News and information on Royal Dutch Shell Plc
abc.net.au
Shell, unions reach agreement in Prelude gas facility industrial dispute
ABC Kimberley / By Taylor Thompson-Fuller
Key points:
The industrial action began in early June
It resulted in Shell stopping shipments and suspending activity aboard
Shell and unions say they are happy to have finally reached an agreement
Industrial action aboard Shell’s floating LNG facility Prelude is set to come to an end after unions and the company reached an in-principle enterprise agreement for workers.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Shell Prelude’s two-month $500m strike delays major maintenance
Shell has delayed major maintenance on its troubled Prelude floating gas facility after negotiations over the weekend failed to end two months of industrial action.
The delay is another setback for Shell, which spent about $US17 billion ($24 billion) to build the world’s largest vessel that has suffered a multitude of production outages and serious safety issues since it arrived in West Australian waters five years ago.
abc.net.au
Oil giant Shell feels heat over giant $21 billion Prelude floating LNG plant
By energy reporter Daniel Mercer
When Dutch-Anglo oil giant Shell decided to build a massive floating gas factory known as Prelude in 2011, it was billed as the dawn of a new era for the industry.
Australia was midway through a once-in-a-lifetime $300 billion splurge that would make the country the world’s biggest producer of super-chilled, shipped gas.
Floating gas plants were supposed to be the logical evolution, vacuuming up gas wherever they went and making fortunes for shareholders and taxpayers.
Nasdaq
Shell (SHEL) Gets Nod to Restart Production at Prelude FLNG
CONTRIBUTOR: : PUBLISHED MAR 28, 2022 9:15AM EDTThe British oil and gas giant, Shell Plc SHEL, recently got regulatory clearances and approvals to restart production at its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility at Browse Basin in Australia. The go-ahead signal came after Australia’s offshore petroleum supervisory body removed all restraints and cleared the route for restart after production was halted at the facility in December 2021 due to a fire incident and a power outage.
The Hindenburg, The Titanic and Shell Prelude FLNG
By John Donovan
A huge bomb the size of several aircraft carriers welded together is floating off the coast of Australia. It was never meant to be a bomb but is now deemed to be so dangerous, susceptible to an explosion, that it is on emergency shutdown after a fire.
This article is written in collaboration with a retired Shell Global HSE Consultant Mr Bill Campbell. For several years we have been jointly ringing alarm bells about the Shell Prelude FLNG project.
COMING SOON: The Hindenburg, The Titanic and Shell Prelude FLNG (in collaboration with Bill Campbell)
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upstreamonline.com article
Shell’s Prelude FLNG to remain offline for most of Q1: Ben van Beurden
By in Perth: 4 FEB 2022
Power outage could have led to ‘catastrophic failure’ at Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility
WHAT THE PRELUDE FLNG WHISTLEBLOWER SAID IN DEC 2013: “…god for bid if anything should happen on that vessel in the future I want it known that I raised my concerns officially.”: “It will go down like a lead balloon (or possibly prelude) but if I was an Australian I would refuse to work on the vessel…”…and also warned shell on several occasions and this advice has been ignored by all party’s as financial interests come before safety and I have serious enough concerns to want my name removed from all records.
I have documentary evidence of the state of the packages being installed on the vessel and manufactured by totally unqualified personnel, failure of any understanding of the standards and regulations by management.
The list goes on and on but regardless of my own feelings my concerns are for the whole industry if this kind of practice goes on and god for bid if anything should happen on that vessel in the future I want it known that I raised my concerns officially.
Shell Pennsylvania petchems project 70% complete, operational in 2022: spokesman
New York — Shell Chemical’s $6 billion petrochemical complex in Pennsylvania is now more than 70% complete and projected to be operational sometime in 2022, a company spokesman said March 12.”
On a daily basis workers are commissioning major pieces of equipment within our infrastructure units – a phased process that will continue until start-up” said the spokesman, Curtis Smith, in an email. “That includes connecting pipes and wiring that will eventually loop and extend for hundreds of miles along the site’s 386 acres,” he said.
LNG production at Shell’s Prelude gas processing plant in Western Australia restarts following 11-month closure
ABC KimberleyBy Ben Collins: 23 Jan 2021
“As for making money from this project, that’s extremely unlikely because the cost overruns and completion delays are in the horrendous category,”…
Liquified natural gas (LNG) production has restarted this month on the world’s largest floating object, Shell’s half-kilometre long Prelude gas processing facility.
The restart is much-needed good news after an 11-month shutdown following a technical issue only described as an “electrical trip” by Shell, and three incidents that the offshore energy regulator NOPSEMA described as “dangerous occurrences”.
MYSTERY OVER SUDDEN DIVERSION OF LNG TANKERS BOUND FOR SHELL’S TROUBLED PRELUDE FLNG
Extracts from Reuters article – Two LNG tankers bound for Australia’s Prelude facility divert..
It is not clear why the ships changed their destinations from Prelude…: Shell declined to comment on the matter.
EXTRACTS FROM RELATED SPECULATION BY RETIRED SENIOR SHELL EXPERTS
Your the wiz kid on tanker movements
….seems to me the only logical reason for such diversion of for example the Gaslog Glasgow was there was not a sufficiency of LNG to load on or around the 15 January (the first load was offtaken on 8 January) when to meet the 3.6m tonnes design output it would have been required to load around this time and I think you calculated that to meet the 3.6 mt/a given an average LNG carrier capacity an offload would be expected every circa 7 – 10 days,…
Australia’s Prelude FLNG shipments resume: Shell
Published date: 11 January 2021
Cargo shipments have resumed at the 3.6mn t/yr Prelude floating LNG (FLNG) offshore Western Australia (WA), around 11 months after it went off line in February 2020 because of technical issues.
“LNG cargoes have resumed from Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility,” said operator Shell.
Prelude FLNG in the Browse basin has been plagued by technical issues since it started shipments in June 2019.
Prelude was planned as a flagship floating LNG project for the Anglo-Dutch supermajor. Like most other large-scale offshore LNG projects, however, it ran into delays and cost overruns.
Shell Restarts Production At Huge Prelude Project As LNG Prices Soar
By Irina Slav – Jan 11, 2021, 11:00 AM CST
Shell has restarted production of liquefied natural gas at its Prelude offshore project in Australia after almost a year’s suspension.
“LNG cargoes have resumed from Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility,” Argus reported, citing a company statement.
Shell’s Prelude FLNG becomes a big headache!
By Bill Campbell
According to a recent article in Forbes “the biggest vessel in the world costing todate between 12 and 17 billion US may have also turned into Shell’s biggest blooper.”
It’s all been Technically very challenging as Shell has attempted to squeeze a complex LNG plant into a relatively small space Forbes say. (this website has covered this as a fundamental concern a number of times) – (1)
Goodman Sachs are also of the opinion that when eventually fully operational Prelude, the worlds most expensive LNG project, will only break even in current market conditions at around 20 dollars per a thousand cubic feet.
Shell doesn’t expect Prelude FLNG restart before Q3
June 22, 2020, by Mirza Duran
LNG giant Shell is not expecting to restart production at its Prelude FLNG facility offshore Western Australia before the start of the third quarter.
Shell hasn’t exported any cargoes from the FLNG for almost five months following an electrical trip on February 2.
“Start-up timing will depend on Covid-19 constraints and compliance with government directions, which will result in a reduction in the number of people on board the facility”, a Shell spokesperson said in a emailed statement on Monday.
ARTICLE: Voser wisely abandons an unstable ship: 28 December 2013
ARTICLE: Royal Dutch Shell Prelude to disaster?: 10 Jan 2014
ARTICLE: Shell Prelude FLNG: loss of containment of hydrocarbons almost inevitable: 21 Feb 2014
ARTICLE: What should frighten stiff Royal Dutch Shell shareholders: 15 March 2014
ARTICLE: Tales of the Unexpected and Royal Dutch Shell Prelude FLNG: 28 March 2014
ARTICLE: Prelude FLNG: A case of all your eggs in the one basket: 10 July 2014
By John DonovanBill Campbell made a chilling assessment: “The revolutionary concept of offshore LNG installations (FLNG) is said to have economic and environmental advantages. A distinct disadvantage however is that the risks to health and safety of persons employed offshore on the LNG FPSO’s, such as Prelude, will be higher, when compared to onshore LNG plants of similar capacity, specifically the potential for loss of life; …loss of containment of hydrocarbons is likely to occur on Prelude during its operational life, either through flaws in the design, human error or failure to inspect and maintain. It’s almost inevitable. It’s only to be hoped that the consequences of these losses never reach their full potential.”
: They really are useless little or no customer service. If you do get to talk to someone they haven't got a clue how to solve things. Never been happy since first signing. I never thought I would admit this but they make TalkTalk seem good. I am now fighting against the cost of 39 po7nd because I haven't returned it. Once again they are lying saying they sent out a self addressed envelope for the return of the modem. Must have got lost in the post.Also my contract ended 8th January it is now 24th and they only just let know. As a company they are devious untrustworthy and morally corrupt. They DO NOT deserve even 1 customer
: 29th July 2020 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd (Co. Reg. No.12776446) was incorporated with one ordinary share of £1 issued to Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP (Co. Reg. No. OC430905) for a consideration of £1 23rd December 2020 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd issued 290 shares of £1 each to Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP in return for 290 shares of NSV Energy Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 06220464) representing a 100% interest in that entity. Following the transaction, Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP became the parent company of Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd. On the date of issue, the shares of NSV Energy Ltd were valued at $479.9 million resulting in the recognition of an investment of $479.9 million. On 1st November 2021, Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd declared a dividend of $36.4 million. Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd entered into an agreement with its now subsidiary NSV Energy Ltd to pay the dividends directly to its parent's ultimate shareholders. For the period ended 31st December 2021 Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd recorded a profit of $36.4 million arising from a dividend declared by its subsidiary in November 2021. Dividends of $36.4 million ($125,245.7 per share) were declared by Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd for the period ended 31st December 2021. Companies House records show for Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP under 'People' the following: Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd (Co. Reg No.12154073) Mecuria Asset Holdings (Hong-Kong) Ltd A Private Ltd Company Mercuria Holdings (UK) Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 123718128) Companies House Records show that Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP is the 'Designated Member' and only 'Designated Member' for each of the above three companies. There is a 'circularity' here that does not seem correct. Where did the dividend go? Tailwind Investments Ltd Annual Report and Financial Statements period ended 31st December 2021 indicates Page 16 7. Tailwind Energy Investments Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP itself a 51% subsidiary of Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd (Co. Reg. No. 12154073) . Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd is also the ultimate parent company and ultimate controlling party which prepares consolidated financial statements. Companies House Records show under 'Appointments' for Cavendish Energy Holdings Ltd that Tailwind Energy Holdings LLP is the 'Active LLP Designated Member'. Where did the $36.4 million dividend go?
: Thanks to Wrath for the clarification. I recall a lot of competent and committed people at BG Group, I also recall a toxic culture among those aspiring to climb the leadership “greasy pole” at all costs. If Mr Gould’s disparaging comments were not aimed at the latter group, it’s no surprise the meeting ended on a low note. These are the people that set targets, but if they can’t perceive how to deliver, someone (not them) has to be held to account. Seems like the pressure was being felt regarding Queensland Curtis LNG and the toxic ‘blame culture’ was in full-swing. I understood the cost overrun on this project was in the region of £3.3bn, which is surprising as their General Counsel at the time had written the highly regarded book ‘Project Finance’. It must have been left behind in TVP in preference for “back-end loading”.
: In response to Bogus Group's enquiry. The reference to Contractors being given 'equal' status to Employees refers to a speech given by Andrew Gould, then Executive Chairman of BG Group, at a Townhall meeting in the BG cafeteria in the Hutton Building, Thames Valley Business Park, in Q4 2014. At that Townhall meeting Mr Gould, during his speech to the assembled staff, made many references to 'you' (meaning BG Group Staff) failing to meet targets. (A Freudian slip, perhaps, given his ambition for a knighthood?). Eventually, a senior staff member in the audience corrected Mr Gould and said that he (the senior staff member) would feel happier if Mr Gould used the pronoun 'we' instead of 'you', at which point Mr Gould accepted the criticism and corrected himself. During that speech, Mr Gould also said that it was vital that BG Group meet their targets, especially first export of QC LNG coalbed methane to LNG, by year end. In order to achieve this he said that BG Group Contractors would have 'equal' status to BG Group Employees i.e. 'all hands to the pumps'. That meeting was recorded. Shell makes $70bn BG offer (oedigital.com) It was at the end of that meeting, that Sami Iskander, then Chief Operating Officer, stood up and to whoever would listen as they 'fled' the cafeteria with their ears burning made the statement that BG Group, the previous year (?) had spent £200MM assuring work which later cost the company £2Bn because it was wrong.
: Would like to hear more on the thread of these interesting comments. Contractors were not always on ‘equal status’, particularly when it came to safety. In the BG Group 2010 annual report, Chapman’s statement that contractor safety would be a particular focus in 2011, seemed to infer that contractor performance was the issue, however, BG Group were ultimately responsible for those at the worksites, including contractors. In 2012, his “deep regret” of the unacceptable safety performance deterioration in 2011, would appear to indicate the “particular focus” was misconceived.
: Andrew Gould, former Executive Chairman of the failed BG Group, whose motives were questionable, would be well reminded that putting contractors on equal status as company employees in order to meet 'stretch' targets is in direct conflict with the 'Constitutions' of the various 'Bodies Corporate', despite alignment through 'bridging' documents.
: Technical safety across the board has suffered a similar mindset... "as long as it doesn't blow-up on my watch, it's <>." the new SEAM organization has made it abundantly clear, that safety has to be in "balance with business drivers of production and affordability." When it eventually goes boom, it will be blamed on TSE not the folks who are sweeping the concerns under the rug. the new emperors have no clothes!
: Subsurface Technical Staff at Shell who previously worked for BG Group would be well advised to remember that reserves should not be booked on subjective technical workflows and furthermore that both the technical workflows used in calculating reserves and their results should be reproducible by the Auditors. The BG philosophy of 'it's alright as long as the oil and/or gas is flowing out of the ground and we don't know where it is coming from' is irresponsible, short sighted and to the detriment of Shell's shareholders. This attitude should be dropped pronto!
: Internet down 3 times for a day at a time. Reported it never had any contact back or reason given. Useless company out at end of contract.
: RE: Nigerian oil export terminal had theft line into sea for 9 years Sometimes I think I have seen it all and then this comes along Nigeria is simply doomed with all the corruption. Take it from me, this is a major operation to fix. So the top brass must have been involved. Half or more of the population is scratching a living in miserable circumstances, there is no more rule of law and these gangsters lay a pipeline from a terminal and steal oil. Simply beyond what I can imagine.
: They cut off my 87 year old moms phone. This isn't just a phone for people of that age its and essential lifeline. After spending an hour on hold I eventually got through to the customer service department. They said a bill hadn't been sent because of billing issues. That's why it wasn't paid. So, I settled the bill over the phone. The following day the service was resumed and a demand for the money paid over the phone was sent to her house. How incompetent are these people. I spent another hour on hold. No reply to the call at all this time. No response to my emailed complaint. Obviously I now have to find another provider. But a lot of stress for my mother. DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE. They are the worst of the worst. Date of experience: 10 September 2022
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