unscrupulous dishonest activities, including, for example, the Shell securities fraud that ruined Shell’s reputation. read more

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

Shell changes senior UK leadership in global overhaul

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is changing the senior leadership of its operations in Britain as part of a global overhaul to cut costs and shift away from oil and gas to renewables and power.

Under the changes, which have been announced internally, country chair Sinead Lynch will become Shell’s global head of low-carbon fuels, a company spokeswoman said.

Lynch, who joined the Anglo-Dutch company in 2016 following its acquisition of BG Group, will be replaced by David Bunch who currently runs Shell’s retail business across Europe and South Africa. Bunch joined Shell in 1997. 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

Broadband bills will increase for thousands of Shell customers in a DOUBLE price rise

BROADBAND customers who have a contract with Shell Energy could face two price increases to their monthly bills in the coming months, the home internet provider has confirmed.

Shell Energy will increase prices for some broadband customers twice in the next six months, it has confirmed. The internet service provider has informed all customers who signed-up to one of its broadband plans before September 2, 2020 that a price hike to their home broadband and phone services will kick-in on January 11, 2020. 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