OPL 245 Scandal: Biased media reports protect oil giants, former public officers – Group

Godwin Tsa, Abuja: 24 MAY 2020

A coalition of local and international anti-corruption movements have raised concerns over what they allege to be a plot to foil the corruption charges against some mega oil companies involved in the Malabu (OPL 245) oil scandal.

In a statement on Sunday, the groups under the aegis of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Re-Common, Cornerhouse and Globalwitness collectively called on the media to protect the interest and integrity of the judiciary by being professional in their reportage on the scam associated with OPL 245. read more

The Syrian Job: Uncovering the Oil Industry’s Radioactive Secret

By Justin Nobel • Wednesday, April 29, 2020 – 10:38

Cancerous lesions have developed across Keith MacDonald’s body and his son is dead from leukemia. His life has disintegrated, and in his eyes fault lies with the third richest company on earth. It is headquartered in the Netherlands, incorporated in the United Kingdom, and is an entity (thanks to the Parliamentary Pension Fund) that every single British MP has a stake in — Royal Dutch Shell.

The story of how MacDonald got here is a tale of adventure and tragedy fit for a Hollywood thriller, only it is real. Even with many unknowns, MacDonald’s case unearths a shocking part of the world’s most powerful industry that somehow has remained hidden for generations. read more

By Tsvetana Paraskova – May 22, 2020, 12:30 PM CDT

A UK judge dismissed on Friday a lawsuit against Eni and Shell brought by the Nigerian government alleging that the oil and gas supermajors knew about US$1.1 billion in bribes given to secure an oil license in Nigeria nearly a decade ago.

The judge in London dismissed the case on the grounds that the UK has no jurisdiction to try the lawsuit that is basically the same for which Shell and Eni are currently under trial in Italy, Bloomberg reported. read more

May 22, 2020: 8:42 AM EDT: Last Updated May 22, 2020: 8:43 AM EDT

LONDON — An English court threw out a $1.1 billion case Nigeria had brought against Royal Dutch Shell and Eni related to a dispute over the OPL 245 oilfield, a court document showed on Friday, while a related trial in Italy continues.

The Nigerian government filed the case in 2018 at a commercial court in London alleging payments made by the companies to get the OPL 245 oilfield license in 2011 were used for kickbacks and bribes.

Justice Butcher said in his ruling seen by Reuters that the High Court “must decline jurisdiction over the action against” Shell and the other defendants. read more

BREAKING: Shell, Eni Escape $1B UK Bribery Suit Over Oil Field Deal

Law360. London (May 22, 2020, 10.57AM BST) — A judge in London ruled on Friday that Nigeria’s $1 billion lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell and Italian oil giant Eni over alleged bribery in a massive 2001 deal cannot go ahead in England because the courts don’t have jurisdiction to hear the claim.

Royal Dutch Shell and an Italian oil giant have got out of a $1 billion bribery lawsuit filed by Nigeeria because the English courts dont have jurisdiction. (AP) Judge Chrisopher Butcher said in his written decision… read more

Shell hoping voluntary severances will help weather oil crisis

Laura Hurst, Bloomberg May 21, 2020

Royal Dutch Shell will use measures including voluntary severance for staff to bolster its finances as the coronavirus pandemic batters profits, according to people with knowledge of the matter.In a note to staff, Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden wrote that the organization was being reshaped to make it leaner and more resilient, the people said. The company has already slashed spending and surprised investors with a two-thirds cut to its dividend.

Shell isn’t the only company making big changes to withstand the unprecedented oil-industry disruption caused by Covid-19. Most of its peers have made big spending reductions, while Norway’s Equinor ASA also cut its dividend.

BP Plc promised its employees their jobs were safe at least until the end of June, but companies including Chevron Corp., Marathon Oil Corp. and Halliburton Corp. are laying off employees. read more

BASRA, Iraq, May 21 (Reuters) – Shell has evacuated its foreign staff, numbering around 60, from Iraq’s Basra Gas Company and flew them out of Iraq on Wednesday, two Basra Gas Company executives told Reuters.

The staff were evacuated for security reasons after workers who had been laid off from work staged a protest in the Basra Gas Company headquarters and close to another company compound, two officials said.

Basrah Gas Company is a joint venture between state-owned South Gas Company, Shell and Mitsubishi. read more

Union plans ‘protected action’ strike aboard Shell’s Prelude floating LNG

18 MAY 2020

Leaked information outlines union plans to conduct a ‘protected action’ strike aboard Shell’s Prelude floating LNG vessel offshore Western Australia, as well as other offshore facilities.

Members of the two unions voted unanimously in taking action over an impasse on working arrangements and a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement with contractor Sodexo.

Sodexo provides catering, cooking and cleaning staff to oil and gas facilities including Shell’s Prelude FLNG project, and Inpex’s offshore facilities.  read more

BP, Shell Must Face Claims Emissions Caused Fatal Cancer

law360.com — Law360 (May 19, 2020, 7:51 PM EDT) — An Illinois appeals court has restored a wrongful death lawsuit brought against BP and other companies over a man’s cancer allegedly linked to a nearby refinery’s benzene emissions, deciding that suspicion alone of benzene’s link to the cancer isn’t enough to start the clock running on a claim.

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Shell policies on directors’ pay and carbon emissions in spotlight

By Mark Williamson Group Business Correspondent

INVESTORS have signalled unease about Royal Dutch Shell’s boardroom pay policy at the company’s annual general meeting.

Around seven per cent of votes cast opposed approval of the directors’ remuneration policy of the oil giant at the meeting.

Chief executive Ban van Beurden’s total remuneration dropped by around £9m last year, from £17.8m in 2018, following a fall in the value of his performance-related awards. read more

‘Big win’ as Shell urged by more shareholder activists to meet climate targets

by David McPhee: 19/05/2020, 3:15 pm

A shareholder activist group has claimed a ‘big win’ after an increase in the number of investor votes urging Shell to meet its climate targets.

Follow This, which has led a campaign to encourage oil firms such BP, Shell, Chevron and Equinor to align their targets with the Paris Climate Agreement, saw 14.4% of investors vote for its resolution at Shell’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) – an increase from 5.5% in 2019. read more

Protesters chant ‘Shell must fall’ at oil major’s meeting

Environment: May 19, 2020 / 11:51 AM / Updated 3 hours ago

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Dozens of demonstrators chanting “Shell must fall” gathered on Tuesday outside the oil giant’s headquarters in the Netherlands, where a virtual annual shareholders’ meeting was underway.

Roughly 30 activists from environmental groups Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion and Code Red sang and danced in protest at the Hague offices of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L).

Hundreds of activists had signed up to attend, but Dutch authorities allowed no more than 30 due to coronavirus distancing measures. read more

CNOOC, Shell to invest 5.6 billion U.S. dollars in new ethylene project

GUANGZHOU, May 17 (Xinhua) — China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the largest offshore oil and gas producer in China, and Royal Dutch Shell, the world’s leading energy and petrochemical conglomerate, signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement worth 5.6 billion U.S. dollars on Sunday.

Representatives in Guangzhou, capital city of south China’s Guangdong Province, Beijing, and The Hague, signed the agreement via 5G video link. read more

* European oil majors boost share of low-carbon investments

* European CEOs see faster energy transition after coronavirus

* GRAPHIC: European oil majors’ spending tilts green tmsnrt.rs/3dWh9VV

By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) – Europe’s top oil and gas companies have diverted a larger share of their cash to green energy projects since the coronavirus outbreak in a bet the global health crisis will leave a long-term dent in fossil fuel demand, according to a Reuters review of company statements and interviews with executives. read more

English translation of an article published this weekend by the Dutch Financial Times, the FD.

Shell, Total and Equinor give green light to major international CO₂ storage project

Bert van Dijk

Shell, together with the French oil and gas group Total and the Norwegian Equinor, has made a final investment decision for a large CO₂ storage project in Norway. The companies want to build infrastructure to transport captured CO₂ from industrial factories in Europe to Norway and store them there in a reservoir under the bottom of the North Sea.

Equinor will lead the project, which will store 1.5 million tons of CO₂ annually. The parties announced this on Friday. It is one of the largest CO₂ storage projects in the world. read more

Expert comments received in response to the BoilingCold article by Peter Milne “No winners from Shell’s $US17B Prelude floating LNG”

Comment from retired Shell International Global Safety Consultant, Bill Campbell:

It’s all rather depressing, most worrying aspect as implied in the article is the potential gas supply, or lack of it, from the homogeneous and shared reservoir with another operator bleeding off volumes.

The boilingcold.com.au journalist Peter Milne has given the most detailed analysis yet of the Prelude story, elements of both tragedy and farce.

COMMENT FROM “AN OLD SHELL E&P ENGINEERING SEA DOG”

As before I feel very sorry for the Aussies who are under extreme pressure to get this unit up and running.  I do not quite understand the journalist comment of “gas is running out”.  It is a shared reservoir therefore there will be an agreement for the total volumes in place and a regular review taking place to determine the remaining producible volumes and the agreed volume share for each operator.

The links below are to a series of articles, many triggered by a well-placed whistleblower directly involved in the pioneering Royal Dutch Shell Prelude project. Includes articles by Mr Bill Campbell above, the retired distinguished HSE Group Auditor of Shell International and another retired Shell guru with a track record of spotting potential pitfalls in major Shell projects.

The fears voiced by Bill Campbell about a loss of containment (see article link 3) have proven well-founded.

Ask the Australian National Offshore Petroleum and Environmental Management Authority.

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

ARTICLE: Prelude FLNG risks are on par with modern offshore oil and gas facilities say Shell – but are they?: 23 Sept 2014 read more