Implications Seen for U.S. LNG as Nord Stream 2 Nears Finish Line

BY RON NISSIMOV July 10, 2020

The start-up of the 5.3 Bcf/d NS2 could curb a potential recovery of U.S. LNG exports even if the Covid-19 pandemic recedes next year, said BTU Analytics LLC energy analyst Connor McLean.

“If Nord Stream 2 comes online as expected, the influx of supply into Europe could place further pressure on a U.S. LNG recovery in 2021,” McLean said in a recent post on the firm’s website.

To combat the Russian plan, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) introduced a bill to sanction any entity that aids in completion of the line. That could include companies that have extensive operations in the U.S., such as Royal Dutch Shell plc, Total SA, Engie and OMV, which have stakes in parts of NS2, and Norwegian maritime classification society DNV. read more

James Osborne: JUNE 25, 2020

WASHINGTON – The District of Columbia sued Exxon Mobil and other large oil companies Thursday over their contribution to climate change, adding the nation’s capitol to a growing list of states seeking to punish the oil sector for its history of climate denial.

At a time large oil companies are increasingly vocal about the need to address climate change, the suit tackles a long period when despite warnings from their own scientists oil executives openly questioned claims greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels were warming the planet. read more

By John Donovan

I wonder if the American Ballet Theatre is aware of the sinister background of its new benefactor, Hakluyt & Co – the corporate intelligence agency sometimes described as the commercial offshoot of MI6.

Titled Shell directors, the late Sir Peter Holmes, and Sir William Purves, were also directors, major shareholders and spymasters of Hakluyt & Company, a UK corporate espionage firm founded by former senior MI6 officers. BP directors were also involved. 

Shell used Hakluyt to engage in cloak and dagger operations against its perceived enemies, including Greenpeace, as exposed in a Sunday Times front-page lead article “MI6 ‘firm’ spied on green groups”. Continuing on to an inside page feature headlined “How agent Camus sunk Greenpeace oil protests”.  read more

BY FRANK ESPOSITO: JAN 5, 2020

Shell Chemical says the development of a major plastics and petrochemicals complex under construction near Pittsburg remains “important”  to its overall global effort, despite a report that questioned its viability. 

In an email to Plastics News, Michael Marr, Shell business integration lead, responded by saying that Shell’s chemicals business at Monaca, PA., “enjoys strong fundamentals” and that the Pennsylvania project “is an important part of our global effort to build-out new business models that will allow Shell to participate and thrive in the energy transition.” read more

One closely-watched project already under construction in western Pennsylvania faces heightened risk as well. Royal Dutch Shell is building a gargantuan ethane cracker in the heart of the Appalachian shale gas region… “The complex is likely to be less profitable than expected and face an extended period of financial distress.”

A Perfect Storm For Petrochemicals

By Nick Cunningham – Jun 04, 2020, 5:00 PM CDT

The oil majors have made huge bets on plastics and petrochemicals in recent years, but those investments look increasingly shaky following the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn. read more

Shell plastics plant Trump touted faces oversupply risks: Energy institute report

04 Jun 2020 12:16PM (Updated: 04 Jun 2020 02:58PM)

WASHINGTON: A massive Pennsylvania plastics project that President Donald Trump touted during a visit last year faces risks of oversupply and a low price outlook for the materials, a report by an institute that examines energy issues said on Thursday.

The Pennsylvania Petrochemical Complex plant in Beaver County, owned by Shell, has been promoted by some as an economic savior in a region still suffering from the demise of steel industry in the 1980s. read more

Shell seeks FERC assistance to squash GreenHat Energy’s lawsuit in Texas court

• Author Jasmin Melvin
• Editor Valarie Jackson
• Commodity Electric Power
• 02 June 2020

Washington — Shell Energy North America has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to step in to help resolve a breach-of-contract claim GreenHat Energy brought against it in a Texas state court.

Shell is looking to FERC to interpret PJM Interconnection’s rules for bilateral transfers of financial transmission rights to debunk GreenHat’s “extraordinary claim that entering data into PJM’s platform for reporting FTR transfers created additional separate, binding contracts, which Shell Energy allegedly breached,” according to the petition for declaratory order (EL20-49) recently filed with FERC. read more

A Nightmare Scenario For Offshore Oil

Shell airlifts workers after coronavirus outbreak on Gulf rig

Workers aboard a Shell Oil offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico have tested positive for the coronavirus and flown back to land for treatment, a KHOU report says.

by L M Sixel and Sergio Chapa, Houston Chronicle: 28/05/2020

Shell Oil, the U.S. subsidiary of energy giant Royal Dutch Shell, has evacuated nine workers from a company platform in the Gulf of Mexico for testing and treatment of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. read more

LOS ANGELES — Big Oil lost a pair of court battles Tuesday that could lead to trials in lawsuits by California cities and counties seeking damages for the impact of climate change.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by energy companies and ruled state courts are the proper forum for lawsuits alleging producers promoted petroleum as environmentally responsible when they knew it was contributing to drought, wildfires, and sea level rise associated with global warming.

The lawsuits claim Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other companies created a public nuisance and should pay for damage from climate change and help build sea walls and other infrastructure to protect against future impact — construction that could cost tens of billions of dollars. 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.

Comment posted our article Shell Sells U.S. Appalachia Assets to National Fuel for $541 million

World-class investment case?

Shell apparently paid 4.7 USD billion in 2010 for the Marcellus shale and sells it now for 0.541 USD billion. 

How does this fit in with Shell’s strategy to provide a “world class investment case”? Some investors reacted sheepishly to the dividend haircut as a “sensible choice made by the Board”. Other investors see perhaps deeper underlying issues with Shell’s management choices and delivery performance, triggering calls for a Van Beurden succession plan.

Perhaps they see a longer legacy of poor choices and dud projects. (Shale, drilling in the Arctic, lacklustre exploration success, Prelude, BG acquisition, ….) read more

NEWS PROVIDED BY Shell Oil Company: May 04, 2020, 16:20 ET

HOUSTON, May 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its affiliate SWEPI LP (“Shell”), has reached an agreement with publicly listed U.S. energy company National Fuel Gas Company (NFG), and its subsidiaries, Seneca Resources Company, LLC, National Fuel Gas Midstream Company, LLC, and NFG Midstream Covington, LLC (together “National Fuel”), to sell its Appalachia shale gas position for $541 million, subject to closing adjustments. The transaction has an effective date of January 1, 2020. read more

By Rachel Adams-Heard: 3 May 2020, 23:12 BST

A controlled fire at Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s refinery near Houston cast a plume of black smoke over the city’s industrial suburbs.

A U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson said Shell alerted the agency of the burn off. The smoke had subsided by 4:30 p.m. local time on Sunday. The refinery in the town of Deer Park on Houston’s east side can process 275,000 barrels of crude a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Shell sent a notice through a community alert system at 3:16 p.m. warning that the company was performing activities that could lead to flaring and noted there wasn’t any threat to nearby residents.

SOURCE read more

28 April 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced oil consumption – and oil prices – down to a record low. Environmentalists are rejoicing, but unknown to many people, and largely unreported, oil companies have been gearing up to cover their losses by massively boosting plastic production – oil being the core component of most plastics we use in daily life.

The Covid-19 pandemic may prove to be a turning point for the oil industry. Already suffering from overproduction and decreasing oil prices, the oil markets suffered a major hit this year when the pandemic forced people worldwide into confinement. read more