Postings on our Shell Blog making allegations about the so-called BG Group ‘Chosen Few’ transferred into Shell
LondonLad
2019/11/26 at 11:36 am
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.
Bonus Group
2019/11/27 at 12:30 pm
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.read more
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.read more
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
John Collingridge: October 20 2019, 12:01am, The Sunday Times
EXTRACTS
Investors turn fossil fuels into dinosaurs
Bank of England governor Mark Carney sent shock waves through the City four years ago by warning that investors in fossil fuel companies faced “potentially huge” losses from vast reserves that could become “literally unburnable”.
Oil giants’ multibillion-pound bet — that gas will power the global economy into a low-carbon future — now looks risky.
Royal Dutch Shell bet its future on gas in 2015 with its £47bn takeover of troubled rival BG, the rump of privatised British Gas. Shell lifer Ben van Beurden’s deal turned the Anglo-Dutch giant into the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) company.
Fear among investors is evident in the oil giants’ share prices.read more
Upstream Online: Shell learns from Prelude challenges
Shell is currently in the process of ramping up its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas development off Western Australia, but the ambitious project …
Extract ends
Printed below are extracts from recent postings on our Shell Blog relating to the above Upstream Online article and its interview with Shell VP Prelude, Bob Jager.
Posting on 19 August 2019
I would be interested to know the content of the article just published by Upstream Online about the Prelude FLNG problems?
What I do know is that Prelude is still having difficulties in with the processed volumes of any of the three streams of product, LNG, LPG and condensate.
I have been monitoring the Marine Traffic web site with Prelude as the target. The offtake tankers, LNG or condensate, can be seen hanging around but at a greater distance from Prelude making it not as easy to keep track of as in previous occasions. The latest LNG tanker, Symphonic Breeze, has been nearby for nearly a week waiting for its nominated cargo. The demurrage costs must be quite high by now as the “notice of readiness” will have been tabled on arrival.read more
The Anglo-Dutch energy major has, like its peers, spent the last few years cutting costs as it recovered from the 2014 oil price crash. It has also sought to cut debt after its $53bn deal for BG Group in 2016. Shell, in strategy update on Tuesday, said it planned to invest $30bn per year between 2021-25, up from a prior range of $25—30bn.
Angry Dutch citizens on Thursday will ask their country’s highest court to put an immediate end to gas production in the Groningen region due to the risk of life-endangering earthquakes.read more
…if we continue operating Bravo in its current condition a major incident involving injury or fatality, and with the potential of Impairing the TR ;s inevitable. It may take a week or a year, it doesn’t matter. it will happen. You also need to consider your position. You are clearly working under instruction from Malcolm to keep a lid on this bag of worms, you should not be confident if the worst happens that the bold Malcolm will protect you. you will be hung out to dry to protect the golden boy’s progression up the ladder.
FROM RETIRED OIM (addressed to Bill – Bill Campbell)
Bill, now the full horror of your findings during the Expro audit have been made available via Johns’ web site I wonder what kind of reaction, if any, will be generated. In retrospect and with hindsight, publishing earlier might have sealed Brinded’s demise sooner and he would never have risen to an apparent level of “the untouchable”.
The Italians hopefully will ensure he will be disgraced never to be any where near a responsible position again.read more
Royal Dutch Shell has invested significantly in LNG with its takeover of British Gas in 2016. The acquisition of BG for more than $50 billion provided the Dutch company with a head start during a period when prices were low. Shell’s capacity in the LNG industry is nearly double compared to its nearest competitor. The company’s value currently is $53 billion less than Exxon’s, the largest oil and gas company in the world. Before the deal, the difference was more than $150 billion. FULL ARTICLEread more
After the Shell BG merger completed in 2016 , a lot of really good people lost their jobs, it was handled terribly by the HR dept and the so called ‘General Managers’ culled some of the best experts they had …in less than a year of the redundancies Shell were struggling and now with the lack of expertise…they have had to take in contractors to fill staff positions ..within a year of the redundancies … they could be liable if people took this issue up.. Also Shell were looking at hiring back some old boy network …who are now pensioners to come back in as managers to help out with the problems ..LOL . they have so much dead wood staff on their books and the company is ran like a club.read more
LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.L) oil traders in the Caribbean island of Barbados are getting ready for a tough gig – they’re being moved to the Bahamas next month. The relocation of the oil and gas company’s trading hub for Latin America will make travel to customers in the key region easier for its employees, a company spokeswoman said. FULL ARTICLE
By Elizabeth Burden and Thomas Biesheuvel 15 August 2018, 08:54 BST
*Methodist fund developing system analyzing company ethics *Top mining and oil companies will be graded by end of 2018
Divestment may be too blunt an instrument to encourage the world’s biggest oil and mining companies to behave ethically: the Methodist Church is prepared to back those committed to mending their ways. FULL ARTICLEread more
Royal Dutch Shell has triggered the start of a long-awaited £19bn ($25bn) share buyback scheme that will reward patient investors over the next two years.
The oil major will kick off the payday by distributing $2bn over the next three months for those shareholders who accepted shares rather than dividends during a downturn in the oil price two years ago.
As the crude market has recovered, Shell has prioritised paying down debt and selling off $30bn in assets over repurchasing the dividend scrips.read more
Several oil majors, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, are boosting their share of natural gas output. A Bloomberg report said these two oil companies, by increasing gas production, are trimming the lead between them and ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company. ExxonMobil has a current market cap of $348 bn, while Shell has market cap of $317 bn, and BP at $156 bn.
BP expects by 2020 to produce about 60 percent gas and 40 percent oil, a reversal from 2014 when it was the opposite – a pivot that many other oil companies will likely follow. ExxonMobil for its part currently produces about 55 percent oil and 45 percent gas and remains the largest natural gas producer in the US. Shell’s acquisition of UK-based BG Group for $50 bn in 2016 boosted the share of natural gas to 50 percent of its global fossil fuels output and made it the world’s largest natural gas trader.read more
By Kevin Crowley and Kelly Gilblom Monday 25 June 2018, 00:00 BST
Big Oil’s fortunes are becoming tied more closely to natural gas than ever before.
Majors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc have boosted their proportion of gas output in recent years, helping them trim Exxon Mobil Corp.’s lead as the world’s most valuable oil company. Meanwhile Chevron Corp. added two giant Australian liquefied natural gas projects and Exxon is punching back with two major projects of its own, in Papua New Guinea and Mozambique.read more
After the discussions between Buhari and van Beurden, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, sent a letter to the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigeria’s state-owned oil company NNPC, Mikanti Baru, instructing the corporation and the Anglo-Dutch oil company to conclude arrangements for the start of the project.read more
Bogus Group: 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.
Bonus Group: 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?
BG Alumni: 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.
Bonus Group: 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.
Bogus Group: 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?
Bonus Group: 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?
Bonus Group: 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.
LondonLad: 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.
Bonus Group: 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.
Bogus Group: 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.
LondonLad: 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!!
Bogus Group: 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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