News and information on Royal Dutch Shell Plc
HOUSTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) – A malfunction in the gasoline-producing unit at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s 225,300-barrel-per-day (bpd) Norco, Louisiana, refinery triggered flaring at the refinery on Monday, said sources familiar with plant operations.
The 112,000-bpd residual catalytic cracking unit (RCCU) remained in operation following the malfunction, the sources said.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
The world’s rapidly mounting plastic waste and the public reaction to its impact on marine and wildlife is challenging the booming petrochemical industry, but the world’s biggest energy companies are increasingly stepping up with new projects to take on these challenges.
Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Houston’s LyondellBasell have all announced new projects or pilot plants in recent weeks to address recycling plastics that are the hardest to transform back into reusable materials. The latest came from Shell, which has begun making petrochemicals from plastic waste in a process known as chemical recycling.
EDF Renewables North America and Shell Energy North America have signed a 15-year power purchase agreement for 132 MW of solar output in Riverside County, California.
The Maverick 7 project is part of the Palen Solar site to be built on 3,140 acres of federal lands. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management completed the federal permitting process approving the project in October 2018.
The project is expected to be completed and operational by the end of 2021.
“Palen Solar, with a total of 500 MW of solar capacity, demonstrates EDF Renewables’ long-term commitment to solar development in California,” said Dai Owen, vice president of power marketing for EDF Renewables. “The project uniquely positions the company to help load-serving entities meet their long-term carbon goals and obligations under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by offering smaller tranches at industry-leading prices.”
HOUSTON, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Today Shell announced it has successfully made high-end chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste. The technique, known as pyrolysis, is considered a breakthrough for hard-to-recycle plastics and advances Shell’s ambition to use one million tonnes of plastic waste a year in its global chemicals plants by 2025.
“This makes sense for the environment and our business,” said Thomas Casparie, Executive Vice President of Shell’s global chemicals business. “We want to take waste plastics that are tough to recycle by traditional methods and turn them back into chemicals – creating a circle. These chemicals will meet our customers’ growing demands for high quality and sustainable products.”
Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors…
A new natural gas pipeline into Europe from Russia is shaking up geopolitics. Nord Stream 2, as it’s called, worries leaders in Eastern Europe, has put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the hot seat and has prompted calls for sanctions from U.S. senators. Denmark gave approval on Oct. 30 for the pipeline to traverse its sub-sea territory, removing the final hurdle to its completion. Russian gas could be flowing through the conduit as soon as early next year.
1. What is Nord Stream 2?
It’s a planned 1,230-kilometer (764-mile) undersea pipeline that will carry natural gas from Russian fields to the European network at Germany’s Baltic coast. It will double the capacity of an existing undersea route — the original Nord Stream — that opened in 2011. Russia’s Gazprom PJSC owns the project, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc and four other investors including Germany’s Uniper SE and Wintershall AG providing half of the 9.5 billion-euro ($10.7 billion) in cost. As of the end of October, the link was 87% complete, according to Nord Stream.
BY MATTHEW MEHALIK, PH.D.
As people concerned about the future of the Ohio River Valley, we wish to tell President Donald Trump, who is in Pittsburgh today bowing to petrochemical interests, that petrochemical development is the wrong path for our community. Our region has battled economic disinvestment following generations of heavy industrial development with a subsequent burden of cleaning up. One of the lessons we have learned is that life and health are precious.
The Shell plant will erase 30 years’ worth of air quality improvements. It will result in higher rates of respiratory disease, heart disease, asthma, lost productivity, cancer, early deaths and adverse birth outcomes in a community with existing poor health statistics. This industry will sacrifice our health and economy in order to overproduce plastics and put our water supply at risk.
By Julianne Geiger – Oct 02, 2019, 10:00 PM CDT
Royal Dutch Shell and Eni are in the clear as far as the US Department of Justice is concerned, after the DOJ on Wednesday notified the two separately that it was closing its investigation into the OPL 245 oilfield case—also known as the Malabu oil deal–in Nigeria that dates back to 2011.
“The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has notified us that it has closed its inquiry into Shell in relation to OPL 245. We understand that this is based on the facts available to the DoJ, including ongoing legal proceedings in Europe,” Shell said in a statement on Wednesday, as carried by Reuters.
OCTOBER 2, 2019 / 4:22 PM
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday that it had been informed by the U.S. Department of Justice that it had closed its inquiry into Shell over the 2011 $1.3 billion acquisition of a Nigerian offshore oilfield.
Shell and Italy’s Eni are both currently on trial in Milan on graft allegations revolving around the acquisition of the OPL 245 oilfield.
“The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has notified us that it has closed its inquiry into Shell in relation to OPL 245. We understand that this is based on the facts available to the DoJ, including ongoing legal proceedings in Europe,” Shell said in a statement.
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is asking the U.S. Congress not to enact sanctions against the Russia-led Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline to Germany, said Cederic Cremers, head of Shell’s business in Russia.
A U.S. Senate committee passed a bill in July to place sanctions on companies and individuals involved in building the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
The Donald Trump administration says the project would strengthen Moscow’s economic grip on Europe.
“If the current legislation under consideration in the U.S. Congress is passed, it will affect all of the companies involved with the project, including Shell. We therefore respectfully urge lawmakers not to enact these sanctions,” Shell’s Cremers said in emailed comments.
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By John Donovan
I have published several articles over the years naming many Shell senior security people. They include the MI6 hires referred to by Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden in a wiretapped telephone conversation relating to the OPL 245 corruption case.
Some of their names have come up in leaked emails that have recently appeared on the Internet. I have combined the various emails into a single document.
The email participants include a former senior British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) officer, Ian Forbes McCredie who until December 2010, was VP Corporate Affairs Security, Shell International B.V. Mr McCredie is closely associated with the private spy firm Hakluyt sometimes described as the commercial offshoot of MI6. When I sent an email to Mr McCredie at Shell, I received an automated response giving me his Hakluyt email address.
Much has been made lately of the deep dive into shale that the likes of oil majors such as Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon (NYSE:XOM) decided to take in the past few years. A fight over Anadarko (NYSE:APC) between Chevron and Occidental (NYSE:OXY) was perhaps the most emblematic symbol of this industry-changing trend. Analysts and investors quickly jumped to the conclusion that it is imperative for all oil majors to jump in and compete with each other on acquiring and developing shale assets. Exxon and Chevron are currently planning to increase shale production to 1 mb/d each. Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) has been more timid in this regard, and given the profitability profile of the overall shale industry, I am fully satisfied with its position in this regard. Shell’s downstream investments, such as the Pennsylvania ethane plant, meant to take advantage of low shale prices, seems to make far more sense than rushing to produce the low-priced natural gas. Nor does it seem all that wise to rush to produce shale oil, which requires extremely high capital expenses to produce. Some investors may believe that it is more important to maintain reserves and production by diving into the shale patch. I personally think that it is not worth diluting Shell’s overall profitability profile by producing shale oil and gas for the sake of maintaining the company’s overall production numbers.
Posted 20 Sept 2019
Federal courts require asbestos manufacturers to compensate cancer victims
Plant workers employed before 1981 diagnosed with various cancers are entitled to special benefits. Lung cancer, esophageal cancer, laryngeal cancer, pharyngeal cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer, and mesothelioma are frequently caused by asbestos exposure. Asbestos-laced products were used for decades at Shell Chemical.
Neither employees nor management were aware of the asbestos risk.
PLAQUEMINE — A retired appellate judge appointed to hear a longstanding oil field legacy lawsuit involving the Spanish Lake swamp breathed new life into the landowners’ damage claims this week when he granted them new hearings that keep Shell Oil firmly in the dispute.
Filed in 2010 in Iberville Parish, the lawsuit brought by Spanish Lake Restoration, a wetland mitigation bank holding 4,000 acres of the swamp southwest of Baton Rouge, has never gone to on trial on the merits.
The plaintiffs allege wastes from decades of drilling have contaminated the surface and subsurface under old drilling areas in the St. Gabriel oil field and migrated under Spanish Lake Restoration land, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to hundreds of acres.
A memo sent to union leaders by Shell before an appearance by Donald Trump — displayed by a recipient via Twitter — warns against protests and threatens pay reduction.
By Zoë Schlanger: 19 Aug 2019
Some 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a township adjacent to a state forest, oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell is building a sprawling new plant to support what it sees as the future of its business: making millions of tons of new, virgin plastic.
US president Trump visited the facility last week, highlighting the 5,000 construction jobs it has created. The plant is just one of more than 300 new plastic facilities proposed or permitted for the US in the near future. Shell, along with other major oil and gas companies like Exxon, sees plastic as one avenue for growth as natural gas prices plummet—and, longer-term, as a way to weather the world’s slow rejection of fossil fuels as an energy source.
Printed below is an English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT, Financieele Dagblad.
With the call, the contractors wanted to improve the fragile relationship between the unions and President Donald Trump. Photo: Justin Merriman / Bloomberg
To the great satisfaction of the contractors, the thousands of construction workers from a Shell plant under construction northwest of Pittsburgh received President Donald Trump on Tuesday with loud applause.
The construction companies had asked their employees to treat the president in a friendly manner in an attempt to improve the fragile relationship between the White House and the trade unions. Jeering, protesting or shouting was not tolerated, a leaked memo said. Staying away was allowed, but then the overtime allowance would be reduced.
: BG Alumni….... normally your post wouldn’t warrant a response from me, however I’m curious to know, what was the idea that was fostered? The website is intertwined since Shell’s acquisition of BG Group, and having worked for both companies, I feel compelled to post my comments, as others should be made aware of the traits of some of their “colleagues”. I don’t know why you’d state the website is becoming ‘bitter and twisted’, my posts are factual, and having knowledge of the workings of BG Group, there is no reason to doubt that Bonus Group’s posts are not equally factual. I had the pleasure of working with a lot of committed people in both companies, mostly with good intent, but there were others with contrasting agendas, some bordering on sinister. Unfortunately, many of the good ones either left or were pushed, as they were seen as a threat to the lackey’s, intent in moving up the corporate ladder at all costs, emboldened by the toxic corporate culture. Some issues must be highlighted. For example, the Brent ‘TFA policy’, fatalities in a Brent Bravo utility shaft, a further fatality 2-years later in the same utility shaft and BG Group’s 20 plus fatalities in a ten-year period. Many of the causal factors can be attributed to the same management enablers, but because they were shielded by company lawyers, there was no accountability. If anyone should be branded ‘bitter and twisted’ it’s the lawyers. Is this what Michael Coates meant when he said one of his biggest internal challenges was his in-house legal team? It’s crucial to have people with the courage to express an opinion as opposed to those who turn a blind eye to failings. I could hazard a guess at what camp you’d be in.
: BG Alumni. Ha, ha! Your post is a typical example of the quality of BG Group work. Can't read what they have written, can't check what they have written, can't type and if you don't know, then lie. Bonus Group's posts are about the dismally poor standards at BG Group and their consequences. Sure, everyone liked being employed by BG Group, because they were well paid and didn't have to do any serious work. It was a case of 'passing the parcel' by email when you couldn't do the work required. All to the shareholders' detriment. I suggest that you go back to your cappuccino. Or is it a latte?
: It's about time Bonus Group and Bogus Group moved on. This website is repaidly becoming all baout the bitter and twisted.I can't imagine how that idea was fostered.
: For a further example of outstanding performance by BG Group Alumni, London Lad need look no further than Sound Energy where the share price has plummeted from £0.935 in February 2017 to £0.0335 December this year. This remarkable performance, however, does not detract from the Directors' and the Senior Managers' whopping salaries and bonuses. One can barely hear oneself think above the slurping and grunting at the trough.
: Interesting news article. “Network Rail are well into devolving and restructuring the organisation so that all activities and roles are closer to passengers in order to drive up train performance”. In 2018, many UK train commuters had a tough time with timetable schedules, journeys that didn’t leave or arrive on-time and delays due to major projects. Could this revival be attributed to the previous chief executive and one of the former Shell and BG Group ‘chosen few’, stepping down from his role?
: To put London Lad's rather naive comments into context. In the final days before the Executive Chairman, Andrew Gould 'pulled the plug' on the whole shooting match, at a Town Hall Meeting, the Chief Operating Officer, Sami Iskander, stood up and announced, to anyone who could be bothered to listen, that the company had spent £200MM assuring work which later cost them £2Bn because it was wrong. An absolutely, stellar performance. The people responsible for this are now deeply embedded within Shell's matrix organisation. An excellent result for the shareholders. Perhaps, a Bridge too Far?
: London Lad, Good to hear from you. I hope that you enjoyed your recent trip to Aberdeen. Having also been employed by Shell, I consider myself fortunate that I was not one of the 'Chosen Few'. The 'Chosen Few' are the most corrupt of the corrupt and will fit in well with your ilk. In respect of the slur about my performance, BG were involved in what can only be described as a stupendous multi-billion dollar technical fraud against Petrobras based upon a corrupt workflow which was both Functionally Approved through their Assurance Team and signed-off by the relevant Discipline Functional Head. They refused to correct their workflow and that resulted in a technical fraud. They tried to make me complicit in this fraud, but I refused. That is called integrity, something which I have no doubt that you know little of. You clearly relish brushing shoulders with fraudsters and liars.
: I can only assume from the continuous moaning from “Bonus Group” that he/she was not one of the “chosen few” from the BG group and hence the vindictiveness. Poor performance = limited or no job opportunities which applies to both Shell and ex-BG staff. As a share holder I wouldn’t want it differently.
: Further to Bogus Group's post of Thursday 21st November. BG Group the failed Internet Cafe, cappucino and Belgian chocolate lifestyle company had an established reputation for: constructive dismissal, lack of transparency and corrupt 'do as I say, not as I do' line management. The acceptance of the 'Chosen Few' from BG by Shell into its upper echelons can only lead to further corruption. After all what was on the BG Portal in terms of Company Policy was of course also law, or at least that is what they would have you believe. As employers they were a complete disgrace and the company a complete shambles from top to bottom. Visitors to this site can look forward to more revelations of incompetence in due course as they unfold.
: I was lured by the Michael Coates (Associate General Counsel at Shell) interview by Lawyer Monthly, and the question……. what is the most challenging aspect of your job and how do you overcome this? His response “There are a number of interesting challenges but I will share one internal challenge, the management of our in-house legal team” The acquisition of BG Group and the infiltration of “the chosen few” from that company’s in-house legal team, may have bestowed a challenge he could never have imagined.
: Well “Theo” when you say that “I know for sure the following” followed by a former director said “Black Gold we are digging up” then I think perhaps you are making this up. Most directors of an oil company (even including Shell) would not use the word “digging”! “Drilling” or “producing” yes but certainly not “digging” - exception being the muppets in the HR departments perhaps. In addition your last two sentences are irrelevant to the usual attacks on Shell and are somewhat waffle and insulting to most readers here. You clearly have a problem. I await the onslaught!!
: There are normally two sides to every story, but Mike Curless’ version of his termination employment under the pretext of the takeover of BG reorganisation could hold some credence. However, if there was a fair and transparent succession strategy, Sarah Franklin’s self-promotion, see previous post and article, https://www.accdocket.com/articles/tips-and-insights-a-world-class-combination.cfm must have made her a good candidate for one of the “vacant” roles within the Shell legal team. Time will tell if the relevant due diligence was done on Ms Franklin, considering her escapades with a previous company.
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