The Archbishop of York has called for urgent action to stop the oil spills that are devastating communities in Nigeria’s Bayelsa state.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC ahead of the interim report of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, which he chairs, the archbishop said that a slow environmental genocide is taking place.

Bayelsa is the region where oil was first discovered in the country in the 1950s. There are hundreds of oil spills each year in Nigeria, some caused by equipment failure – others by sabotage. read more

Jillian Ambrose: Fri 1 Nov 2019 13.02 GMT

The world’s largest oil and gas companies need to slash their production by more than a third by 2040 to meet global climate targets, according to a new report.

The seven listed oil majors – including ExxonMobil, BP and Shell – would need to cut the total amount of oil and gas they produce every day by 35% to avoid driving temperatures 1.5C higher than pre-industrialised levels.

Global governments would also need to stop issuing new oil and gas licences for fossil fuel exploration, according to the report. read more

Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) today announces the appointment of Huibert Vigeveno as Downstream Director with effect from 1^st January 2020.

In his new role, Huibert will become a member of the Executive Committee and will succeed John Abbott. John will remain available to Huibert and the Executive Committee to assist with the transition until 31^st March 2020 and will then leave the company after 38 years’ distinguished service.

Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive said: “I am grateful to John for his strong leadership of the Downstream business, and particularly for having strengthened its performance and portfolio. Over many years he has delivered critical contributions to the Shell Group across a range of businesses and geographies. Through his determined efforts, underpinned by a focus on strengthening safety leadership and people development he leaves our Downstream business well positioned for the future” read more

Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Dale Hudson and Mark Potter: 1 Nov 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) faced a torrent of criticism from analysts on Friday for warning of possible delays to its $25 billion share buyback program, with some saying the move had undermined the credibility of the oil giant’s management.

Shell, the world’s second-largest listed oil and gas company, saw its shares close more than 4% lower on Thursday, wiping out $10 billion of its market value. It had earlier reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter profits which were, however, overshadowed by Chief Executive Ben van Beurden’s warning about shareholder returns. read more

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. read more

(Alliance News) -Â Royal Dutch Shell PLC said on Friday it has appointed Huibert Vigeveno as director of its Downstream unit, effective from the start of 2020.

Vigeveno will become a member of the executive committee and will succeed John Abbott, who will remain available to assist with the transition until March 31 before leaving the company “after 38 years’ distinguished service”.

Vigeveno is currently executive vice president global commercial at the oil major. He joined Shell in 1995 and has held a variety of roles… read more

Shell has received the green light to decommission its Goldeneye platform in the North Sea.

by Allister Thomas: 01/11/2019, 11:58 am

The Anglo-Dutch firm submitted plans to the UK Government for the installation, 80 miles north-east of Aberdeen, in November last year.

Plans have been approved to remove the jacket, topsides and decommision the wells and subsea infrastructure.

However a second document for the pipelines will be submitted later as they are hoped to be used as part of a carbon, capture and storage (CCS) project.

In August, Energy Voice revealed that Shell, in partnership with Chrysaor, intended to re-use pipelines for Goldeneye as part of the Acorn CCS project at the St Fergus Gas Terminal in Aberdeenshire. read more

WEBWIRE – Thursday, October 31, 2019

On October 17, 2019 the company completed the previous tranche of its share buyback programme. In aggregate between July 26, 2018 and October 17, 2019, the company repurchased 390,525,007 ordinary shares for an aggregate consideration of $12 billion (the ‘aggregate previous tranches’).

The maximum number of ordinary shares which may be purchased by the company under the next tranche of its share buyback programme (the ‘next tranche’) is 718,336,613, which is the maximum pursuant to the authority granted by shareholders at the company’s 2019 Annual General Meeting1 minus the number of ordinary shares purchased in the previous tranche. The shares bought back under the next tranche will be the A ordinary shares traded in the EUR denomination and whichever of the A ordinary shares and/or B ordinary shares traded in the GBP denomination is economically the least expensive on a given trading day.

The broker will make its trading decisions in relation to the company’s securities independently of the company. The next tranche will be carried out on the London Stock Exchange and/or on BATS and/or on Chi-X and will be effected within certain pre-set parameters. It will be conducted in accordance with the company’s general authority to repurchase shares granted by its shareholders at the company’s Annual General Meeting held on May 21, 20191, and in line with Chapter 12 of the Listing Rules, Article 5 of the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014/EU dealing with buyback programmes and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052.

The purpose of the next tranche is to reduce the issued share capital of the company to offset the number of shares issued under the Scrip Dividend Programme and, in combination with the other tranches of the share buyback programme, to significantly reduce the equity issued in connection with the company’s combination with BG Group. All shares repurchased as part of the next tranche will be cancelled.

Any further tranches of the buyback programme, which may be conducted after completion of the tranche announced today, will be announced in due course.

_{¹ The existing shareholder authority to buy back shares granted at the company’s 2019 Annual General Meeting expires at the earlier of the close of business on August 21, 2020, and the end of the date of the company’s 2020 Annual General Meeting. The company expects to seek renewal of shareholder authority to buy back shares at subsequent Annual General Meetings.}

Cautionary statement

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this announcement “Shell”, “Shell group” and “Royal Dutch Shell” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as “joint ventures” and “joint operations”, respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as “associates”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest. read more

 by Mark Lammey: 31/10/2019, 11:11 am

A boss at Shell insisted today that leaving the huge concrete legs of the Brent platforms at sea was the “right thing to do”.

Chief financial officer Jessica Uhl said she “appreciated the sensitivities” around the issue, but hoped the “strong fundamentals” of Shell’s plans would “come through”.

Earlier this month, Greenpeace activists protested against Shell’s intention not to remove the legs of three of the platforms from the North Sea.

The Anglo-Dutch company submitted its decommissioning programme in 2017, but has yet to receive formal approval from the UK Government, which has the final say on whether to grant a permit for “derogation”. read more

MICHAEL BOW: 31 Oct 2019

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell spooked investors on Thursday by warning that bleaker economic conditions could slow a major share buyback plan.

The company hinted a $25 billion buyback scheduled to be finished by 2020 may extend into 2021 because of worsening economic conditions, which could force the firm to keep more money back as a precaution. 

The buyback plan was launched in July 2018 and the timeline signalled Shell’s confidence in the oil price and outlook for the company. The shares today fell 2.5%, or 59p, to 2270p. read more

By HARRY WISE FOR THISISMONEY.CO.UK and PA

PUBLISHED: 12:19, 31 October 2019 | UPDATED: 12:27, 31 October 2019

Oil giant Shell has experienced a large fall in third-quarter profits due to weaker oil prices.

Earnings after stripping out fluctuating expenses fell 15 per cent to £3.7billion, well below estimates it might reach almost £5billion.

Shell was able to charge an average of £43.25 per barrel of oil it produced in the quarter, down from £52.69 in the same three months last year. It was even more than a dollar lower than the second quarter price. read more

Sam Meredith: 31 Oct 2019

• Net income attributable to shareholders on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, used as a proxy for net profit, and excluding identified items, came in at $4.767 billion for the third quarter of 2019.
• That compared with a profit of $5.624 billion in the same quarter a year ago and $3.462 billion in the second quarter.
• Shares of the Anglo-Dutch oil company are down more than 1% when compared to the same period in 2018.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter net profit on Thursday, citing lower energy prices and chemicals margins.

Net income attributable to shareholders on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, used as a proxy for net profit, and excluding identified items, came in at $4.767 billion for the third quarter of 2019. That compared with a profit of $5.624 billion in the same quarter a year ago and $3.462 billion in the second quarter. read more

EXTRACT FROM ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC 3RD QUARTER 2019 UNAUDITED RESULTS

31 Oct 2019

Compared with the third quarter 2018, CCS earnings attributable to shareholders excluding identified items were $4.8 billion, reflecting lower realised oil, LNG and gas prices, as well as weaker realised refining and chemicals margins. This was partly offset by significantly stronger contributions from LNG and oil products trading and optimisation as well as higher realised margins in retail and global commercial.

Compared with the third quarter 2018, cash flow from operating activities excluding working capital movements was $12.1 billion, reflecting lower earnings, higher pension contributions and lower dividends received. read more

Ron Bousso: OCTOBER 31, 2019

The better than expected results in the face of oil prices that fell 17% year on year underscores Shell’s tranformation in recent years, with deep cost cuts and a focus on returns after the 2014 industry downturn.

Net income attributable to shareholders, based on a current cost of supplies (CCS) and excluding identified items, fell to $4.8 billion from a year earlier.

That compared with a profit forecast of $3.91 billion in a company-provided survey of analysts.

“This quarter we continued to deliver strong cash flow and earnings, despite sustained lower oil and gas prices, and chemicals margins,” Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said in a statement. read more

Oil major investors bracing for bad news as headwinds gather

by Bloomberg: 28/10/2019, 7:05 am Updated: 28/10/2019, 8:12 am

The so-called supermajors — Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp., Total SA and BP Plc — are expected to disclose a 42% plunge in third-quarter earnings, on average, when they post results this week. That drop-off is too steep to blame on the 18% decline in crude oil prices, which means executives will have some explaining to do.

Exxon, Shell, and BP already have already taken steps to manage shareholder expectations by releasing limited data points on things like refinery repairs, asset sales and hurricane impacts on offshore oil production. Nonetheless, investors will be watching for additional color on what to expect for the remainder of 2019. read more

A court in Rotterdam, Netherlands, has ruled against Shell’s attempt to prevent certain documents seized from its headquarters in 2016 from been used against it in a trial over its purchase of Oil Prospecting License (OPL 245).

Under Dutch rule, documents that have been examined by a lawyer and used to make internal recommendations in an organisation cannot be tendered in a trial against that firm based on a professional secrecy law.

Shell had tried to argue that its 15 internal lawyers had viewed the documents in question and deserve the professional secrecy cover. read more