The Sunday Times Business Person of the Year 2022: The shortlist

Sunday December 11 2022, 12.01am, The Sunday Times

In a year buffeted by war, falling markets and government upheaval, we present the shortlist for the business person who has stood out above the rest

Ben van Beurden, Shell

The Dutchman will call time on a 40-year career at Shell in 2023, having spent nine years in the hot seat. He gambled early in his tenure on the £36 billion takeover of gas giant BG Group, relocated Shell’s head office to London, and cut its dividend when the oil price tanked during Covid. But the company has surged this year on the back of higher oil prices stoked by the Ukraine war. Van Beurden, 64, leaves Shell in a fitter state and with plans to embrace green energy — read more

REUTERS

Breakingviews: Shell’s next boss looks a shoo-in

LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Shell (SHEL.L) is about to get a new boss. Chief Executive Ben van Beurden, who has been in situ since the start of 2014, is likely to step down from the $192 billion oil giant next year, Reuters has reported read more . Plenty of credible candidates exist to replace him, but one looks the most obvious.

Despite battling with two major oil price slumps and an unprecedented 66% cut to Shell’s dividend in April 2020, Van Beurden’s track record looks acceptable. Since Jan. 1 2014, when he took over, Shell shares have returned 67%… He also pulled off the $70 billion purchase of BG Group in 2016, which made it a leading force in liquefied natural gas (LNG). read more

Shell shareholders miss out on payday under weight of $74bn debt mountain  

The oil giant has promised more cash for investors – but not until debt has fallen to $65bn (£47bn)

Shell shareholders are to be kept waiting for higher dividend payouts as the oil giant labours under a massive debt pile.

The Anglo-Dutch company has pledged to distribute up to 30pc of cash flow to shareholders as soon as its debts come down to $65bn (£47bn), as it tries to keep investors on board while it moves towards lower carbon energy. read more

Shell has written down the value of some of its gas assets, including its Queensland Curtis project in Australia.

As the Shift to Green Energy Speeds Up, Shell’s Big Natural-Gas Bet Is at Risk. The fuel faces growing environmental scrutiny and competition from cleaner energy sources

By Sarah McFarlane: March 27, 2021 5:30 am ET

LONDON— Royal Dutch Shell PLC bet big on natural gas as the energy source of the future when it bought BG Group for $54 billion. Five years later, it appears the gas era won’t last long. read more

Tunisia faces exodus of Western oil giants

By Ron Bousso, Shadia Nasralla: 3 MIN READ: MARCH 26, 2021

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni are seeking to sell their oil and gas operations in Tunisia, industry sources said, as the North African country struggles to attract new investments following years of political instability.

Shell has hired investment bank Rothschild & Co. to sell its Tunisian assets, which include two offshore gas fields and an onshore production facility the Anglo-Dutch company acquired as part of its 2016 $53 billion takeover of BG Group, the sources told Reuters. read more

Shell CEO takes pay cut in 2020 for the second straight year

By Reuters Staff: MARCH 11, 2021: 8.30 am

March 11 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive Ben van Beurden pay package nearly halved in 2020, a year in which the oil major’s profit tumbled because of low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Van Beurden, who became CEO in 2014, oversaw sharp growth in Shell’s oil and gas output following the 2016 acquisition of BG Group for $53 billion.

But an unprecedented hit to the energy sector last year, knocked oil prices into negative territory for the first time in history, and forced major players to cut dividend payouts and management pay to weather the storm. read more

Shell cuts exploration ambitions in Norway, to focus on natural gas

By Reuters Staff: 9 February 2021

OSLO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell will narrow its exploration scope in Norway to focus on natural gas production and possibly offshore wind in future, it told the Norwegian oil and energy ministry.

Shell said in October it planned to reduce its oil and gas operations to nine basins around the world as part of its strategy to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations. It is expected to announce details of its new strategy on Thursday. read more

Is former BG Group/Shell Exec Sami Iskander carrying any reputational baggage?

MESSAGE POSTED BY JOHN DONOVAN ON OUR SHELL BLOG: 4 FEB 2021

POSTED ON BEHALF OF AN INVESTIGATIVE CONTACT:

Newly former Shell executive Sami Iskander has been appointed CEO to London-traded energy company Petrofac, which is facing corruption allegations in Italy and from the U.K.’s SFO.

The question is whether Iskander, who was one of only four executives from British Gas retained by Shell when the two merged in 2015, brings any baggage with him? read more

Shell mulls former BHP chief as new chairman

Harry Banks: Sunday 25 October 2020

Former BHP Billiton boss Sir Andrew Mackenzie is in pole position to become the next chairman of Shell, reports emerged today.

Mackenzie joined the Shell board this month as a non-executive director but is expected to move into the chair soon to be vacated by Charles Holliday.

The Sunday Telegraph first reported the news.

The oil giant was forced into its first dividend cut in more than 70 years earlier this year thanks to the oil price crash and the coronavirus pandemic. read more

Shell on Wednesday announced a major reorganization that will see thousands of jobs lost. The last major reorganization dates back to 2016 when Shell cut 10,000 jobs after the acquisition of BG Group.

English translation of an article published by the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times.

Thousands of jobs at stake in Shell reorganization, not spared

Bert van Dijk

IN BRIEF

Shell on Wednesday announced a major reorganization that will see thousands of jobs lost. The restructuring is also reportedly hitting the top layers of management. The restructuring is needed to reduce costs as oil prices have fallen sharply and the outlook has deteriorated. Shell is also working on it. a new strategy. This will be revealed early next year. read more

Exclusive: Shell launches major cost-cutting drive to prepare for energy transition

By Ron Bousso: SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell is looking to slash up to 40% off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major drive to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets, sources told Reuters.

Shell’s new cost-cutting review, known internally as Project Reshape and expected to be completed this year, will affect its three main divisions and any savings will come on top of a $4 billion target set in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. read more

Big Oil’s patchy deals record casts shadow over green makeover

When Shell bought BG Group for $54 billion in 2016 in the midst of the price crash, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden made a compelling case to investors…: Speaking in July, Shell’s CEO stood by the deal. “The company did get stronger, but indeed the company was not able to withstand the onslaught of COVID if we wanted to adopt a prudent stance … I remain convinced it was the right move,” van Beurden told reporters. read more

By Akshat Rathi and Laura Hurst: 9 JUNE 2020

Royal Dutch Shell Plc had been turning out about 2.7 million barrels of oil each day until the novel coronavirus took hold of the world. Demand for oil, the company’s core product, dropped almost a third in April, and the price of West Texas Intermediate briefly dipped into negative numbers for the first time.

It’s not easy to run an oil major when people suddenly stop needing oil. Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden responded by slashing spending and cutting Shell’s dividend for the first time since World War II. And, as critics warned, the company remains saddled with debt from its $53 billion acquisition of BG Group in 2015. read more

English translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT

Shell needs to consider Van Beurden succession

From our editor

CFO Jessica Uhl and CEO Ben van Beurden before the start of the Shell Shell shareholders’ meeting in Scheveningen last May. Photo: Piroschka van de Wouw / Reuters

In brief

• Investors say in the Sunday Telegraph that Shell should reflect on the position of its top man.
• The British newspaper published a story based on anonymous sources.
• Shell is struggling: last week, the dividend was cut for the first time in decades.

One of Shell’s largest shareholders has suggested that the oil and gas company should start thinking about succeeding CEO Ben van Beurden, the day after Shell reduced its dividend for the first time since World War II. That writes the Sunday Telegraph. The British newspaper has spoken to two investors from the top 20 largest shareholders, one of which says it is time for a ‘changing of the guard’. read more

ABOVE SCREENSHOTS DOWNLOADED 14 APRIL 2020

COMMENT POSTED TO SHELL BLOG 14 APRIL 2020

Mr Gould, clearly an avid reader of this Blog, has now amended his profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn to show that he is no longer a Board member of Saudi Aramco, but is now a Board member at Occidental Petroleum. Sadly, however, like most of his BG Group counterparts he did not check his profile thoroughly enough, because it shows that he is still (May 2012 – Present) Chairman of BG Group, a defunct oil and gas company.

linkedin.com/in/andrew-gould-8a54b239 read more